Gadfly's Muse

Hebrews 2: It Had To Be Done... And This Way!

Image: "Safe Mooring", 2013, Vicinity of St. Johns, New Foundland, Ca.

Hebrews 2:1  Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:10–11 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Hebrews 2:14–15  Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Hebrews 2:17–18 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

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Scan the quotes above and note the intentionality and purposefulness revealed in them.  Keep in mind that these are a representative sample and we inevitably conclude that whatever God did in Jesus Christ, it was not a "knee-jerk" reaction on His part.  Everything is carefully laid out... intricately designed... precisely fitted to the goal intended.  God reveals to us that all things had to be done... this way... and no other way was possible either then or now.

The governing concern overlying this chapter is that we Christians must tie ourselves firmly to a strong mooring "lest we drift away." (vs. 1)  Christians, when this was written and Christians today, should take this seriously.  We are always being pulled by strong tides and currents that would convey us to our destruction if we are not securely fastened.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that the only security we can trust is that found in God's work in Jesus Christ and he goes on to show us in fine detail how God has provided Him for just that purpose.

So, as we read this marvelous text, let the truth sink in.  God was aware of our desperate need.  He was fully aware of our lost and fallen condition.  He knew that our only hope was complete salvation that triumphed over death and secured a future for us in glory.  Allow this to sink in!  We are not talking about some "dry as dust" theological proposition.  We are discussing a real God who sent a real Savior to redeem a real people for Himself.  We are talking about what God did for you... and me.  We should mentally append the words "for me" to each of these purpose statements.  God "made" Jesus "a little lower than the angels", namely, He caused Him to be born a man, so that "He (Jesus), by the grace of God, might taste death (for ME!). (vs. 9)  Do you see how these statements immediately become very personal and very precious?

We Christians often give "lip service" to the doctrine of God's sovereignty in all things but at this point, "lip service" becomes a deadly danger.  We must not think of these things, much less speak of them, without the strongest urge to humility and gratitude.  Our anchor, our mooring, is the very fact of God's sovereignty, in particular, His sovereign purposes, fulfilled in Christ, of securing for us all the blessings of His grace.

Notice how God has taken care of the details.  God has confirmed that He has done this for us by bringing us news of our salvation by Jesus Himself, Whose words were "confirmed... by those who heard Him." (vs. 3)  So, our secure mooring is the Person of Jesus Himself.  And we know that Jesus did not give us a false hope because His message and His world were confirmed by "signs and wonders" and a whole host of other seals of authenticity. (vs. 4)

Further, God Himself has validated Jesus as His Son, by putting the whole world under subjection to Him. (vs. 5ff)  This is incredible.  God did not exalt any angel in this manner, but He set all the works of His own hand under Jesus! (vs. 7)  What is this "world to come?"  In one sense it is the world that found its first dawning after the fall of the Temple in 70 AD when the last shred of God's original covenant with ethnic Israel was severed.  After that time there was no longer any doubt.  The Gospel belongs to all the peoples of the earth and so all lands are subject to Jesus.  In another sense, the "world to come" is that coming day when Jesus will reign on earth visibly and all His "brothers" will rejoice before God in His Presence. (vs. 13)

That day will bring all of God's elect children into the state of immortal life because God sent His Son to completely nullify Satan's "power of death". (vs. 14)  We no longer live in a world in which the threat of death looms over us like the "sword of Damocles."  Death has lost its sting because God's purpose in Jesus of Nazareth was to destroy it and He did.  Thus God set up His Son as a "merciful and faithful High Priest over us".  God's plan was to have Jesus at His right hand, so that, Jesus could intercede for us immediately and with full effectiveness.  No further sacrifices are required because none could improve on that sacrifice that Jesus Himself offered. (vs. 14)  We have been "released" from bondage to death and to Satan.

These things and so much more were all elements in God's beautiful purpose.  He loved us before we loved Him and sent His Son to do all that was necessary for our salvation, preservation, and ultimate glorification.  He has done it!  This, and this alone, is our firm tether.  Let us trust in it with all our heart, mind, soul, and body.

 

 

2 Timothy 3: Perilous Times Indeed

Image: "Standing Tall", 2013, View of "Angels Landing", Zion National Park, Utah.  

2 Timothy 3:12–13 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

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Anyone so foolish as to think the Bible to be an archaic work of fiction with no relevance to the present day should be stopped dead in their tracks by the opening verses in this chapter.

2 Timothy 3:1–5  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Are these words not an apt summary of our modern ethical context?  Do we not see these behaviors present all around us?  Worst of all, do we not have to acknowledge that in movies, TV shows, and even politics, these behaviors are celebrated?  Americans love success and we are, as a people, often quite content to not care a great deal about how success was obtained.  One of the most brilliant movies Hollywood ever produces was "The Godfather."  Let's confess.  Did we not "root" for the Corleone family?  Did we not approve of the murderous conclusion?  And that movie debuted in 1972, 40 years ago!  We watch "entertainment" now that is lightyears beyond that story in celebrating violence, lawlessness, and perversion.

We live in a social order given over to the "despisers of good", the "lovers of pleasure", etc.  In many of our modern "churches", especially those completely sold out to cultural accommodation, can we not say that they "have a form of godliness but deny its power?"  Any objective analysis would have to affirm Paul's words as describing our times.

If so, what "times" are these?  Paul calls them "the last days" and he says that they are "perilous" indeed.

So, what are we to do?  Do we just throw up our hands and declare that the world is "going to Hell in a hand-basket" and retreat into our little pious enclaves and celebrate ourselves for escaping these things (if indeed we have)?  Paul does say "from such people turn away" doesn't he?  We might be inclined to accept this except for Paul's further statements in the chapter.

Paul says that "turning away" means that we are not to align ourselves with these people.  We are not to be identified with them, even by association.  We certainly are not to compromise with their values by allowing their moral pretensions to be tolerated within our community.  We must see them as those whose "folly will be manifest to all" as was that of Jannes and Jambres. (vs. 9)  But we must also recognize that our witness to another rule of life and practice must be made clear.

We must be visibly different among them but not with them.  We should participate in our social context in an active manner, standing tall, in our corporate reality, as a rock-solid alternative. We have to be seen as different, every day.  This is even more stringent as we see "evil men and imposters" growing "worse and worse" all around us.  The tide of depravity must flow around us like a boulder in the midst of a rapid stream.  But like that boulder, we must, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, not be moved.

The inevitable outcome will be that we are noticed and resented.  Some will be inspired by our solid foundation and wish to align themselves with us.  This is the cutting edge of God's gospel power.  But others will be infuriated and we will find ourselves cruelly despised, castigated, and perhaps mistreated.  Paul says clearly: "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." (vs. 12)  So be it.  Our calling is to obedience.  Godliness, in this life, is its own reward and we should not look for any other rewards from the culture.  It cannot award them to us and remain true to itself.  Therefore, we must embrace the reality and strengthen our weak knees to persevere under whatever God's providence brings our ways.

We have not been left without guidance.  Paul's famous teaching in vs. 16-17 tells us that we have all that we need to live obediently in God's Holy Word.  There we will find the wisdom we need to equip us "for every good work."  Now is the time, perilous though it may be, for all Christians to embrace their Christ and follow His footsteps in the light He has provided for our walk.

It's not at all a call for despair.  It is a call to hope, for ourselves and for the wicked world around us.  How can they hear if no one "preaches' to them, both through the spoken word and by the example of godly living?  Our song must always be: 'To God be the glory...", no matter what.

 

 

1 Thessalonians 1: It's Amazing So It Must Be True

Image: "TheBridge",2018,  Grounds of Winterthur Museum, Wilmington, De.

1 Thessalonians 1:4–5  knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

1 Thessalonians 1:6  And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

1 Thessalonians 1:9–10  For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

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Tertullian was an ancient "father" of the Church who struggled with many of the same problems we face today.  He has been quoted and misquoted about equally.  For example, he is falsely credited as having said: "I believe because it is absurd."  This false attribution was widely quoted among those who, during the enlightenment, wanted to move religion away from any mystical and, to their mind, irrational basis.  What Tertullian actually said was: (in translation from the original Latin), "He was buried and rose again, it is certain because it is impossible."  It might be useful for us to ponder what he meant.

Like Paul (vs. 10), Tertullian grounded the "certainty" of his faith in the otherwise impossibility that Jesus rose from the dead.  In effect, he, like us, being removed at some distance in time from the actual event, had to rely on the testimony of Scripture.  The Scriptures plainly teach this fact.  Tertullian faced the question of whether the Scriptural account might just be some kind of myth.  His conclusion was, in effect, that no one would try to mislead others by telling such an impossible story.  If the purpose was to form just another human religion, then certainly some less fantastic story would have been told.  But Tertullian was confronted with two things:  (1) this story is seemingly impossible, and yet (2) he believed it.  Thus, he thought, there must be some reason why he was so certain of its truth.  As Paul develops here regarding the Thessalonians, the "fact" of his faith must come from God and therefore was the seal of the truth of Jesus' resurrection.  With that, all other things fall into place.

Notice how Paul develops a similar line of reasoning.  In vs. 4 he says that he "knows" their "election by God!"  Now, this is the most important imperative in any human being's life.  Nothing is of greater importance than to know our own election and to grow in recognizing that same election in others, such as our intended spouse, or our children, or our brothers and sisters in the church.

On what does Paul ground his knowledge of their election?  He plainly tells us.  It was by the obvious work of the Holy Spirit among them that worked to transform their lives through the gospel of Jesus' resurrection that he had preached.  The "impossible" idea that Jesus was risen and alive caused them to become followers of the Lord even in the face of the "affliction" they suffered for doing so. (vs. 6)  This power that worked in them, "turned" them from idols "to serve the living and true God."  This was no small thing.  There was no such idea of religion being a matter of individual, personal, private belief.  Religion in those days was very public (and should be today also).  To be "impious" in ancient Rome was tantamount to being unpatriotic and subversive because the Roman worldview tightly linked worship of the gods to the hope of success and peace of the empire.  When a man or his family or a church turned away from those gods they were brought under severe disapproval by virtually everyone.

But in the face of that prospect, these Thessalonians had rejected their previous idolatry and conformed themselves to the doctrines Paul had taught them.  To Roman ears these doctrines were foolishness.  It was amazing to them that anyone could believe that a man who had been crucified, dying a death reserved for the worst kind of criminals, could rise from the dead.  (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18, the text that Tertullian was pondering)  Yet the undeniable fact was that they did believe and, very importantly for Paul, that belief stimulated them to share this same gospel far and wide.  They believed and spread the word that not only was Jesus alive but that He was coming again to deliver "us from the wrath to come."

This is an amazing message.  It should still be amazing to us today, though our long familiarity with it has bred a certain complacency about it.  It was so amazing that this had transpired among them that Paul could confidently state that it proved their "election by God."  And that is the main lesson, among others, that we should draw from this chapter.

If the most important question any human being faces is the question of his/her own election by God then here is how we are to gain confidence in it:  has the power of the Holy Spirit worked powerfully in us to the end that we cannot help but believe in a risen Jesus of Nazareth?  It must be a powerful belief.  It must have caused us, in repentance, to turn away from all those other false teachings that threaten us on every side.  It must produce a certain "joy of the Holy Spirit" (vs. 6) which cannot be explained other than being a work of God in us.  Do we also anxiously await His return with hungering anticipation?

If these things are true in us, and in others whom we love, then we also can "know" our election and theirs. This faith in us should appear amazing to us and to all who see it in us.  That's the whole point.  It is amazing... it is the work of God... and He is amazing above all measure.

 

 

 

 

 

Ephesians 2: Here I Stand....

Image: "Here I Stand", 2021, Severna Park, Md

Ephesians 2:8–10  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:19–22  Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

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The most descriptive term that comes to mind is "incongruous."  Several weeks, if not months, ago, the small branch pictured above fell from the tree, dropping about 30 feet.  As you can see, it is not large or heavy, and being dead is not that sturdy.  Yet it did not break but stuck somewhat deeply and securely in the lawn.  The ground may have been soggy then, I don't know, but it stands there and I have left it alone.  It amuses me to see it.  It's almost as if it is making a statement:  "I'm pretty insignificant ordinarily, but when I take a stand I can be counted."  Certainly, that's reading a lot into this thing but that's the way my mind works.  The recent snowfall has made it even more pronounced and so it will stand until lawn mowing season.

Paul, similarly, in this chapter makes a clear and definitive stand. 

"Away with this notion of two peoples of God.  Dispense with the supposed distinction between Gentile and Jewish Christians.  Passions run high on this topic but here is where I stand:  Ephesians 2:14–16  For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

In these brave words, Paul dismantled any opposing view.  The Mosaic law had indeed, separated God's covenant people from the "Gentiles" in the centuries before Christ.  There was to be no intermarriage.  any person of non-Jewish birth wishing to join in God's covenant had to submit to the laws of circumcision and be assigned to a particular tribe which was henceforth his family.  There was a wall of separation dividing the world into two camps.

Paul says that Jesus Christ destroyed that wall!

He is speaking to the Gentile Galatians because they are at risk of being swayed away from this gospel.  Note how he reminds them of what they were! Ephesians 2:1–3  And you, He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

"You were once just like all those other Gentile Pagans around you.  You were walking in darkness, under the full sway and influence of Satan himself.  You bought into all those 'works of disobedience' and were enslaved to the passions of your flesh.  In every respect, you were, by nature, a child of wrath."

"But," Paul says, "what you were 'by nature' you were not by God's reckoning.  You were set aside to be saved by grace, through faith, as a gift of God.  This was freely given to you and was, by definition, undeserved.  You have no reason to boast in yourselves as meriting this privilege.  It was God's love for you that prompted it.  And now, instead of "works of disobedience", you are to pursue good works, the very ones God has elected and saved you to perform."

In every particular Paul boldly proclaims that now these Gentile Galatians had attained the same status as their Jewish brothers.  What was said of them was equally true of the Jews.  There was "no difference" between them.  But necessarily, now that there was no ethnic difference present in God's Covenant community, they were now constituted as a new "man", a different people, a separate nation in their own right.  This combined community, not the Gentiles alone nor the Jews alone, were to be God's new temple of the Holy Spirit.  In effect, God was unleashing on the world of darkness something new, a new creation.

This new people would not exhibit the stale, lethargic, somewhat sullen witness of the Jewish nation.  This people would be filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered to do great things and exhibit many signs.  They would flood the world and tear down demonic strongholds.  In a few centuries, they would be the majority religion in the Roman Empire.  All of this started here... where Paul (mainly) in this and other passages, took his stand.  His vision-inspiring teaching galvanized the people of God and filled them with a holy purpose.  There were many internal battles still ahead of them.  Not all of them would be strong and not all would buy into this vision.  But enough did then and there is no reason why Christ's Church cannot take up the banner and stand with Paul today.

All it takes is to embrace the truth.  All that is needed is to be filled with the same holy vision.  There yet remains a pagan world around us that is enslaved to darkness.  We, the empowered people of God, are called like Israel under Joshua, to break those chains and occupy the land God has set before us.

1 Corinthians 8 & 9: "Cheerful Ministry"

Image: "Above the Crowd", 2016, Christ's Church Cathedral, Mobile, Ala.

2 Corinthians 8:8–9  I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 9:10–11  Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

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Probably more jokes or cartoons are offered up at the church's expense regarding "passing the plate" than any other specific aspect of ministry.  People are quite protective of their pocketbooks when it comes to religion.  The US has a long history of religious charlatans manipulating poor widows, the lonely, the desperate, etc. out of their few remaining coins.  Unfortunately, there are still plenty of these "wolves in sheep's clothing" around.  They will be judged in due time.  But their negative example also dampens enthusiasm for legitimate ministries.

There is also the other side of "the coin." (pun intended)  Ask any missionary or religious worker about the least-loved aspect of their calling and the answer will probably be "fundraising."  

In my denomination, most, if not all, missionary work and church planting efforts, etc. are funded by "itineration," which means that someone "travels about" and asks people for support.  It can be pleasant in the actual practice when the missionary/church planter is welcomed, treated to a nice fellowship meal, given an opportunity to speak about his ministry, and then sent on his way with some degree of encouragement.  But every such worker knows that his work is just one of many.  He is, to some degree, in competition with many others.  This usually means that each person has to build up a broad base of support because the individual supporting churches or individuals, will spread their giving across several programs.  It can be and often is, exhausting work that has to be continually followed up with reports back to the churches and periodic visits to renew zeal.  

These two chapters prove that "such has always been the case."

Paul is mostly concerned with getting the Corinthians to not shirk their duty in giving.  The key point is that he is asking them to "follow through" on what they had promised.  it's easy for us to get excited about supporting a ministry when we have just heard a stirring presentation regarding it.  It's another to stay excited about it for months or years afterward.  Paul is at pains in these chapters to tell the Corinthians and us, that God's plan for His Kingdom is to be advanced by a broad base of people and churches sharing in the work.  Financial support and prayer are essential ministries as well as the actual, boots-on-the-ground missionaries themselves.

Notice how in 9:10 he shows the reciprocal benefits that come from supporting external ministries.  He says that, in effect, God is using them to "supply seed to the sower, and bread for food.." to his own and other ministries.  But, in doing this he says that God will "increase the fruits of your righteousness."  In other words, in the act of sacrificial giving, the spiritual growth of the givers is enhanced.  They become "enriched in everything for all liberality."  This rebounds, in Paul's mind, to "cause thanksgiving through us to God."

Verses 9:12-15 build on this theme.  Giving to the work of the wider Church becomes "proof" of their covenant status with God.  It brings glory to God and proves their "obedience" and "confession to the gospel."  This vision for interlocking, organic ministry, tying disparate churches and individuals together to advance the gospel, is so beautiful to Paul that he simply cannot refrain from offering up the praise:  "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." (9:15)

The summary teaching is 2 Corinthians 9:6–7  But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 

Rather than being grudging "Scrooges" in our giving, we should actually be "cheerful" or "merry" in it.  After all, we do not have anything that is not first from God.  If we, as stewards of His resources, are called to use them to advance His kingdom in specific and direct support, then we ought to rejoice in this.  It is God Who has given us the excess of what we need.  It is God Who is using us to touch people's lives across the world.  It is God who promises that our giving will also result in our further blessing.  It's a win/win situation.

If and when passages such as these chapters arose in my preaching or teaching schedule, I would, sooner or later, tell folks that "I have never experienced a person going broke through Biblical tithing."  Now, I am not talking about those folks who want to manipulate God by throwing money at Him, hoping that He will use that act to offset some sins in their lives.  I am talking about those folks who generously support ministries because they love to see God's Word advancing in the world.

These are they who cheerfully give and they are, indeed, precious in God's sight.  (Not to mention the missionary''s or church planter's.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 15 & 16: Really Good "News"!

Image: Snake River, 2013, Wyoming (rendered as oil painting)

1 Corinthians 15:22–23  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

1 Corinthians 15:52  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

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To me, there is no clearer statement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ than that found in 1 Cor. 15.  I can add comments to it but sometimes I wonder to what end?  Paul's words are so plain, so focused, so laser-like in the application, that I worry about hindering the message rather than advancing it.

What is it he says?  Summarized, it is "Christ is Risen"!  He sounds it loud and clear.  He shouts it from the housetops as it were.  Do you hear that world?  This man, Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, Who  "died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and ... was buried, and ... rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and ... was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time." (15:3-8)  

Paul does not speak these words as "articles of faith", to be believed on the basis of religious preference.  Paul proclaims them as attested facts, historical realities certified by multitudes of eye-witnesses.  This is the reality which transformed his life and it is the reality that he sees transforming lives around the world.  As it transformed lives then it transforms lives now.

Notice the astonishing corollaries to these facts!  And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (15:17-19)  The entire Christian religion is founded on this fact (though not on this alone).  It is so integral to our faith that if it is not true then the entire hope we have is proved futile.  Thank God it is not false.  Christ is "risen" and therefore "alive" and therefore we are not "still" in our sins, nor have those Christians whose mortal lives ended long ago, perished.  Furthermore, we have "hope in Christ" not only for this life but for the next also.

All of this is guaranteed by the simple fact: Christ is risen!

And that's not all!  And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. (15:49)  As He is now, in His risen, glorious body, so shall we be in His image.  Each of us is born into this world bearing not only God's image, though defaced by sin, but also the image of Adam.  Our bodies are like his, subject to mortal death.  We are limited by our passions, confused in our thinking, unable to overcome the constant limitations of frustrating toil and whelming forces, and constrained to failure in opposing the dynamic evil in our world.

But the risen Jesus is not like that!  He is not subject to the forces that constrain us.  In fact, He rules over those forces.  And Paul sees that we will be like Him in this regard.  We shall never equal Him because He is both God and Man.  But as He is Man, now, so shall we be.  Our bodies will put on incorruptibility (15:53ff) and we shall reign with Him and under Him and for Him, bearing His family resemblance.  We have no idea or capacity to understand, now, exactly what this will be.  All we know is that because He is alive, so shall we be alive, and as He is, so we shall be also.

Is that not Good News?

Of course, it is.  And it will all happen in the blink of an eye.  A "trumpet" will sound and all who are dead on the earth will rise and all we Christians will see the Lord together!  At that instant "we will be changed!"  We will receive our brand new immortal bodies and we shall embark on our new immortal life and we shall serve and worship our eternal Christ Whom we will see with our new immortal eyes.

Do we need anything else to sustain us in our journey through this phase of our lives?  No, not really.  Paul sums it up cleanly: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (15:58)  How can we not find all the strength, patience, fortitude, and motivation to abound in the work of the Lord when we know that everything we do for Him is conducive to this great blessing we are promised and have received.  It is not in vain.  He is alive and He will prove His Presence among us in all the things we undertake for Him and His glory.

Like a mighty river, His continuing life keeps flowing through His Church, flowing to its inevitable end - life everlasting with Him.

 

1 Corinthians 13 & 14: God is Truly Among You...

Image: "We Are Not Alone", 2021, Severna Park, Md

1 Corinthians 13:2  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

1 Corinthians 14:18–19  I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

1 Corinthians 14:22  Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.

1 Corinthians 14:24–25  But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

1 Corinthians 14:39–40  Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid to speak with tongues. 40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

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How can anyone read 1Corinthians 13 and not experience a warm recognition of truth?  Yes, of course, this is how it is supposed to be!  Without love we are nothing.  Human love differs from animal love (pet lovers may disagree) in that it is consciously constructive.  When we love another person, as Christ and Paul call us to love, it is not a distant "adoring" kind of love.  We don't sit at our windows and contemplate the other person in an abstract, "moony" kind of manner.

No, Christian love is active love.  It is love that acts.  It suffers and is kind, rejoices with the individual rather than being envious, it does not rejoice in iniquity but in truth.  Love actively "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things." (cf. 13:7)  The big thing about love is: it never fails! (13:8)  Here is the power of love - it achieves its goal.

What is the goal of "love"?  It is to unselfishly seek the other's well being.  It is the opposite of "manipulation" where we do good for someone with the conscious or unconscious purpose of "getting something back."  Christian love will "bestow its goods to feed the poor or give its body to be burned" for the purpose that the "other" will be blessed.  Christian love's joy is seeing the beloved blessed in some way.

Paul calls Christian love the greatest of the spiritual triumvirate, surpassing both faith and hope.  Faith and hope can be viewed as the stepping stones to love.  What Paul is saying here is that Christian love is the foundation on which all other spiritual gifts are to be built. (14:1)  It is Christian love that empowers the other gifts.  

Paul spends a good deal of time in chapter 14 teaching about "tongues."  His statements are carefully considered and finely drawn.  His main point is that as love is superior to both faith and hope, so "prophecy" is superior to "tongues."  By moving from the "love chapter" to this topic, I think he is consciously showing that as long as both "tongues" and "prophecy" flow from love then both are good for the church (as it was empowered at that time).  In fact, this foundation in love points to the conclusions he draws.

"Tongues" in the ancient church was a spiritual gift of speaking in a foreign language.  I think it was probably a mix of "spiritual language" (14:2) as well as "foreign languages" (national languages foreign to the speaker).  The down-side of tongues is that the practice could and does lead to "puffing up." (13:1 & 5)  It is a "showy" kind of religious practice and its practitioners can, and often do, become vain and smugly superior.  There is no question that "glossolalia" (technical name) is present in the modern church though I believe that it is no longer Holy Spirit inspired.   That day is past.  But the danger of pride is very much present.

"Prophesy" though, both in the ancient and modern churches, differs.  Modern "prophesy" is identical with Spirit-inspired preaching and teaching wherein the speaker correctly understands, proclaims, and applies God's Word to the circumstances of God's people, individually and corporately, and increases their understanding.  It is to the end of "edification and exhortation" and leads to the "comfort of men." (14:3)  

Now there is no question that the sin of pride can show up in "prophecy" also but since its goal is directed toward the hearers rather than "showing off", it is less prone.  

However, Paul's main point still stands.  Both have to be built on and flow out of, a heart of love.  Paul particularly draws this out when he distinguishes "tongues" as being a "sign" for unbelievers.  Here I think he is speaking of "tongues" as "foreign languages."  Mere "babbling in tongues" has never been unique to Christianity.  Many pagan priests and oracles babbled and they needed an "interpreter" to give the pilgrim seeking advice that which he was seeking and for which he paid a fee.  But when a foreigner (there were many in Corinth) entered a room and heard someone speaking the gospel in his own language, that got his attention.  But that is all it did.  It was a sign.

It was the "prophecy" that drove the nail home. (14:25)  When he heard God's word and had it cut him to the quick and reveal the secrets of his heart, then he would fall on his face and worship.  He would "report that God is truly among you!"

This is what happens when "love" bears fruit in a congregation.  When "all things" are done decently and in order (14:39-49) and love powerfully inflames the preaching and teaching, and there is a genuine desire to bless other people, including the "new-guy", then those who long to be shown a "better way" will be convinced they have found it.

They will know that "God is truly among you" because His footprints are easily seen.

1 Corinthians 1 & 2: "These Foolish Things..."

Image: "Weak Things", 2008, Covenant Village Retreat Center, Clearville, Pa

1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

1 Corinthians 1:23–25  but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1 Corinthians 1:27  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

1 Corinthians 2:2–3 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

1 Corinthians 2:11  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:14–15  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

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We are wholly inundated with "power politics" these days.  It seems like any token reliance on "principle" or attempts to find "balance" are contemptuously dismissed.  The point is to "win" by destroying the opposition.  That makes for very scary times indeed.

Paul lived in a similar time.  He reminds the Corinthians (2:3) that while among them he was "in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling."  He was very conscious, in that dangerously volatile city of Corinth, that his life hung by a thread.  Where Athens might have at least a veneer of civility, Corinth was a rough seaport full of sailors and vagabonds and scoundrels from all over the world.  A man had to live by his wits or by his fists and, quite often, both were needed.  So, there were no nice, complacent, secure little congregations here.  Any gathering was a powder keg and the city leaders were suspiciously on edge.

It is this cultural scenario that adds such luminance to Paul's message.  He stands to proclaim the living reality of a man, Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified - the most ignoble death of the day.  A crucified man must have been a criminal... he must have been guilty of treason... what sane man would (1) believe that such a man now lived... again, and (2) should be viewed as anything other than a curiosity, a side-show star being promoted by hucksters?

Paul's tactic is not to argue directly against this.  In fact, he says, in so many words, "I can see how you would think this way!"  It goes against all "common sense" to think this "gospel" to be true.  But it is!

The question then becomes "why can't you see that it is true?"  And it is here that Paul advances one of the most important doctrines in all of scripture.  The reason why any man would reject the truth of Jesus is that the Spirit of God is not in him! It takes the presence of the Holy Spirit, invested in a man's heart, to bring insight and illumination to his mind. (2:11)  The man who remains in his "natural-born" condition (2:14) simply cannot know the "things of the Spirit of God" for the very real reason that "they are foolishness to him." (2:14)  The whole doctrine sounds "weak", even "effeminate" in that it proclaims the power of love.  In a world where "might is right" and "law is what can be imposed", the very idea of submitting to a 2000-year-old "myth" is ludicrous.

This is the wisdom of God! (2:7)

In an amazing twist, Paul says this is exactly how God shows His power.  When otherwise sane, practical, down-to-earth men and women are convinced of something that sounds this outlandish, there must be something going on that simple "power politics" cannot explain.  When intelligent men and women, people with substance, some rich, some commercial, some hardened by rough handling, some peasants, some nobility, some broken in body and spirit, some in their youthful prime and ambition, find common ground in worshiping and loving such a Man as Paul proclaimed, then the only explanation is that a powerful Spirit was at work.  The nature of this Spirit is proved to be good rather than evil, by the outworking of these transformed lives.  Something good is happening.  

The new community is so different than anything Corinth had ever seen.  People taking care of each other rather than taking advantage.  People were treated with respect by those who previously showed respect for no one outside their own class or of those above themselves.  Goods and homes were shared without cynical suspicions.  From all indications, people actually loved each other.

This new social group, the power elites thought, would surely soon fail.  It was built on fantasy.  It had no power to withstand those who would seek to break in and steal.  These elites were to discover that God's power is made known in weakness.  They were to be astonished at how these weaklings possessed strength which could not be explained other than that God was with them.

The witness to God was just here:  the weak become strong... and the foolishness of the Gospel is proved to be the power that shakes the foundations of an empire.

 

 

Romans 5: This State of Grace

Image: "Invisible Grace", 2020, Northern Lights, Iceland, view from Glacier Lagoon.  Long exposure in otherwise "black dark" conditions revealed the view here.  Photographer: Dave Johanson

Romans 5:1–2  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:10  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 5:17  For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Romans 5:20–21  Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so, grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Did you pick up on that?  Vs. 2 - we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand!  Pay close attention to the language used:  we have access and in which we stand.  These are words to describe a change of location, to go through some means of "access" (a door) into another "place" (state) where we are able to "stand" (have room and firm footing so as to stand up).

What Paul is saying here is that believers "live and move and have their being" in a different state of life than non-believers.  They exist within a sphere of grace.  They stand in "the" state of grace.  They act and think and conduct their lives within this reality as opposed to the reality of non-believers.  The difference between them is invisible to the eye, like the image above, but behind the present darkness, a light shines on believers that illuminates every aspect of their lives.

Believers commit sins that are already forgiven and for which atonement has already been rendered.  People once called Ronald Reagan the "Teflon president" because criticism against him simply seemed not to "stick."  This is a rather crude analogy to the situation with believers.  Through faith, they have been set aside from any eternal condemnation.  The indictment of sin, drawn up by Satan and consisting of a detailed list of every transgression of God's law they have ever, throughout their entire life, committed, has been nailed to a cross and cannot ever be charged against them.

This does not mean that God does not care about their sins.  He regularly chastises them in this life and uses their sin to draw them into deeper repentance and humility.  But God no longer holds their sin, any of it, against them.

Such cannot be said of unbelievers.  They live in a state of wrath/condemnation.  No sins are forgiven and their judgment, apart from being born again, is just and certain.  Believers, on the other hand, have been delivered from judgment, and God is entirely justified in giving them their inheritance with Christ.

Paul goes on in this brilliant chapter to make plain the glories of the state of grace.

We entered into this state of grace when we were completely without strength. (vs. 6)  It was not the strength of our character nor some remaining power of judgment that won us this joyful reality.  It was God in Christ dying for the ungodly.  In this state of grace, we have the possibility of certainty.  In vs. 9 Paul argues that having been "justified" (proclaimed as "holy" to God, separated to Him, without guilt before Him) by the blood of Christ, "we shall be saved from wrath through Him."  This is an unconditional statement.  Those who have been translated into this state of grace will absolutely be saved from wrath because the very One Who died for them will Personally intercede in judgment and, since judgment has been given over into His hands, He will indeed welcome them into His Kingdom!

It keeps getting better and better.  Paul builds "argument on top of argument".  Even as Adam's sin brought about this state of wrath that controls the lives of unbelievers, so Jesus' perfect life and atoning death (His obedience - vs. 19) made all believers "righteous."  This all goes back to Rom. 3:21ff where we saw that "righteousness" before God is apart from any aspect of law.  In this state of grace into which we have been translated, we are defined as "righteous".  It is fundamental to the state itself.  As all babies born within the borders of the USA are designated "citizens", so it is that all men and women who are "born-again" into the State of Grace are designated "righteous."  It is our right by the "law of faith". (Rom. 3:27)

This makes vs. 21 more clear.  Because God's elect exist within this "state of grace" and are "righteous", so it is that we can say that "grace reigns through righteousness" and that state continues right through to eternal life.  All this abundance of blessing is rooted and grounded in the phrase "through Jesus Christ our Lord."  This is not the language of something in the past.  This is the ever-living, omnipresent truth that ensures the perpetuation of our state of grace.  He is alive... He is preserving and protecting us... He is ruling over us and our circumstances.  We cannot fail because He will not fail.

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Romans 3 & 4: A Gospel to Change the World...

Image: "Not Readily Apparent", 2013, Severna Park, Md

Romans 3:7–8  For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

Romans 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:21–22  But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

Romans 3:26  to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 4:5 ..but to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

Romans 4:13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Romans 4:23–25  Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification.

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I'm late getting to the meditation today because I was attending the bedside of a beloved parishioner as she passed on to glory.  The hospital granted me an exception so that I could be there with her husband.  It was a very solemn and sad occasion... except for the hope!

Romans 3 & 4 are written just for this kind of hope.  Here, in these verses, we find the "heart-beat" that initiated and sustained the Reformation.  Because the Church recovered Paul's Gospel that there is no difference between man and man with respect to having merit before God, but rather that it is "faith" which is accounted to any person as righteousness.  Thus, as I stood at her bedside and read the blessed words of Romans 8:37-39, I could confidently assure her (though she probably could not hear) and her grieving husband, that not even death itself can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Think of that, if we have the gift of faith, it is as if we have received a certificate in the mail assuring us that we are righteous in the eyes of the only Judge that counts.  If God declares us righteous, then we are righteous indeed.  "Faith" is not something we originate in ourselves... if it was then it would effectively become a "work" and we would gain merit before God for doing it.  However, as is the case, if "faith" is given to us then it is all of grace and not of works.  There is no "law" imposed on us to which we must conform in order to be righteous.  Paul says the righteousness which is imputed/credited to us, is entirely apart from any idea of law.  

It's hard to express the strength of the statement in Romans 3:21 in this regard.  Paul uses a word that essentially says that the "righteousness of/from God" is "apart/distinguished from/separated from/divorced from" law absolutely.  Most English translations say "the Law" and thus point us toward the Mosaic Law.  But there is no "the" in the original.  Paul is saying that the righteousness God imputes to us is not just separate from the Mosaic law... it is separate from the entire idea of law.  Law, considered abstractly, has nothing to do with the righteousness we receive on the basis of God's free will and pleasure to give us.

Therefore, lying on a deathbed, we sinners, even we Christian sinners, may be terrified by the memory of our sin.  We may have done things so horrible that we have never confessed them to another mortal soul.  Our sins may press on our conscience and we may tremble at their sheer numbers, but... BUT... those sins have nothing to do, whatsoever, with our future beyond death.  They simply do not count against us, whether they are seemingly trivial (there really isn't any such) or horrifyingly gross... it matters not.

What matters is whether or not we know, at some level, that God has implanted faith in us and that this faith has manifested itself in orienting us toward the Lord Jesus Christ.  We trust in His finished work on our behalf.  We know, to some degree, that even now the Living Jesus, is our High Priest, interceding for us even on our deathbed, purifying us by His once offered sacrifice and His own blood which He has taken beyond the veil.

There is nothing of greater importance than this.  The presence of death in the world, the inevitability of mortal death if the Lord continues to tarry, is the greatest question and the most severe challenge facing any of us.  Knowing that death has lost its sting is the power that changes the world.  Proclaiming to the world that this knowledge is freely offered to any man or woman or child on the basis of faith, is how we become a force for transforming lives and society itself.

Thus, I am confident in the message... I am also confident that my dear sister-in-Christ possessed this faith.  Therefore I am confident that she is now resting in eternal peace.

That's good news.