Wednesday, December 18, 2013

I am having technical problems with this blog site, so I am going to delay adding to it for a few weeks, until the problems are resolved.
  I'm sorry for this, but technology is not in my back yard.
Paul Austin

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

A STEP AT A TIME Week 26

If we were to write a simple outline of Ephesians chapter 1, it might go something like this:

I. Blessed be God and Father

  A. In Him we have redemption

B. We have obtained an inheritance

II. You were sealed

III. I pray for you

  A. Eyes of your heart may be enlightened

  B. Know the hope of your calling

  C. The greatness of His power toward us

IV. He is head over all
I think you can see a pattern of beginning with profound theology, applying it to the Ephesians personally and then to himself, and finishing with the praise of Christ--when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, Eph. 1.20.

Now that wouldn't be such a bad outline, as they say in Texas, 'Not too shabby.' So how does St. Paul continue this in chapter 2 of Ephesians?

He doesn't try to continue the last thought of chapter 1, as it completes the beginning of the chapter. He looks into what he has already written, to bring out a particular aspect of it. Having drawn a circle around what he will say, he now touches the center of the circle.
He returns to 1.13 which says--you also, having listeneing to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. Now he will make the thought clearer. He goes back to the time before that thought when he says in 2.1--And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. He says we all walked according to the flesh, according to the desires of the flesh and the mind: we were children of wrath when we listened to the message of truth.

When we listened to the message of the truth, God made us alive together with Christ, 2.4,5. That explains what St. Paul meant in 1.5 when he said we were predestined. As a clearer version of 1.5, He says in 2.8 that--by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

The rest of the chapter will show in much detail what he meant.

Now my point here is that Paul does not write in a linear fashion as if it were first this which then goes away to make room for that. He writes with an introduction which draws a circle around the entire subject, then he points to a specific part of that subject, which he will elaborate to fill out the entire subject.

The linear style of western philosophy might be pictured as a string of pearls, one after another. Paul's way of writing and speaking is more like a pebble dropped into a pond, creating an expanding circle of ripple.

Chapter 2 is simply the development and closer view of chapter 1, opening it up before us.

To give us an example, look at the end of chapter 1 compared to the fuller ending of chapter 2:
1.22--And He put allthings in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.

2.19-22--So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints and are of God's household, having been build upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.


This style is different than our western thinking. It has the repetition of Hebrew poetry with a development which is not a journey. The development, rather, is the opening up of what was hidden. It is entering in.

This is what we do when we read the Bible.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

LET HIM HEAR--25
Eight times in the NT, the writer will say some version of--He who has ears to hear, let him hear, Matthew 11.15. This saying comes after parables or strong sayings by Jesus. In the Matthew passage, this saying comes after Jesus has told a multitude how important John was.

Jesus says there has never been anyone born of woman greater than John. Why? Because God said--behold I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You, Matt. 11.10. John took the place of an angel going before Jesus, preparing the way for Jesus to bring the kingdom of God to the world.

Then Jesus says--And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come, Matt. 11.14. Why Elijah? On the last page of the OT, Malachi 4.5 says--Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet beore the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

What all of this means is that when we read--He who has ears to hear, let him hear--we need to look at what was written just before that. We need to realize that an elevated level of spiritual insight is being conveyed. As the Lord God always spoke to Israel in the OT but never appeared to Israel, Jesus is saying that what He says is God speaking as God always spoke.

A perfect example is Matt. 11. Before 11.14 John sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is--the Coming One or should we look for another? John is Jesus' cousin: he knows Jesus is the Coming One. What he is really saying to Jesus is, You can get me out of jail, if You want. Jesus refuses because John is to have a better resurrection by his beheading. So Jesus says--blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me, 11.6. This means to John, if you can accept your death, your resurrection will be glorious. John accepts it, so Jesus praises John.

In fact Jesus says John was in the spirit of Elijah, 11.14. Then Jesus says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This statement means, if you can accept John's death as from God as John was the spirit of Elijah who has come, if you can accept that then do so. You are blessed with greater spiritual insight into the kingdom of God if you can.

Now this is not easy to accept. An intentional death, the spirit of Elijah, the kingdom of God, all these things are there for the one who has the faith of God.

But few will accept them.

In Revelation 6 those in heaven who had been killed for their faith ask God to avenge their death upon their killers, 6.10, 11. John may have been among them. If we accept what Jesus said about John--that he has a better resurrection--we can accept Revelation 6 as a picture from heaven saying their deaths will be answered by the Lord God.
When we look at the description of John's clothes in Matt. 3.4 they are--a garment of camel's hair, a leather belt, with locusts and honey for food. In 2 Kings 1.8, Elijah is a hairy man with a leather girdle around his waist.

And if we can accept what John said about himself as the forerummer to Christ, if we can accept what Jesus says about John being in the spirit of Elijah, if we can accept that John's death is from God to give him a better resurrection, then we can be brought to a higher level of spiritual insight. John stood outside the kingdom, preparing the way. Jesus is the door to that kingdom, inviting us in to the kingdom.

That is, if he have ears to hear.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

TRINITY SUNDAY--24

I have just been in church on the Sunday called Trinity Sunday. The minister seemed to struggle with the Trinity, as if he were trying to present the entire Trinity in half an hour.

What if we were to read what Jesus said about believing in Him, His Father and the Holy Spirit? Could we find a singular path into the Trinity which does not overwhelm us?

I think we can.
Let's begin with the famous John 3.16. Jesus said He came to humanity because His Father sent Him. What would He mean at this time by, 'believes in Him'? It can only be that the Father sent Jesus, that the world would be saved through Jesus. Jesus goes on in John 3.18 to say that if someone doesn't believe in Jesus, he doesn't believe in the Father. He's judged already because what is at stake is belief in the Father and the Son.

In John 3.35,36 indicates the Father has given all things to the Son, so that not believing in the Son is not believing in the Father.

Then in the next chapter, John 4.21 that worship is worshiping the Father. In fact, the Father is seeking worshipers. He even declares the Father to be spirit, thus uniting the Son with the Father with the Spirit.
In John 5 Jesus unites His work with the Father. John 5.17 says--My Father is working until now and I Myself am working. He will say the same thing two verses later, 5.19. The religious Jews understood what Jesus was saying, they accuse Him of making God the Father His own Father; they were absolutely right but could not swallow it.

And in John 5.20 Jesus says He not only does what the Father is doing but if you could see the works of Jesus you could see the works of the Father. In fact, whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father. This is revealation of an exalted order. What this means is to believe in the Father is eternal life, to refuse to believe in the Son is to reject eternal life.
Later in His life, Jesus will make this so plain it is raw. In John 15.23 He says--He who hates Me hates the Father, also.

And then Jesus goes even further. He says eternal life, being saved, is believing in the Father. In John 16. 27 says--The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from the Father. So believing in the Son is believing in the Father. And believing in the Father is eternal life

That is why we study the Trinity.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY--Week 23

Christian spirituality is a blend of God's presence through the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of God through His Word.

We prepare ourselves for the presence of God through prayer, awaiting His spontaneous presence as He chooses to reveal Himself to us. And to recognize Him--to enter into His presence--we study the Scriptures.

If we were to trust every impulse which we think might be God, we will wander off into our own psychology. After all, the Scriptures already say God's ways are not ours, they are higher. And yet, to limit God to propositions we believe are logical is to suffocate our capacity to receive His presence.

So we pray, we wait for the sponteneity of God's presence while we learn who He is in the Bible.

God is ultimately not like us and He is not like 'gods.' He is not like us in that He does not lie (Ps. 89.35), and He is not like other gods because He lives (Romans 14.11). Wood doesn't live, metal doesn't live, mental ideas don't live. Gods die, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lives. Jesus says, Before Abraham was born, I am, John 8.58.

The Sermon on the Mount speaks of three aspects of spirituality from God--alms(giving), prayer, fasting. Alms is generosity, prayer is humility, fasting is denial. We give ourselves and our money away, we approach God in humility and love, and we deny the world to see God.

That in the Sermon Jesus mentions almsgiving first tells us Christian spirituality comes through the church. This is true of publications by the church and the church's presence in society even if we aren't there.

Then Jesus mentions prayer next. We cannot have Christian spirituality without prayer, as prayer is our seeking after God from our spirit to God's spirit. Today, churches don't really pray as the seeking after God, so we don't always pray by ourselves. It's always good to keep a journal of prayers and God's answers. It's amazing how many prayers God answers.

Then Jesus mentions fasting. This is probably practiced less today than any spiritual practice. Maybe we think it's a kind of religious work, but my experience is that the denal of the flesh is the opening of the spirit. This, really, is to be expected since Jesus lived as a human while He was God. When Jesus went out into the desert to be tempted by Satan, He used fasting to protect Himself, Matt. 4.1. How strong is your protection?

In each of these three areas, there is much in the Scriptures to learn. Some of these subjects are endlessly fascinating, but they all use our action. In the end Christianity is what we do, not what we merely contemplate.

CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY--Week 23

Christian spirituality is a blend of God's presence through the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of God through His Word.

We prepare ourselves for the presence of God through prayer, awaiting His spontaneous presence as He chooses to reveal Himself to us. And to recognize Him--to enter into His presence--we study the Scriptures.

If we were to trust every impulse which we think might be God, we will wander off into our own psychology. After all, the Scriptures already say God's ways are not ours, they are higher. And yet, to limit God to propositions we believe are logical is to suffocate our capacity to receive His presence.

So we pray, we wait for the sponteneity of God's presence while we learn who He is in the Bible.

God is ultimately not like us and He is not like 'gods.' He is not like us in that He does not lie (Ps. 89.35), and He is not like other gods because He lives (Romans 14.11). Wood doesn't live, metal doesn't live, mental ideas don't live. Gods die, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lives. Jesus says, Before Abraham was born, I am, John 8.58.

The Sermon on the Mount speaks of three aspects of spirituality from God--alms(giving), prayer, fasting. Alms is generosity, prayer is humility, fasting is denial. We give ourselves and our money away, we approach God in humility and love, and we deny the world to see God.

That in the Sermon Jesus mentions almsgiving first tells us Christian spirituality comes through the church. This is true of publications by the church and the church's presence in society even if we aren't there.

Then Jesus mentions prayer next. We cannot have Christian spirituality without prayer, as prayer is our seeking after God from our spirit to God's spirit. Today, churches don't really pray as the seeking after God, so we don't always pray by ourselves. It's always good to keep a journal of prayers and God's answers. It's amazing how many prayers God answers.

Then Jesus mentions fasting. This is probably practiced less today than any spiritual practice. Maybe we think it's a kind of religious work, but my experience is that the denal of the flesh is the opening of the spirit. This, really, is to be expected since Jesus lived as a human while He was God. When Jesus went out into the desert to be tempted by Satan, He used fasting to protect Himself, Matt. 4.1. How strong is your protection?

In each of these three areas, there is much in the Scriptures to learn. Some of these subjects are endlessly fascinating, but they all use our action. In the end Christianity is what we do, not what we merely contemplate.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

CHRIST IN YOU--22

I wonder how someone knows God.

We certainly can learn about God in the Bible, we certainly can speak to God in prayer, but how do we know God?
I think we might know God as He is in us. The Biblical example is the Lord God breathing into Adam, making him a living being, Genesis 2.7. The breath that was in the Lord God is in Adam. And through Adam, this is true of everyone. In 1 Cor. 2.12 Paul writes that we have received--the spirit who is from God that we might know the things freely given to us by God. What has been given to us is that God is in us. The Greek poet Aretus said that in Him we live and breathe and have our being.


This is a great insight into the truth that what we contemplate of God we have in us. It is already there. What this means is there really is no great pilgrimmage to a place, there are no stages of spiritual growth to be attained. Meditation is already knowing we have God in us, it is a coming forth.

But we don't sit still. The result of this knowing what we already have is to see God in us more clearly, in closer detail, in particular use. So we study the Scriptures to learn that God is the Trinity. We pray to God to be aware of His closeness. We tell others about God as the way to reveal Him to others.

So we see from this that meditation is seeing what's already there, to see it more clearly, to know God more dearly, to make Him known to those around us. It is somewhat like this. If it is night, all is dark. But if one by one everyone in the world lit a candle, the night would turn to day. This is the coming forth of God in us which is Christian meditation.

We might compare it to waking up in the morning, when we see first light and merely 'know' it is day. One might make the case that all men and women everywhere simply 'know' that God is good. When my daughters were young, they drew pictures which they colored. They always put in the pictures a sun, yellow, and above all. They just knew there was a God, a source, a point of beginning of all things.

And we simply know that we are made in His image. If we are honest about the world in which we live, we simply know that we are not perfect in all our ways, that the world reflects what we are.

These things are not manufactured, they are realized. We meditate on these things in order to hold them within, and when we do God gives us more understanding of Himself that we might become more like Him even as we are.

Yet, while we are living on this planet time inserts itself between our thoughts of God like chaff amid wheat. It delays us, it distracts us, it makes us feel uncomfortable in our meditation until we prefer the world over God. We'd like for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to disappear so we could get right to the weekend, but we need those days to put our humanity before God. This is our preparation to meet God who is without the same time which distracts us. In time we come so that God would be in us without time.

As time is a gift, so is place. This means that a place exists when God comes. We often think that God can be anywhere; this is because when God comes, that is our place with Him. He prefers, as the poet Milton said, the upright heart and pure over any temple, but He comes when He comes.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

VIEWPOINTS--21

When we look at the book of Revelation, we see more than one viewpoint.
For instance, when Jesus spoke to the church at Philadelphia, He says in Rev. 3.10--I will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.

But to the church in Smyrna Jesus does not say the same thing. He tells them--you are about to suffer. Behold the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation ten days, Rev. 2.10.

One church will be kept from testing, the other church will be tested.

We have different opinions. Some say the church will be raptured out of this world before any tribulation comes--as those in Philadelphia--and some say the church will go through the tribuation--as those in Smyrna.
We would expect to go through tribulation, if we have read of the prophecy in Daniel 7. There, in verse 25, Daniel says of a king--he will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One...and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. So we see that the saints go through the tribulation (time, times, and half a time) at the hands of that king.

Peter seems to agree with that. He says in 1 Peter 4.12--Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.

But when Paul addressed the church at Thessalonica, his tone is one of escape just like the church at Philadelphia--For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout..we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord...1 Thes. 4.16,17.


So we have to see that prophecies of the end will show more than one viewpoint concerning the tribulation and Christians.

We might think of this as John writing of the churches as a whole in Rev. 1-3 and John writing of individual Christians in chapters 5-19.
In Rev. 5.9 John writes of--men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation... In Rev. 6.11 they are called, fellow servants. In Rev. 11.9, John writes of--those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations... Are they the same ones as in Rev. 5.9? They may be.

Then in Rev. 11.18 the saints are mentioned again, and in Rev. 12.11 as--they did not love their life even to death. Then in Rev. 13.10 there is the--perseverence and the faith of the saints.

Of course there are other references to individuals, as saints. Why is the church mentioned in Rev. 1-3 but individual saints mentioned after that? It may be that God knows each saint indivudually who will be raptured, live in the tribulation and endure to the end. If God knows the 144,000 who were sealed in Rev.7, even to the point of John writing that--I heard the number of those who were sealed...then we might conclude God has individual saints in mind.

God knows who He knows

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

SIGN OF THE TIMES--Week 20

Should you be able to tell if someone is a Christian?

What would that person undergo to be Christian?

I think the idea of 'becoming a Christian' might be thought of as running a gauntlet, being put through tests until some great thing is accomplished, like an initiation rite.

A classic sequence would be John 3.22-30. The subject is baptism. Jesus and His disciples are in Judea. John the Baptist's disciples are discussing baptism as purification. But how much water does it take for you to be pure?

Is baptism a rite for purification?

At the wedding at Cana, the water Jesus turned into wine was water for purification, John 2.6. Can water make you pure?
When John's disciples come to him to complain that Jesus' disciples are baptizing also. John has the insight--A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven, John 33.27. In other words, it isn't the water for purification or water for baptism, it isn't who is doing the baptism or how much is enough purfication. It is simply the gift of God.

Now when we look at our souls we have to see that whatever one is, he or she has the gift of God. We might not be aware of the gift we have been given, we might not like that to which we are called, but it is the gift of God. If we are a gifted musician or writer or businessman, it is from God. If we have been given an opportunity which few have been given, it is from God. If our life seems mundane, ordinary, simply modest and reserved, it is from God.

In our passage John immediately realizes he is the bridegroom to the Bride. He realizes he is the messanger, that he must decrease so that Christ can increase.

How did he realize that?
We begin and end with our chosenness. Ephesians says we were predestined before the foundation of the world, Eph. 1.4, to be holy and blameless before Him. So before the foundation of the world, we stood before God holy and blameless.

What was that like, before the foundation of the world?
When we look at Romans 8.28 we find a certain language and approach. We find that God causes all things to work for good to those who love Him. Jesus had said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, Matt. 22.37.


All of this means being chosen before the foundation of the world has to do with loving God and believing in God. According to John, this 'already' is a gift. Our Christian life consists in realizing the role of love and belief in our own souls. When we realize this, our life comes to us.
John realized who he was and who Jesus was by knowing--He who comes from heaven is over all, John 3.31. The apostle Paul was told who he was and what he would do in Acts 9.15,16.

What about us? We know that to love God is to know Him. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2.10 that some--did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. When we receive the love of the truth, we will know God in Jesus Christ, to be saved.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?--Week 19

John 3--about Nicodemus--is about an entrance. As we know Nicodemus comes at night, when the Sanhedrin to which he belongs is meeting. Did they wonder where he was?
Nicodemus says--Rabbi, we know that you have come from God...God is with you, John 3.2.

Jesus then gives Nicodemus two tests of the kingdom of God. Nicodemus is seeking God but he must be born again in order to see God's kingdom and to enter it. Jesus says Nicodemus must be born of water and Spirit. This is the baptism in the Jordan for repentance and the baptism in the Spirit which will come at Pentecost.
So Nicodemus asks how these things can happen--how can these things be, John 3.9.

First Jesus criticizes Nicodemus for not knowing this already. Then He tells Nicodemus that--the Son of Man (must) be lifted up, John 3.14. This might be a reference to Jesus on the cross, but for Nicodemus that night Jesus says 3 times--whoever believes in Him...whoever believes in Him...He who believes in Him, John 3.15,16,18. Evidently being lifted up is belief in the heart.

Up till now it seems that it is Nicodemus who must believe in Jesus to be born again, that belief is a work of man as if everything depended on it. To contradict that, Jesus ends the passage with Nicodemus by saying his--deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God, John 3.21.

Jesus has brought Nicodemus from being born again to believing in Jesus to his deeds being wrought in God. What is being said here is that the Christian life is all of God and yet it is all of us. The NT writers cannot think of their own soul without thinking of the Spirit of God; they cannot think of the Spirit of God without thinking of their own soul. The spirit of man and the Spirit of God embrace continually.
God decided at the fall of man in Genesis 3 that man cannot live without Him; when Adam had a chance to deal with Satan upon the protection of God's Word--Gen. 2.15,16--he failed. When the Lord told Cain, Sin is crouching at the door and you must master it--Gen. 4.7--Cain failed. Man cannot live without God.

God decided at the cross that He will not live without man. He became a man.

There is a passage in the OT which dramatizes this moment when God decided He will not exist without us. It comes from Isaiah 59.16--
Now the Lord saw and it was displeasing in His sight
that there was not justice,
and He saw that there was no man,
and was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
then His own arm brought salvation to Him;
and His righteousness upheld Him.
And He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on His head;
and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.


From that moment on, God was with man in His side. From that moment on man was with God in his soul. The idea that God is with us and that we are with God is the basis for the church. Heaven is the church glorified; the church is heaven dramatized with us.

So in Revelation 5, John saw an angel say what he wrote--
a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
'Who is worthy to open the book and break its' seals?'
And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or look into it. And I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me,
'Stop weeping, behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its' seven seals..'
God is with us, we are with God. That is the church.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

TITUS--18

We know of the apostles, having to leave Jerusalem after Pentecost. We know that Peter went to Antioch where he was a great influence and possibly pastor or bishop. But after Peter and Paul, James and John, who succeeded them?

The NT epistles say it was Philemon, Timothy and Titus.

Who was Titus?
Paul first mentions him in 2 Corinthians 2.13, when Paul arrives at the port of Troas. He expected Titus to be there, but he was not. Paul says he--had no rest for my spirit--so he went on from Troas to Macedonia. When Paul made it to Macedonia, he says--God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 2 Cor. 7.6. When Paul boasts of Titus, he says his boasting is not in vain, 2 Cor. 7.13.

What Titus was to Paul results in him giving Titus great praise--As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow-worker among you; as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ, 2 Cor. 8.23.


Titus may have written down 2 Corinthians for Paul. Titus was Greek, so he could have written in Greek easily. He had been in Jerusalem with Paul, so he would be familiar with Paul's interpretation of the Law and Prophets.

When Paul left on his missionary journeys, he trusts Titus enough to leave him to the work of the ministry in Crete, then rejoined him in Nicopolis. While Titus was in Crete, Paul instructs him to appoint elders, not just in Crete, but in every city where Paul went. This is quite a responsibility.

Evidently in Crete, the people could be contentious. Paul mentions this in Titus 1.10-12. For Paul to appoint a young man like Titus to the task of appointing elders in a city of empty talkers, liars, gluttons, Titus must have been quite a wise and strong-minded man. You would expect this of anyone Paul believed in so much.
Paul had tested Titus much, 2 Cor. 8.22. Paul says there--taking precaution that no one should discredit us in our administration of this generous gift... This might remind us of Ephesians 1.8--In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will...with a view to an admininstration suitable to the fulness of the times... Evidently Titus was good at the administration of these budding churches.


And then we come across a surprising passage in 2 Cor. 8. In verses 1-3 Paul says the churches in Macedonia wished to participate in supporting the saints (in Jerusalem). So Paul then urges Titus to complete this gracious work of support.

Does this mean that Titus was trustworthy of handling money?
Could Titus be the man Paul chose to succeed Judas in handling money for himself and the churches? This may be the case.

Paul then says if a church has a desire to help the saints and can do so financially, they should. Then Paul thanks God for putting the same earnestness in Titus, 1 Cor. 8.16, who has gone to the churches to administer the help.

While Titus is relatively unknown in the NT, he must have been quite well known in the churches and in Paul's ministry. Quite a man.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

THE BODY OF CHRIST--17

In 1 Corinthians 1.4-6 Paul narrates the profile of the Corinthian church. He thanks God for the grace of God, for the enrichment in Him by the Corinthians in all speech and all knowledge, even the testimony of Christ. The Corinthians are not lacking in any gift, waiting eagerly for Jesus to come again in great power and glory.

These are great compliments and an insightful comment. Paul must've known the church and the members well. If they are not lacking in any gift, what was their worship like? What was their church structure like?

The question behind those questions is, how did God lead that church?

Paul does not give a detailed answer. He doesn't talk about bishops and popes, elders and deacons, committee meetings, associate pastors, or congretational leaders. What does he talk about?
God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, 1 Cor. 1.9.


What we need to do is look into what those few, simple words mean to the Christians at Corinth, to the NT writers and to us.

First, he says Christ is not divided so the church should not be, either. His advice to avoid divisions is through baptism. Then he says he came to preach the word of the cross. Then he says no man should boast before God, because it is by His doing that the Corinthians are in Christ Jesus, who is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption to the Corinthians.

Now this is a great deal to contemplate. What we can notice immdiately is the emphasis on the individual soul. If every Corinthian comes to church through the word of the cross, they will be in harmony. They won't all have the same level of knowledge but they will all know that it is the blood of Christ through the preaching of the cross which brings them into the presence of the Lord. By this, there is no boasting.
When Paul finishes chapter 1 of Corinthians with--Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord--he is telling us all that we are not to boast of our tradition, our structure, our knowledge but only of our position in the Lord. When that is true, the formal structure almost doesn't matter.


Is there a way to keep that relationship with Christ in our church matters?
Paul says yes, through wisdom. In chapter 2 he says he does not speak with the wisdom of men, which might simply refer to Greek philosophy. He says he came to the Corinthians--on the power of God, 1 Cor. 2.5. Yet, there is the wisdom of God by which the church can operate.

God reveals this wisdom through the Spirit, as the Corinthians have received the Spirit of God. In fact, Paul says the Corinthians have received the mind of Christ, 1 Cor. 1.31. This would not make them infallible, it would make them humble as Paul said to the Philippians--He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, Phil. 2.8. There we are, back at the preaching of the word of the cross.


What all of this comes to is the structure of the church is the nature of our redeemed souls. If we have been humbled by the preaching of the cross, if we have been filled with the power of God through God the Spirit, if we know Christ as we are known, the structure of the church is all right.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

KEEPING THE FAITH--Week 16
According to Jesus, Christian spirituality is the belief that as Jesus says in John 10.38--the Father is in Me and I in the Father.

In this same passage Jesus says--If I do not do the works of the Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father, John 10. 37,38.


Jesus is indicating that for those Jews who might have stoned Him, if they would believe the works He does, they can believe that He is in the Father and the Father in Him. So what work has He done?

Just before John 10, in chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man. Let's look at this account. In John 9 a blind man had been healed by Jesus. The Pharisees did not believe the blind man when he said Jesus healed him. So they put the blind man out of their presence.
The blind man had told them Jesus healed him. He then tells them the great insight--If this man were not from God, He could do nothing, John 9.33. With that in mind, the Pharisees don't think the Father would speak to Jesus, whom they call a sinner. The blind man retorts--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.

Before that the Pharisees had said--we do not know where He is from, John 9.29. This brings us to the point that the Pharisees do not believe that Jesus could be from the Father.


We can conclude that the Jews did not believe Jesus was from the Father. Since they didn't believe that, they could not accept Jesus doing anything which could only come from the Father.
Therefore, in the next chapter, Jesus calls Himself, The Door, 10.7. He calls Himself, the Good Shepherd, John 10.14. The door is the entrance to a belief that He and the Father are one; the shepherd is the one who keep the sheep in the belief that He and the Father are one. Jesus says this in John 10.27, 28--My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish..


This section of John 10 is the bridge from unbelief with the Pharisees into belief with the blind man.
The Jews continue in unbelief, making the accusation--You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God, John 10.33. But the man who was born blind had already turned away from them, he has turned to Jesus in belief. When Jesus comes to him afterward He asks the man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?

The man said--Lord I believe, John 9.38.

For us in this day and age, Christian spirituality begins with the blind man's expression--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. God-fearing is belief, doing His will is acting on belief. There is no nationality here, no gender, no race...only belief.


To be God-fearing is to take pleasure in pleasing God. It is the pleasure which God brings to a soul that inspires one to do His will. That is the beginning which this passage brings out in chapter 9.
Chapter 10 takes us further into God. Speaking of a good shepherd, He says in John 10.4--When he puts forth his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow hhim because they know his voice. In Christian spirituality that voice is the Holy Spirit, that shepherd is Jesus Christ.


We enter into Christian spirituality when we know that to have a relationship with the Father, we must realize He is in the Son and the Son is in Him. This understanding is by the Holy Spirit.

We can conclude that Christian spirituality is the Trinity.
Jesus asks the blind man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?' He is asking the blind man, do you recognize Me as the God in whom you believe? The blind man sees Jesus and sees that He is God--'Lord I believe.' And he worshiped Him.
KEEPING THE FAITH--Week 16
According to Jesus, Christian spirituality is the belief that as Jesus says in John 10.38--the Father is in Me and I in the Father.

In this same passage Jesus says--If I do not do the works of the Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father, John 10. 37,38.


Jesus is indicating that for those Jews who might have stoned Him, if they would believe the works He does, they can believe that He is in the Father and the Father in Him. So what work has He done?

Just before John 10, in chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man. Let's look at this account. In John 9 a blind man had been healed by Jesus. The Pharisees did not believe the blind man when he said Jesus healed him. So they put the blind man out of their presence.
The blind man had told them Jesus healed him. He then tells them the great insight--If this man were not from God, He could do nothing, John 9.33. With that in mind, the Pharisees don't think the Father would speak to Jesus, whom they call a sinner. The blind man retorts--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.

Before that the Pharisees had said--we do not know where He is from, John 9.29. This brings us to the point that the Pharisees do not believe that Jesus could be from the Father.


We can conclude that the Jews did not believe Jesus was from the Father. Since they didn't believe that, they could not accept Jesus doing anything which could only come from the Father.
Therefore, in the next chapter, Jesus calls Himself, The Door, 10.7. He calls Himself, the Good Shepherd, John 10.14. The door is the entrance to a belief that He and the Father are one; the shepherd is the one who keep the sheep in the belief that He and the Father are one. Jesus says this in John 10.27, 28--My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish..


This section of John 10 is the bridge from unbelief with the Pharisees into belief with the blind man.
The Jews continue in unbelief, making the accusation--You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God, John 10.33. But the man who was born blind had already turned away from them, he has turned to Jesus in belief. When Jesus comes to him afterward He asks the man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?

The man said--Lord I believe, John 9.38.

For us in this day and age, Christian spirituality begins with the blind man's expression--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. God-fearing is belief, doing His will is acting on belief. There is no nationality here, no gender, no race...only belief.


To be God-fearing is to take pleasure in pleasing God. It is the pleasure which God brings to a soul that inspires one to do His will. That is the beginning which this passage brings out in chapter 9.
Chapter 10 takes us further into God. Speaking of a good shepherd, He says in John 10.4--When he puts forth his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow hhim because they know his voice. In Christian spirituality that voice is the Holy Spirit, that shepherd is Jesus Christ.


We enter into Christian spirituality when we know that to have a relationship with the Father, we must realize He is in the Son and the Son is in Him. This understanding is by the Holy Spirit.

We can conclude that Christian spirituality is the Trinity.
Jesus asks the blind man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?' He is asking the blind man, do you recognize Me as the God in whom you believe? The blind man sees Jesus and sees that He is God--'Lord I believe.' And he worshiped Him.
KEEPING THE FAITH--Week 16
According to Jesus, Christian spirituality is the belief that as Jesus says in John 10.38--the Father is in Me and I in the Father.

In this same passage Jesus says--If I do not do the works of the Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father, John 10. 37,38.


Jesus is indicating that for those Jews who might have stoned Him, if they would believe the works He does, they can believe that He is in the Father and the Father in Him. So what work has He done?

Just before John 10, in chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man. Let's look at this account. In John 9 a blind man had been healed by Jesus. The Pharisees did not believe the blind man when he said Jesus healed him. So they put the blind man out of their presence.
The blind man had told them Jesus healed him. He then tells them the great insight--If this man were not from God, He could do nothing, John 9.33. With that in mind, the Pharisees don't think the Father would speak to Jesus, whom they call a sinner. The blind man retorts--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.

Before that the Pharisees had said--we do not know where He is from, John 9.29. This brings us to the point that the Pharisees do not believe that Jesus could be from the Father.


We can conclude that the Jews did not believe Jesus was from the Father. Since they didn't believe that, they could not accept Jesus doing anything which could only come from the Father.
Therefore, in the next chapter, Jesus calls Himself, The Door, 10.7. He calls Himself, the Good Shepherd, John 10.14. The door is the entrance to a belief that He and the Father are one; the shepherd is the one who keep the sheep in the belief that He and the Father are one. Jesus says this in John 10.27, 28--My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish..


This section of John 10 is the bridge from unbelief with the Pharisees into belief with the blind man.
The Jews continue in unbelief, making the accusation--You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God, John 10.33. But the man who was born blind had already turned away from them, he has turned to Jesus in belief. When Jesus comes to him afterward He asks the man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?

The man said--Lord I believe, John 9.38.

For us in this day and age, Christian spirituality begins with the blind man's expression--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. God-fearing is belief, doing His will is acting on belief. There is no nationality here, no gender, no race...only belief.


To be God-fearing is to take pleasure in pleasing God. It is the pleasure which God brings to a soul that inspires one to do His will. That is the beginning which this passage brings out in chapter 9.
Chapter 10 takes us further into God. Speaking of a good shepherd, He says in John 10.4--When he puts forth his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow hhim because they know his voice. In Christian spirituality that voice is the Holy Spirit, that shepherd is Jesus Christ.


We enter into Christian spirituality when we know that to have a relationship with the Father, we must realize He is in the Son and the Son is in Him. This understanding is by the Holy Spirit.

We can conclude that Christian spirituality is the Trinity.
Jesus asks the blind man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?' He is asking the blind man, do you recognize Me as the God in whom you believe? The blind man sees Jesus and sees that He is God--'Lord I believe.' And he worshiped Him.
KEEPING THE FAITH--Week 16
According to Jesus, Christian spirituality is the belief that as Jesus says in John 10.38--the Father is in Me and I in the Father.

In this same passage Jesus says--If I do not do the works of the Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father, John 10. 37,38.


Jesus is indicating that for those Jews who might have stoned Him, if they would believe the works He does, they can believe that He is in the Father and the Father in Him. So what work has He done?

Just before John 10, in chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man. Let's look at this account. In John 9 a blind man had been healed by Jesus. The Pharisees did not believe the blind man when he said Jesus healed him. So they put the blind man out of their presence.
The blind man had told them Jesus healed him. He then tells them the great insight--If this man were not from God, He could do nothing, John 9.33. With that in mind, the Pharisees don't think the Father would speak to Jesus, whom they call a sinner. The blind man retorts--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.

Before that the Pharisees had said--we do not know where He is from, John 9.29. This brings us to the point that the Pharisees do not believe that Jesus could be from the Father.


We can conclude that the Jews did not believe Jesus was from the Father. Since they didn't believe that, they could not accept Jesus doing anything which could only come from the Father.
Therefore, in the next chapter, Jesus calls Himself, The Door, 10.7. He calls Himself, the Good Shepherd, John 10.14. The door is the entrance to a belief that He and the Father are one; the shepherd is the one who keep the sheep in the belief that He and the Father are one. Jesus says this in John 10.27, 28--My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish..


This section of John 10 is the bridge from unbelief with the Pharisees into belief with the blind man.
The Jews continue in unbelief, making the accusation--You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God, John 10.33. But the man who was born blind had already turned away from them, he has turned to Jesus in belief. When Jesus comes to him afterward He asks the man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?

The man said--Lord I believe, John 9.38.

For us in this day and age, Christian spirituality begins with the blind man's expression--if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. God-fearing is belief, doing His will is acting on belief. There is no nationality here, no gender, no race...only belief.


To be God-fearing is to take pleasure in pleasing God. It is the pleasure which God brings to a soul that inspires one to do His will. That is the beginning which this passage brings out in chapter 9.
Chapter 10 takes us further into God. Speaking of a good shepherd, He says in John 10.4--When he puts forth his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow hhim because they know his voice. In Christian spirituality that voice is the Holy Spirit, that shepherd is Jesus Christ.


We enter into Christian spirituality when we know that to have a relationship with the Father, we must realize He is in the Son and the Son is in Him. This understanding is by the Holy Spirit.

We can conclude that Christian spirituality is the Trinity.
Jesus asks the blind man--Do you believe in the Son of Man?' He is asking the blind man, do you recognize Me as the God in whom you believe? The blind man sees Jesus and sees that He is God--'Lord I believe.' And he worshiped Him.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

WHY DIE?--Week 15

In Luke 23, the account of the crucifixion of Christ is narrated. Luke describes the soldiers, Pilate, Herod and Jesus in their actions and decisions. We know that historically all their actions did occur, that history records the crucifixion of Jesus.

Now, 20 centuries later, in a culture which is not religious--as ours--how can we see this?

Most people around the world can imagine a man bringing an animal to a place to be sacrificed as a religious rite. We identify that as religion, as sacrifice, as an oblation. We might not ever know what it accomplished, but we accept it as religion.
Jesus had said in John 15.13--Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend. And we know that in war, men often have taken the spear for their fellow soldier, dying in his place. 

But to see a man die so that all men and women can go to heaven, is that understandible?

Pilate said he found no fault with Jesus, acknowledging this trial is about guilt and innocence. So Pilate has him punished and released, implying innocence in Roman law. Later Jesus is put on a cross, a crucifixion--an instrument of death for traitors and criminals. Soldiers take him, like a war prisoner rather than an animal to be burned. He is put with two criminals, having been sentenced.

But He doesn't talk about some crime He might have committed--the other criminals do. He does mention Paradise to one of the criminals. So Jesus is called King of the Jews, as if He threatens the crown of Rome. He is killed with criminals, sacrificed like a war criminal by the Romans.
Does He yell at the Romans, like a convicted prisoner? No, He forgives those who had Him killed--Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing, Luke 23.34.

Hamlet, Othello and MacBeth died for their country, Sidney Carton dies for old Dr. Manette in A Tale of Two Cities and Achilleus dies in the Iliad. So we can see that the ancient cultures around Jerusalem could conceive of a man dying for another man or a country. In the case of Hamlet, Othello, MacBeth and Achilleus, their death cleansed the country. But all of them were fictitious characters who couldn't forgive their enemies. 

What would it take to change the world from darkness to light?

To forgive takes power over the soul. If Jesus does not have power over our soul, He can be a martyr--but not a savior.

Hamlet, MacBeth, Achilleus, they are all fictitious characters who never lived. Religious men like Mohammed, Confucious, Luther have all died. One could go find their graves and remains. But if you tried to go to the tomb in which Jesus was buried, you would not find Him there. He is not dead, having been resurrected from the dead.

If you want to find the body of Christ, you must go to a Christian church, as it is His body. You will find Him there.
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all, Ephesians, 1.22, 23.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

HOW DO YOU KNOW--Week 14
In Philippians 2.6 Paul wrote--althought He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped...


How do we understand this?

If someone from another planet came to one of us, and we said, 'Jesus forgives you your sins', how would they understand it? Would they say, what is sin? Would they say, so what? Would they say, what advantage is it that some man died for me? Why should I care?

This brings up the question we have posed, how do we understand even the simplest statement about God?

Some of us will want knowledge. We will want God to come to us through propositions and creeds, but does God come to us that way? Some of us will have a religious imagination, trying to imagine how it must have been centuries ago, when a man is crucified. But what of those of us who do not have a religious imagination? Are we being left out? Some of us will want to go to church because we think it's a good thing to do, it's good behavior.

So we will have to come asking, how do we understand God? Is there anything in us that enables us to understand Him? We might not be very religious, we might not have any interior qualities, we might be just a bystander in life.
Is there an answer in this particular passage in Philippians 2? When Jesus humbled Himself--becoming obedient to the point of death...he was highly exalted by God the Father. In Phil. 2.12 Paul then makes his application to all of us when he says--just as you have always obeyed...work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Notice that the word 'obey' is in both passages.

This seems to indicate that Paul does not say go back into the OT to try to relate to Passover, but go on to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. That requires the Holy Spirirt in someone's life.
I think any soul would benefit by reading the OT about Passover and the sacrifices of the Law, but evidently it is the Holy Spirit by which we understand God in our lives. Paul does say--it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure, Phil. 2.13.

This means it is about how we listen to God the Spirit.

Normally an author will say, listening to God is prayer.

But then Paul says three things. First--do all things without grumbling or disputing, 2.14. Second--hold fast to the Word of Life, 2.16. Third--rejoice, 2.18.
Paul says to do all things without grumbling so that we would prove ourselves to be blameless in the midst of our own generation. That might indicate God wants His Holy Spirit to be seen in us by others. We hold fast to the Word of Life so that when Christ returns we might glory in His appearing since we did not fail Him. We can study to show ourselves approved. His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path. That means it lights the way God has us go. And we should rejoice even if we are being--poured out--as a drink offering. God will use us for His purposes, we are to rejoice in that, whatever His purposes come to be.

Paul has not mentioned the Holy Spirit specifically but he has shown us how to exhibit the Spirit in our life.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

WHERE YOU SIT--Week 13

In Revelation 2.20 Jesus says that Jezebel led His bond-servants astray. Now this is a threatening statement. Can God's bond-servants really be led astray? Doesn't that contradict eternal security?

Let's look into that.
Jezebel, a prophetess, is operating in Thyatira against the followers of God. Some have gone slightly astray so Jesus says--I place no other burden on you. To those who have embraced the deep things of Satan, Jesus says He will visit sickness and great tribuation, Rev. 2.22.

To those who have not embraced Jezebel at all, Jesus commands them--hold fast until I come. Then he says--He who overcomes and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. These are commands---hold fast..he who overcomes...he who keeps...I will give authority...

We know that Paul had said in Romans 3.28 that--a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Works of the Law do not justify a man, so why does Revelation 2 speak of heaven being given to those who overcome, as if it were their own work?

We know that Paul had said in Romans 2.6 God will--render to every man according to his deeds. To render is to draw in. Does this mean that every man can draw in his deeds and rewards?

Paul goes on to say in Romans 2 that--to those who by perseverance in doing to seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but those those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation... We see in this that the message of Revelation was given to Paul for the--day of wrath, Rom. 2.5.

The connection between the gospel of grace and the reward for overcoming and rendering according to a man's deeds is in Philippians 2.13. This is the connection between ourselves and Christ. Jesus overcame when he--humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even deaht on a cross, Phil. 2.8. The result was that--God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name...

Because--it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure, Phil. 2.13, so we have our overcoming to do. That is described in Phil. 2.12 as--work out your salvation with fear and trembling. We have our overcoming to do, our deeds and faith, our zeal and repentance.

We are given a hint of this when Matthew 10.24 says--A disciple is not above his master. Jesus speaks in Matt. 10.20-28 about persecution which awaits the disciples. Then He says--Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.


In other words, persecution awaits the disciple, but if we fear God as Jesus was obedient to the point of death even death on a cross, we will have the fear of God which keeps us from sin, Exodus 20.20.


When Paul wrote Timothy, he tells Timothy to keep faith and a good conscience, because some have--suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith, 1 Timothy 1.19. He then finishes his first letter to the young Timothy by saying--Fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses, 1 Tim. 6.12

Thursday, August 29, 2013

PLEASING TO GOD Week 12
When Paul wrote the Corinthians, he said in 1 Cor. 10.5--with most of them God was not well-pleased. He was referring to the generation who came out of Egypt but did not enter the Promised Land. He said they were idolaters, acting immorally, trying the Lord and grumbling.

These are stern accusations considering that the generation which came out of Egypt saw the Red Sea part, they saw God do miracles, defeat enemies and give them a beautiful land.

Still they idolized stone and clay gods rather than worship the Lord God who was in their midst.

What is God's answer?
In Romans 15.1 Paul encourages the Romans in this way--we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.

The idea is that--what was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverence and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

So-------perseverance
                    +
encouragement in the Scriptures =
                  hope

How does this work?
We are to be like Christ in pleasing God. 
Paul says in Rom. 15.5 that we should be of the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, with one accord, one voice to glorify God.
That probably refers to Philippians 2.3-5. In Philippians Paul says--let each one of you regard one another as more important than himself. In Romans 15.1 Paul says--let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

In Philippians 2.5 Paul says--Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus... In Romans 15.5,6 Paul says--be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice gloriy the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The result of this is Romans 15.13--Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we are of the same mind, filled with the same Spirit, we will abound in the hope which comes through Jesus.

Paul can boast about his preaching, about what Christ has accomplished through him, Rom. 15.18. What about us?
Paul said in Romans 5.3-5 that--we also exullt in our tribulationss, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

This is what has happened to us, this is pleasing to God.
And yet, this is not enough. Paul mentions what Christ accomplished through him which has brought about faith in the Gentiles is the--obedience of the Gentiles in word and deed. It is word and deed which shows that Paul has--fully preached the gospel of Christ.

To believe the Word and to do the deeds of faith is the full gospel of Christ, which is pleasing to God

Thursday, August 22, 2013

EMPTY SELF Week 11

One of the deep passages of the NT is Philippians 2.5,6--
having this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who although He existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant
and being made in the likeness of men.
The passage has an overall point which is not difficult to understand but monumentally difficult to experience. Paul's point here is that, as he has experienced Christ on the road to Damascus, he wishes all of us to have that same experience.

So he writes Phil. 2.5-12 in a way to convey that experience and then understand it.
Paul begins in verse 5 by saying--Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus... What he means is what Jesus experienced, we will also; the attitude which was in Him should be in us as what was given to Him will be given to us. Pretty incredible, isn't it?

So Paul begins.

He says Jesus did not grasp the things of God, keeping them to Himself. Because He did not, these things can be given to us--did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 2.6.

Now this verse in Greek is difficult. It is 12 words, and 3 of the words are key while they are obscure.
The word for 'equality' doesn't mean equality; it means, 'possessions.' The word is uparcw, to be at one's disposal, possessions, means. You might even translate it, 'things of God,' rather than equality.

The word for 'a thing to be grasped,' is arpagmon, which means to take by force. It is used in Heb. 10.34--seizure of your property.

But the real obscure word is hghsato, which means to consider, regard, think. It is used only in Acts 14.12--chief speaker. It refers to a leader or ruler doing the decision-making.

So these four words--uparxwn oux arpagmon ngnsato--is translated, he did not regard possessions (equality) a thing to be grasped.

Then for, equality with God, we have--to evai isa theu--meaning, the things to exist as God.

What Paul is doing here is taking 12 words, really 3 key words, to load them up with such spiritual intensity they become difficult to translate. He is compressing the sentence to intensify it because he wants to convey an experience of Christ, not merely an understanding of Him. That's what this passage is about.

Having done that, in v. 8-12 he will elaborate on this to make an incredible point. His point is that the spirit which infilled Jesus is for us.
First, he says Jesus came down from heaven (emptied Himself) to become a man (made in the likeness of men). What Jesus did was He--became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross, v. 8. As a result, God bestowed upon Him the name above every name.

Then Paul makes his monumental application, v.12. He says--So then...work out your salvation with fear and trembling. This is our version of v. 8--becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. We are to work out our salvation, our death to self so that we, too, might be resurrected by the Father. We are to be filled so that we would be saved and exalted and resurrected.