Nov

21

Vine and Branch Metaphor–John 15

Filed Under John 15

Introduction

In the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus used the metaphor of the vine and branch to explain fruitfulness in the life of a believer.  Jesus is the true vine; the nation Israel would no longer be the vine of Isa. 5:2.  His eleven disciples present for His metaphorical teaching were the branches.

Our Lord used the word “abide” ten times in this metaphor, thereby stressing the critical relationship for fruitfulness in the believer.  The relationship would be to abide in Him—meaning that He would be Lord of the fruitful believer’s life.  Furthermore, the fruitful believer would recognize and believe that it was Jesus dwelling spiritually within Who would produce fruit for God (cf. Rom. 7:4).

Fruit bearing of the eleven would prove they were Jesus’ disciples (John 15:8).  Sometimes this correlation between fruitfulness and Jesus’ disciples provides the basis for encouraging discipleship in the church.

Finally, the Holy Spirit would play an important role in the believer’s fruitfulness (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).

 The Spirit of God

Early in His Discourse, Jesus had mentioned briefly that, at His request, the Father would give the Holy Spirit to the disciples.  The Spirit would be with them forever, dwell spiritually in them, and teach them all pertinent things (John 14:16-17, 26).

Following the vine/branch metaphor, Jesus again touched upon the Spirit’s teaching ministry, emphasizing that the Spirit would not embellish, elaborate upon, or adapt the precise words of Jesus intended for His disciples (John 16:7, 13-15).

Perhaps recalling Jesus’ Upper Room teachings, the apostle John wrote a letter to Jewish believers highlighting the Spirit’s teaching ministry (1 John 2:20, 24, 27).  Some commentators estimate that John’s letter may have been written almost six decades after the Upper Room Discourse.  If so, church doctrine, policies, practices, and communiques about disciple making would have been well established, generally known, and communicated.

In any event, John makes the startling assertion in his letter that his readers had no need for anyone to teach them because the Spirit would teach them about all pertinent things.  Teaching is essential to disciple making (Matt. 28:20, a Gospel written essentially for Jews about the Messianic Kingdom).  Maybe John’s surprising assertion is the reason behind the fact that the word “disciple” is never mentioned in any of the epistles.  For believers in local churches, it is the Spirit who makes disciples.

Discipleship In The Church

One of the popular programs in today’s churches is discipleship.  Discipleship means that a spiritually informed believer commits himself for a significant period of time to teaching or mentoring those young or uninformed in the faith.

However, recall the astonishing reality that the word “disciple” is found nowhere in the Bible’s epistolary literature.  The epistolary literature is devoted primarily to church matters, so from the absence of the word “disciple,” one might tentatively conclude that discipleship was not a priority for first-century saints.  This conclusion agrees precisely with John’s letter to Jewish believers.

The counter argument to this conclusion is often to quote The Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20).  In The Great Commission, Jesus commanded that disciples be made of all nations, baptizing the disciples in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  The content of the teaching would be restricted to all that Jesus had commanded His disciples.  And Jesus’ promise was that He would be with the disciple makers to the end of the age.  The overwhelmingly common understanding of this passage is that The Great Commission applies to the church.

The Great Commission

One of the daunting challenges from Islam is that Christianity is polytheistic rather than monotheistic.  That is, Christianity has three Gods (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) rather than the one God of Islam—Allah.  But notice that baptism under The Great Commission is in the name—singular, and not plural—of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

This observation raises the question, “What exactly did Jesus mean by the singular name of the Father, Son and Spirit?”  The three persons of the Godhead (cf. Gen. 1:26 for God’s plurality–indicated by the plural pronouns–and simultaneous singularity–indicated by the singular nouns “image” and “likeness”) obviously are not individual gods, but a singular God (cf. Deut. 6:4).

A possible answer to this question of what Jesus meant may be suggested from Moses’ early job-interview with God (Exod. 3:13-15).  Moses asked God His name, to which God replied, “I AM,” which is My memorial-name to all generations (of Israel).  In Hebrew, that name is YHWH, used 5,321 times in the Hebrew Bible, and thus quite familiar to Jesus’ disciples.

Therefore, it’s possible that disciples of The Great Commission should be baptized in the name of Israel’s God, YHWH.  Further indication of this possibility stems from the fact that baptisms in the Book of Acts were in Jesus’ name:

Believers in the Book of Acts were never baptized in the name of YHWH.  So had Peter deliberately and consistently disobeyed Jesus’ command about baptizing Jews and gentiles in the name of YHWH?

A tentative deduction may be proffered.  Peter did not disobey his Lord because The Great Commission was not intended for the church.  Rather, Jesus intended The Great Commission for believing Jews dispatched from Israel following the God-defeated invasion of Israel by Gog’s coalition (Ezek. 38:2-3, wherein Gog is prince of Rosh, aka Russia).  Following His victory, God makes His holy name (singular) known in the midst of His people Israel (Ezek. 39:7).

Some corroborating evidence for this deduction that the Great Commission was never intended for the church can be offered.  Jesus had revealed—to three of His disciples—the Son of Man coming in His kingdom on a mountain traditionally held to be in Galilee (Matt. 16:28-17:9).  The three disciples were instructed to tell no one of the vision until after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Following His resurrection, Jesus ordered His eleven disciples to a certain mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16).  Here is a bit of speculation: on their way to the mountain in Galilee, Peter, James, and John informed the other eight disciples of their favored experience on the mount of Transfiguration.

Upon arrival at the mountain, some of the disciples worshiped Jesus when they saw Him—including Peter, James, and John plus some of the other disciples who had believed what they had been told by the favored three (Matt. 28:17).  But some were doubtful (Matt. 28:17) because they were anticipating an inaugural celebration in Jerusalem (not on a mountain in Galilee) for the King who had recently entered the city on the colt of a donkey in accordance with Zechariah’s prophecy about Israel’s King (Matt. 21:1-10).  The doubtful disciples had not seen the Transfiguration for themselves and might have been skeptical about the report from the favored three (cf. 2 Pet.1:16 for Peter’s response to such skepticism).  Note: preoccupation with the Kingdom’s arrival even persisted right up to Jesus’ Ascension (Acts 1:6).

To reassure the doubtful, Jesus told them all authority had been given Him in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18) validating the response of the disciples who had worshiped Him.  He was, in fact, King!

Next, Jesus issued The Great Commission—in the context of His being legitimately Israel’s King.  Those He commanded referred to believing Israeli Jews who, going into all nations, would make disciples of Jews in the Dispersion as well as gentiles, thereby preparing them for citizenship in the Messianic Kingdom.  The Israeli Jews might well be part of the 144,000 mentioned by John in The Revelation (Rev. 7:4, keeping in mind that the 12,000 from the tribe of Levi might remain in Israel to serve in the rebuilt temple).

The teaching content for the Israeli Jews would be limited to what Jesus, Himself, had commanded—meaning the content would come almost exclusively from the Gospels with only marginal reference to the Epistles that deal with matters of an already raptured church.

Jesus’ promise was that He would be with these Israeli Jews even to the “end of the age.”  This latter phrase came from Daniel’s prophecy related to resurrection of Old Testament saints just prior to inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom (Dan. 12:13).

Finally, Jesus’ closing post-resurrection command to His eleven disciples was to be His witnesses, not disciple makers (Acts 1:8).  This particular command by Jesus was exactly what Peter had obeyed (Acts 10:40-42).  Jesus’ command did not encompass disciple making as indicated by Peter leaving Cornelius’s premises a few days after the gentile’s baptism in Jesus’ name (Acts 10:48).  Peter, a church member, had totally ignored The Great Commission.

Witnessing and disciple making are two very different activities.  Witnesses preach (Mark16:20; Acts 10:42) or proclaim forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:43) to unbelievers.  Disciple making is the focused personal-and-interactive teaching of specific learners who already have believed.  Disciple making takes place over a protracted period of time, perhaps up to three years as Jesus had done with His disciples.  In stark contrast, witnessing can take place with a single individual, or sometimes with larger audiences, over a short-term time period and, many times, with sequential groups of different listeners.

Conclusion

Discipleship is likely not intended as a program for the church because the indwelling Holy Spirit will teach believers from God’s word.

The Great Commission most probably applies to believing Jews sent from Israel to prepare both Jews and gentiles for Kingdom citizenship.

 

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Sep

27

Total Depravity

Filed Under Total Depravity

Introduction

In a recent discussion about the Rapture of children, it was suggested that pre-adolescent children of believing parents would be raptured based on their having no knowledge of good or evil (cf. Deut. 1:39 for evidence of the lack of this knowledge in children; cf. 1 Cor. 7:14 for a believing parent causing the children to be holy).  The suggestion was countered by citing the doctrine of Total Depravity.  The following essay will demonstrate biblically that the doctrine of Total Depravity is a spurious doctrine.

Definition of the Doctrine 

Total Depravity means that sin and the consequence of Adam’s act of sin (i.e., spiritual death) are both inherited by all humanity from Adam.  While it is true biblically that sin is inherited by all from Adam, it is not true that the consequence of his spiritual death was also inherited from Adam.

Some Biblical Evidence Contradicting Total Depravity

God said, “an eye for an eye . . .”  (Exod. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21; Matt. 5:38).  God said this to limit retaliation–so those who were victims of losing an eye from an assailant did not retaliate by putting out both eyes of his/her assailant.
So based on God’s law, it would seem out of character if God punished Adam for his sin of eating the forbidden fruit (which God did), and then God were also to punish every person born into the human race for Adam’s sin as well.  Such punishment would be akin to, ‘billions of eyes for an eye . . . .’

Also, the argument of Reformed theology is that the race was in Adam when Adam sinned.  Justification for this theological idea comes from Heb. 7:9, where the writer said Levi was in Abraham when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, and thus Levi also paid tithes to Melchizedek hundreds of years before Levi was born.

However, the sentence, stating ‘Levi paid tithes,’ is introduced in three English Bible translations by the following: “it could be said” (New English Translation Bible); “in a sense” (Holman Christian Standard Bible); and, “so to speak” (New American Standard Bible).  Those introductions indicate that the writer to the Hebrews was not speaking literally when he wrote: ‘Levi paid tithes.’  Rather, the author of Hebrews was writing figuratively.

Obviously, in the literal sense, Levi was also partially in a woman’s seed (i.e., Sarah’s) so the totality of the person “Levi” could not literally reside in Abraham’s loins.

It is literally true that the human race was in Adam’s seed.  At the fall, Adam’s seed was genetically altered by sin becoming a permanent part of Adam’s genetic makeup which was passed on (in this sin-infected state) to every human, whether male or female, thereby permanently infecting all the cells of their physical bodies.

And this is what the apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and (spiritual and physical) death through sin, and so it (sin) spread to all men (i.e., mankind), on the basis of which all sin” (Rom. 5:12).  (Note: an individual’s spiritual death results from sin causing all to commit an act of sin and does not result from a direct inheritance of the penalty for Adam’s sin.)

The above translation of Rom. 5:12 is supported by some of the Greek manuscripts.  Historically, Augustine accused Pelagius–sometimes referred to as a British monk–of substituting the word “death” for “it” in the last phrase of Rom. 5:12 which meant Augustine was reading a Greek manuscript that had the correct wording.
Therefore, “original sin” means only Adam’s genetic sin-infected material was spread to the entire human race, and not the act of sin in breaking God’s command not to eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Total depravity means not only sin was transmitted to all humans through Adam, but also all humans were joined to Adam in the Garden of Eden and literally also committed the act of sin in eating the forbidden fruit.  (Note: two theological doctrines promulgated to support this hypothesis are Adam’s Federal Headship or Seminal Headship.)

Therefore, Adam paid for his sin, and we must also pay for the same sin.  This means nothing less than “double jeopardy” a billion times over!  And unless the biblical record explicitly exempts Jesus from Adam’s act of sin–which the record does not–then Jesus also committed the act of sin by eating the forbidden fruit.

Further, Paul pointed to a specific group of humans who lived between Adam and Moses, and who “. . . had not sinned (emphasis mine) in the likeness of Adam’s offense . . .” (Rom. 5:14).  This statement from the apostle Paul effectively nullifies the theological doctrine that all humanity sinned in Adam.

And finally, in his letter to the saints at Ephesus, Paul diagnosed the former spiritual state of his readers as “. . . you were dead in your (emphasis mine) trespasses and sins . . .” (Eph. 2:1).  Paul’s analysis of these physically living saints was that they had suffered spiritual death from their own trespasses and sins, not from Adam’s act of sin!

Conclusion
    Young children will not be disqualified from the Rapture of the church due to the doctrine of Total Depravity because said doctrine has no basis in the biblical text.

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Sep

19

A Christian Oxymoron

Filed Under spiritual life

A CHRISTIAN OXYMORON: AN OBEDIENT SAINT

Introduction

An oxymoron is a combination of contradictory words, like “cruel kindness.”  So why is an “obedient saint” a Christian oxymoron?  The following essay will provide the theological answer to this question.

Definition of a Christian Saint

Some of the apostle Paul’s letters are addressed to “saints.”  A Greek lexicon defines the word saints as meaning “human beings consecrated to God, holy, pure, reverent” (Bauer, W., Danker, F. W., Arndt, W. F., and Gingrich, F. W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000, 10.1.a.b.a).

The adjective “Christian” qualifying the word “saints,” therefore, designates those human beings who have simply believed that Jesus Christ of Nazareth died on the cross, and was subsequently resurrected, to provide them personally with forgiveness of their sins.

Thus, all Christian saints are holy to God because they have simply believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection for forgiveness of their sins.  Theologically, such a person has eternal life, will not come into the judgment of hell, and has passed from spiritual death into eternal life—permanently and irreversibly (cf. John 5:24).

A Saint and His/Her Obedience to God

However, Christian saints commit sins when they, themselves, try to obey God (Rom. 7:7-11 reports the apostle Paul’s experience in this matter).

The reason a saint sins is because he/she is constantly encouraged by Christian pastors and teachers to obey God.  Responding to those sometimes intense and always sincere admonitions, the believer resolves to personally please God by obeying His law.  Such a resolution automatically makes sin that dwells permanently in every believer’s body until physical death (or his/her rapture) the controlling power in the believer’s life.  And sin’s control makes the believer commit sins.

The problem of sin in the believer makes the word combination “obedient saint” an oxymoron because a saint is incapable of being obedient to God in and of himself/herself.

God’s Solution for The Saint’s Sin Problem

God’s solution to the problem is at once simple and elegant.  God promises He, Himself, will cause obedience from His saint (Ezek. 36:27).  To avail oneself of God’s solution, all the saint has to do is believe God’s promise.

The way God circumvents the sin problem in His saint is to have His Son, Jesus Christ (Who is always perfectly obedient to the Father) live spiritually in His saint and control His saint’s bodily members by the Holy Spirit so that those saints manifest Jesus’ obedient life.  For this, God alone gets the glory for His grace.

On the other hand, if the saint himself/herself were to accomplish obedience to God, the saint’s heart would become proud and he/she would forget God (cf. Deut. 8:14).  And remember, God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5).

Avoiding the Christian Oxymoron

How might a saint avoid being tagged with the oxymoronic label, “Obedient Saint?”  Simple!  Believe God’s promise of Christ’s obedient life being manifest by His Spirit, and thereby becoming known as a “Believing Saint.”

 

 

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Sep

16

The Apostle Paul’s Spiritual Biography

Filed Under spiritual life

Introduction

One of the more instructive biblical studies is to trace the apostle Paul’s spiritual biography.  The reason for such a study’s vital importance is that tracing Paul’s spiritual birth, re-birth, and growth can have a dramatic and significant impact upon the spiritual maturation of believers in the twenty-first century.

Paul’s Early Years

Like all people, Paul was born with a human spirit united with God’s Spirit (cf. Gen. 2:7 for a human spirit united with God’s Spirit before an act of sin).  From his father’s genes, unlike Jesus who was not born from a human father, Paul’s body was permanently and irreversibly contaminated by sin (cf. Rom. 5:12: “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so it (sin) spread to all men, on the basis of which all sin,” author’s translation).

Sin is a deceitful and evil agent with a lustful agenda that eventually and effectively causes all humans to commit an act of sin.  Interaction of sin with the one’s brain produces the seat of human intellect, reason, and will that is known collectively in the Bible as the “heart.”  The heart is evil from man’s youth (Gen. 8:21).

Sometime during adolescence, this Jewish lad committed an act of sin (cf. Deut. 1:39 for pre-adolescent children having no knowledge of good and evil—children much like Adam before he committed an act of sin by eating the forbidden fruit in Eden).

Perhaps in Paul’s adolescence, he had dishonored his father and his mother—or had stolen something from his sister—thereby breaking a commandment of God, and thereby committed a sin.

Paul’s act of sin separated his human spirit, permanently and irreversibly, from God’s Spirit thus opening spiritual access to Paul as a possible channel for Satan and/or his minions (Eph. 2:1).  Furthermore, Paul’s heart became permanently and irreversibly insensitive and unresponsive to God.  Biblically speaking, Paul’s heart became a heart of “stone” (cf. Ezek. 36:26).

In present-day military parlance, sin alone operated the ‘command and control center’ of Paul’s life.

At this juncture, it is critically important to note that Paul’s life was filled with the teachings and religious practices of first-century Judaism.  However, such zealous inclinations and behavior did not accurately display Paul’s spiritual condition.  The apostle himself did summarize personally his spiritual state at this point in his life by admitting he was ‘dead in his trespasses and sins’ (Eph. 2:1-2).

Being “dead” spiritually meant that Paul, until his spiritual experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus and thereafter, was permanently and irreversibly separated from God spiritually.  Biblically, being dead does not mean extinction or annihilation.

Paul’s Nature and Education

Paul was most likely a very competitive person by nature (cf. Gal. 1:14).  Competiveness dictates that a person devotes all his talents and resources to the task at hand.  Initiative and determination play an integral role in competiveness, whereas apathy and indifference seldom partner in any immediate task for the competitive.

In addition, Paul had been raised by Pharisees (Acts 23:6).  For probably two decades, he had been educated in Jerusalem by the Pharisee Gamaliel according to the strictness of Judaism’s ancestral law (Acts 22:3).  So the Law of Moses—particularly the Ten Commandments—would naturally become the seed-bed for Paul’s early responses in the spiritual realm following conversion.

Paul’s Conversion

Paul’s conversion on his way north from Jerusalem to persecute Jews belonging to the Way (later known as Christianity) is well documented (Acts 9:1-21; 22:3-16; 26:9-18).  Of critical importance for this study is that the Lord Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:17; 26:16).

However, in Paul’s first letter—his letter to the Galatian churches—he reported God had revealed His Son “in (emphasis mine) me” (Gal. 1:16).

The contrast between the two prepositions “to” and “in” that described Paul’s conversion experiences is of profound spiritual importance.  What is the spiritual significance between Jesus Christ being revealed “to” a person like Paul, and Jesus Christ being revealed “in” Paul?  The answer lies in Paul’s letter to the saints at Rome when he discussed the Law’s relevance to believers which will be herein discussed later.

Paul’s New God-Given Spiritual Equipment at Conversion

Before exploring the differences between Jesus being revealed “to” an individual and His revelation “in” a believer, it is helpful to understand the ‘human mechanics’ of what God does to a person at his conversion.

Under the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus’ death and resurrection, God provides a spiritually dead person with a heart ‘transplant’ fused together with a new human spirit (cf. Ezek. 36:26).

Paul later learned God likely accomplishes the “stone” heart removal by His Spirit’s baptism of the individual into Jesus’ death (cf. Rom. 6:3, perhaps learned by Paul during his three years in Arabia reported in Gal. 1:11-17).  Next, God transplants the new heart of flesh and the new spirit into the individual through the Spirit’s baptism into Jesus’ resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:5-7).

Several years earlier, Jesus’ evening comments to Nicodemus (like Paul, a Pharisee) about being “born again” probably alluded to God’s spiritual re-birth mechanism for those spiritually dead.  Nicodemus, who was “the teacher” of Israel, should have been familiar with God’s ‘transplant’ promises to the prophet Ezekiel; therefore, he should have understood the spiritual nature of Jesus’ words (cf. John 3:1-10).

God’s new spiritual equipment enables a person to “see” (i.e., to understand as in John 3:3) the Kingdom of God, and believe the gospel’s first phase related to forgiveness of his sins through Jesus’ death.  The second phase of God’s gospel brings freedom from sin’s control (cf. Acts 13:38-39 for Paul’s annunciation of both gospel phases).

As noted above, God revealed Jesus to Paul on the road to Damascus.  Subsequently, Paul received God’s new spiritual equipment and was thereby able to ‘regain his sight’ (Acts 9:17-18 wherein Paul’s physical blindness was perhaps a metaphor for the spiritual blindness epidemic in Pharisees as suggested in Matt. 23:26 and John 9:40).  Being born again with his new spiritual equipment from God, Paul was now able to “see” the Kingdom of God, believe his sins had been forgiven, and be baptized (Acts 9:17-18).

This marked Paul’s spiritual conversion from Judaism to the Way.  He had indeed become “born again.”

Paul’s Experiences After Conversion

    However, the second phase of God’s gospel was yet to be experienced by the apostle.  That experience possibly developed along the following lines.

The first believer that Paul had contact with after Jesus’ revelation to him on the Damascus road was the Lord’s messenger, Ananias (Acts 9:10-18).  Ananias was known as “. . . a man who was devout by the standard of the Law” (Acts 22:12).  Perhaps Ananias was even a Pharisee (like Paul) who had been converted to the Way.  Such a commonality could establish comradery between the two men, and have immediate influence upon Paul.

In any event, by the Lord’s direction, Ananias suggested that Paul “Arise, and be baptized (probably in Jesus’ name), and wash away your sins . . .” (Acts 22:16).  Ananias would have recognized that baptism signaled to those in Judaism that a person had renounced his religious affiliations with Judaism.  But washing away one’s sins does not also instantaneously wash away one’s lifetime of predilections, habits, inclinations, views, or practices.

Paul followed Ananias’ directions.  Then, like any recently born-again first-century believer, the newly-minted apostle headed straight for the synagogues in Damascus to proclaim Jesus’ deity: He “. . . is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).  To have visited several Damascene synagogues seriatim likely meant Paul spent some weeks in this endeavor.  But something else of immense proportions happened spiritually to the apostle Paul.

Paul and the Law

It is not revealed biblically what triggered Paul’s next significant and weighty decision—only that it happened.  To wit: “. . . when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died” (emphasis mine, Rom. 7:11).  Paul had decided to keep the Tenth Commandment not to covet shortly after he was born again.

Paul’s ‘death’ likely meant he became severed from Christ and fell from grace (cf. Gal. 5:1-4).  Sometimes this is referred to biblically as being out of fellowship with Christ and God (cf. 1 John 1:4-7).  Paul’s ‘death’ in this instance most certainly does not mean that the apostle lost his salvation, or that he was never saved in the first place.  It does mean he was spiritually estranged from Christ and God.

Some possible avenues (either exclusively, or in some combination) by which “the commandment came” and resulted in the apostle’s commandment-keeping decision are:

The Law and the Believer

The most instructive illustration of the relationship between the Law and the believer is that of the marriage relationship between a husband and his wife (Rom. 7:1-6).  However, because of twenty-first century pop-culture, much of the illustration’s impact is lost.  Because the illustration was addressed “to those who know the Law,” it might be advantageous to review God’s design for marriage as revealed in the first book of the Law, Genesis.

Marriage was designed by God according to the pattern and roles in the Godhead (Gen. 1:26-27).  In marriage, the husband was to become the decision maker and director like God the Father.  The wife was to be the helper, an activist and doer, like the Spirit of God—executing her husband’s decisions under his direction but not on her own initiatives (cf. 1 Cor. 11:3 “. . . Christ is the head of every husband, and the husband is the head of a wife, and God is the head of Christ,” author’s translation).  By law, the marriage was a permanent union throughout the lifetimes of both the husband and the wife.

If a wife became joined to a man other than her husband, she was an adulteress.  Under the Law, the penalty for adultery was physical death (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22).

Paul’s illustration of marriage is really an analogy of the believer’s spiritual life after conversion.  In the analogy, the following representations apply:

The consequence for a born-again believer who chooses to live under the Law is spiritual adultery.  Spiritual adultery means sin becomes the believer’s ‘command and control center’ to “bear fruit for death” (Rom. 7:5).  Death means loss of fellowship with Christ and God and a subsequent spiritually-fruitless life.  Finally, for the believer obeying unrighteousness (sin) there will be wrath, indignation, tribulation, and distress (Rom. 2:8-9; cf. 1 Cor. 3:13, 15).  So the spiritual stakes of following the Law are immense.

On the other hand, spiritual faithfulness to Christ by choosing not to live life under the Law results in being joined to Christ and bearing “fruit for God” (Rom. 7:4).  Bearing fruit for God eventuates in a reward (1 Cor. 3:8).

Note: since Paul was Hebrew, and had been a Pharisee, he instinctively gravitated to keeping the Law immediately after being born again.  His tragic spiritual failure is recorded in Rom. 7:7-25.  But what about gentiles who were born again?

The answer lies in Gal. 4:9 where gentile believers were reported as considering reverting “. . . to the weak and worthless elemental things . . . .”  Those “elemental things” were likely ethical codes of conduct that gentiles had adopted to please the gods of their respective pagan pantheons.  Upon being born again, some gentiles simply transferred these “elemental things” to their behavior and practices before God, thereby giving their ‘command and control centers’ to sin resulting in bearing fruit for death.  Other born-again gentiles likely adopted Judaism’s Ten Commandments.

Paul’s Spiritual Experience with The Law

The apostle’s astounding and tragic failure from his attempt to keep God’s Tenth Commandment not to covet is recorded in Rom. 7:7-25.  Several of Paul’s insights from his attempt are instructive in understanding the devastating spiritual results of trying to obey any code of conduct to please God.  The insights follow.

God’s grace and deliverance consisted of His Law’s requirement being fulfilled in Paul by God’s Spirit manifesting Christ’s perfectly obedient life through His apostle simply by faith (Rom. 8:4; 2 Cor. 4:10-11).  God’s ingenious mechanism, in accordance with His promise to Ezekiel (Ezek. 36:27, God’s promise: to cause obedience in His people), completely circumvented the sin in Paul’s “body of this death” (Rom. 7:24), thereby producing an obedient Paul.

God restored Paul to fellowship with Himself and with Christ (cf. 1 John 1:9).

It is noteworthy that Paul later summarized his spiritual experience by acknowledging “. . . the Law has become our child-conductor to Christ . . .” (Gal. 3:24).

Jesus Revealed “To” a Person, Versus Christ Revealed “In” a Believer

After being born again, Jesus is revealed “to” a person for forgiveness of his sins through Jesus’ death on the cross.  By simple faith in this promise of forgiveness, the person becomes a believer—permanently and irreversibly. This is God’s first phase of His gospel.

When Christ is revealed “in” a believer by simple faith, the believer’s ‘command and control center’ is freed from the tyranny of sin and given to Christ so that the believer may live a fruitful life in fellowship with Christ and God.  This is God’s second phase of His gospel.

Summary and Conclusion

Spiritually, Paul was/is the quintessential believer.  Under the efficacious influence of sin inherited from his father, Paul sinned and experienced spiritual death—that is, separation from God.

By a unilateral, unconditional, and sovereign act of God, a new God-responsive heart and a new human spirit were installed in Paul.  On the road to Damascus, God revealed Jesus to Paul, subsequently resulting in Paul believing God’s promise of forgiveness of his sins through Jesus’ death.  Paul became spiritually alive.

Next, Paul attempted to keep God’s Tenth Commandment, resulting in his death. This death consisted of loss of fellowship with God and Christ.  Paul’s confession of his sins, a plea for deliverance from slavery to sin, and his belief in God’s promise of the spiritual reality of Christ in him giving freedom from sin’s control, resulted in restoration to fellowship.

Paul’s spiritual biography provides insight to man’s spiritual plight together with its pitfalls and solutions.  The spiritual solutions stem from God’s promises and His grace.  Man’s personal initiatives—no matter how sincere—contribute nothing to his own spiritual journey.  The only fitting spiritual response to God’s promises and grace is simple faith and a thankful heart, coupled with the resolve to consistently acknowledge one’s spiritual birth and growth are in God’s hands, alone.

 

 

 

 

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Aug

25

Shedding of Blood

Filed Under Shedding Blood

Introduction

The writer to the Hebrews clearly states: “. . . without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (of sins)” Heb. 9:22.  Shedding of blood is a vivid description of premature physical death.  And without forgiveness of sins, no fellowship with God is possible (cf. 1 John 1-9).  This essay will explore the theological implications of this critically important truth from God’s word and the historical record.

The First Real Priest

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve’s first sins separated them both from God’s fellowship (cf. Gen. 3:7-10).  The male and female response to this very real predicament was to procure leaves from a fig tree and cover themselves with the leaves.  Naturally, fig leaves were ineffective in re-establishing sustained fellowship with God because procuring the leaves from a fig tree involved no shedding of blood.

So mankind’s first feeble attempts at being priests proved ineffective.  Generations later, however, the fig tree was to become a symbol of the human priesthood (cf. Luke 13:6-9 where a fig tree was planted in a vineyard that symbolically represented Israel).

At this point, God Himself took the initiative in providing an acceptable covering for the sins of His estranged creatures, dressing them with procured animal skins.  Of course, the animals parted with their skins through the shedding of blood so that fellowship could be effectively re-established (cf. Gen. 3:21).

God’s fellowship-restoring act on behalf of Adam and Eve made Him the First Real Priest.

The Second Priest

The second priest in the biblical record was Abel (cf. Gen. 4:2-5).  Probably through instruction of his parents, Abel’s “shedding of blood” sacrifice came from the flocks he kept, thereby making fellowship with God possible (Gen. 4:4).

A Line of Priests

Noah was likely a member of the biblical line of priests acceptable to God (cf. Ezek. 14:14).  Following the flood, Noah built an altar to the Lord and made blood sacrifices from animals and birds God had preserved on the ark.  Fellowship with God was thus possible (Gen. 8:20-21a).

Job was another member in the line of priests acceptable to God (cf. Ezek. 14:14).  Job’s “priesthood” was exercised on behalf of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar at God’s direction (Job 42:7-9).  Again, the sacrifices were blood sacrifices that made fellowship with God possible.

The next priest recorded in scripture was Abraham who offered blood sacrifices to the Lord (Gen. 12:7; 13:18).  Those sacrifices made fellowship with God possible throughout Abraham’s walk with his God.

Melchizedek was Abraham’s contemporary.  Melchizedek was “. . . a priest of God Most High” (Gen. 14:18).  Abraham recognized Melchizedek’s unique greatness as God’s priest by giving him a tenth of the choicest spoils from Abraham’s defeat of the four kings (cf. Gen. 14:13-20).

It is interesting to note that, generations later, Jesus became a priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7:17).  Jesus’ ministry was the second time that God Himself took the initiative to provide acceptable fellowship with Himself through shedding of blood for forgiveness of sins.  In Jesus’ case, He became both a priest and a blood sacrifice on the cross.

The Levitical Priesthood

Between man’s expulsion from the Garden, and until Moses led Israel out of Egypt, God had not relegated His presence upon the earth to a specific physical location. However, with the advent of the Tabernacle’s establishment, God localized His earthly presence physically over the Tabernacle (Num. 9:15-17).

The Temple in Jerusalem later became a location where God’s physical presence was manifested (1 Kings 8:10-12).

God’s localized presence necessitated suitable earthly ministers.  God chose the entire tribe of Levi for His ministers thereby establishing the Levitical priesthood (Num. 3:6-10).  Remember, the tribe of Levi belonged to God in place of all Jewish first-born males that God had saved during the Passover in Egypt (Num. 3:12, 41, 45).

When the Temple is once more established in Jerusalem, the Levitical priesthood will again become functional and serve throughout the era of the Messianic Kingdom (Jer. 33:18, 22).

The Priesthood of the Church

During His earthly ministry, Jesus revealed that God’s physical location was no longer to be manifested in the Jerusalem Temple or anywhere else in a specific location (John 4:21, 23).  In fact, He identified His own body as the Temple in which God would manifest His physical presence (John 2:19, 21).

By cursing the fig tree near the Jerusalem Temple, and subsequently stopping priests from making offerings in the Temple (Mark 11:13-16), Jesus signaled the temporary cessation of the Levitical priesthood.

Following His death and resurrection, those who believed that forgiveness of sins was available to both Jews and gentiles through Jesus became—each one—the habitation of God (cf. 1 John 4:12) and a universal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6).  Biblically, the priesthood of the Church was never relegated by God to a select few.

Conclusion

The theological implications from tracing God’s requirement throughout human history of shedding blood for forgiveness and fellowship restoration are indeed breathtaking.  To begin with, the historical record unabashedly shows why “. . . there is no other name (i.e., Jesus) under heaven that has been given (by God Most High) among men by which we must be saved (from sins)” (Acts 4:12).  All other religions, therefore, are perfectly impotent to deal with the human condition resulting from man’s Edenic folly.

Next, the spiritual status of believers in Jesus is supreme among all mankind.  All believers have the highest God-given privilege as priests who can authoritatively articulate God’s gift of forgiveness of sins and restored fellowship with Himself through faith alone in Jesus’ shed blood.

Furthermore, when Jesus’ disciples asked for a sign of the end of the age, He taught them the parable of the budding fig tree (Matt. 24:32-35).  The budding fig tree was a symbol for the Levitical priesthood.  In 1978, eleven years after the Six Day War, the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva was established in the Old City of Jerusalem to train eligible men for the Levitical priesthood.  Jesus taught that the generation which witnessed this sign—a 70-year generation that most likely began with the 1948 establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine—would not end until He returned to inaugurate the Messianic Kingdom on earth.

Finally, God temporarily took the kingdom’s management on earth from Israel and gave it to the Church (Matt. 21:33-45).  For Israel, part of that management involved a functioning Levitical priesthood.  So the Church, that currently acts as God’s duly authorized priesthood, must be removed from the earth just before the Levitical priesthood becomes fully functional.  Two bona fide priesthoods cannot be operating simultaneously when God’s presence is again manifested in Israel (cf. Ezek. 39:7).

              

 

              

 

              

 

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Aug

4

MUSINGS FROM A DOORKEEPER

Filed Under A Parable, imminency, prophecy, Rapture/Tribulation

Introduction   

Here’s something worth thinking about if you were chosen as the “doorkeeper” in your household.  The biblical job-description for a doorkeeper can be learned from Jesus’ simile regarding a doorkeeper’s assigned role (Mark 13:34-37).

In the simile, Jesus is the departed Lord of the servants who each have assigned tasks during His absence.  His servants are Church saints.  Jesus specifically commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert for His return.  By implication, the doorkeeper is to alert Jesus’ other household servants by announcing His pending return/arrival (cf. Acts 12:13-14).  Also from the simile, the servants are ignorant of the exact moment, within two contiguous days, when Jesus will return.

Finally, His servants risk being found “asleep” at His return.  Since He could arrive around the midnight transition between the two consecutive days, being “asleep” probably does not refer to being asleep physically, but rather refers to being asleep spiritually (cf. Rev 3:1-2).  Being alert spiritually will be discussed at this essay’s conclusion.

Obviously, to successfully fulfill his assigned task, Jesus expects His doorkeeper to have some idea about the timing of His return for His Church.  In no way can this simile be construed as teaching that Jesus prohibits—or even discourages—His doorkeeper from discovering appropriate information about the timing of His return.

The sources of the appropriate information are both biblical prophecies and their respective (or projected) historical fulfillments.  Discussion of the timing of Jesus’ return for His servants follows.

The Generation of the Lord’s Departure

The specific generation which included Jesus’ departure was filled with several extraordinary historical events and significant prophecies.  That extraordinary generation began in 5 BC (Jesus’ birth year, from: Hoehner, Harold W. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977, p. 25).  The generation ended in 66 AD (cf. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps of the Messiah, rev. ed. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2004, p. 630).   Thus, that generation encompassed a 70-year time period.

Some of the historical events and prophecies—in 33 AD, unless otherwise noted—are listed in chronological order, and include:

God’s Preparation for the Messianic Kingdom

There are at least six actions God undertakes to prepare the world for the Messianic Kingdom:

Restoration of the Land

In May of 1948, the first of two re-population gatherings of diaspora Jews to the land began (cf. Isa 11:11 and Deut. 30:3 for reference to the two gatherings).  The twofold purpose of the first gathering was to initiate restoration of the land as well as to start re-population of the land with Jews for Kingdom citizenship (cf. Deut. 29:22-23 for the land’s condition since 70 AD, and Ezek. 38:8, 12, for reference to the first gathering, plus the land’s resulting restoration).

Reconstitution of the Levitical Priesthood

The Six Day War in 1967 gave Jews access to the Old City of Jerusalem.  Eleven years later, in 1978, reconstitution of the Levitical priesthood began with the establishment of the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva (to train priests) in the Old City of Jerusalem—right in sight of the Temple Mount.

Jesus had described this reconstitution in Matt. 24:32-33 via the parable of the fig tree.  The parable of the fig tree was given in response to Jesus’ disciples request for a sign of the end of the age (Matt. 24:3).

Remember, Jesus taught in parables to keep unbelieving Jews in the dark while simultaneously informing believing Jews of Kingdom matters (cf. Matt 13:10-13).  In 1978, both Jewish unbelievers and believing Jews (i.e., the Church) existed contemporaneously in the land as they had in 33 AD when the parable of the fig tree was taught.  The comingling of unbelievers with believers explains why Jesus gave the sign for the end of the age in a parable for both 33 AD and for 1978 AD.  The fig tree was a symbol for the priesthood—a symbol that believers would know, but unbelievers would not.

The Biblical Meaning of a Generation

Jesus taught that a specific generation had already begun in 1948 when reconstitution of the priesthood started, and that generation would not come to an end until the second gathering of diaspora Jews was completed (Matt. 24:24).

A biblical generation can mean the circle of a person’s lifetime (from birth to death), a collection of contemporaries from various generations, or a period of time.

Five periods of time are spelled out in the Bible: day, hour, month, year, and generation (cf. Rev. 9:15 for all the time periods except a “generation”).

Prof. Robert D. Culver explains that eight times in the Old Testament, the word “generation” means a “period of time” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1. Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1980, p. 186).  Furthermore, Bible commentator Friedrich Büchsel also reports the biblical use of the word “generation” can mean a “period of time,” and does so six times in the New Testament (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1964, p. 662).

Likely based on the lifetime circle, Moses defined a generation as a period of time—generally 70 years (cf. Ps. 90:10).

Remember the generation of the Lord’s departure described above—the generation that was saved from a Roman death or deportation—encompassed a 70-year time period consistent with Moses’ definition.

Probably the need for an extended time period beyond a single “year” prompted the secular world to establish the “century” as an extended time period (100 years), rather than using the Bible’s “generation” of 70 years.

Based on the 70-year biblical period for a generation, the end of the age may occur in 2018.

Summary: The Year of the Second Gathering and the Tribulation

The first gathering of diaspora Jews began in 1948.  From the sign for the end of the age, the second gathering may occur at the end of that generation begun in 1948—or, 70 years later, in 2018.

Finally, the tribulation will likely begin 7 years prior to 2018, in 2011, and will be closely preceded by the Rapture of the Church (cf. Rev. 3:10 for an earthly congregation of the Jewish diaspora functioning just after the Rapture).

The Rapture

The doctrine of the Rapture’s any-moment imminence is a spurious theological doctrine—and not a biblical doctrine as is readily apparent from about 20 instances in the New Testament where projected time lapses must take place between specific events, thereby nullifying the any-moment doctrine (e.g., John 21:18; Luke 17:22; Acts 9:15; 23:11).  So the Rapture is likely to take place within a knowable and explicit time frame—knowable at least by the doorkeeper.

According to Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum (Fruchtenbaum, p. 147), the trumpet of God (1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52 for the Rapture’s “last trumpet”) refers to the “last trumpet” at the Feast of Trumpets that takes place this year (2011) on Sept. 29-30—two contiguous days.

An interesting note: Jewish tradition holds that on Rosh Hashanah—the contemporary designation for the Feast of Trumpets—a resurrection of Jews takes place.  By a fortuitously sheer coincidence, this tradition could apply to the resurrection of deceased Church saints that are Jewish.

Of course, which day of the feast and at what hour, remain unrevealed (cf. Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:45, unrevealed even to the doorkeeper, Jesus’ servants, and to the angels—including Satan—so he cannot interfere with the Rapture, Matt. 24:43).

Another interesting note: from 1 Thess. 4:16, the Rapture will include the “voice of the archangel.”  The archangel is likely Israel’s archangel, Michael.  It could be Michael will inform Israel at the Rapture that Kingdom management has just been returned to the nation (cf. Matt. 21:43 for removal of management responsibilities from Israel, circa 33 AD, and Ezek. 39:7 for Israel’s partial, but necessary, spiritual awakening for Kingdom management followed by its inauguration).

Conclusion

The musings of a doorkeeper suggest that biblical prophecies and contemporaneous historical events fulfilling those prophecies point to the Lord’s return for His servants in the very near future.  So, be alert—all of you who are His servants.

Being alert spiritually likely means at least ten things:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jul

22

A Major Misunderstanding

Filed Under 1 Cor. 9:19-22, Missions

Introduction

At its founding, a local church set policy that the church would serve as an outreach mission to unsaved Jews.

In keeping with the policy, and misunderstanding a section of Paul’s First Corinthians letter, church leadership decided that language, words, liturgy, and certain practices would conform to present-day Judaism so that unsaved Jews from the community, or unsaved Jewish friends, or unsaved Jewish family members of saved Jewish church attenders, would not be offended if—perchance—the unsaved might attend a worship service at the church.

Unfortunately, the policy has resulted in spiritual damage to Jewish and gentile believers who attend the church on a regular basis.

The misunderstanding of Paul’s teaching in the Corinthian letter is not reserved exclusively to this local church.  In fact, the misunderstanding is probably taught world-wide in Bible colleges, seminaries, churches, and mission agencies as the biblical norm for comporting oneself during missionary work with unbelievers.

The following essay will correct the misunderstanding of Paul’s teaching and offer possible explanations for its widespread popularity.

The Misunderstanding

The section of interest from Paul’s letter is 1 Cor. 9:19-22:

9:19 For since I am free from all (emphasis mine) I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people.  9:20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) to gain those under the law.  9:21 To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law.  9:22 To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some. (New English Translation Bible, Biblical Studies Press 1996-2005 . http://www.netbible.com).

The misunderstanding arises from interpreting to whom the “all” in verse 9:19 refers.  The general consensus is that the “all” refers to unbelievers from all the nations on earth.  However, the following analysis will show this cannot be the case.  Rather, Paul meant the “all” in 9:19 to designate believing church members from four different groups within the Church universal.

The Analysis

With the possible exception of the book of Job, the Christian scriptures were written by Jews.  For the Jew, since the advent of the nation Israel, the whole world was—and is—comprised of two groups: Jews and gentiles (cf. Rom. 3:29), or Jews and Greeks (Rom. 1:16).  Another designation by the writers of scripture is that the whole world may be viewed as two groups: circumcised and uncircumcised (cf. Gal. 2:7).  Finally, from the perspective of those in the Church, two groups were recognized in the world: members and “outsiders” (1 Cor. 5:12; Col. 4:5; 1 Thess. 4:12).

Thus, when it is posited by biblical interpreters of the Jewish writers that four groups instead of two groups designate the whole world, the interpretation requires close scrutiny.

Furthermore, the context of the Corinthian passage (9:19-22) is all about Paul’s use of his own liberty—not about his evangelistic behavior among unbelievers, or outsiders, during his ministry of the gospel.

Considering the context, and that the “weak” (1 Cor. 9:22) is one group integral to the four groups, and is readily identified as a group of believers (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1-13), a reasonable assumption is that the composite of the four groups is also made up of believers.

Lastly, Paul used a somewhat similar classification of four groups within the Church is his letter to Rome (Rom. 1:18-2:29).

Accordingly, the four groups of believers within the Church during Paul’s ministry were:

Weaker Brothers

Since Paul had already devoted an entire chapter in his letter to the issue of ‘weaker brothers’ (1 Cor. 8:1-13), it is instructive to determine the spiritual status of this group.

Two things are apparent: one, those who know the one God—the Father—and Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 8:6) could become stumbling blocks for the “weak.”  And two, the one who was “weak” was a brother for whom Christ died (1 Cor. 8:11).  From these two facts, it may be deduced that the “weak” were believers, and Paul was addressing an issue that applied to believing Church members.

Therefore, since the “weak” were an integral part of the group of four (1 Cor. 9:22), and the “weak” were believers, the assumption that the entire group of four in vss. 19-22 was comprised of believers gains credence.

A Slave to All

Since Paul declared that he had become a “slave to all” members in the four groups (1 Cor. 9:19), let’s examine the possibility that a believer—Paul—could make himself a slave to unbelievers as most commentators on this text understand.

In a section of First Corinthians dealing with maintaining or changing one’s social status when called by God, Paul concluded for believers: “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves (emphasis mine) of men” (1 Cor. 7:23).  Yet, when the apostle wrote again to the Corinthians, he revealed that, “. . . we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves (emphasis mine) for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5).

Clearly, it seems Paul contradicted himself in Second Corinthians.  In reality, Paul did not.  The apparent self-contradiction may be explained by a clear understanding of the apostle’s various uses of the word “slave.”  Throughout his letters, Paul’s meanings of the word “slave” are five:

The apparent contradiction is resolved by recognizing that Paul’s admonition against slavery to men meant a warning against an abiding servile attitude toward men (other than Jesus), while his own slavery to the Corinthian believers was carried out in service to Jesus, Paul’s spiritual Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 9:21).

One final point, Paul’s sentiments to the Galatian churches are very instructive, “For you were called to freedom (from slavery to sin), brethren: only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh (to enslave you), but through love be enslaved to one another” (Gal. 5:13, author’s translation).  That which Paul had commanded the Galatian believers to do with respect to each other is the very thing Paul himself practiced among the four groups of believing church members—not outsiders.

‘Saving Some’

When Bible commentators read that Paul’s motive or goal in limiting his own liberty was to “gain even more people” (1 Cor. 9:19), or “by all means I may save (emphasis mine) some” (1 Cor. 9:22), the immediate inclination is to imagine the apostle was writing about evangelism.

However, the phrase ‘saving some’ did not apply to unbelievers being evangelized, but rather it applied to believers who were about to become, or already were, under the command and control of sin (cf. 1 Tim. 4:16).  This was Paul’s ministry of the gospel’s second phase, that is “. . . through Him (Jesus) everyone who believes (already) is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses” (Acts 13:39, New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation, 1995).

Paul’s goal in being a slave to believers was to be used by God in ‘saving some’ believers from bondage to sin and ‘enslave’ them to Christ so the lives of those thus saved from sin’s slavery could become useful and bear fruit for God (cf. Rom. 7:1-4).

Conclusion

This determination of the meanings, “slave to all” and ‘saving some,’ leads to an obvious conclusion that the apostle Paul was quite comfortable in being a slave to believers in the Church.

In fact, Paul never said he was a slave to unbelievers—unless, of course, 1 Cor. 9:19-24 refers to unbelievers.  But the apostle’s admonition against becoming a slave to men (1 Cor. 7:23) lays a biblical foundation by inference against a believer becoming a slave to unbelieving men.

Furthermore, thorough review of Paul’s missionary activities throughout the book of Acts reveals that his approach to the ministry among unbelievers was often to simply proclaim forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ death and resurrection, not to become slaves to those unbelievers.  Actually, on some occasions, those unbelievers physically or verbally attacked Paul and his companions thereby making it impossible for Paul to become a slave to them (cf. Acts 13:50; 14:19; 16:23; 17:5, 13; 19:25-29).  In contrast, Paul did become a slave to believers in Corinth for a year and a half (Acts 18:11), as well as for two years to believers in Ephesus (Acts 19:10).

So the policy set by the Jewish church founders to alter their language, words, worship format, liturgy, and activities for unbelieving Jews cannot legitimately be based on 1 Cor. 9:19-22.  However, in implementing this policy, the church leaders deny believing attenders the opportunity of being exposed to Paul’s goals and teachings about becoming a slave to believers in order to save some from slavery to sin.  Perhaps, exposure might result in saving some believers from bondage to sin.

Epilogue

The widespread popularity for the misunderstanding of 1 Cor. 9:19-22 may be based on man’s penchant and misdirected zeal for doing God’s work himself (cf. John 6:28-29).  It is the Spirit of God that alone accomplishes the new birth in unbelievers.  Jesus described the Spirit’s work in the new birth by a metaphor of the blowing wind (John 3:3-8).  And man is powerless to influence, direct, or control the blowing wind—just like he is with the Spirit.

Perhaps in place of 1 Cor. 9:19-22, those who wish to be a part of the Spirit’s ministry could benefit from Paul’s instructions to a local church: “. . . make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you; so that you may behave properly toward outsiders (emphasis mine) and not be in any need” (NASB, 1 Thess. 4:11-12).

 

 

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Jul

19

The Greatest Story Seldom Told

Filed Under ecclesiology

Introduction

The predominate foci of evangelical Christianity comes through three lenses that interfere with the greatest story:

However, the biblical reality is that emphasis on any one of these three items is simply not supported by the New Testament epistolary literature.  The reason for this sad situation is the greatest story seldom told.

The following essay will support biblically the above claim of interference and present the greatest story seldom, if ever, told.

Current Church Interferences

The 21st century church lives by the dictum that “one size fits all.”  What the “one size” construct means is that much of the interpretation for both Old and New Testament Scriptures has relevance—either directly or by application—to the modern church.

One important illustration of this situation is that often the Church is viewed as existing in both the Old and New Testaments so that many of the biblical teachings about the nation Israel are actually fulfilled by the Church—the bride of Christ which is not the congregation of Israelites.  Furthermore, Israeli leadership was informed that administration of kingdom matters would be removed from Israel and given to other management that would produce fruit for the kingdom.

Another view is that the Gospels, the book of Acts, and the epistolary literature may be understood almost independent of time.  In other words, the special circumstances related to the New Covenant beginnings and transition to the Church in the context of historical Judaism, the subsequent inclusion of the gentiles, the growth/spread of the Church, and the Church’s promised completion all occurred almost simultaneously.

The results of this view mean that evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual gifts—so critical for establishing and growing the Church—are as current today as they were in the first-century Church.

The Biblical Evidence of Interferences

A basic presupposition underlying the following analysis is that important subjects in the New Testament epistles—the literature dealing primarily with the Church—may be identified by the emphasis the subject is accorded by the authors.  Most times, a measure of emphasis correlates well with the number of times (or, the number of authors) addressing the subject.

For instance, in the 22 letters comprising the epistolary literature, evangelists are mentioned only twice—once as a foundational gift (along with the apostles who have since passed from the scene), and a second time as a command to pastor Timothy at Ephesus that he should preach the gospel.  The entire church at Ephesus was never directed by Paul to do the work of an evangelist.

The words missions or missionary never appear in the Epistles.  So much for the importance of missionaries in the Church as measured by their mention in the Epistles!

By one count, the word disciple(s) appears 235 times in the Gospels, 30 times in Acts, and 0 times in the Epistles.  The operating manual for the Church—the 22 Epistles, several specifically addressed to the saints—seems to totally ignore the significance of disciple making.

There’s a reason for this precipitous decline in discipleship importance—the reason is the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost.

The discipleship relation was between a teacher and a learner (disciple).  After the Spirit was given, the apostle John wrote that believers had no need for anyone to teach them, because “His anointing” teaches believers about all things.  The phrase, “His anointing,” likely referred to God’s Spirit.

Only two of the five epistolary authors, Peter and Paul, gave passing mention to spiritual gifts.

One theory for God giving spiritual gifts is that the fledgling Church was comprised of people from widely different nationalities, different genders, different social statuses, and from different religious backgrounds.

God’s intention was to have unity among all members within the local church—a unity established by His Spirit.  Giving different spiritual gifts to each Church member meant that each one became immediately dependent upon another, thus promoting church unity through interdependence.  As the Church matured and unity became the norm, spiritual gifts ceased. Yet many, many sermons and books have been presented to today’s Christians making spiritual gifts the centerpiece of acceptable Christians living.

Finally, the Church has been assumed to be nothing more than a somewhat disparate band of multinational peoples celebrating their worship of God along cultural lines.  Yet the Bible describes the Church as a new creation—using males and females as raw material—quite distinct from other creatures like humans and angels.

The Greatest Story

Here’s the greatest story seldom told: God promised, “. . . I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezek. 36:26).  The phrase, “cause you to walk in My statutes,” was likely a mystery—a mystery being something not revealed in the Old Testament.

The apostle Paul probably revealed the contents of that mystery, i. e., “. . . which is Christ in you . . .” (Col. 1:27).  “Christ in you,” likely explains why Jesus told the disciples in the upper room, “. . . apart from Me you can do nothing (emphasis mine)” (John 15:5).

Believing the revealed contents of God’s promise to Ezekiel, the apostle Paul discovered, “I can do all things (emphasis mine) through Him (Jesus) who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).  Here is nothing less than “(Jesus’) obedience of faith” that Paul sought to bring about among all the nations (Rom. 1:5; 16:25-26).  No wonder the greatest story, “. . . Christ in you  . . .” (Col. 1:27), fulfills the hope of glory for the nations.

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Jul

19

Paul and the Rich Young Ruler

Filed Under christian living, spiritual life

INTRODUCTION

In a previous essay—Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler—it was shown that early in the Rich Young Ruler’s meeting with Jesus, the Ruler had become born again.  Also, it was posited that the Rich Young Ruler was, in fact, John Mark.  This essay will identify the significant spiritual issue that developed between John Mark and the apostle Paul, report the resolution of the issue, and present implications for contemporary believers.

 

THE JERUSALEM CHURCH

A helpful way to understand the spiritual issue that developed between Paul and John Mark is to become acquainted with the first local church that formed in Jerusalem.  Logically, church membership in Jerusalem was comprised mostly of believing Jews.

Some of those born-again Jews in Jerusalem came from the Pharisaical sect of Judaism (Acts 15:5).  In Judaism, the Pharisees maintained strict adherence to the Law of Moses.  Upon learning forgiveness of their sins came as God’s gift through Jesus’ death and resurrection, those Pharisees who believed were likely baptized in Jesus’ name (cf. Acts 2:38).  However, their ethnicity, culture, training, and zealous practice of the Law were understandably transported with them directly into the embryonic experiences of the Jerusalem church (cf. Acts 21:20).

When it appeared that God intended gentiles to be included in the Church universal, the born-again Jewish believers of Pharisaical persuasion and practices objected.

Historically, gentiles who sought participation in Judaism were required to become God-fearers, or even proselytes to Judaism.  Gentile men were encouraged to be circumcised (cf. Acts 16:3).  Now however, gentiles could become members of the Church universal without entering through the door of Judaism; this profoundly distressed some believing Jews.

Some of the born-again Pharisees in Jerusalem took issue with other Jewish believers via indignant protests with this apparent cavalier abandonment of their treasured practices under Judaism (Acts 11:2-3).  In the church, this distinct group of Jewish protestors would not be called Pharisees because that name had become reserved specifically for those in Judaism.  So this distinct group became known to those in the church as “the circumcision” (Acts 11:2; Gal. 2:12; Col. 4:11), probably reflecting their dedication to the Mosaic circumcision requirement for all males in the religious community.

In Paul’s letters to churches beyond Jerusalem, he sometimes referred to “the circumcision” as “Israel according to the flesh” (cf. Rom. 9:3; 1 Cor. 10:18).  This epithet conveyed the unfortunate spiritual reality that sin controlled the behavior of Jewish believers in Jesus who invested their lives in keeping the Law.

To summarize: the local church in Jerusalem referred to in the book of Acts had a Jewish sect within it known as “the circumcision,” or “Israel according to the flesh.”  This born-again sect was comprised mostly of former Pharisees who likely displayed many of the characteristics of the spiritually dead Pharisees described in the gospels.  Probably the premier characteristic was boasting in their strict adherence to the Law of Moses.

 

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

As the church in Jerusalem went through its start-up experience, John Mark—the Rich Young Ruler—was no longer materially rich.  He had sold all his assets and given the proceeds to the poor.  Also, he was probably no longer a ruler of the Jews because he had become a follower of Jesus from Nazareth who sorely lacked any standing with the unbelieving Jewish leadership.

In no particular order, here are some other interesting things about John Mark:

From the two passages just cited, it seems the roles of Barnabas and Paul became reversed early in the pair’s travelling ministry to unbelieving gentiles.  The reversal is indicated by Paul’s newly assigned ‘top billing’ in the team’s biblical designation.

Recall, that when the Rich Young Ruler was instructed by Jesus to go, sell, give, and follow,   it was Peter who immediately questioned the implications of applying Jesus’ instructions to the disciples (Matt. 19:29; Mk. 10:28; Luke 18:28).  The Rich Young Ruler had indeed caught Peter’s eye, and perhaps Peter’s sympathies for the burden imposed by Jesus’ instructions.

Years later, when Peter escaped from a Jerusalem jail, he headed straight for refuge to the house of John Mark’s mother (Acts 12:3-17).  Perhaps this is when Peter began to function as John Mark’s ‘father’ in the faith.

Finally, tradition has it that Mark became Peter’s ‘secretary,’ recording the apostle’s teachings in Rome that were later assembled into the Gospel of Mark.

Remember in his interview with Jesus, he explained that he had kept the Law’s commandments from his youth—something a Pharisee-to-be would likely do and proudly proclaim (Luke 18:21).

He was a ruler of the Jews, and several of the Jewish rulers during John Mark’s time were, in fact, Pharisees (cf. John 3:1-2; 11:57; Acts 5:34; 23:7-8).

Finally, Paul identified John Mark as his fellow worker from “the circumcision”—that born-again sect of former Pharisees within the fledgling Jerusalem church (Col. 4:11).

 

THE ISSUE’S POSSIBLE CAUSE AND ITS EFFECT

The specifics of the issue that caused John to desert Paul and Barnabas have not been revealed.  Perhaps John—a former ruler—was amenable to taking orders from his own cousin, the Levite Barnabas.  But John may have bristled at orders from Paul after team leadership switched to Paul.

After all, Paul was not a blood relative, was not a Levite like Barnabas, was from Tarsus rather than Jerusalem, had never been a Jewish ruler as had John, was likely John’s contemporary thereby enjoying no superiority from wisdom that accrues with age, had been of the same religious status in Judaism as John, and was about six years John’s junior with respect to spiritual birth dates.

Or, the cause of the issue may have been that ‘Pharisaical’ John strongly objected to Paul’s public proclamation that, in addition to forgiveness of sins, one could be justified through Jesus—something the Law of Moses could not accomplish (cf. Acts 13:38-39).  Distortion of Paul’s teachings may even have been initiated by John himself back in the Jerusalem church (cf. Acts 21:21).

Finally, John may simply have become jealous because born-again gentiles were by nature living God-honoring, God-pleasing lives without having the Law (cf. Rom. 11:14 and Deut. 32:21 for jealousy; cf. Rom. 2:14-16 for life without the Law).

However, two things are dead certain about the issue.  One, well over a year after his desertion from the team in Pamphylia, Paul recognized the problem with John Mark still persisted; and two, the issue caused sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:37-39).

The problem’s persistence suggests it could have been a spiritual problem that John Mark had developed.  And the sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas was likely because Paul recognized that a John Mark, who was out of fellowship with the Lord, would be a definite liability when ministering the word to unbelievers.

On the other hand, Barnabas was perhaps moved by family loyalty for John Mark, and had proven himself more susceptible to hypocrisy than Paul when dealing with the uncircumcised sect’s behavior within the church (cf. Gal. 2:13).  Thus, the disagreement caused a tragic disunity, not only between John Mark and Paul, but also between Paul and Barnabas—two brothers in Christ who had spent several years ministering together.

 

DEFINING THE ISSUE AND ITS RESOLUTION

Based on the issue’s effect of disunity between Jewish believers (John Mark and Paul), one may infer the issue originated from absence of love on John Mark’s part because love is the perfect bond of unity (Col. 3:14).  So, the issue is defined on the basis of love’s absence between John Mark and Paul.

The scriptures also teach that the whole Law is fulfilled by the one statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:14).  Consider the irony!  The committed believer, John Mark ‘the Law- keeper’ had been living for over a year breaking God’s second greatest commandment (Mark 12:31).  So much for the spiritual efficacy of the Law in controlling sin!

Now, here is Paul’s astounding resolution of this issue for Jewish believers: stop trying to live by the Law of Moses (cf. Rom. 7:1-6).  The theological reason is that God intended the Law to bring a believer to a personal knowledge of sin that cohabits every human body (Rom. 3:20).  Indeed, the very agent that unleashes the all-controlling power of sin in the Jewish believer’s life is his/her decision to please God by keeping the Law (Rom. 7:7-8; 1 Cor. 15:56).  Because those believers of the circumcision sect were determined to keep the Law of Moses, they all—to a man—became slaves to sin rather than bond servants of Jesus.

God’s resolution to the issue: “. . . confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (thereby, releasing Him from sin’s power forever) [and] you shall be saved (from the controlling power of sin) . . .” (Rom. 10:9).

Sometime between his spiritual birth and his becoming useful to Paul, the Law had become John Mark’s child-conductor to Christ (cf. Gal. 3:24) and he confessed Jesus as Lord, believing God’s promise that the resurrected Christ would live in his heart by faith.

 

CONSISTENCY AND FAILURE

The believer’s life lived under Jesus’ Lordship means God’s commandments are perfectly performed by Jesus living in the believer and controlling the believer’s members by the Spirit’s power (cf. Ezek. 36:27 for God’s promise of the obedience of faith; Rom. 7:4; 7:25-8:4 for an example of God’s promise working in Paul after he believed God’s promise).

Is life under Jesus’ Lordship rather than under the Law consistently free from sin’s control?  Absolutely not!  Paul himself recognized he was capable of an inconsistent lifestyle and wrestled with this problem through prayer (Phil. 3:8-14).

How serious is failure?  It can be significant.  Paul warned those considering life under the Law that they would be severed from Christ and fall from grace (Gal. 5:4).  Further, the believer living a lifestyle controlled by sin runs the very real risk of forfeiting rewards at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10).

The biblical remedy for sins committed because of sin’s control through living under the Law was sacrifices.  However, among Church members living apart from the Law, the theological problem of estrangement from God and loss of His fellowship from sins committed under the control of sin is resolved simply by confession of those sins to God (1 John 1:9).

 

CONCLUSION

The rift between John Mark and the apostle Paul grew out of John’s determination—as a born again believer—to obey the Law of Moses.  But that very determination resulted in a lifestyle of sinning because the power of the sin residing within John Mark was activated by his very determination to obey God’s Law.  But the Law ultimately became John Mark’s tutor to Christ’s Lordship and a subsequent life of service perfectly suitable to God.

What about today’s Jewish and gentile believers?  A warning: any believer that resolves to obey rules and regulations to please God runs the risk of being controlled by the sin that dwells within each of us.

One possible exception to this warning might be the “weaker brother” mentioned by Paul (Rom. 14:1-23; 1 Cor. 8:1-13).  However, notice that Paul does not endorse the lifestyle of the weaker brother and works sacrificially to see such a lifestyle change to one of faith in Christ’s indwelling and the Spirit’s power to produce a life pleasing to God.

Since probably all cultures teach the religious life pleasing to God means that one must obey God, the danger is both prevalent and pervasive.  In contrast, the biblical story of John Mark teaches that it is Jesus Christ living His life within the believer, controlling the believer’s members as Lord by the power of the Spirit through the believer’s faith in God’s promise to implement this mechanism, which makes the believer’s life useful to God.

Remember Jesus’ promise to John Mark, “and you will have treasure in heaven,” holds as well for the believer who has Jesus as Lord of his life, giving salvation from slavery to sin, and producing good deeds each eligible for a heavenly reward from Jesus.

 

 

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Jun

19

God’s Gift

Filed Under Eternal life, Obedience

In the early 1940s, when I was a kid growing up on Long Island, various vendors would stop by our house.  There was the bread man, the egg man, the milk man, the fruits and vegetables man, and the Fuller-brush man.  The Fuller-brush man always had a “free gift” for my mom.  Of course, the gift was just a marketing technique.

Roughly a quarter-century later, another man stopped by our house in New Jersey: the preacher man.

The preacher man had a “free gift” from God: eternal life.

The first thought that came into my mind was that the preacher man with his “free gift” was just another salesman like the Fuller-brush man, with his sales incentive, that would stop by our house when I was a kid.

But the preacher man showed me that the Bible said God was offering the free gift of eternal life (cf. Rom. 6:23).  Then the preacher man asked, “Does God lie?”  To which I answered, “No!”  Then he asked, “What do you do when someone offers you a free gift?”  Being a reasonable Scot, my immediate response was: “You take the gift, and say, ‘Thanks.’”
That night, I took God’s gift and said thanks.

The preacher man followed a good outline.  First, what does the word of God say?  Then, what does it mean?  And finally, so what?

So here goes.  The word of God says: “. . . I (God) will put My Spirit within you and cause you (emphasis mine) to walk in My statutes and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezek. 36:27).  Some centuries later, the word of God revealed and elaborated the cause: “. . . this mystery (a truth not revealed in the Old Testament) among the nations, which is Christ in you (emphasis mine), the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

What does it mean?  Simply, that God, Himself, by His Spirit will cause the believer to be obediently pleasing to Him.  What is the mystery mechanism revealed in the New Covenant by which He causes the believer to be obediently pleasing?  Answer: Jesus in the believer, Himself controlling the believer’s members (cf. Rom. 7:4).  Since Jesus’ obedience is always perfectly pleasing to God–excepting, perhaps, the few God-forsaken moments on the cross–His life through the believer will be perfectly obedient and thereby perfectly pleasing to God.

Finally, so what?  Take the free gift of Jesus’ obedience and say, “Thanks!”  How important is this?  Jesus said, “. . . for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  And Paul said, “I can do all things in Him (Jesus) who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

 

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