For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (2Pe 1:5-7)
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2Pe 1:8)
For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. (2Pe 1:9)
Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. (2Pe 1:12)
I have been chewing over this passage, and the eight qualities which the apostle Peter places such a high value on.
Faith (pistis): Our confident trust in the nature of God and his revealed word. This is the foundation for our relationship with God. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Virtue (arete): Moral excellence in action. Our faith is to have an effect on the way we live. We outwork our faith by reflecting the virtuous nature of our heavenly father and dealing with anything that tarnishes that reflection.
Knowledge (gnosis): Our intellectual grasp of the things of God. God does not want our brains to be disengaged. The outworking of our faith is to produce knowledge. The order is significant though, this is not some abstract ivory tower knowledge, nor even is it knowledge that prompts us to outwork our faith. It is knowledge that we only get once we are already doing what God has asked. We don't understand in order to obey - we obey in order to understand!
Self-control (egkrateia): Mastery over our physical appetites and desires. The flesh is not intrinsically evil (this was a heresy based on a false form of gnosis!) However the flesh is not to rule us, we are to rule over it - to master and subdue its appetites. Lack of self-control has been the ruin of many a man. So those who have knowledge and understanding will make every effort to add to their knowledge self-control. Fasting is one way (both a discipline and a devotion) we have to master the appetites of the flesh.
Steadfastness (hypomone): Resolute determined pursuit of an end, unswayed by trials, sufferings or setbacks. This is a quality of the mature Christian, who sets his course by what he has seen in God by faith, and not by what he sees in his circumstances. It comes from self-control because that is how we train ourselves to value the spiritual above the carnal.
Godliness (eusebia): Reverence and devotion towards God. It may seem strange that this quality is not earlier on, but it is our perseverance that proves our faith genuine. It is through persevering that we show in action and not just words that we have laid our lives on the altar as an acceptable act of worship.
Brotherly affection (philadelphia): The love that exists within a family. God's community is to be marked by this expression of family, and not by religious observances or doctrinal statements. But this is a love that is born from godliness - it is God who draws us together. Any other source that is attempted to try and recreate this atmosphere and environment will surely fail.
Love (agape): The ultimate expression of proactive selfless love that characterises God himself. Agape is the ultimate quality, the one which all the other qualities lead us towards. And as Paul says so clearly in his letter to the Corinthians, if we fail to lay hold of agape, all of our other activities are in vain.
May we grasp these qualities in increasing measure that we may be effective and fruitful in our knowledge of Jesus Christ.
29.10.07
15.10.07
Without deviation or delay!
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’” (Mk 1:1-3)
And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. (Mk 1:10)
The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. (Mk 1:12)
Where the Gospel of Matthew has a characteristic use of the word behold (idou) for emphasis and to stress importance, it seems that Mark has a word of his own which he uses in an equally characteristic way. It is the word immediately. This is the Greek adjective euthus. It is used twelve times in the first chapter alone.
What is not apparent in our English translations, however, is that this self same word is used in the opening Scripture that Mark uses to introduce and set the context for his Gospel. You see the word euthus does not just have a temporal application - meaning immediately, without delay, it also has a spacial application meaning straight, without deviation.
So when Mark quotes Isaiah, saying that all the paths of the Lord are to be made straight, it is the same word that he then goes on to use time and time again to describe the ministry of Jesus.
Some say that this was just a linguistic quirk of the Gospel writer. But to me it seems laden with significance. Mark is highlighting that Jesus is the Lord prophesied by Isaiah, and that all his ways are straight. They are without deviation or delay.
It also I think adds an extra dimension to the ministry of Elijah, John the Baptist, the Church - the way we are to prepare the way of the Lord is not just by making his paths straight... it is by making his paths straight away!
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’” (Mk 1:1-3)
And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. (Mk 1:10)
The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. (Mk 1:12)
Where the Gospel of Matthew has a characteristic use of the word behold (idou) for emphasis and to stress importance, it seems that Mark has a word of his own which he uses in an equally characteristic way. It is the word immediately. This is the Greek adjective euthus. It is used twelve times in the first chapter alone.
What is not apparent in our English translations, however, is that this self same word is used in the opening Scripture that Mark uses to introduce and set the context for his Gospel. You see the word euthus does not just have a temporal application - meaning immediately, without delay, it also has a spacial application meaning straight, without deviation.
So when Mark quotes Isaiah, saying that all the paths of the Lord are to be made straight, it is the same word that he then goes on to use time and time again to describe the ministry of Jesus.
Some say that this was just a linguistic quirk of the Gospel writer. But to me it seems laden with significance. Mark is highlighting that Jesus is the Lord prophesied by Isaiah, and that all his ways are straight. They are without deviation or delay.
It also I think adds an extra dimension to the ministry of Elijah, John the Baptist, the Church - the way we are to prepare the way of the Lord is not just by making his paths straight... it is by making his paths straight away!
9.10.07
Out of the mouth of infants
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?” (Mt 21:15)
Reading through the gospel of Matthew, I have been struck again by the emphasis Jesus put on children.
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;" (Mt 11:25)
As adults we can often major on our responsibility to teach the children, to impart to them our wisdom, our experience, our knowledge. This is right and proper, we should train them in the way that they should go so that when they are old they will not depart from it. But are we as open when it comes to receiving from our children? Jesus said there would be things revealed to the children that would not be revealed to the wise and learned. The implication is that if we only instruct our children, but do not listen to them we are missing part of the picture. Sometimes, like old Eli, it takes a while for this penny to drop... they just may have caught something from God that we have not!
We had a recent example in our congregation of a family who went to Estonia on a mission trip. Before their journey their young son had a dream from God with specific details about a man they would meet and how they would meet him. They did indeed have their most significant encounter with a man who matched all the details from that dream. God didn't give the dream to the dad, or to the mum, but to one of their children.
Jesus said something else quite remarkable, and quite puzzling about children:
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Mt 18:10)
Now I don't pretend to understand the full significance of this, but I do have a few ideas. Angels are heaven's messengers, dispatched from God to minister and bring messages to those on earth. When Jacob had his dream he saw them both descending and ascending. Perhaps the messages, like the messengers go both ways. Since the word angel and messenger are one and the same, this is certainly the implication in this verse: their messengers always see the face of the Father. And if their messengers always get through then so must their messages - their prayers.
I was talking to a friend last night. He shared with me that he had be totally healed of a cold for the first time. Until then his experience had always been, go to the ministry line with a streaming nose, get touched powerfully by God, but still go back with a streaming nose. This time was different, and do you know who prayed? His daughter - "Please Jesus make daddy's cold all better. Amen." That was it! But that was all that was needed, because the message got through!
In our own household we have spotted a pattern. The nights when Andrew sleeps the best, are the nights when we asked Michael to pray for him! God delights to answer the prayers of children! I tell you, I'm not wasting my son's prayers on just "Help me sleep nicely" any more. I'm getting him to pray for all kinds of things now!
Jesus himself said we had a lot to lean from our children:
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 18:2-4)
We should never exclude them from what Jesus is doing in his church, for they are just as significant, if not more so, than the adults:
“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 19:14)
Is it time we raised our expectation of what God is doing in our children? I think so. Is it time to include them in our prayers and our ministry? I think so. After all what do the scriptures say: that your sons and your daughters will prophesy, or that they will play with colouring books?
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?” (Mt 21:15)
Reading through the gospel of Matthew, I have been struck again by the emphasis Jesus put on children.
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;" (Mt 11:25)
As adults we can often major on our responsibility to teach the children, to impart to them our wisdom, our experience, our knowledge. This is right and proper, we should train them in the way that they should go so that when they are old they will not depart from it. But are we as open when it comes to receiving from our children? Jesus said there would be things revealed to the children that would not be revealed to the wise and learned. The implication is that if we only instruct our children, but do not listen to them we are missing part of the picture. Sometimes, like old Eli, it takes a while for this penny to drop... they just may have caught something from God that we have not!
We had a recent example in our congregation of a family who went to Estonia on a mission trip. Before their journey their young son had a dream from God with specific details about a man they would meet and how they would meet him. They did indeed have their most significant encounter with a man who matched all the details from that dream. God didn't give the dream to the dad, or to the mum, but to one of their children.
Jesus said something else quite remarkable, and quite puzzling about children:
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Mt 18:10)
Now I don't pretend to understand the full significance of this, but I do have a few ideas. Angels are heaven's messengers, dispatched from God to minister and bring messages to those on earth. When Jacob had his dream he saw them both descending and ascending. Perhaps the messages, like the messengers go both ways. Since the word angel and messenger are one and the same, this is certainly the implication in this verse: their messengers always see the face of the Father. And if their messengers always get through then so must their messages - their prayers.
I was talking to a friend last night. He shared with me that he had be totally healed of a cold for the first time. Until then his experience had always been, go to the ministry line with a streaming nose, get touched powerfully by God, but still go back with a streaming nose. This time was different, and do you know who prayed? His daughter - "Please Jesus make daddy's cold all better. Amen." That was it! But that was all that was needed, because the message got through!
In our own household we have spotted a pattern. The nights when Andrew sleeps the best, are the nights when we asked Michael to pray for him! God delights to answer the prayers of children! I tell you, I'm not wasting my son's prayers on just "Help me sleep nicely" any more. I'm getting him to pray for all kinds of things now!
Jesus himself said we had a lot to lean from our children:
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 18:2-4)
We should never exclude them from what Jesus is doing in his church, for they are just as significant, if not more so, than the adults:
“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 19:14)
Is it time we raised our expectation of what God is doing in our children? I think so. Is it time to include them in our prayers and our ministry? I think so. After all what do the scriptures say: that your sons and your daughters will prophesy, or that they will play with colouring books?
8.10.07
Open to reason
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17)Some believe that if they have heard from God then they can bypass checking their views against the Scriptures or the accountability of spiritual authority in the church. Others believe that fresh revelation from heaven no longer occurs for the self-same reasons. They are both wrong.
God still sends wisdom down from above, but this wisdom has certain hallmarks on it, characteristics by which we can recognise it as genuine. One of these hallmarks is that genuine revelation is always open to reason.
"Hold on", you may say, "surely if God has spoken that is the end of the matter. There is no room for discussion, and no need for reasoning. To think otherwise is to rob God of his authority."
Well, that's true. If God has spoken then that is the end of the matter. God cannot lie, and his word never returns to him void, so if he said something we can have absolute confidence that he will do it, no matter what anyone else thinks. Let God be true and every man a liar.
"But haven't you just contradicted yourself?"
It may seem that way. But this is precisely where so many go so badly wrong. Although God's revelation has absolute authority, our perception of that revelation does not. No-one has perfect 20-20 spiritual vision; we all see as in a mirror darkly; we only get a part of the puzzle. God has given us an inbuilt dependence on each other, and a need for accountability, because no one man sees it all! The Holy Spirit recognises this, because it is he who distributed the gifts amongst the body according to his will. So he will never bring his revelation to a man in a way that shrinks from the advice or authority of others in the body.
Genuine revelation has nothing to hide from Scriptural investigation, for God will never contradict his written word. Nor does it fear the advice of others, for God never speaks to a man in isolation, he speaks to his church. Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses is every matter to be established. The Spirit will never violate the kingdom principles of the body that he himself puts in place.
When a man sets his doctrine or decisions upon revelation that is not willing to be tested in this way, he leaves himself wide open for deception and error.
5.10.07
Thank you, whoever you are!
I received an anonymous gift today. It was totally unexpected, but much appreciated. I have no idea who it was, what prompted them to send me a gift, or even if they read this blog. But whoever you are I just want to say, "Thank you!"
[It's someone who knows my address, and my taste in movies, but who calls me Christopher... hmmm...]
[It's someone who knows my address, and my taste in movies, but who calls me Christopher... hmmm...]
26.9.07
Called to be sent
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction... These twelve Jesus sent out... (Mt 10:1,5a)
In Matthew 10 it is very clear that Jesus calls his disciples in order to send them out. Jesus did not do all the preaching and demonstrating of the kingdom himself - he equipped others to do the same. He still does. Our calling includes both an equipping and a commission, just as it did for that first twelve.
We are not called to form a nice cosy Christian huddle, away from the big bad world, waiting for heaven. We are called by Jesus to be sent back with his authority to bring the kingdom to where we are.
One interesting detail I noted, is that in Matthew even the list of the disciples names indicates this purpose. They are paired up two by two, just as Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. Jesus strategy is to call us in, join us together, then send us out.
In Matthew 10 it is very clear that Jesus calls his disciples in order to send them out. Jesus did not do all the preaching and demonstrating of the kingdom himself - he equipped others to do the same. He still does. Our calling includes both an equipping and a commission, just as it did for that first twelve.
We are not called to form a nice cosy Christian huddle, away from the big bad world, waiting for heaven. We are called by Jesus to be sent back with his authority to bring the kingdom to where we are.
One interesting detail I noted, is that in Matthew even the list of the disciples names indicates this purpose. They are paired up two by two, just as Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. Jesus strategy is to call us in, join us together, then send us out.
25.9.07
According to your faith
“According to your faith be it done to you.” (Mt 9:29b)
All through the gospels we see that Jesus responds to faith. Jesus is moved to action when he sees the faith of those who come to him. He rewards those who demonstrate their faith by pressing in or crying out to him, and he rebuked those who demonstrated a lack of faith by the doubts they confessed.
Faith is crucial, of that there is no doubt! The writer to the Hebrews tells us that "Without faith it is impossible to please God." He also goes on to tell us why:
For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Heb 11:6)
This gives us a correct understanding of how we interact with God by faith. Our faith does not constrain God - he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. He managed to create a whole Universe just fine before we came along. Our faith does not manipulate God - it is he that is sovereign, not us. We cannot twist his arm by pumping up how much we "believe" something is going to happen. In fact faith does not draw God to us at all (he is within us already!) it is the means by which we draw near to God.
We see that in Matthew 9, in several examples: The men who brought Jesus the paralytic on the mat - Jesus saw their faith. The woman who touched the hem of his garment - Jesus said her faith had made her well. And the two blind men who cried out to Jesus to be healed - Jesus said it would be unto them according to their faith.
What was their faith? In each case it was the fact they pressed into Jesus for what they needed. It was exactly the kind of faith described in Hebrews 11:6. They believed who he was, and they earnestly sought him as the one who was able to meet their needs. Faith is not static. It is not self-sufficiency. It is best displayed in the lives of those who are drawing ever closer to Jesus. Those who recognise that he is who he claims to be and who make demands on him for what is needed.
Jesus is not bothered by such demands made in faith. He delights to respond to them. Indeed he seems to be much more bothered when they are absent!
All through the gospels we see that Jesus responds to faith. Jesus is moved to action when he sees the faith of those who come to him. He rewards those who demonstrate their faith by pressing in or crying out to him, and he rebuked those who demonstrated a lack of faith by the doubts they confessed.
Faith is crucial, of that there is no doubt! The writer to the Hebrews tells us that "Without faith it is impossible to please God." He also goes on to tell us why:
For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Heb 11:6)
This gives us a correct understanding of how we interact with God by faith. Our faith does not constrain God - he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. He managed to create a whole Universe just fine before we came along. Our faith does not manipulate God - it is he that is sovereign, not us. We cannot twist his arm by pumping up how much we "believe" something is going to happen. In fact faith does not draw God to us at all (he is within us already!) it is the means by which we draw near to God.
We see that in Matthew 9, in several examples: The men who brought Jesus the paralytic on the mat - Jesus saw their faith. The woman who touched the hem of his garment - Jesus said her faith had made her well. And the two blind men who cried out to Jesus to be healed - Jesus said it would be unto them according to their faith.
What was their faith? In each case it was the fact they pressed into Jesus for what they needed. It was exactly the kind of faith described in Hebrews 11:6. They believed who he was, and they earnestly sought him as the one who was able to meet their needs. Faith is not static. It is not self-sufficiency. It is best displayed in the lives of those who are drawing ever closer to Jesus. Those who recognise that he is who he claims to be and who make demands on him for what is needed.
Jesus is not bothered by such demands made in faith. He delights to respond to them. Indeed he seems to be much more bothered when they are absent!
24.9.07
Sleeping through the storm
And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. (Mt 8:24)
Jesus always had peace, no matter what the situation he was in. Nothing caught him unaware, nothing caused him to panic or worry. If we want to see a perfect example of the peace of God, the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace that characterises the Kingdom, we only need to look at Jesus.
In a mid-week meeting last week, a lady in our church fellowship, Sarah, had a great insight into the nature of God's peace:
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (Jn 16:33)
Her insight was this: In the world we have trouble, but in Jesus we have peace.
The two are not mutually exclusive. Indeed as we see from the account of the strom - the two can happen at the same time. If we are in Jesus, then we are in his peace. We can know that peace, even in the midst of the worst storm that life can throw at us.
It is a peace of knowing who is in control. It is a peace from knowing that the one who only needs to give the word in in same boat with you. No matter how grim it may look in the middle, if Jesus is with you, you can be confident of reaching the other side. He wants us to know his peace.
I like this account of Jesus asleep in the storm for another reason. Some years ago, about 1998, I think, I was in a town just outside Atlanta, Georgia, USA on a business trip. I went to bed in my hotel room, and woke up the next day and went down for breakfast. Later than usual my colleague appeared looking red-eyed and weary. "You sleep well?" he said with a strange look. "Yes thanks" I replied. He stared at me incredulously for a moment, then said - "You are joking aren't you!?" When I asked what this was all about, he pointed me to the TV and the news it was playing. A tornado had passed within a mile of our hotel that night, ripping off roofs and leaving a trail of devastation. Most of the other guests had been huddled in the hotel lobby under blankets all night. I was asleep on the top floor, totally oblivious.
I think I knew something of Jesus anointing of peace that night!
Though, almost a decade later I think I must have lost some of it! Last night a tornado hit Nuneaton. It was five miles away, and a much weaker storm, but I did wake up... breifly!
Jesus always had peace, no matter what the situation he was in. Nothing caught him unaware, nothing caused him to panic or worry. If we want to see a perfect example of the peace of God, the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace that characterises the Kingdom, we only need to look at Jesus.
In a mid-week meeting last week, a lady in our church fellowship, Sarah, had a great insight into the nature of God's peace:
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (Jn 16:33)
Her insight was this: In the world we have trouble, but in Jesus we have peace.
The two are not mutually exclusive. Indeed as we see from the account of the strom - the two can happen at the same time. If we are in Jesus, then we are in his peace. We can know that peace, even in the midst of the worst storm that life can throw at us.
It is a peace of knowing who is in control. It is a peace from knowing that the one who only needs to give the word in in same boat with you. No matter how grim it may look in the middle, if Jesus is with you, you can be confident of reaching the other side. He wants us to know his peace.
I like this account of Jesus asleep in the storm for another reason. Some years ago, about 1998, I think, I was in a town just outside Atlanta, Georgia, USA on a business trip. I went to bed in my hotel room, and woke up the next day and went down for breakfast. Later than usual my colleague appeared looking red-eyed and weary. "You sleep well?" he said with a strange look. "Yes thanks" I replied. He stared at me incredulously for a moment, then said - "You are joking aren't you!?" When I asked what this was all about, he pointed me to the TV and the news it was playing. A tornado had passed within a mile of our hotel that night, ripping off roofs and leaving a trail of devastation. Most of the other guests had been huddled in the hotel lobby under blankets all night. I was asleep on the top floor, totally oblivious.
I think I knew something of Jesus anointing of peace that night!
Though, almost a decade later I think I must have lost some of it! Last night a tornado hit Nuneaton. It was five miles away, and a much weaker storm, but I did wake up... breifly!
23.9.07
Beatitude problem?
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 5:3)
I've been musing on the Beatitudes, and this first one in particular for a few days now. The Beatitudes is a passage of scripture that, I believe, has accumulated much religious baggage over the millennia. Many fight with the impulse to say "blesséd" rather than "blessed." Over familiarity also has robbed much of the impact. But when Jesus ascended the mount and first opened his mouth to teach the people the words were fresh, relevant, and filled with authority and impact.
First these were not religious words or devices of speech, but a poetic device lifted from the popular culture of his time. Jesus was not speaking from a dusty pulpit, but a sunlit mountaintop with the wind in his hair. He was not engaging with the religious teachers, Pharisees or scribes, but with the ordinary everyday people.
He was however making a powerful theological statement. Moses ascended the mountain and gave the people ten commandments, the Law that they must obey. Jesus when he ascends the mount instead speaks nine blessings. He replaces Law with grace, and curse with blessing.
The words "Blessed are..." were not intended as nice uplifting sentimental thoughts to ponder. They were creative words of life. Jesus was not just speaking as a passive observer about the blessings he perceived to be already present on various groups of people - he was actively speaking and commanding those blessings into being. It was an impartation: "Blessed are you!"
So what of this first beatitude? Why has it caught my attention? Well primarily because it is the first, and nothing Jesus did lacked significance. A blessing on the poor was part of his mission statement lifted from the words of the prophet Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound
(Isaiah 61:1)
But this is where I think I may have a "beatitude problem" because I disagree with the common rendering of this first blessing. Jesus' self-professed mandate was to bring a blessing to the poor. Not just the spiritually poor - the poor. And the way he was to do that was under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. With the use of a comma and the insertion of the definite article (that is present in the Greek) this beatitude becomes a powerful declaration of the good news Jesus was anointed to deliver.
"Blessed are the poor, in the Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The Spirit is the agent, not the adjective! Jesus is speaking into being the very blessing he was prophesied to bring.
The poor are blessed. How? In the Holy Spirit. What is their blessing? Nothing less than the Kingdom of God!
If I am right, (and that is not a given, I'm no expert in Greek... but all my research this far backs up my hunch) then this becomes a powerful opening statement that sets the scene, not just for the rest of the sermon on the mount, but for the whole New Testament. It is the walk of faith in a nutshell!
It's not about how much material resource we have. The way of faith, does not depend on our natural abilities or resources. We should never place our confidence in such things as these. It is not the path of the flesh that is blessed by God, but the path in step with his Spirit. It is about absolute dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zec 4:6)
The path of blessing for the poor is the same for every one of us. It is the path that the Spirit leads us in. It is the path that pursues the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom that the Father has been pleased to give us; that Jesus announced is ours; that the Spirit now leads us to possess - his glory is our blessing.
I've been musing on the Beatitudes, and this first one in particular for a few days now. The Beatitudes is a passage of scripture that, I believe, has accumulated much religious baggage over the millennia. Many fight with the impulse to say "blesséd" rather than "blessed." Over familiarity also has robbed much of the impact. But when Jesus ascended the mount and first opened his mouth to teach the people the words were fresh, relevant, and filled with authority and impact.
First these were not religious words or devices of speech, but a poetic device lifted from the popular culture of his time. Jesus was not speaking from a dusty pulpit, but a sunlit mountaintop with the wind in his hair. He was not engaging with the religious teachers, Pharisees or scribes, but with the ordinary everyday people.
He was however making a powerful theological statement. Moses ascended the mountain and gave the people ten commandments, the Law that they must obey. Jesus when he ascends the mount instead speaks nine blessings. He replaces Law with grace, and curse with blessing.
The words "Blessed are..." were not intended as nice uplifting sentimental thoughts to ponder. They were creative words of life. Jesus was not just speaking as a passive observer about the blessings he perceived to be already present on various groups of people - he was actively speaking and commanding those blessings into being. It was an impartation: "Blessed are you!"
So what of this first beatitude? Why has it caught my attention? Well primarily because it is the first, and nothing Jesus did lacked significance. A blessing on the poor was part of his mission statement lifted from the words of the prophet Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound
(Isaiah 61:1)
But this is where I think I may have a "beatitude problem" because I disagree with the common rendering of this first blessing. Jesus' self-professed mandate was to bring a blessing to the poor. Not just the spiritually poor - the poor. And the way he was to do that was under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. With the use of a comma and the insertion of the definite article (that is present in the Greek) this beatitude becomes a powerful declaration of the good news Jesus was anointed to deliver.
"Blessed are the poor, in the Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The Spirit is the agent, not the adjective! Jesus is speaking into being the very blessing he was prophesied to bring.
The poor are blessed. How? In the Holy Spirit. What is their blessing? Nothing less than the Kingdom of God!
If I am right, (and that is not a given, I'm no expert in Greek... but all my research this far backs up my hunch) then this becomes a powerful opening statement that sets the scene, not just for the rest of the sermon on the mount, but for the whole New Testament. It is the walk of faith in a nutshell!
It's not about how much material resource we have. The way of faith, does not depend on our natural abilities or resources. We should never place our confidence in such things as these. It is not the path of the flesh that is blessed by God, but the path in step with his Spirit. It is about absolute dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zec 4:6)
The path of blessing for the poor is the same for every one of us. It is the path that the Spirit leads us in. It is the path that pursues the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom that the Father has been pleased to give us; that Jesus announced is ours; that the Spirit now leads us to possess - his glory is our blessing.
20.9.07
Prophetic Preaching
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 3:1-2)
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 4:17)
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet... Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. (Mt 11:9,11)
Jesus describes John as the greatest among the prophets that came before him, (all those who came after him are of a different order.) Yet we don't have a record of anything John prophesied... or do we?
Now, I know that John was special among the prophets because all the others saw Jesus from far off, but to John it fell to say, "Behold! The Lamb!" But I don't believe that was the only way he was prophetic. We don't have any record of him saying "Thus says the Lord..." or any other conventional form of prophetic utterance, but we do have a record of his preaching.
We know that Jesus only did what he saw his Father doing. He came to instigate a new Kingdom order of God's will on the earth not to follow existing trends, so it is inconceivable that Jesus was copying or plagiarising John's message. So we see that John's message was highly prophetic for this reason: He was preaching Jesus' message before Jesus!
This, I believe, lifts the lid on the true nature of preaching. It can be, indeed it should be a prophetic activity. It is not just regurgitating the scriptures into a little homily or thought for the day. It is not following a teaching programme and ticking off doctrinal foundations. There is nothing wrong with these things, but if that is all preaching is, it falls short of the mark. Preaching is prophetic, for it is capturing and communicating what Christ himself would say to the church.
There is thus an overlap and symmetry between the ministry of the prophet and the ministry of the preacher: The prophet brings a prophetic message to communicate the word of God; the preacher brings the word of God to communicate the prophetic message. The most important requirement for both is to stand in the presence of God and hear what he has to say.
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 4:17)
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet... Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. (Mt 11:9,11)
Jesus describes John as the greatest among the prophets that came before him, (all those who came after him are of a different order.) Yet we don't have a record of anything John prophesied... or do we?
Now, I know that John was special among the prophets because all the others saw Jesus from far off, but to John it fell to say, "Behold! The Lamb!" But I don't believe that was the only way he was prophetic. We don't have any record of him saying "Thus says the Lord..." or any other conventional form of prophetic utterance, but we do have a record of his preaching.
We know that Jesus only did what he saw his Father doing. He came to instigate a new Kingdom order of God's will on the earth not to follow existing trends, so it is inconceivable that Jesus was copying or plagiarising John's message. So we see that John's message was highly prophetic for this reason: He was preaching Jesus' message before Jesus!
This, I believe, lifts the lid on the true nature of preaching. It can be, indeed it should be a prophetic activity. It is not just regurgitating the scriptures into a little homily or thought for the day. It is not following a teaching programme and ticking off doctrinal foundations. There is nothing wrong with these things, but if that is all preaching is, it falls short of the mark. Preaching is prophetic, for it is capturing and communicating what Christ himself would say to the church.
There is thus an overlap and symmetry between the ministry of the prophet and the ministry of the preacher: The prophet brings a prophetic message to communicate the word of God; the preacher brings the word of God to communicate the prophetic message. The most important requirement for both is to stand in the presence of God and hear what he has to say.
For Mark read Matthew!
My post entitled "Behold!" originally contained a typo [now corrected]. The passage I was referring to was from Matthew not Mark.
This post has recently been featured over on the ESV blog. (I'm honoured!).
http://www.esv.org/blog/2007/09/behold.mark
But unfortunately my typo is now being propagated over the 'net too! That'll teach me to proof my posts before I hit publish! You never know who's reading!
This post has recently been featured over on the ESV blog. (I'm honoured!).
http://www.esv.org/blog/2007/09/behold.mark
But unfortunately my typo is now being propagated over the 'net too! That'll teach me to proof my posts before I hit publish! You never know who's reading!
19.9.07
Behold!
And when Jesus was baptised, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:16-17)
When the New Testament writers use the word "behold!" they do so to get our attention. They do so because what follows is of special significance and importance. The word "behold" itself in the English is not ideal, because it is not widely used today and so can make a passage seem dated or religious, and that certainly is not the intention. But it is hard to think of a better alternative, especially considering the literal translation is the imperative for look.
Here's what the translators of the ESV had to say about it:
The word “behold,” usually has been retained as the most common translation for the Hebrew word hinneh and the Greek word idou. Both of these words mean something like “Pay careful attention to what follows! This is important!” Other than the word “behold,” there is no single word in English that fits well in most contexts. Although “Look!” and “See!” and “Listen!” would be workable in some contexts, in many others these words lack sufficient weight and dignity. ~ Preface to the English Standard Version
There is no single English word that fits. One phrase I thought of was, "Mark my words!" In a language that originally lacked punctuation, it could also bee seen as a literary device similar to the exclamation mark or bold italics.
At the end of Matthew chapter 3, the account of Jesus baptism, we get two such "behold!" moments in rapid succession. The first when the heavens are opened to Jesus, and Holy Spirit descends upon him in manifest form like a dove, and the second when following close behind the Spirit comes the voice from heaven declaring, "This is my Son, the beloved, upon whom is my favour."
Father, son and Spirit are involved significantly from the very outset of Jesus ministry. Behold: Heaven is opened. The Spirit is manifested. There is a sound from heaven.
In the book of Acts we see that Jesus continues to work the way he began...
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2)
When the New Testament writers use the word "behold!" they do so to get our attention. They do so because what follows is of special significance and importance. The word "behold" itself in the English is not ideal, because it is not widely used today and so can make a passage seem dated or religious, and that certainly is not the intention. But it is hard to think of a better alternative, especially considering the literal translation is the imperative for look.
Here's what the translators of the ESV had to say about it:
The word “behold,” usually has been retained as the most common translation for the Hebrew word hinneh and the Greek word idou. Both of these words mean something like “Pay careful attention to what follows! This is important!” Other than the word “behold,” there is no single word in English that fits well in most contexts. Although “Look!” and “See!” and “Listen!” would be workable in some contexts, in many others these words lack sufficient weight and dignity. ~ Preface to the English Standard Version
There is no single English word that fits. One phrase I thought of was, "Mark my words!" In a language that originally lacked punctuation, it could also bee seen as a literary device similar to the exclamation mark or bold italics.
At the end of Matthew chapter 3, the account of Jesus baptism, we get two such "behold!" moments in rapid succession. The first when the heavens are opened to Jesus, and Holy Spirit descends upon him in manifest form like a dove, and the second when following close behind the Spirit comes the voice from heaven declaring, "This is my Son, the beloved, upon whom is my favour."
Father, son and Spirit are involved significantly from the very outset of Jesus ministry. Behold: Heaven is opened. The Spirit is manifested. There is a sound from heaven.
In the book of Acts we see that Jesus continues to work the way he began...
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2)
18.9.07
Angelic Dreams
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream... (Mt 1:20a)
Reading through the first two chapters of Matthew, I have been struck by the way God spoke to Joseph. To Mary and to Zechariah the angel turns up when they are awake. But to Joseph he turns up in his dreams while he was sleeping.
It made me stop and ponder the faith of Joseph in this situation with a new admiration. How did he know that God had really spoken to him, and he had not just... um... dreamt it!
This was a huge decision for Joseph, and what he had heard was something totally unprecedented in the whole of redemptive history... and God was asking him to believe and obey on the basis not of a waking vision or visitation, but a dream!
I wonder how that would go down today, in this cerebral, empirical-data driven society which can pervade even God's people. How many today would be confident to base a life-changing decision on the basis of an unprovable, totally subjective dream.
Today there is much caution and scepticism of making decisions based on emotions or imaginations. We should not be led by such things they say - and they are right.... but neither should we be led purely by what we can grasp cerebrally from the empirical data. It may be very scientific, very intellectual, very respectable - but where is the faith needed for that? If Peter had waited for the water to become solid, he would have never stepped out of the boat.
What we need to be led by is the Spirit of God. And he will communicate with us, the way he chooses - not necessarily the way we would find the easiest. There is always a requirement of faith whenever God speaks. Those who are waiting for the iron-clad indisputable, totally verifiable word will be waiting a long time!! If God chooses to stir our emotions, we need to be those who have the faith to respond to those emotions. If God stirs our imaginations whether awake or asleep, then likewise we must respond. What matters is not how the message comes, but who sent it. If the source is God then we can be confident no matter how foolish we may seem to the cerebral mind.
God still has miriads and miriads of angels at his disposal. There is no indication that these heavenly messengers all hit the dole queue the moment the Scriptures were completed. That tells me something - God still has a lot to say!
I admire Joseph. Like his namesake in the Old Testament, he learned the power and significance of responding in faith to dreams from God. It was a lesson that was to save his life...
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt (Mt 2:13-14)
Reading through the first two chapters of Matthew, I have been struck by the way God spoke to Joseph. To Mary and to Zechariah the angel turns up when they are awake. But to Joseph he turns up in his dreams while he was sleeping.
It made me stop and ponder the faith of Joseph in this situation with a new admiration. How did he know that God had really spoken to him, and he had not just... um... dreamt it!
This was a huge decision for Joseph, and what he had heard was something totally unprecedented in the whole of redemptive history... and God was asking him to believe and obey on the basis not of a waking vision or visitation, but a dream!
I wonder how that would go down today, in this cerebral, empirical-data driven society which can pervade even God's people. How many today would be confident to base a life-changing decision on the basis of an unprovable, totally subjective dream.
Today there is much caution and scepticism of making decisions based on emotions or imaginations. We should not be led by such things they say - and they are right.... but neither should we be led purely by what we can grasp cerebrally from the empirical data. It may be very scientific, very intellectual, very respectable - but where is the faith needed for that? If Peter had waited for the water to become solid, he would have never stepped out of the boat.
What we need to be led by is the Spirit of God. And he will communicate with us, the way he chooses - not necessarily the way we would find the easiest. There is always a requirement of faith whenever God speaks. Those who are waiting for the iron-clad indisputable, totally verifiable word will be waiting a long time!! If God chooses to stir our emotions, we need to be those who have the faith to respond to those emotions. If God stirs our imaginations whether awake or asleep, then likewise we must respond. What matters is not how the message comes, but who sent it. If the source is God then we can be confident no matter how foolish we may seem to the cerebral mind.
God still has miriads and miriads of angels at his disposal. There is no indication that these heavenly messengers all hit the dole queue the moment the Scriptures were completed. That tells me something - God still has a lot to say!
I admire Joseph. Like his namesake in the Old Testament, he learned the power and significance of responding in faith to dreams from God. It was a lesson that was to save his life...
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt (Mt 2:13-14)
17.9.07
A chapter a day...
Here at Living Rock Church we are just starting a new Bible reading programme together as a whole church. Over the next 89 days we will be reading a chapter of the Gospels every day. Starting today in Matthew 1 and finishing on 14 December in John 21.
What excites me, is not so much the reading programme, but its purpose: to meet with Jesus. To encounter the Jesus of the gospels and allow him to transform our lives again, as he always does whenever we truly meet with him.
To help members of the church, and anyone else who would like to join us on this "short but significant journey." I have adapted my old "Ephesians Every Month Reader" into a shiny new "GospelReader."
I have written it to work on a rolling 89 day cycle. So if you get blessed by reading through a chapter of the gospels every day, you can carry on doing so indefinitely, and incorporate it into your existing reading disciplines and devotions.
GospelReader 1.02 requires Java Runtime Environment(JRE)
What excites me, is not so much the reading programme, but its purpose: to meet with Jesus. To encounter the Jesus of the gospels and allow him to transform our lives again, as he always does whenever we truly meet with him.
To help members of the church, and anyone else who would like to join us on this "short but significant journey." I have adapted my old "Ephesians Every Month Reader" into a shiny new "GospelReader."I have written it to work on a rolling 89 day cycle. So if you get blessed by reading through a chapter of the gospels every day, you can carry on doing so indefinitely, and incorporate it into your existing reading disciplines and devotions.
GospelReader 1.02 requires Java Runtime Environment(JRE)
14.9.07
Jeremiah 33:6-9
Behold, I will bring to it [this city] health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.
I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.
And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.
I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.
And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.
12.9.07
Kindness and Repentance
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Ro 2:4)
I heard a news article on the radio yesterday about the split caused in the Anglican church in the USA over the issue of homosexuality.
I don't want to comment on this directly, or about any of the people or the organisations involved. But I do want to give some general comments on the debate as a whole.
The Scriptures tell us it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. Both the kindness of God that reaches out to all men while they are still in their sin, and the repentance that this must lead us to if we are to come into the new kingdom order of God are essential if we are to present the good news of the Gospel without distortion. The polarization that can occur in any debate must not drive us to an extreme where we let go of one or the other.
Jesus was the "friend of tax collectors and prostitutes." These were the outcasts of society, the ones that the religious people did not want to associate with. We must guard against a new wave of pharisaic self-righteousness that deems that certain men are beyond the love of our saviour. I'm sure if Jesus walked the earth today he would upset just as many religious people by being the friend of homosexuals. The Gospel is good news to all men. We must be careful that we do not portray it otherwise.
However, although Jesus was the friend of tax collectors and prostitutes, he never condoned the common practice of extortion among the tax collectors, nor the prostitution of the prostitutes. His message and his ministry were clear from the very first day: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" The kindness of God reaches out to all men in their sinful state, but it does not do so to endorse any form of sinful lifestyle, nor to come just to meet our spiritual needs as we carry on the way we have always gone, doing our own thing. It calls us to repent. To radically change the way we think and act. It is not just the homosexual who has to repent and change his lifestyle when he comes to Jesus - we all do!
For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Ro 3:22b-24)
I thought about the word "repent" today. It is still a good word, but sadly because it is not common in everyday speech it has lost some of its true impact and accumulated some unwelcome religious baggage. I had a think about an alternative, and came up with this: "Defect!" It carries the same sense of radial switching of thought and allegiances, and the same result of transfer from under one kingdom to another.
"Defect, for God's kingdom is coming. Change sides, so you are on the winning team!"
Both kindness and repentance are vital to the gospel message. We must reach out to all men, regardless of what label society or even they themselves have applied. Note well, the Bible does not talk about homosexual men, but men who practice homosexuality. Society may define people by their sexuality but the Bible never does. There are not gay men and straight men, there are just men. In fact...
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
The only real division that is left is between those who have defected, and have brought their lives out from "doing their own thing" to being under the rule and reign of God, and those who have not.
Without repentance there is no entry to the kingdom, let alone leadership within it!!
I heard a news article on the radio yesterday about the split caused in the Anglican church in the USA over the issue of homosexuality.
I don't want to comment on this directly, or about any of the people or the organisations involved. But I do want to give some general comments on the debate as a whole.
The Scriptures tell us it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. Both the kindness of God that reaches out to all men while they are still in their sin, and the repentance that this must lead us to if we are to come into the new kingdom order of God are essential if we are to present the good news of the Gospel without distortion. The polarization that can occur in any debate must not drive us to an extreme where we let go of one or the other.
Jesus was the "friend of tax collectors and prostitutes." These were the outcasts of society, the ones that the religious people did not want to associate with. We must guard against a new wave of pharisaic self-righteousness that deems that certain men are beyond the love of our saviour. I'm sure if Jesus walked the earth today he would upset just as many religious people by being the friend of homosexuals. The Gospel is good news to all men. We must be careful that we do not portray it otherwise.
However, although Jesus was the friend of tax collectors and prostitutes, he never condoned the common practice of extortion among the tax collectors, nor the prostitution of the prostitutes. His message and his ministry were clear from the very first day: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" The kindness of God reaches out to all men in their sinful state, but it does not do so to endorse any form of sinful lifestyle, nor to come just to meet our spiritual needs as we carry on the way we have always gone, doing our own thing. It calls us to repent. To radically change the way we think and act. It is not just the homosexual who has to repent and change his lifestyle when he comes to Jesus - we all do!
For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Ro 3:22b-24)
I thought about the word "repent" today. It is still a good word, but sadly because it is not common in everyday speech it has lost some of its true impact and accumulated some unwelcome religious baggage. I had a think about an alternative, and came up with this: "Defect!" It carries the same sense of radial switching of thought and allegiances, and the same result of transfer from under one kingdom to another.
"Defect, for God's kingdom is coming. Change sides, so you are on the winning team!"
Both kindness and repentance are vital to the gospel message. We must reach out to all men, regardless of what label society or even they themselves have applied. Note well, the Bible does not talk about homosexual men, but men who practice homosexuality. Society may define people by their sexuality but the Bible never does. There are not gay men and straight men, there are just men. In fact...
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
The only real division that is left is between those who have defected, and have brought their lives out from "doing their own thing" to being under the rule and reign of God, and those who have not.
Without repentance there is no entry to the kingdom, let alone leadership within it!!
23.8.07
The Message and the Meaning
He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. (Mk 4:34)
I was recently asked an intriguing question:
What would be the sense in interpreting your own tongue? Why not just 'cut to the chase', and interpret it right-off?
The question goes deeper than just the issue of someone interpreting their own message in tongues. Since it is the same Spirit that inspires both the tongue and the interpretation, the same question holds whenever tongues and interpretations comes. Nor can you dodge the question if you are one of those who holds that tongues have ceased - because they had to be in operation first in order for them to cease. So why did and does the Spirit of God choose to use tongues and interpretations to communicate with his people? Why doesn't he 'cut to the chase' and just give a prophetic message in the first instance. Since Paul makes it clear that prophesy is to be desired above all the other spiritual gifts, why bother with tongues at all?
Here I take a detour into the gospels. Because it is interesting that the disciples asked Jesus a very similar question:
Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Mt 13:10)
Jesus never spoke in tongues, but it is clear that he had a similarly curious method of communication: he would speak in parables that would be incomprehensible to most, and then later he would give the interpretation. [It is also interesting in the Greek that speaking in tongues (glossais lalo) and speaking in parables (parabolais lalo) are similar constructs.]
Why, as the disciples themselves wondered, did Jesus not just cut to the chase and give the plain meaning in the first instance.
In fact, if we look back through the scriptures we see that this was often God's chosen means of communication:
God did not tell Pharaoh that there would be a famine, but gave him two dreams that Joseph had to interpret.
Even after Gideon had heard the voice of God, and had various miraculous confirmations to the tests he put out, he was finally convinced that God would give him victory through a dream and its interpretation:
As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand." (Jdg 7:15)
The prophet Daniel was renowned for one who was able to give interpretations from God. Twice he had to give both the message and the interpretation. The first when God spoke through Nebuchadnezzar's impenetrable dream; the second when God chose to communicate through indecipherable writing on the wall.
I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. (Da 5:17)
So we see, it's not a new question at all. Indeed looking at the big picture of God's eternal plan of redemption we might ask the question, "Why didn't God cut straight to the chase and send Christ, the lamb slain from before the creation of the world, when Adam fell? Why the millennia of type and shadow before the reality was revealed?"
Whatever the reasons may be, you cannot escape the fact that God chooses to communicate in this way! One reason may be that it is because he knows that we have to appreciate the problem before we will appreciate the solution; we have to appreciate the difficulty before we will appreciate the deliverance. It could also be that, like with the parables, God chooses not to reveal his most intimate thoughts and feelings to the casual observer, but only to those who make a diligent inquiry into them; those who hunger and thirst for his righteousness; those who seek him.
As Keri Jones says: God does not hide things from his children; he hides them for his children.
One thing is clear. There is something compelling about a mystery revealed. For whatever the reason, it speaks to us far more than if we just had the end message itself. It carries with it the M.O. of God himself!
Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation. (Da 2:9)
"Do not interpretations belong to God?" (Ge 40:8)
I was recently asked an intriguing question:
What would be the sense in interpreting your own tongue? Why not just 'cut to the chase', and interpret it right-off?
The question goes deeper than just the issue of someone interpreting their own message in tongues. Since it is the same Spirit that inspires both the tongue and the interpretation, the same question holds whenever tongues and interpretations comes. Nor can you dodge the question if you are one of those who holds that tongues have ceased - because they had to be in operation first in order for them to cease. So why did and does the Spirit of God choose to use tongues and interpretations to communicate with his people? Why doesn't he 'cut to the chase' and just give a prophetic message in the first instance. Since Paul makes it clear that prophesy is to be desired above all the other spiritual gifts, why bother with tongues at all?
Here I take a detour into the gospels. Because it is interesting that the disciples asked Jesus a very similar question:
Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Mt 13:10)
Jesus never spoke in tongues, but it is clear that he had a similarly curious method of communication: he would speak in parables that would be incomprehensible to most, and then later he would give the interpretation. [It is also interesting in the Greek that speaking in tongues (glossais lalo) and speaking in parables (parabolais lalo) are similar constructs.]
Why, as the disciples themselves wondered, did Jesus not just cut to the chase and give the plain meaning in the first instance.
In fact, if we look back through the scriptures we see that this was often God's chosen means of communication:
God did not tell Pharaoh that there would be a famine, but gave him two dreams that Joseph had to interpret.
Even after Gideon had heard the voice of God, and had various miraculous confirmations to the tests he put out, he was finally convinced that God would give him victory through a dream and its interpretation:
As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand." (Jdg 7:15)
The prophet Daniel was renowned for one who was able to give interpretations from God. Twice he had to give both the message and the interpretation. The first when God spoke through Nebuchadnezzar's impenetrable dream; the second when God chose to communicate through indecipherable writing on the wall.
I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. (Da 5:17)
So we see, it's not a new question at all. Indeed looking at the big picture of God's eternal plan of redemption we might ask the question, "Why didn't God cut straight to the chase and send Christ, the lamb slain from before the creation of the world, when Adam fell? Why the millennia of type and shadow before the reality was revealed?"
Whatever the reasons may be, you cannot escape the fact that God chooses to communicate in this way! One reason may be that it is because he knows that we have to appreciate the problem before we will appreciate the solution; we have to appreciate the difficulty before we will appreciate the deliverance. It could also be that, like with the parables, God chooses not to reveal his most intimate thoughts and feelings to the casual observer, but only to those who make a diligent inquiry into them; those who hunger and thirst for his righteousness; those who seek him.
As Keri Jones says: God does not hide things from his children; he hides them for his children.
One thing is clear. There is something compelling about a mystery revealed. For whatever the reason, it speaks to us far more than if we just had the end message itself. It carries with it the M.O. of God himself!
Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation. (Da 2:9)
"Do not interpretations belong to God?" (Ge 40:8)
17.8.07
The Same Spirit
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1Co 12:11)
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Ro 8:11)
Paul makes it clear in his discourse on the gifts of the Spirit that they are all the activity of one and the same Spirit. At first it seems like an obvious and redundant comment, after all, how many Holy Spirits are there? Of course it must be one and the same Spirit because there is only one.
However, when you start to unpack the idea - it is the same Spirit - you can see why Paul wanted to emphasise it so strongly.
The Spirit who in victorious power raised Christ from the dead. If you have received Jesus as Lord, then it's the same Spirit who dwells in you!
The Spirit who hovered over the unformed earth on the first day of creation. It's the same Spirit who is in you!
The Spirit who stirred the hearts of the prophets: Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Elijah; the Spirit who gave Samson his strength; the Spirit who gave Gideon victory when vastly outnumbered. It's the same Spirit who is active in you!
The Spirit who descended on Christ in bodily form as a dove and empowered his ministry. It's the same Spirit who empowers you!
The Spirit who with a mighty rushing wind filled the house and with tongues of fire touched the disciples at Pentecost, filling them with power to be witnesses to the risen Christ. It's the same Spirit that fills you today!
The Spirit who was at work in the book of Acts and the book of Corinthians - guess what? - Yes, it's the same Spirit!
We don't have a different, or inferior Spirit; we are not filled with Spirit-Lite! We have the Spirit of Christ. The third person of the eternal, unchanging, almighty God-head lives within us! We are participants of the divine nature! He who is in us is greater - oh, how much greater! - than anything in this world.
Who can be against us, when God himself is not just with us, but in us! How can we fear the activities of Satan, when God himself empowers us? It is Satan and all his demons who tremble before the believer who truly understands what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
How can we be content with anything less than what we read in the pages of the New Testament, and believe that this can be a true manifestation of the same Spirit that turned the world upside down?
Let God be God. And let God be God in you! He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Ro 8:11)
Paul makes it clear in his discourse on the gifts of the Spirit that they are all the activity of one and the same Spirit. At first it seems like an obvious and redundant comment, after all, how many Holy Spirits are there? Of course it must be one and the same Spirit because there is only one.
However, when you start to unpack the idea - it is the same Spirit - you can see why Paul wanted to emphasise it so strongly.
The Spirit who in victorious power raised Christ from the dead. If you have received Jesus as Lord, then it's the same Spirit who dwells in you!
The Spirit who hovered over the unformed earth on the first day of creation. It's the same Spirit who is in you!
The Spirit who stirred the hearts of the prophets: Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Elijah; the Spirit who gave Samson his strength; the Spirit who gave Gideon victory when vastly outnumbered. It's the same Spirit who is active in you!
The Spirit who descended on Christ in bodily form as a dove and empowered his ministry. It's the same Spirit who empowers you!
The Spirit who with a mighty rushing wind filled the house and with tongues of fire touched the disciples at Pentecost, filling them with power to be witnesses to the risen Christ. It's the same Spirit that fills you today!
The Spirit who was at work in the book of Acts and the book of Corinthians - guess what? - Yes, it's the same Spirit!
We don't have a different, or inferior Spirit; we are not filled with Spirit-Lite! We have the Spirit of Christ. The third person of the eternal, unchanging, almighty God-head lives within us! We are participants of the divine nature! He who is in us is greater - oh, how much greater! - than anything in this world.
Who can be against us, when God himself is not just with us, but in us! How can we fear the activities of Satan, when God himself empowers us? It is Satan and all his demons who tremble before the believer who truly understands what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
How can we be content with anything less than what we read in the pages of the New Testament, and believe that this can be a true manifestation of the same Spirit that turned the world upside down?
Let God be God. And let God be God in you! He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
16.8.07
Teacher Training
What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2Ti 2:2)
Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, instructs him not only to teach in line with the revelation he has received, but to commission men as teachers to do the same. He was not just to pass on the revelation, but also the responsibility to present the revelation.
He was not instructed to identify and recognise those who were gifts of the ascended Christ - the Ephesians 4 ministries of Teacher (or Pastor-Teacher). Nor even to find those who already had an emerging teaching gift or ministry amongst the body. There is also no implication that Paul was referring to the Elders that Timothy had already been instructed to appoint - men who as part of their qualification had to be able to teach. He was just told to find faithful men.
You see just as there are men who are Evangelists but we are all to do the work of an evangelist, and there are men who are Prophets but all can prophesy, so too the ministry of teaching (imparting the revelation of Christ) is not limited to those with a recognised ministry or office of teaching.
The writer to the Hebrews says that we should all be teachers (in this sense), not merely those who continually need to be taught.
Jesus himself, expected that anyone who received instruction in the Kingdom would be able to impart it to others:
Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old. (Mt 13:52)
In fact the main responsibility of the recognised teaching ministries, as with all the other Ephesian 4 ministries, is to equip the body of Christ to do the work - not to do it all themselves!
The temptation for some teachers is to try to keep control of "their" revelation, to preserve their ministry. But Paul is very strong against this:
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1Co 3:7)
We can't really claim that any of "our" revelation is actually ours. For how did we receive it? Was it not from the revelation of others, or the free gift of the Spirit of God? If we received the revelation we teach freely from others how can we try to restrict those who teach what they have received from us? Paul was very clear in his own teaching ministry that his preaching, teaching and revelation, was not something he was the possessor of, but something entrusted to him from God to pass on:
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (1Co 4:1)
...and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; (Tit 1:3)
What if some of the men who run with "our" revelation overtake us in ministry or recognition? Praise God! If a man sows with my seed, am I not entitled to a portion of the return? I pray he sows far and wide and reaps a hundred-fold! After all who does all the seed ultimately belong to if not the Lord of the harvest. He did not give us good seed to stow away in barns, but to sow and sow and sow. Sow it as far as you can, and give it to others that they might sow with it too. Give others your seed and bless them that they might sow it further, in greater measure and with a better return than you ever did.
We are not involved with the activity of raising towers to make a name for ourselves, but in raising up teachers who may be fruitful and multiply and take the instruction of Christ and his Kingdom to the ends of the earth.
Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, instructs him not only to teach in line with the revelation he has received, but to commission men as teachers to do the same. He was not just to pass on the revelation, but also the responsibility to present the revelation.
He was not instructed to identify and recognise those who were gifts of the ascended Christ - the Ephesians 4 ministries of Teacher (or Pastor-Teacher). Nor even to find those who already had an emerging teaching gift or ministry amongst the body. There is also no implication that Paul was referring to the Elders that Timothy had already been instructed to appoint - men who as part of their qualification had to be able to teach. He was just told to find faithful men.
You see just as there are men who are Evangelists but we are all to do the work of an evangelist, and there are men who are Prophets but all can prophesy, so too the ministry of teaching (imparting the revelation of Christ) is not limited to those with a recognised ministry or office of teaching.
The writer to the Hebrews says that we should all be teachers (in this sense), not merely those who continually need to be taught.
Jesus himself, expected that anyone who received instruction in the Kingdom would be able to impart it to others:
Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old. (Mt 13:52)
In fact the main responsibility of the recognised teaching ministries, as with all the other Ephesian 4 ministries, is to equip the body of Christ to do the work - not to do it all themselves!
The temptation for some teachers is to try to keep control of "their" revelation, to preserve their ministry. But Paul is very strong against this:
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1Co 3:7)
We can't really claim that any of "our" revelation is actually ours. For how did we receive it? Was it not from the revelation of others, or the free gift of the Spirit of God? If we received the revelation we teach freely from others how can we try to restrict those who teach what they have received from us? Paul was very clear in his own teaching ministry that his preaching, teaching and revelation, was not something he was the possessor of, but something entrusted to him from God to pass on:
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (1Co 4:1)
...and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; (Tit 1:3)
What if some of the men who run with "our" revelation overtake us in ministry or recognition? Praise God! If a man sows with my seed, am I not entitled to a portion of the return? I pray he sows far and wide and reaps a hundred-fold! After all who does all the seed ultimately belong to if not the Lord of the harvest. He did not give us good seed to stow away in barns, but to sow and sow and sow. Sow it as far as you can, and give it to others that they might sow with it too. Give others your seed and bless them that they might sow it further, in greater measure and with a better return than you ever did.
We are not involved with the activity of raising towers to make a name for ourselves, but in raising up teachers who may be fruitful and multiply and take the instruction of Christ and his Kingdom to the ends of the earth.
9.8.07
Would you recognise him?
They did not recognise him nor understand the utterances of the prophets. (Ac 13:27)
It is striking to note how many times Jesus was not recognised. First John tells us that though he made the world, the world did not know him; he came to his own people but they did not receive him.
Even during his earthly ministry when he performed outstanding miracles, there were those who dismissed him as a fraud or as demon-possessed. It's incredible to think that God-in-the-flesh walked amongst them and they didn't realise it!
But here's what makes it even more astonishing, this lack of recognition wasn't limited just to the Pharisees, Scribes and other cynics - it extended to his own believers as well. His own disciples who had shared their lives with him for three years also failed to recognise him on occasion: The disciples on the road to Emmaus did not realise that they walked with the risen Lord. Mary at the tomb, when all she wanted to do was to see Jesus, still thought he was the gardener. And even Peter himself when he was fishing with the other disciples did not recognise the Lord when he called out to him from the shore.
It's astonishing and sobering to realise that God himself can speak and act among even his own people, and they do not recognise him. As Jacob declared:
"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!" (Ge 28:16)
One of the accusations that is levelled by some against prophecy today is that it does not come with the same level of authority or recognition as that in Biblical times. Anyone who thinks this should take a closer look at the texts. All through the history of God's people there has been the same problem - an elevation of all God has said in the past, yet an inability to recognise and accept what God was saying now. Even prophets like Samuel had to learn to recognise the voice of the Lord.
Modern church history also contains sobering accounts of those who devoted their lives to praying for revival, yet failed to recognise it when it came.
When God comes it is rarely in the way we expected. When he speaks it is often through a means we might despise. When he walks amongst us there is no guarantee, no matter how long we have been walking with him, that we will be looking in the right direction.
The real question for God's people in this day is not "Do you believe God still speaks?" but "When he speaks, will you recognise him?"
It is striking to note how many times Jesus was not recognised. First John tells us that though he made the world, the world did not know him; he came to his own people but they did not receive him.
Even during his earthly ministry when he performed outstanding miracles, there were those who dismissed him as a fraud or as demon-possessed. It's incredible to think that God-in-the-flesh walked amongst them and they didn't realise it!
But here's what makes it even more astonishing, this lack of recognition wasn't limited just to the Pharisees, Scribes and other cynics - it extended to his own believers as well. His own disciples who had shared their lives with him for three years also failed to recognise him on occasion: The disciples on the road to Emmaus did not realise that they walked with the risen Lord. Mary at the tomb, when all she wanted to do was to see Jesus, still thought he was the gardener. And even Peter himself when he was fishing with the other disciples did not recognise the Lord when he called out to him from the shore.
It's astonishing and sobering to realise that God himself can speak and act among even his own people, and they do not recognise him. As Jacob declared:
"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!" (Ge 28:16)
One of the accusations that is levelled by some against prophecy today is that it does not come with the same level of authority or recognition as that in Biblical times. Anyone who thinks this should take a closer look at the texts. All through the history of God's people there has been the same problem - an elevation of all God has said in the past, yet an inability to recognise and accept what God was saying now. Even prophets like Samuel had to learn to recognise the voice of the Lord.
Modern church history also contains sobering accounts of those who devoted their lives to praying for revival, yet failed to recognise it when it came.
When God comes it is rarely in the way we expected. When he speaks it is often through a means we might despise. When he walks amongst us there is no guarantee, no matter how long we have been walking with him, that we will be looking in the right direction.
The real question for God's people in this day is not "Do you believe God still speaks?" but "When he speaks, will you recognise him?"
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