Category Archives: Christian Character

People of the Book or People of the Spirit?

Posted by Matthew on February 8, 2011 None comments |

The Jews have been historically regarded as the “people of the book”. This is because of the strict adherence to the written code. It was held authoritatively above all matters of life and conduct. Because it is a noble thing to adhere to the Holy Scriptures, Paul teaches something unique about the those who choose to follow Jesus and become a Christian:

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:6)

What does this mean for us as Christians? Is the Bible less important now that we are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in us? The fallacy of some in the Church is to dichotomize the Spirit and the written word into two separate elements. What we have to remember is the nature and the essence of the Word of God itself and profound mystery that it is. The Word of God is the second person of the triune Godhead: Father, Son, Holy Spirit:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

It is unusual and hard to comprehend how the Word is equated with the person of Christ yet this is the truth of John 1. He is the “Godspeak”. Thus, when God breathes out text what do we have? The material Word, a holy text. That is, it is “Godspeak” in material form. Now if there is a visible, material word then there must be an invisible, immaterial word for what is on the mouth has already been on the heart (Matt. 12:34). This is how we understand bearing false witness (Exo. 20:16), when the words of your lips (or paper or computer screen) do not match the words on your heart:

Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him. (Jer 9:8)

One of the most revealing statements about the Bible comes from Jesus himself:

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering. (Luke 11:52)

Pay attention to the word “key” in this text. The Bible is a key. In that sense, we learn that it is not an end in itself. It is meant to unlock the doorway to something much bigger. Another important verse is the following:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Pay attention to the word “equipped” in this text. The role of the Bible is to equip us for serving in the new way of the Spirit (good works).

The Spirit as the Heart of the Gospel

On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit ushered in the age of the Church, everything changed. The gospel was complete and Christianity had begun. To better understand the nature of our faith (and Romans 7:6) we will need to take a close look at several scriptures.

You will be changed into another man

Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. (1 Samuel 10:6)

You will know the thoughts of God

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”– these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-12 ESV)

But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him’. But God has, through the Spirit, let us share his secret. For nothing is hidden from the Spirit, not even the deep wisdom of God. For who could really understand a man’s inmost thoughts except the spirit of the man himself? How much less could anyone understand the thoughts of God except the very Spirit of God? And the marvellous thing is this, that we now receive not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God himself, so that we can actually understand something of God’s generosity towards us. (1 Corinthians 2:9-12 Phillips)

You will have fire

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matthew 3:11)

You will have focus on God

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5)

You will put to death the works of the body

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

You will be a Son(or daughter) of God

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

You will pray with power

But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; (Jude 1:20)

You will know you are in Christ and Christ is in you

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:13)

You will be convicted

…because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

You will be sealed

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)

You will reap eternal life

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8)

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. (Galatians 5:5)

The connection with faith

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit… (Ephesians 5:18)

Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

Consider the emphatic exhortation of the New Testament writers to live life in the Spirit. We are to walk by the Spirit, pray with the Spirit, speak by the Spirit, preach by the Spirit, prophesy by the Spirit, exercise the laying on of hands imparting the Spirit, live by the Spirit, partake of the one Spirit, be unified by the Spirit, be reconciled to God by the Spirit, be empowered by the Spirit, be filled with the Spirit, and to serve God by the Spirit. Again, the goal of a Christian community is to seek the Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God consists of joy, peace, righteousness in the Holy Spirit.

The Bible as the Key

And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:37-40)

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering. (Luke 11:52)

…and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God… (Ephesians 6:17)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

In conclusion, we can see how Christians are called to be a people of the Spirit. Before Jesus Christ came around to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind and pave the way for the Spirit and mankind to unite as one, those who followed God were regarded as the people of the Book because this was all they had. They did not fully understand that the book was a key to a completely different religious universe—that of the very Spirit of God. Paul reveals this truth to us in these words:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath [the written code]. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance [the heart of it] belongs to Christ [to whom we belong by through the Spirit]. (Col 2:16-17)

We are taken beyond the written code into the very heart of God behind the code by his Spirit, which is made possible only by the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. Thus we are no longer subject to the written code, but instead something more awesome: God’s heart itself. Yet the written code is not thrown in the trash, because after all, God wrote it and thus it is useful for correction [not lording] as Paul writes (2 Tim 3:16-17).

Depression and Psalm 38, Psalm 102

Posted by Matthew on November 29, 2010 1 comments |

Depression is a somewhat mysterious thing. Definitions are often ambiguous. Although the word depression is entirely absent from the Scriptures, Bible teachers will often equate it with a broken spirit (Proverbs 18:14) or being laid low in the dust (Psalm 119:25). Some understand that it is a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, and thus victims are “forced to be sad”. Traditional/Folk Psychology will render it a mood disorder or an inability to enjoy. It is labeled clinical depression when a person goes over two weeks without being able to enjoy any activities at all. Wikipedia states:

A number of psychiatric syndromes feature depressed mood as a main symptom. Mood disorders are a group of disorders considered to be primary disturbances of mood. Within them, major depressive disorder (MDD), commonly called major depression, or clinical depression, is a condition where a person has at least two weeks of depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities. Dysthymia is a state of chronic depressed mood, the symptoms of which do not meet the severity of a major depressive episode. People suffering bipolar disorder may also experience major depressive episodes.

On bipolar disorder it states:

Signs and symptoms of the depressive phase of bipolar disorder include persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, guilt, anger, isolation, or hopelessness; disturbances in sleep and appetite; fatigue and loss of interest in usually enjoyable activities; problems concentrating; loneliness, self-loathing, apathy or indifference; depersonalization; loss of interest in sexual activity; shyness or social anxiety; irritability, chronic pain (with or without a known cause); lack of motivation; and morbid suicidal ideation.

The curious thing about reading a definition like that is how closely it resembles certain passages in the scriptures:

For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes–it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off. Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes. (Psa 38:2-14)

Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. (Psa 32:2-4)

For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh. I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places; I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass. (Psa 102:3-11)

Here the Psalmist feels guilt, heaviness, “plagued”, abandoned, dried up, shame, sunk, sad, and nearly hopeless. His days waste away. He can’t sleep. He feels incredibly lonely. But notice how he remarks, “because of your indignation“. He later says, “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.” (Psa 38:18) Here, at least, sin is a very real element in the depression. You will also notice how God is behind a lot of these feelings: “your arrows have sunk into me”. Whatever the case may be with respect to depression, it is clearly beyond dispute that the Word of God has very significant things to say to these common feelings we humans go through during times of depression. And because they address the reality of sin so poignantly, the last thing one should do when they’re going through depression is to ignore them. Sin is no game.

But before we call all depression sin let’s clarify exactly what we’re talking about. The depression we are after and that we want to nail to the cross is self-pity depression. If there be situations such as chemical imbalances in the brain that contribute to our “feeling down” then we can say such “depression” is forced upon us. This has proved a great point of contention for Christians and non-Christians alike. If such were the case it would seem our complaint to God is just, and we are simply suffering from another disease as though it were cancer. However, one difficulty with this is the fact that cancer, HIV, and other diseased patients can, and do, rejoice and have joy, life, and peace in God. But being depressed is, by definition, some kind of inability to have joy, peace, and life. This presents a rather huge problem for any Christian who believes that there is life, peace, and joy in Christ. Nonetheless, whether this is all true or not is not our concern in our present study.

Perhaps the most important thing to understand when it comes to self-pity depression is that it is not forced upon us. That is just stating the obvious. We lead ourselves into it as a reaction to bad circumstances in our lives which can be our own fault, the fault of friends and family, or even the fault of God. The life of Job is a outstanding example of this. Anti-depression drugs will not solve anything in this regard. More likely than not when we face this kind of depression, we tend to find its cause in what others have, or have not, done to us. Some desire is unfulfilled. We want what we cannot get. We instinctively believe that fault lies outside of us. From a biblical standpoint this kind of depression is sin. We are not talking about godly sorrow, sadness, or pain here. Neither are we talking about the anguish or affliction of the heart. Those are such things that are indeed caused from without when circumstances beyond your control weigh heavily on you. Paul, Jeremiah, and Jesus were well acquainted with such emotions:

Paul - For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. (2 Cor 2:4)

Jeremiah - Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. (Lam 1:12)

Jesus - And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luk 22:44)

Self-pity, on the other hand, is what the bible would categorize as “worldly sorrow”. It is not something to be taken lightly either for this kind of sorrow leads to death.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Cor 7:10)

This means there is an element of pride mixed in the emotion. Hence when you feel self-pity depression you can sense a “dirtiness” to it. There is an evident lack of righteousness. And in case you haven’t noticed, people are not very sympathetic to your depression. Often they will rightly judge that you simply need to stop “throwing a pity-party” and just get over yourself. The great thing about understanding the sinfulness of this depression is how it ultimately liberates us from it altogether. It stands in direct contradiction to the Way of Christ. Truth is what Jesus said would set us free. The depression literally sucks the life out you. In fact, in the U.S “over 60 percent of all people who die by suicide suffer from major depression…If one includes alcoholics who are depressed, this figure rises to over 75 percent.” (AFSP) Christ, on the other hand, puts life into us. (John 10:10) 1 John 1:9 and James 5:16 say that life comes through confession and repentance. The sweet sorrow of brokenness and contrition lead to life. When we are broken and contrite we are actually mourning for the sake of God’s righteousness because we (or others) profaned it. It was him who did not deserve what we did to him. This is true humility and why God delights to “lift up the humble” but “cast the wicked to the ground” (Psalm 147:6). (And I can’t think of anything more depressing than to be cast to the ground by God) The humble one is he who cares more about how God is treated than how he himself is treated. The fool thinks he is righteous in his ways and deserves good–worldly sorrow/depression. The wise man knows he is unrighteous in all his ways and deserves eternal damnation–godly sorrow.

Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. (Ecc 7:3-4)

Loathing your self or loathing your life?

Notice how scripture makes a distinction between loathing the self and loathing your life.

Job - I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. (Job 7:16)

  • Interpretation: I hate my life, I don’t want to live any longer. Leave me alone, my life is useless!

Elijah - And he begged that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” (1 Kings 19:4)

  • Interpretation: I’ve had enough of this crap, God. I suck! Please let me die!

Jonah – When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”  (Jon 4:8-9)

  • Interpretation: This is bull trash. I don’t deserve this!

God – Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. (Eze 36:31)

  • Interpretation: I want you see that your heart is sin. Then you will know godly sorrow.

Job – …therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:6)

  • Interpretation: I have seen my heart and it is evil! I’m so sorry God, please have mercy!

Notice how repentance follows Job’s loathing of his self but not when he was loathing his life. The former was an example of godly sorrow, while the latter was of worldly sorrow. The People’s New Testament Commentary notes on the suicide of Judas (Matt. 27:5), “The sorrow of Judas was remorse. In the case of many besides Judas, it has resulted in despair, which has led to destruction of life, or to eternal death.” To hate your life is to despair. The loathing of your life is a sinfulness that, if left unchecked long enough, can lead to the desire to commit suicide as it did for Judas.

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (Jas 1:15)

Even if we don’t get to the point of hating our life and wanting to hang ourselves, all of us will at some time feel like life sucks. It can be as simple as the remorse of child getting caught for doing something he shouldn’t have, or a disciple of Jesus having to let go of materialistic things as was the case of the rich young man:

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mat 19:21-22)

Whatever the case may be, all forms of worldly grief must be repented of as quickly as possible. Arthur Pink gives us some powerful commentary on 2 Cor 7:10,

The sorrow of the world is the grief and mortification of disappointed worldlings, of those who know not God but whose trust is in themselves or in some arm of flesh. They have relied for prosperity from the world, and the world has sadly failed them. They have sought satisfaction from its broken cisterns, only to have their hopes dashed. The bitter springs from which their ambitions have proceeded are pride and carnal self-respect, and their motives and occasions for indulging the same are as manifold as the deceitful lusts of the flesh. But frustrated plans and defeated expectations sour and enrage, and nature’s greenness is turned into the drought of unrepentant grief. So far from leading the soul to God, it fills with wrath and enmity against Him. Its miserable subjects seek consolation from the world, endeavouring to drive away serious reflections by drowning themselves in its pleasures.

The sorrow of the world does not arise from just views of sin, nor does it proceed from any concern that God has been offended. It does not lead the soul to God in true penitence, nor turn to Him for consolation. The sorrow of the unregenerate is occasioned by temporal losses, which fill them with chagrin and dismay; by crimes which incur public disgrace for their perpetrators and their families; from the squandering of a goodly heritage which terminates in poverty and despair; from wandering from the path of chastity, and in consequence losing their good name among men: from intemperance and reckless living, which ends in ruined health and vain regrets for having played the fool. In all such cases there is no contrition of heart for having violated a righteous Law, offended a kind Creator, or been an occasion of stumbling to their fellows. It is only that they are incensed at the harvest which follows their evil sowing and fretful because lack of money or health prevents them from continuing such excesses. (Arthur W Pink, Studies in the Scriptures)

The Exhortation to Rejoice

To exhortation to be joyful is the exhortation to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We’re not talking about the ‘happy-clappy’ smiles of toothpaste commercials but a true joy that comes by choosing to rejoice.

For the kingdom of God is…of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17)

It is a foreign idea to our carnal minds yet spiritually liberating on so many levels. John Piper has a great work on the subject known as The Dangerous Duty of Delight. While it’s not fitting to be happy in the midst of trials, it is completely fitting to rejoice in the midst of trials. If it weren’t so, the Apostles are conflicted:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 1:6-7)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas 1:2-4)

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Rom 5:2-5)

Notice how Paul says “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” in this passage. When we go through loss, pain, suffering, affliction, fiery trials, etc., we rejoice not for our own lives but in hope of the glory of God. God cares about himself very much and Paul is saying that this very fact is cause for rejoicing. But why is that? It’s much easier and makes more sense to rejoice when God keeps us out of suffering! Or at least relieves it quickly! But many times he does not. And when our suffering is prolonged, by and by our sinful nature begins to eat away at us from the inside and we slowly turn into self-justifying, God-accusing, bitter old people who hate life and everything about it. If suffering is long, you are not alone.

David - For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. (Psa 31:10)

Job - For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. (Job 3:24)

Hezekiah - What shall I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. (Isa 38:15)

And if there was any solution to this selfish depression it would be this: repent and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We must be fully liberated from our self by his glory before we can overcome deadness of self-pity.

Lord, forgive me of worldly, selfish sorrow!
Restore in me a right vision fixed on you
for I have wandered from you into the darkness of myself,
Behold I am of small account, what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

The Body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12

Posted by Matthew on November 18, 2010 None comments |
bodyofchrist

There is a great deal to teach about when it comes to understanding the Body of Christ. Most of us know in a general sense that the Body of Christ is the Church. It is all the believers acting as the “hands” and “feet” of Jesus reaching out to the lost and dying throughout the world. While all of that is true, it remains that there is a pressing need in our generation for Christians to have a much fuller understanding of the Body of Christ and how we relate to it as individuals.

How do we personally relate to the Body of Christ?

The spirit of the age that we live in, especially in the West, is that of radical or extreme individualism which is literally leading the mass of people toward a narcissistic, ego-centered worldview. This is something that stands in direct contradiction to Body Life-the way the people of God live out their Church life. That, the Bible says, is self-destruction. It is self-destruction because of the fact that our “self” is deprived. It is desaturated of life, fully fallen, sinned-out, and totally shot. Not a sliver of good remains within us.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. (Rom 7:18)

So while the world tells us to inflate, exalt, and indulge the self with pleasure, the Bible says to crucify it. Therefore the first step in entering into an authentic Church life and contributing to the Body of Christ is crucifying the self. You don’t inflate it but deflate it. You don’t exalt it but humble it. You don’t indulge it, but discipline it.

To clarify the definition of the Body of Christ we must see it in three ways. First is the literal Body of Christ, resurrected from the grave, ascended to the right hand of the Father. Second is the spiritual Body of Christ, in which every believer throughout history into the present (and future) is baptized by the Holy Spirit. Thirdly is the local Body of Christ which exists within the constraints of a particular time and place on earth. “Bodies of Christ” scattered abroad.

The way we relate to the first is by way of personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. The way to relate to the second is by virtue of being born-again into the divine family of God as a son or daughter making us all brothers and sisters with everyone from Abraham to the Apostle Paul to the last saved soul on earth. The way we relate to the third is by the act of submitting to and meeting regularly with a local group of believers.

1) If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Col 3:1)

2) For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Cor 12:13)

3) Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. (1 Cor 12:4-28)

The third way is the one that needs particular emphasizing because the extreme individualism of our day is causing many Christians to believe that the first two ways are sufficient for our walk and the third is not necessary. In fact we presume to think that the third is merely institutional or man-made and therefore of little or no relevance to our lives as Christians. But such thinking is to put the entire teaching of 1 Corinthians 12 in the trash. God has appointed in the local church body various kinds of talents, gifts, activities, and means of service.

Your Part: Singleness of Purpose

Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David with singleness of purpose. (1 Chron 12:33)

Each individual is given something. He is appointed by God a specific function or role in the Body of Christ. This is an all-important truth that cannot be overlooked. This means that each individual has the responsibility to offer that talent or gift to the Body of Christ and not bury it. Likewise, church leadership has the responsibility to see to it that each individual has a place to use their talent and to encourage them in the use of it.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Rom 12:3-8)

It is interesting that Paul precedes this passage with a warning: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought! The reason he gives for this is that we are one body and individually members of each other. We need each other. We are not the Body of Christ in and of ourselves! How many of us like to think we can do everything ourselves and be some kind of jack-of-all-trades Christian. But this is not possible because talents are appointed and apportioned by the Almighty God. He decides who is gifted with what.

The members do not all have the same function. Think again about the varieties of talents, gifts, activities, and means of service. There are endless possibilities to the make-up of a local body. Obviously some of the more pertinent gifts are those such as prophecy, healing, discerning spirits, tongues, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, etc, but there are also varieties of service and activities which could be anything from real estate to a foreign language to a musical instrument.

Our function as individuals in the Body of Christ, as granted by God, should transcend church attendance. It is not a function turned on for an hour each week and then turned off when you go home until you return again. Our function should become part-and-parcel of our personal identities.

Every individual needs to find out what their role in the Body is. God is ready to reveal that to listening ears. When we know our role, gift, or talent, we need to take it to the max. This means self-discipline and self-sacrifice. If you try to be great at too many things you will end up good at nothing. It is a matter of investing whole-heartedly into that talent God has given you to produce those most return that you can. But to do this we must renounce the selfish individualism that bids us to “live in the moment” and do all you can for the sake of pleasure-eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die. Such an attitude will cause us to spread ourselves thin across all sorts of activities, skills, talents because we are doing it all for ourselves. The local Body of Christ should be the most preeminent thing in our lives. This doesn’t mean neglect of our personal lives, or our family lives, for we and our families are included in the local Body of Christ. It means rather a re-thinking of how we spend our time alone, with our families, and with the local Body of brothers and sisters.

Think of those musicians who are a part of a professional orchestra. Their life and career is literally the instrument they play. Because they practice and train devotedly with such discipline and singleness of eye they are able to contribute a powerful part to the whole Orchestra. The benefit they reap for all the hours and years of hard discipline and practice is the privilege of contributing to and being part of a glorious force of music which is reward enough in itself.

Or in the case of the army think of how men will spend all their time training and specializing in one field or weapon to become as skilled as possible in it. When that one soldier of skill is combined with a multitude of soldiers of skill you get, once again, a glorious force of strength that is not quickly defeated. Whereas if soldiers are all trained in all manner of fields and weapons so as to become mediocre in skills, it is of no advantage; they will be but a mediocre force when combined and easily subsumed by the enemy.

William M. Thayer writes on having singleness of purpose:

By singleness of purpose we mean an early decision to follow a certain occupation or profession as a life-work, keeping that object constantly in view, true as the needle to the North Pole, and pushing using for it through sunshine and storm to the goal. That is what the great apostle meant when he said, “This one thing I do.” That single purpose took possession of his soul, and all the powers of his nature combined and bent to its accomplishment. In his triumphant declaration, “I press toward the mark for the prize,” is not only a dauntless spirit, but also the lofty aim that never knows defeat. Perhaps the wise man put it best of all, when he said to the young, “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left.” That is singleness of purpose….There is no grander spectacle than that of a youth girding his loins for the battle of life, his sharp eye upon the flaming goal in the distance, his soul on fire with enthusiasm for victory, and all barriers crumbling beneath his feet. These are the few who were not born to die. They live for one noble object and so they live for all.

What, then, is the goal of the Christian Body of Christ?

Is it to seek growth? Is it to form grandiose and ambitious plans? Is it to design the perfect model? Is it to live for the community around us? No, it is none of these. The goal of the Christian community is to be spiritual:

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:12-16)

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. (1 Cor 3:1)

Jesus says we must be spiritually born again if we will enter the Kingdom of God, and that our whole path is centered on seeking this Kingdom:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Mat 6:33)

He calls us to make one thing the primary focus of our seeking hearts. It is not church growth nor great plans or strategies, nor producing the finest models for fellowship. It is to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. But what does seeking the Kingdom of God have to do with becoming spiritual? Further exposition on what this means leads us ultimately to the Spirit of God:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17)

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. (1 Cor 4:20)

This kingdom does not consist in talk, food, or drink, but in power, righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. Therefore we don’t judge a church by its numbers, designs, forms, models, or growth-we judge it by its power, its righteousness, its joy, and its peace! That is what you will find in a strong, mature, and glorious church!

To recap what we have said in our study:

  1. The Body of Christ has the divine purpose to become a powerful and glorious force in the world.
  2. We must individually strengthen our primary function and skill as best we can for the sake of the Body of Christ.
  3. We must not “live in the moment” for ourselves but be thinking ahead and finding out our function and gifting as early as possible so that we may use our talent for the sake of the Body.
  4. We must grow out of our infancy into spiritual maturity and strength according to our respective functions by seeking the Holy Spirit. When the hand grows strong, and the foot grows strong, and the other members of the Body each grow strong, only then can we have a strong Body of Christ.

That will be the day when our “Orchestra” resounds with a majestic beauty and power that will leave the world standing in awe.

The Furnace of Affliction – Isaiah 48:10

Posted by Matthew on September 21, 2010 4 comments |

 

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10)

Sometimes God afflicts us. He intends for us to suffer at times. It is needful for twisted, dirty, and broken things such as we humans are. Sometimes he allows us to be afflicted. Suffering, indeed, comes in many forms. Sin, Satan, death, and other humans all deal their share of blows in our lives. It is a cruel world full of mercilessness, enmity, deception, pain, and loss. Much of the time we are not explicit targets for such afflictions but just happen to be “in the way” when darkness comes around. Saints however are afforded a sure refuge in God from all the afflictions.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivers him out of them all. (Psalm 34:19)

It may be a long while ere Deliverance comes, but God never abandons his chosen sons and daughters to any affliction. Even death. For us in the light, death has no sting. (1 Cor 15:55) It is instead a blessing: It releases us from our fallenness and sinfulness and ushers us back into perfection.

In fact those who are in Christ—the saints—are destined for it. God has a “furnace” for us all to go through in this life in order that he might prepare us for entry into perfection.

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-4)

For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
(Isaiah 48:9-11)

You know when God repeats himself like this, For my own sake, for my own sake, he really wants us to understand it. There is a time when intense fire is necessary in Christian walk.  God’s promise is that the affliction will only be for a time:

Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering. (Isaiah 51:17)

Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;” (Isaiah 51:22)

Christ endured the greatest affliction the hand of God could ever deal.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief (Isaiah 53:10)

Because he was without sin, you will find no complaint or accusation from his lips for what he had to go through. This is because he understood his purpose, where he was going, and why he was sent here. We likewise would do well to study and know our purpose, where we are going, and why we were sent here so that when afflictions come we will not be ignorant and taken captive to more sin and bitterness, but instead be thankful.

…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…  (Eph 5:20)

The way our afflictions in the Christian life begin to make sense is when we understand that they are for his sake not ours. If God was ultimately interacting with us humans for our own sake, things would be a lot different. He would be serving us as his gods, worshiping us as his gods, making offerings to us as his gods, and making every effort possible to please us as his gods. But we know this is as false as your grandpa’s teeth. As absurd and deprived as this would be, how many of us can honestly say that we haven’t had this very kind of attitude toward God? How many times have we accused him in our sufferings and afflictions? How many times have we expected material blessings from him? How many times have we told him that he needed to please us? How many times have we felt like God needs to bow his knee at our every request? This sin and deception is the oldest in the book, but it never seems to fail. Satan is just as indefatigable with this deception today as he was in the beginning. He throws the questions at us like a ton of bricks: How could God do this to you? How could God let this happen to you? How could God not do this for you?

And so we come to the reason for God sending us through the furnace: To break us of our twisted self-idolizing ways so that our thoughts and questions will profoundly change to a whole new breed: How could I do this to God? How could I let this happen to God? How could I not do this for God? It is the very same attitude that sums up the meaning of repentance. It is how we come to bear fruit.

He has us pass through fires for his sake. The painful purification of our souls is so that we might praise God. Thus it was the will of God to crush us and put us to grief. It is how he vindicates his holiness.

It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. (Ezekiel 36:32)

It is a hard truth to swallow but must be a part of every Christian’s language. This doesn’t mean that there is no benefit to us in affliction. On the contrary the entire point of affliction is to make us holy. Read the verse at the beginning of our study again. God says, “I have refined you..” We are sanctified, purified, and refined for his sake! How good it is! It is a holy and blessed thing to undergo trial from the hand of God and should never be seen as an unjust negligence or action of God.  In the middle of the book of Isaiah we find an invaluable piece of Hezekiah’s journal in which we find written these words:

A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: I said, In the middle of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years. I said, I shall not see the LORD, the LORD in the land of the living; I shall look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world. My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night you bring me to an end; I calmed myself until morning; like a lion he breaks all my bones; from day to night you bring me to an end. Like a swallow or a crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety! What shall I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh restore me to health and make me live! Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For Sheol does not thank you; death does not praise you; those who go down to the pit do not hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness. The LORD will save me, and we will play my music on stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of the LORD. (Isa 38:9-20)

Notice the part where Hezekiah says, “O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit” and then Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness.” Affliction is meant to give us life!

Because of this we can look back on all of our afflictions–every last one of them–and thank God for them. It does not mean we ought to pray for or seek fiery affliction because only God knows our real need. The only affliction we are called to seek is that of fasting (Isaiah 58). We can also thank him for not leaving us to the mercilessness of affliction though he has every right to. The earnings of sin and dead works are nothing but death. We earned death and destruction plain and simple. The fact that creation and the human race continues at all is testimony to God’s mercy and goodness for giving us a chance. This is why it makes sense to rejoice in our afflictions:

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church (Colossians 1:24)

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:13)

Charles de Foucauld writes in Meditations of  a Hermit:

If he sends us happiness, let us accept it gratefully. Like the Good Shepherd he sets us in a rich pasture to strengthen us to follow him later into barren lands. If he sends us crosses let us embrace them and say ‘Bona Crux,’ for this is the greatest grace of all. It means walking through life hand in hand with our Lord, helping him to carry his Cross like Simon of Cyrene. It is our Beloved asking us to prove how much we love him. Whether in mental suffering or bodily pain ‘let us rejoice and tremble with joy.’ Our Lord calls us and asks us to tell him of our love and repeat it over and over again all through our sufferings.

Every cross, great or small, even small annoyances, are the voice of the Beloved. He is asking for a declaration of love from us to last whilst the suffering lasts.

Oh, when one thinks of this one would like to suffering to last forever. It will last as long as Our Lord wishes. However sweet the suffering may become to us, we only desire it at such times as Our Lord sends it. Your will be done, my Brother Jesus, and not mine. We long to forget ourselves, we ask nothing, only your glory.

Building on a Solid Rock

Posted by Matthew on August 18, 2009 None comments |

You have not had to approach things which your senses could experience as they did in the old days – flaming fire, black darkness, rushing wind and out of it a trumpet-blast, a voice speaking human words. So terrible was that voice that those who heard it begged and prayed that it might stop speaking, for what it had already commanded was more than they could bear - ’And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with an arrow’. So fearful was the spectacle that Moses cried out, ’I am exceedingly afraid and trembling’.

No, you have been allowed to approach the true Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have drawn near to the countless angelic army, the great assembly of Heaven and the Church of the first-born whose names are written above. You have drawn near to God, the judge of all, to the souls of good men made perfect, and to Jesus, mediator of a new agreement, to the cleansing of blood which tells a better story than the age-old sacrifice of Abel.

So be sure you do not refuse to hear the voice of God! For if they who refused to hear those who spoke to them on earth did not escape, how little chance of escape is there for us if we refuse to hear the one who speaks from Heaven. Then his voice shook the earth, but now he promises:’Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven’.

This means that in this final “shaking” all that is impermanent will be removed, that is, everything that is merely “made”, and only the unshakeable things will remain. Since then we have been given a kingdom that is “unshakeable”, let us serve God with thankfulness in the ways which please him, but always with reverence and holy fear. For it is perfectly true that our ’God is a burning fire’. Hebrews 12:18-29

In a day when Christians are dividing themselves off from one another needlessly over whether we need to be “liberal” or “conservative” followers I would like to proclaim this: Christianity is neither liberal nor conservative. It is eternal.

There are so many dualisms in the bible to explain life: sin and righteousness, good and evil, holy and unholy, alive and dead, etc. Even the Church itself is a “dualism”. The bible likens it to a building and a foundation. When we think about the building and growth of God’s church we normally think in terms of one universal way, and many spend so much precious time and energy trying to find that one way. When Jesus spoke of the Way he assuredly proclaimed that there was only one way to righteousness and reconciliation with God, and that it was through him alone. This is our foundation.

When it comes to building the Church upon this foundation however, we find that there is no one universal way and that there has never been one universal way. Jesus taught, more or less, that it would be like building a house on a firm foundation or a solid rock.

Looking through history since Jesus spoke those words, we see that this solid rock has indeed remained throughout the ages of the Church and has never changed. It continues in presence no matter what. If it didn’t, all of us today would be hopeless. We can also observe another intriguing fact: the “houses” built upon this solid rock have constantly…changed. There have been house congregations, basillicas, convents, monastaries, cathedrals, etc. Today we have garage and pub congregations, missional communities, parachurch organizations, world conferences, and missions organizations. They are all radically different in form, yet have one thing in common: they are built on that same unchanging, eternal, solid rock.  At the same time Church history is fraught with corruption and there are plenty of examples of all these same forms built on sand. This goes to show that unless we recognize the “dualism” of Church and look deeper to the foundations we will not be able to tell which ones are the good trees, the abiding houses, the strong refuges. In an age where liberalism is coming to mean that there should be nothing solid and where conservativism is coming to mean that nothing should change, we need to be on guard to know that the way of Jesus transcends these. There’s no limit to what our houses can look like, but whatever color, shape, or form they may be, they must always be built on the eternal, unchanging solid rock of God’s message to us for the time is coming when every work and every word will be tested for its foundational strength.

Calling vs. Desire

Posted by Matthew on July 24, 2009 None comments |

“Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” 2 Peter 1:10

“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Galatians 3:3

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Galatians 5:17

Planting a missional gospel community is  a simple thing, truly. Engaging the neighbors and people you know in your own home for the sake of the gospel is so easy, that nearly anyone can start one. It has been good to see the organic side of Church and to have hope in a lasting vision that involves an organic and living church. I know I’m tired of dealing with dead churches and am more than ready for a new thing. Portland is ready for a new thing.

However there seems to be a lot more at work that is unseen than what is seen, and because of that, taking this direction in life to become a church planter has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I have met more opposition than I ever have with any other pursuit. Encouragement in this direction is almost non-existent. I think most people have very little faith in church planting anymore. You are perhaps thought to be either selfish, greedy, shady, or otherwise off in some way or other. There is also a constant stream of lies spoken to my mind intended only to make me doubt, fear, worry, or feel ashamed.  A lot of times they work–and I doubt, fear, worry, and feel ashamed about doing ministry. Then there is my self. My self doesn’t even want to do it. It’s the last thing I would have chosen to do as far as my life interests are concerned. I didn’t appeal to me. The responsibility is beyond me. There’s far too much contempt out there for ministers and they don’t make any money—unless of course you’re one of those contemptible ministers. They have to sacrifice more time than the average Joe or Jane does just to be there for them. And Joe or Jane are only occasionally there for him, or sometimes not there at all.

All the while one small still voice keeps the reign, and its tight. Obedience is the last unbreakable bond between learning to be a minister and losing it to the dogs. I would have given it up many times but that bond just can’t be broken. Perhaps it is so that God has a destiny for certain people and if they don’t like it at first, they will learn that it is actually the best thing. Nine years ago I received that call and despised it. I didn’t want to do it, nor did I feel it was right. It was definitely not in me. In fact it was an old man who had prayed over me and spoken those words to me. “Pastor,” said he.

“Bull crap,” said I.

I could never forget what he said though. God wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t run from it either—it followed me everywhere I went. Destiny seems to follow you and press on you until you learn to obey.

Nine years later, I am still battling and struggling through to break free from all of these rooted oppositions. I still have a measure of desire to not do ministry. There are still thoughts that ministry is weird and is for weird people, though I know it is not true. There are still accusations from the enemy that I am too sinful or weak to do it. There are still many, many doubts. But I press on somehow, like a miracle. It shouldn’t be, yet it is. I am not yet a true minister, but a minister in the making. I’m still hoping it turns out for the good and that it’ll be worth it even though I know it will be worth it. It’s like bootcamp for the soldier—for now I need to focus on doing my duty and deal with the dirty work.  Weeping may linger for the night, but in the morning: joy. (Psalm 30:5)

The spirit and the flesh oppose one another so sharply on this point, and I pray for the diligence Peter talked about to “make my calling and election sure”.