September 3, 2009

The Temple of the Holy Hurricane Part: VI

Posted by Faith, Worship & Life under Ephesians 4, Genesis 01, Genesis 03, John 17 | Tags: , , |
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We are still focusing on the Holy Spirit and his ministry within his Temple, the Church. Increasingly, this teaching has been becoming more intense, honing on our eagerness for his work of transformation in our own hearts. We are eager for his transformation in the hearts of others. Yet, how eager are we for his transformation in our own hearts?

This teaching will focus on the Holy Spirit’s work in refashioning in us, as the “one” body of Christ, the image of God who is “one.” Let us begin with the basic Judeo-Christian confession found in Deuteronomy 6:4:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (ESV).

Some may object to this being the basic confession of Christianity. What about the cross? What about God’s free offer of grace? What about God’s love? What about God’s justice?

And perhaps one more objection … why does a statement that merely emphasizes that we have “one” God become so formative for Christian discipleship? Is it possible that even within Judaism that there are more layers to this understanding of the “oneness” of God than the mere/basic understanding that we only have 1 God?

I will ask us to be patient as we take a significant trek through the whole of the revealed will of God, his Scriptures. God is “one” will make more sense for us as we progress. Let us, for the present moment, turn to John 17:1:

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:1-11; ESV; underlining mine).

This is known as Jesus’s “High Priestly Prayer.” Do we know that Jesus functions very well as our High Priest? At any rate the whole of John 17 is Jesus’s prayer for his own, and those who would become his own. I want you all to notice that in the midst of all of this talk about glory, glorifying, and persevering comes this firm request of Jesus that his apostles would become “one” as Jesus and the Father are “one.”

If we remember from our first passage, God is “one,” is the basic confession of Judaism. What Jesus asks for and confesses could be rendered blasphemy. Ultimately, this forms part of the basis for Jewish fatal opposition to Jesus. God is certainly “one,” and only God is “one.” To say that one is “one” with God is in effect to confess some form of divinity, which is certainly blasphemy. To pray to the God who is “one” that he makes the Apostles, a group of plain, ordinary men, “one” as Jesus and God are “one” is over the top.

Such is part of the Jewish mind of Jesus’s day.

However, let us consider briefly what it means, according to the revelation of the Apostles, for God to be “one.” He is “one” God who is three Persons; three Persons who are in perfect relationship with one another; three Persons who love perfectly. Jesus prayed that the Apostles would “one” as God is “one.”

Let’s continue with Jesus’s High Priestly prayer, by picking up in John 17:12:

“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have give me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:12-26; ESV; underlining mine).

You’ll of course notice that I have a few words and phrases underlined. They all relate to “one.” Like in the first part of this passage, dealt with earlier, Jesus prays that for all of “those who will believe in me through their word,” that they would all be “one”; “perfectly one” even. Now, notice in the first of these two paragraphs that both Judas and Satan are also each called “one.” Is there are message in this? Is it possible that if we are not in “sanctified in truth” that we will become “one” with Satan and his schemes? What is Satan’s goal but to bring division, destruction, and ultimately death not only to God and his people but also to the whole earth?

We can certainly see this played out in the Creation accounts and in the first family. Let’s turn to Genesis 1:26-31:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding see that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with see in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (ESV).

This is the place in the first Creation account where God has made man. How many of “man” did he make? Well, he made Adam and Eve, but he call them together “man.” How similar is this to our Trinitarian concept of God? One “man” with more than one person? Yes, in fact this is what God says in 1:27. In the second Creation account, the more which offers more detail to the creation of man God makes Adam and then sometime later makes Eve. He commands they be “one;” one with more than one person.

I also want you to notice that in making man “one” God gave man, as “one,” one job to do: be the caretaker of earth under the charge of God. He charged them to be one and gave them a job to do as one. Jesus prays that his Apostles and those who would believe in him through them would be “one.” Before he ascends to the Father, he charges with going into all nations and, as “one” to make disciples of them.

How are we doing on both fronts?: Making disciples of all nations & doing so as “one?”

Now let’s fast forward a bit. Satan has entered the picture, bring with him his schemes. Man bought in. Let’s focus on a seemingly obscure aspect of the curse given to Eve:

Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you (Genesis 3:16; ESV).

Normally many folks like to translate this into sexual verbiage: You shall “want” (wink, wink) your husband. However, I don’t think this is the gist of the curse at all. To better understand this word, let’s take a look at the next story in line: Cain and Able. If we remember correctly, Cain gets jealous of Able and eventually murders him. Notice what God says to Cain in warning him against Sin:

The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:6 & 7; ESV).

God told Cain that Sin desired Cain. The connotation here is not sexual, but rather one of overpowering. God told Cain that he must rule over it. This is exactly the same formula given to Eve:  

Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you (Genesis 3:16; ESV).

In other words this part of the curse of Eve would be a lust for power, for Adam’s power, and Adam would rule over, or master, Eve. This is the torrential power struggle that rages even today among husbands and wives. The first family was perfectly one … until Sin entered in. Now this family who is called to be perfectly one in carrying out the charge of God is bent towards Sin and lusts for power over the other. The first story of this family outside of the Garden is one of jealousy and murder.

Now, let’s finish up by turning to Ephesians 4:1-16. I want you to notice Paul’s teaching on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Church. He is to refashion us into his unity, which is what we had prior to the Fall. This ability to pursue godly unity is the high mark of Scriptural holiness. The Holy Spirit has equipped certain folks for the task of aiding the people of God to become “one” and carry out the “one” mission of God. Let’s read:

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call–one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a
host of captives,
and he gave gifts to me.”

(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he has also descended into the lower regions, the earth? he who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love (ESV).

 

August 31, 2009

The Temple of the Holy Hurricane: Part V

Posted by Faith, Worship & Life under I Corinthians 12, I Corinthians 13 | Tags: , , , |
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Life gets chaotic at times, does it not? Whether it is in dealing with kids, bosses, kids that try to be the boss, or bosses that act like kids, life can be chaotic. Life in the church is no different. Are there times when we see “good Christians” acting like the devil? Are there times when churches die and the Lord of Life seems to have been totally distant?

We are in the middle of a series on the Holy Spirit and his ministry within the church. This is a part of a much larger series on the Apostles’ Creed, in which we have arrived at the last third. I’ve entitled this sub-series “The Temple of the Holy Hurricane.” Much of the Spirit’s way is to enter into our chaos to bring God’s order; to enter into our sickness to bring God’s health; to enter into our way of death to bring God’s life. We have become so accustomed to our way that the Spirit’s way seems chaotic, sickly, and deathly-destructive. He is the Holy Hurricane.

Let’s begin by entering the world of a group of people that were the least of all of the prospects for becoming a healthy church, much less a vibrant one. By all accounts Corinth should have been the last place a church could have sprouted and began to blossom. Yet, they did, and passionately so. The Corinthians church was a vibrant group who were passionate about the things of God. They were passionate about learning to move in the giftings of the Spirit. Unfortunately, all was not well on the home front. With equal passion of pursuing the giftings of the Spirit, they also pursued a way of disunity. Let’s begin by turning to I Corinthians 1:10-17:

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power (ESV).

Even with this simply taste of Corinthian church life we can see that while these people pursued a very powerful spirituality, they did not pursue the true life of Christ. It is easy to misread Paul to be condemning the use of spiritual gifts and all things mystic. Yet, I think it is a more faithful reading of the whole of I Corinthians to understand Paul to say that THE greatest mark of spirituality is not individuality. Rather the greatest mark of spirituality is the ability to love well, which includes the ability to navigate conflict with an eye towards unity. Yes, Paul does emphasize unity, but not uniformity.

As we shall see, spiritual giftings are meant to be tools towards the end of growing the whole body. Is it possible that we in the conservative (fundamentalist even) traditions, who do not necessarily emphasize spiritual giftings, make the same fundamental mistakes as those early believers in Corinth? Essentially those believers pursued their own egos at the expense of the life of other believers and at the expense of the whole body. They merely clothed their wolfy pursuit in the sheep’s garment of spiritual gifts. When someone is in sin, how do we treat them? When a strong church member falls, how do we treat them? When someone out in town and from a different church holds a different point of view, how do we treat them? When someone in our own fellowship holds a different point of view, how do we treat them? Bible “truth” I fear has become to us what spiritual gifts and giftings became to those early believers.

Let’s turn now to I Corinthians 12:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:1-3; ESV; underlining mine).

To begin with we must understand that the word gifts, which I have underlined, is not in the original Greek. However, most English translations (perhaps all) insert the word here, for Paul does speak of spiritual gifts throughout chapters 12-14. I think there may be a deeper purpose for Paul leaving this word out. If left out, the sentence reads something like: “now concerning spiritual brothers” or “now concerning the spiritual realm” or “now concerning the realm of the Spirit.” At any rate we in the mechanical and scientific West separate the spiritual from the physical. Paul does not.

Paul is perhaps referring to two different groups in this passage: those who say “Jesus is accursed!” and those who say “Jesus is Lord.” The first group would have been Jewish people who rejected Jesus as a failed, messianic pretender who rightly died under God’s curse on the cross. The second group would have been those Gentile converts who emphasize their allegiance to Jesus over Caesar, for to say that Jesus is Kyrios or Lord was to say that Caesar is not. With verse two speaking about being led by idols (Paul referred to this practice as demonic in chapter 8), Paul seems to be emphasizing that spirituality, even in the church, is not necessarily “in the Holy Spirit” and may even be demonic. Thus, by our lives we demonstrate who we are truly worshiping. By our engagement with the larger body we emphasize who we are truly worshiping. Let us return to our passage in Verse 4:

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 prophesy, 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 (12:4-11; ESV).

This of course is merely one of the several lists of spiritual gifts found within the New Testament. Let us not make the mistake of assuming this and the other lists are the only legitimate gifts in the Church. After all many of us refuse to recognize tongues, and even a few of us believe that the gifts disappeared with the death of the last Apostle. Let us not make these mistakes.

Paul is emphasizing that within the plurality of gifts there is ONE gift-giver. Verse 7 gives a great working definition of a spiritual gift that avoids the dry, cold, and stale understanding so commonly lived out. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” “My” gift or gifts are not given to me for me. They are given to me for the “common good” of the whole body. Or put a different way, the Spirit shows up in my life to make me his gift to the whole body.

And … for those of us who are “up” on spiritual gifts and moving in them, we may not like the following implication. If spiritual gifts are manifestations of the Holy Spirit and doled out “as he wills,” then is it possible that at least with some of the gifts that I do not “possess” them consistently or perpetually? Rather is it possible that I become “gifted” simply when the Spirit of God shows up for that moment?

I cannot count the amount of times I have heard “seasoned” Christians say that they cannot do such and such within the church. God has not called them; God has not gifted them; God has not … God has not … God has not. I am afraid that this understanding of spiritual gifts is a crutch to avoid taking responsibility for certain needs at hand.

For example: “Hey, Walter, would you mind attempting to fix the toilet in the ladies’ bathroom?” Walter replies, “I’m sorry, Bob, but I have not been called (gifted) to do such things.”

The basic question is this: are we submitting ourselves continually to the sovereignty of the Spirit of God? If the answer is yes, this will “manifest” itself in propelling us to open ourselves up to whatever the Spirit might have in store for us. Thus, instead of thinking in terms of what have I been “gifted” to do, as the hub of “my” spirituality, such an understanding would propel us to think in terms of seeking the sovereignty of the Spirit, while ministering to the needs of others, as the hub of “our” spirituality.

You see this passage is not so much about the details and mechanics of spiritual gifts, as it is about my living under the sovereignty of the Spirit in the lives of others in the whole of the body. It is in this vein, I believe, that Paul uses the metaphor of the one human body with many “members.” Consider Verses 12 & 13:

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 (ESV).

As a very good Jewish theologian, the bedrock of Paul’s theology is that God is one. Throughout the whole of I Corinthians and specifically here Paul is emphasizing that we are to be one as God is one. As our one God is three distinct persons, we are to be one body with distinct members. Let’s skip down to 12:27:

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. Are all apostles? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you still a more excellent way (12:27-31; ESV).

Following the beautiful metaphor of the one body with many members, Paul emphasizes just that: one body of Christ with individual members. He also emphasizes the importance of spiritual gifts: “And God has appointed …. But earnestly desire the higher gifts.” The last verse of our current passage underscores the one message of Paul: there is a more excellent way than the way of serving the individual needs of the individual ego. Let’s pick back up with I Corinthians 13, known far and wide as “The Love Chapter.” I will begin, however, with the last verse of chapter 12.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (12:31-13:7; ESV).

Paul’s “one” message, his “more excellent way” is the way of love among the individual members for the purpose of building up the whole, the one body. One way to especially drive this home concerns verses 4-7. These are the “Love is” verses. Wherever you see the word “love,” simply insert your name. Now read this out loud with some measure of sincerity.

Go ahead … do it … I’m being serious.

Now that you’ve done this, what effect did this have on you? The effect this little exercise upon you perhaps determines the quality of your relationship with the Spirit of God and your relationships with the members of your one fellowship. After all the quality of your relationships with the members of your one fellowship is a fairly good indicator of your relationship with the Spirit of God.

 

August 10, 2009

The Temple of the Holy Hurricane: Part IV

Posted by Faith, Worship & Life under Titus 01, Titus 02, Titus 03 | Tags: , , , |
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This is yet one more teaching in a series on the Holy Spirit and his ministry. This is a sub-series within our larger study on the Apostles’ Creed.

Driving up and down I-95 in North and South Carolina, you see gazillions of billboards advertising a place called, “South of the Boarder.” A couple of billboards have cars on them. Each one is truly creative and unique. With all of the effort paid in establishing all of these really unique billboards you can’t help but to believe there must be something going on at South of the Border.

However, what is there? Ask anyone this, and they’re liable to simply smile, shake their heads, and mumble, “Nothing.” It is simply one gigantic souvenir shop, offering tee-shirts and bumper stickers that let folks know you’ve been to South of the Border.

When we make such a fuss and effort with folks about coming to church, are we offering them anything more than simply a tee-shirt that says they’ve been to our church? Is our church merely a souvenir stand? Or is church meant to be something more?

In writing to Titus, Paul presents a vision of church that is dramatically more than that of a souvenir stand. Titus lived on the island of Crete and was in charge of other church leaders there. The blessing and curse of Titus’s ministry was Cretan culture. The blessing was that Cretan folks were being converted to Christianity and becoming an active part of the movement. The curse was that they were bringing their culture of physical and moral laziness into the church.

Let’s begin in Titus 1:5:

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you–if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination (Titus 1:5-6; ESV).

As Paul is beginning, he is listed some character traits that are to flow from both the church leadership and their families. Given the background of Crete, Paul is essentially instructing Titus to ensure that church leaders are to be different in their heart character from the common culture of Crete. There is a subtly that screams. Crete was known for moral and physical laziness. The standard of character Paul is setting requires actively taking charge of the direction of one’s heart and life. Throughout the rest of chapter one, we will notice this pattern.

Titus 1:7:

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, (ESV).

Again, I illustrate this pattern of being different from the culture in the inner heart character. Cretan culture was one of physical and moral laziness. The verse above (1:7) is not the whole of verse 7. I purposefully stopped in the middle. This first part emphasizes what the Cretan church leadership is to avoid. This, we shall see, is an apt description of Cretan culture. Now let’s finish verse 7 and carry through to verse 9.

… but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (ESV).

The first part of verse 7 is what Cretan church leadership was to avoid. This later part, the counter-balance, is what Cretan church leadership is to actively embrace and practice. Again Cretan culture was one of physical and moral laziness. Paul is expecting active excellence from his people. It should also be mentioned at this point, that Paul is not addressing the wider Cretan world (i.e. the pagans). Rather he is firmly addressing his own Christian people.

Let’s now pick up with Verse 10:

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work (Titus 1:10-16; ESV).

Here again, we get a flavor of the culture in which Titus lived and ministered. Again Paul was not speaking against the culture of the wider world for its own sake. Paul’s main concern is the church leadership under Titus. “They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work,” is the description of the wider world. The church leadership was to be different.

Here we begin to see one flavor of the vision of church that Paul has. The church is the place where people can be saved from their devastating culture. Notice the pattern here. Cretan culture is moral and physical laziness. The church in Crete was to facilitate transformation in people, making them into a disciplined holy army of effective good works in the redemptive name of Jesus with pin-point accuracy.

(Allow me to say a brief word about “the circumcision party.” These people were largely Gentile/Greek converts to Judaism, who have now converted to Christianity. They taught that all wishing to convert to Christianity must first be circumcised. Paul taught that Gentiles may convert directly into Christianity instead of having to go through Judaism first. To my knowledge very few of these people were ethnically Jewish. It is these people that Paul calls “Judaisers.”)

Let’s continue with 2:11:

For the grace of God has appeared, brining salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14; ESV).

Again, we see this pattern: from a culture of moral and physical laziness to the kingdom culture of moral integrity and physical discipline and readiness; from lawlessness to a disciplined holy army for good works in the redemptive name of Jesus. The holy mediation here is Salvation of two related types: Deliverance-salvation & Transformation-salvation.

Let’s pick up with 3:1:

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness… (Titus 3:1-5; ESV).

I want you to notice that humor of Paul here. Paul says that we were not saved “because of works done by us in righteousness.” It is true that we were saved by Grace, but I Paul is doing something different here from teaching on systematic theology. He emphasizes to one who works within a culture of moral and physical laziness that we are not saved because of works done in righteousness. Paul is using humor to jab at their culture. “We are not saved by works … after all we Cretans don’t work, and if we did, we certain don’t work good deeds!” I hope you see the same genius-humor there that I do.

Anyway, moving on along, let’s pick back up in 3:4:

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his graced we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people (Titus 3:4-8; ESV).

Now here in this selection of verses we see Paul specifically mention the Deliverer and Transformer: God, the Holy Spirit. The word picture used is that of a bath or shower. The Holy Spirit is “poured out on us.” I firmly believe this is to be a continual happening. If we remember our previous teaching from Ephesians 5, Paul instructs us to essentially keep on keeping on being filled with the Spirit.

No, he is not saying we must be initially saved or born again over and over. We all know people who have had dramatic first-time encounters with God. Yet, how many people do we know whom God has completely made perfect in that first encounter with him? Rather, we all need a life-time in which to change. We need a life-long continual bath in the Holy Spirit.

Once we are being cleansed of the world, how many of us in our own strength can live as God would have us to live? Very few of us for very long. Not only does the Holy Spirit deliver, cleanse, and transform us, he empowers us to live the new life in God in the world. And this Holy Spirit bath is made more powerful to the degree I involve myself in the lives of my fellow Christians … and in doing good works in the world.

No, Paul is not teaching a gospel of work-righteousness. Consider briefly the home. How many dads in our country consider the home to merely be a place to eat and sleep? Is not home supposed to be so much more? You betcha! Home becomes a richer experience to the degree the members involve themselves in the lives of one another: Parents with children, parents with one another, parents with their parents, grandparents with their grandchildren, the nuclear family with the extended family, and of course adult children with their elderly parents. Well … the same holds true for the household of the family of God. Church is a richer Holy Spirit bath to the degree that we involve ourselves in the lives of one another … and involve ourselves in the world.

We can have this vision of church: as a mere souvenir stand, wherein we merely acquire a tee-shirt that says we’ve been to church; as a home where we only and merely eat and sleep.

or …

… as a Temple of the Holy Spirit, wherein we are really and truly actively transformed from the nastiness of the world to the righteous image of God; as a home, wherein we experience being bathed in the Holy Spirit continually and wherein we deeply & redemptively involve ourselves in the lives of one another.

 

August 4, 2009

The Temple of the Holy Hurricane: Part III

Posted by Faith, Worship & Life under Ephesians 5 | Tags: , |
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This is the third in a sub-series on the Holy Spirit, entitled, “The Temple of the Holy Hurricane.” We have arrived at the last third of the Apostles’ Creed, which deals with the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the church. In this teaching we’ll discuss the notion of being filled with the Spirit of God as a continual need, event, and process.

Let’s turn to Ephesians 5:18:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit … (ESV).

At first glance this verse might attract very little curiosity. After all it is common Christian ethos to eschew drunkenness, if not all alcohol out right.  However, Paul is not teaching a Temperance message here. Rather Paul is giving us, in classical-Hebrew-word-picture fashion a very powerful understanding of the Spirit-filled life.

Before proceeding, we must understand something of comparisons in literature. If I were to attempt a writing campaign to curb littering on rural roads, I could make the following statement:

Keep our country roads clean.

We would all understand this message, would we not? But how effective would it be in securing a “beachhead” in the minds of country-road travelers?

However, consider the following statement:

Stop turning our roads into sewers. Transform them into wild-flowered avenues of paradisiacal beauty.

This statement carries more weight! It lodges in the mind and won’t go to bed. The reason is that two images of equally-drastic potency are contrasted. No, “sewers” and “paradisiacal beauty” are not equal in content, but they are equal in potency.

This is what is occurring in our verse at hand. No, debauchery and the Spirit-filled life are certainly not equal in content, but they are equal in potency. This is especially true when you understand that Greek behind the English of this verse. Paul quite literally instructs the Ephesians (and us by proxy) to keep on being filled with the Spirit. In other words, just like drunkenness for the debauched alcoholic is not a onetime event, being filled with the Spirit is an event that should occur continually, repeatedly, again and again and again.

Let’s do some further compare/contrast plays with debauchery and the Spirit-filled life.

In order to get drunk, does my fancy glass fill itself up all on its own? No, of course it does not. I must physically return to the bar and lift the glass up to the bar-tender and pay the money. Similarly, being filled with the Spirit is not automatic. It requires constant and consistent initiative on my part. Oh, yes, I was filled with the Spirit at my conversion experience, but I get empty! Paul instructs us to keep on keeping on being filled with the Spirit.

In drunkenness the chemical substance takes over my mind and body. It quite literally overpowers me. Well, with the Spirit-filled life the Spirit of God overpowers me. He is in total control … and I am impassioned with his desires. Returning to our previous compare/contrast play, this is all the more reason why I need to plead with God every day to fill me up to overflowing with his Spirit. I have influences in my life that vie for my support and allegiances, from the devil, himself, to things in the world, to my own former nature, to the people in my life who are uncomfortable with the changes God is making in my life. I must take up my cross daily. I must offer God complete control over my life daily. I must seek to be filled with his Spirit daily.  

My buddies in the service called beer, “Liquid Courage.” Several of the people I worked with at a former restaurant job swore up and down that they simply could not cook up to their potential without first having a few beers. Yet, the reality is that drunkenness takes away from our ability to perform and produce, does it not? On the other hand, being continually filled with the Spirit enhances and empowers my service for God. Drunkenness reduces me to an animal. Being continually filled with the Spirit makes me more fully human; restores in me a more focused and brighter image of God. 

It is indeed interesting that verses 19-21, which follows our verse at hand, reads as such:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (ESV).

Do we remember “The Andy Griffith Show?” Otis was always a welcome easy laugh. He was the town drunk. We all would laugh at the silly songs and melodies he would “create” in his jail cell, waiting out his drunken stupor. Following our current compare/contrast task, I believe that verses 19-21 are a contrasting element in our drunkenness/Spirit-filled word picture. Like in Otis’s life, drunkenness takes away from our ability to produce anything but silliness (at best) or despair and destruction (at worst) in the lives of others. By contrast, continually being filled with the Spirit enables us to produce blessings in the lives of others of symphony orchestra quality. Drunkenness causes discord in the lives of others through me. Being continually filled with the Spirit produces harmonic life in others through me. Have you ever participated in a community of some sorts where everyone “submitt(ed) to one another out of reverence for Christ?” Have you ever seen a community of some sorts do that with true joy? That is the result of the continual Spirit-filled life.

Now, here is your homework. Read Ephesians 4:17–6:9 (preferably in a translation you can understand).

Now that you’re finished, simply ask yourself, “How in the world can I possibly do all of that?” (Let alone do it with joy?) The answer is you can’t, not in your own strength. Let’s face it, folks. Even the largest of the Spiritual Giants among us get tired and weary. How many of us could work one week in the dusty fields on one large Sunday afternoon banquet? Not many of us. We must continually be filled with food and recharged with energy. The same is true for the Christian life. Very few of us are successful at living a productive & victorious Christian life on our mere Salvation experience. We must continually be filled with the Spirit of God.

 

August 4, 2009

The Temple of the Holy Hurricane: Part II

Posted by Faith, Worship & Life under Acts 01, Acts 02, Exodus 03, Exodus 19, Exodus 40 | Tags: , |
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This is the second in a sub-series entitled, “The Temple of the Holy Hurricane.” We have arrived at the last third of our journey through the Apostles’ Creed, and it concerns the church being the Temple of the Holy Hurricane, aka the Holy Spirit. In this teaching we will compare the fire of God in Exodus with the fire of God in Acts.

Question: Is our church rooted in the fire of God?

Exodus 3:1-5:

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led hi flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (ESV).

So, Moses meets God. He meets God on the very spot that he will later receive Torah from him. God appears to him in the flames that burn a bush, but do not consume the bush. God intends to commission Moses for his service, but Moses is afraid he is insufficient. In a way Moses is afraid he will be consumed in the process of serving God. Yet the bush foretells Moses’s life. He will be burn for God, but he will not be consumed. In fact he will become more alive than he had ever been before.

Let’s continue our trek through Exodus by turning to Exodus 19:

On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (19:1-6; ESV).

So God and Moses have delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt. Moses has assembled them at the base of the same mountain on which he first met God. God is about to ask Israel to marry him and offers terms for their covenant together. He saved them when they could not save themselves and delivered them to himself (verse 4). He offers them to be his treasured possession among all peoples on earth … if they keep covenant (verse 5). They will be holy. That is they will be set apart as one people, a whole nation of priests (verse 6). If they are a whole nation of priests, then to who are they to minister? I suggest the nations of the earth. They were delivered … not just for themselves … but for God and the nations.

Question: Are they ready for that?

Let’s pick up in Exodus 19:16-20:

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up (ESV).

There they are at the same place Moses meet God. They will meet God too. Just as Moses met God in fire; so these people will meet God in fire. Moses ascends to God, and tradition has it that during his stay on Mt. Sinai, God gave him the whole of Torah to give the people.

So, let’s recap Exodus 19. The people marry God on the terms of being set apart unto him for ministering him to the nations. They meet God in fire and receive his revelation, his word, his Torah.

Let’s jump to the end at Exodus 40:34-38:

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys (ESV).

Here we have at the end of Exodus that wherever the people went the presence of God led them as cloud by day and fire by night. Thus throughout Exodus God is in fire with his people. With his people.

Do we truly understand what separated this people from all other peoples on the face of the earth? It was not rules. Other peoples had rules. It was not their being necessarily religious. Other peoples were religious too. Rather what separated this people from all other peoples on the face of the earth was the presence of God. They were to be holy or set apart unto him. They do not simply happen upon his Torah. He descends to Mount Sinai to marry his people and give it to them.

Let’s move over to Acts. Now with this backdrop, perhaps we can better appreciate the depth of the ministry of the Spirit of God.

Acts 1:1-7:

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom had chosen. He presented himself to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (ESV).

Jesus is about to be taken up from them. He promises something very remarkable: the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and they want to know when Jesus is going to restore the political fortunes of the state of Israel! His response to them is that they will be empowered to be his witnesses to all nations on earth. Is some of this beginning to sound familiar? He was taken up in a cloud. We are waiting on the fire.

Let’s turn now to Acts 2:1-13:

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 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.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopatamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pampylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians–we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine” (ESV).

So the fire of God fell with the result that all nations heard of the mighty works of God in their own tongues. This is certainly a picture of the word of God settling so deep into the church, that each individual person was empowered to tell of the works of God among the nations. The fire of God fell at Sinai for the whole congregation of Israel. The fire of God fell at Jerusalem for the Church on each individual person. The congregation of Israel was brought to God for a marriage covenant. The church is the bride of Christ. The congregation of Israel was set apart (holy) unto God for him and for the nations. The church at Jerusalem at Pentecost was empowered for their being set apart for Jesus and for the nations. What separated the people of Israel from all other peoples was the presence of God. What should separate us from all other peoples is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost is the day the Jews celebrate the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai by God in fire for God and for the nations. Pentecost is the day that the Church was baptized in fire by the Holy Spirit for God and for the nations.

 

August 3, 2009

The Temple of the Holy Hurricane: Part I

Posted by Faith, Worship & Life under Ezekiel 36, Ezekiel 37, John 03 | Tags: , , , |
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We have arrived at the final third of our teaching study in the Apostles’ Creed. Consider the final third:

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of the saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
(from Alister McGrath’s “I Believe”: Exploring the Apostles’ Creed; p. 7)

Every aspect or teaching point of the Creed is livable, but this section in particular is more than simply one more fact to put into our brains. I have a question for us: Does this resemble the churches in which we attend? For example, do we our churches have regular experiences with the Spirit of God, which enables us to commune with other churches and with one another in peace and life-producing harmony? In sum, this question is the whole of this section of the Creed. If our churches are not living examples of this last third of the Creed, then it is doubtful we are truly practicing what Scripture and Tradition call “church.”

We will begin this section by a sub-series teaching on the Holy Spirit. We will be our present teaching by turning to John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (ESV).

If I were to ask most people in our common church culture what the gist or main point of this verse is, by and far the most popular answers would be:

  • We can go to heaven
  • Jesus came to die so we could go to heaven.
  • The Christian life is simply a matter of mere belief in Jesus, and not a matter of works.

Yet, if we consider this verse in its own scriptural context, then we must admit that our 3 popular answers are only dimly related, if at all! In order to consider our verse of choice for banners at ball games, in order to better arrive at its heart, we must consider the Old Testament fountain out of which this chapter flows. Let us turn to Ezekiel 36 & 37:

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were life the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. So I poured out my wreath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ but I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came” (Ezek. 36:16-21; ESV).

Ezekiel lived and prophesied during the Exile of Judah. Here at the beginning of our passage at hand, we are getting a flavor of God’s heart. The people were sent into exile for making lifestyles out of profaning the Name of God, and their practice has continued even after being sent into exile. Let’s pick up again with verse 22:

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes” (Ezek. 36:22-23; ESV).

At this point we can see that God is a bit upset. He actually sounds like a gentleman of yesteryear challenging someone to a duel for tarnishing his “honnah” (honor–in a classical high society Southern accent). Yet, this is not the direction God takes with his people. He does promise to do something to them for tarnishing his honor among the nations, but it is not what we would expect at this point. Let us continue reading at verse 24:

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (or “just decrees”). You shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 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. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

“Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, ‘this land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.

“Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people life a flock. Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. then they will know that I am the LORD” (Ezek. 36:25-38; ESV).

God’s honor has been severely tarnished in Israel (and Judah) and among the nations by his own people. God is going after his people. Yet, he is going after them not for destruction but for complete transformation. He promises this group of people, who can do nothing but tarnish his holy Name, that he will give them a new spirit and new heart. He will put his Spirit within them. He will bring them back to the land and will replenish the land. When all of this was to happen, then the nations (and his own people) would know, “I am the LORD.”

This teaching/promise is followed up by a very dramatic vision experienced by Ezekiel. Keep in mind that the following vision is the “visual” for the previous teaching/promise.

Ezekiel 36:1-14:

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.

And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”

Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD” (ESV).

In this dramatic vision Ezekiel is taken to what is essentially a mass grave of very old bones, “they were very dry.” God tells Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones, which he does. The bones reconnect and take on living flesh. Yet the bodies are not living.  Ezekiel prophesies to “the breath,” and the windy breath rushes into the bodies. Immediately, these bodies are driven to their feet and become “an exceedingly great army.”

It may be instructive that the Hebrew word for breath is the same for wind and Spirit. The word picture, the vision, is clear: God is promising to put his Spirit into his people (each one of them), and in so doing they will be transformed from the living dead into “an exceedingly great (spiritual) army” for God.

What is instructive is this vision is for the “whole house of Israel,” not just Judah. In order to reconnect the whole of the people of God into “one” a great work of the Spirit of God would need to take place. In fact the remaining verses of chapter 37 teach this very point. The icing on the cake of Israel is that David would return to be king over all his people.

Now that we’ve got a bit of Scriptural background, let’s return to John 3. Remember, Ezekiel 36 and 37 is the fount out of which Jesus’s teaching in John 3 flows, the tunnel through which John 3 blows.

John 3:1-3:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (ESV).

This chapter is very famous. It is normally taught that good ole Nicodemus was simply a blockhead. Jesus was teaching, but he wasn’t getting it. Let me suggest this before moving on: Nicodemus fully understood what Jesus was saying, but was instead not completely buying into it.

You see Jewish theology of the time taught that all Jews were born into the people of God through the waters of the Red Sea and the Spirit of God leading them in the fire by night. At the time of Jesus converts to Judaism were baptized (immersed) in water for new life in Judaism. They were completely leaving their old life behind.

The boo-boo moment comes when John the Baptist appears on the scene baptizing fellow Jews who were fully repenting of their old lives of sin and hard-heartedness to God. The Pharisees sent inquisitors to John demanding to know the meaning of all of this. Baptism is for Gentiles, not Jews. John’s message was clear: simply being born does not make one member of the house of God. You must be born again.

Here Nicodemus sits, trying to absorb the full meaning of all of this. He was sympathetic, but unsure. Let us pick up Jesus’s response to Nicodemus in verse 5:

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-8; ESV).

Again, Jesus is simply repeating good Pharisaic Jewish theology. All Jews were born into the people of God at the Red Sea through the waters and the pillar of fire (water and the Spirit). Jesus adds a caveate: that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. Jesus is defending this concept of being born again. Here we see the backdrop of our Ezekiel passage. If we remember, even though the bones had been reconnected and covered with living flesh, they were not living. The Spirit of God had to blow into each of them (corporately and individually). Simply being born does not make one a member of God’s family. One must be born again, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Remember that in Ezekiel 36, God promises to radically change the inner heart of hearts of each of his people, so that they could keep the ways of God and together as one people bring honor to the Name of God among the nations. As the holy wind blew over this valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37, they were recreated into fleshy bodies. As the holy wind blew into the fleshy bodies, they were brought to full life and became “an exceedingly great army.” The wind is a picture for the Spirit of God, and this vision hearkens back to Creation. As God was speaking things into existence, the Spirit of God was hovering over the creation, creating. In our Ezekiel passage the Spirit of God hovers over the dead creation for the purpose of re-creation.

With all of this as our backdrop, does our reading of John 3:15 & 16 change at all?

 … that whoever believes in him (Jesus as the Son of Man) may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (ESV).

This is not a treatise on going to heaven (though heaven is certainly in the distant–very distant–background). Receiving eternal life from Jesus, through being “born again,” means that we have become a part of this “exceedingly great army” for God, by being born again through being filled with the Spirit of God. Being filled with the Spirit of God, means that we have this holy hurricane living in us, hovering over our souls to re-create us, to transform us into soldiers for that “exceedingly great army” for God. This passage is very much for the here-and-now. Heaven is only and merely a distant relation.

 

June 30, 2009

Men, How Are We Using Our Strength in the Lives of Others?

Posted by Faith, Worship & Life under Esther 01, Esther 02, Esther 03, Esther 04, Esther 05, Esther 06, Philippians 2 | Tags: , |
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Delivered on Father’s Day, 2009.

Men, we have a problem. Society. It, the blob, known as, “Society,” see you as the problem. Women, children, and the whole social order have suffered because of you, and “Society” sees fit to see to you. 

Granted, there are problems in society caused by men. In Iran, today, religious men are abusing their authority to hold onto power. Slavery is a problem today, because men see fit to wrangle helpless women and girls as young as 4 into forced prostitution.

Granted.

However, men, are we the problem? Society thinks so, and wishes to metaphorically castrate us. They feel if they can take away a major part of what makes you men, your power, then the terrible abuses “Society” deems terrible will go away. Oh “Society” doesn’t want you to go away. If you go away, who else with NOW blame “Society’s” “problems on?

Scripture teaches that evil in society exits, but also teaches that simply changing the furniture in society doesn’t nip the problem in the bud. Evil in society exists because evil exists in the human heart. So, men, I’m not here to castrate us today … or really ever … unless you’re a convicted rapist. Then you deserve not only castration but death itself. Men, I’m not here to castrate you … us. I’m here simply to ask a simple question:

Men, how are we using our strength in the lives of others?

Men, I don’t want to take your strength away, as “Society” does. I want us to wash our hearts in the blood of Jesus, washing away evil and the bent towards it. I want us then to wash our hearts in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, wherein we are anointed for God’s service in the world. God doesn’t castrate, he circumcises.

You see in yesteryear a man’s manhood was defined by his attachment to his family as seen in his protection, provision, and nurturance: his fatherhood. Today, due to several factors culminating in a Hurricane Katrina for manhood, manhood is now defined apart from the family, thus apart from fatherhood. I certainly am no fan of our current President, but I absolutely love the example he sets for all races and the verbal emphases he has put on men, particularly black men, returning to the responsibilities of fatherhood.

I believe a large part of the vision God has for our country of healing for manhood is a return to embracing fatherhood as a central feature of manhood. We see a picture of this in of all places: the Book of Esther. We’ll remember Esther’s moments of glory, and we’ll take a look several pictures of fatherhood. Yes, the two are related.

Esther (aka Hadassah)

Most of us are very familiar with the heroine of the book that bears her name, “Esther.” Her Hebrew name is Hadassah. She is the lucky gal that was rounded up and shipped into the king’s harem to compete in the American Idol of her day … a chance to be queen. Truly a rags-to-riches story, she moves from obscurity to Queen of the whole of the Persian Empire.  Her famous moment is when her uncle brings her news of the planned destruction of the Jewish race … and she agrees to plead for her people on pains of death. 

Esther 4:12-17:

And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had order him (ESV).

 What makes this great is the way in which she goes about doing this. Unfortunately in our contemporary American culture, we view Esther through the lens of some Annie-Oakley-type cowgirl. She “swaggas” into the court, defying culture and custom, and lassos the king’s will into submission to her heart.

Yet, the real Esther is not exactly the vixen that we make her out to be. She has all the Jews, including herself and her court, to fast before God for three days. She then enters the court, with the possibility of losing her life. The king extends his scepter to her, which she went and touched, thus keeping protocol. He extends his beneficence to her. She only requests that the king and Haman come to the banquet she had already prepared. So, she fasted, probably prayed as good Jews do, and, while fasting, prepares a luscious banquet for her husband and potential murderer, who she must follow court protocol to even interact with. The after doing all of that she merely asks him to come to her banquet with Haman. While at the banquet, the king offers her his beneficence once again, to which she merely asks them to come to yet another banquet she will prepare for them. It is finally at the second banquet that Esther makes known her request, in very humble speech by the way, that she wishes the king to spare the lives of her and her people from Haman’s plot. Haman is then hanged and a way is made for the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies. (Read Esther 5:1-8 & 6:14-7:6.)

This is far from the way of the cowboy. This requires wisdom and precision, while seeking God’s grace. Esther is truly a woman of women and is even an example for men to follow. Yet, Esther is not who she is simply because of Esther. She is who she is because of the influence of Mordecai, her adoptive father.

Mordecai

Esther 2:5-11:

Now there was a Jew in Susa the Citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. So when the king’s orde3r and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king’s palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her (ESV).

We know and love Esther for her wit, wisdom, and faith that must have carried her through her life. From where, or better yet, from whom did Esther learn all of this? Who else but Mordecai, who raised her as his own daughter? When Esther is taken into the king’s palace, Mordecai’s fatherhood goes with her. We will see Mordecai again, but let’s take a look at another man and his use of strength:

King Ahasuerus (Xerxes)

Esther 1:10-2:22:

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.

Then the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven porinces of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom): “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not preformed the command of King Ahasureus delivered by the eunuchs?”

Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasureus. For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasureus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the Queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasureus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.”

This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people. After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.  

Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the capital, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”

This pleased the king, and he did so (ESV).

Perhaps it should be stated that we live in a time and place far different from the time and place of Esther and Mordecai. Many of us read this with revulsion. Yet, God was at work behind the scenes. Is it not often true that God uses present circumstances to work his will?

We pick up with this passage in the middle of a royal orgy-fest: “And drinking was according to this edict: ‘There is no compulsion.’ For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired” (Esther 1:8; ESV).  Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the king’s harem: “the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.”

Where we pick up, the king is drunk: “When the heart of the king was merry with wine ….” He commands that Vashti come out with her crown to “show … her beauty.” We should perhaps read this as: he commanded her to come out wearing only her crown. At any rate she refuses and is deposed from being queen … though she still is owned by him. The men persuade the king to take this action out of fear of their own needs for respect.

Please remember our question at hand: Men, how are we using our strength in the lives of others?

Chapter two begins with this interesting time perspective: “After these things.” If tradition is accurate then chapters 1 & 2 are separated by many years of war with the Greeks. Xerxes (the king in this story) takes his massive armies to conquer the Greeks, and eventually suffers massive defeat. He returns and in chapter 2 “remembered Vashti.” This is perhaps not a reference to their sexual relationship. He could have had any woman in his harem he wanted. He could perhaps have called her up for a rendezvous, if she remained in his harem. No, what he remembered was most likely their companionship and became very lonely.

So a search goes throughout the entire kingdom for young virgins to be brought into the harem. It is indeed interesting that they simply did not make one of the women currently in his possession Queen. Rather they brought “talent” in from the outside. Is it possible that if Vashti remained in the harem, that he did not want to bring someone in with Vashti’s influence? Who knows? At any rate a search is made on the outside.

How did the king use his strength in the lives of those around him and within his power? Remember the Bible never condemns power. The prophets only condemned the abuse of power. So, men, how are we using our strength in the lives of others?

Haman

Esther 2:19-3:6:

Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.

Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?”

And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus (ESV).

As you can readily gather, we’re not simply taking a peek at Haman. Rather we’re looking at Haman against the backdrop of Mordecai. We find him “sitting at the king’s gate.” This is not simply a reference Mordecai’s practice of loitering. Rather what we have here is perhaps Mordecai participating in government, perhaps even in the Gestapo of his day.

What does Mordecai do with his strength?

  • Raises Esther as his own daughter
  • Serves in the king’s government
  • Protects the king from harm
  • Remains faithful to God: for he refused to bow because “he was a Jew.”

Haman on the other hand from this passage uses his strength to wallow in his offended pride, because Mordecai did not bow. Haman uses his strength to begin to plot not only the death of Mordecai but of the entire Jewish race. Consider the following passage portraying the pathetic state of Haman’s insecurity:

Esther 5:9-14:

And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, the he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above all the officials and the servants of the king.

Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.”

This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made (ESV).

Haman is pathetic to say the least. How is Haman using his strength? He is a ninny. It is indeed interesting that this passage is sandwiched between Esther’s delicate work with the king and God’s delicate work with the king.

God, their Father

In fact, let’s pick up with this idea of God being at work. Did you know that Esther is the only book of the bible that never overtly mentions the name of God? Yet, his finger prints are all over it. God as their father has his finger prints all over this tiny book. Let’s pick up with 6:1-4:

On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of the memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been done bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

And the king said, “Who is in the court?”

Now Haman had just entered the outer court to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him (ESV).

Who is it, do you think, that stirred the king, so that he could not sleep? Is it not interesting that the king forgot or chose not to honor Mordecai before, which would have been unthinkable, given such a remarkable deed? Yet, here we have the king discovering this deed and the un-rewarded-ness of it, all while Haman was on the way to ask for Mordecai to swing on his gallows. And in the most humorous aspect of this work Haman is forced to carry out the honor for Mordecai that Haman thought was going to be for himself.

How does God, the Father, use his strength in this story? He is working behind the scenes with the present conditions to wrought goodness for his people and ultimately for the Medo-Persian people. He risks his reputation to bring about the most good. People were likely asking where God is in this midst of this planned genocide. On the surface he appeared to be nowhere. Yet, we see God “now here.”

Mordecai uses his strength to risk his reputation for the honor of God and to bless the people around him (Esther and the king). Though Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, he was fully loyal to the throne.  When Mordecai went unrewarded, he made no hissy fits, like Haman.  Mordecai did not get tripped up with personal quests for fame, glory, and honor. Instead he used his strength to produce godly, disciplined goodness in the lives of those around him.

This is entirely different than the pagans, King Ahasuerus and Haman, who used their strength to grab for personal power and personal gratification. This was, however the ground out of which Esther grew, taking this ethic with her into the palace. This was also the godly tradition out of which Jesus lived out his life on earth:

Philippians 2:3-8:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (ESV).

Jesus lived out the tradition of God, the Father, Mordecai, and Esther by not grabbing for rights afforded to him by his divinity. Rather he used his strength to save the world through the shame of the cross.

Men, how are we using our strength in the lives of others?

 

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