An Advent Christian Systematic Theology

ACST 47: The Accusers

2011-10-20T20:11:00.001-04:00

An interesting picture of Satan’s activity is revealed in the last book of the Bible:

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"[1]

The enemy of our souls is depicted as a great dragon, doing warfare against believers. He and his angels (the demons) have been thrown down to earth, and are in their final battle against their great enemy (God). The dragon is enraged because his time is short and he knows it. He is described not as a tempter or a deceiver, but as an accuser. He does battle by accusing the brothers day and night before God.

Satan’s accusations in Job.

The book of Job describes Satan in his work of accusation. He came before God and accused Job of being faithful only because he was being protected and blessed. He told the LORD “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”[2] Whomever God commends, the accusers condemn. Charles Swindoll paraphrases this text as “Look, God, talk about kid glove treatment! The man gets penthouse perks.”[3] The enemy of our souls has an extremely negative attitude about human beings. He does not believe in human potential, and explains away all human accomplishment.

Satan challenged the LORD to “stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”[4] Satan was actually asking the LORD to inflict Job in order to reveal what he was sure would be his true character. “Because the believer belongs to God, Satan must operate within God's sovereignty and cannot function beyond what God allows.”[5] The book of Job partly answers the questions we all have about why the innocent suffer. Sometimes the reasons for suffering have nothing to do with personal sin. Sometimes suffering is allowed in order for the LORD to prove to Satan and his demons that their accusations are false.

Joshua, the High Priest

One of Zechariah’s prophetic visions begins this way:

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?"[6]

Here again Satan is shown to believe the worst about a man of God. The vision goes on to describe Joshua as a man clothed with filthy garments, but God proceeds to clothe him in purified ones. This reveals a very important thing about demonic accusation. The demons are often partly right. The difference is that they do not see us after grace.

Whenever the unseen accusers target us, our best defense is not to try to prove them wrong with a history lesson. We fail too often for that to be an effective strategy. Our best defenses against accusations that we are not who we should be are the following:

1. Remind the accusers that our relationship with God is through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He is our atoning sacrifice. Even the most filthy sin can be washed clean by means of the blood of Christ.

2. Remind the accusers that the Holy Spirit chooses to reside in us. In spite of the fact that our actions sometimes grieve him, he is faithful. It is his faithfulness that is the key to our complete sanctification and ultimate glorification.

3. Remind the accusers that God is infinite. He already sees our future, and so he relates to us on the basis of that future. It will do no good to tell God about our present shortcomings when he already foresees us living in holiness for billions of years. Our destiny is already settled in God’s mind.

Jesus’ Prayer for Peter

Jesus had told Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”[7] Jesus was aware that a battle was going to ensue in which Peter’s commitment was going to be challenged. Peter was going to fail, and deny even knowing Christ. But Jesus promised to bring Peter through that time, and use him afterword. Often, believers are convinced that once they fail in a particular area that their witness is forever marred in that area. This incident shows that times of failure need not weaken our faith. Grace operates in a person’s life when she allows God to rescue her.

Paul on Condemnation

Probably the most famous passage relating to the issue of demonic accusation is from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died- more than that, who was raised- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[8]

The reference to “angels or rulers” shows that the demonic realm will surely seek to condemn believers. But Paul reveals that believers have a sure-fire remedy to any accusation coming from that realm. God’s love in Christ Jesus was demonstrated on Calvary. It is an event that is settled historically. It forever shows that God has decided in the believer’s favor. Earlier, Paul had said “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”[9] Although bad things may happen to us, none of those bad things should be interpreted as condemnation from God.

The practical result of this truth is that believers can be assured that if they are being accused or condemned, it is not coming from heaven. Heaven’s forces are mustered for our defense, not our condemnation.

When Satan begins to accuse believers of wrongdoing, lack of integrity, or falsehood, the believer’s often feel like God is watching from a distance, judging them. He does not do that. He is present at every accusation, and our Advocate, the Holy Spirit, always takes our side. Even when the believer sins, God stands for her, and not with her accusers. Even when there are consequences that come from that sin, God is ready to restore and heal.

In the end, all personal sins must be punished. But for believers, that punishment has already happened. The Bible says that Jesus Christ “was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”[10]

The Eternal Truth

The best way to overcome accusations is to counter them with the eternal truth. The eternal truth is not the mess a person might be in at this moment. The eternal truth is what God has decreed about believers for all eternity. The Bible tells believers to stand on this truth, and believe what God sees in them.

He Sees…

“the salt of the earth”[11]
“the light of the world”[12]
people of value to him[13]
people he has blessed and heirs of his kingdom[14]
branches of the Vine[15]
people “not of the world”[16]
“God's fellow workers… God's field, God's building.”[17]
“God's temple”[18]
“the body of Christ”[19]
“sons of God, through faith”[20]
“Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise”[21]
“no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God”[22]
“no longer strangers and aliens, but … fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”[23]

One More Strategy

The enemy has one more method that he uses, but it is a “when all else fails” method. He usually has no problem enslaving people through temptation. When that method needs a little help, he resorts to deception. If people learn to discern between truth and his lies, he falls back on accusation and condemnation. But when even that strategy is defeated, Satan and his demons try to enslave people through fear. His final method – which will be discussed in chapter 48, is intimidation.

[1] Revelation 12:7-12 (ESV).

[2] Job 1:9-11 (ESV).

[3] Charles R. Swindoll, Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009) 10.

[4] Job 2:5 (ESV).

[5] John MacArthur, 1, 2, 3, John Jude (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005) 75.

[6] Zechariah 3:1-2 (ESV).

[7] Luke 22:31-32 (ESV).

[8] Romans 8:33-39 (ESV).

[9] Romans 8:1 (ESV).

[10] Isaiah 53:5 (ESV).

[11] Matthew 5:13.

[12] Matthew 5:14; Ephesians 5:8.

[13] Matthew 6:26, 10:31.

[14] Matthew 25:34.

[15] John 15:5.

[16] John 15:19.

[17] 1 Corinthians 3:9.

[18] 1 Corinthians 3:16,17.

[19] 1 Corinthians 12:27.

[20] Galatians 3:26.

[21] Galatians 3:29.

[22] Galatians 4:7.

[23] Ephesians 2:19.

ACST 46: The Deceivers

2011-08-14T20:00:00.001-04:00

Eden

Another look at the story of the fall in Genesis 3 shows that there was more to Eve’s temptation than luring her with thoughts of a delicious apple (or whatever it was). The serpent entered the picture, and we are told that he is more crafty than any other beast of the field. His capacity for speech seemed a good clue for that observation.

He uses his craftiness to introduce himself with a curious question. “He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?”[1] This is what the rhetoricians call a loaded question. It ranks right up there with “have you stopped beating your wife?” There is no good answer to the question because any attempt at answering it could have sprung back in Eve’s face.

For example, what if Eve had pointed out that she had never actually heard God give the prohibition? She, after all, was still part of the body of Adam when God told him “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”[2] So, she could have said “no,” but that would not have been exactly honest. No doubt Adam had briefed his wife on the importance of avoiding the tree. This is clear from the answer she did give.

But she could not precisely answer “yes” either. God had not prohibited any of the trees of the garden, as the serpent’s question suggested. In fact, of the multitude of beautiful and delicious fruits available, it was only one that was taboo. So, answering the serpent’s question with a “yes” would be uncalled-for.

Eve tried to respond to the serpent as best as she knew how. Her answers seem to have added a bit more to the prohibition than what was originally there: “And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"”[3]

Scripture does not record God saying that the humans could not touch the tree or its fruit. His prohibitions appears to have been strictly against eating it. Either Eve is stretching the command here, or she may be reflecting the command as she heard it from Adam. Either way, the serpent senses that this half-truth can be very useful to him.

Notice the bait that the serpent presents to Eve to get her to simply take the fruit into her hand: “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”[4] The serpent suggests not that the prohibition is untrue, but that there is another reason why God would not want humans eating of this special fruit.

Look at what Eve sees in the forbidden fruit now:

1. It is “good for food.” Perhaps Eve was hungry. It makes sense that the serpent would look for an opportune time to tempt Eve. Hunger is not a temptation, but it is an incubator in which temptation can grow and become strong. Undoubtedly she had not been fasting for over a month as Jesus had been when the tempter came to him, but she was probably just hungry enough for her stomach to allow deception to overrule her mind.

There was nothing wrong with Eve’s desire for food, or with her awareness that this fruit could appease that hunger. Her problem was that she had taken her eyes off of all the rest of the garden, and focused her hunger on the one fruit that was forbidden. Her hunger alone would never have driven her to take of that tree. She was being deceived.

2. It is “a delight to the eyes.” Eve, like most women, appreciates beautiful things. She has an appreciation for the glory of God reflected in the things he has created. She sees that glory there in that fruit. She sees it because it is really there. The Bible does not say that the forbidden fruit was a hideous warped thing. It was really beautiful, and Eve enjoyed staring at it.

Again, God had apparently not prohibited looking at the fruit. But Eve’s problem was that as she looked, the appeal of this fruit became an obsession. The beauty of this one thing seems to have clouded her mind to all the beautiful things in all of Eden that the LORD had not forbidden.

The sons of Eve follow in her footsteps. God grants most of us the joy of beautiful possessions, and the thrill of a beautiful partner to share life with. How do we respond to these acts of grace? We covet other people’s stuff, and desire other people’s wives. We are deceived by the same deception that our mother faced in Eden. But, unlike her, we cannot claim ignorance of the outcome. We know that coveting what does not belong to us will lead to loss of what does – but we do it anyway. Stupid.

Back to Eve – the desire to see something beautiful and to eat something scrumptious was apparently not enough to convince her. But she kept looking, and kept listening to the serpent’s words. Those words rolled around in her head. Suddenly, this fruit is something more:

3. It is “to be desired to make one wise.” She and Adam had an entire garden filled with discoveries. God had designed them to rule over all his domains. He had given Adam the work of cultivating the garden and keeping it. Adam had also enjoyed learning about all the different kinds of animals, and perhaps the plants as well. But this particular plant offered a short-cut to the possession of immediate wisdom. The serpent had said “that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”[5]

What a tremendous temptation that was! To go from creature status to like-the creator status in just one bite – now that is discovery. Eve knew that God’s goal was for the two of them to rule over God’s creation. She reasoned “Who is better able to rule God’s creation than someone like him?”

She had convinced herself to take the fruit in her hands. Now what? Well – first of all, she did not turn into a pillar of salt. She did not die right there on the spot. So, it must not have been true that God had prohibited merely touching the tree. If he had, Eve would have gone “poof” and God would have had to go back and do more surgery to give Adam wife #2.

Well, Eve lets this roll around in her brain also. She has not been struck dead, so she figures she might as well go ahead and take a nibble. “In for a penny, in for a pound.” Well, she ate it, and she did not immediately die. Didn’t God say that she would?

Not exactly. What God had said to Adam was that “in the day that you (as humanity’s representative) eat of it you shall surely die.” Those words shall surely die in Hebrew are a combination of two words from the same root. The words literally are “dying, you shall die.” What God had warned Adam of is that from the very moment that he ate of the tree, he, and all of those in him (including Eve) would become dying – mortal. That mortality would mean that each person in Adam would eventually die. That was the “you shall die” part.

I am sure that Eve did not understand the subtleties of Proto-Semitic Grammar, and did not think much about what might happen later. All she knew was that she had eaten of the forbidden fruit and had lived to tell about it. That was enough for her to believe what the serpent had told her.

From that moment, she became in league with the devil. The very next thing she did was grab her husband and tell him “eat this” and he did. Before either of them had finished digesting their snack, they both knew what it meant to be on the wrong side of God. The wisdom that they had sought – knowing good and evil – did not turn out to be such a good thing after all.

They looked at each other and both realized that they were naked. They had been naked before, and were not ashamed.[6] Now they were naked and felt shame. Why? They had lost the glory of innocence.

This story from ancient history reminds us that when temptation is not enough, the tempters will use deception to enslave us. They organize humans with political and religious systems the perpetuate shared deceptions. They cleverly mix lies with truth. Just a few lies are enough to do damage to a society, and with it.

the father of lies

Jesus called Satan “the father of lies.” He said that the devil “has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”[7] It should be no surprise, then, that deception is one of the major means that Satan uses to manipulate the nations. The kinds of lies that he uses are like the proverbial “bad apple.” They are mixed with entire barrels of truth, and turn the entire societies that fall for them into rottenness. Unlike God, who never lies,[8] the devil only tells the truth when doing so helps to prop up one of his lies.

Early in Acts, Luke records that Satan had “filled the heart” of Ananias to lie about some money that he gave.[9] Satan did not object to Ananias giving to the ministry, because he could gain supremacy in the lives of Ananias and his wife Sapphira by deceiving them into thinking that Jesus would not mind them holding back some of the money. The Holy Spirit (who does not like to be lied to) made this deception backfire by exposing it, and killing the two who had been partners with the devil in the conspiracy.

Paul

The devil has deceived a great multitude of people into worshipping and serving “the creature rather than the Creator.”[10] In some cultures. this involves the veneration or manipulation of carved, printed or fashioned images. In other cultures, people worship themselves and pretend that the creature has the same status as the creator. Either way, deception has occurred, and it has caused the deceived to exchange “the truth about God for a lie.”[11]

The apostle Paul had warned the Corinthians of this tendency by saying that he was “afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”[12] He wrote to his partner, Timothy, that “evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”[13]

Another significant text is where Paul warns the Colossians against the heresy that seeks to turn them away from the true faith. He tells them “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”[14] It is these deceiving elemental spirits (demons) who are the author of human tradition, particularly when it conflicts with the gospel of Christ.

Only a small percentage of humanity would knowingly follow the teachings and ways of Satan and the demons. For that reason, they must deceive in the darkness of anonymity. They must influence people to do their will, while at the same time convincing them that they are doing their own will.

John

The apostle John speaks of “many deceivers” who “have gone into the world.”[15] He is speaking of false prophets, but perhaps also referring to the spirit beings who influence them. He goes on to say that “Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”[16] He warns against those who go ahead and do not “abide in the teaching of Christ.”[17]

Doctrine mattered to John. He ministered during a time when pagan doctrine was seeping into the church – doctrine that would eventually turn the church into a formal, ritualistic shell of its former self. It would take centuries of reform and revival for the church to thrive again. Satan and the demons did this, not by turning people from Christ, but by deceiving them into believing wrong things about him.

When John wrote Revelation, he recorded the fate of Satan. The deceiver will be thrown into the bottomless pit, or abyss. The purpose of this punishment is so that he is out of the way while you and I have the chance to reign with Christ. John saw a mighty angel throw “him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.”[18] This incarceration will take place after Christ returns, and before judgment day. It will last for 1000 years. After that period of time, Satan will be released “and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle.”[19] He will be utterly defeated at that battle, but he will have managed to deceive many again – even after a 1000 year reign of righteousness on earth without his influence.

deliverance

To be “taken captive” is to be in bondage, and need deliverance. There is just as much potential for a person to be taken captive by a false teaching as there is for her to be in bondage due to giving in to temptation. The bondage will progress naturally if it is never challenged by someone ministering deliverance by God’s grace.

Some can be in a slight state of bondage for years – as long as there is no effort from an intercessor to set her free. The longer a person is in bondage, the harder it will be to set her free. Usually arguments – even biblical arguments – have little affect. The reason is that deception permeates the heart as well as the head.

If you seek to minister deliverance to someone who has been deceived by demons, it is probably best not to try to reason with her – at least not in the sense of a debate on the issues. Proclaim the gospel of salvation by grace bought by the blood of Christ. Use this teaching as an anchor, and you will find that the demonically deceived will be less liable to drift away into the depths of her own deception. Patience is also called for, because those who are enslaved through deception cannot be set free easily.

resistance

The apostles James[20] and Peter[21] both encourage believers to resist the devil. Resistance – when having to do with deception – means having a firm grasp on the truth. This suggests that the best way to fight bondage in this area on a personal level is to get a good strong and comprehensive understanding of what God says in his word.

Paul mentioned to the Colossians that he rejoiced to see the “the firmness of (their) faith in Christ.”[22] That firm faith can only come with time spent learning and applying God’s word.

Learning to resist in the particular areas where demons seek to deceive you will require specific attention to your own personal history. You must remember the specific areas in your life where you have allowed yourself to be deceived. You must spend time building up your faith and making it more firm in those specific areas. The battlefield of your mind requires shoring up in the places where the defenses have proven weak in the past. Otherwise, the Adversary will simply keep attacking where he knows the resistance is low.

darkness

Remember that the easiest way for demons to continue winning the battles they fight with you is for you to ignore their existence. As long as you are convinced that every challenge you face in your spiritual life is due to your own desires or sinful nature, you are in danger of falling for deceptions that keep you sinning. The demons are creatures of darkness. They will not expose themselves to the light unless they feel doing so will give them an advantage. Their usual modus operandi is to remain in the background – the darkness.

A particularly effective way of deceiving that the demons often utilize is accusation. Dealing with this demonic strategy will require a separate chapter.

[1] Genesis 3:1.

[2] Genesis 2:17.

[3] Genesis 3:2-3.

[4] Genesis 3:4-5.

[5] Genesis 3:5.

[6] Genesis 2:25.

[7] John 8:44.

[8] Titus 1:2.

[9] Acts 5:3.

[10] Romans 1:25.

[11] Romans 1:25.

[12] 2 Corinthians 11:3.

[13] 2 Timothy 3:13.

[14] Colossians 2:8

[15] 2 John 1:7.

[16] 2 John 1:7.

[17] 2 John 1:9.

[18] Revelation 20:3.

[19] Revelation 20:8.

[20] James 4:7.

[21] 1 Peter 5:9.

[22] Colossians 2:5.

ACST 45: The Tempters

2011-08-03T08:49:00.001-04:00

In the last chapter, Satan and his loyal demons were described as fallen ones. Their goal is to force as many human beings as possible to join them in their fallen state – and so share their ultimate fate – destruction. This chapter focuses on the primary means that they use to accomplish that purpose.

The four disciples who had been fishermen in Galilee were not the first in the Bible to be fishers of men. Satan and his demons have made it their life’s objective to lure as many people as possible into a life apart from God. The bait that they use differs according to the target and the occasion, but the activity is the same. It is temptation.

temptation

The first ever to be tempted to disobey God was Satan himself. He was “blameless in (his) ways from the day (he was) created, till unrighteousness was found in (him).”[1] He was tempted, not by God or some other creature, but by the lure of his own perfection. His heart became proud because of his own beauty, and his obsession with himself corrupted his God-given wisdom.[2] His inner being became filled with violence.[3] Perhaps in that very moment he plotted the murder of Cain. Maybe at that time he envisioned every murder that will ever happen – including the death of Christ on the cross. His anger over not being able to ascend to deity led him to lash out against humanity – because he knew it would be a man who will sit on the throne of God’s kingdom.

Corrupted by this evil in his heart, Satan was no longer allowed to remain in God’s visible presence. He was cast down from the mountain of God. That very act meant destruction for Satan. He has already been destroyed by divine decree. He just has not experienced the execution of the penalty yet. He died when he left God’s presence in much the same way that humanity died when our ancestors rebelled against God’s commandment. From that time on, Satan has been marked for destruction in the lake of fire.

Since he has made it his goal to take as many with him as possible, he immediately sought out other angels to join him in that rebellion. A significant number did join him, and so were cast out of God’s visible presence along with him. These became the demons. They are missionaries of a sort. They act on behalf of Satan, and seek to enlarge his kingdom by luring people into lives of slavery to their own passions. They did not create the passions: God did. Every craving within us has at its core a legitimate desire that God put within us for his glory and our good.

· the sexual desire reflects a yearning for intimacy and a desire to express love.

· the desire for food reflects a yearning to experience the joy of receiving what God has provided for nourishment and enjoyment.

· the desire for power reflects a God-given yearning for significance and to rule over domains that God has given us. God commanded humanity to have dominion over the earth – within the confines of his own authority and power.

· The desire for things reflects a yearning to posses and enjoy a part of God’s creation. God intended humanity to find their joy in experiencing all that he has to offer. That is why he put our ancestors in the garden of Eden. Eden itself became a temptation when Satan took advantage of a prohibition and steered Eve and Adam to steal the prohibited thing, in spite of the overwhelming abundance of non-prohibited things.

· the desire for life reflects God’s original intention that humans live forever in fellowship with him. God placed the tree of life in the midst of Eden to remind Adam and Eve that eternal life was possible for them. Sadly, they were enticed away from this blessing of grace, and lost the opportunity for life apart from Christ. God planned that incident because he purposed that eternal life would be found nowhere else but Christ.

· the desire for friendship reflects a God-given oneness that all human beings have with each other. We all came from the same ancestor. Even Eve came from Adam through that first surgery performed by God himself in Eden.[4] When you and I make friends, it is because we see something of ourselves in our potential friend. Adam’s initial reaction to Eve was not a lust for her sexually, but a recognition of this God-given attraction. She was literally “bone of (his) bones, and flesh of (his) flesh.” He found an affinity with her that he did not find with any of the other creatures that he observed and named. That affinity is expressed by the nickname Adam chose to call her by. She was to him Ishah (woman) because she was taken from Ish (man). That nickname became the generic name of all female humans. This unique friendship between man and woman is the reason for the institution of marriage.[5] God has set the monogamous male and female relationship of marriage apart not simply for the purpose of procreation, but so that it would express this unique unity. The fellowship and intimacy of marriage expresses God’s intention for friendship at its best. It is the closest we will ever come to the intimacy of the divine Trinity.

· There are many other desires that are in fact combinations and forms of these desires. For example, the urges that humans have to express themselves in art, music, architecture, etc… all stream from the yearning for things, and the yearning to continue life. The creator designed us to be creative. He designed beauty in the world, and wants us to reflect that beauty with our minds and hands and voices.

the hook

These legitimate human desires are the bait that the demonic world uses to lure people into lives of sin and slavery. The apostle James said it this way: “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.”[6] James uses a “fishing metaphor for drawing prey away from shelter in order to trap them with a deadly hook.”[7] The bait on the hook is appealing to us because it represents something that is a legitimate desire. It is something that we should have – something that God intends for us. But the bait is not the problem. the hook is the problem. All we see is the bait.

If Adam and Eve had foreseen the pain, misery and death they would cause to untold billions – they would have either run from the serpent, or stomped him to death right then and there. But they didn’t see the hook. Like stupid fish, they took in the serpent’s lies, and swallowed more than they bargained for.

temptation in the Old Testament

The pages of the Old Testament are filled with examples of people being tempted – besides the obvious ones in Eden. The history of God’s people is a history of stupid fish, constantly falling for enticing bait. In fact, often someone is found repeatedly falling into the same trap, and his descendants failing in the same manner.

Interestingly, though – the Old Testament does not contain the word temptation, or tempt, or tempter, or any other derivatives of the word. That does not mean that no temptation is recorded. Notice these examples of temptation:

“Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing,

and let not the greatness of the ransom turn

you aside.”[8]

“"If your brother, the son of your mother, or

your son or your daughter or the wife you

embrace or your friend who is as your own soul

entices you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve

other gods,' which neither you nor your fathers

have known, 7 some of the gods of the peoples

who are around you, whether near you or far off

from you, from the one end of the earth to the

other, 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him,

nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare

him, nor shall you conceal him. 9 But you shall

kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to

put him to death, and afterward the hand of all

the people.”[9]

These are examples of the Hebrew word sut, which conveys the idea of tempting someone to do something wrong. In the first example, Elihu has been preaching to Job, and thinks he has convinced Job that God has brought all his problems on him as a ransom – that is – to gain his devotion back. Elihu warns Job not to let the severity of (he thinks) God’s judgment turn him aside. He is afraid that Job is going to be tempted to scoff at God – to do what Job’s wife suggests – curse God and die.[10] Elihu was wrong about Job’s troubles being caused by God, but he was right in his assessment of what hard times can do to a person. Troubles don’t always make us stronger, and they don’t necessarily drive us closer to God. For every person who is purified by trials, there are dozens who just go deeper and deeper into sin. Suffering can lure the unsuspecting fish into biting the hook, rebelling against God and all that is holy.

Hard times can lead a loving couple to turn against each other and divorce. Hard times can turn family members against each other. Unexpected difficulties can drive a wedge between friends. Unplanned obstacles can discourage and destroy congregations. A bait does not have to look good. It merely has to entice the fish to bite. Satan sometimes uses hard times to get people to turn away from God. Ironically, God is the only one who has power to take us through the hard times so that we experience his intended victory.

The other use of sut is the Deuteronomy passage where Moses warns the Israelites that they will be tempted to rebel against God once they have taken over the promised land. Moses predicts that God is going to cut off the nations before them, so the Israelites will be able to dispossess them and dwell in their land.[11] But he warns that the land is going to contain more than just milk and honey. There will be traps set throughout the land. He tells the Israelites not to be curious about the gods of these nations that God has allowed them to destroy. He particularly warns them not to inquire how those nations served their gods.[12] We humans are insatiably curious about one another. We are always borrowing from other people and societies things that appeal to us. Perhaps this trend may be called the lure of conformity. But Moses warns the Israelites not to borrow the religious practices of the nations they dispossess.

The temptation is not –per se – the worship of other gods. It is – at least at first – the temptation to worship the LORD in the same way as those other gods are worshipped. Moses says, “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.”[13] This is why Moses had prescribed the complete obliteration of all the places of worship as soon as the Israelites took over the land.[14] God is not to be worshipped in the same manner – as if he is the same as – any other god.

But the temptation described in Deuteronomy 13:6-9a is even more disturbing than that described in Deuteronomy 12. It speaks of Israelites themselves enticing friends or relatives to abandon the LORD altogether and go and serve those pagan gods. Moses, once again, prescribes destruction, but this time he steps up the penalty. He labels this kind of temptation as deserving the death penalty. If anyone dared to lure you away from God, you should not listen to him, pity him, or conceal him. Your hands should cast the first stone, to be followed by the hands of all the people.

This seems a harsh rule to our modern senses. Those of us Christians who have had the privilege of living in pluralistic societies where freedom of religion is protected might have problems with these Scriptures. We must understand that God knew that his people would self-destruct in the promised land. He also knew that the very key element that would cause their self-destruction is giving in to this very temptation. This command was given out of love. If it had only been followed, it would have kept the nation of Israel from experiencing centuries of heartache and death.

Here again, the Hebrew word sut is used for enticement to do something wrong. The bait on the hook was the lure of the strange, the different. Perhaps the tempter would suggest that if the Israelites just do the things that the Canaanites did, then they would have the abundant crops, herds and flocks that the Canaanites enjoyed.

Satan had used the lure of conformity in Eden as well. He had suggested that if Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, they need merely to snack on this food-of-the-gods. Sometimes keeping up with the Jones’ can be a deadly trap.

Another Hebrew word used in the Old Testament to describe temptation is found in these texts:

“"If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,

and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door,

10 then let my wife grind for another, and let

others bow down on her. 11 For that would be

a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity to be

punished by the judges; 12 for that would be a

fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it

would burn to the root all my increase.”[15]

“if I have looked at the sun when it shone,

or the moon moving in splendor, 27 and my

heart has been secretly enticed, and my

mouth has kissed my hand, 28 this also

would be an iniquity to be punished by the

judges, for I would have been false to God

above.”[16]

“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

11 If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait

for blood; let us ambush the innocent without

reason; 12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

13 we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill

our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot

among us; we will all have one purse"-”[17]

The Hebrew word that is translated “entice/d” in these passages is patah, and it suggests that the one being tempted is open to being deceived into accepting wrong as if it is right. The bait in each of these instances is different, but each involves something that is morally repugnant, but is being presented in the best of lights.

In Job 31, Job is defending himself against charges that he has brought on the troubles and grief he has faced by committing some secret sin. In verses 9-12, Job tells his accusers that if he had been tempted to seek sexual favors from his neighbor’s wife, and given in to that temptation, then he would admit it, and accept whatever penalty the judges might mete out for the offense. If he had done such a thing he would deserve to lose all his possessions. But – Job’s point is – he hadn’t given in to that temptation. He hadn’t committed adultery, so he does not deserve what happened to him.

In verses 26-28, Job tells his accusers that if he had secretly committed idolatry by worshipping the sun or the moon (a religious affection very common in his day) he would equally deserve punishment. But, again, Job denies any spiritual impurity or false devotion. He knows wrong from right, and has not allowed any graying of the lines between black and white.

In Proverbs 1:10-14, the sin is gang membership (or its 1000 BC equivalent). A father warns his son that some of his contemporaries will try to get him to throw in his lot with them – and they will murder, rape, and pillage until they fill their houses with all kinds of glorious stuff. The tempters will seek to deceive the son into believing that the end justifies the means. If all one wants out of life is a house full of stuff – and if right and wrong are merely subjective ways of looking at the world – it makes sense. But if right and wrong are objective facts – governed by a God who judges rightly and defends the victims of violence – the son had better not listen to his friends.

In only one of these texts is there a group of human tempters doing the deceiving (or attempting it). But in each text there is clearly an implication that someone is trying to tempt by means of deception. The “mark” is being acted on by a tempter. The question is – who is the tempter?

the tempter

In the New Testament, the answer is clear. The person behind all temptation is Satan. Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Gospels say that he “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”[18] Matthew calls the devil “the tempter.”[19] Although he does not personally tempt every human being on the face of the planet, he is the force behind every temptation. His army of fallen angels are doing his bidding. They are the tempters because they are serving the tempter.

Satan’s primary and most often means of affecting change in this world is through temptation. He and the demons bombard the minds of human beings with thoughts that appeal to our desires, but which are really designed to enslave us.

using desires to tempt us to cheat

Jesus’ ordeal in the wilderness gives insight into what the tempters seek to do:

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the

wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And

after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was

hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him,

"If you are the Son of God, command these

stones to become loaves of bread."”[20]

Hunger is not a temptation. It is a natural response to being deprived of food for an inordinate period of time. Hunger drives us to procure or prepare meals. It adds to the enjoyment of what is eaten. In this case, the tempter saw Jesus’ hunger as an opportunity to get him to overturn the consequence of Adam’s fall. God had told Adam that one consequence of his rebellion in Eden will be that he will have to work the ground to produce food for himself and his family to eat. All those in Adam (including Jesus) must abide by these rules. No matter what food anyone eats, someone has to work for it.

Jesus is entirely capable of creating food out of the rocks. That is not the issue. Satan is trying to get Jesus to see the food from rocks as something that he deserves because he is the Son of God. The tempter is seeking to get Jesus to the point where he feels the rules do not apply to him. But Jesus is purposely starving himself in the Judean desert precisely because he is a human being submitting to God’s will. The whole purpose of testing in the wilderness is to demonstrate to the spirit world that the rules do apply to Jesus. If he is going to be humanity’s Savior, he must abide by humanity’s lot. That is why Jesus’ response to the devil had nothing to do with Jesus’ special rank as the Son of God:

“But he answered, "It is written, "' Man shall

not live by bread alone, but by every word

that comes from the mouth of God.'"”[21]

Jesus had sensed the Holy Spirit lead him into the desert just as He led the people of Israel into the desert. He intended to be there forty days – one day for each year that the Israelites wandered. His purpose was not to get really hungry. His purpose was to obey God. He knew that God would take care of him – just as God took care of the Israelites. He saw beyond those wilderness days and anticipated his provision – his own promised land.

His quotation falls within a passage where Moses reminds Israel that trusting God during the time of discipline is the way into blessing:

“"The whole commandment that I command

you today you shall be careful to do, that you

may live and multiply, and go in and possess

the land … he humbled you and let you hunger

and fed you with manna… that he might make

you know that man does not live by bread

alone, but man lives by every word that

comes from the mouth of the LORD. … For

the LORD your God is bringing you into a

good land… in which you will eat bread

without scarcity, … And you shall eat and

be full, and you shall bless the LORD your

God for the good land he has given you.”[22]

The tempter comes along and suggests to Jesus that the rules need not apply to him. He has a special position, and that allows him to skip the times of fasting and go directly to the times of feasting. It all seemed very logical, especially to someone who hadn’t eaten in over a month. Temptation takes advantage of present weakness, and seeks to get the victim to cut corners in the race and proceed directly to the finish line. In God’s eternal kingdom, no one is ever going to go hungry, or suffer the lack of fulfillment of any desire. But until that kingdom comes in time, all of those natural desires will serve as bait for the tempters to get us to rebel against our creator.

using the word to tempt us to test God

The second temptation (in Matthew’s order) has the devil quoting from Psalm 91 to get Jesus to test God’s love and protection.

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and

set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and

said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw

yourself down, for it is written, "' He will com-

mand his angels concerning you,' and "'On their

hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your

foot against a stone.'"”[23]

The tempters know Scripture, and will use it if they need to – if they feel it will convince anyone reluctant to rebel against God’s will. Usually, it is not necessary for the demons to resort to this tactic. Usually desires alone are sufficient bait to catch humans and get them to sin. But, deception about God’s will expressed in Scripture is a helpful second method.

Here is a bit more of the context of the words Satan quoted.

“Because you have made the LORD your dwelling

place- the Most High, who is my refuge- 10 no evil

shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come

near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels

concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On

their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike

your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the

lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent

you will trample underfoot. 14 "Because he holds

fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect

him, because he knows my name. 15 When he calls

to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.”[24]

Some suggest that what Satan has done is take a promise from God’s word out of its intended context here. That is not what is happening. Jesus meets all the requirements as a recipient of God’s promise: he knows the LORD’s name (14), holds fast to the LORD in love (14), and has made the LORD his dwelling place (9). A person who so trusts the LORD has every right to expect the LORD to protect her as she faces the challenges and pitfalls of life.

The devil has done good exegesis. His failing is in the area of application. He suggests that Jesus test to see if God will hold up his end of the bargain. The psalmist did not encourage his readers to so test the LORD. The psalmist was simply expressing his confidence that if anything bad did happen in his life, the LORD would be there to rescue him. He was not suggesting that his readers go jump off a 300 foot pinnacle, any more than they go lion hunting, or snake handling.

The tempter is misusing a text by trying to get Jesus to test and see if God can be trusted. Temptation often distorts God’s word into a kind of game, where we stretch the limits of its meaning. Tempters can take good theology about God’s sovereign election and turn it into permission to sin, since one is already a believer, so it is “safe.” Temptation can take a correct theological position and use it as an excuse to put down and isolate oneself from other believers – who don’t have a good grasp on that doctrinal position. The tempters are adept at using the word of God to entice us to test the LORD, and so express lack of confidence in him.

Also, that testing is wrong because it takes back the reins of one’s life and dishonors God. Believers who have committed themselves to the LORD have given over their freedom to make things happen. They have declared loyalty to God, and have given over control of their lives to him. If, in the course of their lives they happen to fall off a cliff, or encounter a lion or adder, they have no reason to fear. God is their refuge and he will rescue them. But they will not test him. That would be taking the reins back from the one to whom they have given it.

So, “Jesus said to (the tempter), "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"”[25] Jesus was once again quoting from Moses, who told the Israelites “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.”[26] He was referring to an incident that had happened when the Israelites were in the desert (like Jesus was) after leaving Egypt.

“All the congregation of the people of Israel moved

on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to

the commandment of the LORD, and camped at

Rephidim, but there was no water for the people

to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with

Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses

said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why

do you test the LORD?" 3 But the people thirsted

there for water, and the people grumbled against

Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt,

to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

4 So Moses cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with

this people? They are almost ready to stone me."

5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the

people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel,

and take in your hand the staff with which you struck

the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you

there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the

rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people

will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the

elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the

place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling

of the people of Israel, and because they tested the

LORD by saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"”[27]

They had followed Moses and the LORD into the desert, then looked around and noticed that there was no more Nile river to get their fresh water from. So they turned against Moses and started quarrelling with him. For generations, that place would be called Meribah (quarrelling) in remembrance of the time when the Israelites gave in to the temptation to complain.

It would also be called Massah (testing) in remembrance of the time when the Israelites tested God. They had done their part (the walking out of Egypt). They expected God to respond to their faith with the appropriate provisions. If psalm 91 had been written, they probably would have quoted it to Moses too. Their whole complaint was that provision was part of the covenant, and that God had better keep his side of the agreement – or else.

Whole sections of Christendom continue to make similar mistakes. Some assume that they have access to a treasury of merit that will protect them due to the excess faith and works of others. Some assume that their faith alone is an appropriate bargaining chip that will force God’s hand. But God is free, and he has decided that his love and grace will be freely given. He will not be manipulated.

using shortcuts to tempt us to idolatry

The final temptation that Matthew records has the devil giving Jesus an opportunity to get all that he is destined for – without going to the cross.

“Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall

not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8 Again,

the devil took him to a very high mountain and

showed him all the kingdoms of the world and

their glory. 9 And he said to him, "All these I will

give you, if you will fall down and worship me."”[28]

The ESV Study Bible comments on this text: “The devil offers a shortcut to Jesus' future reign in God's kingdom—a shortcut that side-steps Jesus' redemptive work on the cross.”[29]

The tempters really have no problem with humanity’s thirst for holiness and wisdom and service to each other, and all our other noble desires. They simply want us to gain our glory by submitting to the devil. Satan delights when people think they are following God by trusting in a religious image. His demons possess those images. When the False Prophet convinces a person that God is blessing her through – or by means of an image, he has gained another religious devotee to Satan’s kingdom.

There are no short cuts. Satan is a liar,[30] and he was lying to Jesus when he promised him the world – literally. Jesus caught him in the act.

“Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan!

For it is written, "' You shall worship the Lord

your God and him only shall you serve.'"”[31]

This final quote is also from Moses, who warns the Israelites not to forget God when he blesses them:

“"And when the LORD your God brings you into the

land … take care lest you forget the LORD, who

brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the

house of slavery. 13 It is the LORD your God you

shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you

shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods,

the gods of the peoples who are around you,

15 for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous

God, lest the anger of the LORD your God be

kindled against you, and he destroy you from

off the face of the earth.”[32]

God is a jealous God. We are his possession. He will not share his possession with any substitutes. In the same chapter where Moses tells Israel to love the LORD their God with all their heart and soul and might,[33] he tells them not to love anyone else. The greatest of all commandments is not that we love our creator, but that we love him exclusively.

Our love for God should be such that all other loves should be hate compared with this exclusive love. So, Jesus says “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”[34] He illustrates this by talking about people who plan to build something or go to war, but are not able to finish what they planned because they did not count the cost.

It is all or nothing. If you plan on being a Christian and a good child to your parents, a good spouse, or parent or sibling, or even to preserve your own life – the tower will never be built. There are only enough resources for one project, not two. If your project is to love God with all of who you are, you can make it. But if you plan on dividing the resources so that your devotion is split between God and anyone else (even yourself) both projects will fail.

The tempters are all about trying to convince people that they can have it both ways. Remember that the serpent did not just tell Eve that she should rebel against God. All he wanted her to do was put her desires and needs on the same level as her devotion to God. He convinced her that the forbidden fruit “was to be desired to make one wise”.[35] She reasoned that God wanted her to enjoy the food he created, and he also wanted her to have fellowship with him – and to do so she needed to be wise, like him. She was right in her conclusions, but wrong on the means to get there. The tempter had kept reminding her of the self project that she lost track of the original God project.

This – by the way – explains why there had to be at least one forbidden thing in Eden. Eden was a test to see if humanity would let anything come between themselves and God. It was a test to see if Adam and Eve would love God with all their heart and soul and might. They failed the test, and plunged the human race into the depths of mortality and depravity.

Along came Jesus, and the serpent tries the same trick. He offers Jesus a substitute to the cross -- a way to rule all the kingdoms of the world without suffering as the world’s ransom. Fortunately for us, Jesus was aware of the temptation, and would not give in. He not only accepted God’s call on his life, he was also willing to take God’s way to accomplish it. If he had chosen any other way, it would have been idolatry.

The tempters are proficient at giving people alternate choices so that they accomplish legitimate objectives through illegitimate means. It is very easy to criticize the pagan in the two-thirds world who places a duded-up doll in his store window for good luck. We westerners laugh at such blatant idolatry, and consider it foolishness. But we are often just as guilty of idolatry when we place self on the throne of our lives and tell God he will have to wait for an appointment because we don’t have time for religion – we have a life to live. The same tempters are telling the same lie, and both sinners are believing it.

bondage

The result of giving in to temptation is not usually immediate death. Were that the case, humanity would not be around by now. Instead, yielding to temptation results in bondage – or slavery. Every time one yields to temptation and sins, it makes it that much harder to get free of the bondage. All it takes is one sinful act to earn the penalty of destruction in the lake of fire on judgment day. That one sin results in bondage, and makes the sinner more and more liable to sin, which leads to further bondage.

resources to overcome temptation

Jesus waited until after he had been baptized by John the Baptist before he went on his 40 day spiritual journey in the Judean desert. He did this as a visual aid for us – to show us what resource God has provided to help us resist the tempters’ traps. At his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and rested on Jesus.[36] When Jesus went into the desert, it was the Spirit that led him there.[37] God had provided the “way of escape” already for Jesus, so that he would be “able to endure” it.[38] That way was the indwelling Holy Spirit. The fortunate thing for Christians who face temptation is that we, too, have the same resource available to us.

Another resource that we have is the intercessory prayers of Jesus himself as the high priest of the new covenant. He knows what temptation is – since he faced every conceivable kind of temptation. Because “he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”[39] One of the most powerful mental images one can keep in her mind while being tempted is that of the Lord Jesus in prayer for her at the very moment temptation is taking place. It takes a very hardened soul to ignore a praying Jesus.

It can also be helpful to imagine a tombstone with your name on it when you are being tempted. James said that “desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”[40] The newborn baby of sin looks very appealing, but it will grow up into death. Imagining a tombstone with your name on it helps you to see that. Paul said something similar: “the wages of sin is death”.[41]

Husbands and wives can help each other resist temptation by keeping their physical relationship strong and consistent. Paul recommends this as a means of avoiding temptation because of lack of self-control.[42] The same principle can also apply to believers helping other believers to avoid temptation by making sure that there are legitimate means of meeting their God-given desires. Part of loving one another is providing for one another’s needs. When the occasion presents itself for us to help others, we should do so. Like the early church in Acts, we should see to it that there is not a needy person among us.[43] It is not as easy to fall for some temptations when you have all you need.

spiritual warfare

Given all these resources that believers have for resisting the devil and overcoming temptation, one would think that living in victory would be commonplace. Yet, the Christian life is one of constant battle with these (usually) unseen tempters. Also, losing to temptation is only one of the ways a person can fail at spiritual warfare. When this typical strategy fails to work, the fallen angels have other ways of putting humanity in bondage. In the next chapters, some of those other strategies will be examined.

[1] Ezekiel 28:15.

[2] Ezekiel 28:17.

[3] Ezekiel 28:16.

[4] Genesis 2:18-23.

[5] Genesis 2:24.

[6] James 1:14.

[7] ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008), 2392.

[8] Job 36:18.

[9]Deuteronomy 13:6-9.

[10] Job 2:9.

[11] Deuteronomy 12:29.

[12] Deuteronomy 12:30.

[13] Deuteronomy 12:31.

[14] Deuteronomy 12:2-3.

[15] Job 31:9-12.

[16] Job 31:26-28.

[17] Proverbs 1:10-14.

[18] Matthew 4:1, cf. Mark 1:13; Luke 4:2.

[19] Matthew 4:3.

[20] Matthew 4:1-3.

[21] Matthew 4:4.

[22] Deuteronomy 8:1-10 (excerpts).

[23] Matthew 4:5-6.

[24] Psalm 91:9-15.

[25] Matthew 4:7.

[26] Deuteronomy 6:16.

[27] Exodus 17:1-7.

[28] Matthew 4:7-9.

[29] ESV Study Bible, 1825.

[30] John 8:44.

[31] Matthew 4:10.

[32] Deuteronomy 6:10-15 (excerpts).

[33] Deuteronomy 6:4.

[34] Luke 14:26.

[35] Genesis 3:6.

[36] Matthew 3:16.

[37] Matthew 4:1.

[38] 1 Corinthians 10:13.

[39] Hebrews 2:18.

[40] James 1:15.

[41] Romans 6:23.

[42] 1 Corinthians 7:5.

[43] Acts 4:34.

ACST 44. The Fallen

2011-07-19T19:41:00.001-04:00

The Bible says a great deal about Satan, but perhaps a great deal less than one would expect. Satan was the first to rebel against God’s sovereignty in heaven, and the leader of humanity’s rebellion through deception. One would think that whole books would have been written explaining who this prince of darkness is, and preparing believers to do spiritual warfare against him. But in spite of his threat to us, God has given us relatively little information about him.

The Bible is written to humans, and reveals only enough about Satan and his kingdom to prepare us for the battles with him we will face. While it is important to know one’s enemy, it is even more important for Christians to know themselves, and the resources available to them for engaging the enemy. Too much fascination with the enemy can lead to an overemphasis on his power, and a fatalistic attitude about the times we face him. For that reason, there is more emphasis in the Bible on Christ than antichrist. There is more said about God’s kingdom than Satan’s counterfeit.

Some of the most significant passages that inform readers of Satan and his influence are those where he appears almost by accident. Jesus rebuked Peter for insisting that he would never go to the cross. He says “Get behind me, Satan.”[1] His rebuke is scathing, and suggests that when we oppose God’s plan, Satan is behind it.

When Satan first appears in the Old Testament narrative, he has possessed the body of a beautiful and wise animal called the serpent. This serpent in Eden is capable of conversing with our ancestors, and leads them to rebel against their maker. The serpent is condemned for his incitement of that rebellion, and God seems to speak through him to Satan himself when he promises that a seed of the woman would do battle with him, be injured in that battle, and finally prevail by crushing the serpent’s head.[2]

Another passage where we suddenly discover that Satan has slipped into the story is found in Ezekiel 28.

“The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man,

say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD:

"Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I

am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart

of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god,

though you make your heart like the heart of a god-

3 you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is

hidden from you; 4 by your wisdom and your under-

standing you have made wealth for yourself, and

have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;

5 by your great wisdom in your trade you have

increased your wealth, and your heart has become

proud in your wealth- 6 therefore thus says the Lord

GOD: Because you make your heart like the heart of

a god, 7 therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners

upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and

they shall draw their swords against the beauty of

your wisdom and defile your splendor. 8 They shall

thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the

death of the slain in the heart of the seas. 9 Will

you still say, 'I am a god,' in the presence of those

who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god,

in the hands of those who slay you? 10 You shall

die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of

foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD."”[3]

The chapter starts out with an obvious prophecy directed toward the ruler of Tyre. He is called the prince of Tyre, and he is guilty of such pride due to his wealth and accomplishments that he fancies himself a god. Ezekiel predicts that the real God will humble this false god by bringing foreign armies who will “draw their swords against the beauty of (his) wisdom and defile (his) splendor.” As a result this great prince of Tyre will “die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas.” God asks him, “Will you still say ‘I am a god’ in the presence of those who kill you?” No, this ruler of Tyre is not a god. He will be punished for his arrogance.

In the next section of his prophecy, Ezekiel goes so far to the extreme in both condemning and praising Tyre’s ruler that it appears he is looking beyond the earthly ruler to Satan himself – his spirit-being counterpart.

“Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me:

12 "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the

king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord

GOD: "You were the signet of perfection, full of

wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in

Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone

was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond,

beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and

carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings

and your engravings. On the day that you were

created they were prepared. 14 You were an

anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were

on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the

stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless

in your ways from the day you were created, till

unrighteousness was found in you. 16 In the

abundance of your trade you were filled with

violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast

you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,

and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the

midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was

proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your

wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to

the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast

their eyes on you. 18 By the multitude of your

iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade

you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire

out from your midst; it consumed you, and I

turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of

all who saw you. 19 All who know you among the

peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a

dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”"[4]

Whoever the referent of this lamentation is, he is called the “king of Tyre” as opposed to the “prince of Tyre” (vs. 1). While other rulers are called kings in Ezekiel,[5] there must be a reason that a new title is used at this juncture in the prophecy. Since the king of Tyre is called a prince, perhaps Satan is referred to as king in that he is the power behind the power, the pride behind the pride.

Such superlatives are used of the king of Tyre that it seems strange for these words to be referring to a mere man. He was “the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” He was “blameless in (his) ways “till unrighteousness was found (in him).” His “heart was proud because of (his) beauty.” He “corrupted (his) wisdom for the sake of (his) splendor.” These descriptions seem to be speaking of – and to – someone greater than a mere human king.

The descriptions of the referent’s past are also problematic if they only refer to a human ruler. Was the king of Tyre “in Eden, the garden of God”? Was he “an anointed guardian cherub” placed “on the holy mountain of God”?

For these reasons, some scholars conclude that the ultimate message of Ezekiel 28:11-19 speaks through the human ruler of Tyre and to the spirit being that inspired him.[6]

The good news in all this is that if God’s message in Ezekiel 28:12b-16a described the rebellion of Satan, then we would expect 28:16b-19 to describe God’s judgment upon Satan. Notice the specific judgments that are described here:

1. He is cast from the mountain on which

he had been placed as guardian cherub,[7]

2. He is destroyed,

3. He is cast to the ground,

4. He is exposed before kings,

5. He is consumed by fire,

6. He is turned to ashes,

7. He comes to a dreadful end,

8. He shall be no more forever.

Any one of those descriptions of the judgment of Satan might be taken figuratively, were it simply standing alone. But the mass of them seen together seems to prove beyond question that Satan is not an immortal being. God is not going to have to put up with that creature and his prideful rebellion forever. He will come to an end. His future is sealed. Tyre as a nation was destroyed, and its prince with it. Is there any doubt that this king of Tyre will suffer the same fate?

The fact of Satan’s eventual complete destruction could be a major means of encouragement to believers, who often (for the time being) suffer at his hands. But this very fact is often ignored completely in Christian theology. Those who are convinced that no beings (either angels or humans) will ever die overlook or redefine the Bible when it speaks about the demise of Satan.

When John saw the vision of everything that is going to make it into the next age, Satan was not there. John said “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” He saw no lake of fire, no hell, no grave, no tartarus, no part of the old creation. John said “for the first heaven and the first earth” – i.e. all that was part of the original creation – including Satan – “had passed away.” Satan will pass away.[8]

After describing the glories of the holy city, new Jerusalem, John said “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars [all of these terms describe Satan], their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”[9] Satan will experience the second death.

Satan was said to have been thrown into that lake of fire and tormented day and night for “ages and ages” (the literal rendering of what is usually translated “forever and ever.”[10] No doubt God is going to take a long time to destroy Satan and his evil angels. But to insist that “ages and ages” means eternity makes it impossible for the lake of fire to be what God says it is – the second death.

God created hell for the purpose of destroying his enemies entirely – both soul and body.[11] When the demons saw Jesus, they asked him if he had come to destroy them.[12] They knew that their ultimate fate would be destruction at the hands of our savior. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus became a human being so that he could deliver us who fear death – and “destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”[13] God has prepared a fire for the devil and his angels.[14] Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in such a fire.[15] Their destruction serves “as an example” of that destruction that awaits Satan and the fallen angels. Those cities are not burning today. They were totally, permanently destroyed. The adjective aionios, usually translated “eternal” described the fire of Sodom and Gomorrah and will describe the fire of hell because it will destroy eternally, that is, permanently. This is the usual meaning of the term aionios in the New Testament, as seen in the following examples:

the permanent sin which can never be forgiven (Mark 3:29).
the permanent weight of glory compared with our slight momentary affliction (2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Peter 5:10).
the permanent things that are unseen compared to the transient things that are seen (2 Corinthians 4:18).
the permanent house (body) in the heavens compared to our temporary tent (body) on earth (2 Corinthians 5:1).
the permanent destruction the lost will face at Christ’s return (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
the permanent comfort and good hope we have through God’s grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16).
the permanent glory that accompanies salvation in Christ (2 Timothy 2:10).
Philemon’s permanent return to Colossae, after being parted from them for a while (Philemon 1:15).
the permanent salvation made possible by Jesus, our great high priest (Hebrews 5:9).
the permanent judgment that will take place after the resurrection of the dead (Hebrews 6:2).
the permanent redemption secured by Christ’s sacrifice in the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 9:12).
the permanent covenant made possible by the shedding of the blood of Christ (Hebrews 13:20).
entrance into the permanent kingdom provided for all those who make their calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10-11).

Paul describes Jesus as the ruler who will destroy all of his enemies before delivering the kingdom over to the Father. He will destroy “every rule and every authority and power” -- terms that refer to demonic spirits.[16] He must do that or God’s plan cannot be accomplished. He must do that before he puts an end to death. Before that happens, everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb’s book of life will have been throne into that lake, and will have experienced the second death. Is Satan’s name in the Lamb’s book of life? No, so his fate is to be destroyed in hell, along with all he has deceived into joining him.

Satan has rebelled against God, and has convinced an undisclosed number of angels to follow him in that rebellion. They have lost their original authority in heaven, and have fallen from their positions of God-ordained rank. They appear to have reorganized into ranks through which they seek to influence humanity by various means. Paul teaches this when he described them as rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil.[17] Their goal is to corrupt the earth, and to get as many human beings as possible to share their ultimate fate – complete destruction.

The succeeding chapters will outline the various means that Satan and the demons use to accomplish their purposes. It is best to know what one’s enemies are up to. Perhaps this knowledge will assist us in doing battle with them, and resisting their influence until Christ comes and defeats them for good.

[1] Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33.

[2] Genesis 3:15.

[3] Ezekiel 28:1-10.

[4] Ezekiel 28:11-19.

[5] Ezekiel 1:2; 7:27; 17:12, 16; 19:9; 20:33; 21:19, 21; 24:2; 26:7; 29:2f, 18f; 30:10, 21f, 24f; 31:2; 32:2, 11; 37:22, 24.

[6] Ron Rhodes, Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2008), 106-107. “…the king is portrayed as having a different nature than man (he is a cherub, considered to be in the inner circle of angels with closest access to God – verse 14). He had a different status than man (he was blameless and sinless – verse 15). He was in a different realm than man (the holy Mount of God – verses 13-14). He received a different judgment than man (verse 16 – he was cast out of the mountain of God and thrown to earth, which seems parallel to description of Satan’s fall in revelation 12).”

[7] J. Dwight Pentecost, Your Adversary the Devil (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997), 15. “Now if we were to try to assign positions to the different orders of angels, we would conclude that the cherubim who could stand and look Godward, or minister throneward occupied the highest position of all and had the greatest privilege of any created being. It was over such a privileged class of angels that Lucifer was placed in authority by Divine appointment.”

[8] Revelation 21:1.

[9] Revelation 21:7-8.

[10] Revelation 20:10.

[11] Matthew 10:28.

[12] Mark 1:24.

[13] Hebrews 2:14.

[14] Matthew 25:41.

[15] Jude 7.

[16] 1 Corinthians 15:24-26.

[17] Ephesians 6:12.

ACST 43: The Helpers

2011-06-20T18:17:00.001-04:00

God’s love and grace always surpass our expectations. He loves us so much that he gave his Son to be our atoning sacrifice, and our Lord and savior. He gave us his word to guide our walk, and he gave us his Spirit as our guide and empowerer. But wait … that is not all. He has also given us an army of spirit beings to assist us as well. These are the angels.

The author of Hebrews sought to prevent readers of that epistle from getting sidetracked from the gospel message. Those first century believers needed to realize that there was nothing more important than Christ. He is supreme – there is no one greater. It is in that context that angels and their ministry are described. They are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.”[1] From this brief description, a number of useful starting points for understanding angels can be inferred.

spirit beings

Angels are spirit beings. They can manifest their existence in bodily form, but they do not have to. They are not omnipresent, like God is. Perhaps they have spiritual bodies similar to the kind that believers will have after our resurrection. Much of what is taught about them is speculation. They cannot always be sensed the way humans can. They cannot be everywhere at the same time, but there are angels in heaven,[2] on earth,[3] and in tartarus[4] – wherever that is. The limits to the places they can go (if sent) are not our limits. The conditions in which they can exist are not the same conditions which limit us.

There is a spirit realm. This appears to be what Paul was referring to when he said that “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”[5] They are here, but they are elsewhere too. It seems hard to think about without veering off into science fiction, but it is not fiction. We interact with another world while living on this one.

There are some cultures who have a better grasp of this reality than others. The secular western world has done its best to deny its existence. It seeks to explain every testimony of encounter with the supernatural as coincidence combined with myth, delusion or wishful thinking. Christians from the secular west (or influenced by it) can fall into this trap. If believers exclude the spirit realm from their worldview, they will probably fail to recognize the numerous times in their lives when the two realms collide. That would be a shame.

God’s Spirit understands the things of God. Human spirits understand the things of our world.[6] It is not preposterous to infer that if there are myriads of spirit beings in a spirit realm somewhere – they can function in that environment. They are adapted to the task of moving throughout the universe to accomplish their mission. They can understand that mission.

sent out to serve

The mission evidently has a great deal to do with humanity. It is not improbable that angels oversee the other creatures in the universe, but the Bible definitely records them interacting with humanity. In the 2011 film The Adjustment Bureau, angels are depicted as agents who look after humanity to make sure they do not foul things up by exercising free will. They are pictured as the ones who make all the important decisions behind the scenes. This is not how the Bible describes them. True, angels are powerful, but their power is always harnessed to another’s will. Either they serve God, or (in the case of the fallen angels) they have conspired to join Satan in his rebellion against him. The angels are not gods who are running around meddling in the affairs of the universe for their own amusement. They are sent out on a mission.

for the sake of those who are to inherit

The nature of that mission is centered around God’s promise for the future of the believer. What they do is not always perceived as good or beneficial because the recipients of their actions often think only of the present. The angels are sent to make sure that God’s ultimate will is achieved – to ensure the eternal inheritance of the saints. Even those cultures which have a more developed appreciation for angels tend to see them only as rescue agents, sent to get people out of present danger. They are involved in rescue, but not rescue for rescue’s sake. They are tasked with preserving the destinies of the sons and daughters of eternity.

watchers

One of the tasks of God’s angels is that of observation. They are the watchers who observe all that is happening on the planet.[7] The primary purpose of their watching is not to pass on information about us. They are not cosmic spies. A watcher in biblical times was someone who kept watch over a city or vineyard or flock or herd in order to protect it from predators.[8] When it comes to these spiritual watchmen, the predators may be of the flesh, or they may be other spirit beings. The angels watch to see what Satan is scheming so that they can prevent attacks. They are defending angels, or guardian angels.[9]

The unfortunate thing about good defenses is that when they are working their best – nothing happens. When an enemy realizes that strong forces are guarding the camp, he reconsiders attacking. The vast majority of angelic energy is probably expended preventing open warfare. Believers should be more perceptive of this fact, and more thankful during those times when the worst things do not happen.

messengers

The term is a translation of the normal word for messenger in both testaments. In fact, there are several references in the Bible where it is unclear whether spirit beings or human messengers are being referred to. For example, when Rhoda reported that Peter was at the gate, the other disciples there thought that she was mistaken. They said "It is his angel!"[10] But did they mean his guardian angel, or a messenger he had sent? Likewise, when Jesus sent epistles to each of the seven churches in Asia Minor, he addressed each epistle to the messenger of the respective church.[11] Was he writing to spirit beings, or to the people who would be tasked to carry the epistles from Patmos to their respective church?

Regardless what one decides in exegeting any of those passages, the majority of references to the term clearly imply actual spirit beings. The use of the term indicates that these spirit beings can communicate God’s will as well as defend his chosen ones. Angelic visitations are prominently recorded in the Bible. It may be that the reason such events figure prominently in the biblical record is that scripture is a means of communication. Angels sometimes communicate face to face,[12] and sometimes through actions,[13] visions,[14] or dreams.[15]

armies

In addition to defensive and communicative capabilities, angels can go on the offensive and make war. They are the armies of the God of armies.[16] He sends them out to accomplish his will as well as to ensure it, and to reveal it. At crucial times in history, God has used his angelic hosts to rout human armies. He also has armies of angels in reserve for the day of Christ’s return. They will accompany the Lord for two purposes. They will rescue believers – both living and dead – and escort them to the appointment at the marriage supper of the Lamb. They will also attack the fallen angels and defeat them in the battle of Armageddon.

Most human beings – including most believers – have never seen this invading host. Most never will until the day when heaven’s king returns to set up his kingdom on earth.

warnings about angels

The Bible warns believers not to get so caught up in fascination about angels that we lose our devotion to Christ. He must remain supreme in our hearts and minds. We should never pray to angels, or worship them.[17] They are subservient to our God, and his servants for our sake.

Fallen angels constitute a major problem for believers during this age. The next five chapters (the remainder of the angelology section of this book) is dedicated to an awareness of them. The reason is not that they are more important than the good angels who work for our benefit. It is important for believers to understand just exactly how fallen angels can interfere with their lives. The faithful in Christ must do battle in the spirit realm against these spirit beings. Although it is not appropriate to pray to angels, it is most certainly appropriate to pray to God so that he can unleash his army of good angels to combat our enemies as we do spiritual warfare against evil angels.

[1] Hebrews 1:14.

[2] Gen. 28:12; Matt. 18:10; 22:30; 24:36; Mark 12:25; 13:27, 32; Luke 2:15; John 1:51; 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pet. 3:22; Rev. 12:7.

[3] Gen. 19:1; 28:12; Rev. 7:1f; 8:13; 12:9; 16:1.

[4] 2 Peter 2:4. This is the only reference to Tartarus in the New Testament. The Greeks viewed it as a place for the punishment of errant gods. Peter was probably referring to the punishment of some fallen angels by imprisonment as they await judgment.

[5] Ephesians 6:12.

[6] 1 Corinthians 2:11.

[7] Daniel 4:7.

[8] 1 Sam. 14:16; 2 Sam. 18:24ff; 2 Kings 9:17f, 20; 11:18; 2 Chr. 23:18; Job 27:18; Psa. 127:1; 130:6; Song 3:3; 5:7; Isa. 21:6, 11f; 52:8; 56:10; 62:6; Jer. 6:17; 31:6; 51:12; Ezek. 3:17; 33:2, 6f; Hos. 9:8; Mic. 7:4.

[9] Psalm 91:11; Matt. 1:20, 2:13,19; 18:10; Acts 12:7.

[10] Acts 12:15.

[11] Revelation 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14.

[12] Matthew 28:5.

[13] Numbers 22:23.

[14] Acts 10:3; 12:9.

[15] Genesis 31:11; Matthew 1:20; 2:13, 19.

[16] 1 Sam. 1:3, 11; 4:4; 15:2; 17:45; 2 Sam. 5:10; 6:2, 18; 7:8, 26f; 1 Kgs 18:15; 19:10, 14; 2 Kgs 3:14; 1 Chr. 11:9; 17:7, 24; Psa. 24:10; 46:7, 11; 48:8; 59:5; 69:6; 80:4, 7, 14, 19; 84:1, 3, 8, 12; 89:8; Isa. 1:9, 24; 2:12; 3:1, 15; 5:7, 9, 16, 24; 6:3, 5; 8:13, 18; 9:7, 13, 19; 10:16, 23f, 26, 33; 13:4, 13; 14:22ff, 27; 17:3; 18:7; 19:4, 12, 16ff, 20, 25; 21:10; 22:5, 12, 14f, 25; 23:9; 24:23; 25:6; 28:5, 22, 29; 29:6; 31:4f; 37:16, 32; 39:5; 44:6; 45:13; 47:4; 48:2; 51:15; 54:5; Jer. 2:19; 5:14; 6:6, 9; 7:3, 21; 8:3; 9:7, 15, 17; 10:16; 11:17, 20, 22; 15:16; 16:9; 19:3, 11, 15; 20:12; 23:15f, 36; 25:8, 27ff, 32; 26:18; 27:4, 18f, 21; 28:2, 14; 29:4, 8, 17, 21, 25; 30:8; 31:23, 35; 32:14f, 18; 33:11f; 35:13, 17ff; 38:17; 39:16; 42:15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25; 46:10, 18, 25; 48:1, 15; 49:5, 7, 26, 35; 50:18, 25, 31, 33f; 51:5, 14, 19, 33, 57f; Hos. 12:5; Amos 3:13; 4:13; 5:14ff, 27; 6:8, 14; 9:5; Mic. 4:4; Nah. 2:13; 3:5; Hab. 2:13; Zeph. 2:9f; Hag. 1:2, 5, 7, 9, 14; 2:4, 6ff, 11, 23; Zech. 1:3f, 6, 12, 14, 16f; 2:8f, 11; 3:7, 9f; 4:6, 9; 5:4; 6:12, 15; 7:3f, 9, 12f; 8:1ff, 6f, 9, 11, 14, 18ff; 9:15; 10:3; 12:5; 13:2, 7; 14:16f, 21; Mal. 1:4, 6, 8ff, 13f; 2:2, 4, 7f, 12, 16; 3:1, 5, 7, 10ff, 14, 17; 4:1, 3; Rom. 9:29; Jam. 5:4.

[17] Colossians 2:18.

ACST 42: The Producer

2011-06-08T15:49:00.001-04:00

One of the reasons the third person of the trinity is called the Holy Spirit is that he is the one who works within the lives of true believers to produce Christian character. He challenges their assumptions about what righteousness is. He forces them to come to grips with their need for godliness, and walks them through the slow process that eventually produces that godliness.

Galatian troublers

The apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians because the churches of Galatia had missed this. They had been deceived into believing that they could handle their own sanctification. Paul saw this not as simple stubbornness or self-reliance, but as desertion. He told them that he was “astonished that (they) are so quickly deserting him who called (them) in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.”[1]

The gospel is the good news of what God has done and can do for believers. God the Father loved them while they were yet sinners, and sent his Son to die in their place, giving them the chance to become members of his family. The Holy Spirit regenerates their hearts so that they want to serve God again, and transforms their minds so that they can accomplish what they want to do. He is the Spirit of holiness, the sanctifying Spirit.

The troublers came to the Galatian region teaching that people do not need the grace of God working supernaturally in them to do what God requires – they only need to follow the commands of the law. Paul aggressively attacks that heresy in his letter. He calls it a different gospel, and he places God’s curse upon its proponents.[2] The idea that one can simply make his mind up to be good and follow the ways of God without the prime moving being done by God himself is dangerous. It does not work that way. This is the message Paul gets across in Galatians.

how it works

Sanctification is an act of the Holy Spirit, who takes the believer’s willingness to submit to him and his grace, and turns it into manifestations of God’s character. The metaphor that Paul uses in Galatians to describe this process is that of growing fruit. The metaphor suggests some important facts every Christian should know about sanctification:

Fruit growing is a long process. It takes a long time for a seed to germinate, and for a tree to get to the stage where it actually bears fruit. This is a helpful fact to keep in mind when thinking about sanctification. Believers often get discouraged when they have failed to live up to their own expectations.
There are no real substitutes, but there are plenty of imitations. Nutritionists say that a good portion of our meals should consist of fruits and vegetables. The unfortunate thing is that many of the grocery products available to the average consumer contain very little actual fruit. In fact, the makers of many juice (or juice-like) products actually brag that they contain as much as 10% real fruit! Some products contain absolutely no fruit at all, yet are packaged and presented right alongside the fruit items as healthy alternatives. Also, even if one lucks up and finds a product with real fruit juice, it might have been enriched with extra sugar, making its health benefit questionable. The same phenomenon occurs in the world of sanctification. It is very hard to spot the real believer in societies where it is fashionable to appear religious, regardless of your real motivations. Many professing Christians who attend churches and claim a faith in Christ reflect the same morality (or lack thereof) of their non-Christian neighbors. Many true Christians so neglect this aspect of their Christian lives that although they may be theologically orthodox, their lives fail to match up with their profession. They are true fruit trees which bear little fruit.
Fruit growing is not easy. Even areas where the soil may be conducive to fruit growing are hindered by poor planning, lack of investment capitol, adverse environmental conditions, or pests. Far too many who begin preparations for an orchard tend to get distracted or frustrated, and give up.

The same is even more true in the area of sanctification. The Holy Spirit is available to every believer to do the work in their lives which will produce God’s godliness. But all too often believers are convinced (like the Galatians) that there is a simpler, faster, easier way or that the growing process requires more strength, patience and power than they have. Growth is often hindered because getting from seed to fruit is seen as too hard. There are always some who seem to have accomplished the task, but these are explained away as super-saints who just had the right stuff to begin with.

The gospel of godliness is also a gospel of grace. It shows to the world that every soul that can respond to God’s touch can become a godly soul. It is the Holy Spirit who has the green thumb of sanctification. To suggest that my life is not capable of learning and manifesting godliness is ultimately to criticize him. It is to suggest that there is a work that even he cannot do. One cannot imply such a thing and remain orthodox in one’s theology because it denies the omnipotence of God.

the soil

The believer’s life is the soil in which God’s Holy Spirit plants his revelation of himself. Every social contact, every event one experiences, every decision one makes comprises that soil. Some soils are predispositioned to accept the Holy Spirit, and others are not.

Jesus’ parable of the sower/soils relates to this issue because Jesus was talking about how people respond to the gospel of God’s kingdom in their lives. In his parable, he described some soils as:

1. The Path – beaten down for walking on. Seeds fall but they cannot permeate into the soil. The birds eat them. The result is no crop.[3]
2. Rocky Ground – enough soil for immediate growth, but not enough to protect against the scorching sun. The result is no lasting crop.[4]
3. Thorny Ground – plenty of soil for immediate growth but too many weeds competing for the same nutrients and space. The result is no lasting crop.[5]
4. Good Soil – prepared so that it can take in the seed, enabling the seed to germinate, and protecting it from competition and harm while it grows. The result is a fruitful crop.

Jesus had been talking about a grain crop, and Paul was using a fruit orchard for

his analogy, but they both were essentially describing the same process: the process by which the Holy Spirit works in our lives to produce God’s kingdom of holiness. Jesus’ explanation of his parable of the sower/soils helps us to understand what the chief hindrances are to growth. In other words, he explains what elements of a person’s life make it hard for that person to experience growth toward sanctification.

1. Lack of Understanding. Jesus explained that “when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.”[6] Human minds create all kinds of barriers that can keep them from grasping the impulse that the Holy Spirit is revealing. Often what God wants to reveal is obstructed by their lack of awareness of its significance.

One of the tasks of evangelists is to learn ways of saying the gospel message so

that their listeners are not immediately closed to hearing it. People who come to Christ often respond to the gospel message after hearing it presented a number of times, in various ways. When the time is right, they hear and understand. The Holy Spirit’s revelation of himself for the purpose of sanctification works the same way. All too often, believers hear of a change that must be made, but just nod their heads and continue as they were. Then, something happens, and they finally understand not only what change must be made, but also why. Until this happens, believers may accept the fact that change is needed, but still fail to commit to that change.

2. Lack of Depth. Jesus explained that some people hear the word and receive it with joy, but fall away at the first sign of tribulation or persecution.[7] Theirs is a fair weather faith. They have understanding enough to know that the gospel is the answer to their problem of estrangement from God. What they lack is the depth and endurance to hang on to that truth when others start betraying and rejecting them for being faithful to that word.

The same kind of thing can happen in the area of personal sanctification as well.

When the Holy Spirit reveals himself to believers, there are always things that the believers must change in order to live up to their newly recognized image of Christ. Their unbelieving friends will not appreciate their new commitments because they are not privy to the revelation.

Even other believers may be offended and seek to hinder them from taking that step. All people resist change, and usually do not appreciate it when our friends change. Cooperating with the Holy Spirit causes interpersonal problems. Some people that the believers thought they could count on to support them in your quest for godliness will desert them.

Growth is change. Spiritual growth puts down roots and enables believers to stay fixed to their faith while all those changes take place. As time progresses, believers become more mature and stable, while still being as faithful and faith-filled as ever. That is depth.

3. Presence of Distractions. If the enemy cannot hinder spiritual growth by keeping believers ignorant or by keeping their faith shallow, he will seek to hinder it by keeping them distracted. Jesus summarized the means of the distraction: the “cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.”[8] The tempter uses either their anxiety about problems of the present or their lusts for the possessions of the present. Either way, the enemy seeks to get them to forfeit their eternal rewards by making them concentrate on the now.

Although the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives now, his focus is always on

preparing them for a glorified eternity. People come to God just as they are and he accepts them by his mercy. He accepts them just as they are because it is only he who can transform them by his grace. They see their lives as empty fields and wonder how they can ever glorify God with those lives. He sees beyond the empty fields and is already celebrating the abundant harvest. With joy the Holy Spirit superintends the process because he can see beyond the things that distract. They see thorns, he sees thrones.

For believers, to cooperate with the Holy Spirit is to catch a glimpse of what he sees. Believers need to look beyond the thorns – because they will be there until the glorification at Christ’s second coming. They need to see the end product, and realize how significant it is.

Believers are often trapped in a life that is possessed by their problems (the cares of this world) or by their desire for possessions (the deceitfulness of riches). It is very difficult to concentrate on God and his ways when pain and want and worry keep presenting themselves and demanding attention. The lure of things and experiences is so strongly felt that believers sometimes forget about their desire for godliness. It becomes like a distant dream.

Sanctification reverses that disposition. Believers are still affected by their problems, and still want things. But the lust for life eternal has gained prominence. They want so much to be what they will be that they are more and more willing to set aside the passions of the present in order to grasp their future – their destiny.

godliness and the law

The Galatian troublers taught them that sanctification is a matter of conforming to what the law prescribes. That is not how sanctification works. The law reveals what believers should not do. Sanctification is about what they will do. The law is about their potential for failure. The Holy Spirit wants them to see their potential for success. The law is about limits – revealing what happens when those limits are transgressed. The Holy Spirit invites believers to look into a future as limitless as the life he promises. The law is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is all about prohibition. The Holy spirit offers the tree of life. He is all about abundant and eternal provision.

So the Galatian troublers were barking up the wrong tree. They were presenting a scheme that pretended to offer hope – but offered the same hopelessness that the Jews had experienced before John the Baptist introduced them to their Messiah.

Jesus did not base his offers of life on obedience to the law. He based them on faith in himself and acceptance of the Holy Spirit:

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.[9]

It was not the commandments and traditions of the past that would change the lives of believers. It was the person and work of the Holy Spirit, transforming believers into God’s new sons. In other words, the Holy Spirit works his glorification from the future, backwards into the present. His presence in their lives is a guarantee of what is to come, because he is already there.

The law is holy, and righteous and good, but it is not their eternal destiny. It was their temporary “guardian until Christ came.”[10] Now that Christ’s death has paid the penalty for their sins, and the Holy Spirit has come into their lives for the purpose of their sanctification, going to the law as a means of gaining godliness is futility.

godliness and the Spirit

Godliness can be achieved by all Christians. The fruit of the Spirit can be manifested in their lives. It starts with surrendering to the Holy Spirit. It is his fruit, not theirs. All that they can achieve of themselves is the “works of the flesh.”[11] These are:

The Holy Spirit produces fruit in believers by replacing the inclination toward these works of the flesh and substituting himself. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of:

love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control[12]

Manifesting the fruit is not where works take over from grace. The fruit of the Spirit is God working by grace to change believers who surrender their own inclinations and passively let the Holy Spirit rule. Just as people cannot be saved apart from what Christ did for them by grace, so people cannot be sanctified without accepting the Holy Spirit’s fruit – given by grace. That fruit in one word is godliness.

The Spirit of Love

Because the Holy Spirit is love, he takes believers’ inclinations toward the sexual sins and replaces them with himself. Believers are free to invest themselves in the lives of others without selfishness or fear of hypocrisy. They can now see others not as competitors, but as people they have the privilege to show love to. That cuts the head off their carnal inclinations toward the social sins. The Holy Spirit within them invests himself in the lives of others. He does not compete with them. He shows believers how to love like that.

The Holy Spirit’s primary love is God himself. He accepts no substitutes, and seeks only the best for the Father, God and the Son, Jesus Christ. For that reason, he loathes the spiritual sins of idolatry and sorcery. he influences believers to reject those sins and to love God wholeheartedly.

The Spirit of Joy

Because the Holy Spirit’s roots go down to the deepest depths, he is not affected by the things that steal joy from people. In Jesus’ parable, the seeds of the word fall on rocky ground and are immediately received with joy. But as soon as tribulation and persecution arises, the joy falls away, and so does the one who felt it. The Holy spirit is rock-solid. His godliness is not affected by the changes that take place in this world. He is above them. He is above temptations. He can help believers overcome them, so that they do not lose their joy.

The Spirit of Peace

Because the Holy Spirit is not affected by the temptations to the social sins, he can help believers overcome their animosity toward others. Because he is the Spirit of holiness, he is the complete picture of health and wholeness described by the Hebrew word for peace: shalom. He invites them to receive of himself in exchange for their brokenness and emptiness. He is peace.

The Spirit of Patience

Being outside of the time sphere that defines them, the Holy Spirit does not experience the impatience they sometimes feel. He can be patient with them because he sees them already as they will be. The fact that they are not yet completely glorified does not bother him in the least. Believers can catch a glimpse of that future as well, and it can change them. All of the works of the flesh are motivated by a lack of awareness of eternity. Once they have a clear view of their destiny, the temptation to make things happen to meet their selfish needs seems ridiculous. Knowing that time is their friend helps them to keep a proper perspective. It produces patience.

The Spirit of Kindness

All of the works of the flesh are selfishly motivated. The sexual sins and the sins of excess seek pleasure for the self. The spiritual sins seek power for the self. The social sins seek self-dominance over all others. The Holy Spirit is master over all things, yet he is so selfless he does not even have a proper name. He expends himself on others so much that he rarely even manifests physically. When he does, it is as a symbol of peace (like a dove) or power (like fire), doing good in the lives of others. He is the Spirit of kindness. To be kind is to be constructively good. It is to invest oneself in the welfare and for the benefit of others. Christians who are filled with the Spirit can be most often seen helping others.

The Spirit of Goodness

The works of the flesh are personal choices that lead to harming others. Their extremes lead to the violence of rape, murder, child sacrifice, and death by drug overdose. The Holy Spirit is about helping others, not harming them. He invests his life in their welfare, and seeks to have a positive influence. He is the Spirit of goodness.

The Spirit of Faithfulness

The works of the flesh turn people away from God. What young Christian has not felt the frustration of sexual urges along with the embarrassment of knowing how ungodly those thoughts are? People who seek to feed those thoughts and impulses through pornography and promiscuity find themselves running away from God as fast as possible. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of faithfulness. He prompts people to be faithful to God and to each other in all areas of their lives. He creates faithful eyes who know where not to look and faithful hands who know what not to touch.

The Spirit of Gentleness

God’s Spirit is capable of the strongest actions, but he is usually found not in the severe storm or earthquake or fire. Instead, he manifests as a gentle whisper. He is the Spirit of gentleness. He does not force his way or will upon others. He is considerate.

The Spirit of Self-Control

Many are afraid of the gifts of the Holy Spirit because they associate those gifts with the loss of self-control. He is not to blame for people losing control of their emotions and doing unexplainable things in his name. True, the Pentecost believers were thought to have gotten themselves drunk because they appeared to have released control of their dignity. But Peter explained that they had surrendered their lives and tongues to God, who was doing a work of grace among them.[13] As the book of Acts continued, it became clear that it was the enemies of the gospel who were losing control and in danger of rioting.[14] Wherever the Holy Spirit went, the Spirit’s holiness went. That turned warriors into people of peace. It turned thieves into hard workers. It turned passionate persecutors into apostles.

The lure of the law

Paul condemned the false gospel being taught by the troublers in Galatia because it sought to replace the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Legalism would have believers exchange their commitment-love for a cheap substitute – perhaps tithing or a shallow fellowship (just showing up). Love means more than not hating. The law can lure people into an almost-love, which is never enough.

The law can also steal the believer’s joy. If their commitment to God could be expressed by obeying certain external rules, believers would always be comparing themselves. since there would always be someone capable of doing more, the acts of righteousness would only lead to discouragement. Peace would be like sand, sliding through our open hands. Believers would be patient only up to the 490^th infraction,[15] then all bets would be off.

The lure of the law would cause believers to judge their own acts of kindness by comparing them with others. Goodness would be demonstrated only when others are watching. Faithfulness would be shown only to those who were deemed worthy of it. Life in the Holy Spirit would be limited to what the current commentaries say it should be. The whole of the Christian life would be a series of carnal substitutes, taking over the lives of people not surrendered to the Holy Spirit.

The backwards infusion

If believers today were capable of looking through a lens that enabled them to see what they would look like in a million years or so, they would see the fruit of the Spirit. It would not look strange to them. They would see themselves acting quite naturally, and everything they thought and did would be holy. Their lives would be the lives of normal children of God. They would not think it strange that they felt no impulse to steal, or murder, or lie. It would not enter their mind to act that way. Those would not be the normal things for them to desire or accomplish. Those actions would not be them.

The Holy Spirit is there in that time, a million or so years from now. He takes that godliness, granted by the grace of God, and brings it back with him to the now. He is infusing believers now with the godliness they will know fully then. As a result, when they love, it is really them loving. The Holy spirit is not forcing them to go against their will. He is merely allowing them to see the potential they will have for eternity to love as he loves.

They manifest all of the fruit of the Spirit because the fruit are attributes of their spirits. They do not always feel those attributes, because they are not yet where they will be when their glorification is complete. They will, however, grow deeper and deeper into the godliness that is their destiny. Jesus has chosen them to go and bear abiding fruit.[16] The Holy Spirit is the producer who brings all of God’s resources to bear in order to make that happen.

[1] Galatians 1:6.

[2] Galatians 1:9.

[3] Matthew 13:4.

[4] Matthew 13:5-6.

[5] Matthew 13:7.

[6] Matthew 13:19.

[7] Matthew 13:21.

[8] Matthew 13:22.

[9] John 7:37-39.

[10] Galatians 3:24.

[11] Galatians 5:19-21.

[12] Galatians 5:22-23.

[13] Acts 2:15-21.

[14] Acts 19:40.

[15] a reference to Jesus’ instructions about forgiving (Matthew 18:22).

[16] John 15:16.

ACST 41: The Giver

2011-06-01T13:46:00.001-04:00

The Holy Spirit is the primary equipper for the body of Christ. He gives gifts to each member of the body so that we can utilize those gifts to minister to the world, and to each other on the name of Christ. Pentecost initiated that process. The apostle Peter explained how the gifting first experienced at Pentecost is still present in the lives of the church.

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.[1]

each has received a gift

He describes believers as not only recipients of God’s grace, but also as stewards of it. The Holy Spirit so distributes his gifting that no one person in a given fellowship has a monopoly. Each has a purpose because each has been gifted. Each fits into the plan of God because each contributes toward fulfilling that plan.

use it to serve one another

One of the most significant reasons that we have been gifted is that God the Holy Spirit wants to love us through each other. Peter tells the church that he is writing so that they are to “keep loving one another earnestly.” By exercising our spiritual gifts, we have the opportunity to show love to one another. The spiritual gifts were not gifts that we are intended to use up on ourselves. Rather, we are intended to use those gifts as a service to one another.

One of the benefits of knowing this fact about spiritual gifts is that it helps to eliminate envy. It is actually to my advantage if my fellow believer has a greater gift-mix that I do. I benefit directly from the grace God has given to my fellow Christians. If my neighbor across the pew has a more prominent gift of encouragement, then it works out in my favor, especially when I need to be encouraged. If she is a better preacher, I benefit from that gift. Every greater gift that I do not possess, is a gift to me through the person who has it.

Since that is true, there is no gift that I really do not experience. I possess some gifts because they are given to me to serve others. I benefit from the other gifts because they are given to me to experience through the ministry of others. Either way, I win. Either way, Christ is glorified. The Holy Spirit uses the gifts both to work through me, and to minister to me.

whoever speaks

Peter simplifies the whole matter of spiritual gifts by dividing all the possible gifts into two categories. He first mentions the category of speaking gifts because he is well known for his sermons. Peter had the spiritual gift of apostleship, among others. Apostleship is a speaking gift where the Holy Spirit uses the believer to proclaim his word in a new and different environment. Apostles cross cultural barriers to proclaim the gospel.

There are other speaking gifts mentioned in the New Testament as well. Among the most obvious are evangelism,[2] prophecy,[3] messages in other tongues with their interpretation,[4] and teaching.[5] Peter’s instruction here is that no matter what you say as a representative of God’s kingdom, assume that you are pronouncing “oracles of God.” Even if you cannot precisely place what you are led to say into the exact ministry of a particular spiritual gift mentioned in scripture, let the Holy Spirit use you anyway. This is helpful advice because believers often use “I don’t have that gift” as an excuse. Peter would have none of that. He encourages a broader understanding of how the Holy Spirit operates using the gifts.

whoever serves

Peter’s second major category is that of gifts of service, which is so broad it just about covers anything anyone does in service to Christ and his kingdom. It basically includes any spiritual gift that cannot be specifically described as a speaking gift. His instruction is similar to that he gave in reference to the speaking gifts. He says that if you set out to do anything in the name of Christ, assume that the Holy Spirit will give you the strength to do it.

This category obviously includes the more spectacular gifts of service, like healing,[6] and miracle working faith.[7] But it also includes the more mundane, but equally important gifts of service, like generous giving, leadership, and cheerful acts of mercy.[8] Wherever we can serve, God’s Holy Spirit can serve us, and can serve others through us.

that in everything God may be glorified

One of the major reasons for this outpouring of spiritual energy and power is that through the spiritual gifts, God can be glorified. His reputation is enhanced among those who witness the gifts in operation. Peter mentions someone speaking the oracles of God, and the natural assumption is that he refers to some kind of worship service where this is happening. There are many reasons to expect manifestations of the spiritual gifts when we gather as congregations for public worship:

1. The whole body is present.
2. Words are spoken in God’s name.
3. Words are sung in God’s name.
4. Prayers are offered.
5. Guidance is given.
6. Ministry is encouraged.
7. There is opportunity for giving.

Every element of the formal worship service is an opportunity for God to manifest himself through spiritual gifts. In fact, the first outpouring of spiritual gifts – Pentecost – serves as an example of this fact. About 120 people were all together in one place at the Jerusalem temple courts when all heaven broke loose.[9]

However, the gifts are not to be confined to public worship. Indeed, they cannot be. What took place after Pentecost shows this fact. The speaking could not be confined to the temple courts. Instead, “every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”[10] Signs and wonders were being demonstrated by both the apostles and others so gifted (like Stephen) “among the people.”[11] The result was that evangelism was being given a helping hand, because the spiritual gifts in operation were proving the veracity of the witnesses. God was being glorified by his people.

be self-controlled and sober-minded

Peter is aware that practicing the spiritual gifts can become something much different than what it was at Pentecost. In the same passage where he encourages the use of spiritual gifts, he commands that believers exercise self-control and sober-mindedness. Spiritual gifts are not child’s play. Their exercise is serious business which calls for maturity.

Paul, speaking on the same subject, encourages believers not to “be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.”[12] The fruit of the Spirit is self-control.[13] When it is the Holy Spirit speaking, he does not cause confusion and disorder. When it is the Holy Spirit working, he does not scare people, or cause them bodily harm. The Bible encourages the use of the spiritual gifts, but also cautions us against their abuse.

Often people who seek to use their spiritual gifts do so for childish reasons. Childishness says “this is my spiritual gift and I have a right to express it here and now.” Maturity says “will expressing my spiritual gift serve God’s purpose here and now?” Paul had gotten word that the Corinthians were showing a childish over-zealous attitude about the gifts. He encouraged them “since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”[14] Childishness says “let’s do this and see what happens,” but maturity says “if we are going to do this, let’s do it properly.” Paul’s advice to the Corinthians was “earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.”[15] Childishness says “let’s stir things up” but maturity says “will confusion honor God?” Paul reminded the Corinthians that “God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”[16]

keep loving one another earnestly

Coming back to Peter’s instructions on spiritual gifts, we find that mutual love is the atmosphere in which the gifts must be operated. Without the right atmosphere, the mechanics will not work right. For this reason, every major text in the Bible that mentions spiritual gifts also emphasizes love. The reason is that the New Testament authors expected believers to keep trying to use their gifts, and they expected us to get it wrong some time. Mutual love is required “since love covers a multitude of sins.”[17]

In fact, 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) comes sandwiched between two chapters on spiritual gifts. The reason Paul spoke about love is that he needed to explain something important about spiritual gifts. He needed to explain that – without mutual love, the speaking gifts are just noise,[18] and the serving gifts are nothing.[19] Love provides the atmosphere of forgiveness that enables imperfect people to minister to imperfect people, covering over the multitude of mistakes that will be made.

show hospitality to one another

God intends to minister to us through the lives of others – but only if we love them enough to let them get close enough. Love creates an atmosphere of hospitality that encourages the sharing of ourselves and our gifts.[20] One of the reasons the New Testament encourages believers to regularly gather together is for mutual encouragement,[21] and spiritual gifts can help us accomplish this. Or, our worship services can be stiff, formal, and with so little actual personal contact that we might as well stay apart and watch a sermon on television or the internet. The choice is ours.

The apostle Paul gives some systematic instruction on the issue of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 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. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 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. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 12 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. 13 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. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 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." 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 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, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 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. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

you were led astray

He begins by reminding the Corinthians that before they came to Christ they were in the habit of being deceived into believing the wrong things and doing the wrong things. This is an important truth for believers to remember when it comes to the exercise of spiritual gifts. Most of us were at one time gullible fools. We tended to believe what we wanted to believe, and often would not recognize the truth if it slapped us in the face. Then it did. Now – hopefully -- we are a bit wiser, and a good deal more cautious.

led astray to mute idols

The Corinthian Christians had been animistic idol worshippers. They had been fooled into following images which could say nothing. They gave no revelation. they were just there. There was no instruction in the right way to go, or warning against the wrong way to go. The Holy Spirit is not like that. The Holy Spirit is going to provide all kinds of instruction and warnings and revelations. He is going to speak through the other believers. In his role as discipler, the Holy Spirit will continue Christ’s preaching and teaching ministry, and guide the church into all the truth.[22]

speaking in the Spirit of God

Just in case these Corinthians get a little too cautious because they had been burned once by deception, Paul gives them some ways to tell if what they hear is really God speaking through an actual spiritual gift. The Spirit is not going to contradict himself. He has declared that Jesus is Lord, so he will never lead anyone to say the Jesus is accursed. He has breathed out inspired words in the Bible, so he is never going to inspire a believer to deny, take away from, or add to that scripture.

the same Spirit

When the Corinthians were pagans, they got used to the concept of relativism. One person’s god demanded that he eat no meat; another person’s god demanded that she be a glutton. You never could tell what the right thing to do was, because it varied all the time. When they came to Christ, they realized that the God of the Bible is not like that. His ways are altogether righteous, and with him there is no changing like shifting shadows. He can be counted on to always stand for the truth, and that truth never changes. There was something refreshing about that fact that drew the Corinthians to Christ.

True spiritual gifts will manifest that same rock-solid continuity. Paul emphasizes this by using the word same so many times. The gifts are the work of the same Spirit,[23] the same Lord,[24] and the same God.[25] His gifts are not going to direct us away from his paths. He is going to continue to be consistent with himself. When we are being used by him for his purposes, we are not going to be at cross purposes with him or with each other.

varieties of gifts

There is diversity in the kinds of Spiritual Gifts, although their function is unified. Their function is unified because behind them all is the same Holy Spirit, doing the same will of the Father, fulfilling the work of the body of Christ. There are varieties of gifts because the work of the body is more than just one work. His work is not confined to only the sermon preached or the worship music or the children’s class. He is doing it all through the various gifts he has distributed throughout the body.

varieties of service (ministries)

Peter had divided the gifts into two categories: speaking and serving gifts. Paul uses another kind of classification. He talks about varieties of service, and varieties of activities. Perhaps a better translation of the Greek for service here would be ministry. What Paul describes here are all the gifts which the Holy Spirit imparts to believers which they regularly and consistently manifest as part of their ministry. These are the gifts associated with the Holy Spirit’s call to a certain ministry. It is not uncommon for an individual with a ministry gift to keep exercising that gift for a lifetime.

Some Speaking Gifts which are often considered Ministries
1) Apostles – gifts enabling people to do cross-cultural ministry.
2) Prophets – gifts enabling people to speak for God.
3) Teachers – gifts enabling people to systematically train others in doctrine and ministry skills.
4) Tongues and interpretation– gifts enabling people to effectively communicate in languages other than their heart language.
Some Serving Gifts which are often considered Ministries
1) Miracles – gifts enabling people to perform extraordinary acts.
2) Healings – gifts enabling people to restore the health of those who are ill or injured.
3) Helps – gifts enabling people to render faithful service to others.
4) Administrations – gifts enabling people to manage the affairs of the Church with efficiency.

These appear to be what Paul referred to as the “higher gifts.” He encouraged the Corinthians to earnestly desire these gifts because through them the believers would consistently serve each other and their community. Without love, even these ministries could be abused, but when the ministries are performed in a loving way, they accomplish what the Holy Spirit wants.

varieties of activities (manifestations)

Paul’s second category is activities. This word probably refers to the times when the Holy Spirit works among us in ways that we do not expect. Since he is sovereign over the spiritual gifts, he is free to zap me with a gift I have never experienced before, and might not ever experience again. He may use me to heal someone, but that does not mean I should quit my writing and set up a healing ministry. This kind of gift is a manifestation. It is something the Holy Spirit does among us, and through us, but it is less permanent because it is not associated with a lifetime call.

Any of the ministry gifts may also appear as a one-time manifestation. Believers should be careful not to assume a calling simply because God used them once in a particular way. The beauty of the manifestation gifts is that believers cannot rule out the Holy Spirit using them in a speaking gift, when their ministries are usually serving gifts, and vice-versa.

the body of Christ

The predominate metaphor that Paul used to explain spiritual gifts is that of a body – the body of Christ, with each believer being a member (a limb or organ) in that body. The metaphor emphasizes the concepts of the Holy Spirit’s unity amidst the church’s diversity. It also implies another teaching that Paul stressed: we need each other. Paul asked “If all were a single member, where would the body be?”[26] It takes all of the limbs and organs for the body to function properly. For that reason, people in prominent ministries should not act as if they were the whole church.

What, then, is the role of those the Holy Spirit calls into lifelong ministry? Paul deals with that question when he writes about spiritual gifts to the Ephesians.

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 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, 14 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. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”[27]

Here, Paul stresses some of the same principles that he had taught the Corinthians about the spiritual gifts. To emphasize unity, instead of speaking of the one Spirit, he focuses on the one head. Since Christ is the head, our goal in ministry should be to get all the members to grow up into him. That stresses maturity as well as unity. Paul also mentions a variety of ministry gifts, not just one. We need each other. The Holy Spirit uses many to minister to all the saints, and the work of ministry belongs to all the saints.

to equip the saints

The specific role of the ministries listed in verse 11 is to equip the saints for the work the Holy Spirit calls and empowers them with, and manifests among them. Rather than becoming a club of separated professional clergy, these believers are to invest their lives and gifts in the training of all the others. They are not performing their gifts correctly if the others do not learn to perform their gifts. If the evangelist merely thrills everyone with her ability to convert the masses, she is a failure. She is called to convert the masses into evangelists. If the pastor merely encourages the weak in his own fellowship, he is a failure. He is called to produce more pastors.

This role of equipping the saints for ministry is the work of the local church, and cannot be passed off to bible colleges and seminaries. I speak as a graduate of a great bible college, and two wonderful seminaries, and as a professor at a bible college as well. These can be wonderful tools for ministry training, but they can never replace the role of ministry training within the local church. Places of specialized intensive training work best when they supplement work already begun in the body environment of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 6.

unity of the faith

Equipping ministries need to work together to build unity of the faith into the lives of all the saints. It is remarkable how easy it is to get sidetracked from this task. Many believers who know they are called to build unity actually spend most of their time fostering disunity. When we pit one legitimate theological stance against another for the purpose of accentuating the difference, we are more likely to foster disunity and separation.

Paul deliberately described a healthy body as “held together by every joint with which it is equipped.”[28] When the equipping ministries function properly, they serve as connecting joints for the body. It is their task to see to it that the limbs and organs do not go their separate ways, but function properly together. A church blessed with a biblical equipping ministry team will exercise its spiritual gifts, but will think of that process less in terms of individual ministries, but as facets of the overall ministry of the fellowship. It will be less “me” and “mine” and more “us” and “ours.” Equipping ministries help us be us, instead of individual me’s.

knowledge of the Son of God

Equipping ministries pass on information as well. Believers do not automatically gain the knowledge of who Christ is by being baptized. We need solid biblical teaching over a lifetime to gain insight into the person and work of our Lord. The Holy Spirit makes provision for that need by gifting faithful teachers who invest their time and effort into the hard work of passing on this information.

the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

The ultimate objective of equipping ministries is more than just making us unified or educated. It is to make all of us mature and Christ-like. This is a life-long process that happens when believers submit themselves to discipling and faithfully stay with that commitment. It produces a mature, developed wisdom that a person can trust. The enemies of that kind of commitment are many, particularly in a community where the only recognized equipping ministers keep getting voted out.

We should not be surprised that the resulting immature church looks very much like the world from which it came.

Spiritual gifts used properly produce spiritual growth. The body functions properly as it continues to grow. The measure of that growth is not how I compare with the other limbs and organs of the body. The measure is Christ. Healthy living and proper use of spiritual gifts means that the church will “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”[29]

[1] 1 Peter 4:7-11.

[2] Acts 21:8; Ephesians 4:11; 2 Timothy 4:5.

[3] Luke 2:36; Acts 11:27; 13:1; 15:32; 21:10; 1 Corinthians 12:28-29; 13:2; 14:29, 32; Ephesians 3:5; 4:11.

[4] 1 Corinthians 12:30; 14:13, 27-28.

[5] Acts 2:42; 4:2, 18; 5:28; 13:1; 28:31; Romans 12:7; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 12:28-29; 14:6; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 2:7; 3:2; 4:11, 13; 5:17; 6:2; 2 Timothy 1:11; 2:2, 24; Titus 2:1.

[6] Acts 4:9, 14, 22, 30; 5:16; 8:7; 28:8; 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28, 30; James 5:16.

[7] Acts 8:13; 19:11; 1 Corinthians. 12:10, 28-29; Galatians 3:5; Hebrews 2:4.

[8] Romans 12:8.

[9] Acts 1:15; 2:1.

[10] Acts 5:42.

[11] Acts 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8.

[12] 1 Corinthians 14:20.

[13] Galatians 5:23.

[14] 1 Corinthians 14:12.

[15] 1 Corinthians 14:39-40.

[16] 1 Corinthians 14:33.

[17] 1 Peter 4:8.

[18] 1 Corinthians 13:1.

[19] 1 Corinthians 13:2.

[20] 1 Peter 4:9.

[21] Hebrews 10:25.

[22] John 14:16; 16:13.

[23] 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8, 9, 11.

[24] 1 Corinthians 12:5.

[25] 1 Corinthians 12:6.

[26] 1 Corinthians 12:19.

[27] Ephesians 4:11-16.

[28] Ephesians 4:16.

[29] Ephesians 4:15.

ACST 40: The Reflector

2011-05-21T15:16:00.001-04:00

If the Holy Spirit were a mere influence, it would not matter so much what our inner character was, as long as we succumbed to that influence. But the Holy Spirit is a person, sent not only to move us is a certain direction, but walk alongside us as we tread that path. He is a friend who goes with us as we go about our daily lives. Just as any other friend would be, he is affected by what we do and say. He reflects our relationship with the Father. When we were unbelievers – without hope and without God in this world – his connection to us reflected that lack of relationship.

resisting him

The unbeliever is born into this world with a natural disposition to resist the Holy Spirit’s influence. Although God continues to show evidence of his existence by what he has made, the unbeliever fails to see it. Stephen criticized his fellow Jews who were bombarded with evidence of God’s work in their lives, but “always resist the Holy Spirit.”[1]

To the saved, a tree is a marvel of complex design, enabling the production of oxygen, the provision for a habitat for people and animals, the cleaning of pollution from the air, the raw material for numerous products that enhance the quality of life, and a beautiful, majestic thing to look at. All these things and more are gifts from God, who created trees for our enjoyment and benefit.

To the unsaved, it is usually just a tree. That may be a simplification, but it demonstrates how differently the saved and unsaved react to the world around them. The difference is partly the fact that although all humanity was created with an appreciation for the world around us, believers have special access to God’s Holy Spirit. We are able to tap into that capacity for appreciation that otherwise might lie dormant. Our ears are open so that when God talks, we listen. Our eyes are adjusting to the brightness of his presence. It is as if we have muscles to use that unbelievers do not have.

Having these muscles is no guarantee that we will always use them. Christians are under divine obligation to resist the devil and to consciously surrender to the Holy Spirit, but we sometimes do the reverse. Often we find ourselves giving in to Satan’s temptations, but failing to listen and respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. We always have the capacity to use our spiritual muscles and walk away from sin, but we often take the easy way and give in to sin instead.

But the Holy Spirit does not simply prompt us to avoid sin. There is a whole world of holiness and creativity and things that bring glory to the Father. He wants us to experience all the treasures of that world, and is ready to take us by the hand and give us a guided tour. But we resist the Holy Spirit here too. There are many reasons that we resist his promptings toward miraculous living. Among them:

1. We are creatures of habit. Having lived our lives on a certain level, following a certain path, we are not inclined to stray from that path.
2. We fear the unknown. The unknown is just where the Holy Spirit wants to take us.
3. We identify mostly with others who are not likely to surrender to the truly adventurous life the Holy Spirit can offer. We fear the loss of their approval if we take up the challenge of the Holy Spirit’s promptings.
4. We too easily swallow the Enemy’s lies about ourselves. Satan tells us that we are so tied to the sins and failures and lusts of this life that God cannot make us different that we are.

There is no foundation for this lack of faith. Not one believer – no matter what his history – is tied to a life of mediocrity. We all have the potential to be much more than we allow ourselves to be. The call to break the habit of resisting the Holy Spirit is a challenge to us all.

quenching him

Most of us have seen or have otherwise experienced some special miracle where the Holy Spirit has manifested. Perhaps while hearing a sermon, or some teaching of the Bible, at some point a special message from the Spirit himself touches the heart. At that point one realizes that God is speaking directly to him through the human speaker. Or, perhaps that special message comes through the words of a song or a prayer. Sometimes the Spirit touches the heart through an act of kindness, or ministry that meets a need nobody was supposed to know about.

Our public worship services are times when such Holy Spirit manifestations should be common. Unfortunately, we sometimes sit through entire services that seem as dry as a desert. Collectively, the body is suppressing the activity of the Spirit. It is like a spiritual coma.

Paul warned the Thessalonians not to “quench the Spirit.”[2] The imagery is that of a fire, which, if allowed to grow, will do what fire does – burn. To quench the Holy Spirit is to put his fire out. That implies that there are times when the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish something, yet his revealed intention is stopped by the indifference or opposition of believers. Paul does not specify what type of ministry it is that can be potentially hindered. The implication is that many different types of ministry can be quenched.

Perhaps 1 Thessalonians 5:20, where Paul tells the same church not to “despise prophecies,” is a particular example of the general rule against quenching the Spirit. There are some times when the Holy Spirit would want to share a prophetic word from God in a gathering, but some believers present are not willing to accept that ministry.

To quench the Spirit is a dangerous thing. It takes resisting to a whole new level. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. If he encounters those who are not willing to accept his manifestations, he will often withhold them. Sometimes all it takes to encourage an entire body of believers to quench the Spirit is the fear of being labeled charismatic.

grieving him

Paul told the Ephesians that they had the opportunity to put off their old selves and put on the new selves “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”[3] He was talking about the Spirit’s role as a sanctifier, one who changes us into who we were meant to be. Yet, he warned the Ephesians that they can resist that transformation. He charged them not to “grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”[4]

Living an unholy life when we were called to holiness breaks the Holy Spirit’s heart. It prevents the transformation. Our lives are like containers. They can hold holy things or unholy things, but we were not designed to hold both at the same time. We are temples, designed to house the celebration of God’s holiness. If those temples become defiled – the worship ceases. The celebration stops. The Holy Spirit mourns the quiet.

Defilement does not always manifest publically. A secret sin can shut down the celebration just as quickly as a public spectacle. What is taking place is a personal tragedy for the Holy Spirit himself. Paul implies that a church could remain doctrinally sound but still cause grief to the Holy Spirit who taught them their orthodox beliefs. All it takes is living like there is no God. If a church chooses to turn its back on the transformation the Holy Spirit offers, heaven turns quiet for them. That is the sound of the Holy Spirit grieving.

blaspheming him

There is only one sin against the Holy Spirit which Jesus deems irreversible and unpardonable. That is the sin of blaspheming him.[5] To do this is to set oneself against what God is doing and wants to do. It is to declare oneself in opposition to God’s will. It is more than simply resisting his call, and more than merely grieving or quenching his fire. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is purposely seeking to malign God’s name and oppose what he wants.

The Christian who consciously seeks to please God and seeks forgiveness for those aspects of her life that are not pleasing to him will never be in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Christian believers are much more likely to grieve the Holy Spirit by un-confessed sin, or to quench him when he wants to manifest.

It is unbelievers who consciously resist the promptings of the Holy Spirit – who are in danger of carrying that resistance to the point of blasphemy.

The Holy Spirit empowers faithful believers to manifest God in this world. He reflects the quality of our commitment to God, and can therefore withhold that power among those who resist his influence. Confession and forgiveness can lead to a re-connection with God’s power for personal ministry. Getting into the word of God and faithfully praying for him to use us are also ways to reconnect. God wants us to have a personal relationship with him where the Holy Spirit stays in constant communication with our spirits. May we manifest the faithfulness needed to stay connected.

[1] Acts 7:51.

[2] 1 Thessalonians 5:19.

[3] Ephesians 4:22, 24.

[4] Ephesians 4:30.

[5] Matthew 12:31.

Excursus: Hell is Permanent

2011-05-14T13:45:00.001-04:00

Travis Allen, director of Internet Ministry for Grace to You, recently posted an article entitled “Is Hell Really Endless?” Allen’s article defends the concept that final punishment by God is a process that will never end. Allen rejects the view he calls Annihilationism, which is “a denial of the endlessness of hell.”[1]

Allen asserts that annihilationism “seems to be making a strong resurgence today among evangelicals.” That may be an overstatement, but it is a helpful correction to the assumption many have that the view only exists among the cults and theological liberals. Most of us who are labeled annihilationist[2] argue from the same belief in an inerrant, infallible, authoritative scripture as Allen and John MacArthur do. We are solidly in the evangelical camp, and reject the concept of an endless hell on scriptural grounds. We appreciate it when that is admitted.

Allen accurately portrays our view when he says we “don’t allow (God’s wrath) to extend beyond the lake of fire.” As we read the book of Revelation, the lake of fire is precisely described as the place of final punishment, and that the lake itself will commence the second death, from which there is no possible resurrection. It is the ultimate end of the old age, and its consummation will make room for the new heavens and new earth.

The Bible teaches that every sin not atoned for by the blood of Christ will be punished thoroughly in that lake of fire, then death and hell itself will be thrown into it. These words describe an end – a solution to a problem that had a beginning. It is fitting that Revelation should give us the story of how God’s grace will eventually correct the result of the rebellion which is recorded in Genesis.

This second death will be a horrible, agonizing, event in which every transgression against God’s holiness will receive its appropriate punishment. Not until that happens – and God is thoroughly vindicated – will he “snuff every unbeliever out of existence.” He will do so because he has determined what the ultimate wages of sin are. He did not decree that sinners will have the luxury of an eternal life anywhere – not even hell. The wages of sin is death. Eternal life is a gift he has reserved for those he has saved by grace.

Allen makes four specific assertions about how we argue our case against an endless hell. Each of these assertions speak to the heart of the issue, so each is worthy of analysis and a reply.

1) Allen asserts that we redefine the word eternal.

Allen quotes John MacArthur, who asserts that annihilationists “would like to redefine the word aionios and say, ‘well, it doesn’t really mean forever.’” He refers specifically to Matthew 25:46, where Jesus describes two final destinies. Jesus says that the sheep (those who treated the least of his brothers with compassion) will go away into eternal life. The goats (those who do not treat the least of his brothers kindly) will go away into eternal punishment.

The word aionios is an adjective. Its purpose is to explain and further define another word – in this case a noun. Like any other adjective (indeed, practically any other word) aionios has more than one possible meaning. For example, the adjective “hot” may describe the day’s temperature, or it may explain that certain jewels have been stolen. The meaning of the adjective depends a great deal upon the noun it modifies. Any one adjective can have a number of possible meanings in its semantic range. The term itself has no set meaning. Its meaning is determined by the context – in this case, the noun it modifies.

Annihilationists are not guilty of redefining the term eternal. In Matthew 25:46 the term eternal is used twice. In both cases the term modifies an event in such a way as to draw attention to its finality, and so aionios should thus be translated permanent. In one case – eternal life -- the noun life clearly depicts the event when believers will inherit immortality: permanent life.[3] In the other case, the term punishment also describes an event: destruction in hell. Both the noun kolasis and its corresponding verb kolazō refer to an anticipated event.[4] The Bible elsewhere describes this event as “the day of the LORD”[5] or “the day of judgment.”[6] When the noun that aionios defines refers to an event in time, then the meaning implied by aionios is not perpetual. A more accurate definition in that case is permanent. The English word eternal can mean either.

Other biblical examples of this use of aionios include:

· the permanent sin which can never be forgiven (Mark 3:29).
· the permanent weight of glory compared with our slight momentary affliction (2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Peter 5:10).
· the permanent things that are unseen compared to the transient things that are seen (2 Corinthians 4:18).
· the permanent house (body) in the heavens compared to our temporary tent (body) on earth (2 Corinthians 5:1).
· the permanent destruction the lost will face at Christ’s return (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
· the permanent comfort and good hope we have through God’s grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16).
· the permanent glory that accompanies salvation in Christ (2 Timothy 2:10).
· Philemon’s permanent return to Colossae, after being parted from them for a while (Philemon 1:15).
· The permanent salvation made possible by Jesus, our great high priest (Hebrews 5:9).
· The permanent judgment that will take place after the resurrection of the dead (Hebrews 6:2).
· The permanent redemption secured by Christ’s sacrifice in the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 9:12).
· the permanent covenant made possible by the shedding of the blood of Christ (Hebrews 13:20).
· entrance into the permanent kingdom provided for all those who make their calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10-11).

Most other uses of aionios in the New Testament are when the term describes God,[7] or something that comes from God: his gospel,[8] or the fire he uses to destroy the wicked on judgment day.[9] In neither of these cases is the emphasis on duration. The emphasis is on God as the source. That is why Jude tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah serve as examples of undergoing a punishment of aionios fire. Sodom and Gomorrah were completely destroyed. The destruction was not a perpetual process, but an event in which they were punished by God, the eternal one.

Greek adjectives can appear in plural form, and when that is done to aionios in the New Testament, it is so that the term can modify a plural noun,[10] or it refers to an event predicted or promised long ago, which has now been fulfilled or revealed. The three examples of this are:

· “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages”[11]
· “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”[12]
· The final example actually uses aionios twice, once in the sense of permanent, and once in the sense of something promised long ago “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.”[13]

In summary, annihilationists are not redefining aionios. This article has surveyed every use of aionios in the New Testament and has not found a single reference where it has to describe a perpetual process. Once released from the shackles of the presuppositions of pagan philosophy, we are simply free to describe how the Bible consistently uses the term.

2) Allen asserts that we object to an endless hell on moral grounds.

Allen claims that annihilationists cannot fathom a holy and merciful God perpetually torturing billions of people in hell because we see it as “a form of cruel and unusual punishment.” We do often make arguments like this, but not as a means of judging God on our standards. We simply point out that the picture of God that the Bible uniformly presents is of One whose justice is always tempered by mercy. He destroyed the earth with a flood, but in his mercy saved Noah’s family and the animals with the ark. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins, but saved Lot and his daughters by his mercy. The psalmist declares, “his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.”[14]

Our real objection to a perpetual hell on moral grounds is that we see it as inconsistent with God’s character as revealed in his word. Perhaps there are those who go too far with this line of reasoning and say “if God were a God who tortured people forever, then I would not believe in him.” The only logical response to such an argument is “then you would be tortured forever.” We try not to cross that line in our arguments against a perpetual hell. We honestly believe that when all the biblical evidence is presented, God is not revealed to be a sadistic monster who will keep people alive forever simply to torment them.

3) Allen asserts that we fail to understand the theology of justice.

Allen spends four out of 13 paragraphs in his post arguing that annihilationists reject an endless hell because we do not get how sinful sin is, and how holy God is. He says our view “fails to account for a lawgiver who is infinite and eternal by nature.” He implies that if we really understood God, then we would see how a never-ending hell fits into his plan. To be fair, he admits that even those who believe in a place of perpetual torture have problems with it when they contemplate its severity. He insists, however, that those contemplations are there because of “how little we understand the sinfulness of sin on the one hand, and the holiness of God on the other.” He argues that since God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9), then we should ignore those contemplations and accept a perpetual hell on faith.

But we annihilationists are theologians too. We know how dangerous it can be when God’s people are told to accept a line of reasoning on faith, and to avoid questioning. From the Gospels, it is clear that Jesus spent a great deal of his time on earth questioning and arguing against the contemporary theologians and accepted doctrines of his day.

It is true that God’s thoughts are not our own. It does not follow that the doctrine of an endless hell clearly represents God’s thoughts. We argue that the doctrine of an endless hell is the result of the syncretistic combination of what the Bible says about final punishment with the pagan philosophy of innate immortality. The idea of a perpetual hell was created out of this syncretism. It reasoned not from the nature of sin or the nature of God but from Plato’s doctrine of the nature of man.

Since Augustine (whom Allen quotes as an authority) accepted Plato’s idea of innate immortality of the soul, he reasoned that hell must be perpetual because the soul of man cannot die. It was for that reason that he rejected the idea of a hell of limited duration as “the height of absurdity.” But if one accepts the clear statements of scripture that God alone has immortality,[15] and God will punish sinners by destroying them,[16] so that they exist no more,[17] it becomes clear that Plato’s innate immortality theory cannot be accepted on the same basis as scripture. They contradict each other.

Perhaps that is why Allen does not argue for human immortality, but chooses rather to defend perpetual hell on the basis of the sinfulness of sin and the holiness of God. But, even there, the argumentation fails. Allen argues that because God is infinite, then sins against him require infinite punishment. If that were so, then how could Jesus atone for the sins of all humanity by merely dying on the cross and remaining dead for a few days? Surely if the punishment for any sin against God requires perpetual suffering, then Christ should still be on the cross!

The Bible clearly states what God requires to pay for sins. The wages of sin is death[18] – not perpetual suffering. Not satisfied with this clear description of just punishment for sin, proponents of the concept of perpetual hell simply redefine death – as eternal separation from God. This can only be the case if the person who dies cannot really die. Again, we see that the theology behind the perpetual hell idea is not really based on the nature of God, but is derived from Greek dualism and its understanding of the nature of humanity.

Neither does the concept of a holy God require a perpetual hell. In fact, God’s holiness requires that sin and unrighteousness be destroyed – not kept alive and tormented eternally. There was a point in time in eternity past, when there was no sin – no rebellion. Everything was good in God’s universe. Then sin entered heaven through the rebellion of Satan and eventually came to humanity and earth by Adam and Eve’s transgression.

Ever since sin entered God’s realm, he has been at work to destroy it. There is nothing within his character that requires that he tolerate it. He has a plan that includes the undoing of the curse of sin, and the undoing of the consequences – including death. God’s holiness demands that the plan be carried out. The sin which has infected his universe will be eradicated, and all that is under him will again be his. The doctrine of an endless hell requires God to capitulate. It robs God of his sovereignty – insisting that sin is just as eternal as he is, and there is finally nothing that he can do about it.

Those who accept this notion are imprisoned by a pagan theology that finds no place in the Bible. Until they come to reject the concept of the immortal soul they will always have to place the immortal souls of dead sinners somewhere. A perpetual hell seems the logical place.

4) Allen asserts that we refuse to embrace the hard doctrines of the Bible.

Allen implies that those who accept the concept of a perpetual hell have embraced “the hard doctrines of the Bible” and that is evidence that their faith is “true” and “God-given.” The assumption, of course, is that the Bible teaches this hard doctrine. If the Bible actually teaches that hell will be perpetual, then all believers should accept it as truth, no matter how hard or easy it is.

Annihilationists argue that the doctrine of endless torture is not clearly taught in the Bible. We argue that those passages which appear to teach it are being misread. Many of our writings examine those texts because our concern is that this hard doctrine is hard because it really does not fit the evidence.

It is true that some of the doctrines the Bible clearly teaches are difficult to get a handle on. Anyone who has struggled with the implications of God’s sovereignty and how it affects man’s will can attest to this fact. God is complicated and we should not expect his word to be always easy to understand.

It is also true that accepting the things we learn in scripture is evidence that our faith is genuine. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts and minds of believers, giving them insight into what God means by what he said in scripture. We call this the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Without His guidance, believers would be prone to all kinds of deceptions and false theologies.

History has shown, however, that the illumination of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee that all Bible-believing Christians will agree with each other, or that a doctrine that is popular is also biblical. In fact, many doctrines over the ages which were extremely well-received by the Church have been proven to be unbiblical and discarded.

The doctrine of perpetual hell, which grants eternal life to sinners and requires that they spend eternity alive “outside of the mercy of God” should be discarded. While it is obviously a hard doctrine – and “an absolutely horrible, terrifying doctrine” – it has always had its dissenters who are convinced that it is not a biblical doctrine. There is no advantage to holding to an unbiblical doctrine. Holding to an unbiblical doctrine cannot be evidence of the veracity of one’s faith.

An Alternative

Annihilationists believe in a literal hell which will appear at the end of the age. It is the lake of fire of Revelation, and it will burn as hot as it needs to burn. It will be a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.[19] It will include all those who regret their not coming to faith, and all those who defy God’s right to judge them to the very end. It is the place of final justice. All wrongs will be dealt with. In the end, God will be vindicated. Everyone in hell will understand that it is their own sins and rebellion that put them there. It will last as long as it needs to last for every deserved punishment to be meted out. It is the final historical event of the present age.[20] In it, God will destroy the lost completely, soul and body.[21]

Then, a new age will begin, after Christ destroys all God’s enemies – even the last enemy – death itself.

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.[22]

After hell ends, then there will be a new heaven and a new earth because the old order of things will have passed away.[23] Hell is aionios in both major senses in which the term is used in the Bible. It is from God, the perpetual one, who had no beginning and will have no end. Hell is also permanent, an event having a beginning, and a definitive end, and from which there will be no deliverance.

God is perpetual. He never had a beginning, and will never have an end. Human beings have a beginning. We are not infinite. God in his grace offers eternal life to those who believe in his Son. We have the opportunity to become perpetual. By trusting in Christ as our Savior and Lord, we take hold of his promise of eternal life. He intends to keep that promise by granting us immortality at his return.

He has not promised immortality to unbelievers. Their fate is to be destroyed permanently in hell. To make hell an endless process requires that unbelievers as well have immortality. That is not honoring to God nor is it taught in the scriptures.

The title of Allen’s post is “Is Hell Really Endless.” The word endless only appears once in the Bible, and refers to teachings “which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.”[24] The Bible never uses the term endless to describe hell. Instead, the Bible says:

· “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.”[25]
· “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.”[26]
· “But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.”[27]
· “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.”[28]
· “So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”[29]
· “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”[30]
· “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”[31]

The only permanent things in this universe are events that happen in history, God himself and the beings he has decided to rescue from this age into the next. Hell will not be perpetual, like God’s life. It will be a permanent event in history, but not a perpetual process.

[1] All quotes not otherwise referenced are from Allen’s post.

[2] This is not a term we often use or appreciate. The term most of us use is conditionalist, because we argue that human immortality is conditional. Since the unsaved will not be made immortal, they cannot exist forever in a burning hell.

[3] Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:17, 30; Luke 10:25; 18:18, 30; John 3:15, 16, 36; 4:14, 36; 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 68; 10:28; 12:25, 50; 17:2, 3; Acts 13:46, 48; Romans 2:7; 5:21; 6:22, 23; Galatians 6:8; 1 Timothy 1:16; 6:2; Titus 1:2; 3:7; Hebrews 9:15; 1 John 2:25; 5:11; Jude 21.

[4] 2 Peter 2:9 NET: “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment.”

[5] Isa. 13:6, 9; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obad. 1:15; Zeph. 1:7, 14; Mal. 4:5; Acts 2:20; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10.

[6] Matt. 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36; 2 Pet. 2:9; 3:7; 1 John 4:17.

[7] Romans 16:26; 1 Timothy 6:16; Hebrews 9:14;

[8] Revelation 14:6.

[9] Matthew 18:8; 25:41; Jude 7.

[10] 2 Corinthians 4:18 “the things that are unseen are eternal.”

[11] Romans 16:25.

[12] 2 Timothy 1:9.

[13] Titus 1:2.

[14] Psalm 30:5.

[15] 1 Timothy 6:16.

[16] Matt. 10:28; 22:7; Luke 17: 27, 29; 20:16; 1 Cor. 3:17; 6:13; 15:24, 26; Heb. 10:39; 2 Peter 2:12;

Rev. 11:18.

[17] Psalm 104:35; Ezekiel 26:21; 27:36; 28:19.

[18] Romans 6:23.

[19] Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28.

[20] Revelation 21:8.

[21] Matthew 10:28.

[22] 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.

[23] Revelation 21:1-4.

[24] 1 Timothy 1:4.

[25] Zephaniah 1:18.

[26] Mark 3:26.

[27] Romans 6:21.

[28] 1 Corinthians 15:24.

[29] 2 Corinthians 11:15.

[30] Philippians 3:19.

[31] 1 Peter 4:7.

ACST 39: The Empowerer

2011-04-30T13:49:00.001-04:00

The incarnation was a singular event in which the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. Pentecost was another such singular event in which the Holy Spirit came down and resided within the church and began ministering through us. Luke records this event:

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…[1]

From that time on, believers had the capacity to minister through spiritual gifts and miraculous ministries. That power came from the presence of the Holy Spirit. Although he has always been present everywhere, from Pentecost on, he has invested himself in the church of Jesus Christ.

the rifle era

Before Jesus, God’s Holy Spirit invested himself in people by coming upon them, to empower them to perform specific miracles, or the enable them to do a particular ministry.

· “And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he took up his discourse”[2]
· “The Spirit of the LORD was upon (Othniel), and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.”[3]
· “Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD…”[4]
· “Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon (Samson), and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat.”[5]
· “When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met (Saul), and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.”[6]
· “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward.”[7]
· “Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied”[8]
· And (Saul) went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.[9]
· “The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”[10]
· Ezekiel said “And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, "Say, Thus says the LORD: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind….”[11]

The power of God at work could be described as that of a rifle, specifically targeting one person or group, and doing one thing at a time. During this time God’s power for ministry could be said to be available, but not predictable, and not prominent.

the ricochet era

The Messiah’s ministry was to be different than the ministries of these upon whom the Spirit came. The Messiah was to have the power of the Spirit without measure – without limit. The Holy Spirit would rest upon the Messiah and never leave him. Power from God is both available and predictable if you are looking in the right place.

· “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”[12]
· “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.”[13]
· “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound”[14]

When Jesus Christ appeared for his public ministry, his baptism by John publically demonstrated that he was this Messiah. The Holy Spirit visibly descended and rested upon him. From that time on, the Holy Spirit manifested God’s power wherever Jesus went.

· “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”[15]
· “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness”[16]
· “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.”[17]

The Holy Spirit manifested his power in Jesus’ life and ministry. That power did not dissipate once a particular miracle happened, but continued to manifest wherever Jesus was. It was like a bullet, which, after reaching its target, would ricochet to the next and the next.

the shotgun era

Jesus promised to pass on that special access to God’s power through the Holy Spirit. He predicted the event that we know as Pentecost. He told them “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”[18] He promised “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.”[19]

On that day, the Holy Spirit came, rested upon, and resided within the believers gathered. But unlike the Old Testament saints, this power was to remain in the believers for the purpose of witnessing the fact that Christ has been raised from the dead. The power was tied to the gospel message, and will not diminish until all have had the opportunity to hear that gospel. The power will remain as long as the mission remains.

· “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”[20]
· “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.”[21]
· “by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God- so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel”[22]
· “and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”[23]
· “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”[24]
· “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being”[25]
· “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us”[26]
· “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”[27]

This era in which we now live is both the era of the Holy Spirit, and the era of the church, through which the Holy Spirit chooses to operate. He has invested himself in us, and his power blasts through the obstacles as we continue to spread the gospel. The power of the Holy Spirit is like the blast of a shotgun, that permeates the whole area where the gospel is being proclaimed.

a powerless church?

Sadly, that power often seems to be missing in the church today. Some feel that this special power was only for the age in which the apostles began to originally spread the gospel, and therefore we should not expect the same kind of power today. They teach that the church should concentrate on showing love and other aspects of the sanctified life, because the special power and gifts have ceased.

It is true that Paul argues for an emphasis on love in 1 Corinthians 13, because the miraculous gifts do manifest temporarily. He was not arguing that the era of the Holy Spirit’s power would end in the first century. He was trying to correct an over-emphasis on the expression of supernatural gifts to the exclusion of the fruit of a sanctified life. Paul encouraged both the manifestation of spiritual gifts and spiritual fruit, because each has its place.

Perhaps one of the reasons that the church seems so powerless today is that she has lost sight of the dual role of the Holy Spirit in the presentation of the gospel. His power is available to both transform us into Christ’s image, and to proclaim Christ’s gospel. It can both build up believers and (through miracles) break down walls preventing belief. Some traditions emphasize the Holy Spirit’s role as a sanctifier, others stress his role as a miracle maker. Both must be seen together to get a clear view of who the Holy Spirit actually is. His power is available to change us, and to draw others to Christ.

baptism and fullness

Another helpful distinction can clarify the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life. All believers have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. That is the initial act of entering into the life of someone who has confessed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul told the Corinthians “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.”[28] The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not some extra blessing that a believers has to work for – it comes with being part of the body of Christ – no extra charge.

Simultaneous with the initial baptism with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the bible says “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”[29] This fullness of the Holy Spirit was a temporary phenomenon. It resulted in power for miraculous ministry. It came and went, as the apostles continued to spread the gospel.[30]

The church needs to continually seek this fullness of the Spirit to manifest the difference between who we were before Christ, and who we are now. Paul told the Ephesians “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 all 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.”[31] The old life of debauchery must be replaced by a new life, empowered by the Holy Spirit. This new life involves manifestations of spiritual gifts in which the Holy spirit speaks, sings, and gives thanks through our voices. It also expresses itself in a sanctified life in which we submit to one another instead of trying to rule over each other. Here, again, spiritual gifts and the fruit of the Spirit are working together for the same cause: advancing the gospel.

He is Here

The spiritual gifts and the fruit of the spirit and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit all have one source: the person of the Holy Spirit. They exist because he exists. They will never cease because He will never cease. Since he is here, his power is available to answer our prayers, and to surprise us with unexpected miracles. He is not a mechanistic power, so his work cannot be manipulated. That explains why our prayers sometimes do not result in the answers we expect. He is God, and does not curtail his own sovereignty.

But we should pray, precisely because he is here within us. He has chosen to invest himself in our lives. He has chosen to empower us to fulfill our mission. He has chosen to make us more like Christ. If we are doing what he wants us to do, we should expect his empowerment to do it.

[1] Acts 2:1-4.

[2] Numbers 24:2-3.

[3] Judges 3:10.

[4] Judges 11:29-30.

[5] Judges 14:6. (see also 14:19; 15:14).

[6] 1 Samuel 10:10. (see also 10:6; 11:6).

[7] 1 Samuel 16:13.

[8] 1 Samuel 19:20.

[9] 1 Samuel 19:23.

[10] 2 Chronicles 15:1-2.

[11] Ezekiel 11:5.

[12] Isaiah 11:2.

[13] Isaiah 42:1-3.

[14] Isaiah 61:1.

[15] Matthew 3:16 - 4:1.

[16] Luke 4:1.

[17] Luke 4:14-15.

[18] Luke 24:49.

[19] Acts 1:8.

[20] Acts 4:33.

[21] Acts 6:8.

[22] Romans 15:19-20.

[23] 1 Corinthians 2:4-5.

[24] 2 Corinthians 10:4.

[25] Ephesians 3:14-16.

[26] Ephesians 3:20.

[27] James 5:16.

[28] 1 Corinthians 12:13-14.

[29] Acts 2:4.

[30] Acts 4:8, 31; 6:8; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9, 52.

[31] Ephesians 5:18-21.

ACST 38: The Discipler

2011-04-16T17:46:00.001-04:00

Jesus told his disciples “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”[1] On the one hand, he gave us an impossible task: keeping his commandments. It is harder to do that than to keep the Old Testament commandments, and no one was able to accomplish that task.

On the other hand, we have help that the Old Testament saints did not have. Jesus personally asked the Father to send someone to help us live the life Jesus commanded us to live, and that someone is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit continues the discipling work that Christ began. He was sent specifically from heaven to carry on Christ's work. The best way to understand this aspect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to see how Jesus Christ discipled.

Empowerment

Jesus empowered his disciples to do what he called them to do. When he commissioned the twelve for itinerant ministry, he “called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”[2] He did not ask them to do what he had not demonstrated for them, and given them the means to do so. When he had trained and commissioned another group – the seventy – he likewise assured them that they had the power to do what he asked. He told them “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”[3] With the task came the empowerment.

Some teach that Jesus has somehow shortchanged us during this age. They seem to feel that now discipling can be carried out without supernatural power to heal and deliver from demonic bondage. There is no indication of such a paradigm shift in the New Testament. Just before ascending to heaven, Jesus told the believers present with him that “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was tied to two things: The physical absence of Jesus Christ in bodily form, and the need to disciple all nations before his return. Neither of these two factors have changed in the past two thousand years.

What is more, the Holy Spirit needed to come not just to regenerate sinners, but to do so with power. Jesus told the disciples that “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.” The task of witnessing to Christ’s resurrection was never meant to be carried out without the Holy Spirit’s empowerment.

The Sanhedrin council asked Peter and John “By what power or by what name did you do this?” They were doing what Christ had commanded, and they were doing it in his name. They were doing it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke says that “with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”[4]

Illumination

Jesus came to bring light to a dark place – to illuminate a people who were lost in darkness. Isaiah predicted that “there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.”[5] He foretold that when the gospel of Christ was first preached, it would be in that dark and desolate place.

John commented that “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”[6] But neither did the darkness dispel entirely. Even though “the light has come into the world, (some) people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.”[7] The rejoiced to see the light in Christ, but ultimately rejected that light because it exposed sin that they wanted to keep. Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”[8] But he said that to the Pharisees, who refused to believe that he was who he said he was.

Illumination is like that. It is here for us to utilize if we dare do so. But it can also be lost. Who does not know a person who claimed to be a Christian, and lived like a Christian for a time, only to ultimately reject Christ and faith. This is a reality that everyone knows about. Paul talks about two people who “have made shipwreck of their faith.”[9] Perhaps they did so by rejecting the light that they had been shown. It is a dangerous thing to do so.

The Holy Spirit helps us keep the ship of our faith in safety. He serves as a lighthouse that helps us to stay on course with the life that we received when we came to Christ. In our lives, “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.”[10] It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to distinguish between the world’s darkness and the truth-light of the gospel. He continues the discipling task of illumination that Jesus began in Galilee.

He also has a special ministry of illumination in respect to the message of the Bible. It is “only the illumination of the Holy Spirit, opening our heart to God’s word and God’s word to our hearts, (which) can bring understanding of, conviction about, and consent to, the things that God declares.”[11]

Paul taught about this ministry. He said that “…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.”[12] This implies that the Holy Spirit creates three separate abilities: 1) the ability to understand what is written in the Bible, 2) the ability to pass on that understanding through teaching, 3) the ability to understand and apply God’s truth through the medium of teachers.

Intercession

Jesus also spent a great deal of time praying for his disciples. He prayed before he chose them.[13] He prayed for their strength to endure temptation.[14] He also interceded for them in other ways. When they found themselves incapable of doing what they thought they should do, he stepped in and did it for them.

The Holy Spirit does that for believers as well. Paul taught that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”[15] This is much more than simply a ministry of praying for us. It is stepping in to the ring and taking on the ministry of prayer on our behalf when we are not up to the task.

One of the reasons this ministry is necessary is that believers do not always know how to pray, because we are not always privy to God’s plan. We do not always understand enough of the situation we are in to know what God is doing among us. We see only the struggle, not the intended victory. we see only the pain, not the glory that will come afterward. In such cases, we are liable to pray for the wrong things: immediate control of the situation, immediate release from the difficulties, etc. But God sees the whole picture. In such cases, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of intercession comes to the throne of God with a different agenda than the humans who are praying. His intercession is more likely to be for our strength to endure the battle and our ability to see beyond it. He prays not that we necessarily get what we are asking for, but that our faith can stay strong while we do not.

Sanctification

If it had not been for Jesus, the disciples would never have had the impact upon the world that they did. His presence changed them. His ministry impacted their lives, and made them different people. At its heart, this is what sanctification means. The holiness and separateness and uniqueness of Jesus Christ was visited upon the disciples, and turned them into saints. When he prayed for them, he said “for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”[16]

The Holy Spirit continues that ministry as well. Jesus described the believer as one through whom the Holy Spirit would flow like water flows through a river.[17] The presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers makes us different than what we would have been, and ensures the final outcome of our lives is God’s glory. He transforms our minds so that we know and seek what God wants.[18] He will ultimately transform our lives so that we look like Christ does.[19] That transformation may seem like a very slow process with many setbacks. It is. But the process itself is one of the ministries that the Holy Spirit does within us today.

Endowment

Jesus also gave special gifts to his disciples: supernatural abilities that went far beyond simply utilizing the talents that these disciples had originally. Part of their transformation was requiring more of them than they felt capable of giving. An example of this is the time when thousands had gathered for a dinner and a show.

The disciples came to Jesus with some practical advice and said “"This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."”[20] The natural course of events brought the disciples to a need that they were sure that they could not meet. They brought the problem to Jesus, and even suggested a solution. But Jesus saw this as an opportunity to reveal that within the disciples themselves was a supernatural solution to the problem.

The Charismata get bad press from some people today – even some Christians. This is partly because many who dare to believe in the spiritual gifts only know how to operate in them based on some bad, subjective examples. Such was the case in Paul’s day as well. The Corinthians -- anxious to demonstrate God’s power at work in their lives – did a lot of things the Holy Spirit did not want to do, and blamed them on him. For example:

1. Someone were getting into illicit sexual partnerships, probably claiming that the Spirit led him into the relationships.[21]

2. Some believers were apparently jumping into marriage commitments, perhaps thinking that they were motivated by the Spirit.[22]

3. Some were passing judgment on other Christians, perhaps believing that they were exercising discernment. They were even becoming critical of Paul’s ministry.[23]

4. Some were comparing their gifts with those manifested by other Christians. Paul had to remind them that though the gifts should be pursued, it should always be in an atmosphere of love.[24]

5. Some were manifesting their gifts in public worship in a way that fostered confusion and competition. Paul encouraged them to be considerate of each other and tone the charismata down because such displays of disorder are not what the Holy Spirit is all about.[25]

The spiritual gifts are one way that the Holy Spirit works among believers to disciple believers. He is continuing the discipling ministry of Christ. One way to discern whether we are getting carried away in our use of spiritual gifts is to ask if what we are manifesting contributes to the discipling of ourselves or other believers. If we are manifesting speaking gifts, do those things we say lead to the edification of others? If we are manifesting serving gifts, do the things we do make the body of Christ stronger, more mature?

One particular example (from 1 Corinthians 14) should be highlighted. Believers in Corinth were coming together in public worship, and some of them were bringing messages in languages that they knew, but others did not. This was called speaking in tongues, because, just as today, the word tongue can mean language.[26] These believers were not rattling on with meaningless sounds. They understood what they were saying. They were using the public worship time to build up themselves, not to build up the church (4). They knew that they were giving thanks to God, but the others around them did not know what they were saying, so they could not join in the worship (16). To the others, it was just an indistinct sound (8) – just speaking into the air (9). So Paul’s advice was simple. If you are going to say something that others cannot understand, interpret it. If you can’t do that, keep your mouth shut!

A principle can be inferred from that example which applies to all instances of charismata. The gifts are not the goal of Christian ministry. They are a means to that goal. If the way that our gifts manifest themselves actually detracts from the ultimate goal of making disciples, something is wrong. There were eras and movements in history when believers so emphasized gifts and giftedness that these became the end in and of itself. Some denominations and groups today are so identified with those eras and movements that what people did then has become a standard for faithfulness to the Holy Spirit.

Paul taught the Corinthians that it is possible to be faithful to what God is doing within you without getting carried away and distracting from discipleship. He taught the Ephesians that the ministry gifts were …

“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, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”[27]

The discipleship themes of edification, growth, maturity and unity are the ends to which the supernatural ministry gifts are to be manifested. We are to judge our effectiveness in manifesting gifts by how well we and those we minister to measure up to the fullness of Christ.

Spiritual growth and development like that is happening. It is happening among groups and denominations that call themselves “charismatic” and “Pentecostal” and among those who are not comfortable with those labels. The Holy Spirit is at work among believers who dare to let him do what he wants to do in their lives. He wants to transform us.[28] He wants us to dare to set tables for thousands. He still does miracles. If we dare to get involved in the things that he is concerned about, we may see him perform them more often.

[1] John 14:15-17.

[2] Luke 9:1-2.

[3] Luke 10:19.

[4] Acts 4:33.

[5] Isaiah 9:1-2.

[6] John 1:5.

[7] John 3:19.

[8] John 8:12.

[9] 1 Timothy 1:19.

[10] 1 John 2:8.

[11] J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness. (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1994), 83. {I inserted the relative pronoun which here, instead of who, not to deny the personality of the Spirit, but for the clause to agree with its referent – illumination}.

[12] 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 (see also 1 John 2:20,27).

[13] Luke 6:12-13.

[14] Luke 22:32.

[15] Romans 8:26-27.

[16] John 17:19.

[17] John 7:38-39.

[18] Romans 12:2.

[19] 2 Corinthians 3:18.

[20] Matthew 14:15-16.

[21] 1 Corinthians 5:1-2; 6:9, 16-20.

[22] 1 Corinthians 7. Paul’s advice was to avoid new commitments if at all possible. He wanted believers to submit to the lordship of Christ as they were when they were called to him.

[23] 1 Corinthians 8-11.

[24] 1 Corinthians 12-13.

[25] 1 Corinthians 14.

[26] What was going on in Corinth was not the same thing as the miracle of speaking in “other tongues” at Pentecost (Acts 2:4). One reason many misunderstand the gift is that they are trying to systematize the two incidents.

[27] Ephesians 4:12-16.

[28] Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18.

ACST 37: The Guide

2011-03-29T13:33:00.001-04:00

Jesus described the Holy Spirit’s ministry in some detail. He said “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”[1] That description of the Holy Spirit’s ministry suggests a number of principles which help believers understand whether a word or thought is from him:

1. He is the Spirit of truth. No teaching or action or policy that involves deception or false implications is of the Holy Spirit. By contrast, any teaching or action or policy that champions and celebrates truth might possibly be from the Holy Spirit. One has to be careful, because the Adversary is quite capable of using many truths to hide his lies. However, truthfulness and honesty in ministry is a telling sign of the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

2. His purpose is to guide the church into all the truth. He is not simply one to champion or reveal a part of the truth, and let believers go on living with lies and half-truths in other areas of their lives. His veracity is comprehensive. His goal is to help believers understand and communicate the whole counsel of God.

3. The Holy Spirit acts as an emissary. He is an agent of Jesus Christ, delivering Christ’s counsel, and forwarding Christ’s commands. He is not a free agent – which means that he is not given authority to rescind or reinterpret what Jesus said as recorded in the Gospels. Instead, he is responsible to those words. Just as Jesus submitted to the Father in all things, so the Holy Spirit has submitted to Christ’s will and words in what he has done. That is his function. He continues the task of making disciples of all nations with all the same rules and policies intact.

4. His ultimate goal is to glorify Christ, just as Christ’s ultimate goal is to glorify the Father. To glorify someone is to enhance his reputation. For example, I glorify my wife by praising her for what a good wife she is to me. I also glorify her by living a good life and being a good husband and father myself. My actions reflect upon her because we have a relationship. When the Holy Spirit does great things it reflects upon the greatness of Christ.

The Holy Spirit accomplishes all these things (at least partly) by working with and within the church. He guides believers upon the Christ-track. He keeps them from getting off the Christ-track. He exerts influence – the same kind of influence that Christ did as he walked the desert roads of Galilee and Judea.

It take a Person

When God decided to step into the mess that this planet had become he cared enough to send the very best. He sent a person: Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus decided to continue his ministry after he left for heaven, he did not change plans. He sent another like himself. This was the meaning behind Jesus’ prediction that the Father would send another helper.[2] That word another means another of the same kind.[3] Since Jesus had begun the rescue of humanity from Satan’s grasp, it stands to reason that the one sent after him would be like him – a person.

Humanity has always been cheated by the gods (spirit-beings represented by the idols) who offer another way. The gods of the nations suggest that humans can manipulate their environment in order to get better luck, or harm an opponent. The suggestion involves the assumption that this world operates by means of impersonal, mechanistic laws. The gods behind pagan idolatry teach that what humans need is power to control the way things are. If you have the right source of power, you can get things going to your advantage regardless of your relationship with God.

Into that atmosphere, Jesus came preaching that the kingdom of God is not a matter of just doing acts of righteousness, but of being children of our heavenly Father.[4] What matters is not power, but relationship and living up to that relationship. That is why it was necessary for Christ to come as a teacher. He showed us how to live like children of God. An impersonal influence could not have done that.

Likewise, when Jesus left us to go back to his heavenly Father and ours, he entrusted the task of guiding us into God’s footsteps with another person: the Holy Spirit.

He is a person

In chapter 16 the major arguments for the personality of the Holy Spirit were presented in summary form, but this is an important place to review and accentuate that summary. Seeing the Holy Spirit as a person is not just important to give evidence for the doctrine of the Trinity. It also helps believers better understand who the Holy Spirit is, and what kind of role he plays in our lives.

Masculine Pronouns

Especially when the ministry of the Holy Spirit is being explained, the scriptures use masculine pronouns to refer to him:

John 14:17 “…even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
John 16:13-14 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

If the authors the Gospels wanted to preserve the concept of the Holy Spirit as an influence or power from God, they would have only had to substitute the neuter definite article for all of these masculine ones. To do so would have been consistent with the word spirit as it is neuter.[5] The choice of the Gospel writers to use the masculine definite article accentuates all the other evidence of the personality of the Holy Spirit.

He Initiates Actions

The Holy Spirit takes the initiative and does things that no mere influence can do:

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
Romans 8:14 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 16:15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 “…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.”
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
1 Corinthians 12:8-11 “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.

So, the Holy Spirit is not simply an instrument in God’s hands. He is a person who the Father uses to perform his will, just as Christ is.

He Can Receive Actions

Personhood involves the ability to receive and respond to other actions as well. Those who deny that the Holy Spirit is a person often see the actions above as having been simply actions of the Father. So, the Holy Spirit is simply another term for God in action. But why would the scriptures specifically point out the Holy Spirit as the recipient of certain actions if the term was merely a nickname for the Father? The New Testament speaks of the Holy Spirit as being acted upon:

Acts 5:3 “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?’”
Acts 5:9 “But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."”
Mark 3:28-29 “"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"”

The Holy Spirit’s Role As Discipler

Discipling requires acting in such a way that the way to live is communicated in both words and deeds. Jesus could do that because he could show his disciples how to live and he could explain to them the principles of God’s kingdom. The Holy Spirit can do the same thing – through us. He uses our tongues to speak, and our hands to heal. As a disciple, he continues what Jesus started by using disciples to make new disciples. He reveals God to the unbeliever; explains God to the ignorant, and shows God’s love and power to the needy. Just as Jesus was the world’s guide to God’s new covenant life, so the Holy Spirit takes up that responsibility – through the church.

In The Spirit

That is why when the church is said to do anything significant it is said to do it “in the Spirit” or “in the Holy Spirit.” Our actions as believers are guided (and – yes, influenced) by the Holy Spirit. He is living out Christ’s life through us:

Acts 19:21 “Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."”
Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
Romans 9:1 “I am speaking the truth in Christ- I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit-“
Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:3 “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.
1 Corinthians 14:2 “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.”
Ephesians 6:18 “…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints”
Philippians 2:1-2 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Colossians 1:7-8 “… Epaphras … has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 1:5 “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.”
Jude 1:20 “But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit”
Revelation 1:10-11 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches…’”
Revelation 4:2 “At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.”

Being a disciple takes more than some extra strength from a supernatural power. It involves a lifetime of decisions based on principles that sometimes seem to contradict each other. In those cases, what is needed is not a force that leans the disciple in the right direction. What is needed is a Counselor who can work with the believer to get her to see God’s will against a background of several good or bad possibilities.

The NIV translation of the Bible uses the word Counselor to translate the title Jesus uses for the Holy Spirit.[6] A friend of mine objected to the term because it made him think of a staff member of a camp, complete with shorts and a whistle. He argued that the Holy Spirit is more than that. That is true. The Holy Spirit is more than that. Yet, the term is helpful to understand the special role that God’s Holy Spirit has is helping disciples be disciples. He is a person who resides in us, and helps us be the kind of people who reflect Christ’s glory by doing what Christ wants us to do.

When Christians Fail

One final question must be introduced at this point. If disciples of Christ are being counseled by the Holy Spirit, why is it that they often say or do the wrong thing. Christians make mistakes, and sometimes intentionally sin. The simplest answer is that Christians have the freedom to reject the Holy Spirit’s influence just as those who sat under Christ’s discipling ministry did. The guidance of the Holy Spirit is not overwhelming. We are still free to choose our own path even when the Guide is showing us the correct one. If the Holy Spirit were simply an influence from God, it stands to reason that the influence would be effective. But since the Holy Spirit is a person, everyone who hears his voice has the option to heed it or reject it. When Christians fail their heavenly Father it is because they choose to ignore the counsel of the Counselor. We always live to regret those choices.

Learning to Be Sensitive to His Counsel

Christians sometimes are so busy doing their own thing that they leave no room for the Holy Spirit to do his thing. The Bible calls that quenching the Holy Spirit.[7] In that metaphor, the Holy Spirit is like a fire, and believers who are not sensitive to his counsel put the fire out. He wants to accomplish some things in our lives but often we have our own agendas and do not let him do his work.

Willful sin in disciples’ lives can bring emotional grief to the Holy Spirit.[8] This also can leave disciples unaware of their master’s will, because it further reduces their ability to hear his voice. We bring sorrow to the person that Jesus gave us for our own joy and strength. He will never leave us, but he will only do for us what we allow him to.

Becoming more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance involves several steps.

1) Repent of all known sin, and ask the Lord to reveal any unintentional sins.

2) Get into the Bible on a regular basis so that you can know God’s revealed will. Read the whole Bible, not just the parts you think you understand or the parts you think are relevant.

3) Pray for guidance on issues where the Bible is silent or your understanding of it is unclear.

4) Discuss issues and plans with other Christians because the Holy Spirit works through spiritual gifts possessed by the body of Christ, the church.

5) Also read the writings of other Christians on the subject, since the Holy Spirit is not limited to speaking through this generation or people in your present location or denomination.

God has given us another Wonderful Counselor in the Holy Spirit. His ministry is as various as he is, but part of what he does is guide believers so that they learn his word correctly, and make the right decisions in life. May we be the generation that takes full advantage of this awesome gift.

[1] John 16:13-14.

[2] John 14:16.

[3] The Greek word is allelos, as opposed to heteros, which means another of a different kind.

[4] Matthew 5:16, 45,48; 6:1,9,14,26,32; 7:11,21.

[5] The Hebrew word ruach is both masculine and feminine. Hebrew does not have a neuter gender. It may be that the Greek pneuma suggests the same kind of versatility, not the absence of personality, but a title that could fit either gender.

[6] John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7.

[7] 1 Thessalonians 5:19.

[8] Ephesians 4:30.

ACST 36: The Messiah

2011-03-17T16:25:00.001-04:00

When Jesus asked his disciples who he was, Peter answered “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”[1] His answer not only covered the person and nature of Christ, but described his role and work as well. That one word “Christ” says it all. It is helpful to “unpack” that term, because it has a long history, and it reveals much about what Jesus was called to accomplish.

Anointed

The word Christos is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew Mashiach, a noun related to the verb Mashach, meaning to spread or smear with oil. In ancient times, oil was used as a means of keeping the head clean of lice, and to preserve cleanliness. Those associated with worship were anointed for this purpose, in order to keep the process of ritual sacrifice pure and untainted.

Somewhere early on in history, other persons whose work was deemed as important as that of the priests were anointed as well. The symbol took on enhanced meaning. It came to be understood that an anointed priest, or ruler, or prophet has not only the ritual purity and holiness needed for the job, but special abilities as well. Therefore, to acknowledge someone as anointed is to acknowledge his or her divine calling and enablement.

The title suggested both the authority to function in accordance with one’s calling, and the responsibility to do such in a righteous and wise manner. Those who were anointed were considered under the special protection of God, and as having a divine mission that should not be interfered with.

The Coming Messiah

Very early in the Old Testament it became clear that all of these anointed individuals are but types of the one anointed one to come: the Messiah, who would appear in history and affect salvation for God’s people. The Bible weaves together many pictures of this coming leader, not all of which are directly connected to the term Messiah, but all of them accurately describe Christ and his work.

He will Give Himself for God’s Purpose

The earliest hint of the Messiah’s ministry is the LORD’s prediction to Satan that he would encounter a foe in battle from among the children of Eve. God tells the serpent “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”[2] The prophecy is obscure, but it is clear that some conflict will take place in the future in which both parties will suffer harm, but the serpent’s harm will be the most severe. Christians understand this to be a reference to the fact that Jesus came to give up his life by crucifixion in order to rescue us from Satan’s grasp.

Jesus affirmed that “the Son of Man came … to give his life as a ransom for many.”[3] He came not to find himself but to lose himself, to give himself so that others might live. His role was to be a sacrifice. As God’s anointed one, he was particularly qualified for that task. As the sinless Son of the Father, he had the holiness and sinlessness necessary for his life to serve as the ransom for ours. By his blood he “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”[4]

The night in which this great sacrifice happened, Jesus got together with his disciples and shared a special meal with them. It was the Passover meal, which celebrated God’s deliverance of the Israelites from God’s judgment through the death-angel. They were celebrating deliverance through the death of the sacrificed lamb. But Jesus added to the ritual. “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."”[5]

Suddenly, the Passover event itself becomes a symbol of a much greater event. The unleavened bread of the Passover was originally a symbol of the haste in which the Israelites would suddenly be delivered from their captivity. They would not even have time to properly leaven their bread and let it rise. It was to be eaten without yeast. Now, however, Jesus tells his disciples that this bread was a symbol of his own body, which he was going to give for them – and us. The absence of leaven in the bread is a symbol of the absence of sin in the savior. Here again is evidence that the Messiah would give his life for those that he rescues.

Another Old Testament story took on new significance as Jesus explained its meaning in relation to himself and his work:

I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."[6]

Most modern readers find this discourse a little too creepy to handle. But they might take comfort in the fact that the ancients who heard Jesus say these things were just as troubled. Jesus was not encouraging cannibalism. He was trying to make a similar point to the one he had made about the Passover bread. The Manna in the wilderness was God’s gift to his people who had a need they could not fill by themselves. They needed God’s grace to sustain them. In the same way, Jesus body and blood would meet the human need for deliverance and eternal life.

Jesus was once again predicting his death on the cross. To feed upon Christ’s flesh and drink his blood was not to partake in communion. It was to believe in his death as an atonement for sin. The context of this passage is the feeding of the 5000 (John 6:1-15). Later, the people were pursuing Jesus because they wanted another meal. Jesus tells them “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”[7] They respond to this by asking what they should do to labor for that food. Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”[8]

Central to the work of Jesus as the Messiah is that he would come down from heaven, just like the Manna did. His death on the cross was a gift of God’s grace. All anyone has to do to accept that free gift is to believe. Like the Manna, those who refuse to believe and receive what God freely provided would die, because there was no other option. The Messiah would freely give his life. But that sacrifice would only suffice to bring eternal life if it was believed and received.

The Good news tells us that Christ’s death is sufficient to pay the sin-debt owed by everyone. Paul tells us that Christ died for all.[9] He gave his life as a ransom for all.[10] That does not mean that everyone will be saved, but does mean that everyone could have been saved. If all had believed and received the gift of Christ’s death, then all would have received the promise of eternal life, along with the hope of the resurrection that would begin that eternal life.[11] As the Messiah, Jesus made the resurrection possible for all by giving of himself at Calvary.

The Messiah’s giving of himself began long before that fateful day when he was crucified. His entire life was an act of giving and a sign of his grace. He had all the riches of heaven, yet he chose to forsake them and come to earth to save us. When the apostle Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to be generous, he pointed out that they should imitate Christ “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”[12] Christ’s giving began with the incarnation, and culminated on the cross.

The Messiah had us in mind when he came to this world to die. He was the sacrificial lamb who “gave himself for our sins to deliver us.”[13] The lives we now live in the flesh we should live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us.[14] We should “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”[15] Husbands should “love (their) wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”[16] Since “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, (then we should) die to sin and live to righteousness.”[17] Since “he laid down his life for us, (then) we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”[18]

The Messiah’s purpose was to deliver us from the consequences of sin. Paul says “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.”[19] He “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.”[20] He “has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.”[21]

He will Proclaim God’s Prophecies

Another function that the Messiah was to perform was to be God’s ultimate prophet. He would proclaim God’s word as no one had before, and no one would after. The LORD had promised Moses “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”[22] Out of that prediction there emerged an entire institution of the prophets who spoke for God for centuries. Some prophets were true prophets, and some were false prophets. Some merely spoke God’s words; others backed up what they said with miracles. But the people of God were always expecting the prophet to arrive. They expected the Messiah to speak for God in a way unlike any of the other prophets.

The Mosaic corpus ends with these words:

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.[23]

The people expected more than a spokesman for God. They looked for someone who knew God intimately like Moses did. They expected a man who could wield the staff of God in his hands, and separate the waters of the red sea. They longed for a prophet who could command the quail and Manna to appear to feed them. They expected power.

Yet, ironically, for the prophet to be like Moses, he must also be a man of peace. He must have possession of power, yet operate in humility. He must be a great leader, yet also be God’s servant. He must have the ability to lead skillfully, which means that he must endure the faithlessness and complaining of his followers. He must have the brilliance to know God’s thoughts, and yet be capable of communicating those thought on the people’s level.

Jesus communicated God’s prophecies to his generation with clarity and power. He had the advantage of being the one and only Son of the Father. He said “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”[24]

The prophet was to be a kind of person who would reveal how God felt in any given situation. He or she had to have a hand on God’s pulse. If God was angry, the prophet needed to express that anger. If God was compassionate, the prophet was to show that mercy and pity. The prophet’s job was to know God and to make him known.

John describes Jesus’ messianic ministry in this way: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.”[25] Through the Messiah, God’s 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.”[26] Like no one else – not even Moses – Jesus revealed God to us.

Jesus described God as our Father who is in heaven.[27] The phrase signifies both intimacy and distance. It speaks of one with whom we can have a relationship, yet not as though among equals. The relationship he describes is son-ship. If we imitate the character of our heavenly Father, then we are acting like his sons. When our Father sees our acts of righteousness done merely to please him, then he will reward us. But if we do our acts of righteousness merely to please other humans, he knows and withholds his reward. We should fear our Father in heaven. Our relationship is such that his will is our first consideration. Even though Christ is sends us out like sheep among wolves, we should not fear the wolves. They can only kill us. The Father has power to destroy us in hell. So we should fear his displeasure above all other fears.[28]

Jesus’ words are to be the basis for our lives. He told us to make disciples of all nations by baptizing people into his name and teaching them all his commands. He fulfills the role of the ultimate prophet. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”[29] Now, at last, when know how God feels. He reacts to things just as his Son did.

He will Mediate God’s Provisions

The Messiah would not only be the ultimate prophet, but he would also be the ultimate priest. He is the only being ever capable of serving in that exalted position, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”[30] That personal relationship with God that allows us to call him our heavenly Father could never had happened if it were not for Christ’s mediation.

As our great high priest, the Messiah can empathize with us when we are tempted to fall short of God’s perfection, “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”[31] He understands the thoughts that go through our minds. He does not just know those thoughts like someone who memorizes a song. He understands the thoughts and feelings like the original author of the song.

Jesus is appointed high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Like the high priest under Aaron’s priesthood, he could empathize with God’s people because he was one of them.[32] But unlike the ordinary priests, Jesus could mediate God’s position perfectly because he never sinned. He never stopped being God the Son. Since he now has resurrected eternal life, he is able to “save to the uttermost” all those who put their faith in him, since he is able to intercede for them continually.[33] He does so on the basis of new promises God has offered as part of his new covenant.[34]

The provisions of this new covenant speak to a new relationship with God in the present, and a new inheritance from God in the future. Jesus is “the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”[35] If Jesus had not died on the cross, the transgressions that kept us tied to the laws of the old covenant would still be hanging over all humanity, keeping us at enmity with God. Since Jesus has taken the guilt for those transgressions away, we are free to inherit eternal blessing instead of eternal shame and destruction.

Under the old covenant, the blood of the innocent cried out for retribution and seeks justice. That was the blood of Abel: the first person murdered. Under the new covenant, the blood of the innocent cries out for repentance and offers grace. That is the blood of Christ on the cross. Believers who claim to be under the new covenant of grace should be careful to live up to its provisions offered by Christ. Because…

you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.[36]

The most dangerous kind of life to live is that of a “Christian” who does not fear God. Such a person claims that Jesus is his Messiah, yet refuses to follow him. The author of Hebrews says that such a person is worse off than those who pretended to live under the provisions of the Old Covenant, mediated by Moses. Our mediator is the Son of God himself.

He will Lead God’s People

Another role expected of God’s Messiah is that of leadership and guidance. The One who was to come was to be the Good Shepherd, who leads, guides, protects and provides for God’s people. This aspect of Messiah’s leadership was clearly seen in the analysis of the shepherd texts in chapter 35.

The leadership role of the Messiah was also described in royal terms. Jeremiah prophesied: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'”[37] Isaiah adds: “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”[38]

Jesus admitted that he was the king that the Old Testament prophets had predicted. When Pilate asked him if he was the king of Israel, Jesus replied “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world- to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”[39] He was not evading the question. He was affirming that his was divinely ordained leadership, and that other leaders (like Herod, Caesar, and Pilate himself) were leading people away from the truth.

The wise men came to Jerusalem looking for the new “king of the Jews” who had been born.[40] Nathaniel’s reaction to Jesus was “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”[41] The Gentiles sought to have Christians brought to justice for treason against Caesar, because they were “all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."”[42]

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem for his triumphal entry, he chose a donkey’s colt, specifically because he was fulfilling a scripture about the Messiah as a king: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”[43] To ride into town on a humble animal was not only a sign of his humility, but it also had been done by ancient kings to demonstrate their strength. The idea was that a strong animal was not needed if the victory was already sure. This was exactly how he was received. John records “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, and “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"”[44]

But ultimately it will be known by all that Jesus is more than just king of one ethnic group. He will reign over all ethnic groups. When the song is sung praising Christ for his leadership, it will sound like this: “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!”[45] He is king of kings and Lord of Lords.[46]

He will Fulfill God’s Plan

God had planned for his Son to be born on earth[47] to a virgin.[48] He would be from the lineage of Jesse,[49] and be a descendant of King David.[50] He would be born in the little town of Bethlehem, in Judah[51] but raised in Nazareth, a town in Galilee.[52] News of this birth would cause a massacre of infant boys in a town called Ramah, north of Jerusalem.[53] As a child, this son would go to Egypt, and then return from it.[54]

After growing up, this young man would take on a mission to both restore the tribes of Jacob and to be a light to the Gentile nations as well.[55] He would deliver people from physical ailments,[56] and also set them free from spiritual bondage.[57] He would then be rejected,[58] betrayed,[59] and killed for the transgressions of God’s people.[60]

After fulfilling God’s plan in all these (and many other) details, Jesus was raised from the dead, which was also part of God’s plan.[61] He commissioned his church to continue making disciples of all nations because he is not yet finished fulfilling God’s plan. One day Christ will suddenly return to this earth to claim his rightful place as king of the universe. This is Christ’s destiny. It is what he was anointed for.

[1] Matthew 16:16.

[2] Genesis 3:15.

[3] Matthew 20:28.

[4] Revelation 5:9.

[5] Luke 22:19.

[6] John 6:48-58.

[7] John 6:27.

[8] John 6:29 {emphasis mine}.

[9] 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.

[10] 1 Timothy 2:6.

[11] John 6:39.

[12] 2 Corinthians 8:9.

[13] Galatians 1:4.

[14] Galatians 2:20.

[15] Ephesians 5:2.

[16] Ephesians 5:25.

[17] 1 Peter 2:24.

[18] 1 John 3:16.

[19] 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10.

[20] Titus 2:14.

[21] Revelation 1:5-6.

[22] Deuteronomy 18:18 (see also 18:15).

[23] Deuteronomy 34:10-12.

[24] Matthew 11:27.

[25] John 1:18.

[26] John 1:14.

[27] Matthew 5:16, 45, 48; 6:9, 14, 26, 32; 7:11; 23:9.

[28] Matthew 10:16-28.

[29] Hebrews 1:1-2.

[30] 1 Timothy 2:5-6.

[31] Hebrews 2:18.

[32] Hebrews 5:1-10.

[33] Hebrews 7:25.

[34] Hebrews 8:6.

[35] Hebrews 9:15.

[36] Hebrews 12:22-25.

[37] Jeremiah 23:5-6.

[38] Isaiah 9:7.

[39] John 18:37.

[40] Matthew 2:2.

[41] John 1:49.

[42] Acts 17:7.

[43] Zechariah 9:9.

[44] John 12:13.

[45] Revelation 15:3 {The word for nations is the same word often rendered Gentiles}.

[46] 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16.

[47] Isaiah 9:6-7; Mark 1:1; John 1:1-3, 14.

[48] Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:1-2, 16.

[49] Isaiah 11:1-5, 10; Romans 15:12; Matthew 1:6, 16.

[50] Isaiah 16:5; Matthew 1:1-2a, 6, 16.

[51] Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1.

[52] Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew 2:22-23; 4:13-16.

[53] Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16-18.

[54] Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15.

[55] Isaiah 49:6; 42:1-4, 6; Matthew 12:14-21.

[56] Isaiah 29:18; 35:5-6a; Luke 7:20-22.

[57] Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:16-21.

[58]Psalms 69:8; Matthew 21:42.

[59] Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:14-15.

[60] Isaiah 53:8; 1 Peter 2:24.

[61] Isaiah 53:8, 11; Matthew 28:2, 5-7, 9.

ACST 35: The Good Shepherd

2011-03-07T13:59:00.001-05:00

It is an axiom that “no good deed goes unpunished,” and that was true in the life of Jesus. John records in chapter nine of his Gospel that Jesus did the good deed of restoring sight to a blind man. The Pharisees learned about it, and concluded that Jesus was “not from God.”[1] They reasoned that a leader sent from God would have the good sense not to heal anyone on the Sabbath.

They could not see beyond their narrow, legalistic worldview to recognize who Jesus really was. Jesus commented on this event by saying “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind,”[2] When the Pharisees who overheard what he said figured out that he might have been referring to them -- the leaders in Israel – they asked him if that were the case. He responded “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains.”[3] Their guilt was in claiming to lead people to God when – in fact – they were leading them away from Christ.

That is the context in which Jesus gives his “Good Shepherd” monologue. It can be found in the first eighteen verses of John 10. A shepherd is a person who is trusted and appointed by the owner of the sheep and goats to look after them. He provides for their needs by leading them to where they can find sustenance. He protects them from predators and their own foolish tendency to get lost. If he is a good shepherd, he is even willing to put his own life on the line to protect and save his sheep from danger. In his Good Shepherd monologue, Jesus asserted that he is the divinely appointed leader of God’s people, and that the Pharisees and others like them are not.

The Door

Again, it must be understood that Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, who fancied themselves the super-spiritual leaders of God’s people. In the first ten verses of his Good Shepherd monologue, Jesus is explaining to the bad shepherds why they are bad shepherds. To do that, he uses the metaphor of a door. The door of which he speaks is not the door to a house, but is something that shepherds are familiar with.

In Bible times a shepherd would sleep in the opening of a desert

pen to personally guard the only access to his precious livestock.

With this cultural context in mind, Jesus could as easily say “I am

the gate” as “I am the Good Shepherd.” As a symbolic gate, the

shepherd was the only means by which someone could have access

to the fold.[4]

The Pharisees assumed that -- since they studied and revered the Torah -- God had automatically qualified them for spiritual leadership. Jesus affirmed the reality of spiritual leadership of God’s flock, but denied that the Pharisees were qualified. The reason: those Pharisees had not entered through the door. They did not have a relationship with God through his only Son.

Not having entered through the door, the Pharisees were seeking to gain access to the flock some other way. That makes them not shepherds, but thieves. They were attempting to steal something that was not theirs: the sheep. They were attempting to gain the loyalty and obedience of God’s people.

The result of this attempted robbery would be bad for the sheep. The Good Shepherd would come (to the fold) in order to ensure abundant life for them. They would “go in and out and find pasture.”[5] The false shepherds come (into the pen) only for the purpose of stealing, killing and destroying the flock.[6] Jesus was referring to the false leaders of his day, but the same is true of all those who attempt to lead God’s people without having first established a relationship with God through Jesus, the door.

The Protector

From verse eleven, Jesus takes up the question which is undoubtedly on the minds of the Pharisees as they listen to Jesus condemn them as false shepherds: “What makes you the good shepherd?” To answer that question, Jesus changes the scenario a little bit. Now, the danger is not from false shepherds seeking to steal the sheep, but from the wolf who wants to snatch and scatter them.

Jesus continues to be the door of protection for the sheep, but now he is called on to put his own life in danger to protect his sheep. He qualifies as the good shepherd because he “lays down his life for the sheep.”[7] He is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the flock. It is obvious that Jesus refers to his own impending death on the cross here. The sheep needed more than just protection. They needed deliverance. Only by sacrificing his own life would the good shepherd ensure the preservation of the lives of those he was responsible for.

The Owner

Why does Jesus lay down his life for the sheep? He does it because his relationship with God’s people is not the same as that of the false shepherds. The false shepherds are hired hands. He is the owner of the sheep. When the wolf comes, the hired hands run away because they are not willing to pay the ultimate price to protect those under their charge. The owner knows the sheep and cares for them. The sheep know the owner, and respond to him when he calls them by name.

As the owner of the sheep, Jesus has plans to increase his flock. He has other sheep who are not part of the present fold. He has plans to bring those other sheep into the fold so that there will be “one flock, one shepherd.”[8] Those who advocate forms of universalism see this statement by Jesus as affirming that there are several ways to God. We must understand, however, that the context in which Jesus speaks does not allow that interpretation of his words.

The whole intent of Jesus’ Good Shepherd monologue is to show that God has specifically chosen his only Son to be the only way to salvation. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for – in a sense – taking his place and attempting to steal the sheep. He insisted on being the door through which everyone must pass in order to be a part of the flock.

Likewise, as the only Son of the owner (the Father) Jesus is uniquely qualified as the Good Shepherd because only he will lay down his life for the sheep. No one in the past or the future will be able to do this – only Jesus Christ.

The Son

Unlike all those leaders who had gone before Jesus, and all of us who come after him, only the Son is uniquely qualified to give his life as an atoning sacrifice to rescue the entire flock from the ravening wolf – sin and death.[9]

He has a unique relationship with God the Father. He says “The Father knows me and I know the Father.”[10] His relationship with the Father implies that there is no impediment – nothing comes between the two. For the rest of us, sin keeps us from having that kind of relationship with God. For Christ, eternally sinless, no such impediment exists. This sinless state puts Christ in the unique position in that only he can be the sacrifice to undo the damage that sin has done to humanity.

Only Christ has been charged by the Father with the task of redeeming humanity by his blood. How it must have enraged the Pharisees when Jesus told them that he has received that special charge from his Father![11] From that moment, many who had probably been open to Jesus’ message turned against him completely, claiming that he was either insane or demon possessed.[12]

They might have accepted that Jesus was a good teacher, or even a good moral leader, but Jesus would not allow them to stay there. He must either be the sinless sacrifice that God exclusively uses for the rescue of humanity, or not. Accept him or reject him, but either way he is the Good Shepherd and there is no other.

As the Son, Jesus is the only one with the legal right (authority) to lay down his own life to atone for humanity’s sin, and to take it up again by resurrection.[13] For anyone else to presume to die for humanity’s sin would be madness indeed. Only a perfect sacrifice can ever cover the sins and pay the debt of another. Even if you or I dared to go to the cross ourselves, we could not atone for our sin. The only way a sinful human could ever pay for his sins is by suffering and destruction in hell.

Therefore, if you want to do it your way, hell is your only option. Either you enter by door number one, the divinely ordained Door which leads to abundant and eternal life through resurrection – or you take the exit door which leads to misery and destruction. There is no door number three.

Jesus’ death was no accident. In his Good Shepherd monologue he indicated that he would intentionally lay it down (on the cross) and would intentionally take it up again (through the resurrection).[14] It was part of the Father’s plan to rescue all his lost sheep and bring them all back into the fold – into an eternal relationship with him.

How Jesus Taught

Jesus demonstrated that he is the Good Shepherd by how he taught. Mark mentioned that those who heard him teaching “were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”[15] He was not merely passing on information that could be read in a book. He was reflecting a relationship that he had with his Father in heaven. He was reflecting a relationship that he had with his followers (sheep) here on earth. His authority was intrinsic, not derived.

What He Did

Jesus demonstrated that he is the Good shepherd by doing what no other shepherds could do. He brought deliverance by healing and rescuing the demon possessed, and passed on the authority for his followers to do the same. Believers today can minister healing and deliverance as well, but we must be careful to do so for the same purpose. We are to demonstrate not that we are something, or that the power to heal and exorcise demons is something, but that Jesus is something. The miracles should enforce the message, and the message must be who Jesus Christ is.

Jesus demonstrated that he is the Good Shepherd by laying down his life for the sheep. Only he was qualified to do that. Only his blood could atone for the sins of lost humanity. Only his blood, and not anything else added to it!

It is the blood of Jesus alone that delivers you. If you think that it is because of your faith, then you will always be wondering, “Do I have enough faith?” No my friend, it is His blood alone that saves. And when God sees that you see that it is the blood alone that saves, He calls that faith in the blood, and every plague will pass over you! God wants you to know that it is Jesus’ blood alone that saves because every time you think that your deliverance depends partly on God and partly on you, you will not have a settled peace in your heart. But when you know that it is the blood alone that saves, you will have an unshakable peace.[16]

The Good Shepherd alone is responsible for the preservation and protection of the sheep. The sheep cannot take credit for following. They cannot claim superior position in the flock because of their wisdom or status. Every one of the sheep are safe because of the faithfulness of the shepherd – and nothing else.

Access to the Father

Paul was probably thinking of Jesus as the Door of the sheep when he said that “through him we both (Jews and Gentiles) have access in one Spirit to the Father.”[17] It was he (Paul) who answered definitively who the other sheep were that Jesus had alluded to.[18] The flock to whom Jesus was speaking were Jews. The other sheep would be the Gentiles, because the door would allow them access to the sheep-pen as well. The law was a barrier to keep Gentiles out. Jesus was a door that would open to let all believers – Jew and Gentile – in. He provided access to the Father. So the Jewish Paul could encourage the Gentile Ephesians by saying “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”[19]

The Blood of the Eternal Covenant

The author of Hebrews mentions that Jesus is “the great shepherd of the sheep” and “the blood of the eternal covenant” in the same sentence.[20] He was apparently drawing attention to the fact that Jesus, in fulfilling his role as the divinely appointed shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. He ties this act of sacrifice with the eternal covenant. That means that what Jesus did was not just sufficient to repeal the effects of sin for a time, but forever. What Jesus did on the cross will never have to be repeated. Once paid, the price need never be brought forth again.

Under-shepherds

Leaders in the new covenant community would come to see themselves as under-shepherds – responsible to provide and protect the flock until Christ the Chief Shepherd appears.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.[21]

Peter’s advice to the elders shows how under-shepherds are supposed to exercise oversight:

1. Their work must be voluntary, not under compulsion. They must do what they do for the same reason that the Good Shepherd did what he was called to do: out of compassion and love for the sheep.

2. Their work must be a labor of love, not a job for a salary. Peter was not arguing against compensation. He would agree with Paul that the church must not “muzzle the ox while it treads the grain.”[22] Peter himself probably received funds to sustain his apostolic work.[23] But he also knew the danger of the temptation to do ministry for profit. He warns that passion for the work itself should motivate ministry, not passion for profit. The under-shepherd works ultimately for the unfading crown of glory which the Chief Shepherd will give when he appears.

3. Their work must be in demonstration of submission, not a demand for submission. They were to be examples to the flock, not domineering over those in their charge. Jesus offered himself as an example of how his disciples were to do that.

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.[24]

Secure in the Shepherd’s Hand

Jesus went on to describe his role as the Good Shepherd and what that would mean for the sheep. He said he was in the process of giving his sheep “eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”[25] He talks about salvation in terms of certainty and security – yes, eternal security.

The reason for that promise of eternal security is not that the sheep have done something, but that the shepherd has done something. That is why – on the one hand – believers can talk about being eternally secure – because once God saves you, you are always saved. On the other hand, unbelievers who have half-heartedly prayed a sinner’s prayer, and then have gone on to live the same sinful, unrepentant life that they lived before cannot claim eternal security. Salvation is not based on what the believer does but what the Good Shepherd did. It is not based on my response to the call of God to repent. It is based on Christ’s response to the call of God to die.

Those who have truly repented -- and endeavor to live the life of repentance that the Good Shepherd called them to -- will know the security of living in the shepherd’s hand. They will know that they are safe, and that no one will be able to snatch them from the protective grasp of their savior. This security will not give them license to sin, but will encourage them not to sin. If they sin, they will feel the displeasure of the shepherd who holds them firmly. Because of their relationship, they will strive to obey their shepherd, not to take advantage of his grace.

[1] John 9:16.

[2] John 9:39.

[3] John 9:41.

[4] Timothy S. Laniak, While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks. (HigherLife Development Services, Inc., 2007), 141.

[5] John 10:9.

[6] John 10:10.

[7] John 10:11.

[8] John 10:16.

[9] Neither the thief of verse 10 nor the wolf of verse 12 is a direct reference to Satan. Jesus is not teaching about Satan but himself. As the Door he protects us from false leaders, as the sacrificing Son he took on sin and death and defeated them at the cross.

[10] John 10:15.

[11] John 10:18.

[12] John 10:20.

[13] John 10:17.

[14] John 10:18.

[15] Mark 1:22.

[16] http://vitaminforthesoul.blogspot.com/2010/06/blood-alone-saves-by-joseph-prince.html

[17] Ephesians 2:18.

[18] John 10:16

[19] Ephesians 2:19.

[20] Hebrews 13:20.

[21] 1 Peter 5:1-4.

[22] 1 Corinthians 9:9; I Timothy 5:18.

[23] This assumption is based on the fact that Paul argued in 1 Corinthians 9 that “those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel” (14), but that Paul said that he and the others on his missionary team “have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (12). Peter and the other apostles probably made use of the right to receive compensation for ministry.

[24] Matthew 20:25-28.

[25] John 10:28-29.

Excursus: Moses on the souls of animals

2011-02-24T14:52:00.001-05:00

Long before Plato ever said anything about the human soul, the Old Testament writers presented a consistent biblical anthropology. Augustine was biased toward platonic philosophy, even going so far as to claim that Plato brought him to God.[1] But there is no reason for us today to be biased toward Plato’s (or anyone else’s) philosophy. We should first seek to understand what God himself has revealed about humanity before inquiring of any human speculation.

The Hebrew word Moses used that our English bibles sometimes translate soul is nephesh, a word that suggests something that breathes. In fact, the Ugaritic and Akadian cognates also mean “throat.”[2] Moses’ use was consistent with an understanding that a soul is a living breathing being.

Consistent with this understanding, Moses had no problem using the term nephesh to refer to animals. In the creation account, Moses records “And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”[3] The ESV uses the phrase “living creatures” to translate the Hebrew nephesh chayah (souls of life). It is obvious from the context that Moses refers to fish and sea mammals, and birds, not people. This first use of nephesh highlights a contrast with Plato’s teaching that only human beings have souls.

Moses continues to use the term to refer to animals in the next few verses. He says “So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.”[4] Likewise, in verse 24, “And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds- livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so.”[5] And later he says, “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.”[6] The phrase “breath of life” translates nephesh chayah again. So all four references to the soul in Genesis 1 refer to animals, not people.

Later in the account of Adam’s dominion in the garden of Eden, Moses again speaks of animals with souls when he describes Adam’s responsibility to name them: “So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”.[7]

When Moses recorded God’s covenant with Noah after the flood, he included the provision which allows for eating animals. The covenant stipulated that “you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”[8] The word the ESV translates as life is the same term, nephesh. He probably meant that the blood of the animal is essential to its life – that is – if you take away its blood it will stop breathing. The rule forbade eating an animal while it was still alive – while it still had its soul. The account continues to use the term nephesh in reference to animals.[9]

It is poor theology to simply suggest that the same term means living being when referring to animals, but implies an immortal being when referring to people. It does not do justice to the fact that the term is used of both animals and people, nor to the fact that their meaning is consistent as long as the interpreter is not already biased with a presupposition that humans were created immortal.

What we learn from Moses is that humans were created -- like the animals -- as living, breathing beings, and that when they lose their breath, they die, and return to the dust from which they came.[10] Without the promise of resurrection, that would be the end of human existence.

Greek philosophy came along and subverted that simple theology by taking God and the resurrection out of the picture. Instead Plato and others exalted the nature of humanity. That magnified anthropology bolstered the concept of the dignity of man, at the expense of Moses’ teaching on human dependence upon God.

The gospel message does not require that humans be deified. It tells us that believers have the hope of eternal life – not because we were born different from the animals – but because Jesus has made a way for us to be resurrected to immortality. It is the cross of Jesus Christ – not our created human nature – that gives us hope of life beyond the grave. It is the second coming of Jesus Christ – not our own death – that is the biblical blessed hope.

[1] B. F. Cocker, Christianity and Greek Philosophy (New York: Carlton & Lanahan, 1870), 10.

[2] See The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1935a Nephesh.

[3] Genesis 1:20.

[4] Genesis 1:21.

[5] Genesis 1:24.

[6] Genesis 1:30.

[7] Genesis 2:19.

[8] Genesis 9:4.

[9] Genesis 9:10, 12, 15, 16.

[10] Genesis 3:19.