Broken Cisterns

From a Puritan Prayer:

Guard my mind from making ordinances my stay or trust, from hewing out broken cisterns, from resting on outward helps.

How many times have I made a tradition or a preference “my stay or trust”? How many times have I made a religious practice my benchmark for righteousness or fellowship?

It isn’t that I discount traditions and practices per se; in fact I’ve learned to honor many practices and traditions because in honoring them I honor my brothers and sisters – whether I understand or am entirely comfortable with their practices and traditions.

I do know, however, that times without number I have used traditions and practices as criteria for fellowship and…danger of dangers…as a form of self-righteousness.

As a pastor I’ve shepherded parishioners who knew more about the practices of their denomination than they did of Scripture. I once heard a parishioner use the term, “the Congregational religion”, in a small group Bible study; I thought, “What is the Congregational religion?”

As a young Christian I recall being taught how the denomination with which I was associated differed from other denominations; I would have been better off had I been taught more about Jesus and about the unity of the Body of Christ.

There are times when outward helps can be helpful, but when they become that upon which we place our trust they are dangerous for they are then our support and we no longer need rely on Christ. Scaffolding is helpful when building a structure, it provides a platform on which to perform work, but there comes a time when the scaffolding is taken down; how strange it would be to leave the scaffolding as part of the permanent structure.

Many years ago I was in a situation/movement in which certain experiences were highly valued and sought after; the spiritual experiences were considered to be evidence of God working in His people and of His approval. When we gathered together the measure of the success/fruit of our gathering was the measure of our experience. A mental image came to me of broken cisterns; we were pouring water (experience) into ourselves but as fast as we poured the water into the cisterns it ran out through multiple holes and splintered staves.   

A danger in a consumer society is that we can be so focused on consumption that we fail to realize that growth in Christ is not measured by the consumption of spiritual goods and services; it is not measured by reliance on ordinances or the construction of cisterns or the success of outward helps; I’m not even sure, as a rule, that we can measure our own growth – individually or collectively. But I am sure that the world can measure us; by our love for one another and by our unity in Christ (John 13:34-35; 17:23).

Oh Lord Jesus, please deliver us from broken cisterns; teach us to drink the water of life that You freely give us and to find in You our all in all.

John 5:17ff: III

But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless [it is] something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and [the Father] will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”

When I was young in Christ I was made aware of John 14:12:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater [works] than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

Since those early years I have often heard John 14:12 cited, and I have often heard the question discussed of what “greater works” we might possibly do in comparison to what Jesus Christ did. What I have never heard is a discussion of the context of John 14:12, a context that mirrors John 5:17ff.

While the entire Upper Room Discourse (John Chapters 13 – 17) provides the context for John 12:14 (actually, the entire Gospel is the context), let’s consider John 14:10 – 11:

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

In John Chapter 5 and John Chapter 14 the “works” of Jesus flow from His abiding relationship with the Father, and in Chapter 14 the “greater works” that we are invited to do are possible because of the abiding of the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit within us – and of our abiding in the Trinity. The greater works of John 14 are born of relationship; are born of us seeing and hearing the Trinity just as the works of Jesus were/are born of His seeing and hearing the Father.

Notice the synonymous relationship of “words” and “works” in 14:10, there is a sense in which the Word of God and the Work of God are one in the same. Also consider John 6:28 – 29:

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (As the context of 6:28 – 29 indicates, Jesus’ questioners weren’t interested in relationship; they ignored His answer).

There is an interplay of belief/trust, word, and work in the Gospel of John, and this interplay has its vitality and reality in Trinitarian relationship. In Chapter One the Word creates all that is, an affirmation of Genesis Chapter One “and God said…and there was”. We are invited to enter into the Word and Work through the portal of belief and trust in Jesus Christ.

Our problem often is (at least my problem often is) that we want to get on with the “work” without first having an abiding relationship in Christ out of which the works flow. The question shouldn’t be so much, “What are the possible greater works that Jesus speaks of?” but rather, “What is the greater relationship that Jesus invites us into?”

Whatever the greater works of John 14:12 may be, they are the result of Jesus going to the Father; “because I go to the Father”.  The object of these works is that; “…the Father may be glorified in the Son”. Our participation in these greater works is not about us, it is about the glory of God; our participation is not in order that we might achieve some great thing, but that God should be glorified.

From eternity past into eternity future the True and Living God lives; shrouded at times from our eyes and understanding, deep in the mists of mystery, the knowledge of Him clouded by our sin and the effects of our rebellion; yet this Mighty and Loving and Gracious God comes to us as Jesus Christ full of grace and truth and He bids us believe in Christ, trust in Christ, place ourselves in Christ, that we should live in Him and never taste death

If we will eat and drink of the greater relationship we will know the greater works.

A Position in the World?

From a Puritan prayer:

As I have a position in the world, keep me from making the world my position; may I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the Creator.

How often do we make our position in the world our position? It is easy to do, at least for me. How often do we wear the accolades of others as we wear a new suit of clothes that we feel especially becomes us? How often do we do this in the church?

Jesus knew what was in man and did not give Himself to man to make Him king. The crowds and praises of man meant nothing to Jesus in terms of ego and self-identity. I cannot say that of myself. Jesus always had the Father before Him; His focus was the Father. Do I always have Jesus before me, is He my center of gravity, is He my North Star?

In the church we often make poster children of those who have positions in the world; is this wise? What do we communicate when we do this? Is a series of poster children as true a Biblical witness as a community of saints living in koinonia with each other in the Trinity? Perhaps poster children are our substitute for the witness of koinonia?

If ever there was a Biblical poster child it is Paul, yet Paul’s passion was the Body of Christ and Paul made little of his previous position in Judaism except to contrast it with knowing Christ. We tend not to make little of the positions of our poster children – in fact we extol the fact they are sports or entertainment stars, or high-profile executives; this is not a commentary on the poster children themselves, it is a commentary on ourselves and the fact that we make our position in the world our position.

One of the reasons the poster-child mentality troubles me, in much the same way the clergy-laity and sacred-secular mentalities trouble me, is that it we can be tempted to think that it absolves us of individual and collective responsibility to live as Christ’s covenant in our generation.

At the end of the day this is a personal challenge for me, for the temptation is always before me to evaluate myself based on my position in the world – whether it be a high position or a low position – in both instances pride stands before me like a hungry lion. My position must be Christ and Christ alone.

For consider your calling brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.  1 Corinthians 1:26 – 31.

John 5:17ff – II

But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless [it is] something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and [the Father] will how Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”

Quoting from Leon Morris on the above:

“He [Jesus] begins with a very strong affirmation of community of action with the Father, It is not simply that he does not act in independence of the Father; he cannot act in independence of the Father…There is a continual contemplation of the Father by the Son, an uninterrupted communion. The result of this is that it is the things the Father does that the Son does too, ‘not in imitation, but in sameness of nature’ (Westcott).”

As Jesus teaches in John Chapters 13 – 17, all who believe in Him partake of His relationship with the Father; we are bid to partake of the koinonia of the Trinity. Just as the works of Jesus flowed from relationship with the Father, so our works in Christ flow from our relationship in the Holy Trinity. The Father loves us as He loves Jesus (John 17) and the unity we are called to is the unity of the Trinity (John 17).

Our days and our nights, our words and our deeds, our thoughts and our hearts…no longer have their roots in the dust but rather in Those Three who have come to live within us, John 14:23; Ephesians 2:19 – 22.

John 5:17ff – I

But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless [it is] something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and [the Father] will how Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”

Jesus is God. John’s Gospel message is unmistakable. John begins his Gospel with, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. Jesus’ Gospel message is unmistakable, He is God. Those who heard Jesus in John Chapter Five may not have believed that He was God, but they understood what Jesus was saying, they understood that Jesus was claiming to be God.

Leon Morris, in his NICNT Commentary on John, quotes Barclay (page 276):

“It is, as Barclay says, ‘an act of the most extraordinary and unique courage…He must have known that to speak like this was to court death. It is His claim to be King; and He knew well that the man who listened to words like this had only two alternatives – the listener must either accept Jesus as the Son of God, or he must hate Him as a blasphemer and seek to destroy Him. There is hardly any passage where Jesus appeals for men’s love and defies men’s hatred as He does here.”  [Italics mine.]

Have we strayed from the Gospel message that Jesus is God? What import does the Cross have if Jesus is not God? If Jesus is not God the Cross becomes, at best (perhaps?), an example of love; at worst (I suppose) it becomes the epitome of delusion – especially considering that many of His followers suffered and died for Him.

Have our lives drifted from the reality that Jesus is God and as God is to be worshipped? Jesus is not the quarterback on a football team, He is not a CEO, He is not a mascot for faith and family values, He is not an icon for a political or social agenda; Jesus is God. Jesus is not a figure cast as a hitching post, arm extended and hand holding a ring for us to tether our horses; He is not our servant; we are not the masters.

Jesus did not employ a nuanced approach to His declaration that He is God; Jesus did not construct an elaborate seeker-sensitive message. While we see Jesus in other contexts employing teaching and mentoring nuance with His disciples, in terms of the declaration of His identity there is no nuance, there is nothing less than a straightforward approach – how could God deny Himself?

Jesus’ claim to be God is authenticated by the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to those who believe in Him; witness is given to them that Christ’s testimony is true.

Is Jesus as God central to my life today? Is Jesus as God central to my witness to others?

A Position in the World?

From a Puritan prayer:

As I have a position in the world, keep me from making the world my position; may I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the Creator.

How often do we make our position in the world our position? It is easy to do, at least for me. How often do we wear the accolades of others as we wear a new suit of clothes that we feel especially becomes us? How often do we do this in the church?

Jesus knew what was in man and did not give Himself to man to make Him king. The crowds and praises of man meant nothing to Jesus in terms of ego and self-identity. I cannot say that of myself. Jesus always had the Father before Him; His focus was the Father. Do I always have Jesus before me, is He my center of gravity, is He my North Star?

In the church we often make poster children of those who have positions in the world; is this wise? What do we communicate when we do this? Is a series of poster children as true a Biblical witness as a community of saints living in koinonia with each other in the Trinity? Perhaps poster children are our substitute for the witness of koinonia?

If ever there was a Biblical poster child it is Paul, yet Paul’s passion was the Body of Christ and Paul made little of his previous position in Judaism except to contrast it with knowing Christ. We tend not to make little of the positions of our poster children – in fact we extol the fact they are sports or entertainment stars, or high-profile executives; this is not a commentary on the poster children themselves, it is a commentary on ourselves and the fact that we make our position in the world our position.

One of the reasons the poster-child mentality troubles me, in much the same way the clergy-laity and sacred-secular mentalities trouble me, is that for many it absolves them of individual and collective responsibility to live as Christ’s covenant in their generation.

At the end of the day this is a personal challenge for me, for the temptation is always before me to evaluate myself based on my position in the world – whether it be a high position or a low position – in both instances pride stands before me like a hungry lion. My position must be Christ and Christ alone.

For consider your calling brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.  1 Corinthians 1:26 – 31.

If Christ is the Way how can I be the end?

A few weeks ago I read the following in a Puritan prayer:

If you are the Way how can I be the end?

This is one of those lines I wish I’d read forty years ago; not that I would have incorporated it into my life then, but at least the seed would have been sown.

Last year Vickie planted some seeds in a germination tray and we waited for them to sprout. And we waited, and we waited…and yes…we waited some more. Finally one of them sprouted, Vickie transplanted it and we soon had a beautiful Moon Vine growing over our arbor. I suppose there were sixteen squares in the germination tray, but only one of those squares contained a seed that sprouted.

My early reading in Christ is like our Moon Vine seeds in the sense that it has taken a long time for some of the seeds to sprout, and then a long time for those sprouts to climb the arbor of life and blossom. Even though much of my early reading was focused on Christ as the Way and the End of life, I really didn’t get it; not really. Oh I could talk a good talk, and I think I meant the talk, I think I was sincere in the words, but I really didn’t get it – I was still the “end”, so how could He be the Way?

Back in those early years I read something by A.W. Tozer that compared our approach to Christ with our approach to our nation’s flag – a banner under which to live, band together, and enjoy a certain sense of mission and belonging. But Tozer pointed out that that isn’t Biblical Christianity – Biblical Christianity is knowing and obeying Jesus Christ as Lord of our individual lives and the life of the Church. Christ isn’t an ideal, He isn’t a banner, He isn’t a cause; He isn’t any of those things that might still allow us to retain our autonomy in some negotiated sense – we can’t negotiate with Jesus Christ, we must surrender to Him.

If I am the end how can Christ Jesus be the Way?