Reading the Bible Supernaturally - from John Piper

At the recommendation of my friend Michael Daily, I have been reading John Piper's book, Reading the Bible Supernaturally. This is certainly in the Great Tradition in that Jesus Christ and the glory of God is everything to Piper. There is a link below to the Desiring God website, and by the way, you can download this book for free - how refreshing, what a servant's heart for others to know Christ. 

Today I was captured by what is below, and I think I will introduce it to my congregation. It is worth meditating upon, knowing, sharing, and practicing. Who knows, the Holy Spirit may use these words to help deliver us from our narcissistic way of reading the Bible and attempting to force the Word of God to submit to us.

"Our ultimate goal in reading the Bible is that God’s infinite worth and beauty would be exalted in the everlasting, white-hot worship of the blood-bought bride of Christ from every people, language, tribe, and nation. This implies:

1. that the infinite worth and beauty of God are the ultimate value and excellence of the universe; 

2. that the supremely authentic and intense worship of God’s worth and beauty is the ultimate aim of all his work and word; 

3. that we should always read his word in order to see this supreme worth and beauty;

4. that we should aim in all our seeing to savor his excellence above all things; 

5. that we should aim to be transformed by this seeing and savoring into the likeness of his beauty, 

6. so that more and more people would be drawn into the worshiping family of God until the bride of Christ— across all centuries and cultures— is complete in number and beauty." John Piper.


https://www.desiringgod.org/books/all

Ponderings on 1 Corinthians Chapters 1 – 4 (11)

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:1 – 5.

My how I wish we had engaged this passage when I was in seminary, both in exegesis classes and in preaching classes. How I wish we had explored the inherent tension in these verses, indeed, in this entire section of 1 Corinthians. On the one hand we are to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) and are to speak wisdom and mature teaching from God (1 Corinthians 2:6; Hebrews 5:11 – 6:2); on the other hand we must not confuse the wisdom, and even the communication methods, of the present age with the wisdom and communication patterns of God.

Are we likely to invite a speaker who will walk up on the platform in “weakness and in fear and much trembling”? Are we not rather going to invite someone who will communicate according to current trendy communication patterns? If the answer to the former question is “no” and the answer to the latter question is “yes”, then ought we not to engage in some soul-searching as we submit to the Word of God?

The Church Fathers, and many since their time, believed that a pastor’s or teacher’s relationship with God strongly influenced their insight into Holy Scripture. They believed that a right relationship with God, along with diligent study and meditation, was necessary to receive illumination in the Word of God. I never heard this discussed in seminary – and I was at what I consider a pretty good seminary. It was never suggested that we could not do godly exegesis unless we were devoted to Jesus Christ, unless we submitted to God’s Word. It was never suggested that we could not preach effectively unless we were abiding in the Vine. I think this way of teaching and discipling would have been foreign to the Church Fathers, I know it would have been foreign to the Apostles.

But then I have never picked up a commentary that addressed this, in fact, in this day of “scientific” commentaries it is no wonder that it is not addressed – we think we can do it ourselves.

To be sure, there are likely exceptions to the above mentality, and I sense that there are Bible training environments that emphasize a holy relationship with God and devotion and worship and obedience to His Word – but they are not likely to be closely associated with the broader “academy”, indeed, they may even be considered second-rate institutions.

I see the same cancer in Sunday school and small group material – we are therapists and sociologists before we are anything, and that means the Gospel is an afterthought, if that. The Nicene Creed has gone the way of the manual typewriter, “Isn’t that quaint?”

And what about this idea of the “power of God”? This “demonstration of the Spirit and power”? Don’t we like to make excuses for not seeing this in a palpable fashion? “Times have changed” we say. “God has changed” we think. We manufacture some of the most implausible “Biblical” excuses for why the power of God seems to have departed from the Western Church; rationalizing away our lack of prayer, our lack of obedience, our stark disobedience, our anemic faith, our worldly hedonism. We have reason upon reason why these words of Paul are as remote to us as the sometimes planet Pluto. Little wonder we run to sociology and therapy and business and marketing models – all in an effort to hide ourselves from the conviction of the Word of God.

What have we come to? What, please tell me, is a theological education worth if it is not steeped in the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power”? What is a commentary worth? A sermon worth? A gathering of God’s people worth?

Just perhaps the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” is inextricably associated with “knowing nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified”? Now there is a thought. Not a thought likely to gain currency in the narcissistic Western Church, but nevertheless a thought.

You know, of course, that if we preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” that we must also preach ourselves and our listeners crucified with Christ (Mark 8:34 – 38; Galatians 2:20) – do you think that is likely to happen?

The Persecuted Church in China and Pastor Wang Yi

Below is a letter written by Pastor Wang Yi. How would we respond in a similar situation? How are we challenged by this letter, both in terms of our witness at home and our support of our brothers and sisters abroad?

The following letter can be found at http://www.chinapartnership.org/blog/2018/12/my-declaration-of-faithful-disobedience

China Partnership Editor’s note: Over 100 members of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, were arrested beginning Sunday, December 9. At the time of publication of this translation, arrests are still being made. Among those taken away were Pastor Wang Yi, senior pastor of Early Rain, and his wife, Jiang Rong, who have not been heard from since Sunday.

Foreseeing this circumstance, Pastor Wang Yi wrote the declaration below to be published by his church should he be detained for more than 48 hours. In it he explains the meaning and necessity of faithful disobedience, how it is distinct from political activism or civil disobedience, and how Christians should carry it out. We thank Brent Pinkall and Amy Cheung for their contributions in translating this letter.

Letter from Pastor Wang Yi

On the basis of the teachings of the Bible and the mission of the gospel, I respect the authorities God has established in China. For God deposes kings and raises up kings. This is why I submit to the historical and institutional arrangements of God in China.

As a pastor of a Christian church, I have my own understanding and views, based on the Bible, about what righteous order and good government is. At the same time, I am filled with anger and disgust at the persecution of the church by this Communist regime, at the wickedness of their depriving people of the freedoms of religion and of conscience. But changing social and political institutions is not the mission I have been called to, and it is not the goal for which God has given his people the gospel.

For all hideous realities, unrighteous politics, and arbitrary laws manifest the cross of Jesus Christ, the only means by which every Chinese person must be saved. They also manifest the fact that true hope and a perfect society will never be found in the transformation of any earthly institution or culture but only in our sins being freely forgiven by Christ and in the hope of eternal life.

As a pastor, my firm belief in the gospel, my teaching, and my rebuking of all evil proceeds from Christ’s command in the gospel and from the unfathomable love of that glorious King. Every man’s life is extremely short, and God fervently commands the church to lead and call any man to repentance who is willing to repent. Christ is eager and willing to forgive all who turn from their sins. This is the goal of all the efforts of the church in China—to testify to the world about our Christ, to testify to the Middle Kingdom about the Kingdom of Heaven, to testify to earthly, momentary lives about heavenly, eternal life. This is also the pastoral calling that I have received.

For this reason, I accept and respect the fact that this Communist regime has been allowed by God to rule temporarily. As the Lord’s servant John Calvin said, wicked rulers are the judgment of God on a wicked people, the goal being to urge God’s people to repent and turn again toward Him. For this reason, I am joyfully willing to submit myself to their enforcement of the law as though submitting to the discipline and training of the Lord.

At the same time, I believe that this Communist regime’s persecution against the church is a greatly wicked, unlawful action. As a pastor of a Christian church, I must denounce this wickedness openly and severely. The calling that I have received requires me to use non-violent methods to disobey those human laws that disobey the Bible and God. My Savior Christ also requires me to joyfully bear all costs for disobeying wicked laws.

But this does not mean that my personal disobedience and the disobedience of the church is in any sense “fighting for rights” or political activism in the form of civil disobedience, because I do not have the intention of changing any institutions or laws of China. As a pastor, the only thing I care about is the disruption of man’s sinful nature by this faithful disobedience and the testimony it bears for the cross of Christ. 

As a pastor, my disobedience is one part of the gospel commission. Christ’s great commission requires of us great disobedience. The goal of disobedience is not to change the world but to testify about another world.

For the mission of the church is only to be the church and not to become a part of any secular institution. From a negative perspective, the church must separate itself from the world and keep itself from being institutionalized by the world. From a positive perspective, all acts of the church are attempts to prove to the world the real existence of another world. The Bible teaches us that, in all matters relating to the gospel and human conscience, we must obey God and not men. For this reason, spiritual disobedience and bodily suffering are both ways we testify to another eternal world and to another glorious King.

This is why I am not interested in changing any political or legal institutions in China. I’m not even interested in the question of when the Communist regime’s policies persecuting the church will change. Regardless of which regime I live under now or in the future, as long as the secular government continues to persecute the church, violating human consciences that belong to God alone, I will continue my faithful disobedience. For the entire commission God has given me is to let more Chinese people know through my actions that the hope of humanity and society is only in the redemption of Christ, in the supernatural, gracious sovereignty of God.

If God decides to use the persecution of this Communist regime against the church to help more Chinese people to despair of their futures, to lead them through a wilderness of spiritual disillusionment and through this to make them know Jesus, if through this he continues disciplining and building up his church, then I am joyfully willing to submit to God’s plans, for his plans are always benevolent and good.

Precisely because none of my words and actions are directed toward seeking and hoping for societal and political transformation, I have no fear of any social or political power. For the Bible teaches us that God establishes governmental authorities in order to terrorize evildoers, not to terrorize doers of good. If believers in Jesus do no wrong then they should not be afraid of dark powers. Even though I am often weak, I firmly believe this is the promise of the gospel. It is what I’ve devoted all of my energy to. It is the good news that I am spreading throughout Chinese society.

I also understand that this happens to be the very reason why the Communist regime is filled with fear at a church that is no longer afraid of it.

If I am imprisoned for a long or short period of time, if I can help reduce the authorities’ fear of my faith and of my Savior, I am very joyfully willing to help them in this way. But I know that only when I renounce all the wickedness of this persecution against the church and use peaceful means to disobey, will I truly be able to help the souls of the authorities and law enforcement. I hope God uses me, by means of first losing my personal freedom, to tell those who have deprived me of my personal freedom that there is an authority higher than their authority, and that there is a freedom that they cannot restrain, a freedom that fills the church of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.

Regardless of what crime the government charges me with, whatever filth they fling at me, as long as this charge is related to my faith, my writings, my comments, and my teachings, it is merely a lie and temptation of demons. I categorically deny it. I will serve my sentence, but I will not serve the law. I will be executed, but I will not plead guilty.

Moreover, I must point out that persecution against the Lord’s church and against all Chinese people who believe in Jesus Christ is the most wicked and the most horrendous evil of Chinese society. This is not only a sin against Christians. It is also a sin against all non-Christians. For the government is brutally and ruthlessly threatening them and hindering them from coming to Jesus. There is no greater wickedness in the world than this.

If this regime is one day overthrown by God, it will be for no other reason than God’s righteous punishment and revenge for this evil. For on earth, there has only ever been a thousand-year church. There has never been a thousand-year government. There is only eternal faith. There is no eternal power.

Those who lock me up will one day be locked up by angels. Those who interrogate me will finally be questioned and judged by Christ.  When I think of this, the Lord fills me with a natural compassion and grief toward those who are attempting to and actively imprisoning me. Pray that the Lord would use me, that he would grant me patience and wisdom, that I might take the gospel to them.

Separate me from my wife and children, ruin my reputation, destroy my life and my family – the authorities are capable of doing all of these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith; no one can make me change my life; and no one can raise me from the dead.  

And so, respectable officers, stop committing evil. This is not for my benefit but rather for yours and your children’s. I plead earnestly with you to stay your hands, for why should you be willing to pay the price of eternal damnation in hell for the sake of a lowly sinner such as I?

Jesus is the Christ, son of the eternal, living God. He died for sinners and rose to life for us. He is my king and the king of the whole earth yesterday, today, and forever. I am his servant, and I am imprisoned because of this. I will resist in meekness those who resist God, and I will joyfully violate all laws that violate God’s laws. 

First draft on September 21st, 2018; revised on October 4th. To be published by the church after 48 hours of detention.

Appendix: What Constitutes Faithful Disobedience

I firmly believe that the Bible has not given any branch of any government the authority to run the church or to interfere with the faith of Christians. Therefore, the Bible demands that I, through peaceable means, in meek resistance and active forbearance, filled with joy, resist all administrative policies and legal measures that oppress the church and interfere with the faith of Christians.

I firmly believe this is a spiritual act of disobedience.  In modern authoritarian regimes that persecute the church and oppose the gospel, spiritual disobedience is an inevitable part of the gospel movement. 

I firmly believe that spiritual disobedience is an act of the last times; it is a witness to God’s eternal kingdom in the temporal kingdom of sin and evil. Disobedient Christians follow the example of the crucified Christ by walking the path of the cross. Peaceful disobedience is the way in which we love the world as well as the way in which we avoid becoming part of the world.

I firmly believe that in carrying out spiritual disobedience, the Bible demands me to rely on the grace and resurrection power of Christ, that I must respect and not overstep two boundaries.

The first boundary is that of the heart. Love toward the soul, and not hatred toward the body, is the motivation of spiritual disobedience. Transformation of the soul, and not the changing of circumstances, is the aim of spiritual disobedience. At any time, if external oppression and violence rob me of inner peace and endurance, so that my heart begins to breed hatred and bitterness toward those who persecute the church and abuse Christians, then spiritual disobedience fails at that point.

The second boundary is that of behavior. The gospel demands that disobedience of faith must be non-violent. The mystery of the gospel lies in actively suffering, even being willing to endure unrighteous punishment, as a substitute for physical resistance. Peaceful disobedience is the result of love and forgiveness. The cross means being willing to suffer when one does not have to suffer. For Christ had limitless ability to fight back, yet he endured all of the humility and hurt. The way that Christ resisted the world that resisted him was by extending an olive branch of peace on the cross to the world that crucified him. 

I firmly believe that Christ has called me to carry out this faithful disobedience through a life of service, under this regime that opposes the gospel and persecutes the church. This is the means by which I preach the gospel, and it is the mystery of the gospel which I preach.

The Lord’s servant,

Wang Yi

First draft on September 21st, 2018; revised on October 4th. To be circulated by the church after 48 hours of detention.

"This English translation was originally published on the China Partnership Blog on December 12, 2018, and is replicated here with permission. We thank Brent Pinkall and the China Partnership translation team for their work."

The Word and Work of our High Priest

“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:11 – 16 ESV.

The author writes that we should be diligent and strive to enter into God’s rest. Verse 10 says, “For the one who has entered His [God’s] rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” This puts me in mind of Philippians 2:12 – 13, which teaches that we are to “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

We enter into rest as we strive, but striving must be animated by the Holy Spirit, and as the Holy Spirit lives through us we rest in Him. Jesus says (John 15) that we are to abide in Him if we are to bear fruit and that without Him we can do nothing. Just as nothing exists without Him (John 1:3) so nothing can exist in our lives of eternal worth without Him. If we are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17 -18) then He must be our Author and Sustainer and all that is of the New Creation is of Christ Jesus – we have nothing to bring with us into the New Creation – it is all Jesus Christ.

The Working of the Word of God, which is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, wounds us, humbles us, convicts us, and leads us to repentance; then God’s Word heals us, brings life to us, and transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ. We enter into rest as the Word of God performs the Work of God.

But who wields this sword of the Holy Spirit? In Revelation 1:16 John sees “a sharp two-edged sword” coming from the mouth of the risen and ascended Christ Jesus.

In the above passage in Hebrews, we see our High Priest Jesus; a High Priest who is compassionate and sympathetic, sitting on the throne of grace, to whom we can come for mercy and grace. It is our High Priest who wields the Word/Sword dividing the sacrifice (Romans 12:1 - 2) as we offer ourselves to Him.

We present ourselves to our merciful and faithful High Priest and He graciously and sympathetically (4:15 - 16) lays us open and works His healing and transformation within us into His image.

Am I offering myself to be laid bare before my Lord and my God?

What about you?

Two Ways

Psalm 1 English Standard Version (ESV)

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

"Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

This psalm reminds me of Proverbs Chapter One and Joshua Chapter One (you might want to compare them).

How shall we walk and stand and sit? Whose words and thoughts will mold our souls? What will our minds absorb? How shall we live this coming year?

Certainly our Lord Jesus is “the Way of the righteous” (John 14:6). Is Jesus truly our way of life?

Yes, we do battle “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:13), all the more reason to know the Lord Jesus as our refuge, all the more reason to mediate on the Law of Yahweh both day and night.

We are called to “delight in the Law of Yahweh”, to treasure His Law above gold or silver or position or fame or any such thing – for to delight in God’s Word is to delight in Christ, and we cannot delight in Christ, the Word, except we also delight in His commandments; if we love Him we will obey Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 6).

Make no mistake, there is only One Who is Holy; then there is evil and wickedness. Which way shall we live in? Which path will we walk? Whose words shall we obey, speak, and ponder?

May I suggest that we meditate on Psalm One for the remainder of this week? Perhaps we might memorize it? I hear memorization is good for the brain. I know that knowing and living in this psalm is good for the soul.