Continuing our
reflections on Geerhardus Vos’s Message on “Heavenly Mindedness” from Hebrews
11:9 – 10:
“For heaven
itself is subject to a process of preparation, so that its full content became
accessible only to the patriarchs through a projection of their faith in time.
The heaven for which they hoped was the heaven of redemption, enriched through
the ages, become peopled with the successive generations of the saints of God,
filled with the glory of Christ, the recreated paradise, towards which all the
streams of grace springing up in time send their waters. The believer requires
this new heaven, not simply the cosmical place that resulted from the first
creation. Hence his heavenly-mindedness can never destroy interest in the
unfolding of the ways of God throughout the history of the present world.”
G. Vos
Continuing with
the question from our previous post, what does it mean that “heaven itself
is subject to a process of preparation” and in particular what might “enriched
through the ages” mean? In the last post we considered enrichment in light
of Ephesians Chapter 4, today we’ll consider Joshua Chapter 1, in which we see
Joshua preparing to lead Israel into Canaan, the Promised Land, the inheritance
which God had promised to their ancestors.
Key concepts in
Joshua 1:1 – 9 are:
“Every place where the sole of
your foot treads shall be yours” (verse 3).
“This book of the law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you
may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make
your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (verse 8; see also
Psalm 1 and Psalm 119).
In order for Joshua
to lead the people into their inheritance two things had to occur in unity; the
Law of God needed to dwell ever-presently in the words and thoughts of Joshua
and the people, and Joshua and the people must actually put their feet on the
land in order to possess it. Without the Law of Yahweh, the people would not
have the wisdom and knowledge needed to walk on the land, nor would they be
living in daily communion (koinonia) with Him, a fellowship which would make
them holy as God is holy and thus, among other things, protect their hearts and
minds from the demons of that region. Sadly, the fulness of the inheritance was
never possessed because the people, especially once Joshua and Caleb died, failed
to have the Law of God and relationship with God as their center of gravity,
their source of light and life – and so they worshipped the demons of the
region, they lived as those who did not know God, and “everyone did what was
right in his own eyes,” certainly a picture of the church in present-day
America.
Friends, having
Bibles in our homes is worse than being without Bibles if we are not meditating
in the Word of God, teaching the word of God, speaking the Word of God to one
another, and walking the entire length, breath, depth, and height of the
Word of God. If we are not doing these things we often have a false
sense of security, a false sense of who we are, a false sense that we are
obedient; we both excuse ourselves and others for our laziness and
disobedience.
In 2 Peter 1:2 –
4 there are key concepts that mirror Joshua 1:1 – 9:
“Grace and peace be multiplied to
you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (verse 3).
“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and
godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called
us by His own glory and excellence” (verse 4a).
“For by these He has granted to
us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them
you may become partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (verse 4b).
As Jesus makes
clear in the Gospel of John, especially in chapters 13 – 17, we are called to
share the life of the Trinity, we are called to be partakers of the divine
nature (see also Hebrews Chapter 2). We are the sons and daughters of the Living
God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans Chapter 8). The Holy Trinity ought to be the core identity
of all those who belong to Jesus Christ.
We receive grace
and peace as we live a life of knowing God, a life of deepening and secure intimacy
with God. This is not about “data” and information, this is about informed
relationship in which we live in the Trinity and the Trinity lives in us
(see John chapters 13 – 17).
Make no mistake,
God has called us to His own glory and excellence. Let us recognize that
there is a true knowledge and false knowledge (there is also love that
abounds with wisdom and judgment and informed love – Philippians 1:9-11, contra
much of the practice of the professing church in America).
Just as God placed
the land of inheritance before ancient Israel, so God has granted to us everything
pertaining to life and godliness (see 2 Cor. 1:19 – 22). But how are we
to experience this everything?
We do this through
His precious and magnificent promises, through which we become partakers
of the divine nature.
O dear friends,
Joshua and Israel could have read travel books about Canaan, they could have
watched videos about Canaan, they could have had people who had been to Canaan
share their experiences (which of course they did and which led to unpleasant
results) with them – but doing these things would not make them possessors of
their inheritance.
In the same
fashion we can read what others say about the Bible, we can watch videos about
the Bible, we can listen to others tell us about the Bible (and these may all
have their place); but unless we are walking the land of the Bible, reading the
Bible, meditating in the Bible; making the Word of God, in Christ, our source
of light and life – then we are living outside our inheritance and are falling
short of the calling of Jesus Christ in our lives. After all, Jesus said that
we are to disciple and teach others to obey all that He has commanded
us (Matthew 28:16 – 20). Where, please tell me, did we ever get the idea
that we can be Christians and not know and obey God’s Word? God is not a
heavenly therapist, Jesus Christ is not trying to win friends and influence people,
the Trinity is not Las Vegas, Hollywood, Disney World, Washington, D.C., or Wall
Street (see Psalm 2 and Daniel Chapter 2).
To possess our
inheritance in Jesus Christ we must walk on the land as we receive the Word of
God. Dear friends, while Jesus said that we are to be as little children, He
did not teach us to be childish. It is childish to say, “I don’t like to
read. I don’t have time. I am too tired.” We are to be as children as we trust
of Father and Lord Jesus, as we explore the delightful and fragrant land (the Bible,
the Living Word in Christ) that He has given us; but we are not to childishly
spout dozens of excuses of why we can’t open the Book, call on the Holy Spirit
(John 16:12 – 15; 1 Cor. 1:18 – 2:16) and grow in friendship with God and with
one another.
Many of us have
had the experience of purchasing real estate, most often a home. Most of us
think that once we’ve signed settlement documents and money has been
transferred and the deed recorded that the real estate we’ve purchased is now
ours. While I am not certain of current “technical practice,” when I was
getting into the real estate business in Maryland years ago there was an
element of English common law that was still practiced – and that is that the purchaser
needed to take physical possession of the property, he or she needed to “walk
on the land” in order to consummate the transaction. Does this sound
familiar? Can you “see” Joshua and Peter in this concept?
My heart breaks
for the church today, we have the Treasure of the Ages in our midst, we have
Canaan spread before us…but like Esau we are trading it for pottage…well…worse
than Esau, we can’t even live off what we’re getting for the trade.
Are you a man or
a woman of Psalm 1?
If you are, then
have others join on this pilgrimage.
If not, then
this can be the first day of a grand adventure and you can learn, as C.S. Lewis
would say, “To take the adventure that Aslan gives us!”
With all love
and care,
Bob
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