The Holy of Holies (1)

 

 

This post is number 156 in our reflections on the Upper Room (John chapters 13 – 17). The first reflection was posted on June 24, 2023, now we are in 2026. By God’s grace, these posts contain around 140,000 words, all, I hope, focused on Jesus Christ; all, I hope, seeking to reveal His amazing love and grace for you, for us.

 

I still recall sitting at our computer in 2023 and wanting to write about John 17, a passage at the core of my heart, mind, and soul; a passage which has been capturing my life for decades, a passage which has been drawing me into the koinonia of the Trinity; a passage which has made me know that such koinonia is about “us,” not just about me; it can never be just about me.

 

I also recall the realization that I could not write about John 17, the Holy of Holies, without taking us on the journey to the Holy of Holies, from the Outer Court with its laver for washing, into the Holy Place, and then into the Holy of Holies.

 

I began with that first post, An Inclusio of Identity, which contains this paragraph:

 

If we fully enter into the Upper Room we will find ourselves before the foundation of the world, in the Incarnation, and in the transcendence of koinonia with the Triune God. We will see the unfolding of John12:24, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

 

Jesus took His disciples through John chapters 13 – 16 before He could lead them into Chapter 17, I could do no less.

 

Knowing that “unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it,” I’ve sought to submit myself to the Holy Spirit and the Word as we’ve been on pilgrimage. I’ve also endeavored to “take the adventure that Aslan gives us,” keeping in mind that “those who are being led by the Spirit of God are the sons and daughters of God.”

 

As Jesus draws us into the Holy of Holies, let us keep in mind that the veil is no more.

 

“And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51; see also Hebrews 9:1 – 14; 10:19 – 23). You and I now have a “new and living Way” in koinonia with our God, it is time for us to come Home, the Door is open.

 

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20 – 21).

 

As we saw in our previous reflection, Jesus prays for you, He prays for me, He prays for us…Jesus is always praying for us (Hebrews 7:25).

 

What does Jesus pray for us?

 

That we may all be one even as He and the Father are one.

 

“That they may all be one” (17:21).

 

“That they may be one, just as We are one” (17:22).

 

“That they may be perfected into one” (17:23).

 

Let us read these words of Jesus to the Father over and over again, allowing them to sink deep into our souls, our hearts, our minds. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to create a vision of these words in our innermost beings. Let us allow the roots of these words to penetrate the essence of our who we are, forming us into the image of this Word, drawing us together in Christ into the Trinity.

 

Behold the beauty of “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one.” This is a transforming beauty, a beauty that, once seen, can never be forgotten (let us hope). This is a beauty worth selling everything to purchase, a beauty worth a man's or a woman’s life.

 

This is a beauty that dwarfs our little religious fiefdoms, our parochial territories and attitudes, our doctrinal distinctives, our insistence on ownership of our religious franchises. This beauty is about more than “Jesus and me,” it is about more than “Jesus and our group,” it is about Jesus and us His Body, and then it is about us in the Us of John 17:21; that our “us” may be in the “Us” of the Trinity – “that they may be in Us.”

 

We are to love one another just as Jesus loves us (John 13:34 – 35; 15:12 – 13). The Nature of our love for one another is to be the Nature of Jesus’ love for us, divinely cruciform. We are to live in unity, in oneness, just as the Trinity is One, the Nature of our unity is the Nature of the Trinity. We must desire no less, we must preach no less, we must live (by His grace) in no less than the Nature of God.

 

Let us note that there are two testimonies, two elements of witness, that are the result of our Oneness in the Trinity. The first is that the world may know that the Father sent the Son (John 17:21, 23), the second is that the world may know that the Father loves us as He loves Jesus (17:23)..

 

In other words, as the Father loves the Only Begotten Son, so the Father loves the corporate Son; as the Father loves the Head, so the Father loves the Body; but of course they are One.

 

How foolish we are to think that we can circumvent the prayer of Christ Jesus, that we can relegate it to the impractical, that we can find a method for witness that bypasses the heart of the Father, that we can impose our standards of acceptance on others, that we have warrant to build our own houses while the House of God lies desolate (Haggai 1:9).

 

We are also foolish to think that we can organize and create the Oneness for which Jesus prays. Let us be clear about this, only the work of the Holy Spirit and submission to the Word of God can fulfill the prayer of Jesus. “Except the LORD build the House, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127).

 

As we as individuals experience the koinonia of the Trinity, it ignites a flame on the altar of our hearts that all our brothers and sisters may know this glorious fellowship, this sweet communion, our prayers rising to the heavenly altar as sweet incense to the Triune God. Our lives are transformed into a holocaust, an offering, on behalf of the Lamb for His People. As John writes, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).

 

Perhaps my 5^th great grandfather, Patrick Henry, expressed (on a lower level) what our attitude should be when he participated in the First Continental Congress. Henry said, “I am not a Virginian, but an American.”

 

We must be more than Baptists, more than Roman Catholics, more than Presbyterians, more than Lutherans; more than Reformed or Arminian or Pentecostal or Anglican; we must be first and foremost, first and last, Christians…followers of Jesus Christ…seeking to obtain and preserve “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).

 

Must this not begin in my own heart and life?

 

Must this not begin from congregation to congregation in our respective locations?  

 

Must this not begin in pastor-to-pastor local relationships?

 

To think that Jesus is making the Name of the Father known to us, so that the “love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26).

 

Isn’t this worth living for?

 

Drawn Into The I AM - Augustine

 

I’ve been pondering the following section from Augustine’s Confessions for a few days. The image of us taken into the Trinity is striking. It reminds me of St. Athanasius saying, regarding the Incarnation, “He became as we are, that we might become as He is.”

 

Are we focused on the wonderful eternal life and koinonia that Jesus Christ has purchased for us and called us into? Do we realize the Niagara of His love for us? (Ephesians 3:14 – 21).

 

Excerpts from St. Augustine’s Confessions, 7.10.16 (NPNF). Lightly edited with updated English.

 

“…He who knows the Truth knows that Light; and he that knows it knows eternity. Love knows it. O Eternal Truth, and True Love, and loved Eternity! You are my God; to You do I sigh both night and day. When I first knew You, You lifted me up, that I might see, and yet it was not I [in and of myself] that did see. You beat back the infirmity [weakness] of my sight, pouring forth upon me most strongly Your beams of light; and I found myself to be far off from You…

 

“[and then]…I heard this voice of Yours from on high:

 

“’I am the food of strong men; grow, and you shall feed upon me; nor shall you convert me, like the food of your flesh, into thee, but you shall be converted into me.’”

 

“And You cried to me from far away, ‘Yes, truly I AM THAT I AM.’”

 

“And I heard this, as things are heard in the heart, nor was there room for doubt…”

Heavenly Mindedness (53)

 

In the word that God speaks we can taste all his goodness and grace. Hope itself is spiritualized, remaining no longer the hope of imagination but grasping in God the ideal root from which the whole future must spring and blossom in due time. The heavenly world does not appear desirable as simply a second improved edition of this life; that would be nothing else than earthly mindedness projected into the future. The very opposite takes place: heaven spiritualizes in advance our present walk with God. Each time faith soars and alights behind the veil it brings back on its wings some of the subtle fragrance that there prevails. G. Vos.

 

Continuing to ponder: “Each time faith soars and alights behind the veil it brings back on its wings some of the subtle fragrance that there prevails.”

 

I find it difficult at times to speak of some elements of my own life in Christ, of our life in Christ, and of the life in Christ which those who have influenced me have had – both because there are so many facets to living in Christ and because misunderstanding seems to come with the territory. I am so thankful that men and women of many Christian traditions have influenced me, from Roman Catholic, to Eastern Orthodox, to most all Protestant groups, to Pentecostals. Perhaps this is one reason why I continually look to the Scriptures, and to Christ in the Scriptures, so that in Christ these many influences can find their integration and harmony.

 

There is a subtle deviation from Scripture in the idea that we go “behind the veil.” Can you see it? To be sure this deviation is understandable, considering the baggage that most of us have inherited. Also, in one sense this idea of “behind the veil” may be classified the same way we’d classify the phrase “sunrise” or “sunset” – more a matter of optics than astronomy. Nevertheless, I think it important enough to spend some time on it, because if Vos can make this deviation in the midst of his glorious message on Heavenly Mindedness, a message that we’d all do well to meditate upon and absorb, then what deviations might I be unconsciously making? What is particularly interesting to me is that the deviation in Vos’s message on Hebrews 11 comes right after Hebrews 10:19 – 22 in which, as we saw in a previous post, we are taught that the veil is no more – there is no longer a barrier separating us from the Holy of Holies. Therefore, to speak of going “behind the veil” is to speak of something which it is impossible for us to do – other than in our minds, for the veil no longer exists.

 

To be sure, the phrase can express entering into intimacy with the Trinity, but it is, nevertheless, not an accurate phrase – after all, much of the point of Hebrews is that the veil has been removed and we are living in a New Covenant, we are living in the reality of which the Old Testament Tabernacle was but a reflection. Alas, we are so accustomed to thinking of barriers between us and our heavenly Father, we are so accustomed to living in the Outer Court, or on a good day in the Holy Place, that we cannot consistently conceive of living in the Holy of Holies as a Way of Life.

 

And yet, Jesus Christ calls us to live in union with the Father as He lives in union with the Father, He calls us to be in the same place in the Father that He is. In John 13 we see the Laver of the Tabernacle in the Outer Court, the washing; in John 17 we find ourselves in the Holy of Holies, and in that Holy of Holies we hear (John 17:24), “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

 

When Jesus prays “be with Me where I am,” He is not praying that we would be in Jerusalem, or in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, but rather that we would be with Him in His relationship with the Father. “…that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved me” (John 17:21 – 23).

 

O dear friends, as long as the veil remained, separating us from the Holy of Holies, the heart’s desire of Jesus Christ for us to know the koinonia of the Trinity could not be fulfilled, but He made a way on the Cross and the curtain, the veil, the barrier in the Temple has been torn in two from top to bottom! When the earthly veil was rent, it signified that the heavenly veil had been rent – what was accomplished in the heavens was manifested on earth; what happened in the Heavenly Temple was announced in the earthly Temple.

 

Prior to the rending of the veil we might be excused for living outside the Tabernacle, we might be excused for living in the Outer Court and only occasionally entering the middle space known as the Holy Place; but O dear friends, now our calling is to live in the Trinity as the Trinity lives in us (John chapters 13 – 17) – and in the Trinity we are called not to live from the outside to the inside, but from the inside to the outside. We are not born again from the outside in, but from the inside out. We are not made new creations from the outside in, but from the inside out.

 

Why then do we spend so much time in the Outer Court? Why do we focus on the natural? Can we not hear Jesus saying, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6)? Can we hear Jesus saying, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24)? Listen to Jesus when He says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

 

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:14 – 15).

 

Do we desire to live in the natural? Having met Jesus Christ do we still insist on living from the outside to the inside? Then let us hear Paul, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). Do we insist on living as children, as infants, playing with the things of this earth when we could be living in intimacy with our Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the blessed Holy Spirit?

 

How will it sound, when we leave this life, instead of hearing, “Well done good and faithful servant, blessed son! Blessed daughter!” Instead to hear the words, “Where have you been?”

 

The veil is no longer! Christ has wrought a perfect and complete and glorious salvation for His brothers and sisters – He calls us to come know the Father, to live from the inside to the outside, to be in Him a source of light and life to others.

 

“I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Him who bas been from the beginning…” (1 John 2:13).

 

“He said, ‘It is finished!’” (John 19:30).

Heavenly Mindedness (52)

 

In the word that God speaks we can taste all his goodness and grace. Hope itself is spiritualized, remaining no longer the hope of imagination but grasping in God the ideal root from which the whole future must spring and blossom in due time. The heavenly world does not appear desirable as simply a second improved edition of this life; that would be nothing else than earthly mindedness projected into the future. The very opposite takes place: heaven spiritualizes in advance our present walk with God. Each time faith soars and alights behind the veil it brings back on its wings some of the subtle fragrance that there prevails. G. Vos.

 

I want to conclude our consideration of the above section of Vos’s message on Heavenly Mindedness by looking at, “Each time faith soars and alights behind the veil it brings back on its wings some of the subtle fragrance that there prevails.”

 

The image invoked by “behind the veil” is, of course, that of the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon (along with its subsequent rebuilding). For simplicity’s sake we’ll look at the Tabernacle of Moses because the Temple in its various permutations is structurally complicated. The Tabernacle had three spaces, three areas: the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies – that Most Holy Place. We may recall that there was a veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies and that only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies, and he could only do so once a year, on the Day of Atonement.

 

The Holy of Holies represented that Place where the Presence of Yahweh dwelt in a particular fashion – for while God’s Presence was certainly in the Holy Place and in the Outer Court, as well as beyond the Tabernacle with the People of Israel – His Presence was in the Holy of Holies in a most particular fashion. Within the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat as its covering, or lid, with two cherubs with wings outstretched on the lid of gold. Within the Ark was Aaron’s rod, a bowl of manna, the Ten Commandments, and the Law as given in Deuteronomy. When the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement he brought sacrificial blood with him, to atone for his own sins and for the sins of the people.

 

Now there is much we could say about the above, for it all speaks of Christ and His glory, but the thing I’d like us to ponder is the image that the veil was a barrier to the Holy of Holies; not only could not the average person enter the Holy of Holies, but the average priest also couldn’t go inside it. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, but even he could only go into it once a year, on the Day of Atonement. In other words, access to the Personal Presence of Yahweh was barred by the veil, just as, in a similar sense, access to the Garden of Eden was blocked by cherubim with a flaming sword (Gen. 3:24). (Note that cherubim were embroidered on the veil of the Holy of Holies, Ex. 26:31).

 

The average Israelite probably would have never considered the possibility of entering the Holy of Holies, just as the average priest would have never considered the possibility. Yahweh was holy and there was a barrier between Yahweh’s particular Personal Presence beyond the veil and the people of Israel. Generation after generation lived with this mindset, God lived in the impenetrable, He could not be approached beyond the veil. This was the Law of Moses, this was the way people were raised, this was the way the priests ministered, and anyone who suggested otherwise would have been thought a fool, a blasphemer, and a candidate for death as a false prophet.

 

(I need to parenthetically point out that the religious sentiments of Israel and Judah were hardly pristine and faithful to Yahweh; there was idolatry, human sacrifice, and idols were even brought into the Temple of Solomon – so the preceding paragraph does not encompass all the sentiments and practices from Moses to Christ, though it may be fair to say that after the Babylonian Captivity rampant idolatry was not likely to be tolerated.)

 

With the above as a backdrop, one of the first teachings of Jesus Christ is about communing with God in prayer, and it begins with “Our Father.” What must have some people thought when they heard those words? What must have His disciples thought as He told them that the Father would come and live within them? Consider the words of intimacy with the Father that Jesus uses throughout the Gospel of John, an intimacy first used of His own relationship with the Father, and then with our relationship with the Father in chapters 14 – 17. What must His hearers have been thinking?

 

Some of His hearers thought His language blasphemous and attempted to kill Him, finally succeeding. Perhaps we should not judge these people too harshly, after all, they were conscious of the veil barring the way to the Holy of Holies, who was this man Jesus that He should presume to speak of intimacy with God? Another reason for our caution in judging them is our own attitude, our own experience – for do we really believe that we are called to know the Father in such intimacy? Do we readily experience this, share this, and confidently affirm this as a core element of the Gospel? Is this the tenor of our worship gatherings?

 

Matthew writes, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…” (Matthew 27:50-51a; see also Mark 15:38). What does this mean?

 

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water,” Hebrews 10:19 – 22.

 

While we may not understand this, the veil in the Tabernacle represented the body of the Incarnate Son of God, and when Jesus Christ completed His perfect sacrifice on the Cross, as the High Priest who did not need to make an offering for His own sins – for He had none (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 1 Peter 1:19) – the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, opening the Way for us to enter into the fulness of the Presence of God through Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews for an exposition of the glorious priesthood of Jesus Christ and the surpassing greatness and glory of the New Covenant).

 

Ponder the words of Hebrews 10:19 – 22: “confidence,” “full assurance of faith,” “a great priest over the house of God,” “let us draw near.” Earlier in Hebrews 4:16 we read, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

There is a great chasm between the Old and New Covenants, and sadly much of what passes for Christian thinking and teaching today has its roots in the Old Covenant, the Law of condemnation and death (2 Cor. 3:4ff). The New Covenant sprinkles our hearts from an evil conscience, while the Old Covenant maintains a message of sin and guilt and distance from God our Father. Old Covenant thinking wants to motivate us to sew the veil up, again and again and again. It is akin to the perpetual sacrificial system of the earthly Tabernacle and Temple, with sin consciousness pervading the minds and hearts of the people. How blessed we are to have a Great High Priest who, by one sacrifice, in which He is both Priest and Offering, has sanctified us “once for all” (Heb. 10:10).

 

This is the heart of justification and our being made holy and set apart for God – this is the heart of our transformation from sinners to saints, this is our invitation and calling to live not outside the Tabernacle, nor in the Outer Court of the Tabernacle, not even in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, but to live in the koinonia of the Trinity beyond where the veil once was – for there is no more veil!

 

Sadly, many of us insist on sewing the veil up week after week, while others preach a message that acts as if there never was a veil, that denies the Atonement and the justice and judgment of God and the penalty of sin – both of these messages fall short of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The former message keeps people in a prison of sin consciousness; the latter promises people a deceitful freedom which leads to the bondage of the self. All the while the Father calls us to Himself through Jesus Christ, all the while the Father desires us to know koinonia with Him, with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit. We are called to live within the Holy of Holies as our way of life.

 

I will come back to this in the next post in this series.

 

Heavenly Mindedness (12)

 

 

Continuing our reflections on Geerhardus Vos’s Message on “Heavenly Mindedness” from Hebrews 11:9 – 10:

 

“Let us try briefly to analyze what this other-worldliness of the patriarchs involved, and in what respects it will be well for us to cultivate it. The first feature to be noted is that it is not essentially negative but positive in character. The core lies not in what it relinquishes but in what it seeks. Escape from the world here below and avoidance of the evil in the world do not furnish its primary motive. That is true only of the abnormal, morbid type of other-worldliness, that connected with pessimism and monastic seclusion. From an unwarranted identification with these the true grace portrayed by Scripture has been exposed to much ill-considered criticism and fallen into disrepute.

 

“If heavenly-mindedness were an upward flight in the ignominious sense of the word, it would be the very opposite to the heroism of genuine faith, a seeking for a harbor of refuge, instead of a steering for the haven of home. Do not misunderstand me. It is only right that in some measure the bitter experience of sin and evil should contribute to the Christian’s desire for heaven. The attraction of heaven is in part the attraction of freedom from sin. And not a little of the contempt poured upon it, while pretending to protest against cloistered withdrawal, springs in reality from a defective perception of the seriousness of sin.

 

“Where the eye has not by divine grace been opened to the world’s wickedness, it is easy to look with disdain on the Christian’s world-shyness. But the Christian, who knows that the end of sin cannot come until the end of this world, looks at the question in a light of his own. He is fully warranted in considering ridicule of this kind part of the reproach of Christ and bearing it with joy. Nor should we forget, that an excess of interest in the present life, when shown in the name of religion, is apt, in our day, to be a symptom of doubt or unbelief in regard to the life to come.

 

“Still the principle remains in force, that the desirability of heaven should never possess exclusively or mainly negative significance. It is not something first brought into the religious mind through sin. The lineage and birth-right of other-worldliness are of the oldest and noblest. By God Himself this traveler’s unrest was implanted in the soul.” Vos.

 

Let’s remind ourselves of the words of our Lord Jesus, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:17). Also, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:19).

 

Do we not know that the very word “church” (ekklesia) speaks to us of being “called out” as a designated group of people? We are called out of the world and unto, and into, Christ. To live as a heavenly-minded people is to live in this awareness; of what we have been called out from and of what we have been called unto. Sadly, the elixir of compromise has so seduced us that there is little distinction between the professing – church and the world.

 

When there are distinctions, those distinctions are often what Vos terms “essentially…negative in character.” In other words, the focus is on building a negative wall between Christians and the world that emphasizes “don’t touch, don’t taste, don’t associate,” as opposed to focusing on the person of Jesus Christ. In my own life I have learned that it is much easier to define myself in terms of what I am opposed to, rather than by those things I affirm and support. This may be in part because of my temperament, and it may also be because I am lazy; whatever the cause, it is a temptation I have succumbed to more than once. (“Monastic seclusion” is not limited to monasteries, many of which have rightly engaged their surrounding communities; we can see monastic seclusion in local congregations and denominations.)

 

Yet, we are called to deny ourselves, we are called, in Christ, to reckon ourselves “dead to sin and live to God” (Romans 6:11). And for sure, as Vos acknowledges, it is natural to look forward to a time when there will no longer be the poison of sin within our system, nor any remembrance of the hideousness of sin in our lives, nor any temptation! But – our message is not primarily one of escape but of fulfillment – for it is not a desire to escape which propels my heart, but rather a desire for Jesus…more and more of Jesus. Heavenly – mindedness is not nurtured by escapism but by a longing for home, by a realization that we are children of another world, loved by our Father, saved by our Lord Jesus, being transformed by the Holy Spirit.

 

“‘I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.’  His disciples said, ‘O my, now you are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech.’” (John 16:28 – 29). While the apostles may not have intellectually understood what Jesus was saying, something within them identified with this declaration; this Word of Jesus elicited a spark of heavenly – mindedness.

 

Vos writes of the Christian considering “ridicule of this kind part of the reproach of Christ and bearing it with joy.” What does “this kind” mean? It means saying “yes” to Christ and “no” to the world. It means that we live as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:30) under the constitution of God’s Kingdom, under obedience to Jesus Christ as King. Do we know what it is to bear this reproach?

 

My I gently ask, that if we do not know what it is to bear this reproach, then how have we been living? How is it possible to live in the world, work in the world, go to school in the world, engage in the political processes of the world, participate in the civic and social life of the world…and not know what it is to bear the reproach of Jesus Christ? Indeed, how is it possible to participate in the life of the broader church culture and not know what it is to bear the reproach of Christ?

 

Consider these words from Hebrews 13:13 – 14, “So, let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.” When we are heavenly – minded we will often find ourselves outside circles of people – because we are seeking the city which is to come. For the heavenly – minded man or woman, the gravitational pull of the City of God is greater than that of the City of Man.

 

Have we trained one another to be chameleons, blending into our surroundings so as not to be identified with Jesus Christ and His Kingdom? If we have not done this, then we ought to know what it is to bear the reproach of Christ outside the camp, outside the ways of the City of Man, outside the ways of religious and political and economic Babylon.

 

Sometimes this reproach is overt, sometimes covert, sometimes we are encouraged to go along to get along, sometimes we are threatened. Let us beware of the temptation to rationalize away acquiescence to the world and denial of Christ. Let us not forsake our call to share Christ’s sufferings for His glory and the blessing of others – including those who oppose the grace of God, for after all, we were also once the enemies of Christ.

 

Vos writes, “The lineage and birth-right of other-worldliness are of the oldest and noblest. By God Himself this traveler’s unrest was implanted in the soul.” G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Blaise Pascal, Fenelon, Augustine, Francis de Sales; throughout history Christ has drawn people to Himself by placing “this traveler’s unrest” within their hearts, minds, and souls. While yes, the image of God within us is defaced by the Fall, it is not obliterated. Within the soil of our souls lies a sense of goodness, truth, beauty, purpose, and destiny.

 

Sadly, this sense is programmed out of us, beaten out of us, threatened out of us, educated out of us, and laid to rest in us by pleasure, materialism, and other seductions. This is one of many reasons the disciple of Jesus Christ desperately needs the Word of God living and abiding in him or her, so that we might behold our Lord Jesus and have our birthright of heavenly – mindedness continually renewed, expanded, and brightened – more and more until that Perfect Day (Proverbs 4:18; 2 Cor. 37 – 18).

 

O Christian, your “lineage” is that of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is that of Jesus Christ. It is of that Holy Spirit which causes us to cry out, “Abba Father!” (Romans 8:15 – 16; Galatians 4:6). You have been called into the koinonia (fellowship, communion) of the heavenly – minded. Embrace your calling in Jesus Christ, love Him, grow in Him; and by His grace bring others with you on your pilgrimage to that City whose Builder and Maker is God.

Augustine and First John (4)

 

            Continuing in Augustine’s First Homily on First John:

 

“Let’s remember our focus in this homily, ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.’ Let’s also recall that John wrote in order that his readers might, “have fellowship with us, and our fellowship is with God the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.’

 “But if God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all, and if we must have fellowship with Him, then it stands to reason that the darkness in us must be driven away, we must have light created in us, for darkness cannot have fellowship with light.

 “Consider what John writes, ‘If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth…’ [1 John 1:6].”  Augustine.

 Augustine goes on to say that this presents us with a dilemma that can lead to discouragement. We know that God is light, we know that we are darkness. We know that we live in sins and iniquities. We cannot help ourselves. This conundrum can create “desperation and sadness” because, “There is no salvation save in the fellowship of God.”

 The Bishop then asks, “Do we have any hope?”

 In the previous reflection Augustine quoted Psalm 34:5, “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed,” and then he said, “You will not be ashamed by this Light…” Once again, Augustine points his hearers and readers to the True Light; all of our hope, all of our salvation, everything we need is in God in Christ. Augustine does not want our attention to become fixed on ourselves, but rather on Jesus Christ. He does not want us to obsess over our sin and darkness, for then we will despair. Augustine wants us to look in the direction that we are called to live, to look down the road of our calling in Jesus Christ.

 “Let us hear [God’s Word], because if we do hear His Word He may give us comfort, and hope, and strength so that we don’t give up as we run this race. For we are running a race to our own country, but if we don’t think it’s possible to finish the race, if we don’t think it’s possible to cross the finish line, then we just might give up.”

 Then Augustine assures us that it is the will of God that we finish the race, and that God will keep us safe as we run, and that He will provide for us.

 “But He whose will it is that we finish the race, in order that He may keep us [guard us] safe on the race course, feeds us [as He guards us] in the way [on the race course].”

 The Apostle John is writing in order that his readers may have fellowship with him and the Trinity – that we may, in Christ, share in the Life of God. There is a problem however, God is Light and we are in darkness; sin is darkness and darkness produces sin. As we respond, by the grace of Christ, to the Light of God our sin is revealed “What shall we do with this sickness, with this evil, with this spiritual cancer which is destroying our souls?”

We are faced with two dilemmas, the sins we have committed and the people we are. What is the point of having my sins forgiven if I keep on living a life of sin? If I continue to live in darkness I will continue to live a life of sin, if I continue to live a life of sin how shall I have fellowship with God? If I cannot have fellowship with God then how shall I have salvation? For as Augustine writes, “There is no salvation save in the fellowship of God…Fellowship with God must be had, otherwise we have no hope of eternal life…”

As Augustine ponders First John he counsels, “Look to Him, the One who forgives your sins, and your faces will not be ashamed!” He then says, “God is the One calling you out of your country to His country, and He has laid out the Way for you to run; He will guard you on the Way and He will feed you on that Way, and He will be there to greet you when you finish the race.”

Consider how Augustine is presenting the structure of First John in his first homily; the Incarnation, God’s purpose, God’s nature, our dilemma, God’s certain salvation for us in Jesus Christ, our assurance of God’s love and Christ’s provision, and our ultimate destiny. Just as John does in his letter, Augustine is painting a cosmic picture for us to live in, one that stretches from eternity past, touching down on earth, and into eternity future. The calling to share in the life of God, to have fellowship [koinonia] with God and one another, far surpasses the frankly mundane question of, “How can I live a better life today?” This calling strikes at the heart of who we are – why God created us, what our purpose is, and exalts the glorious redemption and inheritance that we have in Jesus Christ.

Where are we drawing our source of life today? Who is our source of life? Is living in the Light of God our Way of Life? Who can we invite to share this Divine Life in Jesus Christ with us?

The New Eve

 "Above all, the Church is the power of resurrection, the sacrament of the Risen One who imparts his resurrection to us; the new Eve, born from Christ’s open side as Eve was born from Adam’s rib."  Olivier Clement

Heavenly Mindedness (5)

 

Reflections on Geerhardus Vos’s Message on “Heavenly Mindedness” from Hebrews 11:9 – 10:

 

This is the goodly company of patriarchs and prophets and saints, who endured the reproach of Christ, of whom the world was not worthy, who form the line of succession through which the promises passed, who now compose the cloud of witnesses that encompass our mortal strife, men of whom God is not ashamed to be called their God, with whom the Savior Himself is associated as the leader and finisher of the same faith. G. Vos

 

 Vos speaks of “the cloud of witnesses that encompass our mortal strife”. What does he mean? Of course this is a reference to Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us…” This is one of those mysteries that we can experience but cannot, I think, articulate very well because it is beyond natural experience. It is in keeping with Hebrews 12:22 -24, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…”

 

We “have” a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us; we “have come” to Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem”. While there is undoubtably a more complete experience of these things yet to come, the Scripture is clear that this is also to be our present experience.

 

If we read Hebrews, and indeed the Bible, as primarily history, we will miss the invitation of salvation and of communion with God and the saints. If we fail to know what we call the Old Testament, we will fail to enjoy the company of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in our present pilgrimage. Why speak and sing of the “communion of saints” if we do not desire to experience this transcendent communion?

 

In Vos’s message, The Wonderful Tree, based on Hosea 14:8, he says concerning the union of God and man, “There is an inner sanctuary of communion, where all else disappears from sight, and the believer shut in with God gazes upon His loveliness…” Vos later speaks of a “sweet privacy and inwardness which forms the most precious possession of every pious soul.”

 

Later in The Wonderful Tree, Vos says, “And finally my hearers, from this falls some light upon the mystery that a finite creature can receive and possess the infinite God…when we try to resolve the figure into the thing itself, the reality grows so great and deep that it transcends our minds, and we must resign ourselves to an experience without understanding.”

 

Vos makes the point in The Wonderful Tree that, “There is even such as thing as worshipping one’s religion instead of one’s God.”

 

Now I want to carefully, I hope, tread on some ground on which I may be misunderstood.

 

Is it possible that we are worshipping our religion instead of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is it possible that we are more concerned with identifying with Paul, Apollos, or Cephas rather than with Jesus Christ (in the sense of 1 Cor. 1:12)? Do we realize the constraints, some subtle and some not, inherent in our adoption of religious and cultural paradigms that move beyond the Nicene Creed (that is, the Basic and Mere Christianity of our faith)?

 

I am not suggesting that we should not have distinctive expressions and understandings of our faith, but I am suggesting that if we are not aware of our propensity to allow these expressions and understandings to limit our Scriptural experience with the Trinity and communion with the saints – both the saints here and those who have gone before us – that we run the danger of closing ourselves off from growth in Christ and with one another.

 

I suppose we require some examples. In my pastoring, pulpit supply, and interim pastoring experience; as well as in my general experience with Christians, I have consistently found that church members often think of themselves as Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Assembly of God, and the like before they think of themselves as members of the Body of Christ – if they think of the Body of Christ at all. Not only that, but they often think of themselves as members of a group within a group – for instance, a sister in Christ recently told me not that she was just a Presbyterian, but that she was PCA.

 

If we allow this type of thinking to define us, which it usually does, then our perspectives on the Kingdom are necessarily limited and the possibilities of communing with saints on earth who have different flavors are lessened. If we cannot commune with the saints on earth, how can we possibility know communion with the saints who have gone before us? How can we possibly sense the great cloud of witnesses?

 

To take this another step; when we cut ourselves off from the historical life-flow of the Church of Jesus Christ, from the Apostolic and Church Fathers, and from those who lived for Christ and in Christ between then and today, we once again limit our openness to the communion of the saints for we (speaking to Protestants)  act as if the Church began during the Reformation, or during one of the times of renewal since the Reformation. Among other things, we fail to recognize that the Reformers were rooted in the Church Fathers as well as the Bible. While many of us may not hold to Apostolic Succession in terms of individual prelates, we should all hold to Apostolic Succession in terms of both doctrine and the manner in which doctrine was fashioned and articulated. When we cut ourselves off from Apostolic Succession in this latter sense, we limit our consciousness of the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us.

 

Then there are those who say, “I’m a New Testament Christian and I don’t need the Old Testament.” In addition to that being a heretical teaching worthy of Marcion, it once again cuts us off from the cloud of witnesses we see in Hebrews 12:1. Sadly, whether we say it or not, many of us live as if the Old Testament doesn’t matter – it isn’t likely that we can behold Jesus Christ in the New Testament if we don’t behold Him in the Old Testament – you might as well try to fly a plane with only one wing.

 

Let me return to a quote from Vos above, “And finally my hearers, from this falls some light upon the mystery that a finite creature can receive and possess the infinite God…when we try to resolve the figure into the thing itself, the reality grows so great and deep that it transcends our minds, and we must resign ourselves to an experience without understanding.”

 

While this may be troubling to the mind birthed from the Enlightenment, wedded to the natural man’s rationalization (see 1 Corinthians Chapter 2), what might we expect when we encounter the I AM THAT I AM? The man or woman who encounters the Holy One often has nothing to say, because there are places where words fail us. There are also encounters so sacred, so holy, that to speak of them is to profane them.

 

Of course, there are those who merchandise experiences and who make certain experiences the litmus test of fellowship and spirituality. This is childish at best, and heretical at worst. The Word of God in Christ is our standard, not our experience of that Word (in the sense in which I’m writing). Certainly, the Word is ever and always transformative, but its transformative work in me may not have the form that it has in you.

 

Above Vos speaks of an inner sanctuary of communion, do we respect this in one another, or do we insist, whether explicitly or implicitly, on conformity of experience? George MacDonald wrote of each one of us having a special place in God, and therefore a special and particular expression of our God – one that is for God’s glory and the blessing of others. Do we make it our goal to bring the best out of each other, which is who we are in Christ and who Christ is in us, or do we insist on caricaturing the communion of the saints into something created in our own image and our own tastes?

 

We are not called to journey on this pilgrimage alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, from whom we can gain strength and encouragement. Perhaps we cannot explain the fulness of this wonderful fellowship, perhaps we cannot explain any of it – but we are most assuredly called to experience it in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The next time you receive the Bread and Wine, consider that in partaking of Christ you are partaking of His Body and of that Great Cloud of Witnesses.

Francis de Sales on Prayer (1)

Saint Francis de Sales can teach us much about life lived in communion with God. Below is an excerpt from his Introduction to the Devout Life, in this section (Part 2 Section 2 of this work) he counsels a friend on placing ourselves in the Presence of God as we pray. How does this passage speak to you? Have you thought about what Francis is saying before reading this, or is some of this new to you? How might you incorporate these principles into your life of prayer? The Lord willing, I’ll circle back on this in a future post(s).

In order to place yourself in the Presence of God, I will suggest four chief considerations which you can use at first.

First, a lively earnest realisation that His Presence is universal; that is to say, that He is everywhere, and in all, and that there is no place, nothing in the world, devoid of His Most Holy Presence, so that, even as birds on the wing meet the air continually, we, let us go where we will, meet with that Presence always and everywhere. It is a truth which all are ready to grant, but all are not equally alive to its importance.

A blind man when in the presence of his prince will preserve a reverential demeanor if told that the king is there, although unable to see him; but practically, what men do not see they easily forget, and so readily lapse into carelessness and irreverence. Just so, my child, we do not see our God, and although faith warns us that He is present, not beholding Him with our mortal eyes, we are too apt to forget Him, and act as though He were afar: for, while knowing perfectly that He is everywhere, if we do not think about it, it is much as though we knew it not.

And therefore, before beginning to pray, it is needful always to rouse the soul to a steadfast remembrance and thought of the Presence of God. This is what David meant when he exclaimed, “If I climb up to Heaven, Thou art there, and if I go down to hell, Thou art there also!” And in like manner Jacob, who, beholding the ladder which went up to Heaven, cried out, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not” meaning thereby that he had not thought of it; for assuredly he could not fail to know that God was everywhere and in all things. Therefore, when you make ready to pray, you must say with your whole heart, “God is indeed here.”

The second way of placing yourself in this Sacred Presence is to call to mind that God is not only present in the place where you are, but that He is very specially present in your heart and mind, which He kindles and inspires with His Holy Presence, abiding there as Heart of your heart, Spirit of your spirit. Just as the soul animates the whole body, and every member thereof, but abides especially in the heart, so God, while present everywhere, yet makes His special abode with our spirit. Therefore David calls Him “the Strength of my heart;” and St. Paul said that in Him “we live and move and have our being.” Dwell upon this thought until you have kindled a great reverence within your heart for God Who is so closely present to you.

The third way is to dwell upon the thought of our Lord, Who in His Ascended Humanity looks down upon all men, but most particularly on all Christians, because they are His children; above all, on those who pray, over whose doings He keeps watch. Nor is this any mere imagination, it is very truth, and although we see Him not, He is looking down upon us. It was given to St. Stephen in the hour of martyrdom thus to behold Him, and we may well say with the Bride of the Canticles, “He looketh forth at the windows, shewing Himself through the lattice.”

The fourth way is simply to exercise your ordinary imagination, picturing the Saviour to yourself in His Sacred Humanity as if He were beside you just as we are wont to think of our friends, and fancy that we see or hear them at our side. But when the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is there, then this Presence is no longer imaginary, but most real; and the sacred species are but as a veil from behind which the Present Saviour beholds and considers us, although we cannot see Him as He is.

Make use of one or other of these methods for placing yourself in the Presence of God before you begin to pray;—do not try to use them all at once, but take one at a time, and that briefly and simply.

Why Easter?

Something to ponder and work through:

John 12:23 - 24.

Then:

Perichoresis: Definition: John chapters 13 - 17.

Through the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection we are called into the koinonia of the Trinity.

Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:9 - 18.

HE IS RISEN!

What If?

The many church closures yesterday (yes, I know many streamed via the internet) got me to thinking…

What if, for whatever reason, we could no longer assemble in designated buildings on Sunday mornings? What would “church life” look like? Would it look like anything or would it simply collapse?

Would we be reduced to a “virtual church” over the internet or other media?

Since church is people, how could this be? Or, have we lost the essence of Biblical church?

Some of my friends and acquaintances have told me about “doing church” via the internet yesterday. With all due respect to them, and with acknowledging that there are times when electronic communication is helpful and when streaming is a fruitful tool – if we think that anything other than actual assembling together constitutes church on an ongoing normal basis we have missed the koinonia (fellowship) of Biblical church. We should not accept such a situation, or thinking, as normative.

My point goes back to my question, What if we could no longer assemble together in designated buildings on Sunday mornings? If we think the answer lies in electronic communication we had better read the Bible – not because we are supposed to show up someplace on a regular basis per se, but rather because we are members of one another and of the Trinity and therefore it is our nature (because it is God’s nature) to be together – we are members of one another.

So then, what would church life look like? Are we mature in Christ so that smaller groups can encourage one another, help one another, and grow in Christ together? Are we able to gather with other Biblically - grounded Christians, who may not be of our particular flavor, and find life together with them?

Or are we so dependent on “professionals” for spiritual nourishment that we would atrophy and die? Do we see Ephesians 4:14 – 16 in our congregations?

What is the true health of our congregations? If pastors didn’t show up for a few weeks what would happen? If we couldn’t meet in our buildings, for whatever reason, what would church life look like?

What if?

Never Worn Anything So Fine

Below is an excerpt of an email that I sent to my Tuesday-morning men's group. 

Way back in the days of Middle Earth I spent some time in San Francisco - this was when Haight - Ashbury was in full swing, the Black Panthers, and the Jesus People. I recall seeing the Black Panthers marching in formation outside the Oakland County courthouse - it was quite the sight.  

Anyway, my exposure to the Jesus People opened my eyes to what church could look like in that everyone was pretty much "all in" for Jesus - there wasn't any just putting your toe in the water to see how you feel, you were either committed to Christ and were witnessing to others or you weren't. (In this respect Harry and I share similar histories - it was amazing how much we had in common in terms of our early lives in Christ - Elaine and Vickie had to listen to us tell our stories more than once). 

At one point I lived and worked at a ministry called the Anchor Rescue Mission. It was one of those places where meals were served and a preaching service was held. It was operated by a couple of African - American sisters in the Lord and supported by other African - American Christians, pastors, and churches. I lived with another brother in Christ, David Hoyt, on the second flood of the mission (we were the only ones who actually lived at the mission). David was a leader in the Jesus People Movement in San Francisco (he now resides in New Mexico). 

Anyway, to get to my story about Esther....

One day I went with an older couple (husband and wife) over to Oakland to visit the wife's mother. We had a grand visit; I even recall we went to the laundromat to help grandma (she was grandma to me) do her laundry. 

Well, one thing led to another during the visit and soon we realized that it had gotten late, really late...too late to head back to San Francisco via public transportation. So we decided we'd better spend the night. But what to sleep in? 

Do you recall seeing those old white sleeping gowns? The kind Scrooge used? Kind of like a baptismal robe? I know Billy DeWorken is old enough to have actually used these, but the rest of us only know about them through movies and TV. 

Anyway, grandma had a few of these...so that's what we each slept in. 

The next morning as we sat around grandma's kitchen table...I can't tell you what we had for breakfast, but I'll tell you what I do remember...we opened our Bibles to the book of Esther and went around the table and read the entire book - there we were in our night gowns...grandma, the husband and wife (whose names I've sadly forgotten) and this young white kid who the couple had taken into their hearts and who granny looked at as just another child of God - sitting around a table reading the book of Esther.

And how we enjoyed that book! How we laughed and carried on as we read that marvelous story. 

And do you know what? God was there. I mean He was right there! He may have been in one of those old nightgowns as far as I know...and yes, I imagine there were angels there too - and I imagine the angels were laughing right along with us. 

Now when you are as old as we are you come to realize something...money can't buy that. Position and power can't make that happen. Only God can do that. Only God can show us the things and people who really matter. Only God can provide enough white nightgowns for a sleepover. Only God can cause the book of Esther to evoke wonder and awe and laughter around a kitchen table in a poor section of Oakland, CA. 

Thanks to my property management career I've had occasion to dine in some pretty fancy places, and there have been times when Vickie and I have splurged on a special celebration...but I've never been anyplace that can match that kitchen table in Oakland, CA over 50 years ago...no sir...and I have never worn a finer piece of clothing than that white nightgown...no sir...I've never worn anything so fine. 

Ponderings on 1 Corinthians Chapters 1 – 4: (4)

“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” (1 Corinthians 1:10 – 17).

In the passage preceding the above (1:1 – 1:9), Paul affirms the work of God in the Corinthian Christians, reminding them of who God in Christ is and who they are in Christ. Paul now turns his attention to the fact that the Corinthians are not living as who they really are – the sons and daughters of God – but rather as “mere men” (3:3). This line of argument continues through Chapter Four. In these chapters Paul will take his readers to task for living as mere men, for schisms, for naturalistic reasoning, for destroying the sanctuary of God, for arrogance; concluding with a reminder that he, Paul, is their father in Christ and that the “kingdom of God does not consist in [naturalistic] word but in power.”

Is it too much to suggest that the chaos and sin that Paul deals with in the balance of this letter (chapters 4 – 16) are the result of the sin and chaos identified in chapters 1 – 4?

Pondering verse 1:10: “…that you all agree…” This phrase literally means “that you all speak the same thing.” Here is an image of a people who agree to the point that for a stranger to listen to one speak is to listen to all speak. (As Paul makes clear elsewhere (chapters 12 – 14) in this letter, this does not preclude individuality or diverse giftedness.)

The Trinity gives us the image of how we ought to live, for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speak the same thing; indeed, as John Chapter 17 makes clear, we are called into the very koinonia of the Trinity and that koinonia is to be our fountain of life; being our fountain of life it is our fountain of unity. But how can we speak the same thing if we do not all think the same thing? If the Christ of the Cross is not our nexus of thinking and affection, if our hearts and minds are drawn elsewhere – whether to Paul or Apollos or Peter, it is not likely we will be speaking the same thing. (See also Ephesians 4:1 – 16; Philippians 1:27 – 2:18).     

“…and that there be no divisions among you…” Schism works directly against the will of God in Christ, it violates the nature of the Trinity (speaking in the natural), and it works against the prayer of Jesus (John 17). While Jesus prays that we may be “perfected into one” (John 17:23) we glory in our doctrinal and practical “distinctives”; or we glory in our own versions of Paul, Apollos, and Peter. As I once said to a coworker who was caught-up in a popular television minister to the virtual exclusion of reading the Bible, “____ didn’t die for you.”

There is tension in all of this for, as the NT makes clear, there is such a thing as false teaching, there is apostasy, there is heresy. There is doctrine that is heretical, and there are practices that are heretical – harmony at the expense of the truth of the Gospel is poison.

Nevertheless, we ought to ask ourselves, “What is our center of gravity? How do we think about the Church of Jesus Christ?” Do we think of the Church before we think of our local congregation or our denomination or tradition? Do we put the Church before the church? Are we guilty of putting our own denominational or “distinctive” houses before the House of the LORD? (See the prophet Haggai.)

Perhaps worse, are we practicing the way of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:25 – 33) and fashioning idols for our people to worship lest they wander away from our local congregations? Naturally we will not call them idols, we would never make idols would we? Are we attracting and retaining people with a message other than the Gospel? Other than the Cross?

Again, there is a healthy tension for doctrine matters, the Nicene Creed matters, holy living matters. But…is our mission to promote unity in the Body of Christ? Are we seeking to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4)? Well, as a people we have only to look around and we’ll have our answer – there is precious little cooperation among local congregations, between pastors, between traditions and denominations – at least in the West. We cannot explain this away and excuse it. We have a fractured witness, and a fractured witness does not refract the glory of Christ. Since Jesus links our witness to the world with our love for one another and our unity you would think we’d be more concerned about the fragmented status quo…but of course we aren’t.

“…but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” If we are to speak the same thing we must think the same thing, and here Paul exhorts the Corinthians to be made complete, or “knit together”, in the same mind and the same judgment, or way of thinking and looking at things. The Greek word for “made complete” can also be translated “knit together” and it can have the sense of something that was torn apart being knit back together to be made whole and complete. So there is hope for us, but I think it is a hope that we must intentionally lay hold of, focus on, talk about, and work to obtain.

A few months ago I read a newsletter from a friend who pastors a church in a certain region, and I was taken aback by a statement that his church was the only church of his particular tradition in that region and that it was therefore important that his readers consider supporting his ministry. I know that there are other Gospel-preaching churches in my friend’s immediate location, granted, they are not of my friend’s “tradition”, and granted they may not even be my particular cup of tea, but I know they preach the Christ of the Cross. I wondered at the “us and them” mentality – a mentality I have had myself. How can I work with others if I have such a way of thinking? Am I only interacting with pastors outside my tradition from a sense of charitableness? Am I up here and are they down there?

More often than not I don’t know my own heart, but I pray that I’ll focus on our communion (koinonia) in Christ when I meet pastors and Christians from other Gospel traditions with a high view of Scripture.

I want the people I serve to think of themselves as Christians, as disciples of Jesus, before they think of themselves as being within “this” or “that” tradition. I want our core identity to be Jesus Christ and the Church; it seems to me that any other core identity is problematic.

Jesus Christ made our unity in the Trinity a focal point of His prayer and desire. Paul confronts schism and its results in 1 Corinthians, and throughout his letters he appeals to our unity in Christ. If we cannot lament the schismatic condition of the professing church, if we cannot repent of it, if we cannot truly seek to inculcate a sense of the universal Church in the hearts and minds of our congregations…do we have much of a future in the chaos and anarchy of our world? Are we being faithful shepherds?

Ponderings on 1 Corinthians Chapters 1 – 4: (3)

“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:4 – 9/NASB).

This passage reminds us of Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul, as the other Apostles, saw Jesus Christ as the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End; Jesus is the One who initiates our faith and He is the One who completes our faith.

The Holy Spirit has been given to us as the guarantee of this ongoing work of Christ that will culminate in His revelation of Himself through His People and in our completion, as His People, in Him (2 Cor. 1:19 – 22; Eph. 1:13 – 14; Romans 8:18 – 25).

The work of Jesus Christ is such as to make His People blameless; it is Christ’s perfect work of justification and sanctification and glorification (Romans 8:28 – 30; Ephesians 5:25 – 27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – 24; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31). As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” As we, by His grace, behold Jesus Christ and obediently submit to Him, He transforms us into His image. Jesus is the One who knew no sin, and yet He became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).

When our preaching and teaching is Christocentric then our lives orbit around Jesus and He is the Light of our life and we see life in and through Him. We read and hear the Scriptures through and in Him. The thoughts and intents of our hearts radiate from Him and to Him. Jesus Christ is our supreme confidence, He is the love of our lives, He is the heartbeat of the Church. When Christ is our All then we are uninterested in anything less, for nothing compares to the beauty of Jesus Christ, and we cannot desire anything other than intimate relationship with Him and the joy of seeing others come to know Him.

Considering what follows in 1 Corinthians, verses 4 – 9 may take us by surprise. Beginning in 1:10 Paul begins to deal with problems in the church, and yet, prior to 1:10 he has already started dealing with the problems, for Paul is reminding the Corinthians of who they belong to, he is reminding them of the One who began a good work in them, he is reminding them of who they really are – they are not members of a group that follows Paul or Apollos or Peter, not really, they are members of the Body of Jesus Christ.

How often do we begin to address a sinful situation by first pointing out the sin and disobedience, rather than first pointing to Jesus Christ and His perfect work? How often do we first point to our insufficiency rather than Christ’s all-encompassing sufficiency?

When we first point to Christ and His work and His holiness, then our insufficiency and sin is magnified in the light of His glory; but then we are also given hope and a way out of our disobedience as we behold His perfect obedience. Our only hope of transformation is to behold Jesus and allow Him to work in us. If Paul’s approach is foreign to our experience it demonstrates how far we have strayed from Biblical thinking and ministry.

This passage (1:3 – 9) anticipates Chapter 15, the great Resurrection chapter with its promise, “Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly” (15:49). It also anticipates the great cry of 15:55 – 57, ““Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 1:7 with its “eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” unfolds in Chapter 15.

We can minister confidently to God’s people when we affirm the perfect work of Jesus Christ in the Church, His Body. This affirmation reminds us that the work of the ministry is first and foremost the work of Jesus Christ and that we are called to be participants (to have koinonia) in His work – not to generate and sustain the work, only Christ can do the work of Christ.

Can we see how 1:3 – 9 plays into Chapter 2? We are to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified (2:2) so that our faith should not be founded on the wisdom of men but the power of God (2:5). Our trajectory in Christ found in 1:7 is connected to 2:9 – 10 which again is connected to Chapter 15.

If we are in Christ, if that which is working within us is the work of Christ, if we are indeed in the “fellowship (koinonia) of His Son” (1:9) then we ought to realize that “a natural man does not accept or understand or discern the things of the Spirit of God” (2:14), in fact, “they are foolishness to him”.

But then, do we believe this? What does our teaching and preaching tell us about what we really believe? Do we believe that only the Holy Spirit can reveal Christ and His Word to us? Do we really need the Holy Spirit to live? To understand? To preach and teach? To understand what we read and hear? Are we functionally self-sufficient? Are we submitting to the Word of God in the Spirit of God or are we superimposing a humanistic mindset on the Bible and church-life?

Do we conform our educational standards to the world? Do we conform our communication methods to the world? Do we import motivational and marketing techniques from the world?

Are we living as the People of God or as “mere men” (3:3)?

“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 Cor. 26 – 31).