New Thoughts (02/09/17-02/18/17)
Did Paul Misquote Isaiah? (02/11/17)
As ever, there seem to be a vast number of points I wish to pursue in regard to this passage, but let me start with something which may otherwise be a distraction to us. As part of the argument Paul presents in this section, he brings forward a quote from Isaiah. However, as it seems most every commentary notes, he does not quote it verbatim. Calvin actually expends a fair amount of energy in pursuing how Paul can suppose that this application of Isaiah’s words fits his argument, given the original context. At risk of spoiling your own explorations, I’ll provide the conclusion: It does indeed fit.
It’s not just the question of possibly wresting the verse from its context that concerns our good doctors, though. That is, to be sure, a matter we need to be concerned about. In that regard, one or the other has noted that if there’s one thing we should be able to trust it is this: The Spirit spoke through Isaiah in delivering those words. The same Spirit spoke through Paul in providing commentary on those words, as it were, in this passage. If, as it most assuredly is, Scripture is God-breathed, then we ought surely to trust Paul’s use of the passage more than our own critique.
This same factor holds as we look at the shift in words at the end of the quote, moving from ‘those who wait for Him’ to ‘those who love Him’. Is Paul’s memory faulty? Is he following a poor translation? Did the Spirit fail to correct Him on this, allowing error to enter the pages of Scripture? The last is – must be – unthinkable! That being the case, the rest must be equally unthinkable. Rather, the change of phrase is in fact inspired by that very Holy Spirit, as explaining something of value to both those original readers and to us, for whom this epistle has been preserved.
I will offer two explanations from our array of commentators. First, Matthew Henry. He suggests the idea that waiting on God is in fact evidence of love for God, and brings sufficient scriptures forward to confirm his point. Indeed, throughout the Old Testament, we see that sense of the matter. Those who love God are waiting for Him. We see it, as well, in the narratives of the birth of Christ. Think of Simeon, a man ‘righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel’ (Lk 2:25). He loved God. He was waiting for Him. Now, having seen that for which he had waited, he was ready to go home. “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32). I was only looking to quote the beginning of that, but the rest of his prayer speaks rather directly to the matter of Paul’s mystery, which I shall be taking up later.
So, Mr. Henry’s point is well and good. But, it was the JFB that really caught my attention here. There, the explanation offered is that this shift from waiting to loving describes a shift in perspective. That is to say, those who were of the Old Covenant waited because they looked for His coming. We of the New Covenant look back – a changed perspective – upon Him who has appeared. This does not, I should say, contradict or counteract Matthew Henry’s point that waiting was loving, but it does explain why for us waiting no longer applies, at least not in this matter. Yes, we continue waiting, in that we await His return, but it is not His return which is in view, but His once for all, salvific act: Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
For them, there was a looking forward to a future not clearly seen, but certainly believed. For us, belief has a foundation made firm, for we have it established upon the historical, attestable, accomplished work of Christ. Our love, then, does not consist in waiting for God to act. It consists in responding to the act of love He has already done. We love, as John writes, because He first loved us (1Jn 4:19), not because we are confident He will at some point love us again. Think back across those prophetic messages. They are assurances of God’s love, but they are also notices of His discipline. It’s going to be hard on you, because you need that discipline. You have made that discipline necessary. But, know, even as you go through this purifying fire, that it comes as expression of God’s love for you. He loves you enough not to give you up. He loves you enough to correct your wicked ways. He loves you enough to make certain that there comes a time when you can be with Him, presented holy, without spot or wrinkle. It’s the same love we have displayed on the cross, the same love which has led us to love Him. It cannot be supposed, then, that those who had to wait, who went to the grave waiting, loved Him any less, for He loved them no less.
Trinitarian Work of Salvation (02/11/17)
The second matter I would note is the variety of ways that this passage affirms the doctrine of the Trinity, and speaks to the matter of Christ’s specific role as the God-man. This last has been much on my mind, given the class on Christology that I have been teaching this trimester, so I am rather sensitized to comments that address the matter of His unique Personhood.
As concerns the Person of Jesus, the Son, we have the declaration Paul makes at the end of verse 8. “They would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Here we have a title that is clearly applied to Jesus, for there is no question but that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, and of Whom Paul speaks. But, this title is a title rightly belonging to Yahweh, to God Himself! It is repeatedly applied to Him in the OT Scriptures. Barnes brings forth sufficient examples to make that plain. What of it? Well, if this is a name or title belonging to God, it would be blasphemous of the Apostles to apply it to a mere man. Therefore, we must acknowledge that the Apostles most definitely esteemed Jesus as being God. Being good Jews, we can rest assured that they did not arrive at this estimation of Jesus by setting Him up as a second God beside Yahweh. They could hardly do so, when Jesus Himself echoed the Shema: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord” (Mk 12:29, Dt 6:4). They would also know this as a severe breach of the Law, which they had by no means set aside. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex 20:3). “You shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex 34:14).
God doesn’t share His glory. If He is Lord of Glory, He is the only Lord of Glory. If Jesus is likewise Lord of Glory, He must be likewise God. God is One. And yet, it is abundantly clear that Jesus and Father are independent persons, if not independent beings. That’s going to develop farther than I wish to pursue the matter at present, if I’m not careful. But, that’s the crux of the Trinitarian concept: One Being, Three Persons. I’ll leave it to your research to learn more, should you be so inclined.
At the same time, this same declaration points to the dual natures of Christ. Let me quote Matthew Henry. “Jesus Christ is the Lord of Glory, a title much too great for any creature to bear.” We’ve already established that the use of this title declares Him God. It is, as Mr. Henry insists, impossible for any man to bear up to the weight of so great a title. And yet, here He is; crucified, dead and buried. God, if He be God, cannot die. Jesus did. Jesus is God. How do we resolve this? The answer established for us is that Jesus was and is simultaneously God and man – the God-man. He is both, and is both in a fashion that does not confuse the two natures so as to blur the necessary distinctions. In His humanity, He is neither omnipresent nor omniscient. In His deity, He most assuredly is. It was, as Anselm long ago concluded, absolutely necessary that He be both. Either nature being absent, His death on the cross would be of no avail to us, and we would be, as Paul concludes later in this letter, the most to be pitied among men.
Now: The passage also provides evidence for the unique Person of the Spirit. We see the Spirit presented as the agent of revelation and inspiration, revealing God’s thoughts to us. He is acquainted with all that God knows. He speaks forth from that knowledge as God determines. In one sense, the Uni, this is saying He knows what He knows and He speaks as He determines. In that light, we can keep with the analogy Paul provides. Our spirit is not an entity distinct from our body or soul, depending how you like to draw the boundaries. Nor would we say it is a different person than our body and soul. On the other hand, we would also find no cause to speak of our spirit searching out our thoughts. We are one being with one person. God is Other. In Him, we see the Holy Spirit acting as an independent agent in this regard. He is presenting Father’s thoughts rather than His own (although they are most assuredly One in their thinking). Jesus makes that point when He speaks of the Spirit’s coming to His people. Think about the message of John 14. Jesus says of Himself, “I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works” (Jn 14:10). Very similar is His declaration regarding the Spirit. “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak” (Jn 16:13). Three persons pursuing One purpose. One God present and active in three Persons.
Know, then, that God is active in the unfolding of history. Know, then, that the Lord of glory had the glory of the Lord before the world began (Jn 17:4-5), and yet was crucified that we might live. Know, then, that He has sent forth the Spirit of Truth, His own Person, to abide in us, guide us, and declare to us all (and only) that which God determines we need to know. “He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me. He shall take of Mine and disclose it to you” (Jn 16:13b-14).
Let me finish this brief touching upon the Trinity with a thought the JFB mentions. As we consider the grand narrative of the Bible, we discover this Triune work of God explored. In the OT, God has shown us that the Father is for us. In the Gospels, God has shown us that the Son is with us. Then, as we proceed into Acts and on through the Epistles, we find that God is showing us that the Spirit is in us. That Spirit in us is omniscient, as this passage tells us. His knowledge encompasses the very depths of God. Nothing escapes His knowledge. And He is in us!
Does this mean we know all things? Clearly not. Omniscience is not a communicable attribute. It belongs to God and no other. But, we can rest assured of this: There is not one thing needful for our salvation and sanctification of which the Spirit is unaware, since there is absolutely nothing of which He is unaware. He being our tutor, our lawyer, we can be assured that if it is needful for our salvation and sanctification, He will indeed make it known to us. This is not something reserved for advanced classes. It is not a source restricted to the Apostles, or to prophets, or to those who speak in tongues, or any subdivision of Christianity you might propose. It is the definition of a Christian. A Christian is one in whom the Spirit has taken up His abode, a temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed by Christ, cleansed by His blood and made holy. If you are a Christian, the Spirit is in you. If He were not in you, you could not take that first step of believing Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Human hearts cannot conceive this. Human minds cannot believe this. It requires the indwelling Spirit to renew the man, even as Jesus explained to Nicodemus (Jn 3:1-8).
Who Revealed? (02/12/17)
Now we begin to explore the passage more directly. Rather than focusing on the subject of wisdom, however, we shall focus on the matter of revelation, for revelation lies at the core of Paul’s wisdom, and is the core of this faith. However, it must simultaneously be recognized that the nature of revelation is a matter much debated. The abuse of revelation has led to no end of difficulty for the church. So, let us take care to consider what we can learn on this subject from the one sound source by which we can learn.
We start with the question of revelation’s source. Who revealed this hidden wisdom? To that we have clear answer: God revealed it (verse 10). God revealed it through the Spirit, the Advocate sent to be our guide. There are a few points to be settled on this basis. First, as concerns the Scriptures, it serves notice on those who would make them mere products of human endeavor. That is the issue Paul is battling most directly. There were those in Corinth who felt they could challenge Paul’s teaching, correct Paul’s teaching, and denounce him as a flawed agent of revelation. Paul leaves no doubt, though: His message is that which God revealed, and that which he thereafter delivered upon God’s orders.
To take it a step farther, if it is God Who reveals, it is left to Him to determine not only the content, but also the timing. This, too, is addressed in this passage, as Paul brings forth. This wisdom, this revealed knowledge, was predestined to our glory before the ages (verse 7). The timing was determined before the beginning. That timing determined that it would come about in the days of Christ’s Incarnation. Let me build upon this point. The timing of revelation was God’s from time immemorial, and He had decreed what would be revealed, when it would be revealed, and how it would be revealed. Thus, the Gospel, while recorded in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, remained undiscerned even by those who wrote. It follows that to this day the same fundamental truth holds. If there is continued revelation, it is God’s decision what that will be and to and through whom He will reveal it, and those who reject it set themselves opposed to God. If there is not continued revelation, this, too, is God’s decision, and those who would insist otherwise set themselves opposed to God.
In either case, then, those who insist wrongly do so at great peril to their soul. If that is the case, we do well to take the issue seriously, and to seek with all seriousness to understand God’s position and adopt it as our own. Consider again the case that pertained as the New Covenant was being established. Jesus – God Incarnate – comes to His own people, a people prepared now some several thousand years to know Him, and is most thoroughly rejected. The religious leaders, convinced of their own wisdom, denounce Him as a blasphemer for speaking Truth. They show themselves so enamored of tradition that they cannot hear Truth any more. This is, of course, in perfect accord with the plan and the purpose of God, but is no less a tragedy for all that. Come forward to the Reformation and once again we find the religious leadership so caught up in their traditions and their regalia that the words of their own forebears and their own peers cannot penetrate. The wisdom of God is laid before them and they reject it in favor of their own rituals. Come forward to the present day. The Reformers have, by and large, settled into their own fixed pattern of understanding and practice. Along come those who would see things changed and they find in these older churches a tradition resistant to alteration. We pride ourselves on holding steady on the path of orthodoxy, but then, so did the papists and the Pharisees before us. Of course, in many cases, both papist and Pharisee were quite right to hold the line against heresy. The danger comes when we suppose ourselves judge and jury; when we begin to suppose our own set of beliefs as inerrant as Scripture itself, perhaps, dare we say, more so.
Let me relay the words of Mr. Barnes as he considers the conflict of human wisdom and heavenly. “All the plans of human wisdom shall fail; and this which is originated by God only shall stand.” I hear in this the echoes of Gamaliel’s advice to the Sanhedrin as they considered what to do about this Christian problem. “If it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God” (Ac 5:39). I, for one, would not wish to find I had set such a course for myself. The end of those who had done so in Jerusalem can be observed in the record of that city’s fall in 70 AD. It was a most horrendous time, one which Jesus foretold for exactly this reason.
What is Truth? (02/12/17)
Having established that it is God who delivers revelation knowledge, and God who determines by and to whom said knowledge shall be revealed, we must surely accept that what is revealed is True. God is True (Jn 3:33). So the Baptist testified in regard to Jesus: “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure” (Jn 3:34). There is an unspoken corollary to this: He whom God has not sent does not speak the words of God. He may declare things that are true, but whereas the Word of God is necessarily inerrant, the same cannot be said of any man speaking from his own well of knowledge.
Be clear on this: Nothing in this says that man apart from God has no knowledge, no least perception of what is true. Philosophers who earnestly seek to understand the nature of ultimate wisdom, and who earnestly desire to pursue what is True do indeed catch glimpses of it, may even arrive at sound understanding of some major points in regard to it. Scientific fact is no less factual for being propounded by an atheist than it would be if propounded by a Christian. If this were not the case, we might be considered as having an excuse for our unbelief. But, that excuse is ripped from us by the testimony of Creation. “That which is known about God is evident within them [the unbelievers]; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Ro 1:19-20). The problem has not been lack of knowledge. The problem is suppression. Unrighteous men ‘suppress the truth in unrighteousness’ (Ro 1:18).
But, the truth breaks through in dribs and drabs. Philosophers catch on to parts of what is true and declare those parts truly enough. It’s not as though the Truth has somehow become untrue by passing over their lips. No. Truth, from whatever source we may hear it, remains rooted in God. It is therefore impervious to man. Man can proclaim things as being true, but only God can determine that they really are true. We need to be careful, then, that we don’t simply accept as true whatever a man propounds. That holds for the world at large. That holds for the man in the pulpit. That holds – and here we run into greatest difficulty – for our own views.
Here’s another reason to take care: These rulers of the age are not stupid men. The Greek philosophers were truly brilliant. The Jewish rabbis were truly well-versed in Scripture. Those whom the world esteems as thinkers are, by and large, sharp. That may not hold quite so true now as it once did, but let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. They are capable of unearthing Truths and declaring them truly. Of course, so are demons. “We know who You are.” Where the wisdom of men and the knowledge of demons fail is in this: They don’t understand. They cannot come to saving knowledge by these avenues. Paul paints the bleakest of pictures for such men. “If they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (verse 8).
Now, we look upon this and we, sadly, puff right up with pride. Oh, those poor benighted fools! They think they’re so smart, but look! They can’t even understand the simple message of the Gospel! Yes, but let that bubble of pride be burst. Neither could you. Many of us know this from experience. It’s not like we didn’t hear the Bible in our youth. It’s not like we hadn’t heard of sin, or our need for a Savior. We heard the words, read the words, memorized the words. We were regulars in Sunday School and church, if not necessarily willingly so. But, none of it did much good, did it? The seed fell on rocky soil devoid of water, and just lay there until the birds came and ate it up.
It required something more than cognitive ability. It required something more than the power of reason, although it did not, to be clear, reject or bypass the power of reason. Reason was involved and happily engaged in the matter, but it wasn’t sufficient. It required the work of God, the arrival of the Holy Spirit to get us to actually hear what was being said, understand what was meant. It required the Holy Spirit to get us to make a clear-sighted and accurate assessment of our own condition. “I’m a good guy,” it turned out, was not the answer we arrived at. More nearly, we joined with David, saying, “I am a worm” (Ps 22:6); with Isaiah, saying, “Woe is me! I’m undone” (Isa 6:5); with Peter, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8); with Paul, saying, “Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Ro 7:24).
Praise God, by the Spirit’s work within us, we have also joined with Paul’s response. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Ro 7:25). There is no condemnation. I am in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free! That is the sum and substance of Truth – God-revealed Truth.
So now, a question: If this is God-revealed Truth, how can we treat it lightly? How can we play with it? How can we ignore it? And you know we do exactly that! We know better, and yet we do it just the same. We seek to deflect its claims and demands. We know God hates sin, but we’re pretty sure He winks at ours. We know God is Just and yet convince ourselves that Mercy trumps justice, so we can go about our lives as we please. To take the fairly famous phrase, we declare ourselves Christians by our words, but all the while our actions proclaim that we are atheists at heart.
Let me move a bit further, because this is a deadly disease that infects every aspect of our being. We come to this Bible, this revealed Truth of God Who is True, and we feel free to bend it and twist it to suit our latest theories. We come to think like those very men of Corinth that Paul is correcting; supposing ourselves fit to correct Paul. The Apostles, they were just twelve guys. They were every bit as capable of error as the next man. Look at the Gospel record. It’s pretty obvious. Yes, and consider that those same, fallible men specifically undertook to make sure you could see that; that you couldn’t fail to see that. Why do you suppose that is? What man, writing a memoir of his life, chooses to highlight his failures? What man, seeking to establish a religion, does so by pointing out that its leading figures are incompetents? But, man didn’t. God did. All Scripture is God-breathed (2Ti 3:16). That’s not just Paul trying to boost his importance. That’s the Holy Spirit of God declaring His involvement. No prophecy – no true prophecy – was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2Pe 1:21). That is the source of the Biblical text. That being the case, we do well to take it as seriously as did the Apostles, as seriously as did the scribes and Pharisees. That requires that we hear Peter’s warning. “NO prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation” (2Pe 1:20). If God spoke it, God alone has the right of determining what He meant by it.
There is no place in the Christian life for the modern mindset that insists on personal meaning. It may mean that for you, but it doesn’t mean that for me. For me, this passage means… No. No it doesn’t. You may hold that as an opinion, but Truth is impervious to opinion. The passage means what it means, and what it means is what God intended for it to mean. This is why we insist on an exegetical mindset. Let Scripture inform your thoughts. Beware, lest your thoughts begin informing Scripture. That is the path to heresy, and the way is broad, leading to destruction. Many are those who enter by it (Mt 7:13).
Revealed to Whom? (02/13/17-02/14/17)
Thus far, we have established that the revelation is revealed by God and is therefore true as He is True. What we have in the pages of Scripture, therefore, is something far and away beyond mere skillful writing. True, the pithy statements of Solomon demonstrate a great depth of wisdom. True, the artistry of the Psalms declares David, Asaph, and others to be poets of great skill. Likewise, Luke’s capabilities as an historian and Paul’s prodigious talents in the arts of logic and rhetoric are plainly there to be seen. These are indeed the arts and skills of those writers. They were each very personally involved in the work of laying down the Scriptures. But, the result is something more. The result is that these men, using such arts and talents as they possessed, set forth matters revealed by God. They set down truth, and set it down in such fashion that, because God’s hand was upon the work, what they wrote was inerrant, free of error in the writing, free of error in the teaching.
I admit that there are times, particularly in this letter, when I could wonder about Paul’s statements. Well, I can wonder. But, I must conclude that God intended for these things to be taught, and that He so intended because they were true, accurate presentations of His own thinking on the subject. That is not to say that every word and phrase is to be taken in its wooden, literal sense. The authors were capable of figurative speech, just as we are. But, it does mean that the text we have, properly handled, speaks Truth.
What we have in the text of the Bible is thoroughly trustworthy. The same God Who saw to its writing in the first place, has seen to its preservation with truly amazing care. Here we have the single most attested text extent. No other ancient text has been so thoroughly documented by manuscript evidence. None cast doubts on the writings of the Greek Philosophers and poets. Nobody questions the validity of, let us say, The Iliad. Nobody suggests that maybe rogue agents have altered the words of Dante’s Inferno to suit tome secretive agenda. Yet, we have far less evidence upon which to rest our confidence in those texts than we have for the text of the Bible. But, this is a point somewhat wide of our present topic. We accept that we have here matters revealed by God, written by man. The question before us is what men?
It is in some ways odd that we live in this culture that proudly declares how advanced it is; pointing to the sciences, to medicine, to the technology that enables every aspect of our lives. Even as I pursue these studies, it is done in a technology-rich fashion. I have entire libraries at my disposal on screen, searchable by word and phrase. I have an absurd number of English translations from which to draw. I have this word processor, checking and correcting my spelling as I go (or doing its best, at any rate), suggesting alterations in punctuation and phrasing. I have space to store a lifetime of writing, and the capacity to share it with the world without so much as the cost of printing. And yet, there is this: This society, so advanced in so many ways, is producing a myriad of claimants to revelation.
We have a veritable glut of spokesmen who boldly declare that they speak out of a direct revelation from God. They have been to heaven and come back. They have had dreams and visions. They have, by whatever means they choose to profess, brought back this new message from God, and it’s yours, for a nominal charge, right here on YouTube, or GooglePlay, Vimeo, or whatever other content sharing service they happen to have put to work. And this stuff gets gobbled up!
What do we do with this? Does not Scripture warn us, as we were examining in yesterday’s sermon, that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin (Mt 12:31)? What if these guys are telling the truth? Well, yes. If they are telling the truth, they ought to gain a hearing. But, turn it around. What if they are not? How shall we discern which is the case? Here, we must come back to the inviolable rule of Scripture, our sole, solely inerrant guide. Here, we must understand that the Truth of God is unchanging, that what was True at the time it was written holds True today. Even in declaring a New Covenant with His people, God did not disavow the Old. He did not contradict the Old. Jesus made that clear. “I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill” (Mt 5:17).
But, again, I divert from my purpose. Let’s start here. God reveals. The Truth being His essence, the Truth is His to impart as He sees fit. That being the case, it is also in His court to decide to and through whom He shall impart it. What we have before us in immediate context is this declaration: “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit” (verse 10). But, how are we to understand ‘us’? Is Paul scoping this out to encompass the entire Church? In a sense yes, but I would have to maintain that it is not in the sense of revelation in the technically correct use of that term. Look carefully at what follows in Chapter 3. “No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus” (1Co 3:11). If nothing else, we can state this: Any present day claimant to revelation who seeks to proclaim a new order, overturning the doctrines established by the prophets and the apostles is most assuredly and vehemently to be rejected.
God has chosen His messengers. He is carefully delineated who those messengers are, and has carefully recorded His instructions in regard to their revelations: Do Not Add. Do Not Remove. Do Not Alter. This is Truth that you are handling. Treat it accordingly. Value it accordingly. That is a message first and foremost to know was heard by the prophets and apostles as they proclaimed this Word of Truth. You hear it in their own writings, as we saw in the preceding discussion of Truth. It is an awe-inducing thing to be entrusted with the task of speaking or writing the very Word of God. It is particularly so, one must think, when the Word you are given is something new. If Paul was reduced to fear and trembling, understand that it was not because of the opposition he faced, but because of the Truth he held, and the mission he had been given to declare that Truth, come what may.
That same mission, but not the role of authoring revelation. That is a firm statement, and one of the very sort that I find most frustrating as I consider the questions raised by this Epistle. I apologize. But, we need to establish bedrock. The foundation is laid. The foundation of Christianity is absolutely dependent upon revelation. As I have been teaching this Christology class, and contemplating the incomprehensible reality of God made man, taking on humanity while remaining God, taking on our limitations while remaining limitless, I come up against this same issue. Jesus, theologians insist, had to come by His knowledge of God by the same means we do, as concerns His humanity. He required revelation from God to know God. We do as well. But, we have to understand that for us, that revelation doesn’t come with the dawning understanding we find within. It comes from the Gospel record we find without. It comes from that of which we can say, “It is written.” It comes from these God-breathed pages.
What, therefore, we ought to be doing is to seek out those who faithfully present these God-breathed truths unaltered. What we ought to be doing is seeking to become sufficiently careful in our own consideration of these things that we may present them unaltered. There is a reason Scripture advises that few become teachers. It is that same awe-inducing matter that sent the prophets and apostles to their knees: This is God’s own Word you are handling. This is not the place for imaginative speculation and inventive phrasing. This is not the place to become impressed with your own words. It is the place for utmost humility and care. Here is God’s Word. May I be faithful to present it in its proper meaning for its proper purpose. May you be faithful to hear it in like fashion.
What we find in its pages includes a record of its own generation. This revelation of God has come first to the apostles, as concerns the New Testament, and the prophets, as concerns the Old. These two have met in the Cornerstone, Christ Jesus; the prophets pointing forward to His day, and the apostles looking back upon it. As we saw earlier, the one group demonstrated His work upon them in that they waited eagerly for that day. The other demonstrates His work upon them in their love for Him Who came.
What, then, do we say for our own part? For, even if Paul restricts his point to his fellow apostles in saying, “To us God has revealed,” it remains true that apart from that that same Holy Spirit operating in our spirit, what has been revealed will be perceived as so much hokum: Foolishness or blasphemy, depending on your background. What it won’t be perceived as is life-giving news from God. And yet, that is what it is. We all of us need what Barnes rightly identifies as, ‘the illuminating agency of the Spirit’ on our hearts. We cannot come to knowledge of Christ without it. Here’s what’s different, though: To us, it is the dawning understanding of a matter already revealed. For the prophets and apostles who wrote these words, it was the unveiling of a Truth never before pronounced. We can say that the prophets, over time, were clarifying a picture as old as the earliest text of the Bible, and we would be right in saying so. But, with each clarification came new details, further understanding, things not previously seen or heard. Likewise, as the Apostles went out proclaiming Christ crucified, Messiah come and Messiah Ascended, this was something utterly new. The worship of God moved from the sacrificial system of the temple to a personal sacrifice, and a temple of the soul? Who could accept this? The Gentiles brought in? How could this be?
Now, this is where we hit a dividing line in Christianity. Let me quote Mr. Barnes once more. “No truth is now communicated to Christians which was not revealed to and by the by the inspired writers; but the SAME truths are imparted by means of their writings, and by the illumination of the Spirit to all the true friends of God.” What is being said here? What is being said is that the canon of Scripture is closed. There were two categories of writer authorized to proclaim God’s inerrant Word: The prophets, as concern the Old Testament writings; the Apostles as concern the New. Think back upon the calling of those prophets. First, it is clear that not every claimant to the prophetic mantle spoke truly in making that claim. Arguably, the true claimants to the office of prophet were far and away the minority. Certainly, we see that in the time of Jeremiah, when voice after voice spoke a false message, claiming it to be God’s own. But, there is also this: Those who operated as prophets operated in a setting where being discovered false, at least by a people who were true, was a death sentence. However the people viewed it, one thing is clear: God did not take it lightly when people propounded their own pet theories and claimed His authority to back their views. Don’t suppose He takes it any more lightly now.
Coming forward to the post-Resurrection period, we have a select group of men, carefully trained in the school of the Master. There are but eleven of them, although they know there should be twelve. See the care with which they seek to complete their number. He must be eye-witness, trained as we were trained, there from the outset as we were there. Does this mean that only those who witnessed the baptism of Jesus could qualify? Clearly not, for of the twelve, only four are known to have been present at that event. When we see Paul’s repeated description of his own calling, I think we see a twofold concern. On the one hand, the criteria for the Apostle was such that it would be difficult for him to claim qualification. Had he been a follower of Christ during those three years of ministry? Hardly. He was a staunch opponent of all that these Christians believed. But, he was there. He had seen Jesus in life, and most critically, he had seen Jesus risen from death. He was indeed an eye-witness. He did indeed learn at the feet of the Master, even if he required private tutoring. His gospel was the same gospel Peter and James and John were preaching.
The criteria set forth for the Apostolic office was and is such as ought to make it clear that no modern day claimant can possibly be accepted. If Scripture is our rule, and it surely must be, then we have nothing set before our eyes by which to establish a succession. Those who learned from the Apostles did not go forth after their departure claiming to be apostles themselves. Timothy, whose preparations for ministry we find covered in Paul’s epistles, is never an apostle in training. He is a pastor, a teacher. He is not being set up to impart further revelation. He is being trained up to pass on the doctrine once received.
One thing we can be certain of is this: Those who were tasked with the writing of Scripture, with declaring this revealed Truth, were keenly aware that they did so as men moved by the Holy Spirit. There are times, even in this letter, where Paul takes pains to establish that he is offering opinion rather than revelation. That leaves us in a bit of a quandary, doesn’t it? If Scripture is inerrant, then we must indeed accept his assessment that what follows is just his opinion, not God’s Word. Yet, if it is Scripture, it must be God’s Word, yes? Not a riddle I desire to solve just now, but it does perplex. Perhaps we shall touch on that further in its proper place.
We do, however, have this issue before us: Does God still reveal? If He did reveal, and God does not change, ought we not to expect that He continues to reveal? If He does not reveal, two questions arise: First, why not? Second, what of these sign gifts? That second part is really the issue that has driven me to this study. But, let us consider these in proper order, if we can.
As to the first question; does God still reveal; I am comfortable in saying no. That revelation is the foundation, and we have that laid by prophet and apostle. That foundation is complete, for Scripture already provides us with everything we need for salvation and sanctification. Being inspired by God, it is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training, and so quipping the man of God as to make him adequate for every good work (2Ti 3:16). This being the case, we reasonably conclude that there is no cause to add to it.
We have also this passage, constantly brought forward. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir to all things, through whom also He made the world. And He [Jesus] is the radiance of His [Father’s] glory and the exact representation of His [Father’s] nature, and upholds all things by the word of His [Jesus’] power” (Heb 1:1-3a). Now, what I cannot conclude from this, though others do, is that God stopped speaking, that revelation ceased. While I find as recently as last week, those who interject a ‘once for all’ after ‘spoken to us in His Son’, there is nothing present in the text to justify those words. That said, we can say this much: If, in His Son, we have the exact representation of the Father; if to know Jesus is to know the Father; and if we have His Word, the Living Word of God recorded in these pages, with commentary by those the Spirit appointed as His witnesses, what more could we need? We have the entire plan of salvation laid before us. We have everything needful for pursuing a godly life. We have the full assurance of Christ not just ahead, as we look to His return, but behind, as we look back to the Cross and hear, “It is finished!”
What needed to be revealed has been. What God chooses to retain to His own private counsel is His to retain. If He has ceased revealing it is for one simple reason: Nothing more needs revealing. You have what you need. You have also the inestimable boon of the Holy Spirit taking up residence in the temple of your soul to keep you mindful of that which has been revealed. He, Jesus tells us, will guide us into all the truth, speaking not from His own initiative, but only what He hears, only taking from Jesus and disclosing (Jn 16:13-14). Yes, this passage also says He will disclose what is to come, but Jesus already did! The ministry of the Spirit is to turn our eyes and ears back to Jesus (Jn 15:26); to put us in remembrance of what Jesus said (Jn 14:26). Notice what this does not include: Anything new. He serves us in reminding us what was already said, not by coming up with new and novel additions.
How, then, does this work? We are possessed of a revealed religion, a religion already fully revealed. Yet, we know in ourselves that a lifetime of lifetimes will not suffice to plumb the depths of what has been revealed. And yet, we know that what has been revealed to us by the illuminating work of the Spirit within, shining light on the knowledge revealed by Christ through His chosen spokesmen, the prophets and apostles, is more than sufficient for our salvation, more than sufficient for our sanctification; yes, even sufficing to bring our dead souls to life!
With Paul, we can proclaim, “He is able to establish you, to establish me according to the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of this mystery kept secret for long ages, but now manifested; by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God” (Ro 16:25-26). That mystery has been made known to the nations; a mystery leading to obedient faith. It has been made known. Faith has been established and salvation has come to the nations. What more are you looking for?
At the same time, we have to deal with texts such as Ephesians 3:5, which would seem to make clear claims of revelation knowledge for those who were not the apostles. Speaking of the mystery of Christ, Paul says it is a mystery, “which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit.” If I stick with the clear meaning of the words before me, I must accept that these prophets shared in the revelatory nature of the knowledge. There simply is not a way to have this refer to the Old Testament authors. The inclusion of ‘now’ makes that impossible. Paul’s reference is to prophets in his own day, those officers of the church he sets as second only to the apostles as concerns what God has appointed for the church (1Co 12:28). He accepts them as, at least in some regard, fellow agents of revelation. Can we do less?
What we MUST do is adhere to Peter’s comment, that no prophecy is a matter of personal interpretation. Rather, every prophecy ever made came about as men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2Pe 1:20-21). Obviously, this precludes false prophets. Peter could hardly hold such a position and claim to uphold Scripture. But, if we accept that prophecy, by very definition, excludes the words of false prophets (who are no prophets at all), then his point holds. Even for Caiaphas, in spite of his intentions, prophesied truly as the Spirit moved him to speak. Even Balaam, who can hardly be thought a man of God, prophesied truly, in spite of himself, as the Spirit moved him to speak. It’s not the man, it’s the message God delivers.
So, then, if there were prophets speaking revelatory knowledge in the time of the Apostles, do we have cause to reject the possibility now? I find little to no Scriptural foundation for making such a statement. The fact that Paul acknowledges such men as partners in ministry and partners in revelation argues for their validity. The fact that, as we see later in this letter, he actively promotes pursuit of the prophetic gift, and takes pains to establish proper filling of the prophetic office would certainly seem to suggest he expected a continuation of that office. This is something we don’t see in regard to the apostolic office.
I know there is a penchant amongst Reformed theologians to reduce the office of prophet to that of the preacher proclaiming God’s Word, but here, too, I see a problem. First, pastors and teachers are already laid alongside the prophet as officers of the church. Second, pastors and teachers are never spoken of as agents of revelation. Prophets are. I think we have to accept that this was (and potentially remains) a higher office with a different role. Were they the official prayers of the church, as I recall at least one article suggesting? That would seem to confuse the prophetic role with the priestly. For, it is the priest who bears the prayers of the people to God, whereas the prophet primarily delivers God’s words to the people.
The best we can conclude at this juncture is that whatever may be revealed to a prophet is in perfect accord with that which has been revealed by the Apostles. We might attempt to set out a distinguishing feature in the content of their revelatory messages. The Apostles spoke forth a new covenant relationship, established by Jesus the Christ of God. Their revelation was wrapped up in the Gospel, the news of redemption made available to man, and made available across all the lines of distinction that society chose to establish. The prophets, from the little we see of them in the New Testament, seem to have been more involved with matters of the more immediate future. They might indeed foretell events of import to the faithful; warnings of what lay ahead, or maybe even news of assignments God had for this individual or that. I have to be careful here, that I am not simply reading past experience into the text. But, if this is the distinction, I can at least say it makes some sense to me.
What Was Revealed? (02/14/17)
Now, I have already begun to touch on the matter of what was revealed, but let’s explore it a bit further. That same passage from Ephesians declares the substance of the mystery most explicitly: “That the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6). That’s the part that has “NOW been revealed.” That’s what both apostle and prophet were declaring. To be clear, those matters were already declared on the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures. By general confession, the Gospel was first heard by Adam and Eve as they were evicted from Eden. The Seed will come (Gen 3:15).
We’re not talking apocalyptic visions here. We’re not dealing in signs and wonders per se. We are discussing the matter of salvation, which is to say, the single, most important point of all existence. We are seeing God’s answer to the knotty questions of the philosopher. What is man about? He’s about glorifying God. What is life? To know the Father and the Christ whom He sent. How are we supposed to live? Holy. What are we to do? Repent, and have faith in the God who saves, for He saves not only the Jew, but the Gentile as well. He saves not only the man of the house, but the women, the children, the lowest servant and the highest emperor. He saves all whom He calls, and He saves them all to the uttermost.
Those things not seen or heard which Isaiah looked forward to with longing are now revealed through the Apostles. As Mr. Clarke notes, that this is a ‘now’ event makes it clear that what Paul has in view are matters of the present, which is to say the Gospel message, and not some future blessed state. There are, to be sure, glimpses of that future state in his writings, and there are warnings of the trials along the way as well, certainly in the Revelation. But, the fundamental mystery that has now been revealed is the Gospel – made known to all, made available to all the elect.
Now, as we contemplate mystery, we have to shed some of our misconceptions. It is not a mystery in that it is inexplicable. No, the message of salvation is clear and simple. What Paul means is simply that up to the time that the meaning was revealed, to and through the Apostles, the significance of the message had been hidden by God. Notice: God predestined the timing of the message as well as its content (verse 7). It is a mystery for no other cause than that God had determined to conceal it from the eyes of man – until the time of His choosing.
This did not condemn those Old Covenant prophets and leave them hopeless. No! The same Gospel that has reached forward to our day to save our souls reaches backward down through the ages to rescue every man who has set his hope fully on God. Abraham saw it, and rejoiced (Jn 8:56). Moses stopped by with Elijah to witness their Hope arrived on the scene (Mt 17:3). But, now, as the Apostles came to understand the truth of what they had been learning, thanks to the Holy Spirit, those things that had been seen in types and shadows were established openly, declared openly, understood fully and explained fully.
As I was looking at this, I came across the sense of mystery as the Jewish mystics of the day would have understood the concept. It is to be noted at the outset that this concept was pretty thoroughly rejected by the rabbis. But, in the Jewish conception, revealed knowledge, the unveiling of mysteries, can only transpire when one is raptured up to heaven, or else in signs and visions. Do you recognize these ideas? Paul would write to Corinth on another occasion that he knew ‘a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body or not is unclear – who was caught up to the third heaven’ (2Co 12:2). Think, too, of his comments in Romans. “The righteousness of faith speaks this way: “Don’t ask who will ascend to heaven so as to bring Christ down to us. Don’t ask who will descend into the abyss to bring Him up from the dead. No, the Word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart” (Ro 10:6-8). THAT is the word of faith that the Apostles preached.
Notice what it is not! IT is not a message of health, wealth, and power. It is a message of redemption. It is the message that, “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Ro 10:13). WHOEVER. There is the mystery that was revealed.
There is the joyful news that Simeon recognized at the birth of Christ. “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32). All peoples, Gentile and Jew alike. Such a thing was unthinkable, and here it was, not only being thought, but playing out on the stage of history. Indeed, “Who has believed our report?” Isaiah cried out. Paul agonized over it, particularly given the stiff opposition he faced from his own kinsmen. They would condemn themselves by their refusal to recognize what God was doing amongst the nations. They had not read their own Torah with any understanding, making it a matter of national, racial pride, rather than a cause for evangelizing the world. But, God’s point was being revealed, like it or not. It still is.
The message is out. The message is proclaimed wherever men are to be found. The message has not changed, for it has no need to change. The revelation of God’s plan of salvation has been proclaimed in full. The modern thirst for more and greater revelation, whatever else may be said of it, suffers from this grievous issue: It fails to grasp the enormity of what has been revealed in Scripture. It sees eternal life and is unsatisfied. It wants more and it wants it now. It wants signs and wonders. It wants everybody healed and happy. It wants fleshly satisfactions by spiritual means. But, the Sign has already been given. The Wonder has already been shed abroad in our hearts. We already have an inheritance stored up for us in heaven, and this present life, as pleasant as it can be, is but a passing moment; the merest mote of dust in the infinitude of life spent with God. Count it all dung (Php 3:8).
If attaining to the resurrection requires an obedient faith in spite of no signs and wonders, let those things go! Know the power of His resurrection enfolds you. Know, too, the fellowship of His suffering. He who emptied Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, suffered greatly. He did not appeal to gifts of power, or even His own inherent power, to relieve that suffering. He was absolutely capable of calling in legion upon legion of angels to put an end to it (Mt 26:53-54), but He didn’t. Instead, His obedience asked, “How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?” Are you really going to insist that you ought to be treated better? Rather rejoice that you have been found worthy to suffer with Him, if indeed you suffer for His name’s sake.
Who Understood? (02/15/17)
Having determined what was revealed, and by whom and to whom it was revealed, the next question is who understood it? Well, we can surely say that Apostles understood it. We can also say with confidence that every one of the elect heard with understanding at least sufficient to discern the message of salvation. At the same time, it is painfully obvious that simply hearing the Scriptures or reading them oneself will not suffice. Listening to great sermons will not suffice. Completing the coursework for an MDiv degree will not suffice, even if those courses were taught by the most devout believers. That is to say, the elect cannot but understand, and the non-elect cannot possibly understand. They may perceive wisdom in the text. They may find sound moral guidance in its pages. But, they cannot discern the key matter of Life.
Here, however, we have to recognize that Paul is discussing things beyond the basic core of the Gospel. This, I should think, might require us to revise our sense of what was revealed, but let that stand for now. Remember that Paul is offering a defense of sorts, an apology for his ministry and his office. He is dealing with a church whose people are infatuated with the appearance of wisdom. I say the appearance because much of what attracted them had less to do with content than with presentation. Now, let’s recognize one other part of this picture. For all their faults, these folks are still accounted Christians saved by faith, and counted among God’s elect. Again: They have received the Gospel, and received it effectually. That’s not the problem. The problem is that they are allowing old ways of thinking to limit their growth.
The JFB points us to the problem: Childish thinking cannot understand deep truths. We are, indeed, to receive Christ as little children. There is a depth of innocent trust implied there; we accept our Lord as a child accepts his mother or father. Trust is implicit. Love is without question. But, this childlike arrival is not to suggest that we are to remain little children. No. Our Father in heaven, like any good father, desires to see His children maturing. He longs to see us arrive at maturity. Paul returns to this very point toward the end of this letter. “Don’t be children in your thinking. Yes, as to evil, be like babes – unfamiliar and unacquainted with its ways. But, in your thinking be mature” (1Co 14:20). In describing the work of the Church to the Ephesians, he lists those offices God has appointed for the equipping of the saints, and notes the goal of that equipping: that “we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13).
There is that expectation that we shall move on from the milk of basic, foundational matters, to the meat of deeper matters. It is not, as with those mystery religions, a matter of things kept from you and reserved for the few, the proud, the advanced. No! The desire is for ALL to grow and advance. The wise of this world, for all their skill cannot understand. The believer can. But, if the believer will, he must mature. In the context of our passage, Paul’s point may be taken as this: The problem is not with my limitations as a teacher. The problem lies with you. You were not mature enough to learn more than the most basic message. Your sophomoric ways are still in evidence, as you sway to every fine speech, hearing the words but failing to note the lack of content. I did not choose this approach to you because of limitations in my skill. I chose this approach because it was needful for you. But, now, the time has come to grow up and set aside these childish things.
And that is a time that comes to us all. We, who are counted among the elect, have indeed heard the gospel and set our faith in Christ Jesus. But, if we have stopped there; if we have never moved beyond the basics as to our understanding, then there’s a problem. If we have advanced wonderfully in understanding, but have failed at application – a people ever so orthodox in thought, but heterodox in practice – then again, there’s a problem. Understanding right MUST proceed to living right.
How Did They Understand? (02/15/17)
Let us understand that intelligence is not being rejected. Thought is not to be set aside in favor of being moved by those impressions we often misconstrue as faith. No. Intelligence is a gift from God, Who Is Intelligence. He is Logos. He is rational, understanding, and understandable. We ought to be likewise. But, intelligence alone is not enough. Intelligence discovers a certain blindness when it confronts the revelation of God, and there is but one way to heal that blindness. It requires, as Calvin writes, ‘a special illumination of the Spirit’. He proceeds to note the great good of this arrangement, for, since our faith must rest on that which is beyond ourselves, our faith is made more sure. It recognizes an utter dependence on the revelation of the Spirit for any understanding of the mysteries of God.
Let me pause for a moment on this point, because it addresses an issue of great misunderstanding, particularly between traditional Protestantism and Pentecostalism. The issue comes down to the most technical application of the idea of revelation as opposed to that of illumination. Revelation bespeaks the immediate impartation of new knowledge by God in the Person of the Holy Spirit. But, for the traditional theologian, this requires a knowledge not merely new to the hearer, but new as in God never before informed ANYBODY of this point. Revelation, in this technical application, is fundamentally connected to matters of salvation and sanctification.
Illumination remains the work of this same Holy Spirit of God. As Calvin states, and I don’t think any will find cause to disagree, apart from the Spirit illuminating the message of Scripture, you just plain aren’t going to believe it. The Gospel, returning to Calvin, “cannot be understood otherwise than by the testimony of the Holy Spirit.” He revealed it. He inspired the authors of it in such fashion as assured that they would record His revelation unerringly. He must be sent forth into our hearts to write these words upon them. He must open the ear to understand. And that activity is what we refer to as illumination. It’s not that you’ve been given some knowledge never before known to man. It’s that you’ve been granted to understand what has been made known for long ages past.
Now, I think those of us who have a love for matters of doctrine and theology look at our less careful brothers and expect them to use the same sort of precision we would. We hear the preacher speak of having some revelation, and we immediately switch over to our theologically correct definition of that term and kick in our heresy detectors. But, it is almost always the case that the man who has employed that term is describing something much nearer to illumination. Something has clicked in his head, too. Understanding has dawned; a better way of explaining his point, perhaps. He knows the Spirit is moving, and in his vocabulary, the only word to describe this is revelation.
Now, go back to what Calvin is describing. He specifically notes that ‘special illumination of the Spirit’. OK. All the conservative doctors breathe easy. But, it is Calvin again who says we depend on the revelation of the Spirit. Are we discussing the same thing; the same activity? I should have to go back and reread, but I did not note a change of focus from the impact of the Word to the written Word. Yes, what is recorded in Scripture is the full revelation of God’s work of redemption. Yet, those wise men and rulers of this age, for all that they have read the words and heard them preached and explained, are passing away. There is revelation, but there is not personal revelation, which I think we might take as an alternative phrase for illumination. That is not, assuredly, to say that we get to have our own personal interpretation. Peter removes that option (2Pe 1:20). But, there is that point where the Holy Spirit acts. There must be. As Matthew Henry says, if reason alone could perceive these things, we would have no need for revelation. But, reason can’t; not alone.
We are intelligent beings, and this is good, being as it is part of being made in God’s image. And intelligent beings, even apart from the Spirit, can certainly perceive the outlines of doctrine. They can follow the arguments and understand the case that’s being made. Look around the landscape of the modern seminary, and as many a good preacher has commented, what we see are a lot of doctors and professors of theology who don’t believe the very material they teach. They still teach it well, apparently. Certainly, one can provide training on Koine Greek or Aramaic syntax without believing what is recorded in those languages. Certainly, one could present on the historical narrative of Scripture, and bring to bear all manner of extra-Biblical sources confirming its accuracy, and still not have faith in God. I would argue that the science of philosophy argues largely for the capacity of man’s intellect to probe even the deeper matters of being. Yet, the intellect hits a wall, and however much that man may focus on Scripture, the truth remains: Apart from the Spirit’s revelation, it will remain ‘a mere skeleton, correct, but wanting life’. That is from the JFB, another fine, conservative, Reformed commentary.
And again, we find revelation employed where we might be inclined to insist on illumination. It just reinforces my point. Even Reformed scholars will utilize revelation to speak of illumination. Why, then, should it surprise us if our Charismatic brothers do so? Perhaps we simply need to hear them with the same charity we would extend to Calvin, Fausset, and others. Surely, we can agree with the JFB’s assessment of what happens in us as God does His work. “Man’s spirit is the organ wherewith he receives God’s Spirit, through Whom alone he can know God.” Whether, then, our language is technically precise, or more in keeping with Peter’s earthier ways of communicating, the fundamental remains unchanged: Apart from God’s Spirit, received in our own – I could even say invading our own – we will never know God. His Spirit having come, and led us into all Truth, we cannot but know God. We cannot but grow in God.
What About the Others? (02/16/17)
When considering the issue of God’s work of election, it seems there always have been and always will be those who question how this can be just. If He is so Just, and if He is so Sovereign, what cause has He to count our deeds as sin? Is He not in control? Has He not decreed the result? We are helpless, so why would He account us as being at fault?
Of course, those same arguments can and should be made on the other side of the ledger. On what basis does He account any man righteous? On what basis shall any man recommend himself to God’s attention? If He is in control, then any good in me is His doing anyway. I am left with nothing to offer. If this were the end of it, we might very well arrive at a conclusion of injustice not just for those who are condemned, but perhaps even more for those who are not. Redemption is unjust! I can see the protests starting now.
But, that’s not where it ends. The Sovereignty of God does not remove the will of man. It takes that will into account. There is more to it than that, for God’s foreknowledge is something more solid than merely being aware of our mistakes ahead of time and planning accordingly. No. God is trustworthy because He decrees, and what He decrees shall surely come to pass. The hardening heart of Pharaoh was decreed. There was no chance he was going to come to faith and live. Likewise, Paul’s eyes were going to be opened. There was no chance that he wasn’t going to come to faith and live. So, yes, God is absolutely in control. That He does so in a fashion that leaves our willful willing intact is a marvel and a mystery, but it is so. The choices we make, as inevitable as they may be on this cosmic scale, are still made by us. They are expressions of our will, and typically expressions made without a thought for the cosmic scale. As the popular meme of the day has it, we do what we like. Interesting, isn’t it, that this meme is applied exclusively to proofs of disobedience, however minor. The sign says, “Keep Off the Grass”, and there’s a fine picture of you standing on the grass behind the sign. Wow. What a rebel! But, the fact of the matter is that this attempt at humor reflects the nature of man in general. Apart from the work of the Spirit, this is us. God said don’t, and shall we not do?
And therein lies the very definition of sin. God says one thing and we choose another. It is this aspect of the matter that leads Calvin to say that there is always malice in sin. There is always a deliberate choice of the wrong way. Sometimes, he notes, the ignorance of the sinner is so great that it blinds them entirely. They don’t even recognize their own malice in the act. This, he proposes, is the case with those who chase after their own vain imaginations. This, I would maintain, is the state of a large portion of the populace today. So blind are they to their sins that they will commit the most egregious crimes against their fellow citizens and suppose themselves righteous in doing so. One thinks of Paul’s pursuit of the Christians before he became one himself. He was sure he was acting in righteousness; sure he was doing his utmost for God. He was wrong. These youngsters who revolt in hopes of silencing any opposing viewpoint, and accept that violent opposition is acceptable under the circumstances are in the same place. They don’t see the evil of their own action.
What is the end result of this? It is something terrifyingly consistent. From ignorance, active malevolence forms. The good is declared evil, and the evil good. Do we write this off as God’s doing, and therefore account those who act from ignorance as innocent? Do we propose that ignorance is a sound legal defense after all, at least in the courts of heaven? No. Again, these are not led astray by God’s insistent misinformation, but by ‘their own vain imaginations’. They choose. They do what they want. What they want is evil. What they choose is a lie. But, the Truth, as they say, is out there. The issue is not with God, but with man.
Barnes sums up the issue nicely. “God always gives to people sufficient demonstration of the truth, but they close their eyes, and are UNWILLING to believe.” That is the only cause for them remaining unconverted. That is the unpardonable sin. The Spirit has come. He has presented the case for Christ. He has cried out from the heart of Christ, “How often I wanted to gather your children together… and you were unwilling” (Mt 23:37). It’s not just Jerusalem. It’s all of us. Until and unless the Spirit of the living God sovereignly moves upon our spirit, this is our story. If you are accounted among the elect, you should find in this statement cause to burst forth in songs of thanksgiving. There, but for the grace of God, I would continue. But, now, praise God, the story has changed. Oh! Blessed Assurance! Jesus is mine. Nay, I am His. He sought me, and He bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my life is through Him.
For those who have not yet known that touch of the Spirit, I would offer a prayer. May God so will that He would indeed send His Spirit on mission to your heart. May He be found to have chosen you. May you know that redemption Christ has purchased. May you come to know the joyful sorrow of repentance, and the certain hope of forgiveness that is found and founded in Christ alone.
What Is Paul Counteracting? (02/16/17)
Having navigated so many questions that arise from this issue of revelation and God’s work upon men, we need now to tie things back to the text. What is the issue that Paul is addressing? We’re still dealing with the matter of factions in the church. Primarily, with this line of argumentation, he is addressing the proponents of wisdom and authority exceeding that of the Apostles. If there were factions downplaying Paul’s doctrines, there could really be only one basis for this. The leaders of these factions must suppose themselves possessed of some greater, secret knowledge, a revelation above and beyond that which God had given the Apostles.
Such a perspective would play to the natural predilections of the Corinthians. It fit with the tenets of those various mystery religions that littered their landscape. It fit with traditions like the oracular pronouncements from Delphi, and even from the temple of Aphrodite up the street. Secret knowledge was the very stuff of their religious practice, and why not? Secret knowledge plays to pride, and prideful men want in on the secret. There’s something powerful in knowing what nobody else knows. There’s something powerful in having all the answers. That something is the same sinful lie that led to the Fall: The desire to be set up in God’s place. If I have the answers, I don’t have to answer to any.
This sin persists in the hearts of men, and it persists right on into the church. That is rather the point here, isn’t it? Again, Paul does not declare these faction leaders antichrists. Neither does he move to excommunicate those who have followed such leaders. No, he speaks of them as dear brothers and as the elect of Christ. Election does not guarantee perfect understanding. If it did, there would be no need for this letter. There would be no cause for Apostolic correction, nor even for continued services of worship. If our understanding is perfect upon election, then we can set aside all the teaching ministries; probably do without the text of Scripture – after all, we have the Spirit to lead us, who needs written words?
But, experience of our own inner condition, rightly examined, would lead us to conclude that this is very clearly not the case. We know our sins. They are ever before us. We know of pride, because we know it as our steady state. We know the enticement of secret knowledge because we know the hunger within us to be possessed of something, anything by which we might recommend ourselves to others, and perhaps even to God.
This is at least a part of what drives the hunger for further revelation in our own time. It is certainly a large factor in what drives the false prophets who promulgate such stuff. If there is a current of teaching today (and there is), which insists that the offices of the church as recorded by the Apostles in Scripture shall be replaced by a new order, what is this but a resurgence of the very thing Paul is addressing? It’s another round of leaders who suppose they can supplant the Apostles, offering a superior wisdom to that which God chose to reveal. Oh, they will appeal to the Spirit as having revealed this to them, but the very fact that it directly contradicts the clear message of Scripture should give them a clue that it’s not the Author of Scripture that they’re hearing from.
As I have already noted, there is something – some form of revelation knowledge – that Paul is not claiming as the exclusive province of the Apostles. The prophets share in this, and it is the prophets that were his contemporaries, not those long since passed from the scene. I say there is some form of revelation, but we must set a limit on it. If these prophets had the same direct-path revelation knowledge, of the same quality and nature as that which the Apostles had, then we are forced to accept that whatever they chose to teach had the same authority as Paul or Peter or any of the other Apostles. If this is the case, then Paul has no business correcting the Corinthians. Their various factions, being led by men with revelation knowledge, must all be right, in spite of all being at odds. That is very clearly not the case. They can’t all be right. What is True is True, and therefore its opposite must be False. We cannot have one preacher proclaiming the first, and another proclaiming the second, and propose that both are right. It’s impossible! The only way to maintain the illusion that it isn’t impossible is to reject the very concept of truth, which, sadly, is quite the vogue today.
The facts of the matter are simple. Paul is confronting and correcting these other teachers and prophets in Corinth. He is doing so as an agent of revelation. He is doing so under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, in the course of writing that which the Holy Spirit has ordained for the eternal guidance of God’s people. He knows it. We ought to know it. These other leaders in Corinth ought to know it. They were either reminded of it by this message and brought to repentance, or they are shown to be servants of the devil disguised as believers. This has not changed. One either submits to the Scripture given once for all to the saints, or one is working for the opposition.
Regardless the desires of pride, regardless the fanciful insistence of prideful men, there is no advanced class for Christianity. There is no second revelation, and there are no second-class Christians. This is a very popular conceit amongst those who promote pursuit of the charismatic gifts and the charismatic experience. You’re not really born again until you’ve shown evidence of one of these sign gifts. For the AG, it’s going to be tongues. If you haven’t spoken in tongues, your faith is in doubt. You might be a Christian, but your growth is stunted, and we could never condone having you serve as an officer of the church. We won’t even have you as a member. God hasn’t confirmed you as His. But, this line of thinking is terribly wide of the mark.
We’ll find a larger body of folks who will not go so far as to make this a requirement for inclusion in the church, but will yet consider that if you don’t practice or accept the charismatic gifts you probably aren’t really a believer. You’re just playing church, as the phrase goes. Let’s be clear about this. In any church, there are those who are indeed just playing church. This is not an issue exclusive to conservatives. The charismatic pews have the same sort of population. There are plenty of attendees who are there for the show and the thrill. They may even go forward to be slain in the Spirit. They may stand up and prophesy. They may speak in tongues. But, there is nothing of faith in it. In fairness, every one of those statements should have put the sign in scare quotes. These are counterfeiters counterfeiting things. They may be emotionally involved with what they do, rather than mocking in their actions, but the end result is no different.
Likewise, there are any number of folks in any church who do not function in ways that might bring attention to their deeds. There are servants of God who are very busy in the work of the kingdom, but their deeds are done for God, not for you. They aren’t looking for recognition. They’re looking to obey. They are acting out of love for God, not love of attention. It’s easy enough to criticize, to insist that your knowledge of their lives and devotion are complete. It’s utter nonsense, but it’s easy enough. It requires a degree of humility to accept that you don’t know; that they may in fact be doing more for God than you are. Their love may be deeper and their faith stronger. But, pride! Pride, that most basic of sins, keeps us forever overestimating our own advancement and forever underestimating everybody else’s.
It’s the self-same issue. We suppose ourselves possessed of revelation knowledge. After all, how else could we purport to know the hearts and minds of somebody we see for perhaps four hours a week? How could we purport to know this even of our spouses, with whom we spend so much more time? Would we suggest that they know the same of us? I doubt it. We know better. We know that our own inner world is a closed book to others, even as Paul has commented here. And yet, somehow, we are convinced we can read everybody else’s book, at least as concerns spiritual things. What is wrong with us?
Back to our point. It is necessary to conclude that the Apostles are the primary arbiters of revealed knowledge, at least as concerns man. God, is of course, the Primary Arbiter. But, He has sovereignly chosen these men. He has directed their paths and their words to properly inform His Church as concerns His revelation. He makes the rules, after all! It’s His revelation to His creation. Surely, He has the right to determine how that works. Whatever it may be that the prophets of the Apostolic era propounded, it’s something a step down from that which the Apostles did. That is to say, what is revealed to and through the prophet must be subjected to examination against what has been revealed to and through the Apostles. It may serve to apply that greater revelation. It may serve to provide some sort of near-term guidance to individuals or even church bodies. But, it cannot be elevated to the same level of authority. It cannot be accepted uncritically. Even if all that the prophet says comes to pass, if the content urges you to chase other gods, that man is no prophet. Even if his predictions of the future prove to be 100% accurate, if his doctrine stands contrary to the Scriptural Revelation, he is to be rejected and ejected. “Do not even greet such a one!”
Note the instruction we are given later on: Check the message. Let the prophet speak, and the body judge. If the word is good and true, fine. If it is not? But, this gets us to the core issue. If what the prophet is speaking is truly revelatory, it cannot be checked. It’s something never before seen or heard, so against what shall we check it? No. Whatever it is that is accounted revelation by prophet, or revelation such as we might suppose we can experience it today must be nearer to illumination, must be of a nature that permits of testing, and that testing can only be against the clear Word of God, to which He has testified. Truth, if it is True, must remain True.
Come back to what Paul has been saying. Go back earlier. “I determined to know nothing but Christ, and Him crucified.” No other message would be proclaimed. Here is the plan God devised and implemented. Here is the power of God displayed: Not in signs and wonders, but in the simple message of the Gospel; the message He devised, the message He gave to His assigned missionaries, the Apostles. As with the Pharisees who sought signs from Jesus, so with us: “No sign will be given you, but the sign of Jonah the prophet” (Mt 12:39). What was that sign? Jesus spelled it out: Three days buried, and risen again from the heart of the earth. Here is Jesus, and Him crucified, and Him buried, and Him risen. Here are eye-witnesses to every step of that. No further sign is needed.
Secret knowledge entices. It comes with promises of great things. However far you progress, it is always there holding out something more; come farther. It seeks to hold you by that constant offer of more. There’s always something else you can have. First time’s free! But, now you’re hooked. Now you’re after that next reward, and the next. What’s going on? It’s the constant promise of a better life, of a life worth living. But, it’s a promise that will never deliver.
And over here is the Apostolic message: Believe and confess. Boom! Life is yours at the outset. There’s no come further and all this will be yours. Instead, what the Gospel declares is that all this is yours! It is finished! There is no further to come. There is only growing up in Christ. There is only the continued outworking of that which is already finished. You have it all at the outset. Don’t fall for the enticing offer that there is something more, something you need. That’s Madison Avenue calling, not God.
How Shall We Respond? (02/17/17-02/18/17)
As I approach the end of this particular section of study, I come to the point of response. What do I do with this? Let me begin by turning to Barnes. He writes, “This passage proves, that God had a plan, and that this plan was eternal.” So far, so good. Yes, I see that God has had this plan for eternity – predestined before the ages. But, the implication of that point may yet elude. I’ll let Barnes set it before us. “And if God had a plan about this, there is the same reason to think that he had a plan in regard to all things.” This is also the evidence of Scripture. We see it in the tale of Joseph and his many difficulties in life. All of it, painful though it was to go through, was intended to bring about a great good, and this it did, because God was in control.
I recall a great message from R.C. Sproul that laid out the course of events as we have them through the entire record of the Old Testament – the number of things that ‘just happened’ to transpire in order to bring about that moment to which Paul insists we turn our attention. God was in control of the whole course of history from Eden to the Cross. God remains in control of the whole course of history from the Cross to the Second Coming, and right onward into eternity, because there is nothing – no least moment in the life of the least significant creature – of which God is not in control. This has to inform how we look around at life.
Certainly, for the past many years, it has seemed like the world is out of control. Everything demonstrates to us that mankind has lost their collective mind, and we are at risk of joining in their madness. But, God is not deposed. He has not lost hold on Creation. Whatever it is that is transpiring around us, and however disturbing to our sense of order, it remains part of His doing, and it remains to be shown as having been for our good. This morning, Table Talk turned to the record of Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem (Ezra 7), the end of seventy years and more of really bad times for God’s people. They had been exiles, forced from their land to serve foreign nations. And further challenges lay ahead as they sought to rebuild. But, the evidence was in: God remained in control. He said seventy years, and seventy years it was. He said He would do, and He did.
Over and over it plays out in those pages. Over and over it plays out still. The evidence ought to overwhelm. Our confidence is built not upon hopeful feelings and baseless desires. Our confidence is built upon the weight of evidence brought before our eyes. We therefore have every reason to move forward with confidence, knowing that God remains in control, that what He has promised is sure, and that even our self-guided efforts on His behalf, even our failures to make an effort, cannot derail His purpose. His will will be done. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess. It cannot be otherwise.
There is a corollary point to this understanding. As we look upon the ebb and flow of Christian progress one thing must be clear to us: Though the spread of Christianity has involved men at every step, it has never once been the result of man. As great as we account Peter and Paul to be, the Church was not established because of their skillful leadership. The Church was established because God said so. We look back upon those like Augustine, Leo, Calvin, Luther, and so on, as great men of God, who set things on the right course. We could add folks like Athanasius and so many others, who have brought depth of understanding and correction of practice and belief to the Church. But, these men, great though we account them to be, are not the cause of the Church’s advance or its stability. The Church is both established by God and upheld by God. We can and must carry that same clarity of cause to our own day. Our church does not stand because we are so steadfast in our theology and careful of our doctrine. We are steadfast in our theology and careful of our doctrine because God upholds His church, and we happen to be – happen only because He ordained even this long ages ago – part of its leadership.
There is humility and hope in this understanding. It is humbling to recognize that we lead solely because God has determined that we shall do so for a season. It is humbling in the extreme to realize that any success that we may see in the ministry really has nothing to do with us. It’s not because we were wise leaders. It’s because God made sure that in spite of our failings and frailties, He would succeed. It is at the same time a great comfort and assurance to recognize that our failings and frailties cannot impede His success. How often we lose sight of this! We prayed, and God acted, and what’s our response? Phew, good thing I prayed, or God might not have taken care of that! We see somebody come to faith in Christ, and maybe we had some involvement in the process, but comes that moment of faith, and where do our thoughts go? Boy, sure is lucky for him that I decided to tell him about God! Where would he be if not for me? Umm. He’d be saved. He is called. There wasn’t a chance that he wasn’t going to answer. It’s not you. It’s Him.
This, of course, does not give us reason to ignore the work set before us. Rather, it gives us cause to be joyful in its pursuit. “If you love Me, you will obey My commandments” (Jn 14:15). What does He command? We see that when God reveals Himself to man, He does not – at least generally – command silence. I have to accept that there are times when He did, and it seems almost universal that when He did, those commanded found it impossible to comply. But, the more general experience is this: Brought to faith, we soon thereafter hear the call: Go! Tell them, teach them, make this Gospel known to the nations! We are His chosen instruments in this work of bringing word of Him to all the elect, that all the elect may come to Him. That we are His chosen instruments is again cause for joy. We get to be part of what God is doing!
It should be clear, however, that God doesn’t require help. He has chosen to do this. He did not need to do this. He was able, after all, to get to Abraham without anyone’s help. He reached Moses without requiring a man on the ground to carry out His orders. He could, were He so inclined, do the same for every one of the elect. Where it is necessary, He does. But, loving Father that He is, His preference is to let His children have a hand in what He is doing, even if it slows Him down a bit.
We face, I think, two great risks in this endeavor. The first is that we shall not make an effort at all, that we become so enamored of God’s Sovereign Providence that we figure we can just sit back and leave it to Him. We could do so with utmost assurance that He would get the job done, and we might even go a step further and convince ourselves that He ordained it to be so in our case. Of course, there ought to be that nagging concern that maybe part of why He ordained this for us is because we’re not called after all. If we feel the urge to inaction, let this realization dawn on us, that we may return to our first love, if ever that love was there.
The second risk, once we get moving, is that we come to think it depends on us. It is one thing to be driven by devotion for God’s house and God’s kingdom. It is another to be driven by that mindset that we still have to earn God’s favor somehow; that while we profess Him to be Lord of all and Sustainer of all, we really don’t believe He is going to take care of this part. We have to do it, or all is lost! No! If we think the result is dependent upon us, we start to measure our own worth by the apparent result. But, Jesus, when He taught His disciples their assignment, made it clear: Your job is to sow. Sow with abandon! Sow indiscriminately. The result is not up to you. Your task is to be obedient to this instruction. Make Him known. But, always, always, recognize that apart from the Spirit working upon the one to whom you make Him known, He will not be known. The results, the fruitfulness of the seed you cast, is solely and exclusively the work of God. If it seems the ground is fallow, know that it is God’s doing. If it seems fertile, know that very same thing. You have no reason for dejection, and no reason for pride. It’s all His doing.
As concerns the message, what we have before us is clear: The Apostles were men chosen by God to receive the full revelation of the whole matter of salvation. One implication of this is that what they preached, and therefore what we find recorded in their writings and in the records of that preaching, was a message wholly and solely composed by that revelation. This is not the common experience of the Christian, nor even of the Christian leader. There was one voice of the Apostles. If an Apostle required correction as to his practice, there was one small cadre of individuals suitable to bring that correction: The other Apostles. We see it play out between Peter and Paul. But, let me stress this point: The correction was never in regard to doctrine, never in regard to teaching. Orthodoxy amongst the Apostles was never an issue. The correction came as a matter of practice, a matter of living out the implications of this Orthodoxy in these temples of flesh. The Apostles were not, after all, gods or even demigods. They were men just like you and me. But, their preaching was inerrant because their preaching was fully informed and confined by the revelation given by the Holy Spirit.
No man since can make such a claim. No other man present at the time could make the claim. I’ve already made that point. If everybody had revelation from God, and yet everybody had different opinions, then revelation cannot be from God. God cannot be supposed to contradict Himself in what He reveals to this one or that. Truth is Truth and cannot be false. As concerns the doctrines propounded by the Apostles, and recorded for the eternal edification of the Church, we understand this inerrant message is to be found. “Therefore,” as Clarke concludes, “what they spoke and preached was true, and men may implicitly depend upon it.” The same cannot be said of any other. Augustine may have been a great man, but he was wrong about some things. Calvin was likewise imperfect in his understanding and his teaching. Luther didn’t get everything right. No, nor Clement or Ignatius or Polycarp, for all that these heard directly from the Apostles. Timothy? No. Titus? Afraid not. These were all fine men of the Word, servants of God, and powerful agents in the life of the Church. But, they were not Apostles. They had not learned at the feet of Jesus personally. They were not inerrant.
We who live at this far remove from the Apostolic age are surely in no better position. Whatever the claims one hears made, there are no living Apostles, nor can there be. The necessary requirements cannot be met. Whatever the claims to the contrary, there is not a new order for the Church, nor can there be. We may need to reform, to return to the Scriptures and let them remind us of what is right and proper in the house of God. But, that’s a far cry from these attempts to establish a new order, a new set of offices. These are not men speaking under revelation from God, or even inspiration. These are misguided fools at best, antichrist at worst; wolves in sheep’s clothing come amongst the flock to misguide even the faithful, were it possible. Returning to the start of this morning’s study, remember this much: Even this state of affairs is under God’s Providential direction, for the good of His own. We can add, that it is also for the destruction of those not His own. Perhaps it is the removing of tares, or perhaps it is the sowing of them. But, those who belong to Him in truth, though they may be distracted and misled for a season, will surely remain His to the end, for He keeps them.
Returning to Clarke, he reminds us that the fact that these men taught what was revealed to them by the Holy Spirit of the God Who appointed them and sent them is already sufficient for us to place our dependence upon their word. I will add, and only their word. But, we know signs and wonders attended, and these, we must accede, lent further proof that they had the Holy Spirit informing their message, and that therefore their message spoke God’s truth. Here, again, we hit a problem. For, if we see such signs and wonders then, we conclude that we ought to see them now. If signs and wonders attended His Apostles, we reason, they ought to attend all who preach His word, and if this is the case, those whose preaching is not done to the accompaniment of signs and wonders must be held suspect. Worse yet, we conclude that whatever the sign, whatever the wonder, and however absurd the accompanied message, it MUST be true. It MUST be God’s Word. And in all this reasoning, we lose sight of God’s Word, which clearly says we are wrong to think this is so.
We have that in which we can trust as the absolute, unchanging Truth as God has revealed it. The wise among us will recognize that insistent probing beyond the bounds God has set upon revelation is folly. This is not the same as saying we shouldn’t ask questions. We should. There are things in Scripture that are difficult to understand, else study should prove unnecessary. We could just give it a quick read and be done. But, the same Truth that Moses proclaimed holds to this day: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law” (Dt 29:29). What God reveals belongs to us forever. His Truth does not change. What God does not choose to reveal remains His own. The choice remains His. We cannot demand revelation. We cannot demand dreams and visions. We cannot demand gifts be given us. The very concept of God freely giving precludes any demanding on our part. On what basis shall we demand from the One to whom we owe all?
Along these same lines, I will conclude with this point from Calvin’s discussion of the passage. There is, to be sure, a present-tense gain to faith. Life may not be a return to the Garden, but there is much to be thankful for in the provision of God for our lives. We are fed. We have shelter and clothing. We have benefits far and away beyond this in the Word and the Church. We have family and fellowship. We have communion with God, and the Holy Spirit indwelling. The challenge for us is that we tend to be far more perceptive of the temporal favors done us by God than we are of the spiritual. We may, as many have observed, fall into measuring our spiritual condition by our material. If things are going well, the accounts are full, work is rewarding, and the kids are all growing up smart and strong, then God must be pleased with us. If it seems like we’re beset by emergencies that are draining our resources, our youngsters have gone astray, and work is an endurance test with little or no reward, then God must be angry. We measure the spiritual be the earthly, when in fact we really ought to be doing the opposite.
We get the same way with our perceptions of wisdom and intelligence. Science must be pretty awesome, given all the things that men of science accomplish. Just look at the state of medicine, the state of transportation, the fecundity of our agriculture. Why, we’ve been to the moon and back. We’ve sent our toys off beyond the edge of our solar system to send back pictures. We’ve probed the depths of our galaxy by eye, and looked out to the edges of the universe. Surely, this must count for something, right? Yes. It counts for a distraction, mostly. It’s not that any of this is bad. It’s marvelously good, so far as it goes. But, to haul us back to the sense of our text here, the one who assess things aright will move from consideration of these temporal favors to contemplation of eternal life.
What has your attention? Do health and longevity occupy your thoughts and energies? But, however much you do in that regard, the final act remains inevitable. These bodies are not fitted for eternity. They wear out, and however much we may slow the process, we don’t stop it. Does the accumulation of wealth have your focus? As Solomon recognized, in the end you’ll be leaving that wealth to somebody else – somebody who did nothing to earn it, and will most likely wind up wasting it, if history is any guide. Fine foods and fine arts? Again, enjoy them as you are able, but by no means ought you to allow them to take center stage in your heart. That place belongs to One, and to One alone.
I am reminded of a bit of wisdom gleaned from the footnotes of a Jewish study text of the Torah. If God has blessed you with material good, it would be an act of boorish ingratitude were we to refuse to enjoy them. But, there must be a Calvinistic counterbalance to this. If God has blessed you with material want, it would be just as ungracious to rale at Him for His mistreatment of you. God is Good, and His Providence is always for our good. It is not always in the form of material abundance. It is always in the form of turning our eyes and our hearts back to matters that matter, back to matters of eternity.
The same attitude must apply as we consider the spiritual gifts. If God has given them, we act with boorish ingratitude to refuse them. If God has chosen to withhold them, we act as spoiled children should we insist we must have them. If God knows what is best and what will best work to our good, surely we must trust Him. As I tend to forget when riding as passenger in my wife’s car, that trust does not show itself by constantly offering corrections and suggestions. I’ll just echo my two points and close this study. First, we cannot demand. We cannot demand material blessing. We cannot demand spiritual gifts. We can and should be thankful for those things God chooses to give, and we should be putting them to use both for our enjoyment and, more assiduously, to further the kingdom of God in ourselves, in our fellow believers, and in bringing the news of the kingdom to the lost. Second, however much we find ourselves blessed in this life, let it always lead us to deeper appreciation of and contemplation of eternal life.
Lord God, help us. We are so easily distracted, so easily caught up in the things of this world. How quickly we lose sight of You and what You are doing. How readily we slip into resenting the intrusion of spiritual considerations into our daily routines. I say it to my shame, for I know it is true of me. I thank You, therefore, for this reminder that I need an attitude adjustment, a realignment of my thinking to Your thinking. These morning studies are not enough if their impact ceases when I save the document and shift to work mode. These morning studies can never suffice, and the evidence I see in my reaction to other things during the day only proves the point. Teach me, Lord, but let me put into practice that which You teach. Be at work in me, my God, to both will and to work according to Your good pleasure. My spirit is willing, I am sure. But, my flesh? Well, You know. But, You are greater by far than this poor flesh. I set my trust in You again, and set myself to obey Your direction as it comes. Let me not be put off by the messenger You choose, nor by the message You choose to impart. Let me be true to You and it is enough.
