New Thoughts: (08/29/15-08/30/15)
I’ll start this set with a very brief comment about a questionable bit of translation. The Message offers the end of verse 21 as, “Everything is already yours as a gift”. Now, insomuch as we have assuredly done nothing to earn this standing, I cannot discern anything about this passage that permits of introducing ‘as a gift’ into the thought expressed. First, it must be understood that the idea of belonging throughout this passage is not translating a word so much as a case. You, Christ, God: All three of these are set forth in the Genitive Case. This is not something familiar to us in English.
To further complicate matters, the Genitive Case has myriad applications which would alter how we understand the intended meaning. It can act as an adverb or an adjective. It can also take what is referred to as an Ablative sense. Each usage offers its own possibilities. We could break it down roughly as follows: In an adverbial use, we would take the idea of ‘by’, or indication of how, or through whom, the thing happened. As an ablative, we would look at the item named as being the source, it would be ‘from’. This, as I understand things, we can rule out because the Ablative is typically indicated by a preceding ek or apo. What remains is the Adjectival use, which is used to indicate possession, relation, content, or purpose. That still leaves us a pretty wide range of options, doesn’t it?
So, we can say everything is ours, as belonging to us: Possession. I would be hard-pressed to read the idea of everything being contained in us, or even that everything is related to us. That just doesn’t fit the context well at all. I could, however, accept a sense of purpose here, as opposed to possession. Everything is yours sounds wonderful, but it also sounds utterly contrary to reality. Everything is here for the purpose of benefiting you, on the other hand, or everything is for your benefit? That fits, and perhaps even better than the idea of possession. It doesn’t explain how Mr. Peterson arrives at ‘as a gift’, but it does offer an interesting alternate take on Paul’s thoughts.
Let me drive this to its endpoint. If we take the idea of possession, then we arrive at God owns Christ, who owns us, who own everything else. If, on the other hand, we pursue the idea of purpose, everything is here to serve us, we are here to serve Christ, and Christ serves God. Were I to turn that around, God directs Christ, who directs us, who direct everything else. Now, clearly the idea of us directing all else starts to venture into the unlikely. But, connect this with Romans 8:28. All things work together for the good of those who love God and are working in His purpose. If we take the stance that Paul is looking at purpose rather than possession, then the thought here is very much the same, is it not?
But, let’s look back at what it is that has launched Paul into this chain of Genitives. “Stop boasting about mere men!” That’s been the issue pretty much from the outset of this letter. You’re inverting the order! Men are not the pinnacle of this thing. They’re just construction material. Does the stone really think itself grander than the edifice to which it contributes? Does the temple really think to exalt itself above the God it serves?
This tendency towards promoting men of God is the precursor to the Genitives. They are given as reason to stop that tendency. If everything belongs to me, why shouldn’t I boast of that? Indeed, I should start boasting of myself even more than about those who taught me, for Paul says it right there: Even he belongs to me. Clearly, I am the grander one, then, am I not? Of course, he immediately points out that I am not on top. There remain Christ and God above me, but still. Then, too, we face the question of how Christ, being God and with God, can also belong to God. I’ll consider that later, Lord willing.
But, shift this to purpose. Everything is here to serve you. The Apostles came to serve you. The world is intended to serve you. Life and death serve you, not as if you have command of them, but in that they are, being subjected to God, bent to your benefit as you are His. Things present, and the things which must come, however you may perceive them in terms of pleasure or dismay, are arranged to serve you, to benefit you. That’s just an expression of God’s sovereign Providence. Now, as to you: You are here to serve Christ. That ought to be a given for the Christian, much as we lose sight of it in the midst of daily life. Then, too, Christ serves the Father. His entire course of earthly ministry was spent on that task. Obey and serve. Utterly subject to His Father, doing not one thing which Father did not command, and omitting not one thing which Father did command.
I have to say that this interpretation makes far more sense to me than taking it as a chain of possession. Stop boasting about your servants. For that matter, stop boasting about yourselves, for you are servants, too. Serve! That’s the task at hand. That’s the duty owed your Master. That’s the model He set for you, which His servants follow. If you would be known as His, it must be your lifestyle.
So, let me draw an obvious moral application from this. We have our own brands in the church today. Whether it’s particular ministers or particular ministries, we remain disgustingly prone to promotional boasting. Oh! So and so said this. Isn’t he just a wonderful teacher? How can anybody speak against him? This man says thus and so is going to come to pass in the next few months. He’s got a strong youtube following, and he’s such a powerful speaker! Surely, we should heed his words and prepare. Maybe yes, maybe no. Assuming these are men of God at all (which, in spite of our belief that we are careful, discerning sons of the Most High we remain terribly inept to judge), they are servants. No more, no less. They are nothing to boast of, any more than Paul or Peter. It is all Christ, or it is nothing at all.
I do not suggest that we should summarily dismiss any ministry that reaches beyond the walls of the local church. Frankly, even within the local church we have the issue. Our pastor is better than others. Or, what is worse, our previous pastor was better than this one. What are we doing? We aren’t here to compare the relative merits of this servant over that. We are here to serve. These men have come to serve us, for which we ought to be grateful. But, our gratitude is not due to them, so much as it is to God who sent them. For, we do hold that the preacher comes as being called by us. He answers as one sensing that he is being sent to us. This elevates neither him nor us. It elevates God who has arranged all of this for our mutual benefit. May we take our benefit in joyful service one to another, not in becoming the source of difficult and painful lessons for one another!
But, primarily, let us be aware of our propensity to over value men, and look instead at how they value and serve the God that we value and serve. Let us take our eyes off the messengers and focus clearly on the One who sends them our way. Let us hear the Shepherd’s voice through those through whom He chooses to speak. But, let us not on the basis of their speaking suppose the sheep to be our shepherd. We who are called to lead are called to lead by serving. We are at best under-shepherds, set to serve our fellows as we serve our Lord. If we are doing our jobs at all, it is only as He provides the wisdom and the will to do so.
If I may, another nuance that seems to get lost in translations concerns the terms ‘things present’ and ‘things to come’. Both of these carry something of a sense of necessity. Things present are those things which reflect the present result of past activity. We might say that given those past actions, the present result is inevitable. This can be true of a history of poor choices or a history of careful efforts. Of course, inevitability for us is always contingent. But, we serve a God whose inevitability is certain, and He informs us that our actions have certain consequence. The clearest example would be Israel. Given her record as a kingdom, the Exile was inevitable. Given the record of God’s covenant promise, the return was just as inevitable. Things present could not help but be. Come 70 AD, the destruction of Jerusalem, and particularly the temple, could not help but be. Past action had made present state inevitable.
But, things to come are, in this case, equally certain. It’s not just anxious concern for what might befall, or even pleasant expectation of some future windfall. The term bespeaks of that which will necessarily come to pass. It is certain to happen. That very certainty should be a strong clue as to its usual application, which is to indicate those things coming about by divine appointment. Returning to the example of Israel, consider the prophets who foresaw the covenantal necessity of the Exile. It needed, really, not great powers of magic to foresee what must happen. It needed an understanding of God and a belief that He was who He said He was. For the details, yes: Those required inside information from on high. But, that the penalties of the covenant must come? To know God as God, to accept Him as Just; this requires the expectation that such judgment must necessarily come.
There is also the sense of divine Providence in these two terms. They both derive their certainty from the involvement of God. His word does not go forth without achieving its purpose. His plans are not subject to being thwarted. His will is done. The distinction between how it is done in heaven and how on earth is more to do with the attitude of those involved. His will is done in heaven instantly and gladly by those commanded to act. On earth, even for those who are the called it must be acknowledged that His will is done rather less diligently. We are sadly prone to finding His will a matter we can pursue or not as our own inclinations determine. For the rest, His will is done in spite of them. The events that are the culmination of Christ’s earthly ministry display this perfectly. Neither Roman nor Jew acted with an eye to fulfilling God’s plan of salvation. They acted from their own interests. But, God orchestrated even those interests to fulfill His own plan. Willing or not, all men work for God’s good purpose towards those who love Him. Willing or not, all men serve to glorify God.
What sets us apart is that we are His servants. There’s nothing to boast about in that. We didn’t earn our place on His staff. He chose us. He equips us. Quite frankly, He’d likely have a far easier time of it without us. But, He permits us our part in His plans, and then He works in and through us to see those plans accomplished. This brings us back to the central thrust of this brief passage. We need to invert the value system that is presented to us by the world and by our own fallen condition.
We tend to set our values as me first, then maybe family and friends, then the rest of society, and then we’ll consider church and God. We act, whatever our wiser thinking may indicate, as if God’s purpose is to serve us. The greatest cause of the Fall is that desire in us to wrest control of events from God, to demonstrate our wisdom as greater than His. Satan was not alone in this desire, else his temptations would never have found a recipient in Eve or Adam. But, they wanted their independence, which is to say they wanted to be god, and let God serve them. We carry this same deadly root within ourselves. We look upon Christ, and are almost certain to find ways to warp His true image to our preferences. This is painfully evident in the myriad ‘what would Jesus’ claims. What would Jesus drive? What sort of question is that? Was He an environmentalist? Was He an entrepreneur? I suspect that to the degree this can be answered in any sensible fashion the answer would be that He would drive whatever befit the needs of His mission at the moment. If a limo served, a limo it would be. If the situation called for a bicycle, that would be just as readily put to use.
What would Jesus eat? There’s another great bit of gossamer. Whatever was put in front of Him, I suspect. Granted, in the days of His earthly ministry, He might have set some boundaries on that in order to adhere to the Law. But, having declared all things clean, I cannot see that He would continue to observe such restrictions. The Law doesn’t require it of Him any longer. Why should He? If He found Himself in the company of those who still felt obligated to observe such things, no doubt He would abide with their foibles. He wouldn’t be likely to force His hosts to violate conscience. But, it’s inane to put Him forth as a dietician, a vegan, or any other such concoction of modern conceits.
I suppose we could look at how Jesus would vote. But, there, too, we are more likely to simply presume He would agree with our own opinions. After all, we’re good Christians, and good Christians are bound to vote as we vote, right?
I find the only question that is reasonable is how can Jesus tolerate the mess we’ve made of His church? And there, the warnings that precede this passage give answer. He doesn’t. He won’t. Present actions make future results certain. But, even there, the promise of these closing verses of the chapter holds. Even that certainty, however painful, comes about for you. It comes as a discipline by which you may grow nearer the image of Christ. It comes to serve the purpose of your sanctification, that you may better serve the Christ who serves the Father.
But, for this present life, we must take care to observe the value system that God has put in place: Father, Christ, Church, Creation. There they are in descending order of authority. God commands and Christ obeys. That was the message of His ministry: “I do only as I see My Father doing. I say only what He commands Me to say.” Christ commands, His Church obeys. “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” The Church commands, and the world must obey. That last may seem a stretch, and even a dangerous mindset. It is. But, only because we remain fallen and imperfect beings. The Church, when it has felt power as the world measures power, has indeed sought to command obedience, and has corrupted itself with that sense of power. The Church, when it has felt powerless in the world, which is far more frequently the case, has forgotten herself and chosen to accept the bonds and limits imposed upon her by the world. But, when the Church remembers herself and commands in obedience to the command given her? Twelve men suffice to turn the world upside down.
Let us not boast in men. Let us not boast in denominations. Let us boast of nothing but Christ, and Him crucified! Let us set aside all boasting in favor of obedience to our Lord and Savior, and what must come of it? If twelve could transform the world of the first century AD, how much can untold thousands achieve today if only we will remember our God and hear Him? That is the message I carry away from this. You serve Christ. That is who you are. Now, be who you are.
I do, however, want to revisit the question raised by the Genitive Case. I am, in spite of my sense that this should indicate purpose over possession, cautious about insisting it is so. After all, every translation I look at sticks with possession, and these translations are the products of men far more skilled in the nuances of Koine Greek than I am. That wouldn’t take much, really. But, if I accept this possessive sense of things, then I am left with “Christ belongs to God”, and that just doesn’t sit right. How can God belong to God?
If I allow Scripture to explain Scripture, I might consider some of the things Paul says later in this letter. These have come up as parallel passages to this text, which makes the task easier. Let’s start with that controversial discussion of man and woman. “I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ” (1Co 11:3). It’s a very similar order that results: God, Christ, man, woman. But, it’s not an order of possession. It’s an order of authority.
The other passage to consider is this. “When all things are subjected to Him [Christ], then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all” (1Co 15:28). Once again it is authority that is in view, not possession. Granted, insomuch as all the world is the kingdom of Christ, it does belong to Him, but that’s not what is in view, is it? It’s subjection. It’s the submission to His authority. In this work of subjecting the world to Himself, it is interesting to note, that the Father subjected all things to the Son. Yet, it becomes clear that He did so in such a fashion as did not relinquish His own authority.
This must color how we hear the Great Commission. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). Yet, the Father retains final authority. We begin to probe into the mystery of the Trinity, and I fear we must fail of full understanding. The Godhead is One and yet it is Three. The Persons are equal in essence and authority and yet Father clearly retains the chiefest position as regards authority. We can identify Him as first among equals, which is one way that the conundrum is commonly resolved. But, I think that may yet understate the case.
The greater point is this: In giving over all authority to the Son, the Father did not relinquish His own authority. He authorized the Son to act as He sees fit within the strictures of His own authority. So it is with such authority as the Son delegates to the Church. It is not given that we may do as we please. It is not given that we may command Christ to act according to our dictates. It is given that we may fulfill the mission assigned to us. It is delegated, and it ceases to be authority the moment it exceeds the bounds Christ sets upon it, or deviates from the purposes of our Lord and King.
The sum is this: We are Christ’s servants. However much we appreciate this teacher or that, they, too are Christ’s servants. We are not our own men. We are not the captains of our ships or even the navigators. We are far nearer to being cabin boys, here to serve at the command of our Captain. We are here to obey Christ and see His fame magnified. Everything else is dross. Everything else is hay and stubble that will be burned up. Act accordingly.
