New Thoughts (04/13/17-04/20/17)
Teachers Rightly Appraised (04/14/17)
I am, it seems, ever at risk of running ahead of myself as I begin these studies. I collect my thoughts, I seek to see some order to what God would have me consider, and to sift these collected thoughts into that order. But, some points at the beginning come from things more properly addressed near the end. So, if it seems that in the course of these various studies I repeat myself rather a lot, it is due to this process of sifting and sorting. Ideas from the end leak into earlier considerations, and then, when I see them again at the end, seem to deserve exploration yet again in their proper place.
Here, the proper beginning is that of concluding the point that Paul has been making, that we tend to elevate our teachers beyond what is appropriate, and do so to our own detriment as well as theirs. The short form is simply this: To elevate your teacher is to rob God. It completely misunderstands the nature of the situation. This is perfectly encapsulated in the command of the first verse before us. Don’t boast in men, because all things belong to you. I am ready to become more insistent that this idea of belonging misses the point, or will at the very least tend to make us miss the point. It’s not that we have ownership, per se. The point is more that all things are arranged to serve you. We shall explore that more in its place, but the point needs to be seen immediately, for it really is the point of this whole passage.
To properly grasp that point, we need to try and put ourselves in the place of one who has servants or slaves. That is uncomfortable in the extreme for us, given our views on slavery and our knowledge of the evils that slavery entailed in our own history. But, for the time and place into which Paul is writing, this was not an institution that was considered particularly evil. I suppose many a slave of the time might disagree, but it was really just a fact of life. It was part of reality, a thing to be accepted whether with approval or opprobrium.
We shall need to set aside our discomfort and consider how a master would view his slave. We get a sense of this relationship from some of the parables Jesus used, and the way He spoke of His own disciples. When you have done what is commanded of you, don’t be all proud of your great achievements. If the master comes and says, ‘well done’, your proper response would be, “We are unworthy slaves; we have only done what we should” (Lk 17:10). Your master might be inclined to give you a verbal pat on the back, but one thing you can bet he’s not going to do, and that is to boast of your glorious skills. He may commend, but he will not boast.
This is the message being conveyed here: The utter impropriety of such boasting. Don’t boast about them! They’re your servants. EVERYTHING is here to serve your interests – and don’t get a swelled head about that either. The same holds true for the believer next to you. You know, the one you’ve been belittling because he holds to a different teacher?
Or, perhaps you are dissatisfied with the teacher under whom you sit at present. Well, here’s a corrective for you as well. ALL of these teachers are ours, yours, and while they are not to be exalted, neither are they useless. No, they don’t have right to rule your conscience, but they are here as men appointed for your use. They are given for your sake, but they are given as God sees fit. See, this cuts both ways. It is assuredly the case that we are not here for the benefit of the teacher, they are here for ours. This is certainly the case in church. It really should be in school as well, but that is not our topic of concern. They are here for your benefit. Let me counterbalance that. They are not here for your approval. They don’t work for you – for your benefit, yes, but they are servants of a higher Master.
This, too, has been a problem in Corinth, and a problem ever since. We’re not here to do comparison shopping. We are not called to assess the relative merits of one servant over against another. And this really does carry us to the grander truth conveyed in this passage, but let us introduce it fully aware that we shall return to it later. We, like our teachers, are here to serve. They have come to serve us. The have been sent to serve us. We owe a debt of gratitude, but not to them; rather, to God who sent them.
Rather than taking measure of their style, whether it is pleasing to us, or critiquing their choice of topic or attire, we are better served to ask of God what it is we are to learn from this teacher He has sent. We are better served to pray that God would be pleased to open our ears to hear what this teacher is teaching with clarity of understanding; that we might benefit from the grace bestowed upon us in his words.
Now, this does not mean that we listen uncritically. Not at all! We are encouraged to be good Bereans, checking what we are being taught against what we seen in Scripture. This puts some serious requirements on us, not least being to put in the effort necessary to properly handle Scripture ourselves. Here we are, beneficiaries of all that has been done before so that we might have the text of Scripture set before us in our own language, and in terms we can understand. Yet, it still requires effort to avoid pulling things out of context, misapplying personal commands and promises as if they were given equally to all. We are ever and always at great risk of reading our opinions into the text rather than forming our opinions from the text. And, next thing you know, we’re heading up the next, “What would Jesus” drive, insisting He would agree with us on whatever divisive topic it is that has our attention this week.
Here is your proper boundary. God the Father has given all authority over to the Son. But, in doing so, He has not relinquished His own authority, He has delegated it. Jesus, in turn, has given us great authority to act in His name. What does that mean? I’ve hit on this point myriad times by now. It assuredly does NOT mean we can simply append, ‘in the name of Jesus’ to whatever hogwash we’re peddling and thereby bind Him to back us up. It means that so long as we act within the bounds of that authority delegated to us by Him, He will of course honor it. Having all authority from the Father, yet the Son will not do anything but what the Father has commanded. He does not take that authority as permission to do as He pleases. He takes it as power to do as pleases Father. So, with us: We have been entrusted with a great deal of powerful authority. So long as we, like our Teacher, lay hold of that powerful authority solely for the purpose of doing as He commands and desires, all is well. The minute we take authority as license to do as we will, we have lost all authority.
Coming back to the immediate context of teachers, the teacher who teaches errant nonsense has no authority to teach. He is not to be listened to, but rather to be rebuked and, if necessary, rejected. “Do not even greet such a one” (2Jn 10)! Again, a verse I come back to often. If they’re teaching another gospel, let them be accursed. Even if it’s me that is found to have corrupted that gospel, the right response does not change (Gal 1:8). In plain point of fact, I don’t care what sort of authority appears to back this alternate message. It is not from God. It is of the devil and to be roundly rejected. It has no authority and it ought have no approval.
The Apostolic Gift (04/15/17)
This consideration of the nature of teachers, and the idea that they are not to simply be accepted at face value leads to questions. On what basis, it might be asked, do we then accept the Apostles as authoritative? More to the point, on what basis were the Corinthians to do so? Clearly, they had entertained just such questions themselves, which is in part why we find Paul setting out the case for his ministry. But, still, isn’t this just taking Paul’s word for it? Similar questions arise in our own day, as those with their own ideas of what the gospel should be seek to diminish the importance of Paul’s letters. Ah, they suggest, this is just Paul’s opinion. It’s not inerrant or infallible.
But, that opens every text of Scripture to the same charge, and does so for no further basis than that somebody didn’t like what it said over on page 1213. This game has been played enough. The liberal churches looked at those things that did not appeal to the rationalism of the 19th century and decided those were not really true. You know, it just reflected the benighted thinking of the time. Moses was, after all, just writing down what had been passed along by years of oral history. You know how these phone-tag games go. Of course certain things took on mythological aspects. These can be ignored. Likewise, they come to the New Testament and seek to explain this that and the other away as not being the ‘real’ gospel, but rather, accretions of the Church reading itself back into the pre-church text. And then, we come to Paul. Paul’s too serious. He must be discredited, else all our other fictions fail.
Now, one could excuse the Corinthians and the Galatians for being less than sure of Paul. Who wouldn’t have been? His history was well known, and you had this contingent out of Jerusalem, on first name basis with the real Apostles, and they knew the scoop. Apostles were required to have been with Jesus from the outset. Says so right here. Paul can’t make that claim. Ergo, he can’t be a proper Apostle, and you should listen to us instead.
Even Paul may be said to in some ways question his authority, or at least perceive clearly delineated lines between when he speaks as the Spirit directs and when he speaks his own opinion. What do we do with that? He may feel he is just giving his own opinion and yet here it is in inviolate Scripture. Are we permitted to treat that particular point as less authoritative, perhaps, than the rest? Well, we must consider context but I will say this much: We are not permitted to treat the point being made as any less authoritative as properly understood.
The claim the Apostles make, and Paul in particular because he has more need to establish his credentials, is that what they set before us is direct from God. For the other Apostles, the basis for such a claim was reasonably clear: They had spent three years, pretty much uninterrupted, in the intensive training of God Incarnate. They had walked with God in the Flesh. They had talked with Him, touched Him, listened to Him, learned from Him. Yes, much of what they learned did not really register until He had departed from them, but learn they did. Hear John’s description of this process. “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life – and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was in the Father and was manifested to us – what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1Jn 1:1-3). We are telling you, dear people, what we lived first hand. We are not producing figments of imagination. We are recounting personal history. That is more Peter’s explanation, but it is the same point.
For Paul, the argument is necessarily different: “I teach you what I have direct from God.” His point necessarily emphasizes that he did not simply pass along second-hand information learned from Peter and James and the rest, although that’s an argument he makes to the Galatians. But, we also have Peter’s attestation of Paul’s writing as authoritative, if somewhat difficult to understand at times.
Is there room, then, to question the Apostles as one would another teacher? Yes and no. The Bereans, to their eternal credit, checked out what they were taught. What did they find? Why, everything Paul is saying is in perfect accord with the Scriptures that precede him. His handling of the Old Testament (not that they would have called it that, but for our reference) is perfectly accurate. What wonderful good news! His message is trustworthy.
For us, the inheritors of the Apostolic age, and the Reformers alike, the authority of the Apostolic writings must be accepted as ‘beyond all controversy’, as Calvin insisted some 500 years ago. Their words have been tested and confirmed to such degree as not only attests, but insists that their doctrine has come from Christ. So authoritative are their words, Calvin concludes, that in their writings, ‘we hear not so much them, as Christ speaking in them’. Yes, their personalities and stylistic differences are clearly to be seen. Peter’s style is far more circuitous than Paul’s, and James still bears a blunt directness more in keeping with prophets of old, thundering against the wayward ways of Israel. But, in all of them, the truth remains evident, and only more so in that their varied styles and interests converge on a single, coherent, concurring Gospel.
Here is your foundation. God has spoken through these men, and confirmed that it is so. Let all others who would teach be measured against this standard. That has been the message of the previous portions of this book. It continues to be the message. But, remember this: As important as the Prophets and the Apostles are, and as certain as their writings are, it is not because they are men to be elevated to godlike status. No. They are men such as ourselves (Ac 14:12-15). Their importance lies in this: The Holy Spirit saw fit to speak the words of Christ through them, to explain the teaching of Christ by them, so as to ensure that the Church in all ages had a sure, testable, foundation upon which to stand. Here is Truth. Let all else that you may be taught in the name of Christ, or any other basis for that matter, be tested against this standard.
In our day, we are again required, it seems, to defend the absolute authority of Scripture against every sort of attack, both from within and without the Church. Let us understand and uphold, therefore, the Truth of the Gospel once given to the saints – once for all time, unalterable and kept unaltered by the same God who inspired and oversaw its authoring over the course of centuries. To discover the lengths to which He has gone to preserve the integrity of His Word to man is to be awed. I could find it to be one of the greater arguments for His existence that we find the text with us to this day. However hard man has sought to eradicate the evidence, God has seen it preserved, that His children may know His Truth and find their way home.
On this matter there is one other point I should like to consider, which concerns this statement from Barnes. “It is no small privilege thus to be permitted to regard ALL the labors of the most eminent servants of God as designed for our welfare; and for the humblest saint to feel that the labors of apostles, the self-denials and sufferings, the pains and dying agonies of martyrs, have been for HIS advantage.” This is the other side of the picture for us. First, we discover the solid validity of the writing of the Apostles, and the Prophets before them. Then, we must come to recognize the inestimable value, the unimaginable privilege that is ours. These Apostles, these men we esteem so highly (and rightfully so, to a point), did all that they did as servants to us. That is the message of this passage, which I say we shall get to shortly. These men, all the giants of the faith right down through the ages, belong to you – not as your prideful possession, but as having been set in their time and place that you might have benefit of their services.
Paul, Peter, John, James, and the others: To a man they faced hardships and trials far and away beyond anything we would be likely to willingly undergo. Why? That the Gospel might go forth; that the Church might be established; that you might know Christ, and Him crucified. Others who came after, men like Augustine, Athanasius, Basil, and so many more, who set themselves as fierce and eloquent defenders of that same Apostolic faith, warding the Truth of God from all manner of corrupting, destructive heresies: Again, they dealt with great matters, faced threat of death, in order that we might know the benefit of God’s Truth unaltered.
So, too, men like Calvin and Luther, men like Edwards, Schaff, Warfield and so many others through the years. So, too, men like Sproul, Mohler, Ferguson, and others in our own day. If they have a name, it is because of Christ setting them in place to be of use to us, to serve as guardians and propagators of His Truth unaltered and unmitigated. Here is the Way. Walk thou in it. All of these, like the Apostles, have been tested sufficiently to be found generally trustworthy and reliable expositors of God’s True Gospel. Unlike the Apostles, they cannot lay claim to infallibility, nor ought we to make such claim on their part. But we can, I dare say, aver that these are not men given to promoting self or promoting mere opinion as equally authoritative with Scripture.
And all these good servants of a mighty God have been set in their various times and places for YOUR advantage. All of this great embarrassment of wealth, when it comes to available knowledge of Biblical doctrine, valid theology, and application to Christian living has been given for your advantage and for mine. How much greater the guilt must be ours, then, if we fail to avail ourselves of this marvelous boon, and to apply these gracious gifts to the goal of glorifying God?
United in Christ (04/17/17)
There are two points to consider when we read that we belong to Christ. The first, and most directly related to Paul’s line of argumentation, serves as a rebuke upon that party which liked to insist that unlike they others, they followed Christ and no other. That seems laudable on the face of it, doesn’t it? Ought we not to pursue Christ and Christ alone, having been saved by Christ and Christ alone? The problem was not the claim, but the arrogance behind the claim.
At very least, these claiming a bit of spiritual superiority. You may pledge your allegiance to a mere mortal, but not us. You may love Christ well enough, but we follow Him exclusively. There is that edge of, “we’re better than you,” that becomes unavoidable in the claim. To such a claim, Paul presents the cure: You ALL belong to Christ, and you all do so equally. He doesn’t play favorites. You remain His servant, His slave, just like your brothers and sisters. You have no special standing.
This is a good thing for us to remember as we seek to serve together in the Church. We are all just servants of our mutual Lord. We all belong to Him, and we all answer to Him. The best of us does far less than is required of us. The best of us finds no reason to expect a reward, or even a ‘well done, good and faithful servant’. I have my doubts that even a Peter or a Paul managed to attain to such confidence, nor should they have. But, we all belong to Him. We are all of us alike here to serve Him, arrayed by Him to suit His purposes. By what right shall we suggest our particular assignment is more important, more godly, more spiritual? On what basis shall we claim our obedience has been more praiseworthy than another’s? On what basis shall we insist that our grasp of doctrine is clearly and undeniably superior to that of our brothers down the street? At one level, we must surely believe it to be so else we ought to be down the street with our brothers. On the other, we must ever maintain that humility that recognizes our own penchant for erroneous thinking. We must remember how firmly we once held to viewpoints diametrically opposed to our present understanding. We needed correction then. We shall no doubt require it again. We are not perfect. God is perfect.
Now, to the other point. I suppose one could argue we ought not consider the matter, since it is not really something Paul is addressing here, but I find myself in good company in choosing to do so. Indeed, one could argue that this second point is a demonstration of the first in action. This is a matter of the nature and purpose of the church. We find many today who are distrustful of organized religion, who think to be go it alone Christians. But, the Bible really doesn’t admit of such a thing. When it comes to the Church, the Scriptures have much to tell us. But, for the moment, I’ll settle for the concepts presented here, as Clarke chooses to express them. Of this Church, we can declare safely that Christ is her sole foundation, and the Apostles are His subordinate architects. As to the rest of us, “Happy is that man who is a living stone in this building.”
Let it be accepted that the Church is not a label to be applied to a physical building, although we use it in that fashion. Rather, it is fundamentally a description of that group of believers who meet on the premises. I do think there is a place for the physical building, and that it ought in some wise to be discerned as holy, being as it is intentionally set apart for the exclusive use of God. Is this not what holy means? And we do well to remember that this is the point, and avoid the urge to make it more of a social club or civic center, even in the off hours. It is a place for doing business with and for God.
But, Church is, again, primarily about the people within. We cannot be living stones in this building, if we are not in this building at all. We cannot be built together if we insist on remaining apart. God in His perfect wisdom established the people of God in fellowship in the Church. Man in his folly supposes himself wiser and draws aside to be alone – just him and his Bible – and finds himself assaulted from all sides with no strength but his own upon which to lean. Let that one be fearful of his fall, for though he thinks himself standing, it is all but certain that he has instead gone far astray.
I said I thought this point rather demonstrates the first point of equally belonging to Christ as his servants. I see this in the fact that we find Clarke and Calvin in seemingly full agreement on the matter. Paraphrasing Calvin’s comments on these verses, he says that we are best united to our Father when we are gathered together under the head He has set over us, which is Christ. How can we think ourselves under His head if we will not be part of His body? How can we claim to be led by Him if we are drawn apart from the institution He Himself established for our good? Again, how can we be gathered together if we insist on drawing apart?
So here we have the man who stands effectively as the father of reformed theology, and a chief Methodist theologian, men with very different views on the doctrines of the faith, who stand agreed in this: Happy the man who is a living stone in the church, under the head of Christ, gathered together with those others whom the Father has called. Here, we must agree. Here, we must acknowledge our need for one another as we seek to follow Christ. Here, we must seek to serve our brothers and sisters, who need us just as much. Here, we can all alike admit our faults and our dependency on our mutual Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Mediator Yet Co-Equal (04/17/17)
Another point which it seems most every commentator feels the need to address is what can and cannot be read into the statement that Christ belongs to God. Many a heretic has looked at this statement and seen proof that Christ is inferior to God. If, after all, all authority has been given to Him, it must have been given by one with greater authority. If He is going to give it back when the job is done, certainly He gives it to one who is greater. And, the reasoning must conclude, if there is one who is greater, then Christ cannot be God. He may be the first being of creation, but He must be created. If He is subordinate, He must be inferior. If He is inferior, He must not be God.
But, Paul is not discussing matters of essential being here. I do think that the tendency of our translations to render this passage as a series of belongings distorts our understanding and leads us into such mistaken conclusions. It’s not a chain of possession, but a chain of command. Seen in reverse, it is a chain of service. The Apostles, together with everything else in creation, are here to serve you. Before you get all puffed up, stay mindful that this is a collective you, encompassing the whole body of believers throughout time. And you, that same collective you down through the ages, are all equally and together here to serve Christ – not yourselves, not even particularly one another, but Christ. Of course, in serving Christ, by His own command, we set ourselves to the task of serving one another, but it is done in service to Christ. Christ, in like fashion, set Himself, particularly in His Incarnation, to serve the plan and purpose of the Father.
Now, make no mistake. The plan and purpose of the Father was and is the plan and purpose of the Son, as well as the Spirit. The three, co-equal persons of the Godhead, in the depths of their eternal fellowship, covenanted to undertake this marvelous, terrible undertaking we speak of as Creation. That covenant which God made with Himself amongst His persons, (sorry, Trinitarian conceptions always seem to defy grammatical niceties,) encompassed the Fall, purposed the Fall, the Flood, every blessing and woe of man for the glorious purpose of Redemption. As Reverend Pink declared it, God looked down the course of history, saw all the accumulated sins of man, saw all the pain and sorrow His children must go through, that He must go through, and proclaimed it worth the cost that His glory might be the more manifest in the redeeming moment of the Cross.
Jesus, our Mediator, subordinated Himself to this plan, and in that sense, to the Father. The plan, I say again, was a plan arrived at together, agreed upon together, with each person of the Trinitarian Unity taking upon Himself the necessary role. It is there in the first moments of Creation: Father, Son, and Spirit together approaching their varied roles in the work. It is there at the birth of Christ. It is there at His baptism. It is there throughout, and it continues to be there now and forever. The Son set Himself to serve the Father and to do so by serving as our Mediator, the means by which we are enabled to come to the Source of blessing.
Indeed, our God is One. Never was any disagreement found between His persons. But, He is a God of order. While all three persons are perfectly equal and of one essence, yet there is a clear chain of command. Father begets Son. Spirit proceeds from Father and Son. The explanation of this, and how it remains equality may escape us, but the fact remains. Christ came to set Himself as our Mediator, our eternal High Priest. “He came to do the will of God. He was and still is devoted to the service of His Father,” writes Barnes. That service consists in reigning upon the eternal throne. That service consists in being ever present to plead our cause before the courts of heaven, and to sit as Judge in that court.
The JFB records that, “God is the ultimate end of all, even of Christ, His co-equal Son.” That’s hard to assay, isn’t it? Yet, there is something there that would certainly seem to reflect the arc of Scripture. He set His face resolutely toward Jerusalem. He obeyed even unto death on the cross. He is subjecting all things to Himself in order to turn them over to the Father, that He may be all and in all. And yet, He does so in that perfect Unity of the Trinity. He does so as fully God of fully God, co-equal to the Father He serves.
Here, Barnes suggests an argument from life. If a son joins his father’s business, he assuredly sets himself in a position subordinate to his father. He must act according to the father’s wishes in pursuing the family business. We do not, however, account the son as being in any way inferior to his father on this account. He may very well excel his father in any number of aspects. He might prove to be physically stronger, or develop a business acumen that is greater. But, these things are yet bent to the service of his father. He may in time become a full partner, an acknowledged equal in that regard, and yet set himself to serve his father’s interests which have admittedly become his own.
Of course, any such attempt at analogy in describing the relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit must fall apart if pressed too hard. But, it is a useful picture by which to keep our perceptions aligned with Scripture. Christ came to serve God, and ascended to serve God. And yet, simultaneously, Christ and Father are equally God. The Holy Spirit, sent to indwell us and aid us in our long trek home, was not sent as a slave with no choice. He was not banished to the hinterlands of humanity for some offence. No. Spirit, Son, and Father are equally God, pursuing one perfect plan and purpose in their varied, agreed upon roles, to their/His own eternal glory.
I’ll finish today’s study with the words of Matthew Henry. “God in Christ reconciling a sinful world to Himself, and shedding abroad the riches of His grace on a reconciled world, is the sum and substance of the gospel.” There it is: The Eternal Covenant, enacted by Father, Son, and Spirit. There is God’s great and wondrous gift to a people wholly undeserving. There is the mission of the Church. Richly have you received. Richly give.
Scope of Providence (04/19/17)
Perhaps the clearest evidence that Paul is not discussing matters of ownership lies in his statement that ‘all things belong to you’. This, were it about ownership, would be a statement readily proven false simply by going to the neighbor’s house and claiming ownership of his couch. Clearly, all things are not yours, either individually or collectively. The church in Corinth would be ill advised to head down to city hall and claim the building. Beyond all that, if everything already belonged to us, there would be no cause for God to issue a commandment regarding coveting. What is to covet if I own everything?
Rather, what we have is a declaration of God’s providence entirely in keeping with what Paul writes to Rome. All things work together for good to those who love God, and are serving in His purpose (Ro 8:28). This is certainly a favorite verse of mine, as it is for many a Christian. It is a great assurance. Yet, even as we seek to truly internalize this message and make it the formative input for our character and our response to situations we encounter, I think we fall short of recognizing the true scope of that statement. I think those who seek to dismiss this declaration to some degree by accounting it hyperbole miss that scope as well. Yes, Paul is primarily focused on this issue of overvalued or undervalued teachers. But, it is not unlike Paul in the least to burst forth with doxological utterances in the midst of so utilitarian a discussion. I don’t think it a stretch to see something of that in his conclusion here. It’s not just your teachers and preachers, folks. Yes, they are men serving you in the service of Christ, but the same statement can be made in regard to every facet of daily life.
This is a hard thing for many to accept. It is a hard thing for many believers to accept, particularly those who have seen heartbreaking loss. To the man who has lost a child, it is very difficult to hear and believe that even life and death are pressed into the service of your good. How was it good that my child is lost to me? How is it good that other of my children, while alive, have walked away from faith in Christ? How is it good when we observe the seemingly infinite horrors that man inflicts upon his fellow man? And yet, the Truth holds. All things work together for the good of those who love God, even their own death, even should that death come by means of violence. The trial for us consists in part in the fact that our finite perceptions cannot assess the matter in full. We have not the benefit of fully knowing the end from the beginning as does God. We do, however, know how this story of our lives turns out. And, that is good. We do know, as well, that the God in whom we have set our faith is Good – the very definition of Good. He cannot do evil. He cannot condone evil. He can, however, by His Providence, turn the evil intents of evil men and evil beings of other sorts to His good and perfect purpose. It is evident at the Cross. It remains evident in our lives.
But, be encouraged. God, as Barnes brings to our attention, upholds this universe for our sake! Think about that for just a bit. The orderly advance of the seasons, in spite of the alarmist rhetoric of the climate brigade, is maintained by God for our sake. The seas, though they rise and fall, are kept within their bounds for our sake. The sundry meteors and asteroids that come whipping by far more often we tend to think are kept from catastrophic collision with this planet for our sake. The moon remains in orbit for our sake. The sun is graciously maintained at just the right distance to support life on this bit of rock, which spins at just the right rate to keep us from either burning to a crisp in the heat or freezing in the depths of icy night. Nor does that sun go nova on us. All, as Barnes says, in order to ‘protect, preserve, and redeem His church and people’.
You know, it’s marvelous enough to contemplate all that God has arranged for the preservation of church and Scripture down through the ages. The number of times when it seemed God’s people must be overrun and the whole work brought to an end, only to discover that He has preserved His children, guarded the pages of Scripture in some erstwhile hinterland, and brought forth the Church in fuller bloom for the trouble, are beyond counting. Add in these matters on the cosmic scale, and one can only stop in awe that God so loves us. The scope of His Providence is endless! All of this, He orchestrates for one purpose: To preserve His people and maintain the welfare of His Church. That is, of course, to say that He does so in order to magnify His own glory, which is right and proper. But, what great privilege is granted His children in the process!
Consider again: Whatever is happening, has happened, or may happen in the future, whether they be events that lead to prosperity or events that bring calamity, whether they tend to our privilege or our persecution; it matters not. All of this advances the interest of our souls. All of this promotes our salvation. All of this remains the outworking of God’s perfect plan for the good of those who love Him and work in His service. Indeed, all things are yours, being bent to your service as you serve the Son who serves the Father. Is it any wonder that Paul is moved to make the request that follows? “Let a man regard us as servants of Christ” (1Co 4:1a). One could ask no greater praise.
Cause for Contentment (04/19/17)
Now, if all things are ours, to our benefit, it is only because we are His. After all, if we wish to discuss possession and ownership, all things are His. He made it. He owns it. He made you. He owns you. He chooses to set these things in order for your benefit, but it’s not because you’re such a swell person. It’s because by doing so, He can bring glory to Himself by our betterment.
In the immediate context, the point is quite clear. If, as is the case, you belong to God, how can you allow yourself to make any man your head? It is unfitting, as the slave of one master, to tender your services to another. In our employments we certainly understand this. The company paying our check is not going to take kindly to us using our time on the clock in the service of another company. Take into the home. Husband and wife are called to belong to one another, to be servants one to another. No spouse in their right mind is going to cheerfully accept their partner going off to be with another for a time. Why would we suppose God is different? He is a jealous God. He will not share His glory with another. What can we be thinking, that we would allow a man so high a position in our esteem as to be set in the place God alone has right to be?
By way of contrast, we have this incredible description of the providential care that is ours. Everything may not be ours by right of possession, but everything is ours in that it is turned to the task of our service as we turn ourselves to the service of Him to whom we belong. In something of a corollary to this, Clarke writes, “He that has God for his portion has everything that can make him happy and glorious.” Indeed, he that does not have God for his portion finds himself driven to distraction as he pursues something, anything, that might manage to make him happy for more than a moment! Consider the entire text of Ecclesiastes, and what do you have? Here is a man seeking happiness in all such places as the world advises, and comes up with nothing but, ‘vanity and wind’. And where does he wind up? “Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecc 12:13). Love Him Who loves you. Serve Him Who bought you. Be content.
“A contented mind is a continual feast,” writes Clarke. And yet, we are so quick to forget how great a cause for contentment is ours! Paul got it. He spoke to the church in Philippi on the subject. “I don’t speak from want. I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little. I know how to live in prosperity. Whatever the situation, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, of having abundance and suffering need. You want the secret? I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Php 4:11-13).
We have quite a contrast here. You can chase the purported joys of this world. You can gripe about your situation because it’s not to your liking. God knows I am pretty good at that. Or, you can remember yourself, that you belong to God, and He has set all things for your good, and through Him you can do whatever the day requires. If we will but remember that we are not here to make a name for ourselves, not here to die with the most toys, not even here to make somebody else happy, how much less we shall stress over our momentary trials. You are here to serve God. Whether you are at work, seeking to do an honest day’s labor for an honest day’s wage; whether your boss is a gem or an ogre; whether you are a keeper at home; whether your spouse demonstrates constant appreciation or takes your efforts for granted; it’s really not about them any more than it’s about you. Whatever it is you are called to do, do it with this goal in mind: To glorify God who keeps you and strengthens you. If you are called to suffer for His sake, suffer gladly. If you are called to generous prosperity for His sake, give gladly. If He is showering blessings upon you rejoice. If He is bringing you through the Vale of Tears rejoice. Wherever you are, He is there with you. He is watching over you. He is orchestrating all these things to your eternal benefit.
Even death is your servant in this. Even death is sent from God in His time. It cannot come early and it won’t be late. Death comes at the appointed time, ‘to undo a knot that now connects body and soul’. Again, I bring Clarke to bear, who seems to have much to offer on this particular aspect of the thing. That knot connects you now, and in time, I am assured, the knot will be retied, but with a new body, a glorified body, a body fit as the soul is then fit for heaven and eternity, freed of every corruption and relieved of every pain. Now, what were you complaining about?
One more, I must bring forward from Clarke, particularly to speak to a day and age where men seem ever more anxious to find some means of longevity. “He who wishes to live longer than he can get and do good, is not worthy of life.” What is this urge for immortality that seems to consume so many minds? In one sense, it’s a byproduct of our exaltation of youth and reduced appreciation for the wisdom that comes with age. But, far more, I think, it is the perhaps unacknowledged understanding that death is not the end, but only the door that leads inexorably to the Judgment Seat of Christ. Something, however hard we seek to suppress it, informs us that there’s more to life than these 70-odd years of oxygen consumption. There’s more to it than entertaining ourselves, or trying to leave our mark. There’s more to it than just trying to get by, and be a good guy.
For the Christian, there is indeed something more, and it is utterly marvelous. Paul wraps it up neatly in writing to Rome. “If we live,” he writes, “we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. You see, then, that whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Ro 14:8). We are His. He paid for us. We serve Him by our life and by our death. Because He so wills and works in us that we do manage to make progress in our sanctification in this life, even if it must be in spite of ourselves as often as not, He is glorified by our life and by our death. He has set a date certain. To ask for longer, as the example of Hezekiah surely demonstrates, is worse than counterproductive. It demonstrates a serious underestimation of God or else it demonstrates a serious overestimation of self. It demonstrates, at the very least, a distrust of God’s wisdom. Is that really where you want to be? Far better that we discover that place of contentment that comes of knowing God has us in His hands, before His eyes, and has orchestrated the very universe to our best benefit. Be at peace!
Cause for Confidence (04/20/17)
When we are at peace, content in God’s hands, we also have a firm foundation for confidence. Our confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is in God. He has set everything in order for your benefit. On what basis would you therefore find cause for concern? If trials come for your good, then it would be good to discern the benefit rather than grumble at the circumstance. If trials come for your good, you can develop such a mindset, knowing that God who permits and orchestrates the trial does so for your improvement and not your destruction. You can face it in the confidence that this realization brings.
As we have discussed already, the idea that everything belongs to you is so patently false that it is surprising to find anybody trying to hold onto that view. If we wish to speak of belonging, we can certainly aver that everything belongs to God, including us and including the worst reprobate alike. But, everything belongs to me? One would have to be delusional to believe it so. It defies the evidence, and would require us to do the same. I cannot believe that God would expect such a thing from us. God doesn’t deny reality. He commands it. Why would He ask us to deny it?
But, when we look at this as describing purpose and provision, the picture is at least believable. It will still take some effort to accept that everything up to and including life and death are arranged to serve your best outcome. It is hard to look upon the hard events of life, the loss of a loved one, periods of unemployment, natural disasters, or the like and think, “That was good.” Neither should you. The fact that all things work for good does not thereby render everything good. Murder is still evil even if God is somehow working that for good to somebody. More generally, evil is still evil, even if God has designed events such that the evil being done is turned to the good of those who love Him. Condemning an innocent man to death on the Cross remains an evil act done by evil men, even though their actions have, by God’s eternal plan and providence, brought about the salvation of many.
If God could do that – and He did; if God could so orchestrate the entire arch of history to bring us from Adam’s fall to that point, ordaining every step along the way, preserving this one and that from their own stupidity as well as the machinations of the devil, on what basis shall I doubt His perfect care for me? I have such basis for confidence as leaves no place for doubts. If life and death are both in His hands, and tuned for my maximum benefit, what remains of which to be afraid? Current events? Sure, if I was watching the news with no God in control, I would doubtless be as panicked as so many seem to be. Here we are on the verge of nuclear catastrophe – again. But, God…
Suppose it comes to pass. What then? God remains in control. Whatever the immediate impact, that has not changed. Noah, I rather suspect, was not particularly excited to watch the flood waters rising and all his neighbors wailing as they went under. That’s the stuff of nightmares, and no doubt caused them for many years after. It’s honestly not that hard to imagine why he might have decided to get drunk at the next opportunity. But, God was up to something good. The pain Noah experienced, along with the sorrows that followed that night of drunkenness, could never be accounted pleasant memories to bear. But, come the day when he was finally taken home and could see the scope of events as God sees them? Oh, the joy that overtook his soul, and has never since departed! Every tear wiped away, every sorrow eliminated, every tormenting memory erased, and only the clear view of the full sweep of God’s work to contemplate.
This is our worst-case scenario in the present. Events may conspire to wipe us out, and they may even succeed. But, what then? God is still in control. Events have happened on His schedule and served His purpose. Welcome home! Suppose events leave you to suffer for a season, what then? Why, the very same thing. God is still in control, and these events are serving His purpose, and His purpose toward you is good. There may be a brief delay, but there still remains that welcome home.
What of the future? In reality, most of the present concern is really for some unknown, unknowable future catastrophe. We are particularly adept, it seems, at seeking out and settling on the worst possible outcomes when we don’t know what might happen. This is the power of terrorism, really, it gives you something worse to imagine, and having imagined it, it seems almost certain that you shall have to face it. In reality, the odds remain vanishingly small that you will personally experience such a thing. But, that doesn’t really stop the imagining, does it?
But, rather than cause for fear as we imagine these things, we are offered an alternative. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things” (Php 4:8). Why? Because these are things that keep our eyes and our thoughts on the God whose Providential care unfolds that unknowable future, and it reminds us of the critical point that we do know: He who began the good work in us will perfect it (Php 1:6). You have every reason for confidence.
Whatever your past, He has addressed it. Whatever your present, He has arranged it. Whatever the future, He ordained it. And all of this, being guided by His perfect plan, is done for your provision, for your good, as you love Him and serve Him. You belong to Him in Christ. You are here in Christ’s service, and He has never lost a one of those given to Him.
Cause for Humility (04/20/17)
Where does this leave us? Everything is here to serve you. The Apostles came to serve you. The world, indeed the entire cosmos, is designed and driven to serve you. Life and death serve you. But, there is no room for pride in this. After all, every one of those statements is made of a collective you. As such, you are not only the beneficiary of everything, you are a part of everything. Consider your brother or sister – consider that one you have the greatest difficulties dealing with. You are part of that everything set in place to serve that one.
We can take it further. Consider that coworker you just can’t get along with. Oh, you can be civil and all, because the job requires it, but in the privacy of your thoughts (hopefully) you really don’t think much of him, and prefer to have as little to do with him as possible. You know the one. So far as you know, he’s not a believer, so maybe it’s ok, right? Wrong. You don’t know. He might be. You might be the one sent to serve as sower or waterer in his life. If you’re busy avoiding him, deriding him as a fool, or whatever, how are you going to sow? You are a servant. You are a servant to Christ. You are His to command. His command is to go make disciples. As such, you are a servant to every man, because every man is potentially a fellow servant of Christ who simply hasn’t learned of his status yet.
Everything is here to serve you, but this is not to suggest in any way that you have authority to command everything. It’s not even to suggest that you have the authority to command anything! You are here to serve, not to command. The only command you are authorized to issue is the one put in your mouth by Christ through the Spirit, and even that you are only authorized to issue on the occasion and for the purpose for which that command was given.
Don’t be arrogant. Life and death serve you, but you do not command life or death. They are subjected to God, and they are bent to your benefit by Him. In this, you are their equal; for your actions, too, may be bent to His purpose, rather than directly reflecting His intentions. If there is anything good in us, it is because God is in us. If there is any benefit to our actions, it is because God is in them. It’s nothing to boast of. It’s cause to be exceedingly humble. You are granted to serve Christ!
Think about that. You serve Christ! Do you suppose He has any particular need of your skills? If so, think harder. This is God you’re talking about. He is dependent upon nothing. He is self-existent and all-sufficient. He is perfect, lacking nothing. How can He have need of you? No. He does not need your services, but He grants that you may exercise a part in His work because He has chosen to love you. You serve Christ. As I wrote before. That is who you are. Now comes the hard part. Go forth and be who you are.
We cannot do this if we continue to ascribe the value system this world advises. Unfortunately, our own fallen condition tends to leave us agreeing with that system in spite of knowing better. We are trained in the arts of self-preservation and self-promotion. Jesus comes, makes you His servant, and then tells you the path to self-promotion is found through abasement. Be servant of all. Do you want to be accounted a hero of the faith? You’ll never get there by chasing such a goal. Go and forget yourself. Go and give all you have to aid everybody else. Spend yourself on your brothers and sisters, and spend extravagantly. Account yourself the least among all you know, with nothing to boast of, and every reason to give thanks to God that He should even look upon you without destroying you from before His holy face. That, after all, is the real situation. Then, rejoice in knowing that He loves you in spite of yourself, He uses you in spite of your uselessness.
I’ll leave with the thought that I was driven to previously in studying this passage. We live amongst a people who insist that they are the captains of their own ships. It is an adage of long standing in western civ. But, we are not the captains of our ships. We aren’t even the navigators. “The mind of man plans his ways, but the LORD directs his steps” (Pr 16:9). Oh, yes, this idea of being captain has been long with mankind, arguably all the way back to Adam. But the truth remains unaltered. We are not the navigators we think we are. Figure your path any which way you like, but understand that in the end, it is the LORD who directs your steps, and times them, too. Then, be thankful for all the things His direction has prevented you from stepping in.
No, you are not captain, nor are you navigator. You are, if not lowest crewman on the ship of your life, at best its cabin boy. You are here to serve the Captain. For your ship is His ship. Every captain in the British navy at the height of its power had to understand this very thing. Yes, this ship is yours to command. It is also yours to answer for. It is not here to serve you, but to be exercised in the service of him whom you serve. For that captain, it was first the Admiral, but more certainly the King. The ship, though it is yours, is in reality is his.
You, dear Christian, are a ship in Christ’s navy. He commands. But, unlike the captain in the navy, you do not even command that ship which is yourself, nor navigate your course. He does. Does this make you the puppet of fate? By no means. It does give you great cause for both confidence and humility as you sail in His service. It gives you cause for great joy knowing that as you go, you go in Christ. He has given purpose to your life. He has given hope to your life. He has given life to your life. And He will see you safely to port on the shores of heaven come what may.
