New Thoughts (2/24/03-2/26/03)
It's interesting that Paul seemingly repeats himself in this passage; he instructs that we should be subject, and then calls upon us to be obedient. Aren't these the same thing? Not entirely, it would seem. The first term, speaking of subjection, is somewhat a military term. It speaks of the arraying of subordinates under their leaders, an orderly arranging of the troops. However, Zodhiates, in the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, points out that this term does not necessarily imply obedience. There's a hint of the appearance vs. the heart in this, and the call to Christians is to have both. Be orderly in how you are presented before the world, show yourselves properly arrayed under your leadership. Be model citizens in every act, showing proper respect to all such authorities as are placed over you. But, more importantly, be obedient. Let obedience be the pulse of your heart. Consider this thought in conjunction with Paul's instructions to those in human slavery: serve from your heart, not just what must be done to get by. It's the same here. Submit not only when you must because the eyes of authority are upon you, but obey from the heart, even when nobody's there to check. Somewhere in another study, I noted that this business of obedience is akin to the issue of love. John asks us, "if you can't love your brother whom you can see, how then will you ever love God whom you cannot see?" (1Jn 4:20). The question is the same here. If you won't obey the authorities you have before your eyes here, how then will you ever obey God who is not here to visibly remind you of His authority?
It has also struck me that the idea we have of what it means to be gentle bears little resemblance to the true meaning of the word. In searching the Greek dictionaries, the word resolved to appropriate, suitable, equitable, and fair. I did a bit of poking through Webster's dictionary to further refine these ideas. Consider: One who is gentle is compatible, he's a good fit with men of refinement. He has well developed manners.
One who is gentle is well adapted to his purpose. God has a purpose for us, and we know He has carefully prepared us for that purpose. He has, in that respect been working to make of us a gentle people since before we were born!
One who is gentle deals fairly and equally with all, being impartial, honest, and free of self-interest. God, we know, is no respecter of persons. He shows no favoritism in dealing with His children. He expects His children to be likewise impartial and honest in their dealings.
This is what we are being called to here: it is largely the sum of all else that is said in this passage. Be orderly and obedient - well-mannered, and suitable to be associated with the society we are in, at least in its better parts. We are to be prepared to do every good deed that comes our way (especially as we recognize that He who has formed us formed also these very deeds that lay before us. He has prepared us for each other!) We are adapted to that very purpose: to the doing of those deeds He has prepared. Let us, then, be about that work! We are to be free of verbal assaults on those around us, and we are to be free of physical assaults as well. These are not the tools of warfare we have been given. In being such self-restrained people, we put ourselves in position to be impartial. Such assaults are the displays of self-interest. They can be none other. It is wounded pride that attacks with such concern for vengeance. We are called to humility, called to trust in our Lord to avenge that which truly needs avenging. We are called to be submitted and obedient to Him first and foremost, and His primary command for us is to love our neighbor. There is no room for assault of any sort in that command. There is no room for character assassination. There is only room for one to be compatible, fair, impartial, honest, and free of all self-interest - for all of our interests we have made subject to His interests.
Leave no room for pride. That is the call for Christians. There can be no pride of self, for we of all people have seen what we're really like. Having seen ourselves next to the standard of holiness, we know we have fallen so far short that nothing remains of which we can possibly be proud. All that is good in me is only because it has come to me from the Father of Lights. What have I to boast of but Him? Where this realization has truly set in, we will indeed find ourselves possessed of true humility. That humility is not a matter of turning all those verbal and physical assaults on ourselves, and somehow thinking that makes it right again. It's not a matter of becoming the world's doormat, either. It's recognizing at one and the same time who we are in our own right and who we are in Him. With that recognition comes the accompanying realization that our brother or sister in Christ is in the same boat, thoroughly imperfect and useless in himself, yet powerful and glorious in the Lord.
When I was outlining this book, I said that this passage is about true humility, and indeed I still hold that it is. That humility is shown in being obedient to established authorities, knowing that those authorities are established by the same God who has cleansed us from our unrighteousness. That humility causes us to be prepared to reach out to those around us not to attack them or defend ourselves, but to do good by them. That humility causes us to be fit companions for those of good character. Humility: the absence of the poison of pride, that's a lofty goal for any man. Let me be very clear here. Our goal is not to be ashamed of ourselves, although we are ashamed of the condition our Lord has found us in. No, we are called to be modest in behavior, unpretentious, recognizing that what truly recommends us is only that which God has wrought in us, the change He has made, and the work He continues to do in us.
If there is knowledge, it is by His giving. If there is beauty, it is by His making. If there is strength, it is by His power. If there is wisdom, it is by His Spirit. All that we hold dear and precious is found to be in Him. In Him we live and move and have our being. In Him we find all that is worthy of our praise. This is truth. If we hold to that truth, then we cannot find a place for pride within ourselves. No hold will remain to pride as we attribute all that is lovely and praiseworthy to Him.
On another line of thought, in looking at some of the parallel verses to this passage, one that jumped out was 2Timothy 2:21. The reason this stuck out for me is more for what it didn't say than what it did. It declares to us the keys to being vessels of honor, but only describes those keys as 'these things.' Somewhere prior to this verse, Paul must have elucidated what 'these things' were. If we work our way back to the beginning of the paragraph, though, we find only another reference to 'these things,' as Timothy is instructed to remind his parishioners of them.
Of note is what is added on top of 'these things.' Charge them, command them, not to argue over semantics (which portion also showed up as a parallel to this passage), for such arguments only do more harm. Certainly, they are to be diligent students, handling Truth with accuracy, but this is not to be used as an excuse to join in with such idle debates. To do so would be to spread the disease rather than to cure it (2Ti 2:14-16). Yet, we still haven't uncovered what 'these things' are which will prepare us for honorable use.
If we proceed back to the beginning of the chapter, we find ourselves referred elsewhere, once more. There, Paul reminds Timothy of those 'things you have heard from me before many witnesses.' These are the things Paul tells Timothy to teach the faithful, yet once again, Paul leaves us without declaring what 'these things' are. Indeed, going all the way back to the beginning of the letter, we never seem to find 'these things' clearly defined. Yet, God is not one to keep His Truth hidden from those who seek Him out. I find a few things in this letter that could be considered as 'these things.' First, there is the reminder Paul slips in as he encourages Timothy to stand strong: God saved us. God has placed a holy calling upon us. It was not a frivolous act on His part, He moved with purpose. It was also not a reward for our good behavior, for the calling came to us not because of our own efforts, but solely for His own purpose, being yet another part of the grace granted us in Christ Jesus. Not only that, but that grace shown to us was prepared for us from all eternity (2Ti 1:9). Long before we were even an inkling in our parents' minds, God had already determined His purpose in us. He knit us together in the womb to serve His purpose, choosing us as the best possible means to accomplish that purpose! What an awesome privilege! What an awesome God! In spite of my fallen state, He has a purpose for me! He has a mission for me, having designed me for that mission, and having designed that mission for me!
There's also the song that Paul breaks into in the midst of chapter 2: If we died with Him, we will live with Him. If we endure we will reign with Him. But, if we deny Him, He will also deny us. Yet even then, there remains a strong note of hope: Even if we are faithless, He remains faithful, being incapable of denying Himself (2Ti 2:11-13)! This song is immediately followed by that first call to remind them. Can it be? Can these be the keys that Paul only refers to as 'these things?'
Let's look at these potential keys. First, we are reminded that we died with Him. We are dead men. Dead men cannot be tempted by much. All that the world has to offer, it offers to the living. We are dead, and the world is dead to us.
Second, we are reminded that we will also live with Him. Notice that it's not we do, but we will. We are betrothed. The bride price has been paid. We are given to this Jesus to be His and His alone. Remembering the penalty for infidelity is death by stoning, will we not be strongly encouraged to remain pure for our intended? Knowing that He has kept Himself pure for us, will we not strive to do likewise for Him?
If this were not enough, there is further reward awaiting. If we endure, we will reign with Him. Yet even here, the true power is carefully delineated. It is not that we will reign in His stead. It is not that we will find ourselves with the power to countermand His laws, as if such could even be our desire! No! But reign with Him we shall! All authority is established by God. Such authority as He delegates will be placed in us, yet ever shall we remain mindful of Him in whose Name authority comes to us.
Then, there comes the warning: deny Him, and He will deny you. This hurts! There have been those saints and martyrs who have withstood the ultimate test of this resolve to endure. There still are. Yet, who among us really wants to face that test? Who among us can say with certainty that, if faced with the terrible tortures that others have faced for holding to the Name of Jesus, that they would likewise stand firm? I'm not so stock sure of myself that I would make that claim. I hope and pray that I would be sufficiently strong to stand for my God and Savior, to die for Him who died for me, but to say so with certainty? I know my own weakness too well! If ever I am called to make such a stand, there is only one way I expect to be able, and that is through the Holy Spirit within me, for surely nothing in this weak flesh could do it!
But Paul leaves us with comfort after the warning. Though Christ may have to deny us for our denial of Him, He cannot deny Himself! Even when we are faithless, even when we fail to keep ourselves pure, yet He maintains His purity and His faithfulness. "Nevertheless," Paul writes a little further along, "the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, 'The Lord knows those who are His.'" (2Ti 2:19a)
So, let's review:
- He called us for His purpose
- We are dead men, no longer responsive to sinful enticements
- Our life is locked up in Him
- We are pledged as the bride of Christ
- He is faithful, even when we fail to be
- The foundation of God stands, for the Lord knows those who are His!
These are hardly things to abstain from, yet they are things which, if we keep ourselves mindful of them, will keep us from pursuing vain and empty debate. There's no place for arguing over the meaning of words here. We all know what life and death are. We all know what husband and wife are. We have all looked upon God's declaration of what it means to be faithful, so we cannot play games with our perceptions of what is and what is not faithfulness. We know what a foundation is, and we know Who our foundation is. We know where our goodness lies, and it's surely not in ourselves!
It is those empty arguments, then, those useless debates that knowing our true condition will keep us away from, that we are to avoid. Can you imagine? Can it really be that such debates defile our honorable vessels? What God works so hard to cleanse, can it really require yet another washing because of some simple debate? Consider. If we partake of His holiness, if we contemplate these matters of holiness, and treat them as so commonplace a matter as to subject them to such idle debate, what does that say of our concern over holiness? Jews even to this day will refrain from speaking God's name because it is a holy thing, and they would not defile it by their commonness. The Temple was to be kept free of all such defilement by the common, by the Gentile, the unwashed, the unclean. When we drag the pure and holy truth of the pure and holy God into such debates, what is this but to defile the holy with the common, to treat that which is most pure as though it were no different than the dust of the street?
We have been fashioned by God as vessels to hold His glory, His holiness, His honor. That which would contain the holy must be sanctified, set apart for His use alone. He has called us for His purpose, He has sanctified us, set us apart. The enemy of our soul would gladly beckon to us to come out of that separation, to come join the flow of the world, and so abase that which God has purified. He will come with enticements that sound reasonable, calling us to come influence the world. Be very careful when you here such a call! Be very careful. Listen only to the voice of your Shepherd, for if it is the wolf who calls you to come influence the world you can rest assured that the world will wind up influencing you.
It requires the power of God to make His voice heard in the marketplace of ideas, and He is more than up to the task. He has been broadcasting His manifesto for millennia now, all creation shouts out His case! Yet, men are notoriously capable of blocking their ears when they don't want to hear. Oh, but God can break through that blockage! He did for me! Perhaps He has done so for you, as well. Perhaps the time is not yet. Perhaps, even now, He is beginning to break through your defenses, to make clear to you that it's not about you. It's about Him. It's not about your sinfulness, it's about His faithfulness. You're not beyond His power to save. He paid the penalty for your crimes against Him a long time ago. He created you for His pleasure, and He would have you find your pleasure in Him once more. Will you come home? Will you take your place as a vessel of honor? The Lord knows those who are His. Hear Him calling to you. Come find your purpose!
