Jehovah Rapha…this is a name that all of us have had to cry out to, many times in our lives. In fact, many unbelievers cry out to this name in desperation. In fact, I cried out to that name just this morning on behalf of my wife. This name means, “The Lord Who Heals You.” I love that, the Lord who heals you. He is our healer! He heals us physically and spiritually. In the New Testament, Jesus is shown as the Great Physician for this very reason. We saw Him heal people in both ways in His ministry here on earth. Through His word, we got to witness the blind regain their sight, the lame walk again, lepers cleansed, as well as demons cast out and sins forgiven. Christ is, indeed, the great physician.
People have asked me if I believe in “faith healers”. The answer is, no. Do I believe that Christ still miraculously heals people today? Do I believe that He uses people as a conduit of His healing? Of course, I do, I have seen miraculous healings in my ministry, and I have been blessed to be part of some of them. In 2011, my family drove 400 miles to pray over a 16-year-old boy who had been in a car accident and was in a coma for several months. We laid hands on him, anointed him with oil, and prayed over him. The next morning, he spoke his first words, and today, he is married with a daughter of his own. Here’s the thing, my family didn’t heal that young man. It wasn’t our hands, it wasn’t the oil, it wasn’t that we prayed just the right words. We were just acting in obedience. God told us to do it, so we did. He used us to show His power. You see, we can’t put our faith in any man. It was God alone who healed Jessie.
So many times, throughout history, those with the spiritual gift of healing have made it all about themselves. I’ve heard some of these guys say things like, “you weren’t healed because your faith wasn’t strong enough.” When people were healed when Peter’s shadow fell on them, do you think it was about their faith? When Jesus cast the demons out of the maniac, was his faith in Christ all that strong? No, here’s what’s up, God heals who He wants to heal, it’s that simple. I know that some of you are thinking, God wouldn’t refuse to heal someone who sincerely asked. Let’s look at Paul. He prayed three times to be relieved of his physical affliction, and every time God answered no. God told him in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” God wanted to keep Paul humble. He wanted to make sure that Paul never made it about himself, so instead of boasting in himself, Paul boasted in his weaknesses so that the power of Christ could work through him. Paul went on to say, in verse 10, “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Today, Christians have some convoluted belief that God is some kind of magic genie. That He is just sitting around waiting for you to rub His lamp and say the magic words and He will make your life perfect. So many believe that, when you follow Christ, your life will be easy. Let’s see what the Bible says about that. Jesus, Himself, made it very clear in John 16:33 when He said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Notice He doesn’t say He will take away our troubles, He just tells us not to worry, because He’s got this. We also see in 2 Timothy 3:12“Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Notice it says here that you WILL suffer persecution, not might, or could, but will. Simply put, if you are living an easy life, you are not living a godly life in Christ. You see, it’s not a bad thing to suffer a little. James 1:2-4 tells us, “2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” From this trouble, we learn endurance, which makes us perfect and complete. And, at the end of the trouble, we have the Jehovah Rapha, the Great Physician, to heal us and comfort us.
Now, again, I’m not saying not to pray for healing. As in the story of Jessie at the beginning of this post, God does miraculously heal. My wife has a congenital disease that causes her to not be able to process sugars of any kind. This has caused many other problems in her life and it took us twenty years to get it diagnosed. I pray every day for her healing, and I believe that God will heal her. Don’t forget that Matthew 7:7-11 says, 7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” So, don’t stop praying! I have seen so many miracles in my life, and I want to see more. In fact, please take a minute to respond to this post and tell me about some miraculous healings you have witnessed in your life.
And, if you are facing trouble, if you are sick, or if you need physical or spiritual healing, run to Jehovah Rapha, The Lord Who Heals You…He is waiting.
Jehovah Nissi means, “The Lord is My Banner.” We first see it used after the Hebrew people defeated the Amalekites in Exodus 17:14-16“14 After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”).16 He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.” So…what does that mean?
When we think banner today, we think advertisement, right. Those pop-up banners on the internet that are always in the way. Well, in Old Testament times, before the internet, banners had a different significance altogether. In fact, they had several different meanings.
First, they identified you. In the first 2 chapters of Numbers, God had each tribe of Israel put up a banner that identified which tribe they were. Numbers 2:2, “When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it.”
Second, the banner was to call them to come together. Psalm 60:4 says, “But you have raised a banner for those who fear you—a rallying point in the face of attack.” When the soldiers were under attack, it could get chaotic and they didn’t have 2-way radios or satellite tracking…or satellites for that matter. So, they would raise a banner to regroup the troops. Later, in Isaiah 11:10-12, the profit prophecies about the second coming of Christ, and Him being a banner (Jehovah Nissi) to gather the saved, “10In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people—those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. 12 He will raise a flag among the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth.” This goes back to what I keep saying. One of the key messages of the New Testament is the unity of the body of Christ. If the Lord calls us together, then why do we keep dividing ourselves with denominations? Now, in case you missed my earlier blogs, I’m not talking about the dread “ecumenicalism”, where, as some believe, everyone sets aside their beliefs and comes together, I’m talking about seeking God. For more depth on this subjects, you will need to go back to previous posts, but to put it in a nutshell, if we quit trying to interpret scripture and just believe it literally, in context, as a whole, we won’t need these divisions. The Lord is Our Banner, He wants to call us together.
Third, the banner would guide them through the battle. Depending on which banner was raised, the soldiers would know exactly where to go, where to stand when they got there, when to attack, and even when to retreat. Jeremiah 4:6 says, “Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem: ‘Flee now! Do not delay!’ For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you from the north.” So, God positions us where He needs us. And, He may reposition us on occasion. God has repositioned our family many times. Throughout the early years of our marriage, Michelle and I sang an old hymn by David Livingston, called “Lord, Send Me Anywhere”, and He did. Over the last 33 years of marriage we have moved more times than I want to count and lived in 7 different states, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. Let the Lord position you where He wants you. It will probably be difficult, but it will never be boring.
Fourth, banners kept the truth in front of them. Whether in battle, where they could always see what was happening or in the tabernacle, where the banners would focus them on the provision of God. But here’s the thing, banners don’t have to be literal banners either. In the first example, Moses built an altar; that was a type of banner in and of itself. Banners, proclaim the truth and remind us of it. And, remember what we learned in a previous post, the Lord is truth. He doesn’t just show us the truth, He is truth.
Lastly, banners proclaimed victory. As soon as they knew they had won the battle, they would raise their banner. We even saw this as recently as 1969 when Neil Armstrong planted the American flag on the moon. That act was signifying that we won the space race to the moon…it was a Victory Banner. Psalm 20:5 says, “May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.” And, in Christ we have the victory, 1 Corinthians 15:57“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”Romans 8:37“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”1 John 4:4“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
So, Jehovah Nissi has a lot of meanings. It doesn’t mean He’s our pop-up ad, and it doesn’t mean He’s a long narrow sign. What it does mean is, that the Lord is who identifies us, the Lord calls us together, the Lord guides us through battles and through life, the Lord keeps truth in front of us, and the Lord is our victory…that is truly awesome!
One of the songs we sang a lot back in the 90s was one that said, “Jehovah Jireh, my provider your grace is sufficient for me.” Jehovah Jireh, The Lord is My Provider.
Remember the story of Abraham, when he had to sacrifice his only son Isaac to God? At the last minute, God provided a ram as a replacement sacrifice. Abraham named that place Jehovah Jireh, Genesis 22:14“Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
But, here’s the thing, God’s provision didn’t stop with Abraham. Paul told the church at Philippi in Philippians 4:19, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” God will provide. Throughout scripture, we see example after example of God providing for His people. Whether He was providing Angels to fight a battle for them or making water come out of a rock, or making manna fall from heaven, or even having ravens bring them food, He always provides. Deuteronomy 31:6, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Did you get that? God will personally go ahead of you…personally! Think about what that is saying. The God of the universe, not the lowly king or president of some country, but the God of the universe will prepare the way for me…wow! Also in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Stop and think about this for a minute. The God of the universe will personally go ahead of you, He will fight for you. It doesn’t say He will send an angel to go ahead of you or fight for you, it says He will do it Himself. That’s huge! It goes on to say, “He will never fail you nor abandon you.” He provides for us in any situation. He will never fail us and He will never abandon us. Keep calm and trust God!
When we look at Matthew chapter 6, starting at verse 25 and going through the rest of the chapter, we see instructions on how to handle anxiety. We first have to answer the question, is worry a sin? In this passage, it says that it is a sign that you don’t have enough faith in God. It also says in verse 32 that these are the things that “dominate the thoughts of unbelievers.” So yes, it is a sin not to trust God. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, how can we not worry? This passage compares us to birds and wildflowers. Christ is telling us that God takes such good care of these insignificant things, there is no doubt that He will take care of us. He provides for birds, He provides for wildflowers. He will provide for us…but there are conditions. It says, at the end of verse 32 that He already knows what we need, but remember, He tells us in James 2:14-26 that faith without works is dead. So, we must have faith. Faith doesn’t mean that we just sit back and wait for God, we must put our faith to work. The next verse says, Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” God will not take second, or third, or fourth place in our lives. He is a jealous God, as we will see in a future post. We must seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and we must live righteously, that’s the works that are behind our faith. In Micah 6:8 we read, “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” A lot of people treat salvation as a “get out of Hell free card”, but the Bible makes it clear, repeatedly, that salvation is a changed life. God expects his people to do what is right, He expects us to love mercy, He expects us to be an example to the world, Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Then, and only then, will He provide for us.
We are not saved by our good works, the Bible makes that very clear as well, Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” But, we are required to do good works so that God will be glorified. Glorifying God is our full-time job as Christ followers, Isaiah 43:7 says, “Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’” You see, that is why we were created, for His glory. Besides, if we truly love someone, we want to please them. So, if you truly love God, you will want to spend time with Him and others who love Him, and you will want to please Him, that’s just human nature. If you are in love, whether with your spouse or someone you are dating, you want to be around them, and with people who like them. You won’t want to spend time with people who don’t like the person you love. So, if you truly love God, you will desire to spent time with Him and His people.
So, glorify God, do justice, love mercy, seek God’s Kingdom above all else, and live righteously, and He will be your provider and you will have nothing to worry about. KEEP CALM AND TRUST GOD!
I mentioned in the last post how we will continue to see the name Jehovah used in other names to describe different attributes of God. Here is one of them, Jehovah Shammah. This name isn’t as commonly used as many of the others, in fact, we first find it in Ezekiel 48:35“The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles. And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The Lord Is There.’” They named the city, Jehovah Shammah, The Lord Is There, or more literally, I Am There.
Through this name, God wants to remind us that He is here…wherever here is. In Hebrews 13:5-6 it says, “5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” First, He says He will never fail us or abandon us…He is there, then He says, so don’t be afraid. Listen to this, WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR! The world goes around with their “No Fear” gear, but we really have nothing to fear. God will never fail us and He will always be there.
When Jesus was leaving the disciples to ascend to heaven, they were worried. We see this story in John chapter 14. In verse 12 Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” He said that we will be able to do greater works than he did because He went to be with the Father. Then He went on to tell us how, in verse 16 when He said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.” Christ told the disciples that He had to leave so that He could send another Advocate, or as some translations say another Comforter. You see, even though Jesus was 100% God, He was also 100% man. When He chose to take on flesh to redeem the world, He put some limitations on Himself. In the flesh, He could only be in one place at a time, but when the Holy Spirit came, He could be in all believers at the same time. This is the very definition of “The Lord is Here.”
What does this mean? Well, we all know the 23rd Psalm. Look at verse 4, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” God protects us and guides us throughout our lives, Psalm 48:14 says, “For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die.” He lives in us and works through us. He speaks to us in many ways; sometimes through His word, Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” And, sometimes He speaks to us through a whisper. 1 Kings 19:12, “And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.”
In my lifetime, God has spoken to me in many ways. Sometimes through answered prayer, like when we were driving back to Indiana from my father’s funeral in Florida. The next week we were supposed to move to Ohio where I was going to be a Youth Pastor. The only problem was, we had spent every dime we had to go to my father’s funeral. So as a family, we prayed that, if God wanted us to take this position, He would provide a way. We prayed the whole 25-hour drive. When we got home there was a message on our answering machine, yes, we had one of those back then. The message was from the man we would be renting the house from in Ohio. He said that he just wanted to let us know that someone had paid our first month’s rent and security deposit for us. God spoke.
Other times God has spoken to me through His word. In fact, I’d have to say that has been most of the time. Sometimes in my Bible reading, I will find the answer I had been looking for, and other times He would bring a passage to mind that I had memorized years before. This is one reason it is so important to memorize the Bible. He will always bring those verses back right when you need them, whether it is something you have been praying about, or when you are speaking to someone and they have a question about the Bible.
And yes, God has spoken to me in an audible whisper…once. I had quit serving as a Youth and Music Pastor and was a crew foreman for a large lawn service in Indiana. I wasn’t running from God, rather, I was waiting to see what He had for me next. One day I was running a mower in an apartment complex. This one took me 6 hours to mow. I made mowing my prayer time, so for that six hours, I would pray. This day I was praying about where God wanted me, and over the drone of the mower, I heard an audible voice in my head telling me it was time to start perusing full-time service again. And, yes…that’s when I found the job in Ohio. I don’t believe God talks to us like that often, but He knows when we need it. In fact, there were many things like that leading up to starting that position in Ohio, and later I would realize just why. The next year at that church was the hardest year I have ever experienced, but I never questioned whether God wanted me there or not, so I kept on my course because God was there.
Jehovah Shamma will always be there for us. The problem is we get so busy in our lives that we often don’t notice Him. Just remember that no matter what you are going through…God is There!
When you hear the name Jehovah, what do you think of? I know, the guys in the white shirts and tie going door to door in your neighborhood. Well, Jehovah is actually another of the Hebrew names used in the Old Testament…a different name for the same God.
Jehovah simply means I Am. In the Bible, Jehovah is usually translated as Lord and appears 6519 times, but its root word is the Hebrew word Hayah which means “I am”. When Moses was talking to God at the burning bush and he asked God in Exodus 3:13, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God’s answer was to tell them “Hayah Hayah”, or “Jehovah, Jehovah”, “I am who I am”.
Okay…I am what? As we’ll see in upcoming posts, He is our provider, He is our banner, He is our shield, He is our everything. Jehovah, our Lord, is the I Am. He is everything, He is our Creator, our Father, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is GOD! David Crowder has a song called I Am, and it says:
There’s no space that His love can’t reach
There’s no place where we can’t find peace
There’s no end to Amazing Grace
Take me in with your arms spread wide
Take me in like an orphan child
Never let go, never leave my side
I am
Holding onto you
I am
Holding onto you
In the middle of the storm
I am holding on
I am!
The Hebrew people of the Old Testament believed this name to be so holy that it was not allowed to be spoken. In fact, the only one who was permitted to speak the name Jehovah was the high priest, and only on the Great Day of Atonement when he entered the holy of holies. Even when they were reading the scripture, any time they would come to the name Jehovah, they would pronounce it “Adonai”, and this is something the Jewish people still do to this day. During the “Burning Bush” incident, in the very next verse Exodus 3:14, “God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” Jehovah has sent you! Through this one name, He is proclaiming that He is the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God, the “I am that I am”.
John 14:6“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Did you see what Jesus, Himself said? I AM The Way. There are so many people out there, who claim the name of Christ, and go around saying, “there are many different roads that lead to God.” What are these people doing with this verse and so many others? Christ didn’t say, I am a way, He didn’t even say, I am one of the ways. He said, “I am THE Way, THE Truth, THE life.” And, if that wasn’t clear enough, He said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” It doesn’t get any clearer than that. There are not many paths to the same place. God made eternal life very simple. He made one way, so it won’t be confusing, He made one truth, so we know what to believe, and He made one life, so we know where we are going.
If you haven’t found the One Way, take care of it before you close this blog. Christ died so we don’t have to experience death. All you need to do is, first realize that you, like all of us, are a sinner and in need of salvation, Romans 3:23“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Next, you must realize that there is a price for sin that must be paid, Romans 6:23“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Did you catch that last part? God doesn’t leave us destitute, He always provides a way. The free gift of God Is eternal life, through who? Through The Way, Jesus Christ. So, What’s the way out? Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Christ died for us, while we were still sinners. The price for sin is death, but Christ paid that price for us on the cross so that we don’t have to. It’s as if we were on trial for murder, and just as the judge was about to sentence us to death, Christ stepped in and said, “I’ll take his place.” That’s amazing grace! So how do you accept this gift? I’m glad you asked. Romans 10:9-10“9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” It’s just that simple. So many people ask, “How can a loving God send people to hell?” The answer is…He doesn’t. He made the way out so simple that even a child can do it. In fact, He said we must come to Him as a child in Matthew 18:3, “Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” How do you know it will work? He says in Romans 10:13, For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” He says it, and remember, He is THE Truth!
I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. The Bible was not written in chapters and verses, in fact, many of the New Testament books were written as letters to churches. I don’t know about you, but I don’t start out letters, “Dear Church, Chapter 1: Verse 1: How are you doing?” So, keeping this in mind, we are going to look at 1 Corinthians 13, what we call “The Love Chapter.”
Let’s take a sidebar here and talk about that word, Love. You see, the ancient Greeks felt it was important to distinguish the various types of love, so they had 4 words for love:
Éros (ἔρως érōs) – Eros is obviously the root word for “erotic,” but it does not describe sexual love only, it actually describes all emotional love; the feeling of love. Eros love is that insatiable desire to be near the target of this love. The exciting, passionate, nervous feelings that sweep over people in the appropriate circumstances. This is the love that says “I love how you make me feel.” The word Eros does not appear in the Bible.
Philia (φιλία philía) – Philos love, or brotherly/friendship love, is the next kind. Philos describes the love between two people who have common interests and experiences. Philos is half about the circumstances, and half about the commitment of two people to one another; it says “I love who we are together.”. Philos is the root word for the word Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. It is commonly used in the New Testament, as in Matt. 10:37, John 12:25, and Revelation 3:19.
Storge (στοργή storgē) – Storgy is the love that one has for a dependent. It is commonly called “motherly love.” When the dependent is no longer dependent, this love remains only in its emotional remnants. It is one of the stronger loves because it involves a commitment that relies on only one trait of the receiver – that he or she is dependent.
Agápe (ἀγάπη agápē) – Agape love is the final of the four loves we look at here. Agape love is entirely about the lover and has nothing whatsoever to do with the one loved. Agape love, in its purest form, requires no payment or favor in response. Agape is the word used for God’s love for us (as in the book of I John, John 3:16) and the love we are commanded to have for one another (in Matt. 5:44, I Cor. 13). This lack of input from the recipient makes it possible for us to love our enemies even though we may not like them or the situation they have put us in – because Agape love is not in any way dependent on circumstances; it says “I love you because I choose/commit to.” Unlike eros or Philos, Agape creates a straight line that neither fades nor grows in its perfect form (which of course only exists from God outward). And this is the word used in 1 Corinthians 13, which we will be studying.
So, to fully understand 1 Corinthians 13, in context, we must first have studied the entire book of 1 Corinthians, as well as all of Paul’s other writings, the rest of the New Testament, and the rest of the Bible, not to mention, the original language, and what was going on in the world at that time, customs and traditions. Don’t worry, we’re not going to study the whole Bible…not all at once anyway.
But, since it is all written as a letter, let’s start at chapter 12 verse 31 which is the introduction to chapter 13. Chapter 12 is talking all about the different gifts of the Holy Spirit, and comparing them to the parts of the Body of Christ, making special note that we all have different gifts. Continuing that thought Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 12:31 “So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.” In some translations, it says “let me show you a more excellent way.” Which leads into chapter 13verse 1, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
Okay, he has been talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and especially the gifts of tongues, because the church at Corinth had blown that one gift way out of proportion. They were trying to say, as many today still do, that every Christian would have the gift of tongues, but Paul was showing them why that is not true. Notice I said “gifts” of tongues, plural. The Bible describes 3 different gifts of tongues. The gift of speaking other languages that you have never learned, as in Acts chapter 2, the gift of prophetic tongues which requires an interpreter, as in 1 Corinthians 14:27-28, and the third type of tongues is a prayer language, 1 Corinthians 14:15-17. But, here in verse 1, he says, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” So, what he’s saying at the beginning of this section of his letter is, even if I possessed all three gifts of tongues, but didn’t love others, I’m just making a lot of noise. The Greek word translated here as noisy is, echeo {ay-kheh’-o}, which is translated as “noisy”, or in the KJV, “sounding”. It is also translated once in the Bible as roaring in Luke 21:25. When you read this verse, you see it isn’t talking about roaring like a lion, it’s talking about roaring, like waves. Have you ever heard roaring waves? Lions are loud, but waves can be almost deafening.
We’ll start with verse 2 when we meet again. Between now and then, take the time to at least read 1 Corinthians, chapters 12 – 15, but read the whole book, if you can. I know…homework, right? But, if you are reading these blogs, you must want to see the Word for what it is, so increase that passion for the Word of God. See you next time.
A More Excellent Way – Part 2
Welcome back as we pick up where we left off last time. The next thing we see is in verse 2 where Paul goes on to say, “If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” Now he’s referring to the gifts of the Spirit he talked about in chapter 12. What he’s saying here is, even if I had the gifts of prophecy, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, or even the Spiritual gift of faith…you know, that mountain moving faith, but I didn’t have an Agape love for others, I WOULD BE NOTHING! Spiritual gifts are great and we should find out which ones we have and use them for the glory of God, but if they are not used out of God’s perfect love, they are worthless.
The Church today, as it has always been, is a church of extremes. We are either afraid to acknowledge the Holy Spirit and His gifts at all, or we put way too much emphasis on certain gifts. The gifts of the Spirit are truly important, and we need to use them to the glory of God, but only in love…perfect love…Agape Love.
In verse 3 he says, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” We see this all the time with celebrities, they rally behind some cause, but just for the photo op. But, it’s the same way with so many of us. We think we are doing good because we give to the poor, or make sacrifices for the less fortunate, but if we don’t do it out of love, all we end up with is bragging rights.
So, let’s sum up these first 3 verses? It doesn’t matter who you are, what your gifts are, or what you do for your community or the world. If you don’t do it out of love, godly love, it is worthless and all you are doing is making a whole lot of noise. I want to express this again, if you don’t have a relationship with God, you can’t fully understand His love. He loves us unconditionally…NO STRINGS ATTACHED! And if you haven’t yet experienced that perfect love, stop now…that’s right stop reading and take care of that, now. Nothing else is more important than having a right relationship with God.
In verse 4 Paul starts describing exactly what God’s love is. He says in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
So, let’s break this down.
Patience – Vs 4 “To be longsuffering, as opposed to hasty anger or punishment. To EXPERIENCE understanding and patience toward persons.
Proverbs 10:12“Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.”
Proverbs 17:9“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14“Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.”
1 Peter 4:8“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”
Kind – Vs 4
Ephesians 4:32“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
Not Jealous – Vs 4
Proverbs 14:30“A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.”
Does not brag and is not arrogant – Vs 4
1 Corinthians 4:6“Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.”
Does not act unbecomingly – Vs 5
Philippians 4:8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Does not seek its own – Vs 5
1 Corinthians 10:24“Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.”
Philippians 2:21“All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.”
Is not provoked – Vs 5
Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.”
Does not take into account a wrong suffered – Vs 5 An intentional wrong that was done
2 Corinthians 5:19“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.”
Does not rejoice in unrighteousness – Vs 6
Psalm 119:1-3“1How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their 3 They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways.”
We miss out on true love so often because we are so self-consumed. We are an arrogant generation, we are so self-absorbed that we can’t experience true love. We need to put ourselves, our pride, our jealousy aside and focus on God and His true Agape love.
We’ll finish this up next time by looking at the characteristics of Agape Love and how they can change our lives. See you then.
A More Excellent Way – Part 3
So, let’s wrap up this post on 1 Corinthians 13. We see in this next section, Paul lays out for us some of the characteristics of Agape love. It’s a litmus test of sorts, for us to see whether or not we have it. If we don’t, we can’t rest until we Get it. This love, this perfect Agape love, is a clear proof of our salvation, it’s proof of our regeneration, and is evidence of our faith in Christ. Take the time, when you are finished reading this, to read 1 John 4:7-21.
You see, this beautiful description of the nature and characteristics of love was intended to show the Corinthian church, and us, that the way they were behaving had, in many respects, been the opposite of God’s love. Remember, this was a letter to the church at Corinth… Agape love is the enemy to selfishness; it does not desire or seek its own praise, honor, profit, or pleasure. Not that agape love ignores itself, or that we should neglect ourselves and all our interests. But it never seeks its own to the hurt of others, or to neglect others. It always puts the welfare of others above its own advantage. Think about this, how awesome would Christianity appear to the world if those of us who profess the name of Christ, lived by this Divine principle! We need to ask ourselves whether this agape love lives in our hearts. Has it guided us in the way we treat others? Are we willing to lay aside our selfish ambitions? This chapter is a call to inner searching and prayer. Psalm 139:23-24“23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
There was a “church” I knew of in Florida. Notice the quotes, they called themselves a church, they claimed to Christians, but that is not how they lived. The pastor constantly preached hate and fear. Now, don’t get me wrong, we must fear God, the Bible tells us that over and over, in fact, the Bible tells us in Proverbs 9:10, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” We must have a reverent respect and fear of God. But, God sent Christ to die for our sins out of love…Agape Love. This man used to preach full sermons on the different groups he hates. After hearing him once, I went to him and told him that God doesn’t hate anyone, that He even loved Osama Bin Laden. He then proclaimed me a devil and asked me to leave. His “church” now consists of ten or twelve men, living in a compound in Northern Florida. But, the point is, we must love everyone as God does. We don’t have to accept what they believe, or condone their sin, but remember, we aren’t here to condemn their sin either, we’re just here to love them. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
Paul concludes this section with 1 Corinthians 13:8-13“8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”
I have heard pastors use this passage to say that the gifts of the Spirit are gone now. They “interpret” it as saying, when the Bible is complete, we won’t need the gifts anymore. Just another example of why we can’t interpret the Bible. When we take this in context and don’t try to twist it to fit our preconceived beliefs, we can clearly see that this is saying that love is the only Spiritual gift we will take to heaven with us. Look at it. In verse 8 he says that prophecies, tongues, and words of knowledge will become useless…when? Verse 9 & 10 tell us, “when the time of perfection has come.” When will we be perfect? Look at verse 12 again, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” When he compares what we see now to looking in a mirror, we need to think about what a mirror was at that time, just another way to keep it in context. The reason it was a “puzzling reflection”, or as the KJV says, “see through a glass dimly”, is because it wasn’t a mirror as we know it, it wasn’t a looking glass as they had when the KJV was translated, it was a piece of polished metal or bronze. Don’t you see, in today’s mirror it wouldn’t be a puzzling reflection, but that’s all they knew back then. Looking at yourself in polished metal isn’t very clear, but it will all be perfectly clear when we are in Heaven! When we are living in perfection we won’t need prophecy, we won’t need tongues, we won’t need words of knowledge because we will know everything completely.
Then he leaves us with verse 13 where he tells us that only three things will last forever; faith, hope, and love. In today’s church, we put so much emphasis on faith, and yet Paul tells us that the greatest of these is LOVE!
I want to take a minute to talk about a phenomenon that Social media has presented us with. It isn’t anything new, but social media has made it much more prevalent and, while it isn’t necessarily wrong, it is disturbing to some.
We’ve all seen them and many of us have “shared” and reposted them. You know exactly what I’m talking about, that picture of Noah’s Ark going through the storm with the words “If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.” and then to make it even better it says, “Share if you agree” to try to guilt you into sharing it. Somehow, you’re not a “real Christian” if you don’t share this cliché. Or even better, the ones that say, “Share if you agree, ignore if you don’t.” Seriously…you’re saying that if I don’t share your meme I disagree with it? Here’s where my dilemma lies. Most of these sayings do have a good meaning, and like the Scripture says in Isaiah 55:11, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” The problem is that we’ve reduced Christianity down to a list of clichés and memes.
Like I said, this isn’t anything new. Let’s look back to the 1990’s, that’s right, there was life before social media, we had the WWJD bracelets. These bracelets morphed into bumper stickers, t-shirts, jewelry, tattoos and everything else we could imagine. Again, the idea was good, reminding people to ask themselves “What Would Jesus Do” in every situation. This is what a disciple does. A disciple is a person who imitates the person they are following, and Christ told us to, not only be disciples but go out and make them, Matthew 28:19-20, “19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” If we are truly disciples of Christ, we would ask ourselves this question in every situation. But it was quickly reduced to just another fad. We’ve all seen it, being flipped off by the guy driving the car with the WWJD bumper sticker on it, or the lady at the mall spewing a line of obscenities that would make a sailor blush, all the while wearing her WWJD t-shirt. It even goes back further than that, though. In the 70’s we had the “Jesus is my co-pilot” and “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper stickers. My dad used to honk at every one of those, just to see how many of them would flip him off. But, do you see what I mean? When it becomes just another cliché, it loses its impact, on the one posting it, as well as the reader. Have you ever, out of curiosity, gone to the page of the one posting those memes? You will often find a lot of things that a Christ follower probably shouldn’t be posting.
I’m not saying that we should never “share” these things, or “re-pin” them, or re-tweet them. And, I don’t claim to have the answer for this phenomenon, I just wanted to put something out there to think about. I’m not necessarily against it, I’ve even “shared” some of them myself, I’m just saying we should think before we re-post. Before you click that mouse, think, is this really reaching people, or is it making us look a little like crazies in the eyes of the world. Ask yourselves, “What Would Jesus Do”.
We can, and should use social media as a tool to reach the lost, I’m just challenging all of us to maybe think of a more excellent way. Read 1 Corinthians 12:31 through 13:13, I know you have probably read this chapter before and quite possibly memorized it, but read it as if you’ve never read it before.
Sometimes we forget that the Bible wasn’t written in chapters and verses. What we call 1 Corinthians, Paul called his letter to the Church at Corinth. It was only cut up into chapters and verses to make it easier to find passages, so read it like a letter…that’s right, read the whole letter straight through. After you have done that go back to chapter 12, and start at the last verse, then read through chapter 13. Paul has just finished talking about Spiritual gifts and is now starting to focus on the gift of love, by the way, love is the only Spiritual gift that we will take to heaven with us, 1 Corinthians 13:8“Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!” This part of the letter starts out by saying, 1 Corinthians 12:31“So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.” Some translations put it “a more excellent way.” Then he says, Chapter 13, verse 1“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but don’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” So, what is the “more excellent way”? That’s right…Love.
So, when you are re-posting and retweeting, think about 1 Corinthians and ask yourself, is this a more excellent way. Again, I am not in any way saying that it is somehow a sin, or wrong to “share” these memes, but is it reaching anyone? Does it glorify God? Is it a more excellent way? Let’s all try to find new ways to use social media to show God’s love to all your “friends”. We’ll go into more depth on 1 Corinthians and that thing called love next time.
In the last couple of posts, entitled One Body, I challenged everyone to take a hard look at the doctrines that divide us. You see, although it is imperative that we unite as one body, we can’t just say, “forget doctrine and come together,” that would be wrong. But, we do need to take a hard look at the doctrines that divide us, because if it isn’t messing with salvation by grace through faith in Christ, then why are we arguing about it? So, these next three posts are looking at an example of one of those doctrines, in fact, this is a doctrine that I was entangled by for many years. We’re going to look at it and do our best to set aside everything we were ever taught about it and see what the Bible says in context.
There is a large following, among Christians, of a belief known as “dispensationalism”. This belief system dates back to the mid-1800’s and is attributed to John Darby. I was taught this my entire life, and bought into it for many years, until one day when I started realizing what the Bible really says. This belief, however well followed, is simply not scriptural. This belief, among other things, teaches that there are 7 dispensations, or periods of time, the first 5 of which happened before Exodus chapter 19. The 5th dispensation is believed to have been when the Israelites in the Old Testament times were “under the dispensation of the law”. They claim that we now are in the 6th dispensation, where Christians today are “under the dispensation of grace”. They believe this will last until the end of the Great Tribulation and will be followed by the 7th dispensation, “The Kingdom Dispensation”.
First, let’s look at the word that was translated, in the KJV, as “dispensation”. It only appears twice in the original scriptures, in Ephesians 3:2, and Colossians 1:25. Those who follow the belief of dispensationalism believe that the word means, a period of time, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The word in these two verses which was translated in the KJV as “dispensation” is the Greek word oikonomia (oi-ko-no-mē’-ä) which means, “The office of a manager or overseer, stewardship; Administration.” So, had Darby bothered to look at the original language, he would have realized what these verses were talking about.
Ephesians 3:2 (KJV)
“2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:”
Ephesians 3:2 (NASB)
“2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;”
Colossians 1:25 (KJV)
“25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;”
Colossians 1:25 (NASB)
“25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,”
As we can see, it’s not a time period of grace in Ephesians 3:2, it’s the stewardship of God’s grace that we were entrusted with. Again, it Colossians 1:25, it’s not a period of time that God bestowed on us, it is our stewardship God has bestowed on us. So many pastors will tell you, “They were under the Law in the Old Testament, but we are under Grace.” That is simply unfounded, and just another example of people trying to interpolate the scriptures to fit their preconceived beliefs.
Do you see how it changes the meaning of these verses when you mistranslate just one word? This is an example of why we must do the work of studying, 2 Timothy 2:15“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth”. When the writers of the KJV translated that word in 1611, the word dispensation meant something else. In the 1800’s, when Darby invented the theology of dispensationalism, he didn’t go to the original language, he just used the current meaning of the word.
This illustrates why it is imperative that we get a translation of the Bible that we can understand. In fact, the seventy men who translated the Latin Bible into English for King James in 1611, wrote a preface to the work, and in it, talked about how language changes over time and that it is imperative that we get a translation we can understand.
The Israelites of the Old Testament were not saved by keeping the law, they tried to make it about that, because that’s what we humans do. We always want to make it about what we do, as if we’re in control, somehow. To this day people are trying to make salvation about doing good works or keeping the law, but scripture makes it eminently clear that salvation has never been about works. Here are a few of the verses, but you really need to read all of Romans chapters 3 and 4 as well.
Habakkuk 2:4
“4Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.” Note the Old Testament reference.
Romans 3:19-20
“19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”
Romans 3:27-31
“27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. 29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.”
Romans 4:1-5
“1Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, ‘Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.’ 4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.”
Romans 4:13-15
“13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)”
Romans 4:20-25
“20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.”
In our next installment, we will look more into the place faith has in the life of a Christ follower, both now, and in the Old Testament. See you then.
An Example – Part 2
Why We Must Keep the Bible in Context
So, we’ve talked a lot about the belief of dispensationalism, and the fact that it is not scripturally based, so let’s look at the part faith plays now, and in the Old Testament. In Galatians 3:6 we read, “6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” and in Galatians 3:8 “8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” Did you catch that? “God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago.”
But, I need to stop here for a minute. Because, there are a lot of people out there preaching, simple faith…saying that all you need is faith. Here’s the problem with that, faith alone is simply not enough, look at James 2:19, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” You see, it must be a life-altering faith which is evident in our works, James 2:26“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” We are not saved by our works, but we are saved for good works. Matthew 5:16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Christ goes on to tell us that He didn’t come to do away with the law but to fulfill it. He also talked about how important it is for Christians to keep the law. Do you see the order? We follow Christ first, then we keep the law. We don’t follow Christ by keeping the law.
Hebrews 11:1,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,13,17-28
“1Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”
“4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.”
“5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.”
“6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
“7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.”
“8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.”
“9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.”
“11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.”
“13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.”
“17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,”
“18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” “19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.”
“20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.”
“21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.”
“22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.”
“23 It was by faith that Moses’parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.”
“24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.”
“25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.”
“26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.”
“27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.”
“28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.”
James 2:19-26
“19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. 25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”
Okay, there is just so much scripture on this subject, and, although I can’t cover it all. But, it is extremely clear that salvation has always been about a life changing faith in Christ…even before He came to earth. In the Old Testament, they were not saved by keeping the law, they were saved by their faith in the coming Messiah, but they had to demonstrate that faith by making the sacrifices. There is still a lot I want to cover, so let’s meet back here to finish this up.
An Example – Part 3
Why We Must Keep The Bible In Context
Okay, let’s finish this one up. In Galatians 2:11-21 it says,“11 But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? 15 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Also in Galatians 3:6-9 “6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” (Genesis 12:3)9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.” And, again in Galatians 3:15-4:7 “15 Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. 19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
4 1Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
I realize that this is a lot of scripture to digest, but I don’t ever want anyone to think this is my opinion or my interpretation. This is the word of God and, as such, is irrefutable. God does not now, nor has He ever, awarded salvation in exchange for good works. Even the sacrifices of the Old Testament didn’t save them. The sacrifices were a symbol of the coming Messiah, and salvation came from their faith in the coming Messiah. We cannot be good enough to get into heaven, and neither could the Hebrews of the Old Testament. Paul made it clear that the law was never intended for salvation, but it was to show us how much we need God.
I know this one might be a little controversial for some, but please, study it out and see what the scripture says about this and any other doctrine you were taught by people. I John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.” So, don’t just blindly believe the doctrine you have been taught, and don’t just blindly believe me. You are charged with doing the work…study it out but keep it in context, then let me know what you find. I’d love to hear from you.
When you read through the New Testament you will find a few key themes. One of the most common themes in the New Testament is unity of the Church. In fact, the New Testament repeatedly compares the Church to a body and even calls us the Body of Christ. For example, in Ephesianschapter 4, where Paul is talking about pastors and says in verse 12, “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” And again just a few verses later in verse 15 where he says, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” And back in verse 13, he says, “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” We will never measure up to Christ’s standard until we are united, as one body. Let me be clear here, in order for anyone to be part of this Body they must first trust in Christ. Acts 4:11-12 says,“11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Yes, we need to all be united, as one Body, under one Savior and must agree that salvation comes by God’s grace through faith in what Christ did on the cross. We can disagree on anything else, although if we all stop trying to interpret the Bible and start taking it literally, in context, as a whole, we won’t disagree on nearly as much.
One great example of this is in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 where we find Paul talking about the gifts of the Spirit. Here Paul was having issues with the church at Corinth claiming that there were certain gifts that all Christians must have, a claim that some still make to this day. In this part of his letter, he is explaining that we can’t all have the same gifts, so he uses this analogy of the Body to explain the gifts. In the first eleven verses, he explains how one Spirit gives all the gifts, as seen in verses 4 and 5, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.” So, no one gift is greater than another, they are all given by the same Spirit to serve the same Lord. Then in verses 12 through 31 he goes on to talk about the different parts of the Body and how these gifts fit in. He starts out in verse 12 by saying, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.” Then, over the next 15 verses, he talks about how these gifts relate to the parts of the body and how the Church couldn’t survive if everyone was a mouth, or if everyone was a hand. We must take the gifts that God has given us and work with them. So, if your gift is teaching, you shouldn’t say I wish my gift was healing. You must be the best teacher you can be for Christ. Verse 27 says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” Think about your own body. You know that if you put your hand on the stove when it’s turned on, it will burn. But, what if your hand chose not to believe that? Will your hand not get burned, simply because it chose not to interpret pain as something else? Of course not. We all have different gifts, but we are all part of the same body, so we must work together in order to function. So, if anyone ever tells you that you must have a certain gift to be a real believer, take them to this passage.
Paul also uses The Lord’s Supper to demonstrate unity. In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 it says, “16When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? 17And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.” For this reason, in our Church gatherings, we always used one loaf of communion bread instead of the little wafers. Of course, I’m not saying that this is a biblical mandate, I just liked to use it to remind our local Body about unity every time we observed The Lord’s Supper.
Unity in the human body is extremely important, but the unity of the Body of Christ is even more important. Check in on Thursday as we conclude this discussion in my next installment.
One Body-Part 2
Continuing where we left off last time, in Ephesians 2:14-16 Paul tells us that Christ used His death on the cross to unite us into one Body, “14For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.” And, again in Ephesians 3:6“And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.” So, let’s talk about prejudice…Yep, I’m going there. I have known people who call themselves Christians and are prejudice against people of different races. I have even been in churches and heard pastors make racist remarks and try to justify it with the Bible. If you are a Christ follower, there are only two types of people; saved and lost. If they are saved, we are part of the same body and must love them. If they are lost, the only hope we have of winning them to Christ is if we love them. There is no place for hate in the Christian life.
I sat through a sermon one time where the pastor kept repeating I Hate Catholics. After the service, I went to him and said, “God doesn’t hate Catholics, in fact, God doesn’t hate anyone. He didn’t even hate Osama Bin Laden. God loved him so much, He sent His son to die for him. But God was sad that he chose not to follow Him.” You see, God loves us all equally. There isn’t a person on this earth that Christ didn’t die for. C.S. Lewis said it best when he said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals who we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit.” Everyone you meet on the street has an immortal soul, and that’s what we should be looking at. We should have compassion on them and pray for them. The Bible never says that they will know we are Christians by our steeple, or by our stained-glass windows, but Jesus did say in John13:35, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” They will know we are Christians by our Love!
And, of course, every body must have a head to survive. Colossians 1:18 says, “Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.” And in Colossians 2:19“and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.” The body can survive without a lot of its parts, but not without a head. Christ is the head of the Church, He is the head of His body. Because He is our head, we must go where the head leads, we must do what the head tells us to do, and we must honor the head. The unity of the Church is dependent on Christ and is because of Christ. Colossians 1:22“Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” We appear holy and blameless before God because of what Christ did on the cross. We should all be willing to suffer for the body like our head suffered for the body. Paul considered it an honor to be able to suffer for the body, Colossians 1:24“I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.” The Bible never says we will have an easy life here on earth, in fact, it says the exact opposite. In 2 Timothy 3:12 it says, “Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” And, also in John 16:33 it says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” So, when we suffer, not if we suffer, we need to have Paul’s attitude toward it and glory in the fact that we can suffer for the body of Christ.
Because we are part of the Body with Christ as the head, we must be thankful because we have a peace that surpasses the ability to understand it. Colossians 3:15“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” Also in Ephesians 2:14, “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”
We’ve all heard sermons on 2 Chronicles 7:14, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” But, we must take this passage seriously. “If my people”, this is a call to the body, not just part of it, but all of it. You may grow your church, you may become a mega church, and you will probably bring people to Christ along the way. But, if we have any chance of changing our world, we must unite as the body of Christ, and humble ourselves and pray, we must seek His face and turn from our wicked and divisive ways. Then, and only then, will He hear our prayer, forgive our sin, and heal our land. We like to blame all the problems of the world on everyone else, but the truth is we, the Church, are at fault! We are to blame for the immorality, we are to blame for our nation turning away from God, we are even to blame for groups like Isis getting a stronghold on the world. If we truly want to be world changers, we must repent and unite as one body.
I’d like to end this with Paul’s words, Ephesians 4:1“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.” If you are a Christ follower, you have been called by God for a purpose. We must live worthy of that high calling. To do so, we must put aside our petty differences and unite for one cause, for the glory of one God, by the power of one Spirit, under one head…Christ!
Cathedral Made of People 