Walking Worthy of the Calling – Part II (1)

 

My attention has been drawn to Ephesians 4:17 – 5:21 of late, and as I ponder this passage it strikes me that one of its enemies is the Christian religion as it is practiced in North America. O I’m pretty sure that the practice of Christianity elsewhere is also a barrier in understanding and practicing this passage, but since I live in North America, and particularly in a nation that has the notion that it is, or has been, a “Christian” nation, I had better confine myself to writing about the milieu I live in. I suppose I also ought to acknowledge that I don’t know enough about Mexico, which is in North America, to include our neighbors to the south in my thinking; though I know enough to know that its relationship with Christianity and the established church has been problematic.

 

You see, the difference between what we think Christianity is and what the Bible says it is, is wide and deep, but we are so enculturated that we can’t see it and when we read a passage such as Ephesians 4:17 – 5:21 we gloss over it because we think we know what we’re reading. In other words, we think we know what it means, what it looks like, to live as a Christian. Because we think we know so much, so very much, we don’t submit ourselves to the Biblical text because we think we know what the text says and we think our hearts and minds are in reasonable harmony with the text.

 

One of the reasons we think we know what the text says is that our culture, including our church culture, has erected an image of a “good Christian” that overshadows the Biblical image of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Predispositions are a barrier to reading a text, and pre-drawn conclusions inoculate us against the text working within our souls.

 

Can this be true?

 

“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.” Ephesians 5:17 – 19.

 

What do you see in this passage? Is this a component of how you view life? Of how you view the world and the people around you? Read the passage carefully.

 

What perspective of the Church and the world does Paul have? How does he view the relationship of the Church and the world? What can we learn about these things from this passage? Why is this important?

 

What does Paul mean when he uses the word “Gentiles” in this passage? Does he mean “non-Jews” or does he mean something else? What does Paul mean when he uses the word “walk”?

 

Were the Gentiles “walking” with a shuffle? Were they walking fast? Were they walking slow? Were they walking backwards? Were they walking with long strides or short strides? Or is the answer “none of the above”?

 

Since we determine the meaning of a word by its context, how is the word “walk” of Ephesians 4:17 used in context? In 4:1 Paul wants his readers to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” In 5:2 they are to “walk in love.” Does this help us understand what Paul means by the word “walk” in 4:17?

 

Now I realize that some translations substitute the word “live” in place of “walk,” but this is a mistake because “walk” is simply the English word that not only comes the closest to the Greek word that Paul uses, it is the exact equivalent to the word that Paul uses. Walking is an image embedded in Paul’s writing, indeed in the Bible, and we do not have a warrant to remove this image; it is an image of action, an image of pilgrimage. Of course the Scriptures speak to us of how to live and this image of walking is such an image, but it is a specific image, an image that God has given to us – and we ought to guard it, keep it, treasure it, and have it embedded in our souls. As the Aussies might say, we are to go on a “walkabout” with Jesus.

 

We are to go on this “walkabout” together, and we see this from the context of Ephesians. Ephesians is a letter written to a people. Chapter 4 is written to a people, just look at verses 1 – 16; they are all about a people and about individual members of Christ being joined to Him as His Body; “from whom [Christ] the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (4:16).

 

We’ll come back to the word “Gentiles” in the next post in this series. In the meantime, what does it mean?

 

Am I on a walkabout with my brothers and sisters?

 

Are you?

 

N.B. You will note that this is Part II of Walking Worthy of the Calling. Part I has not been written. I don’t know if it has not been written “yet” or if it will never be written, I can’t see that far ahead. I do know that treating Ephesians 4:1 – 16 will require much time, and right now my burden is Ephesians 4:17ff, but let’s remember that the context of 4:17ff is the People of God, the Body of Christ – we are to be on walkabout together.

 

Also, as much as I love small groups, generally speaking, if small groups are not “walking” together, or, as Bonhoeffer might say, “If they are not sharing life together,” they are falling short of the koinonia in walkabout that they are called to experience. If our small groups are only meeting for an hour or two a week, there is little to bond the relationships, and little opportunity to really experience relationship and practice what they are learning while sitting together. It is all well and good to sit together for an hour or two, but if we don’t walk together as a way of life, we fall short of Biblical koinonia in Christ. This is also true of Sunday schools, and it is, of course, also true of local congregations – an hour or two together on Sunday morning does not make a church, a people, or a walkabout with our brothers and sisters.

A Ski Trip - Continued

  

I sent George Bowers's article (see previous post) to another friend of mine, Joe Bobb (Joe and his wife Sharon are longtime Navigators). Below are Joe’s observations

 

From Joe to me:

 

No pain no gain it is said, but the Germans also say, “Sport ist Mord”. (Sport is death). Yes, both fear & pride get in the way on the skis slopes of life as well as learning to walk by faith in Christ.

 

But this story reminds me of the exact same decisions I had to make numerous times while skiing the Alps in Austria. The trails, however, are clearly marked for beginners, intermediate, and advanced skiers. For me, however, after skiing for 17 years in Europe I only progressed to what I call the “advanced beginner” category. So I usually remained on the side of fear or caution when making those decisions. But even though I was 30 years old when I took it up, it was amazing how much progress I made after I decided to take ski instructions! I waisted many hours and inflicted numerous injuries by trying to learn on my own.

 

Which is similar to learning to walk by faith as a believer. Dying to self is hard. But is a pre-requisite to life. We don’t like to submit to spiritual training even after death. Our pride still gets in the way. We think we can do it ourselves without instruction. Think Paul said, “Be ye followers of me even as I am of Christ”! Trial and error produces much more progress with less failure when we first watch, follow others instructions, imitate, and then try it by ourselves. And better yet, un the community of believers . . . much like joining a ski school of others with a trained instructor!

 

 

Probably one element to learning that I left out was “correction”. And who likes even a ski instructor to tell them that they are doing something fundamentally wrong? And those who think they don’t need it (like I didn’t), suffer the consequences. A few of us stubborn, proud, hard heads might be self-taught, but it takes us much longer and we develop bad habits and poor technique that are later much harder to correct.

 

And yet within a community of believers, we so often isolate ourselves, neglect or refuse to obey the Word, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, and don’t listen to fellow followers of Christ, 2 Tim 4: 1-4, that are clearly given to us by God to help correct us along life’s path.

A Ski Trip To Remember

My friend George Bowers writes a weekly column for the Northern Virginia Daily. Below is this week's offering. Tomorrow I'll have some observations another friend of mine made on George's excellent piece.

Enjoy!

Bob

 A Ski Trip To Remember

by: George Bowers

 

Although it seemed to take longer than normal to get here, winter has certainly arrived in the Shenandoah Valley as evidenced by snow cover and single digit temperatures. Such frigid conditions set the stage for some excellent skiing, or so I’m told.

 

My last skiing excursion was during my college days years ago. The Virginia Tech Agricultural Education Society usually took a ski trip each year providing great opportunities for fellowship and pain. On this particular trip, the AES visited Winterplace in West Virginia for an evening of recreation.

 

Since we could invite friends, I did. As Mark and I were riding up on the ski lift, we saw below us a more advanced slope. The gentle downhill path continued to the left with an alternative slope to the right that dropped like a meteor. We discussed the stupidity required to take it.

 

During our discussion, however, Mark suggested we try it. When I objected on the basis of good sense and prolonged life, he mentioned something about cowardly chickens. I did not want to wear those feathers.

 

When the lift dumped us out at the top, Mark and I got separated as we both started down the gentle upper portion of the route. As I meandered down the mountainside alone, I came to that point where two slopes diverged in a dark grey wood.

 

What would I choose? As I deliberated, I determined that nobody was going to call me chicken. So in a moment of temporary insanity, I veered right and dropped off the edge of the earth.

 

In no time, I was traveling faster than a speeding bullet. The frosty air stung my cheeks and my scarf flew horizontally behind me. I simultaneously experienced great exhilaration and extreme terror. Since my skiing skills had not advanced beyond snowplowing and since there was little or no snow to plow, all I could do was squint and pray on the slick ice.

 

As I sped along with my life passing before me, I promised God that if He got me safely to the bottom, I would never make that same mistake again. He did and I haven’t. Somehow or the other, I stayed upright and miraculously arrived at the lodge below.

 

A little later in the evening as I was still praising God for sparing my life and limbs, I bumped into Mark. I asked how he liked the black diamond. “Oh man, I got to the top of that hill and decided there was no way I was ever going to do that.”

 

While I don’t remember my exact words I think they included a reference to poultry. I felt a bit superior about having conquered that same fear, but I also felt a lot angry at him for not following through with his own dare.

 

As I reflected on this later, however, I realized how I had let pride nearly destroy me. My determination to avoid the label of scaredy-cat could easily have resulted in numerous broken bones or worse. Pride overcame good sense and resulted in very foolish actions.

 

I wish I could say that was the last time that happened. Too often our vanity and ego get the better of us and cause us to take very dangerous routes. They may not be physical slopes as mine was that evening, but instead, they may even be worse in areas of integrity or morality.

 

God gave us common sense and good judgment for a reason and we endanger both ourselves and others whenever we allow pride to overpower it. As Solomon wisely observed in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” In my case it was nearly literal.

 

As we enjoy watching the professional skiers at the Olympics and as others enjoy the local slopes, let’s remember the slippery slopes of pride and avoid them with God’s help. Blessings, George

 

 

Reading Ephesians Six and the Armor of God

  

Yesterday afternoon a friend was talking with me about Ephesians 6:10ff and the armor of God. During our conversation he directed my attention to the section immediately before it, particularly 6:4, “Fathers, do not provide your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline of the Lord.”

 

My friend led me into an “Aha moment,” for I saw that unless our relationships are godly and healthy, beginning with marriage in Ephesians 5:22, that we are kidding ourselves if we think we can engage in the spiritual warfare of 6:10ff. When our relationships with others are out of the will of God we are vulnerable – and any armor we put on is likely to be ill-fitting and penetrable – we simply cannot gloss over disobedience in our relationships with impunity.

 

As we continued to talk, I was reminded of how we typically have an image of the armor of God passage that may be inaccurate, since we tend to visualize one person standing in isolation and being clothed with armor. Would the first century reader or hearer have had this image, or would the image have been that of a group of soldiers standing or moving in close formation? Consider that Greco - Roman warfare consisted of troops moving and fighting in formation as a unit, as one man.

 

This is not only a way of ancient warfare, such as the Greek phalanx and the maneuvers of the Roman legions, it has been the key to much warfare through the centuries, including the British square which broke Napoleon’s cavalry at Waterloo and the intricate maneuvers of units in the American Civil War, which required hours upon hours of drill prior to battle.

 

Beyond what the eye can see in terms of military formations, there is what the eye cannot see, and that is the camaraderie which exists in many military units. As students of military history know, soldiers often fight and die for their units, for the men they live with day in and day out, for those they have trained with and experienced hardship with, for those they have come to know… rather than for their country or other ideals.

 

A few years ago, the American army had a recruiting program titled “An Army of One.” The message seemed to be that if you enlisted in the army that you would be made into a super-solider and become an army in and of yourself. I suppose this was modeled after a comic book or movie super “hero.” Having served in the U.S. Army, and being a student of military history, I considered this an ill - advised recruiting idea.

 

Why? Because unit adhesion is pretty much everything in a healthy military unit, morale and camaraderie are essential; therefore training soldiers to have “an Army of one” mentality isn’t the smartest idea.

 

The image of a lone soldier is not likely to have been the first century image of Ephesians 6:10ff (any more than a football player visualizes himself as alone on the field facing an opposing team all by himself), but the fact that it is often our image betrays how we view ourselves and others in the Body of Christ and our local congregations.

 

What are the consequences of our misreading Ephesians 6:10ff? What are the results of our faulty image of a lone soldier standing by himself?

 

John 15:12 – 14; 1 John 3:16

 

 

 

Searching for Others

 

What is the measure of a person’s life? I suppose there are different ways to answer that question, but I have to think that one critical measure is whether it can be said of us, as it was said of Barnabas, and also of Onesiphorus, “He searched for others.”

 

In Acts Chapter 11 we read that when the church in Jerusalem heard that a church was forming in Antioch that they “sent Barnabas off to Antioch.” In Antioch 11:24 we see that “he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” while in Acts 4:36 we learn what while this man’s name was actually Joseph, that he was called Barnabas by the apostles, “which translated means Son of Encouragement.” What better person to send to Antioch to encourage a group of believers young in Christ? Teaching sound doctrine is good, teaching sound doctrine in a spirit of encouragement is better. Also, when I consider the cosmopolitan nature of Antioch, what a marvelous choice Barnabas was, for he no doubt focused on our unity in Jesus Christ as new creations rather than allowing differences in ethnicity to sow seeds of distinctions and division.

 

Things were going well in Antioch, in Acts 11:24 we see that “considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.” But something was missing, or better yet, someone was missing. And so off goes Barnabas to find the missing person, “And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul [Paul], and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.”

 

This was sweet for Antioch, and it was sweet for Paul. Can we picture Paul’s reaction when he hears a knock on his door in Tarsus, opens it, and sees Barnabas standing before him? Years before, when Paul came to Jerusalem after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, wanting to meet with the disciples in Jerusalem but finding that they would not meet with him “because they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:11); it was Barnabas who “took hold of him and brought him to the apostles” (Acts 9:27). Now here was Barnabas once again, but this time instead of taking Paul to meet the apostles in Jerusalem, Barnabas would take Paul to meet young believers in Antioch, now Barnabas would put Paul to work.

 

We can only conjecture the “what ifs” when we think of Barnabas and Paul. What if Barnabas had not taken Paul to meet the apostles in Jerusalem? What if Barnabas had not taken the initiative and sought out Paul and then taken him to Antioch? When Barnabas introduced Paul to the apostles, he might as well have said, “Brothers, let me introduce you to what will become a good measure of what will be known as the New Testament.”

 

When Barnabas introduced Paul to the Christians in Antioch he might as well have said, “Brothers and sisters, this man, who in times past consented to the murder of Stephen and persecuted us, will one day be murdered for his own faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ, and indeed to us all. This man will encourage us as we face rejection and persecution, and he will teach us to love Jesus and to love one another – indeed, this man will one day write Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 1 and so much more.”

 

What if there had been no Barnabas?

 

Then we come toward the end of Paul’s life, as he is confined to a Roman prison. Wat do we read in what is his final known letter to Timothy?

 

“The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me – the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day – and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.” 2 Timothy 1:16 – 18.

 

“Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.” 2 Timothy 4:19.

 

In Paul’s early Christian life, he had an encourager named Barnabas, in the waning season of his life he had another encourager, a “refresher,” named Onesiphorus. They both sought Paul and found him, and while Barnabas took Paul to Antioch to refresh others, Onesiphorus brought refreshment to Paul.

 

(Let’s recall what Paul wrote to Philemon from prison, “For I have come to have joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.” Philemon 1:7. Are we refreshing “the hearts of the saints,” or are we sowing seeds of anxiety, depression, fear, and discord? Must others come behind us and pull up the weeds we have sown? Are we known as those who “refresh the hearts of the saints?)

 

Onesiphorus made it a point to search for Paul in Rome; his friendship with Paul was not contingent on fair weather, nor was it dependent on what others thought of Paul, including the Roman government or powerful religious leaders, nor was it dependent on what Paul could give to him (Paul had already given everything to him).

 

Onesiphorus was “not ashamed” of Paul’s chains, he was not ashamed to be associated with Paul and identified as a friend of a prisoner of Rome, for that prisoner was first and foremost a prisoner of Jesus Christ. (See Eph. 3:1, 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:8; Philemon 1:1, 9). Indeed, Paul had been a prisoner of the Lord since encountering Christ on his way to Damascus.

 

For all Onesiphorus knew, his finding Paul in prison cold lead to his own imprisonment – but he searched for Paul and found him. We don’t know how long the search took, but the very world “search” indicates that he wasn’t able to look Paul’s address up on the Internet or in a phone book or a city directory. Onesiphorus could have given up after his first few attempts, but he kept searching.  If Onesiphorus did get discouraged in his search we aren’t told of it, but we do know that discouragement when searching for someone or something is natural – there is no shame in facing discouragement, but can the same be said for giving up?

 

Do we ever think when searching for others, or seeking to help others, “Well, with all these obstacles it must not be God’s will for me to try to do this, I give up”? Suppose Onesiphorus had had this attitude? Suppose he had given up his search for Paul?

 

We know a lot about Barnabas, we don’t know as much about Onesiphorus, but we know what God wants us to know, and what we know of both men should be a challenge to us.

 

Who are we encouraging today? Who are we seeking out to refresh?

 

What prisons are people living in today, prisons which discourage others from visiting? Prisons of fear, doubt, anxiety, uncertainty, rejection, sickness, ostracism, inequity, homelessness, hunger? Are there “strangers in a strange land” that desperately need friendship and acceptance, someone to talk with them and walk with them after losing home and country and all that is familiar?

 

Dear, dear friends, there are prisons all about us, all around us, and Jesus tells us that visiting hours are 24/7.

 

Will our names be linked to Barnabas and Onesiphorus in that great Book of Heaven?

 

On that Day when we stand with others before our Lord Jesus, will there be a voice in the crowd that calls YOUR name, and says, “When I was in prison ______ sought me out and was not ashamed of me”?

 

Much love,

Bob Withers

The Real Deal - A Reminder

 The post below, originally written in mid-2020, seems like a good follow up to the "Our Father" post earlier this week. 

In the midst of the pandemic and social and economic uncertainty, I’ve been deeply burdened for my brothers and sisters in Christ – as well as for all the peoples of the world. This past week I wrote a group of my brothers in Christ a letter – below is an excerpt. Maybe there is something here for you.

 

 Dear Brothers,

 

Last week Bill ______ called and said, in essence:

 

 “Bobby, I’ve been reading Revelation. For years I haven’t liked reading Revelation because I’ve always been told that it is doom and gloom. But all of a sudden I just realized that it isn’t doom and gloom for me, because I am a child of God. There are good things in Revelation for me, not bad things – and for the first time ever I am enjoying reading Revelation. I just wanted to share this with you.”

  

I rejoiced with my friend Bill as I heard the excitement in his voice, and I rejoiced in his renewed vision that, in Jesus Christ, he is a son of the Living God.

  

More than anything else, I want us to know how much God loves us – I want us to know this in a raw, real, no-holds-barred way. I want us to know this in a way that grabs our guts and won’t let us go, In a way that will not allow us to let Christ go. I am reminded of a time in the Gospels when just about everyone turned away from Jesus, including many of His followers; Jesus looks around and sees just a few left and asks, “Are you leaving too?” Peter replies, “Where else can we go Lord? You have the words of eternal life.”

  

Men, God in Christ did not call us, nor does He want us, to live in insecure relationships with Him. God gets no joy out of fostering and promoting insecurity – He just doesn’t do it, and He sure doesn’t get any joy out of seeing His sons and daughters promoting insecurity among themselves – in fact, this practice is contrary to the Gospel and the Cross of Christ.

 

 God our Father did not call us to Christ, and give us  life in Christ, for us to worry about whether we are “good enough” for Him, to worry about whether He loves us, to worry about whether we’re going “to heaven” – He called us and gives us life in Christ so that we can get on with living – living in Christ, for Christ, for God’s glory, and for the blessing of others.

 

 Forget about trying to be good enough for God, give it up! Christ is good enough for all of us (the Biblical idea is “righteousness” and “holiness”). Let’s get on with life.

  

God’s love for us in Christ is unconditional, and once we have come into a relationship with the Trinity – however that may have come about in God’s grace and providence – we start learning what it means to live as the sons of the Living God, we can start living out our destiny in Jesus Christ………

 

 Boys, when we read the Bible we want to remind ourselves just what we are reading. When Bill is reading Revelation he knows the difference between passages written to the sons and daughters of God and ones written about those in rebellion against God. When we’re Matthew on Tuesday mornings we want to remember just who Jesus is talking to in these passages – sometimes He’s talking to His followers, sometimes to the religious leaders, sometimes to the people in general.

 

 Those of us with kids, what would you think if throughout your child’s life he or she kept asking you, “Are you sure I’m your son [or daughter]? Are you sure Mom is my Mom and you are my Daddy?” Suppose your kid asked you this when he was 5, and 10, and 20, and 40, and 50? Suppose this question never went away? What would your father – child relationship look like? How much fun would it be? How much love could you share? What shared experiences could you enjoy? How would you feel if, when on your deathbed, the last words you were heard were, “Are you really my father?”

 

 Boys, the Bible is clear that when we come into a relationship with God that we become the sons of God – God’s very life comes to live in us, His love comes to live in us, our souls undergo a change, our spirits come alive – we ain’t the same as we used to be. Yes, we’re still “in process” as they say – but isn’t that a sign of life? We become the brothers of Jesus Christ.

 

 Now then, if this is true, which it is – then let’s learn to talk to one another as the sons of God and to read the Bible as the sons of God and seek to encourage one another as the sons of God – and not get confused as to just who Christ is and who we are in Christ - as Bill ____ realized, some passages are written about “family” and to “family” and some are written about the elements of the world that would destroy the “family”.

 

 Have you ever encountered a stronger and more lasting motivation in life than love? I haven’t. And we aren’t talking about a generic ambiguous “love” – we’re talking about the love of God in Jesus Christ – boys, when this love, God’s love – gets ahold of your gut you can’t live the same, you can’t think the same, you can’t spend your money the same, you can’t treat people the same, you can’t talk the same – and this love is in each one of us in Jesus Christ and when it starts to come out watch out – it just might be like an oil gusher in Texas!

 

 So let’s quit worrying about what we think we aren’t, and focus on who Jesus Christ is and who we are in Him. It is when we look for Him and see Him – and see Him in each other – that we experience transformation into His image.

 

 I love you, each of you, all of you…

 

 Bob Withers (Galatians 2:20; 6:14)

 

 Now here’s a little more:

 

 You may have noticed that, unlike my usual writing, I didn’t include Scripture references – I didn’t want to slow the process down. If you would like some Scripture passages about anything I’ve written above let me know and I’ll send you some.

 

 Then there is this, you should know me well enough for me not to write this, but just in case…

 

 I ain’t talking about cheap Christianity – I’m talking about a way of life in Christ that is a matter of life and death. I ain’t promoting a Dale Carnegie or Norman Vincent Peale or Joel Osteen feel-good cotton-candy way of thinking and living. I’m talking about following the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ and learning to die so others can live. I’m talking about living in holiness for Jesus and others – about denying ourselves for the sake of Christ and the Gospel and the blessing of others.

 

 Here’s the real deal boys, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16).

 

“Our Father"

 

 

“Jesus spoke to him first saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ When Peter said, ‘From strangers,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the sons are exempt. However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.’”  (See Matthew 17:24 – 27)

 

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven’…” (Matthew 6:9a).

 

How are you reading the Bible? As a stranger? As the equivalent of an employee? Or as a daughter or a son?

 

When you read the Scriptures, are you listening for the Voice of your heavenly Father? Can you hear Him speaking to your heart, your mind, your soul, your spirit? Can you sense the gentle brush of the Holy Spirit against your face, your inner person? Do you realize that your dear Lord Jesus is with you, and that He is with you as the Firstborn is with His siblings, His sisters and His brothers? (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:10 – 13; John 20:17).

 

Do we realize that the veil of the Temple has been rent in two, from top to bottom, and that we are called by the Trinity to live in the Holy of Holies as a Way of Life?

 

Sometimes we pay the tax so as not to offend. Indeed, perhaps we pay it many times so as not to offend – for who but sons and daughters understand the intimacy that we have with the Triune God? Who but His children know the cry, “Abba! Father!”? (Rom. 8:15 – 16; Gal. 4:6 – 7).

 

O how many times have we been in Sunday school classes and small groups and have heard the Bible read as if by strangers to it and to Him, have heard the Scriptures talked of as if they were a strange language from a stranger world? We often say nothing about this, lest we offend. Perhaps we can attempt to speak of Him as our Abba, our Daddy, our dear Father, but it can be hard, lest we offend. We meet professing Christians who speak to us of religion, of going to church, of religious programs, of the latest and greatest book or revelation or music or teacher – and they are so excited. But they do not speak of the Firstborn, the Lamb, His Word; they do not radiate 1 John 1:3 and its koinonia with the Father and Son. And so we say little, we nod our heads, we acknowledge what we hear; but we are careful, lest we offend.

 

We stand with congregations and pray “The Lord’s Prayer,” and yet at the very beginning, at the “Our Father,” it is as if we are collectively addressing a far-off figure in a far-off land who is even farther off Monday – Saturday. We can say little, if anything, lest we offend.

 

But are we, am I, are you, reading the Bible as a son or a daughter, are we hearing the sweet Voice of Abba speaking to us? If I read as a son I will hear my Father, I will hear because “he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” You, dear sister and you dear brother, our Father will speak to you, your Father will speak to you, through His holy Word, and the Holy Spirit will envelop you in eternal communion – and you will know the reality of 1 John 1:3 and Romans 8:15.

 

If we are in Christ Jesus, then we are not strangers and we are not employees or family servants, we are sons and daughters of our Father and the Bible is transposed upward into the transcendence of the Trinity so that we may hear the Voice of God speaking to us in intimacy, in love, in affection (yes, God has great affection for us!), in joy, and in peace which defies our comprehension.

 

Let us say, as we begin to read and mediate, “Holy Father, dear Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, speak to me through your Word. Let me please see You. Let me please hear You.”

 

And then, let us see how God will surprise us!

 

 

Is The Word Becoming Flesh? (4)

  

There is one final verse in Proverbs that I’ve asked us to consider in respect to obeying the Law of God, the Word of God:

 

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18.

 

Many of us may be familiar with an older English translation that reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Since an unrestrained people will perish in their lawlessness and profligacy, I can work with either translation.

 

What I want us to see is the place that keeping the law has in this verse. What does keeping the Word of God have to do with vision? Better yet, what does keeping the Law have to do with godly vision? There are many visions in the world, many visions in history, but not all visions are godly visions, not all visions are holy visions. In fact, I submit that only those visions birthed in obedience to the Law of God are visions that are godly, visions that are worth pursuing, visions that we ought to share with others.

 

Those who are perishing have visions, those who are unrestrained have visions – visions of power, sex, possessions, authority, fame; the devil has visions, the leaders of this world have visions – but only those who keep the Word of God, the Law of God, have visions that can provide direction, deliverance, and true destiny for people.

 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 Paul writes of “the mystery of lawlessness.” O dear friends, lawlessness is a wicked and hideous mystery beyond the pale of our understanding and full comprehension; but we can be certain of this, that is it rooted in Satan and is working its way in the world through the antichrist, the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; 1 John 2:15 – 18)) and that people, including those in the professing church, are rejecting the “love of the truth.”

 

Just as there is the Man of Righteousness, the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:11 – 16); so there is the “man of lawlessness” – the kingdoms of this world, all the kingdoms of this world (Psalm 2; Daniel 2), with lawlessness becoming ever so deeply ingrained in the people of the earth. (Please understand, when we speak of “lawlessness” that this encompasses all areas of life; political, moral, spiritual/religious – and their subsets; elections, government from the top down, entertainment, sports, family life, business, science, education, the judiciary, relations among nations and peoples, congregations, denominations, seminaries, universities – lawlessness touches every fiber of life and only Jesus Christ can protect us from it).

 

Now tell me, what greater apostasy can we imagine (2 Thess. 2:3) than the professing people of God imbibing the lawlessness of Satan, a lawlessness that reaches back long before human history, but that was introduced to us in Eden?

 

What a contrast to the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ; our Lord who was obedient to death on the Cross, our Lord who did not seek His own will or His own “rights” or His own prerogatives; but rather submitted Himself to the will of the Father and laid down His life for us.

 

O my dear friends, there may be many visions out there, but only vision born of obedience to the Law of God is enduing vision in Jesus Christ.

 

We cannot drink of the Lord’s Table and that of demons. We cannot eat the Bread of Christ and the bread of demons. (1 Cor. 10:14 – 22). We are not to be bound together with unbelievers; “for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). “Or what harmony has Christ with Belial?” (2 Cor. 6:16). “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Cor. 6:16).

 

We see much of the professing church descending into lawlessness. Let us be clear, the fact that so many professing Christians drink from the cup of the lawlessness means that we were already living lives of disobedience prior to certain events of the past few years (such as rejecting the image of God; living as we want, rather than in the holiness of Jesus Christ, in entertainment, sexuality, materialism, business practices; not investing ourselves – no matter the cost – in how our children (including at universities) are educated; not caring for the poor and needy), we had already substituted idols for the Holy Lamb Jesus Christ. It is not, I hope, too late for us to repent and become people of obedience to Jesus Christ. Our society needs us to be faithful to Jesus Christ, not to political agendas, not to so-called constitutional “rights” (as if a man or woman who belongs to Jesus Christ has “rights” – that is nonsense – we are the property of Another).

 

And if you are offended, how can that be? How can we be offended when someone implores us to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Jesus Christ…and Him alone? (Mark 8:34ff).

 

Hebrews 13:13 – 14; 2 Timothy 4:1 – 4

 

Much love in our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

Bob Withers

 

 

 

 

A Living Stone

 I wrote this two years ago; it continues to be my burden.

 

How foolish for a group of stones to say, “We need no cornerstone.”

 

Stones without a cornerstone, without the Master’s Plan,

Are but a pile of stones, rubble.

Many roll from one pile of rubble to another,

And we call each pile of rubble a church.

Only the Cornerstone gives life and order and purpose.

 

How foolish for a stone to say, “I am the Architect!”

How foolish for the stones to insist that they be placed where they desire.

How foolish for the stones to resist the work of the Stonemason.

How foolish for the stones to think the Cathedral is about them,

When it is to draw souls upward, to worship the True

And Living God.

 

Let us, in Him, be bound to one another.

Let us be a Place for Him to dwell.

Let us allow Him to fill His Temple with His glory.

Let us submit to the Master’s hand, the Master’s work,

The Master’s arrangement of all things for His glory.

 

 

(Ephesians 2:19 – 22; 1 Peter 2:4 – 8).