A Question or Two

 

 

In the ending of the movie, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Alec Guinness says something like, “What have I done?”

 

Maybe a time will come in America when the professing church says the same thing. When it will see that it has been building bridges on behalf of those who would enslave it and others. Maybe a time will come when pastors and other church leaders repent of leading their people outside a monogamous relationship with Jesus Christ and into promiscuous political, economic, and nationalistic alliances. Maybe we will return to our identity as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20). Maybe Jesus will once again be our All in all.

 

There are two women in Revelation. One is the pure and holy Bride of Christ, devoted to her Husband – no matter what, suffering for her faithfulness to Him, refusing to soil herself. The other is the Whore.

 

Now, dear friends…just how are we acting?

 

What are we teaching?

 

Who are we married to?

 

“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2–3).

Finishing the Race – Strong! (6)

 

Sunday Morning Football, Part 2

 

Andy Shipp played bass guitar in our church musical group. Later, when he became the group’s leader, the men and women blossomed under his leadership as he gave them the freedom to grow, infusing grace and encouragement. Andy was a Barnabas, a Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36).  Andy, much like Kenny Brelsford, was a power plant of enthusiasm and joy, building others up, seeking their wellbeing. He had such joy in serving others.

 

Often Andy would share about his growth in Christ with me, about what he was learning and seeing and doing – for Andy was a doer, he was faith in action. He would also share his struggles, for his growth did not come cheaply – cheap spiritual growth is only apparent spiritual growth, it is rootless (Mark 4:5–6; 16–17). I cherished the times Andy would drop by our home and I’d grill hamburgers while he and I talked about Jesus and life, about work and family and friends and church and reaching others for Jesus.

 

Andy loved sports, and he particularly loved college football; he dearly loved UVA football (the University of Virginia). He was also a Yankees fan while I was a Red Sox fan, which made for entertaining banter. I still have a Red Sox baseball cap that Andy gave me – now that’s a friend, isn’t it?

 

As Andy grew in Christ and his love for others, I recognized that he not only had music that he wanted to play for the glory of Jesus Christ, but that he had things he wanted to speak to others about Jesus, there were things about Jesus that he wanted to tell our church. One of the subjects Andy kept talking to me about over and over was Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

Andy was the incarnation of this verse in two ways. The first was that God’s working in Andy was the embodiment of the reality, he trusted that God was fulfilling this verse every day. Andy saw how he was changing in Christ, how he was growing, how he was becoming a better husband, Dad, friend, coworker, neighbor – and he loved what Jesus was doing within him, he absolutely loved it. Music, and worship expressed through music and song, was more meaningful and deeper and exciting than ever before for Andy and he was honored to serve with the music and song team in the congregation – his leadership was that of a servant, it was the expression of Jesus.

 

The second way that Philippians 1:6 was living in Andy was that he was convinced that others needed to know the reality of God in this promise and assurance – that they could trust God in Christ to keep them and care for them and to help them grow, that God would never abandon them – and that they in turn could help and serve others. He so desired others to know the joy in Jesus that he knew, and he wanted to tell others all about it.

 

One day, while I was grilling hamburgers for lunch and listening to Andy talk about Philippians 1:6, I said, “Tell you what, how about two Sundays from now you share what you’re saying with the church? Just before the sermon I’ll call you up front and you can speak to the congregation for a few minutes.”

 

He eagerly agreed.

 

On the appointed Sunday, when the time came when I would normally begin my sermon, I said, “Andy Shipp has been sharing some wonderful things about Jesus with me over the past few months. As many of us know, Andy’s life verse is Philippians 1:6, ‘For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.’ As all of us know, Andy loves football, especially UVA football. There are times in football when the quarterback calls an audible, he looks over the defense and changes the play originally called in the huddle.

 

“Right now I’m going to ask Andy to come up here and share Jesus with us, share what God has been putting on his heart.”

 

As Andy approached me, for what he thought would be a few short minutes in front of the congregation, I took a football out from the podium on which I had written, “Philippians 1:6,” and handed it to him, saying, “Andy, I’m calling an audible, I’m handing the ball off to you, run with it. The rest of the service is yours.”

 

Andy was taken aback for only a moment or two. He received the football and said, “Wow, thank you pastor,” and proceeded to run the play – sharing Jesus with us and inviting us all to allow Philippians 1:6 to live within us, and calling us to live within Philippians 1:6. Andy thought he’d speak for 5 minutes, but once receiving the handoff he spoke for about 30 minutes; though it seemed like 5 minutes to me, so sweet it was, so sweet.

 

I had no doubt about what would happen when I gave Andy the football, absolutely no doubt. I knew Andy would show up that Sunday, just as he was living a life of showing up for others, a life of faithfulness to others. All Andy had to do was to be who he was in Christ, trusting Christ in that moment as he lived trusting Christ in other moments…it was actually a pretty simple decision for me as his pastor and friend. I knew I could trust Jesus, and I knew I could trust Andy.

 

Andy put that football on the fireplace mantel in the home he shared with his dear wife Jill.

 

Andy Shipp went to be with Jesus on October 31, 2021, he was 57…too young, too young. As I write these words I have a vision of Andy crossing the goal line with that football, carrying it close to his body, holding it tight – entering the fulness of the Kingdom. I see Andy approaching our Lord Jesus, handling Him the ball, and saying, “O Jesus, the game ball belongs to You. It all belongs to You. Thank you!”

 

Then I see Andy picking up a base guitar and playing music like he has never played before; singing as he never imagined he could sing. On the guitar I can see the words engraved, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

Finishing the Race – Strong! (5)

 

Sunday Morning Football

 

Andy Shipp was one of the most vibrant people I’ve ever known. Kenny Brelsford is another. Kenny was in our parish in the Berkshires, and Andy was in our church in the Shenandoah Valley. Well do I recall Kenney saying to me years after we had moved back to Virginia, “Pastor Bob, I never knew Jesus was all I needed until Jesus was all I had.”

 

Both Andy and Kenny took joy in seeing joy in others; they were both men who “showed up” when folks needed them. Once, when I was in Iowa and our sunroom roof was leaking from melting snow, Vickie called Kenny and Kenny showed up to deal with the problem. Another time, when we had a snake invasion and I needed help, I called Kenny and he showed up.

 

My neighbor Maureen and I were talking about friendship a couple of years ago and she said, “You know, being a friend is about showing up. It isn’t about what you do or what you say as much as it is about just being there.”

 

I suppose we could say that there are two types of people in the world, those who show up and those who don’t. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Make every effort to come to me soon” (2 Timothy 4:9); he wrote this because he knew that Timothy would show up. I imagine that when Timothy read Paul’s letter that he dropped everything and headed to Rome, stopping only to get the cloak and books from Troas and picking up Mark (4:11 – 13). When your friend needs you, you move fast.

 

Showing up is not always easy, it can be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. I have a friend who I call every year during the week that she lost her husband; I also call during the holidays. If we lived closer I’d go see her, phone calls are hard because somehow, someway, you have to talk; personal visits can be hard but you don’t have to talk as much. There are other friends and family who I also connect with to let them know I remember their loss. Then there are others who I touch base with periodically to let them know that I’m still here for them, still praying for them, still care about them. Some get back to me and some don’t; we do what we can by the grace of Jesus.

 

I think that maybe if you live long enough you figure out who will show up for you and who won’t. Sometimes people surprise us…both ways.

 

Friendship can be hard, faithfulness to others will be hard at times. We are so accustomed to taking the easy way out that we make excuses for not doing what we ought to do. When someone says to me about a terminally ill friend, “I’d go see him but I don’t know what to say.” Or concerning a friend who has just lost a spouse, “I’d call him but I don’t know what to say.” I want to say, “You need to forget about yourself and just show up.”

 

Faithfulness and friendship take courage. Since we’ve pretty much become a nation and church of cowards, we seldom feel remorse at taking the easy way by not showing up. We will avoid pain at pretty much all cost (which is why we have excuse upon excuse not to share Jesus with others, and we don’t have the least bit of remorse or shame about it). I wonder why Revelation 21:8 puts the cowardly at the top of the list of those who suffer the second death.

 

Andy Shipp was always showing up for people, at work, in the community, at church. His life verse was Philippians 1:6:

 

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

Perhaps Andy was always showing up for others because Jesus was always showing up for him; perhaps Andy was simply passing on to others what he was receiving from Jesus.

 

I still need to share about Andy and Sunday morning football…the Lord willing, we’ll do that next time.

 

Am I showing up for the people in my life?

 

What about you?

Finishing the Race - Strong! (4)

 

Demas – From Honorable to Dishonorable, Part 4

 

“Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me” (2 Timothy 4:10a).

 

How did this desertion happen? What led to it? Was there a “goodbye” or did Demas simply not show up one day? Was Paul left wondering where Demas was, where he had gone, whether he was all right? Did Demas tell Paul that he was going to Thessalonica, or did Paul receive a letter from friends in Thessalonica informing him of Demas’s arrival? Had Paul an inkling of what was going on within Demas?

 

What was it about the present world that Demas loved so much as to abandon Paul and Luke? It may have been peace and security.

 

It must have been a relief to Demas when Paul was released from his first imprisonment. Not only was the threat of execution removed from Paul, but the possibility that Demas might share Paul’s imprisonment was also gone. We don’t know how long the interval was between the imprisonment when Paul wrote Colossians and Philemon, and the final imprisonment when he wrote 2 Timothy; nor do we know where Paul and his companions traveled during that interlude (there are reasonable ideas about this, but this is not the place to explore them) – but the fresh and free air must have felt good, they must have been thankful every day for their relative freedom.

 

What brought Paul back to Rome? Was he arrested elsewhere and once again sent to Rome? Or did Paul, like Jesus, set his face to go to a great city where suffering, abandonment, and execution awaited him? Either way, what must Demas have been thinking and feeling as they approached Rome?

 

Was Demas willing to face the prospect of being identified with Paul, an enemy of the State? Was he willing to risk the possibility of being arrested and imprisoned and tortured and killed? Was he willing to wake up every morning, not knowing what lay before him – whether in prison or out of prison? Was the uncertainty and anxiety more than he could bear?

 

Was the prospect of peace and security enough to cause Demas to abandon his friends?

 

What was it about the present world that Demas loved so much?

 

While I want to emphasize that we don’t actually know what Demas loved about the present world, I think it is reasonable to say that personal peace and security was an element of his love. After having lived in uncertainty for so long, and with Paul imprisoned again and facing execution, the allurement of a relatively normal life must have been great.

 

Earlier in 2 Timothy Paul writes, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2:3) … Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (3:12).

 

Demas arrived at a point where he chose to reject these words, and in rejecting the call of Christ Jesus he rejected his friends Paul and Luke; in loving the present world he rejected the coming world of the Kingdom of God in Christ.  

 

Demas moved from honor to dishonor.

 

Jesus says, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

 

How tragic to have one’s hand on the plow, whether for moments or for years, and then look back and return to the City of Man, the City of Destruction.

 

Perhaps the church in Thessalonica brought Demas to his senses, perhaps he lived the rest of his life in regret that he abandoned Paul in Paul’s time of acute need. Perhaps Demas would never again hear the story of Jesus being abandoned in the garden without deep remorse. Maybe Demas was able to speak to others of what friendship in Christ means, and that peace and security in Jesus Christ is far better than what the world offers us. Let us hope so. Our Father is merciful.

 

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12 – 13).

 

“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).

 

Is this love, the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, the measure of our love and commitment to one another?

 

 

Finishing the Race – Strong! (3)

  

Demas – From Honorable to Dishonorable, Part 3

 

“Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus” (2 Timothy 4:9 – 12).

 

This is one of those passages that we tend to gloss over, after all, these are just names. Suppose our names were in this passage? How would we feel if they were glossed over, skipped over the way we skip over nonessential elements in life?

 

Of course these names are people, and they were people who mattered to Paul. We have people in our lives who matter to us and these people have names – we can’t separate the names from the people; “Jim” is Jim, “Mel” is Mel, “Linda” is Linda.

 

The more I read this passage, the more I see. What do you see? What are the likelihoods? What are the possibilities? As we continue to think about Demas, can you identify someone who is the opposite of Demas in this passage, as well as in the other two passages in Colossians and Philemon that we’re considering

 

“Make every effort to come to me soon.” Paul wants Timothy to hurry up and get to him, and the first reason why he wants him to come quickly is that Demas has deserted him. The fact that Paul lists Demas’s abandonment first, ahead of those fellow workers who were on mission to Galatia, Dalmatia, and Ephesus, says something about the impact Demas’s desertion had on Paul’s heart. Thankfully Luke was still with Paul. Paul had anticipated that Demas and Luke would both be with him, but now there was only Luke, the beloved physician.

 

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come” (2 Timothy 4:6). Paul is in prison once again. This time is the last time, this is apparent to Paul – execution awaits him; it is not a question of “if” but “when”. Demas had stood with Paul during Paul’s previous imprisonment, and certainly he would stand with Paul during this present imprisonment.

 

But wait, Demas is gone, he has deserted Paul; Demas has loved the present world and has deserted his friends Paul and Luke, he has left them alone. Crescens, and Titus, and Tychicus have gone on individual missions to serve Christ; Demas has gone on a mission to serve himself. Paul commissioned Tychicus and Titus and Crescens to go and serve; Demas commissioned himself to abandon his friends and to love himself and the present evil age.

 

This is a blow to Paul, and no doubt to Luke. Paul writes to Timothy, “Come quickly.”

 

“Come quickly because I am going to leave this world soon through execution, and one who was close to me, one whom I love, one whom I depended on, one whom I shared much joy and laughter and love with, one with whom I endured and overcame many challenges, one whom I was certain would be with me until the very end; this one, my friend, my beloved, my Demas…has deserted me. O Timothy come quickly! Come quickly!”

 

Now if, when we read this passage in 2 Timothy, we are simply thinking about Paul and Demas and Paul’s other friends, then we are missing the point. For I ought to be allowing the Holy Spirit to take the Word of God and challenge me in terms of my friendships and other relationships. If the Holy Spirit had intended us to gloss over passages such as this, He would not have included them in the Holy Word, these passages, just as the genealogies, have Divine meaning.

 

What do we “see” in this passage? How are we responding to this passage?

 

Finishing the Race – Strong! (2)

 

Demas – From Honorable to Dishonorable, Part 2

 

“Luke, the beloved physician sends you his greetings, and also Demas” (Col. 4:14).

 

What must Demas have felt like when his greetings were included in Paul’s letter to the Colossians? Gratified? Grateful that he was included in the letter? Thankful to be identified with Paul in Paul’s imprisonment?

 

Paul’s letter to Philemon accompanied his letter to the church at Colossae, and in that letter he wrote, “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.” How might Demas have felt to be acknowledged as one of Paul’s “fellow workers”?

 

“Say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it’” (Col. 4:17).

 

Is it possible that Demas compared himself to Archippus? Is it possible that Demas thought, “I am faithfully with Paul, fulfilling the ministry that God gave me. I will never need such a warning from Paul or from anyone else”?

 

When we look at Demas in Colossians and Philemon he is keeping good company. He is identified with Paul in his imprisonment. Demas is a member of an apostolic cohort proclaiming the Gospel and supporting Paul. How might Demas have been feeling? What might he have been thinking?

 

While we don’t know the answers to these questions, since we share a common humanity with Demas we can explore possibilities. If our names had appeared in place of the name Demas in Colossians and Philemon, what might we have been thinking and feeling – to be identified with Paul the apostle in his critical ministry?

 

Let’s not forget that Paul was in prison. To be identified with Paul took courage; there was always the possibility that you might be next, that you might be sleeping next to Paul on any given night.

 

But then we have, “Demas…has deserted me” (2 Tim. 4:10).

 

What happened?

Finishing the Race -Strong! (1)

  

Demas – From Honorable to Dishonorable, Part I

 

Two years ago tomorrow, I lost one of the most honorable and trustworthy friends I have ever had, Bruce Harrison. Few, if any, days go by that I don’t think about Bruce and that I don’t “talk” to him, whatever that means. Bruce was my climbing partner as we negotiated our ascent on Mount Zion – attached to the rope of Jesus and His Word. Yet, we are still attached to that rope, the tension on it has not slackened, perhaps it is even more sure than before. For while Brucie has passed into the clouds beyond my physical vision and my natural hearing, he has tied his end of the rope around our Rock, Jesus Christ, and I can hear him saying, “Bobby, come on up, come on up.”

 

In contrast with Bruce, there is Demas in the New Testament. I’ve been pondering Demas for the past few days and I thought I was going to write about him and leave it at that, but this morning I see that we want to explore a bigger picture than simply Demas, so while we’ll see where this goes, we’ll begin with Demas. Demas is mentioned three times in the Bible:

 

“Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas.” (Colossians 4:14).

 

“Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.” (Philemon 23 – 24).

 

“Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world [age], has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica…” (2 Timothy 4:9 – 10a).

 

What do you see in these passages? What is the storyline?

 

I’ll begin by pointing out that all the verses in the Bible matter. While our tendency may be to skip over groups of names, as I hope we’ll see with Demas, we may be missing important lessons when we do this. Panning for gold in Scripture brings much joy to share with others and works to establish us in Christ.

 

Colossians and Philemon were written at the same time. The former was written to the church in that city, and the latter was written to a brother in that church. (See Colossians 4:7 – 14 and Philemon 10 – 24). Ephesians was also written at this time. (Compare Ephesians and Colossians). Paul writes these letters from prison (Col. 4:3; Phm. 23; Eph. 6:20).

 

Paul also wrote 2 Timothy from prison – I think this is fair to say from the tenor and content of the letter. On the face of it, Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians were written prior to 2 Timothy; among other contrasting features, consider the change in the status of Demas. It further seems apparent that a significant change has occurred in Paul’s circumstances between the time he wrote the first three letters and when he penned 2 Timothy. While I realize that there is discussion as to whether Paul experienced one or two imprisonments in Rome, my own sense is that there were two – but in either case there is a drastic change in circumstances. (Yes, Philippians was also written from prison.)

 

Demas has gone from honorable mention in Colossians and Philemon to dishonorable mention in 2 Timothy. He has gone from standing alongside Luke and Mark and Aristarchus to, “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica…”

 

As we ponder the context of these passages that mention Demas, what can we learn?

 

How are we challenged?

 

What warnings do we see for ourselves and others?

 

How might you structure and present this to a group of children or teenagers?

 

To a Sunday morning congregation?

 

Arise and Shine!

 

Last week I had two interactions with folks over the uncertainty and turmoil of the world around us. Friends, when we buy into fear we’ve taken our eyes off Jesus. When we chase “End times” teaching we’ve taken our eyes off Jesus.

 

End times teaching has become a Disney World to many professing Christians and a cash cow and a drug to many teachers. I happened to look at the website of a popular end times teacher that was marketing a conference for “end times and prophecy enthusiasts.” Now folks, this is crazy, this is nuts. We are called to follow Jesus and be transformed into His image, not to discern the future in the way these people are doing it…my goodness, they have something new every week or month – why don’t folks see the incongruity in this? Why don’t their followers – and make no mistake, they are indeed followers – see that if they aren’t given something new and exciting on a continuing basis that they will stop following?

 

Jesus Christ gives us stability! The teaching of the true Prophets and Apostles in the Bible provides a stable center of gravity no matter what is happening around us. We, and the people around us, don’t need entertainment, we all need Jesus Christ…to live in a deep relationship with Him.

 

I should be quick to say that I was once very much into the “end times” (as it is popularly taught) so I know the hold it can have on someone. I even used it as a litmus test for fellowship. Then, one day at a church picnic outside Rochester, NY, (circa 1973) I meant a brother who in moments set me free. In essence, while I wanted to talk about end times he wanted to talk about Jesus…and that is all the Holy Spirit needed to clarify my vision on the matter.

 

Below is a note I sent to one of the folks I interacted with, we had touched on Romans 8 and Isaiah 60, which is why I begin with them. Maybe there is something here for you.

 

Love,

 

Bob

 

 

 

Good morning ___,

 

Regarding Romans 8:18 – 19 and Isaiah 60:1 – 2; these are “go-to” passages for me because they represent the victorious trajectory of the People of God, the Body of Christ, the City of God, the Bride. Of course the context surrounding them is critical, as is the context of the entire Bible, and let’s not forget the grand crescendo of Romans Chapter 8 – for indeed nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and we are more than conquerors!

 

Isaiah 60:1ff reminds me that no matter how dark it may be in the world, that the glory of our Father rests upon His sons and daughters and that we are here for the salvation and blessing of others.

 

Daniel Chapter 2 reminds us that the world–system is coming to an end, brought down by the Rock. This has been happening through the ages, and again we have two trajectories – one of the world-system passing away, the other of the Rock filling the entire earth. You and I are of the Rock.

 

The writer of Hebrews, reaching back to Haggai, tells us that our God will shake all things so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain and be manifested. (Hebrews 12:25 – 29).  We are receiving “a kingdom which cannot be shaken.”

 

We in the West, and I suppose especially in the United States, think the world revolves around us – most of the world lives in uncertainty, but we think we can control life and when we can’t then we lose our fragile equilibrium. Is not Christ our refuge?

 

I so love Romans Chapter 8. The nexus of our life in Christ is that we are daughters and sons of the Living God, and we cry “Abba Father!” I recall ___ talking about this cry years ago – does it not express our koinonia with the Father?

 

The picture in Romans 8:22 of the creation in childbirth presents another Biblical trajectory – that of creation. We see a relationship between creation’s groaning and our own groaning in verses 22 and 23. Travail indicates the process of birth – though it does seem as if we’ve been in labor a long, long time.

 

I suppose I also ought to mention that there is only one People of God (Ephesians 2:11 – 4:16) and until recent times the Church has understood this – we are the children of Promise (Galatians 4:21 – 31), our mother is the Jerusalem which is above, not the Jerusalem of the earth, which is in slavery. There is neither Jew nor Greek (Galatians 3:26 – 29) in the City of God, in the Body of Christ, in the Seed of Abraham. Our Father has One People, not two…and we get confused if we don’t understand this.

 

How anyone can preach or teach passages such as Ephesians 2:11 – 4:16 and not see this is a testimony to what happens to our minds when we succumb to the images and teachings of men rather than submit ourselves to our Father’s Word in Christ. One of my points in mentioning this is to say that most of what passes for prophetic teaching is akin to puppies chasing their tails – the difference is that puppies chasing tails is cute, while missing the glory of the People of God is tragic.

 

We are not to live in fear (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:18) but to live with our lives hidden in Christ (Col. 3:1 – 4) and as women and men who are confidently looking for the appearing of the City of God (Hebrews 11:9 – 11, 13 – 16). We are to be light and life and a refuge to those around us, a source of peace and grace and hope and love in Christ Jesus (Isaiah 32:1 – 2).

 

We have a glorious and wonderful calling in our dear Lord Jesus. In the midst of the world’s uncertainty, we have a certain God to share with the people around us, a glorious God, a forgiving God – all in our Lord Jesus.

 

Does not our dear Lord Jesus come to us every day? And shall we not learn to be His Presence to others every day?

 

“Arise shine; for your Light has come, and the glory of the Father has risen upon you!”

 

Much love!

 

Bob

 

Why Read the Old Testament? (10)

 

 

Dear Friend,      

 

As we’ve seen, Psalm 22 has two great movements to it; we might call the first movement (22:1 – 21) Christ’s Suffering, and the second movement (22:22 – 31) Christ’s Glory.

 

Christ’s Suffering concludes with, “From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me,” and Christ’s Glory begins with, “I will tell of Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.” When we recall that chapter and verses numbers were added much later, we can see that this transition is seamless; Christ’s suffering and cry to the Father results in victory and glory – Christ’s glory is born of Christ’s suffering, and His suffering is in anticipation of His glory.

 

Now here is the thing, the very first element of His glory concerns you and me, it concerns us, the People of God, the Family of God, the Brethren of Jesus Christ. The very first element of Christ’s glory has to do with Him sharing the Name of His Father with His Brethren, with sharing (imparting) the Nature of Our Father with us.

 

We see this dynamic in Hebrews 12:2 when we read of Jesus, “…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The “joy set before Him” is the redemption of the People of God – note the context of Hebrews 12:2 – we see the People of God preceding this verse and we see the People of God following the verse.

 

This, of course, follows what Jesus says in John 12:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of what falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

 

This, in turn, speaks to us of the Incarnation. We see this in the grand tapestry of Hebrews Chapter 2, one of the great Incarnation passages in Scripture – though sadly a passage little taught during Advent…or any other time. You’ll have to read and meditate on the entire passage to begin to see its beauty, but I’ll highlight a few thoughts for now.

 

“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” (Heb. 2:9).

 

Do you see incarnation, suffering, and glory in this verse?

 

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect that author of their salvation through sufferings.” (Heb. 2:10).

 

Can we see, once again, suffering and glory?

 

We also have the idea of the Father “bringing many sons to glory” – and so here we see “glory” being extended from the glory of Jesus in verse 9, to the “many sons” in verse 10. This is in keeping with Jesus saying to the Father, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them…” (John 17:22). Paul writes that if we are children then we are “heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom. 8:17). We are called to participate with Jesus Christ not only in His glory, but also in His suffering (Phil. 3:10).

 

Then in Hebrews 2:11 & 12, “For both He who sanctifies [Jesus Christ] and those who are sanctified [us] are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will proclaim You name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

 

As the writer of Hebrews contemplates the suffering of Christ (2:9, 10, 14), he “sees” Psalm 22, and as he sees Psalm 22 he invokes the first cry of the second movement, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

 

Here is the Elder Brother, leaving the House of the Father, to seek out and redeem His younger brethren, His sisters and brothers, so that He might bring them back to the Father’s House. The Elder Brother calls us Home by declaring the Name of the Father to us.

 

Is it any wonder that Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:18 – 19).

 

O dear friend, if our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, proclaims the Name of our Father to us, then we ought to also proclaim our Father’s Name to one another. If our Elder Brother’s mission is to bring His brethren Home, then that ought to be our mission as well. Jesus says to us, “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18). And Jesus says again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21).

 

O the glory in Christ of Sonship! A glory portrayed in Psalm 22, a glory which unfolds throughout the Gospels and the Epistles and in Revelation. A glory which we are called to receive and to participate in – a glory in which we discover the koinonia of the Trinity.

 

The root and depth of this glory is in the Old Testament. Our House is not built just on the apostles, but on the “apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20) with Jesus Christ Himself being the cornerstone. To reject the Old Testament is to reject the Way that Jesus revealed and reveals Himself (Luke 24:27, 44). To reject the Old Testament is to reject the glory of Biblical Sonship.

 

Let us not allow others to rob us of our inheritance in Christ. Let us pursue Jesus as He reveals Himself in both the apostles (NT) and the prophets (OT) – for they are One Book….just as we are One Body.