Reading the Bible (10)

 This is the conclusion of my introduction to reading the Bible, contained in a handout to my church a few years ago. I hope it has been helpful.

God says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,” Isaiah 55:9.

When we resort to rationalization in response to God’s Word, when we try to explain away what God has said so that it will fit our lives rather than having our lives fit God’s Word, when we try to conform God’s Word to the world and what we think it should mean, when we try to do these things we have clear signs that we are approaching the Scriptures from a human point-of-view. The fact is, as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians Chapter One, that the Gospel is foolishness to the world; part of the world says “prove it,” and the other part says “that’s crazy, it doesn’t make sense.”

That is the nature of the Gospel and that is the nature of the world. Our choice is who we will identify with, Christ or the world?

This passage teaches us that God wants to reveal Himself to us and that He has given those who trust in Christ His Holy Spirit so that we can know Him and know the things He has freely given us. Also, since we are in Christ, that is, since we live in Christ and Christ lives in us, we have the mind of Christ. That is, we have an organic relational union with Christ, and in that union His thoughts, His mind, His way of seeing, lives in us. As we allow His mind to renew our mind (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:1-4) the Scriptures come alive to us and we begin to understand life from a spiritual perspective rather than from an earthly naturalistic point-of-view.

            The Bible is a supernatural book and we look to the Holy Spirit to reveal God and Christ to us through its pages. However, that does not mean that we disengage our minds nor does it mean that we can be lazy when we approach the Bible. Throughout Paul’s letters to Timothy he encourages Timothy to study the Scriptures so that he can clearly understand them (see 2 Timothy 2:15 for an example). In the Old Testament we also see God commanding His people to know His Word (for example see Deuteronomy 6:1 – 9).

            God wants to draw us to Himself through His Word. He wants to teach us to view life from His perspective. He wants to teach us to compare spiritual things with spiritual things, not with earthly things that are passing away. He wants to prepare us to be a people for eternity. He has given us His Holy Spirit; we have the mind of Christ, so that in our dependence on Him our minds can be transformed into His image. The Bible is God’s Holy Book, it is the most powerful book ever written, and when it is illuminated by the Holy Spirit it will change our lives.

            God’s way of thinking will always be foolishness to the world, and it will always be foolishness to our natural way of thinking – but there is a wisdom that God desires to impart to us, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. Will we live our lives with God in this wisdom?

Blessed Eternal Portal

This past Wednesday night a dear friend's father went to be with Christ; both of her parents had covid-19; her mother is having a difficult recovery. I heard the news on Thursday morning. As I contemplated this passing from the earthly to the heavenly, this is what I saw: 

Blessed Eternal Portal

 

Blessed Eternal Portal

Rooted on Calvary,

With arms outstretched

Beckoning me, embracing me.

 

O heavenly Tree I come to you,

Stained as you are

I come as I am,

For my Assurance is the Lamb.

 

Offered on you,

Tree and altar

In which He comes to me,

And I come to Him.

 

Doorway into heavenly realms

Celestial anthems calling me,

I must go now,

“Dear Daughter, I Iove you.”

 

What is this? Jesus is not sitting at the Father’s right hand.

No, O my! He is standing with arms outstretched

Welcoming me…

Through the Blessed Portal of the Cross.

Pictures of Christ and the Church

 

Our friends Ralph and Daniela were married a few months ago. We first met Ralph in Boston around 1996 at Park Street Church. At the time Ralph, who is German, was in the States working for the Siemens Corporation. We met Daniela (Dani) last Thanksgiving when she and Ralph visited the States, we were the final stop on their itinerary and they shared a few days with us in our home  - including Thanksgiving.

 

This was poignant for us in two ways, the first was that it was one of the sweetest Thanksgivings we’ve had for many years, not only did we have Ralph and Dani, but other friends as well, friends who are very dear to us. None of these friends knew each other when they arrived at our home, they were our friends; but by the time they left they were friends with one another. It was simply and deeply a beautiful day and it still warms our hearts.

 

The second poignancy is that since we first met Ralph, he has shared Thanksgiving with us on numerous occasions, for after he returned to Munich to continue his work with Siemens he continued to fly over every few years to spend Thanksgiving with us. When we know Ralph is coming, we decorate our home for Christmas for him, which is quite the undertaking, especially for Vickie, since we have 8 or 9 themed Christmas trees, numerous nutcrackers, and other decorations. (In case you’re wondering, we don’t do outside decorations other than a few items on the front porch and candles in windows). Meeting Dani over Thanksgiving was perfect…just perfect.

 

Not long after their May 2020 marriage (which had to be rearranged because of Covid – 19 restrictions, but which was still beautiful), Ralph took Dani climbing. Ralph is an avid outdoorsman – bicycling, hiking, mountain climbing…and I do mean mountain climbing.

 

Dani did a post on her Facebook page about the climb, and when Vickie told me about it, I said something like this:

 

“Well, isn’t that like Christ and the Church? When we are married to Him, He teaches us to go higher and higher. He draws us to Himself and His Cross.”

 

Vickie said, “Look at the photos.”

The Bride and Groom

Climbing

The Bride Still Climbing

What the Bride saw!

Dear friends, Christ calls us to Himself, above the turmoil of the world. We belong to Him and...quite frankly...to Him alone. Let our hearts be captured by His love, let our identity be in Him, let His Name be upon us. Let us learn to be His pure Bride, keeping ourselves only unto Him. 

Much love!

Bob

The Real Deal

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).

The Sacramental Reading of the Word

“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 2 Peter 1:1 – 4.

The Word of God, from Genesis through Revelation, is one continuous promise to us of Christ, through Christ, unto Christ. In 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul reaches back to Genesis 1:3 when he writes, “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

Peter writes that through God’s promises we become partakers of the divine nature, that is, we have koinonia with the Trinity. The Apostle John writes that “our fellowship [koinonia] is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 that without the Holy Spirit we simply cannot receive the things of God.

We are called to partake of [to have koinonia with] the divine nature, as Christ comes to us through God’s “precious and magnificent promises”; through the Word, the Bible, the Scriptures. In all of God’s promises is the Promise, and in the Promise we have all promises. In Christ we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).

Surely the Word of God comes to us sacramentally. Surely we are called to preach and teach the Word sacramentally.

We are called, in and through the Word, to have koinonia with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ – to partake of, to share in, the Divine Nature.

O Christian, allow the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to come to you in and through the Bible; let God draw you into His Divine koinonia.

Transformation by Christ, for Christ

Christ, by His Presence and glory, molds and transforms us for eternity in His Presence and glory.

2 Corinthians 3:17 - 18; 1 John 3:1 - 3; Romans 8:29 - 30; John 17:22 - 26

May this be a year for you of exceptional transformation into the image of Jesus Christ.

Much love,

Bob

Christ the Rock and Foundation

The following is an excerpt from Christologia: Learning About Christ, by John Owen, (1616 – 24 August 1683):

“One or two more out of Augustine shall close these testimonies: ‘Upon this rock which thou hast confessed – upon myself, the Son of the living God – I will build my church. I will build thee upon myself, and not myself upon thee.’” (Italics mine).

Owen continues with Augustine:

“He (Christ) meant the universal church, which in this world is shaken with divers temptations, as with showers, floods, and tempests, yet falleth not, because it is built on the rock (Petra) from whence Peter took his name. For the rock is not called Petra from Peter, but Peter is so called from Petra the rock; as Christ is not so called from Christian, but Christian from Christ [these italics mine]. Therefore, said the Lord, ‘Upon this rock will I build my church’; because Peter said,

“‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

“Upon this rock, which thou hast confessed, will I build my church. For Christ himself was the rock on which foundation Peter himself was built. For no other foundation can no man lay, save that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ [1 Corinthians 3:11].”

I’ve chosen this passage from Owen’s preface in Christologia for a few reasons. The first is that it reminds us that Owen and other Puritans were well-versed in the Church Fathers. There are extensive Greek and Latin quotations, along with translations into English, in their writing – Christologia is an example of this – the above English translations are preceded by Latin quotations in Owen’s book.  Since this is the case, one wonders how we can talk of the Puritans, as well as the Reformers who were also well-versed in the Patristics, without also talking of their encounters with the Church Fathers.

In Christologia, Owen is building not only upon the Cornerstone of the Foundation, which is Christ; he is also building upon the initial courses of that Foundation – the Bible and the Church Fathers. Perhaps we can learn from Owen’s methodology?

Owen employs Augustine to demonstrate not only that Christ is the Rock and the one Foundation (in interpreting Matthew 16:13 – 20), but in engaging Augustine Owen is also appealing, I think, to those Church Fathers who were Christocentric and in submission to the Scriptures – he is demonstrating a line of Biblical understanding stretching back hundreds of years.

Also note that Augustine is quite clear about the Foundation Stone of the Church. Ponder Augustine’s words, “For the rock is not called Petra from Peter, but Peter is so called from Petra the rock; as Christ is not so called from Christian, but Christian from Christ [these italics mine].”

We find assurance in Christ’s words, and in Owen’s understanding of them, that Christ is the Builder, the Rock, the Foundation.

Consider these words of Jesus:

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” (Luke 14:28 – 30). While these words were directed to the people concerning discipleship, surely our Lord Jesus has counted the cost required to build His Church and surely He is able to complete it.

Or consider these words concerning Zerubbabel, who is a picture (type) of Jesus Christ:

“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it.”” (Zechariah 4:9a).

We can have joyful confidence in Jesus Christ our Rock, our Foundation, our Builder – Jesus Christ is Everything.

The Bread of Their Souls

The following is an excerpt from Christologia: Learning About Christ, by John Owen, (1616 – 24 August 1683):

“Unto them that believe unto the saving of the soul he [Jesus Christ] is, he always hath been, precious – the sun, the rock, the life, the bread of their souls – everything that is good, useful, amiable, desirable, here or unto eternity. In, from, and by him, is all their spiritual and eternal life, light, power, growth, consolation, and joy here; with everlasting salvation hereafter…By him are they brought into the nearest cognation, alliance, and friendship with God, the firmest union unto him, and the most holy communion with him, that our finite natures are capable of, and so conducted unto the eternal enjoyment of him.”

In writing of disciples of Jesus Christ, Christian believers, Owen continues:

“On these and the like accounts [contained in the Scriptures], the principal design of their whole lives unto whom he is thus precious, is to acquaint themselves with him – the mystery of the wisdom, grace, and love of God, in his person and mediation, as revealed to us in the Scripture, which is life eternal.”

A bit later Owen continues:

“In these things consist the soul, life, power, beauty, and efficacy of the Christian religion; without which, whatever outward, whatever outward ornaments may be put upon its exercise, it is but a lifeless carcass.” (Italics mine). Owen then proceeds to quote Philippians 3:8 – 12.

Is Jesus Christ the bread of our souls?

Do our churches live by Christ? Or are we doing just fine without Him?

Is Christ the bread of my soul?

What about your soul?

Christ the Sun and Centre

Christ the Sun and Centre

This is from Looking Unto Jesus, by Isaac Ambrose (1604 – 20 January 1664, an English Puritan).

“Christ is the sun and centre of all divine and revealed truths; we can preach nothing else as the object of our faith, which doth not some way or other either meet in Christ, or refer to Christ. Only Christ is the whole of man’s happiness; the sun to enlighten him, the physician to heal him, the wall of fire to defend him, the friend to comfort him, the pearl to enrich him, the ark to support him, the rock to sustain him under the heaviest pressures; 

‘As a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of waters in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.’ 

Only Christ is that ladder between earth and heaven, the Mediator betwixt God and man; a mystery which the angels of heaven desire to pry into.”