JESUS

Mark 1:1

 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Mark writes his account of the History of Jesus by going straight in at the beginning of Christ’s ministry!  It is as though Jesus came in by parachute and just kept running all the way to the Cross!  This helps us to see the great impact that the Lord had on everyone.  John the Baptist points him out, God thunders his pleasure in this Man, and the people are shocked because they thought that God was different to this!  Jesus, we read, is the exact representation of God the Father. Everything you read about him shows you what God is really like.

Now, this caused many problems for the ruling religious groups – and the Roman occupying force.  In the end Jesus was killed, although innocent, in the most barbaric and cruel way imaginable.  We know that this completed God’s plan of redeeming sinners like us but it also demonstrated that the human race is at war with God – even the Jews!  There is no point in asking God to intervene and help if we are not willing to repent and accept that Jesus is who God is!  Jesus has made a clear line between those who believe and those who do not believe; those who are condemned and those who are not condemned.  The process is completely fair and gives everyone the same opportunity to “surrender” to God.  People may well feel that it was wrong to execute Jesus but this is not enough.  God requires us to understand and believe that Jesus is who God is.  This means we must see that Jesus died in our place, for our sins, and that he is the only way to peace, forgiveness and eternal life.

Acts 2:22-24  "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.

23  This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24  But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

 

When Peter spoke these strong words there were thousands who heard and knew that what he was saying was true – they were witnesses.  Many would have known the Old Testament promises and that Jesus had fulfilled many of them in his life and death and resurrection.  In fact, the Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ (the Messiah).  It reveals his character and appearing through all kinds of shadows and parallels and pictures.  From the idea of a man being in God’s image, through the design of the Tabernacle, the character of prophets, priests and kings, God had revealed the Coming One.  Some saw Jesus and believed, others were persuaded by the miracles that he did.  Some rejected the whole idea because they did not want God to be like him!  However, the fact is, in very simple terms, the whole Bible is about Jesus and about God’s purpose that we should believe in him and learn to be like him.

2Corinthians 5:16  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

 

It is important that we understand that faith in Jesus is not about human reasoning and following the wisdom of a dead teacher.  There is a problem about seeing Jesus as portrayed by Rembrandt or anyone else.  The apostles had to learn to see Jesus as he really is and not stay with memories of a merely human leader.  Even while he was on the earth in human likeness there were times when they were helped to see that Jesus was much more than merely human.  The things he did: calming a storm, raising the dead, healing the sick, his transfiguration, his resurrection, all demonstrated his true nature.  Equally, the things he said set him apart from all other teachers or prophets.  The men and women who walked with him and watched his every move tell us that Jesus is Lord, the Son of God.  They explain that Jesus is who God is!

Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

Now, we must not lose sight of the fact that God has appeared in real human likeness.  It was with this likeness that he ascended through the heavens and returned to his place of glory and authority.  We have Jesus who understands the human condition and sympathises with us!  This does not mean that he sinned – or had a sinful nature like us.  He did not have any knowledge of personal sin, he did not sin, there was no sin in him.  This is what the Bible explains.  How could he be who God is and be a sinner?  BUT, as a man he knew laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, love and rejection, comfort and hardship.  He was tempted like we are.  The word here does not mean seduced or lured into sin but tried, disciplined by experience, placed under hardship – that kind of thing.   So, he had a full experience of the human condition and understands our needs and can see why we sinners fail so much.  He does not condemn but has compassion and shows us mercy, understanding, forgiveness and grace.  With all this he gives us his Spirit so that we can find strength to carry on and be like him.  So, little by little the change takes place and we become more like him.

Revelation 1:17-18  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18  I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

Believing in Jesus requires that we believe him, too.  By this I mean that we must believe what he says.  This will depend on your personal appreciation of who Jesus is.  The “world of Christendom” is very confusing and seems to reflect a lot of human ideas that are not easily traced back to Jesus himself.  Maybe this is because people have believed in Jesus but not taken enough notice of what he said?

John, the apostle, saw Jesus in a glorious experience while in prison in a cave on the island called Patmos.  He is presented with a dilemma!  He must not be afraid yet he is completely stunned by the presence of Jesus.  Remember he knew Jesus as his best friend.  Now, John is faced with the full nature of the Lord and needs reassuring that this glorious One is Jesus, the person he knows, who loves him and has purchased his full forgiveness through his death on the Cross.  It may be difficult for us to grasp all this but let us be considerate of the truth about Jesus and learn through the Holy Spirit to revere Jesus and avoid a familiarity that loses sight of who he is and what he is able to do.  Otherwise, we might resort to trusting our own ideas and abilities rather than trusting completely in him.

Jude 1:24-25  To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—25  to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

 

WE ARE CLAY

 

Jeremiah 18:1  This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2  "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3  So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4  But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Clay is a very common material.  It is available all over the world and can be dug up – once you have removed the thin layer of fertile soil.  The main elements of clay are Aluminium, Silica and water.  There are other trace elements, such as iron oxide, that give some clay a distinct colour.  So, in the same way that we read that Man was made from the “dust” of the earth – so a pot is made from the “dust” of the earth.

When I learned to make things from clay I also learned that it is not profitable to use clay straight from the ground.  Such clay – even when well moistened, could not be modelled and would crack and warp when dry.  And firing would usually produce an explosion and production of a thousand tiny fragments.  Clay needs time and preparation before it is suitable for the Potter!  In Japan a Potter would dig up clay and leave to weather and break up for his son to use!  So a generation of preparation.  Even then the clay would need soaking and sieving before being dried a bit from its very wet and sloppy state (slurry).  After this the clay undergoes a process called wedging.  This is a vigorous kneading, or treading, or slamming together that removes unevenness, air bubbles and foreign matter.  Only after all this preparation does a Potter use the clay to make a vessel.

So, if we take the analogy seriously, God will not make us into a vessel until we have undergone some serious preparation.  You might also consider the fact that clay experiences the natural elements of rain and frost to break it down before it is brought into the Potter’s House and prepared for the Potter’s Wheel.

We might draw out of this that life’s experiences will prepare us to receive God’s Word, accept his Spirit; rather as the broken down clay is able to receive water into its very substance.  Only then can the clay be brought into the Potter’s House.  This might be compared with being saved or redeemed.  After this, a lump of clay can be prepared and refined until it is ready to be made into a vessel.

Jeremiah’s visit to the Potter’s House taught an amazing lesson about the Grace of God. A vessel was being made on the Wheel.  As the expert Potter worked something happened in the clay and it was spoiled.  The Potter did not throw that lump of clay outside!  Instead he re-mixed it on the Wheel and re-worked it into another vessel.  Let us not feel useless or that we have completely ruined all opportunity for God to make us into a vessel for his glory.  While we are clay in his hand he is able to re-work us and re-shape us.  The challenge is simply about being submissive to his hands.

JUST DUST!

Isaiah 64:8  Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Genesis 2:7  the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

William Blake's strange interpretation of the Creation of Man

It is extremely re-assuring to know that God knows – that we are just dust! We are, physically, no more than the basic elements of the earth.  This is taken up in many places in the Bible where we are likened to a lump of clay – to be shaped by the Potter as he chooses.

Recently I have been teaching about Art and Pottery and the Biblical lessons contained within these things.  I used to teach Art, particularly Ceramics, for many years before I became immersed in church leadership.  So, Scriptures about creativity and pottery have a special meaning for me.  I love to read about Bezaleel being filled with the Spirit so that he could supervise and make the many artefacts needed for the Tabernacle.  I take special meaning from the words about Adam being clay – his name derived from the red earth.  I understand what Jeremiah saw at the Potter’s House.  I understand what Paul was driving at when he stated that the Potter has authority over the clay to make with it what he will and there is no possibility of the clay answering back or challenging this! I can see the meaning of the Scripture that tells us we are merely pottery vessels that can hold the treasure of the character of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact there are many allusions to clay as a spiritual example in Scripture.  The lessons are not all the same and it is not sensible to take an illustration too far.  For example clay remains clay until it goes through the furnace.  Once fired the vessel remains a vessel and cannot be returned to clay – it has been transformed into another element.  Pottery is “indestructible"– archaeologists rely on ceramic artefacts to identify and date their findings.  Indestructible but not unbreakable!  Most ancient pottery is found broken – or shattered!

The idea that a Christian is shaped and “fired” in the kiln for service on earth is one way of seeing the illustration that we are clay and our Father is the Potter.  It carries ideas of permanence, eternal salvation, we bear the Potter’s Mark – stamped with the guarantee of the Holy Spirit.  However, there is also the idea of being taken as dry clay and becoming a lump of clay that the Potter can shape as he chooses.  This can be made a parallel of our whole Christian experience!  Then, the firing in the kiln becomes a parallel of the BEMA – the judgement Seat of Christ where we experience his loving fire and get through with whatever stands the test of the fire. 

So, analogies need care and, like the parables that Jesus taught, we need to keep them in a context and not get too mixed up with different applications.

This is the first part of this theme – more soon …

Prophets, Priests and Kings!

Engraving of Micah standing up to the false prophets

There is a great deal to help us in the Bible’s historical books.  We read of the rise and fall of Kings, the courage or the compromise of Priests and the faithfulness or falseness of Prophets.

We also have straightforward statements about the People – their resistance or responsiveness to their leaders.  It is notable that the Kings are often described as “Princes”.  So, in English, we have Prophets, Priests, Princes and People!

There are some similarities with the Church of Jesus Christ.  Israel as a nation was chosen to fulfil God’s purposes.  The Church has been chosen to fulfil the purposes of Jesus.  The Church is his Body, built up by him and for him.  He has given his people leaders to care for them in the same way that Prophets, Priests and Princes were given to Israel.

Eph 4:11-13  It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,  12  to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.[NIV]

It might not be helpful to make direct comparisons between the Old and New Testament lists!  I have heard teaching that suggests that church leaders might be “kings”, “prophets” or “priests” but that is not the point of this musing!  My concern is that there were very few of the Old Testament leaders who managed to serve faithfully or well! Also, the people seemed to go off the rails very easily! 

Now I know that the church consists of a spiritual people – who have new hearts and minds: who are born of the Spirit.  This ought to mean that we are less prone to going off the rails and less dependent upon the kind of rule that the Old Testament leaders brought.  After all – we are all priests; we all have the destiny of being sons of God; and all God’s people are prophets!  Yet, the faults we read about in Samuel, Kings and Chronicles seem to repeat themselves.  Church people follow idols, Baals and Ashtoreths.  By this we understand that church people can be speaking of the “lord” but not really knowing who they are talking about.  The word Baal means “master” or “lord”.

 Mat 7:21  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [NIV]

The leaders of Israel also struggled.  Most of the Kings strayed from the path God set for them.  There were always false prophets stirring things up and there were many priests and Levites who would compromise everything for money!  Yet there were faithful men and women and these shine out from the pages of Israel’s and Judah’s history.  Even so, the faithful had their weaknesses! 

Perhaps the lesson to learn is that we ought to be aware of our weaknesses?  Then we are less likely to want to rule our own lives or the lives of people in our churches.  We will have a healthy view of what we might be “in the flesh” and will cling to the Spirit.  We will want to walk in Christ’s light not our own! 

2Co 12:9,10  But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. [NIV]

Even Paul preferred to take this humble route and not assert his authority or power.  However, we should not see all this as meaning that leaders should be the kind of people who avoid the challenges of real life and hard work!  On the contrary God wants courageous servants with pioneer spirit and who do not flinch at the challenges of life. 

The fact that Prophets, Priests and Kings existed in Israel is that they foreshadow the Messiah.  The Coming One who would be all three!  We know that Jesus is the Messiah and that he is Prophet, Priest and King.  We are shown glimpses of his glory: crowned with many diadems, the Lamb upon the Throne, the Victorious General on his white horse.  We are also shown his character: the King of love, the Great Shepherd of the sheep.  Those Old Testament Kings had to manage without the example we have.  We see Jesus!  Whatever my gift or role in Christ’s Church, I have Jesus as my Lord and Master, Example and Captain.  I have the Holy Spirit as my counsellor and his desire is that I should become like Christ! 

Php 3:8-14  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ  14  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11  and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. [NIV]

GRUMPY?

 We are told that a problem with ageing is that a man can become “grumpy”. This describes a character of complaint and resentment about being left on the shelf – sidelined.  Perhaps it comes from fear?  Perhaps it comes from a sense that his age is not respected?

The book of Job has four “grumpy old men” talking together about theological issues surrounding the problem of suffering.  A young man comes along and virtually silences them with his tirade! The young man’s voice is full of passion and – well, youth!  It lacks, perhaps, the wisdom that comes from experience?  It tends, perhaps, to refer to sources rather than to personal experience?

Anyway, the Lord interrupts this flow with some strong words:

Job 38:2  "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?

Now, Job takes this to heart as you can see if you read on to chapter 42 verse 3. He accepts that all the words made between the four men have obscured the true counsel of God.  He accepts that his own words have obscured the truth of God’s wisdom.

I have to admit to grumpiness!  There are a number of things that irritate me that I took no notice of a decade ago. By this I mean spiritual things; things about leading a congregation.  Things like believers who seem to travel in circles like Israel in the wilderness; like Aaron who thought he had solutions to situations but failed to see that he was part of the problem!  I admit that I struggle with the feeling that my age and experience in serving the Lord cut little ice with younger people.  I struggle with the feeling that God Channel preachers are believed over what I may have taught a person!  I could, but must not “go on”!

The lesson from Job is that five men of assorted age and experience all obscured the true wisdom of God.  I may well be concerned that a young man leading and teaching might bring undigested teaching from a lack of experience.  This is just as possible for an older man!  The Lord was only 30 when he began his ministry.  I know – he is the Lord!  However, the men he chose were not aged!  All were young men!  And they were the foundation of the church.

The real point about wisdom is that it is not a thing but a person – THE CHRIST – Jesus!  If a teacher wishes to bring useful wisdom to his hearers then he must centre and focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. 

1Corinthians 1:24  …  to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

So, the point of all this is not that a person be experienced but that they truly KNOW the Lord Jesus.  From this comes true wisdom and real spiritual food.  No amount of learning or experience can substitute the teaching that comes from someone who knows the Lord!

1John 2:3  We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

Hebrews 8:11  No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

Peter 3:18  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

APPOINTMENTS

Present life experience has brought me face to face with the fact that every one of us has an appointment with God!  The last year or so has seen me in a doctor’s surgery more often that in my whole adult life before then!  Also, I have been visiting the dentist more frequently.  Appointments for my health’s sake.

More significantly, my regular visits to see my mother have changed to appointments to visit her in hospital.  My mother has been an independent, dignified person who, in the toughest times faced life well-dressed and ready for whatever might come.  I remember visiting her after a serious operation about ten years ago.  Only hours after the surgery, she was sitting in a chair by the hospital bed, clothed in her best and dignified.  Now, she is distressed that she cannot care for herself and struggles with the indignity of it all.  Yes, mother is 92 – a grand age but age has its toll.  As the wise man wrote:

Ecclesiastes 12:1  Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"

He goes on to describe the many discomforts of old age – from failing eyesight to heart troubles.

My mother may very soon attend her appointment with the Lord.

Hebrews 9:27  …  it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment … [KJV]

The Scripture makes it plain that physical death is not the end but only a door through which we complete our appointment with the Lord. 

Now, as one saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus, I (and my mother) have an appointment at the BEMA – a place where Jesus will examine my life works and test them in his love.  It is my obligation in life to see that my works are spiritual and constructed from materials that endure the fire.

1Corinthians 3:11-15  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

However, it is clear in Scripture that there is another door and a different “room” where people who refuse to believe in and trust Jesus to save them have their appointment.  It is called “The Great White Throne” [see Revelation chapter 20 verses 11-15].  At that appointment there is no rescue through the fire!  There is a trial and it will reveal the secret life of each person there.  In justice each one will see that the verdict on them is just. 

It is possible that some become confused about these judgement things.  The Word is clear – believers in Jesus “fall asleep”.  Their death ism described as being asleep in Jesus!  The risen life of Jesus is theirs and even though they die – yet shall they live!  On the other hand, the persons meeting God at the Great White Throne are described as “the dead”.  So, we have two separate judgement thrones and two very different objectives.  I wonder which appointment you will be keeping – through which door?  It is a wonderful eternal truth that you can be sure of entering into life with Christ if you first enter through the Door which is Christ Jesus.  This requires a present judgement and confession that I am a sinner that should be condemned -  but is given life and made right with God through faith in Jesus and what he did for us at the Cross.  Why not make that appointment with God now?

TECHNICALITIES

An imagined scene:

The gateway to heaven – the Lord is sitting on his Umpires Throne (the Bema) – a hopeful person comes to the judgement seat.  He is expecting to be admitted, though maybe will have to endure some burning away of the wood, hay and stubble of fleshly works …

THE JUDGE:  Name, please;

PERSON: (your name here)

THE JUDGE:  Ah, Yes …. Mmmm

PERSON: Is there a problem?

THE JUDGE: Well, there is a technical problem.  We have run through your life on the slow motion screen and found that you did not properly understand the doctrines of the Church.

PERSON: And?

JUDGE: We have decided that you cannot be admitted!

Well, we can thank and praise God that a real believer will not experience such a thing.  Yes, our lives will come under scrutiny at the Bema but not with a view to disqualification – rather with a view to reveal all that was valuable and good.

The world seems to be drowning itself in technicalities.  Law breakers are able to get away free on a technicality.  In many sports the cameras and microphones that are focused on the goal mouth, the wicket, the starting line or the try line, seem to demand infinitesimal accuracy before a decision can be made.  Not long ago, a decision for lbw (leg before wicket) was a matter for the umpire.  Now it involves third umpires and repeated examination of film footage.  I have noted the same dilemma when someone scores a try.  The referee is unable to decide and refers to the judgment of other referees.

This fine-tuning seems to affect everything and everyone.  Arguments in our Law Courts seem less concerned with whether a person actually committed a crime.  Instead they become involved in technicalities about the arrest, or the mindset of the accused.  You know the kind of thing.  It is happening in Norway at the moment and is described as the Christian way of dealing with crime.  But is it?

I am not keen on attitudes that label everything “black or white”.  Life is not like that and there are shades of grey in between.  Jesus was not afraid to describe people as sinners.  He did not treat everyone the same.  He forgave all kinds of sin but we do not hear him speak lightly of it.  He commanded people to “sin no more!”  He was also very cross with the Pharisees for their way of making people sinners (technically) through disregarding their book of rules.  Pharisees made everything black or white.  A tailor was a sinner if he accidentally carried a pin in his cloak on a Sabbath Day!  Yet a man could deny his mother and father all support through making a commitment to the Temple (Corban).  A Pharisee technicality allowed a major law (honour your Father and your Mother) to be broken!  Another Pharisee technicality labelled a man a sinner.

If the world wants to tie everyone up with technicalities like the Pharisees – well that’s up to them.  The world is in their hands; God will call them to account!  My concern is over Christians who do the same.  So many Christians exclude others on the basis of a technicality.  Yes, there are seriously important doctrines of our faith but, in my view, many of the differences and distances placed between believers are mere technicalities.  There are spiritual wanderers (from church to church) who have no good reason for their wandering other than a few technicalities.  I hear complaints about styles, songs, versions, attitudes and individuals.  Little is said concerning the Lord Jesus and his glory!  The concerns are mere technicalities that have no value in the Light of Christ.

I wonder if those who judge so finely between each other would like the Father to do the same?  How would they enjoy being judged unworthy for heaven on a technicality?  Even the most righteous of Christians would not want to claim worthiness for heaven!  Our access to glory sits entirely on the foundation of Jesus – his words, his ways and his finished work at the Cross (Oh, sorry – I should write stake – a technical difference no doubt?).  There is no way in to heaven on a technicality – there is no being excused on a technicality.  God has declared every person to be a sinner.  On that level playing field we seek his mercy and grace.  This is available freely through faith in Jesus Christ. 

There it is set down in the Word of God.  A person is saved by grace through faith in the Son of God.  There is no film footage checking how you got there, how you stayed there, what you did to deserve it or what you did to deserve losing it. No, the Judge of all the Earth says – all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved (rescued, delivered, redeemed, reconciled to God, baptised in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, added into the Body of Christ, regenerated, born again   …. It does not matter what one says, it is who one believes in that matters).  Understanding the details of the grace of God may take you a lifetime; enjoying the wonders of his grace starts now!

KNOW THE LORD

[verses quoted from the NIV]


The prophet Jeremiah [chapter 31] tells us of a New Covenant where God will teach everyone and reveal himself to them.  They will “know” the Lord through revelation, through spiritual insight. The letter to the Hebrews emphasises this [chapter 8]. We ought to understand, from this, that God wants us to know him!

How can we know God?  Again the letter to the Hebrews explains that the partial and fragmented understanding brought through Israel has been transcended by the complete revelation brought by the Son [Hebrews chapter 1].  There are many New Testament passages that exhort us to know the Lord.  What exactly does this mean?

When the Lord saved me he added me to a group of Christians in North London who were reluctant to own any name or denomination.  Their connections were with churches that were called “Open Brethren”.  Now, these groups must not be confused with another movement that had companies of people who named someone like Darby, Raven, Kelly or Young as their “apostle”.  These companies were named “Exclusive Brethren”.  The origin of both groups was the same but the outcome was very different.  Anyway, the people I met with had a meeting to remember the Lord Jesus.  That’s all it was for!  All kinds of men (in those days most churches were wary of female ministry) would share what they knew about the Lord Jesus.  This might be through a hymn, a prayer or a “revelation” – a personal understanding of Scripture.  I was impressed that these people knew the Lord and it encouraged me to go on to know him better! [Ephesians 1.17]

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians chapter 1 refers to “the eyes of your hearts being opened (enlightened)”.  Here we have a direct understanding of the Jeremiah prophecy where God promised to reveal or give knowledge of himself in a direct way to all believers.  So, it remains for us to have open eyes!  This gives a good definition of one of the Greek words used that is usually rendered “know” in English – EIDO.  This carries the idea of seeing, having insight but not necessarily having scientific or philosophical or theological understanding.  After all there are many things we know without any “deeper” understanding.  Many of us know how to drive a car but have little idea how the thing works!  I could name a thousand things like this.  The important thing is that every real believer knows the Lord Jesus in this way.  There is a personal reference to him through the Holy Spirit that informs our understanding of doctrine, practice and lifestyle as a believer.  This can be seen in John’s first letter where he uses the word EIDO and another word GINOSKO (to have understanding, realisation, appreciation) to explain the basis of our faith.  So, he explains that we see that we understand who Jesus is through particular behaviour. For example:

1Jn 2:29  If you know [EIDO]that he is righteous, you know [GINOSKO] that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

So, God teaches us by revelation (spiritual insight) that Jesus is righteous – he is sinless and what he does is right and good.  Therefore, when we look at man’s righteous acts we recognise those that are truly like Jesus and those that are merely self-righteous acts.

There is another Greek word for knowing – GNOSIS.  This word carries the idea of religious knowledge – knowing the doctrines, knowing the science of a thing.  A good example of the use of this word is in 1Timothy 6.20 where Paul warns Timothy about discussion over “science” or special knowledge that had no right to such a name.  The word GNOSIS is used to describe numerous heresies about Jewish or Christian beliefs – GNOSTICISM.  We understand this to mean that knowledge of something is held up in some way as being more important that knowing the Lord Jesus.  It is a sad fact that believers can so easily be drawn into some kind of special knowledge and make this the basis of their faith rather than the Person and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder the apostle Peter advises us:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2Peter 3:18 

And Paul writes:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Philippians 3.10-12

Tying up Loose Ends!

Bible Quotes are from the NIV.

Our church group were reading through Genesis and Exodus.  They are on to Acts now!

In Exodus God gives a lot of space to describing the details and construction of the Tabernacle.  Now, the New Testament (Hebrews) gives us permission to see that all the Tabernacle stuff tells us about Jesus – all kinds of revelation.  Then we read in John 1.14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Those words his dwelling translate a Greek phrase – εσκηνωσεν  εν ημιν (eskēnōsen en hēmin)  which carries the idea that Jesus encamped, pitched his tent or TABERNACLED among us.  We have permission to think of the Tabernacle as a picture of Jesus Christ – the Word become flesh – living among his creatures on earth.

Now, we need to remind ourselves that we must read Scripture with the help and guidance and revelation of the Holy Spirit.  All kinds of things can “go wrong” when the human intellect gets hold of God’s Word! 

Something to notice in the accounts of the Tabernacle is that God starts with the item closest to Him – the Ark and Mercy Seat.  When the Tabernacle is built he starts with what is closest to the people – the outer fence!  That is, probably, quite easy to understand? 

Heb 10:19-20  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.

It is possible to read through the Exodus description of the Tabernacle and get interested in the big items and miss the detail!  By this I mean that we can miss items like pegs, nails, loops and ties.  Everything had to fit together and be fixed together.  When we study Scripture and discover more and more about God in the person of Jesus Christ we need to make sure that we are tying things together, fixing things IN HIM.  Like Paul says to Timothy –

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

We can grasp a truth and fail to fix in with other truth about the Lord.  We can present something which is not whole, not sound doctrine.  Without the pegs and nails, loops and ties, poles and sockets, the Tabernacle would have fallen apart!  Now the point of all this can be seen when we understand that all believers in Jesus are his priests and therefore are commissioned to carry something of Him (the Tabernacle).  We read about this in the book of Numbers.  Some priests were privileged to carry the Ark, the Lampstand, the Curtains, the boards covered in gold … and so forth.  However, others were privileged to carry the pegs, nails, laces ,ties, poles and sockets.  Without them serving faithfully, the “Tabernacle” is not complete. 

If we truly want to present Christ to the nations then we must all play our part in showing everyone who he is.  After all we are his Body!

MOSES

This morning I heard on the BBC news about a remarkable rise to fame of a basketball player in New York (USA).  It seems that he was a “reject” just a few weeks ago but is now a super-star!  Apparently he has spoken openly about his belief that he owes it all to God being at work in all kinds of ways (20 or 30 – he says) that have brought about his current situation.

Well, I reckon Moses would say much the same thing.  He would point to many factors – great and small – that brought him to the Burning Bush and the commission from God that transformed the history of the Israeli Nation. 

The Michelangelo sculpture of Moses depicts him with two horn-like protuberances above his forehead.  The ancient idea was that Moses’ experience in the presence of God had given him these horns!  However, it was a mistranslation of a word and should have read “glorified”.  We know that Moses face shone when he returned from the mountain.  However, the idea is sound – that Moses was special, anointed, made capable of amazing things.  Otherwise, we will struggle to see how he could rule over a million nomadic people.

God had a plan from before time began.  This included Moses as leader of the Hebrew slave people – bringing them out of Egypt.  God’s purposes culminated in Christ Jesus!

Just think about the mammoth task Moses had.  He really needed miraculous help and assurance that God had called him to it!  I think this is reflected a little in every church leader’s experience.  We may lead just a few people in comparison but there are many similarities between Moses’ experiences and those of church elders or leaders.

First we see that the Hebrews had a “slave mentality” – they expected everything done for them – good or bad.  They were swift to blame Moses for their conditions rather than see faith in the Lord as the remedy.  The people were “carnal” (or at best infants) and were easily swayed by physical problems and needs.  We might read in amusement how they longed for the cucumbers they could eat in Egypt in preference to the Manna provided by God!  Then there was the battle with Amalek soon after their escape from Pharaoh’s armies and the crossing of the Red Sea.  This is usually taught as a picture of the way the “flesh” (the old nature) and the world can try to discourage the Christian in his or her new life.  The people were ambushed!  Moses need to pray through this and needed the help of other leaders to keep his arms up!

All these experiences have their parallels in the local church.  Leaders, like Moses, need to be clear about their calling and be anointed through being in God’s Presence.  They need to be able to see the hand of God in their experiences and have faith that he has brought them into leadership of their particular group.  They need people to help them in prayer for the people – especially from being ambushed by sin, the flesh and the devil.  Then there is the need for clear teaching about being the children of God and free in Christ – bringing the people out of slavery.  Of course, this requires a clear purpose to bring the people into maturity in Christ – realising their inheritance in Him and the fact that they will be brought to glory as “sons”.

dvc

The Staff of God

In our recent teaching we have been looking at the call of Moses and the signs God gave him to show the Hebrew slaves in Egypt.

In particular we saw how Moses staff had to be thrown down.  This staff would have been a status symbol, a statement about Moses.  It was his – it would have his name carved on it (maybe other things too).  It would have been cared for, carved and full of character.  On the ground it became a venomous snake!  Moses was allowed to pick it up again – by the tail – and it became a staff in his hand.  From then on it is called the Staff of God and Aaron’s staff!  Moses names it “the Staff of God” – see Exodus 17.9.

Later, this staff springs to life and bears leaf, blossom and fruit in testimony that God had chosen Aaron to be High Priest.  After this it is kept in the Holy Place in front of the Ark.  We are brought into the Presence of God and see that the Staff is now a picture of the Lord Jesus and his resurrection.

Now, Moses had two other signs – one was that his hand would become full of leprosy if he just placed inside his jacket and then drew it out again.  This is a reminder of the danger of serving God in the flesh.  Also, he was told to take water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground where it would become blood.  The word  “blood” tends to take us straight to the Cross of Jesus but, maybe here, the context is very different.  The sign is that something the people depended upon would become unpalatable to them!  In fact all three signs declare the warning that what we depend upon can quickly lose its value and leave us – poisoned and plagued.  So, the Hebrews would need to learn to depend on God alone – equally, the Egyptians would be made to see that their power and wealth were impotent in resisting God’s will.

I hope that we can learn something from all this?  After all, the Scriptures are given so that we can learn, be corrected, rebuked and trained in the way of life.

In my experience, church life can become unpleasant when people with  responsibilities use their “staff” in pride or in the flesh.  Every believer has an anointing and is a priest of God – but not all have roles that involve leading or organising others.  It is these duties where a servant decides to act as a “lord”. The reason for this is probably something to do with finding value in what we do rather than in who we believe in and who we are in Christ. A worldly character of criticism, defensiveness and domination develops that usurps the authority of God.  The work becomes “my ministry” rather than belonging to God.  The staff is snatched away from God!

Take a look at how Pharaoh responds to the command that he let God’s people go.  He makes them work harder, he is cruel, he belittles their efforts.  He makes them find their own straw.  Later, he tries to demonstrate how powerful he is and that his regime can do what God can do .  By this I mean that he tries to show by turning sticks into snakes, or water into blood, or frogs in their beds, that he was doing God’s work!

It is possible for sincere Christians to serve in their own strength, bringing stuff out of their fleshly natures.  People like this are mentioned all through the New Testament.  The extreme versions are likened to Cain, Balaam and Korah.  However, Paul writes about fellow-Christians who had become, “false apostles, deceitful workers”.  At the very basic level Paul warns about serving with confidence in the “flesh”.  By this he means that a Christian can start to build a ministry around the idea that he or she is earning God’s favour and is attaining some kind of superiority.  This is usually accompanied by some “hobby-horse” or other – some claim to special revelation or superior knowledge.  It can also show itself in an extreme expectation on others to conform to their idea of what “ought to be”!

I realise that I must challenge myself about all this.  Do I serve with the “Staff of God” or have I made it “my” rod to control and hurt the people of God?  What about you?

 Dave Chapman Feb 2012

About Genesis

Many of you will have read through Genesis. It is a remarkable book containing the origins of what we believe as Christians.  Here we read how sin and death came into the world.  We read about God’s love and justice, about faith and obedience, about the purposes of God for Israel and the world.

With all this we read a lot of very strange things!  We read about human weakness and depravity.  Against this we read of encounters with mysterious beings like Melchizedek.  For someone with little or no faith in God this book is a minefield; a disaster area – even plain nonsense!  However, through eyes of faith – through knowing Jesus Christ – everything comes into focus. 

First we need to see that Moses wrote this book.  Where did he get his information?  Well in Exodus chapter 24 we read that Moses spent 40 days and nights up a mountain communing with the Lord. In Deuteronomy chapter 10 we discover that Moses spent a second 40 days and nights in God’s presence.  This second time was to do with interceding for the people because they had sinned.  During one or both of these times, Moses received all kinds of information from God that we call “the Law”.  Moses was commanded to write these things down.  We have 5 books written by him [the PENTATEUCH].  The first of these is Genesis [meaning BEGINNINGS].  Moses writes what God showed him about the origins of Mankind, the development of Covenants with God and the emergence of the nation of Israel (among many other nations).

Moses did not see everything – nor was he able to describe everything he saw in ways that would suit us 21^st Century people.  All through the Bible God speaks through the limitations of human beings who have faith in him.  He does not make them into robots.  He does not give them words to say that they did not know or understand.  It would be remarkable for Moses to have described the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an “atomic blast” or “laser beams of destruction”.  He describes what he was shown in words that he knew.

It is wonderful and amazing to read the accounts of ordinary people in that ancient world.  They show the same weaknesses and sins that dominate our modern world.  Yet, we see God working with them and through them because of their faith in him!  He is not fazed by their weaknesses and his purposes stay on course in spite of Abraham’s “ups and downs”, Isaac’s wilful ignoring of God’s word about Jacob and Esau, Jacob’s wheeling and dealing, the attempt to do away with Joseph and the various sinful things that might have messed up the pure line of Israel.  And why did God want to keep Israel “pure” and special as a nation? His purpose was to produce the Saviour of the World through that nation.  All this is seen in a nutshell in the experience of Joseph.  This is all made clear in Genesis chapter 45 [and chapter 50 v.20].  God was behind everything so that Israel would have a safe place to last out the famine and, later become a distinct nation. 

Genesis has several covenants made by God.  These are promises (or oaths) that God made with people of faith.  Some have conditions others do not.  All of them remain because they are God’s Word.  We may be weak and changeable but God does not change and his word endures for ever.

·  Genesis ch.3 – several promises here – the main one being that the seed of the woman will crush Satan.

·  Genesis ch’s. 8&9 – here the word covenant is used and the promise relates to preserving and honouring life – signified by the rainbow.
·  Genesis ch.12 – here and elsewhere are covenants made with Abraham.  These all relate to a chosen nation out of which would come the Saviour of the World [MESSIAH].

The covenant with Abraham extends through Isaac and then Jacob.  One might feel that these men did little to help the promises along!  However, God remained faithful and his word stayed steady and true.  God could bless all Abraham’s children yet remain on course to bless the world through Isaac.   Right up to today we have trouble in the world because of Abraham’s children.  Not just the enmity between Ishmael (Arabs) and Isaac (Jews) but other nations like Iraq and Iran are descendants of children of Abraham. All the strife seems only to highlight the power and promises of God.

Let us take courage and hold on to faith in the Lord knowing that serving him is a privilege and that his grace will see us though.  We may feel weak, or silly, or sinful BUT GOD is able to lift us up and strengthen us for his work.  We must not worry about weakness but realise that his strength can be perfect in our weakness [2 Corinthians 12.9].  Just look at what God did in the Book of Genesis!