Paul was called to the fellowship of Christ's sufferings:
"I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Phil. 3:8, 10, 11, NKJV, emphasis added).
The goal of Paul's sufferings was, that he might know Christ and to attain to the resurrection from the dead. All believers should have similar goal. In order to understand what it takes to have fellowship of Christ's sufferings we must first acknowledge and understand the sufferings of Christ and Paul.
The Sufferings of Christ
The Scripture says God knew before hand, by the mouths of all His prophets, that His Christ should suffer. When Jesus Christ came He would be a suffering savior. He would be a man of sufferings and a man of sorrows:
"He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3).
The Gospel says Jesus suffered mentally and physically with anguish. He was rejected, He was distrusted, He was abused, He was mocked and laughed at. He knew what it was to be lonely, hungry, poor, unloved and shamed. He was humiliated and slandered. He was called a liar, a fraud and a false prophet. His own family members misunderstood Him. His most trusted friends lost faith in Him. His own disciples forsook Him and fled when He needed them the most. One of them betrayed Him; one of them denied he knew Him. Finally they spat on Him; they mugged Him and murdered Him!
Someone had aptly said the soul anguish which Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane was equal to that which He suffered on the cross of Calvary! In reality, Christ 'died' in Gethsemane before He ever died on the cross. He, no doubt, was 'nailed' to Gethsemane's ground by prayer burden before the nails of the Roman soldiers hanged Him to the cross!
The Sufferings of Paul
Paul was called by Jesus Himself to suffer. Jesus commanded Ananias to go and lay hand on Paul right after he was converted:
"Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:15, 16, emphasis added).
The ministry of Paul was the ministry of suffering. He was called to suffer for Christ. In comparison with other apostles Paul said:
"Are they ministers of Christ? - I speak as a fool - I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness - besides the other things, what comes upon me daily; my deep concern for the churches" (2 Cor. 11:23 - 28, NKJV).
Paul lived his entire life through sufferings - physically and mentally. No man outside of Christ had suffered like him. Yet Paul said, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
The Jews were watching Paul to see whether or not he could stand the tests and trials. They had a philosophy that suffering was a result of God rejecting you. The judgment of God is upon you when you suffer. On the other hand, the blessing of God was determined by prosperity and having a comfortable life. If you are prospering then God loves you. But if you are suffering then God is mad at you. Therefore the Jews assumed that if God was with Paul, he would not be suffering; he would not be thrown in jail or shipwrecked!
Because of this confusion in the Church concening Paul's sufferings, he sent Timothy to the Church in Thessalonica to establish the the faith of the believers with this message:
"..... that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know" (1 Thess. 3:3, 4, emphasis added).
Paul also wrote to the Church in Ephesus:
"Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory" (Ephesians 3:13).
Believers are called to suffer
The New Testament Scripture clearly says that all believers are called to suffer and to partake of Christ's sufferings:
"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12, 13, emphasis added).
"But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:20, 21, emphasis added).
We suffer because Christ suffered.
"Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creater" (1 Peter 4:19, emphasis added).
To suffer as a Christian for doing good, is the will of God, but to suffer as "a murderer, a thief, an evildoer ..." (1 Peter 4:15), is not the will of God.
"All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12, emphasis).
The word 'all' means no exception. The reverse is also true - all who do not suffer persecution are not living a godly Christian life. They are compromising believers who are not the doers of His Word, but hearers only (James 1:23). They gospel message is painless!
Jesus Himself said that in the last days there will be tribulation and sufferings for God's people:
"In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake" (Matt. 24:9, emphasis added).
Notice the word 'all' again. All nations, including Christian nations, will hate you because you are a believer and a disciple of Christ!
The primary purpose of sufferings for the Church
Our God is a God of all comfort for He sees what is coming ahead for the Church - sufferings and tribulation. He reveals to His Church that the primary purpose of sufferings is to produce comforters to the Body of Christ. Yes, the Holy Spirit is the Comforter but He desires His children to be comforters too, so that they may comfort and encourage one another in the midst of sufferings:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation" (2 Cor. 1:3 - 7).
The above passaged of Scripture is rather length, but we can learn from Paul's ministry of sufferings and comfort. Paul and Timothy wrote to the Corinthian Church regarding the need of comfort and consolation for the believers. Paul was essentially saying that he and Timothy were examplses for their sufferings. What some of them had been through was not just to train them, and not just for their own good only, but also for the good of others. Whether they were afflicted or comforted it was for their consolation and salvation.
Enter the Kingdom of God through tribulation and sufferings
Paul said, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
Jesus, in explaining the parable of the Sower to His disciples, said:
"He who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately recieves it wih joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles" (Matt. 13:20, 21).
It is true that salvation and entering the Kingdom of God is a walk. But, it is a walk of endurance through tribulation and sufferings. Paul rejoiced in tribulation because of the hope of salvation:
".... and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:2, 3, 4).
Many Christians have been destroyed by sufferings and tribulation because of the lack endurance and perseverance; they have been blown away by it; they just give up because they do not understand it. They just quit on the Lord and say it does not work for them!
Concerning the chastening of the Lord, the writer of Hebrews said:
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11, emphasis added).
The fruit of righteousness is not sufferings but sufferings understood!
Deliverance from sufferings and trouble
The psalmist said, "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted" (Ps. 77:2).
By seeking the Lord the psalmist turned away from self dependency to total dependency on the Lord Jesus Christ.
David said, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit" (Ps. 34:17, 18).
Here is the climax of this message:
Paul revealed the secret of life through sufferings:
"For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is working in us, but life in you" (2 Cor. 4:11, 12).
All deliverance comes through death; death to self will, self ambition and self life - bring all these to the Calvary to be crucified with Christ! All true deliverance comes throuh the "Gethsemane experience".
The whole purpose of suffering is that we may bring forth life to ourselves and to others. Every time we testify concerning our suffering for Christ's sake, to somebody, life comes out of us! Thank God for sufferings and tribulations!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
The Mystery of Sufferings
This is my first message for 2007. This is not a negative message; but on the contrary I attempt to impart a few words of comfort and encouragement to those who are going through a period of sufferings and trials.
The mystery of God is what God "kept secret since the world began" (Romans 16:12). Examples of the mystery of God include, resurrection of believers (1 Cor. 15:51), the gospel (Eph. 6:19), godiness (1 Tim. 3:16) and "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27).
When Bible teachers or theologians talk about suffering they are likely to confine to physical suffering. But the type of suffering that human beings encounter everyday in their lives on earth covers a much wider field - physical, mental and spiritual. This message, like most of my messages posted so far, are the product of my Bible research work. I find myself most inadequate to present a good message on suffering because of my lack of personal experience on personal sufferings and also the lack of exposure to the sufferings of other people. Fortunately the Bible has much to say about sufferings.
Soloman said, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search out a matter" (Proverbs 25:2, NKJV).
As believers are "made kings and priests to our God" (Rev. 5:10), and therefore it is our glory to search out the mystery of God.
The most general definition of human suffering
We cannot talk about human suffering unless we can define what human suffering involves. And we cannot talk about suffering as a Christian unless we understand human suffering in general. I think the following general definition of human suffering will cover all forms of suffering from the smallest to the greatest. Here it is:
"Suffering is having what you do not want or wanting what you do not have".
You do not want sickness and poverty, but you are having them. This is suffering! You are hungry and thirsty but you have nothing to eat or drink. This is also suffering. We can think of many examples.
Would it be wonderful if we do not need to suffer? We have everything we want and do not have things we do not want. Let us think about it more deeply. Can you imagine a world in which nobody has anything that he does not want; no discomfort, no taxes, no traffic jam, no touchy relatives and difficult bosses or workers and so on? Or, by contrast, where everybody has everything they wanted; they have perfect weather condition, perfect wives, perfect husbands, perfect health, perfect scores and perfect happiness and so on. I think the world would be a dreadful place in which to live if there is no suffering at all. The reason being, everything that corrects the tendency of man to feel overly important and over pleased with himself will disappear. He will take everything for granted.
Our concept about God determines how we view suffering
Suffering becomes a problem to us if we have already believed three things about God:
1. We must believe in one God. There is no problem if there are many gods. Some gods may be good and some bad. Obviously suffering comes from a bad god.
2. We must believe in an almighty God. If God is not almighty but is as helpless as we are, then He is not able to stop suffering even if He wants to. So, we can expect some sufferings in our life.
3. We must believe that God is love. If God is hate then there is no problem. If I love people it is obvious that I will not hurt them or want to see them suffer.
Relationship between love and suffering
There is an intimate relationship between love and suffering. Every perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). God is love (1 John 4:8), but with the gift of love also comes with the gift of suffering. These two gifts are inseparable. If we do not ever want to suffer we must be very careful never to love - anything or anybody. Can you imagine a life without love? We simply cannot avoid suffering without avoiding love also. For example if I do not love my children I will not suffer if they are sick. I will also not suffer if they misbehave or fail to follow sound advice.
The seemingly contradiction between suffering and love can only be understood via the Cross of Calvary! God's love for you and I is demonstrated at the Cross. He loves much and suffered much for us. He allows Himself and His only begotten Son to suffer so that we might have life. The Cross saves the world and brings into harmony with suffering. It is only at the foot of the Cross that we can begin to harmonize this divine paradox between love and suffering. We will never understand suffeing unless we understand the love of God!
We are talking about two different levels on which things are to be understood. The Scripture seems to be in complete paradox because there are three different kingdoms - the visible kingdom of this world and the two invisible kingdoms (God's Kingdom and Satan's kingdom) on which the facts of this world are interpreted.
Take for examples the Beatitudes, those wonderful statements of paradox that Jesus gave to the multitudes when He preached to them on the mountain:
"Blessed are those who mourn (suffer), for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4, emphasis added).
"Blessed are those who are persecuted (suffered) for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10, emphasis added).
The apostle Paul understood perfectly well the meaning of suffering for righteousness sake:
"Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Timothy 2:8 - 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
The cause of suffering
There are three views regarding the cause of suffering - two non-Biblical views and the Biblical view:
Non-Biblical views
1. Some philosophers and thinkers believe suffering is due to the imperfection of the world in which we live. Put it simply, when God made the world He did a bad job. If He had made the world properly there would not be any earthquake; no volcano, no hurricane, no pollution, no tropical storm and so on. This view must be rejected. Genesis 1:31 says, "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. ...".
2. Some believe suffering is due to the ignorance of men. This view must also be rejected. Knowledge can only relief suffering but not eradicate it.
The Biblical view
The Biblical position of suffering points to a single cause. All suffering is due to sin. But there is no simple answer. We must not jump into conclusion that when a person suffers he must have sinned. The suffering of Job is a good example. There are many saintly and godly persons suffered terribly and experienced premature death. On the other hand some wicked people died peacefully in their old age.
Therefore we cannot equate suffering with sin in the individual lives. But, taking the whole sufferings of the whole world and the whole human race the Bible says that suffering is due to one single cause - SIN!
Sources of sin which cause suffering
In my opinion there are three sources of sin which cause sufferings to human beings:
1. Sufferings caused by the sin of an individual
Undoubtedly there are cases of suffering which are due to an individual's own sin. A man who drinks and smoke heavily and habitually, knows the result of what he has done. He might have cancer of the lung or liver later in life. The Bible says, "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7). Young people cannot sow their "wild oats" and get away with it later in life.
2. Sufferings caused by the sins of other people
Wars, aggressions, acts of terrorism, violence and cruelty are examples of suffering caused by the sins of other people. But we cannot say wars are bad and unnecessary. Sometimes more suffering arises if a was has not been fought. The fact remains if I sin I cause others to suffer. If one nation sins other nation or nations will suffer.
A question arises why does God allow me to suffer because of someone else's sin? A Biblical answer is that God created us so that we can relate to one another. We can help and care for one another. We can love and also hate one another. We are not created to live individual lives in isolation. There is no such thing as private Christianity!
Paul said, "There should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Cor. 12:15, 26, NKJV).
3. Sufferings caused by Satan's sin
Sufferings due to natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and the like, are caused by Satan's sin.
From the Book of Job we learn that Satan cannot cause suffering or harm to people unless God allowed him. Jesus Himself acknowledged the fact that a woman with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years was the work of Satan.
Jesus answered the ruler of the synagogue, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound - think of it - for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath" (Luke 13:15, 16, emphasis added)?
Why did God allowed this woman to suffer under Satan? Why does God allow sufferings as a result of Satan's sin? This remains a mystery to me and perhaps to you also! I believe we may never know until we get to glory. The right attitude should be - I do not know but I know God has His reason.
Conclusion
So we see we can never avoid suffering and suffering remains a mystery. We take comfort that even in the midst of suffering we know God is with us as He was with His Son when He suffered for our sin! Joy is not the absence of suffering but in the presence of God!
David the psalmist said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).
The apostle Paul knew exactly the meaning of suffering because he was called by God to suffer for His name sake (Acts 9:16). He had more than his fair share of sufferings during his missionary journeys.
He said, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18, NKJV).
The mystery of God is what God "kept secret since the world began" (Romans 16:12). Examples of the mystery of God include, resurrection of believers (1 Cor. 15:51), the gospel (Eph. 6:19), godiness (1 Tim. 3:16) and "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27).
When Bible teachers or theologians talk about suffering they are likely to confine to physical suffering. But the type of suffering that human beings encounter everyday in their lives on earth covers a much wider field - physical, mental and spiritual. This message, like most of my messages posted so far, are the product of my Bible research work. I find myself most inadequate to present a good message on suffering because of my lack of personal experience on personal sufferings and also the lack of exposure to the sufferings of other people. Fortunately the Bible has much to say about sufferings.
Soloman said, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search out a matter" (Proverbs 25:2, NKJV).
As believers are "made kings and priests to our God" (Rev. 5:10), and therefore it is our glory to search out the mystery of God.
The most general definition of human suffering
We cannot talk about human suffering unless we can define what human suffering involves. And we cannot talk about suffering as a Christian unless we understand human suffering in general. I think the following general definition of human suffering will cover all forms of suffering from the smallest to the greatest. Here it is:
"Suffering is having what you do not want or wanting what you do not have".
You do not want sickness and poverty, but you are having them. This is suffering! You are hungry and thirsty but you have nothing to eat or drink. This is also suffering. We can think of many examples.
Would it be wonderful if we do not need to suffer? We have everything we want and do not have things we do not want. Let us think about it more deeply. Can you imagine a world in which nobody has anything that he does not want; no discomfort, no taxes, no traffic jam, no touchy relatives and difficult bosses or workers and so on? Or, by contrast, where everybody has everything they wanted; they have perfect weather condition, perfect wives, perfect husbands, perfect health, perfect scores and perfect happiness and so on. I think the world would be a dreadful place in which to live if there is no suffering at all. The reason being, everything that corrects the tendency of man to feel overly important and over pleased with himself will disappear. He will take everything for granted.
Our concept about God determines how we view suffering
Suffering becomes a problem to us if we have already believed three things about God:
1. We must believe in one God. There is no problem if there are many gods. Some gods may be good and some bad. Obviously suffering comes from a bad god.
2. We must believe in an almighty God. If God is not almighty but is as helpless as we are, then He is not able to stop suffering even if He wants to. So, we can expect some sufferings in our life.
3. We must believe that God is love. If God is hate then there is no problem. If I love people it is obvious that I will not hurt them or want to see them suffer.
Relationship between love and suffering
There is an intimate relationship between love and suffering. Every perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). God is love (1 John 4:8), but with the gift of love also comes with the gift of suffering. These two gifts are inseparable. If we do not ever want to suffer we must be very careful never to love - anything or anybody. Can you imagine a life without love? We simply cannot avoid suffering without avoiding love also. For example if I do not love my children I will not suffer if they are sick. I will also not suffer if they misbehave or fail to follow sound advice.
The seemingly contradiction between suffering and love can only be understood via the Cross of Calvary! God's love for you and I is demonstrated at the Cross. He loves much and suffered much for us. He allows Himself and His only begotten Son to suffer so that we might have life. The Cross saves the world and brings into harmony with suffering. It is only at the foot of the Cross that we can begin to harmonize this divine paradox between love and suffering. We will never understand suffeing unless we understand the love of God!
We are talking about two different levels on which things are to be understood. The Scripture seems to be in complete paradox because there are three different kingdoms - the visible kingdom of this world and the two invisible kingdoms (God's Kingdom and Satan's kingdom) on which the facts of this world are interpreted.
Take for examples the Beatitudes, those wonderful statements of paradox that Jesus gave to the multitudes when He preached to them on the mountain:
"Blessed are those who mourn (suffer), for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4, emphasis added).
"Blessed are those who are persecuted (suffered) for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10, emphasis added).
The apostle Paul understood perfectly well the meaning of suffering for righteousness sake:
"Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Timothy 2:8 - 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
The cause of suffering
There are three views regarding the cause of suffering - two non-Biblical views and the Biblical view:
Non-Biblical views
1. Some philosophers and thinkers believe suffering is due to the imperfection of the world in which we live. Put it simply, when God made the world He did a bad job. If He had made the world properly there would not be any earthquake; no volcano, no hurricane, no pollution, no tropical storm and so on. This view must be rejected. Genesis 1:31 says, "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. ...".
2. Some believe suffering is due to the ignorance of men. This view must also be rejected. Knowledge can only relief suffering but not eradicate it.
The Biblical view
The Biblical position of suffering points to a single cause. All suffering is due to sin. But there is no simple answer. We must not jump into conclusion that when a person suffers he must have sinned. The suffering of Job is a good example. There are many saintly and godly persons suffered terribly and experienced premature death. On the other hand some wicked people died peacefully in their old age.
Therefore we cannot equate suffering with sin in the individual lives. But, taking the whole sufferings of the whole world and the whole human race the Bible says that suffering is due to one single cause - SIN!
Sources of sin which cause suffering
In my opinion there are three sources of sin which cause sufferings to human beings:
1. Sufferings caused by the sin of an individual
Undoubtedly there are cases of suffering which are due to an individual's own sin. A man who drinks and smoke heavily and habitually, knows the result of what he has done. He might have cancer of the lung or liver later in life. The Bible says, "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7). Young people cannot sow their "wild oats" and get away with it later in life.
2. Sufferings caused by the sins of other people
Wars, aggressions, acts of terrorism, violence and cruelty are examples of suffering caused by the sins of other people. But we cannot say wars are bad and unnecessary. Sometimes more suffering arises if a was has not been fought. The fact remains if I sin I cause others to suffer. If one nation sins other nation or nations will suffer.
A question arises why does God allow me to suffer because of someone else's sin? A Biblical answer is that God created us so that we can relate to one another. We can help and care for one another. We can love and also hate one another. We are not created to live individual lives in isolation. There is no such thing as private Christianity!
Paul said, "There should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Cor. 12:15, 26, NKJV).
3. Sufferings caused by Satan's sin
Sufferings due to natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and the like, are caused by Satan's sin.
From the Book of Job we learn that Satan cannot cause suffering or harm to people unless God allowed him. Jesus Himself acknowledged the fact that a woman with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years was the work of Satan.
Jesus answered the ruler of the synagogue, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound - think of it - for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath" (Luke 13:15, 16, emphasis added)?
Why did God allowed this woman to suffer under Satan? Why does God allow sufferings as a result of Satan's sin? This remains a mystery to me and perhaps to you also! I believe we may never know until we get to glory. The right attitude should be - I do not know but I know God has His reason.
Conclusion
So we see we can never avoid suffering and suffering remains a mystery. We take comfort that even in the midst of suffering we know God is with us as He was with His Son when He suffered for our sin! Joy is not the absence of suffering but in the presence of God!
David the psalmist said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).
The apostle Paul knew exactly the meaning of suffering because he was called by God to suffer for His name sake (Acts 9:16). He had more than his fair share of sufferings during his missionary journeys.
He said, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18, NKJV).
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The Priesthood of Christ
It is important to note that Christ is not only the King who rules but also a priest:
"The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! The Lord has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek'" (Psalm 110:2, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
Melchizedek, in Hebrew means, "King of righteousness". He is a type of Christ. Jesus is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek which is separated from the Old Testament Levitical Priesthood. In fact the comparison between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is linked to the different order of priesthood.
Contrast between the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Levitical Priesthood
Before we dicuss the Priesthood of Christ let me list the differences between the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Levitical Priesthood. Details are available in the Book of Hebrews, Chapters 5 and 7.
1. The Melchizedek priesthood combined priesthood and kingship. The Levitical priesthood was given to the tribe of Levi; kingship was given to the tribe Judah. Interchange was not permitted.
2. Melchizedek gave Abraham bread and wine, emblems of the New Covenant. The Levi only gave back to the Isrealites part of the sacrifices previouly received from them.
3. Melchizedek received tithe from Abraham. Levi gave tithe through Abraham.
4. Melchizedek because of an indestructible life had a permanent priesthood. Levi because of mortality of men had only a temporary priesthood.
5. Melchizedek did not come through the genealogy of Abraham. Levi was descended from Abraham.
6. Melchizedek was greater because he blessed Abraham. Levi owed their blessing to Abraham.
7. Melchizedek priesthood was perfect because he was granted direct access to God. Levitical priesthood was imperfect and their priests had no direct access to God.
8. Melchizedek became priest by the power of indestructible life. Levi became priests only on the basis of physical requirement.
9. Melchizedek was appointed with God's oath. Levi were appointed priests without an oath.
10. Melchizedek ensured a superior covenant. Levi were linked to an inferior covenant.
11. Melchizedek provided one all sufficient priest. Because of death Levitical priests were appointed again and again.
12. Priesthood of Jesus Christ was able to save completely and forever. Levitical priests could not save.
13. Jesus in the order of Melchizedek need not sacrifice for His own sin - He had none. Levitical priests had to sacrifice for their own sin first.
14. Melchizedek provided God's only perfect Son to be Priest. Levitical priesthood provided only priests with human frailty.
Superiority of the Priesthood of Christ
Hebrews Chapter 8 describes the superiority of the Priesthood of Christ. The first two verses extract the main points about Jesus as our High Priest from the foregoing elaborate comparisons (Chapter 7).
"Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man" (Hebrews 8:1, 2).
Here are some points of observation:
1. Jesus as our High Priest
Jesus sat down in heavens because He had finished His Ministry on earth. He never needed to repeat His sacrifice - He Himself was the all sufficient sacrifice.
In contrast, the Levitical priests never sat down as they ministered in the Tabernacle of Moses, but always remained standing. Interestingly, the Tabernacle had no seats or chairs. They never sat down because their task was never complete. They only offered temporary sacrifice.
2. Jesus as our High Priest and King
Jesus is seated on the throne in the heavens. Only a king has the privilege to sit on a throne. Therefore Jesus is not only our High Priest but also our King.
Under the Levitical Law it was forbidden for a priest to be a king or a king to be a priest. There was an absolute line of division between priesthood and kingship.
It is interesting to note that the first time priest was mentioned in the Bible was not a Levitical priest but Melchizedek who was priest and king (Genesis 14:18). So when Jesus came, the priesthood of Melchizedek which was never mentioned again in the Old Testament, was restored in Jesus. In the Last Supper when Jesus took the bread and wine (which speak of the emblems Melchizedek offered to Abraham) and offered to His disciples, He was, in a way, saying "By this act the priesthood of Melchizedek was restored in Me. I am now both your Priest and your King".
In practical implication, as a Priest he represents us to God and sees to our interest. As a King He has the authority to get it done.
3. Jesus' Priestly Ministry
Jesus exercises His Priestly Ministry in the heavenly level. But the Levitical priests operated on the earthly level. Jesus did not take over the Levitical priesthood - He fulfills and replaces it.
4. Jesus mininsters in the true Tabernacle
The true Tabernacle in heaven where Jesus ministers was erected by God. The earthly Tabernacle where the Levitical priests ministered was a "shadow", "emblem" or "copy" of the Tabernacle in heaven. It was erected by Moses with full instructions from God.
The Function of every High Priest
The writer of Hebrews said, "For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law" (Hebrews 8:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
The unique function of every high priest, including our High Priest Jesus Christ, is to offer both gifts and sacrifices. But, Jesus Himself is both the Gift and Sacrifice for all, believers or unbelievers. In other words He offered Himself as Gift (offering) and Sacrifice (a victim) for our sake - to bring us to God.
Since it is the unique function of a priest to offer sacrifice to God, no one but a priest has the right to offer sacrifice. In other words, nobody has the right to offer sacrifice unless he is a priest. Similarly, people have no right to come to God and offer Him anything unless their offering and sacrifice are taken up by a priest. No Israelite could offer anything to God unless he was a Levitical priest. This gave tremendous power to the Levitical priests. In a certain sense a priest can either close or open the door to God!
The same is true for the New Testament priesthood. If people do not come by faith to Jesus Christ who is the High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1) their gifts or sacrifices will not be acceptable. People cannot put an offering in the collection box unless it goes through our High Priest. People who are not priests (unbelievers) have no right whatever to offer anything (neither gifts nor sacrifices) to God. Notice that prayer, praise and worship are all examples of our spiritual sacrifice to God. Therefore unbelievers or people who are not Christians have no right whatever to take part in Church services!
Mega-Churches and their leadership who welcome the unsaved to their Church services are all blinded from this important spiritual truth! They fail to understand that by allowing unbelievers to worship in the Local Church is the same as allowing unclean persons to minister in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of Moses!
All believers are called by God as priests
The Scripture is very clear concerning the priesthood of all believers in Christ:
1. We, the Church, is a holy priesthood
"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5, NKJV, emphasis added).
2. We, the Church, is a royal priesthood
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis added).
3. We, the Church, is a Kingdowm of priests
"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen" (Ravelation 1:5, 6, emphasis added).
"You (Jesus Christ) are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tonque and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:9, 10, emphasis added).
Imagine what tremendous privileges believers have. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ enables us to offer sarifices and gifts to our God as priests. And as kings we shall reign with Him on earth forever!
A practical Implication
Many elders, leaders of the Local Church, including pastors, fail to understand that Christians are forbidden to ask for donations or gifts from unbelievers for the Lord's work. As we have discussed above, unbelievers who are not appointed as priests, have no right whatever to offer gifts and sacrifices to our Lord or to His work.
The apostle John wrote to a Christian brother named Gaius:
"Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles" (3 John 5 - 7, emphasis added).
Gaius did the right thing - "in a manner worthy of God" by not accepting anything from the Gentiles (unbelievers) for the Lord's work.
The Bible is consistent concerning all spiritual truths. Christians who say the Bible contradicts itself and full of grey areas, do not know God nor His Word!
"The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! The Lord has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek'" (Psalm 110:2, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
Melchizedek, in Hebrew means, "King of righteousness". He is a type of Christ. Jesus is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek which is separated from the Old Testament Levitical Priesthood. In fact the comparison between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is linked to the different order of priesthood.
Contrast between the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Levitical Priesthood
Before we dicuss the Priesthood of Christ let me list the differences between the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Levitical Priesthood. Details are available in the Book of Hebrews, Chapters 5 and 7.
1. The Melchizedek priesthood combined priesthood and kingship. The Levitical priesthood was given to the tribe of Levi; kingship was given to the tribe Judah. Interchange was not permitted.
2. Melchizedek gave Abraham bread and wine, emblems of the New Covenant. The Levi only gave back to the Isrealites part of the sacrifices previouly received from them.
3. Melchizedek received tithe from Abraham. Levi gave tithe through Abraham.
4. Melchizedek because of an indestructible life had a permanent priesthood. Levi because of mortality of men had only a temporary priesthood.
5. Melchizedek did not come through the genealogy of Abraham. Levi was descended from Abraham.
6. Melchizedek was greater because he blessed Abraham. Levi owed their blessing to Abraham.
7. Melchizedek priesthood was perfect because he was granted direct access to God. Levitical priesthood was imperfect and their priests had no direct access to God.
8. Melchizedek became priest by the power of indestructible life. Levi became priests only on the basis of physical requirement.
9. Melchizedek was appointed with God's oath. Levi were appointed priests without an oath.
10. Melchizedek ensured a superior covenant. Levi were linked to an inferior covenant.
11. Melchizedek provided one all sufficient priest. Because of death Levitical priests were appointed again and again.
12. Priesthood of Jesus Christ was able to save completely and forever. Levitical priests could not save.
13. Jesus in the order of Melchizedek need not sacrifice for His own sin - He had none. Levitical priests had to sacrifice for their own sin first.
14. Melchizedek provided God's only perfect Son to be Priest. Levitical priesthood provided only priests with human frailty.
Superiority of the Priesthood of Christ
Hebrews Chapter 8 describes the superiority of the Priesthood of Christ. The first two verses extract the main points about Jesus as our High Priest from the foregoing elaborate comparisons (Chapter 7).
"Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man" (Hebrews 8:1, 2).
Here are some points of observation:
1. Jesus as our High Priest
Jesus sat down in heavens because He had finished His Ministry on earth. He never needed to repeat His sacrifice - He Himself was the all sufficient sacrifice.
In contrast, the Levitical priests never sat down as they ministered in the Tabernacle of Moses, but always remained standing. Interestingly, the Tabernacle had no seats or chairs. They never sat down because their task was never complete. They only offered temporary sacrifice.
2. Jesus as our High Priest and King
Jesus is seated on the throne in the heavens. Only a king has the privilege to sit on a throne. Therefore Jesus is not only our High Priest but also our King.
Under the Levitical Law it was forbidden for a priest to be a king or a king to be a priest. There was an absolute line of division between priesthood and kingship.
It is interesting to note that the first time priest was mentioned in the Bible was not a Levitical priest but Melchizedek who was priest and king (Genesis 14:18). So when Jesus came, the priesthood of Melchizedek which was never mentioned again in the Old Testament, was restored in Jesus. In the Last Supper when Jesus took the bread and wine (which speak of the emblems Melchizedek offered to Abraham) and offered to His disciples, He was, in a way, saying "By this act the priesthood of Melchizedek was restored in Me. I am now both your Priest and your King".
In practical implication, as a Priest he represents us to God and sees to our interest. As a King He has the authority to get it done.
3. Jesus' Priestly Ministry
Jesus exercises His Priestly Ministry in the heavenly level. But the Levitical priests operated on the earthly level. Jesus did not take over the Levitical priesthood - He fulfills and replaces it.
4. Jesus mininsters in the true Tabernacle
The true Tabernacle in heaven where Jesus ministers was erected by God. The earthly Tabernacle where the Levitical priests ministered was a "shadow", "emblem" or "copy" of the Tabernacle in heaven. It was erected by Moses with full instructions from God.
The Function of every High Priest
The writer of Hebrews said, "For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law" (Hebrews 8:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
The unique function of every high priest, including our High Priest Jesus Christ, is to offer both gifts and sacrifices. But, Jesus Himself is both the Gift and Sacrifice for all, believers or unbelievers. In other words He offered Himself as Gift (offering) and Sacrifice (a victim) for our sake - to bring us to God.
Since it is the unique function of a priest to offer sacrifice to God, no one but a priest has the right to offer sacrifice. In other words, nobody has the right to offer sacrifice unless he is a priest. Similarly, people have no right to come to God and offer Him anything unless their offering and sacrifice are taken up by a priest. No Israelite could offer anything to God unless he was a Levitical priest. This gave tremendous power to the Levitical priests. In a certain sense a priest can either close or open the door to God!
The same is true for the New Testament priesthood. If people do not come by faith to Jesus Christ who is the High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1) their gifts or sacrifices will not be acceptable. People cannot put an offering in the collection box unless it goes through our High Priest. People who are not priests (unbelievers) have no right whatever to offer anything (neither gifts nor sacrifices) to God. Notice that prayer, praise and worship are all examples of our spiritual sacrifice to God. Therefore unbelievers or people who are not Christians have no right whatever to take part in Church services!
Mega-Churches and their leadership who welcome the unsaved to their Church services are all blinded from this important spiritual truth! They fail to understand that by allowing unbelievers to worship in the Local Church is the same as allowing unclean persons to minister in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of Moses!
All believers are called by God as priests
The Scripture is very clear concerning the priesthood of all believers in Christ:
1. We, the Church, is a holy priesthood
"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5, NKJV, emphasis added).
2. We, the Church, is a royal priesthood
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis added).
3. We, the Church, is a Kingdowm of priests
"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen" (Ravelation 1:5, 6, emphasis added).
"You (Jesus Christ) are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tonque and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:9, 10, emphasis added).
Imagine what tremendous privileges believers have. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ enables us to offer sarifices and gifts to our God as priests. And as kings we shall reign with Him on earth forever!
A practical Implication
Many elders, leaders of the Local Church, including pastors, fail to understand that Christians are forbidden to ask for donations or gifts from unbelievers for the Lord's work. As we have discussed above, unbelievers who are not appointed as priests, have no right whatever to offer gifts and sacrifices to our Lord or to His work.
The apostle John wrote to a Christian brother named Gaius:
"Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles" (3 John 5 - 7, emphasis added).
Gaius did the right thing - "in a manner worthy of God" by not accepting anything from the Gentiles (unbelievers) for the Lord's work.
The Bible is consistent concerning all spiritual truths. Christians who say the Bible contradicts itself and full of grey areas, do not know God nor His Word!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
One Baptism
Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus concerning the unity in the Body of Christ:
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).
Most Bible believing Christians, including renowned Bible scholars, renowned Christian book writers, believe that there are two separate baptisms - baptism of water and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They believe these are two separate experiences for Christians. To most of them baptism in the Holy Spirit is optional - only for those who want power in sharing the gospel to the unsaved.
In the context of the above passage of the Scripture "one baptism" can be interpreted in one of two ways depending on the Christian denomination. To the Baptist Christians it is water baptism by full immersion. To the Pentecostal, Charismatic and Full Gospel Christians it is baptism in the Holy Spirit and not water baptism. In fact they have a Scripture passage to support their view:
"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:13, NKJV).
I feel extremely uncomfortable with these different view points. Even Bible Commentaries offer different view points. Why must it be so complicated? Surely the Body of Christ is divided by different denomination beliefs. If you want to know why there is no unity in truth in the Body of Christ, this is the major reason!
This message is written after much research work using the Scripture - both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
There is only one Baptism - but with two elements
"Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:1, 2, 11, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are my observations:
1. Paul was writing to the Corinthian Christians. Clearly all those things collectively experienced by the children of Israel is a type or pattern for all Christians to follow. In other words, in general an Old Testament truth usually finds its parallel truth in the New Testament.
Someone had aptly said, "The New is in the Old contained, the Old is in the New explained; the New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed; the New is in the Old enfolded, the Old is in the New unfolded".
2. You can say there were two baptisms - in the cloud and in the sea. But significant enough Paul did not say that. He did not say that the Israelites were baptized in the cloud and then baptized in the sea. The Israelites could not choose to experience one without also experiencing the other. The two baptisms are one collective provision of God.
3. The sea is a type of water baptism; the cloud is a type of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
4. Paul said that in effect there was only one baptism in two elements - the cloud from above and the sea down into which the children of Israel went. This is the complete provision of God as far as baptism is concerned. Almost in every place in the New Testament where one baptism is mentioned the other is also mentioned. All believers mentioned in the Book of Acts were baptized in water as well as in the Holy Spirit!
Deliverance of Israel from Egypt and of believers from the world
The Bible reveals a parallel truth concerning the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and the deliverance of believers from the world. We can trace three successive phases of their deliverance.
Faith in the Blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:7 - 13).
The blood of the Passover lamb started the children of Israel on their redemptive route, but it did not get them out of Egypt. If there had been nothing more than their faith in the blood of the Passover lamb, the army of Egypt would have caught up with them and taken them back into bondage again.
Similarly believers are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus:
"Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7, emphasis added).
The Blood of Jesus started believers on their redemptive journey, but it does not get them out of the world system. In other words, they are still fleshly and worldly. Though I honor the Blood of the Jesus Christ and believe it to be the only basis for my redemption, yet as a way of deliverance from the dominion of this world system and of Satan, it is not the total provision of God.
The cloud and the sea
There are two more successive experiences that brought God's people out of the area of dominion of evil forces. This is the cloud and the sea. A type of water baptism and the baptism in the Holy Spirit have been accurately described as "in the sea" and "under or immersed in the cloud" respectively. Israel did not go down into the cloud. Instead they were immersed in the cloud. They went down into the sea. This is the clearest, most complete and accurate pattern or type from the Old Testament of the New Testament Baptism.
Final separation and deliverance
It is important to note that the final separation and deliverance from Egypt for Israel was not accomplished by the blood of the Passover lamb, nor even by the cloud, but by the sea. The sea was the the final cutoff point. The Egyptians could not follow Israel through the sea!
Therefore, the final cutoff point from the world and Satan's dominion for the New Testament believers is water baptism. It is the total provision of God to start the believers' walk in Christ in the salvation process.
Peter gave a beautiful picture of water baptism:
".... in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us - baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ ..." (1 Peter 3:20, 21).
Unless you are water baptized you have no legal right to have freedom from the oppression of demons in your Christian walk. Instead the demons have the legal right to oppress and trouble you!
In fact, in practice this is very true. You will find that when you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord and then water baptized, you would invariably experience some cutoffs. You will lose some of your non-Christian friends. You might even get cutoff from your family members. This is more so in the pagan world or non-Christian countries.
Old Testament Picture of the Cloud
The cloud was a type of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. By studying the nature of the cloud experienced by Israel in the wilderness we can directly apply it to our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Below is a series of Scripture passages that will help us to understand the functions of the Holy Spirit:
1. Exodus 13:21, 22, "And the Lord went before them (the children of Israel) by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people".
Christians must be immersed in the Holy Spirit at all times just as the Israelites were immersed in the cloud. The Lord gave His people pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to guide them.. The same is the Holy Spirit who gives light for Christians and shows them the way that they should go. They will know how to walk in the will of God.
2. Exodus 14:24, "Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians".
The Lord watched over the children of Israel just as the Holy Spirit watches over Christians and delivers and protects them from their enemies.
3. Exodus 33:7 - 11 described how Moses met with the Lord outside the main tabernacle. Moses had his own tent (tabernacle of meeting) where the Lord spoke to him in the cloud.
"All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:10, 11).
The Lord was in the cloud when He spoke to Moses face to face. Similarly, the Holy Spirit often speaks to Christians with a "still small voice". The Holy Spirit is our friend.
4. Exodus 40:34 - 37, "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up".
Moses and the children of Israel were in total obedience and sensitive to the movement of the cloud. They got in step with the Lord and moved with the cloud. This is a vivid picture of our relationship with the Holy Spirit. God desires that we move with the Holy Spirit. We must be sensitive and get in step with the Holy Spirit in our every day life. Christians need to be as sensitive to the Holy Spirit as Israel to the cloud.
5. Psalm 78:21 - 24, ".... And anger also came up against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven".
Israel made their journey through the wilderness but they did not trust God for His total provision. And yet He had mercy upon them. We as Christians must do better and trust the Lord for His total provision in our salvation process.
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:8 - 10, NKJV).
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).
Most Bible believing Christians, including renowned Bible scholars, renowned Christian book writers, believe that there are two separate baptisms - baptism of water and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They believe these are two separate experiences for Christians. To most of them baptism in the Holy Spirit is optional - only for those who want power in sharing the gospel to the unsaved.
In the context of the above passage of the Scripture "one baptism" can be interpreted in one of two ways depending on the Christian denomination. To the Baptist Christians it is water baptism by full immersion. To the Pentecostal, Charismatic and Full Gospel Christians it is baptism in the Holy Spirit and not water baptism. In fact they have a Scripture passage to support their view:
"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:13, NKJV).
I feel extremely uncomfortable with these different view points. Even Bible Commentaries offer different view points. Why must it be so complicated? Surely the Body of Christ is divided by different denomination beliefs. If you want to know why there is no unity in truth in the Body of Christ, this is the major reason!
This message is written after much research work using the Scripture - both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
There is only one Baptism - but with two elements
"Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:1, 2, 11, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are my observations:
1. Paul was writing to the Corinthian Christians. Clearly all those things collectively experienced by the children of Israel is a type or pattern for all Christians to follow. In other words, in general an Old Testament truth usually finds its parallel truth in the New Testament.
Someone had aptly said, "The New is in the Old contained, the Old is in the New explained; the New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed; the New is in the Old enfolded, the Old is in the New unfolded".
2. You can say there were two baptisms - in the cloud and in the sea. But significant enough Paul did not say that. He did not say that the Israelites were baptized in the cloud and then baptized in the sea. The Israelites could not choose to experience one without also experiencing the other. The two baptisms are one collective provision of God.
3. The sea is a type of water baptism; the cloud is a type of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
4. Paul said that in effect there was only one baptism in two elements - the cloud from above and the sea down into which the children of Israel went. This is the complete provision of God as far as baptism is concerned. Almost in every place in the New Testament where one baptism is mentioned the other is also mentioned. All believers mentioned in the Book of Acts were baptized in water as well as in the Holy Spirit!
Deliverance of Israel from Egypt and of believers from the world
The Bible reveals a parallel truth concerning the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and the deliverance of believers from the world. We can trace three successive phases of their deliverance.
Faith in the Blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:7 - 13).
The blood of the Passover lamb started the children of Israel on their redemptive route, but it did not get them out of Egypt. If there had been nothing more than their faith in the blood of the Passover lamb, the army of Egypt would have caught up with them and taken them back into bondage again.
Similarly believers are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus:
"Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7, emphasis added).
The Blood of Jesus started believers on their redemptive journey, but it does not get them out of the world system. In other words, they are still fleshly and worldly. Though I honor the Blood of the Jesus Christ and believe it to be the only basis for my redemption, yet as a way of deliverance from the dominion of this world system and of Satan, it is not the total provision of God.
The cloud and the sea
There are two more successive experiences that brought God's people out of the area of dominion of evil forces. This is the cloud and the sea. A type of water baptism and the baptism in the Holy Spirit have been accurately described as "in the sea" and "under or immersed in the cloud" respectively. Israel did not go down into the cloud. Instead they were immersed in the cloud. They went down into the sea. This is the clearest, most complete and accurate pattern or type from the Old Testament of the New Testament Baptism.
Final separation and deliverance
It is important to note that the final separation and deliverance from Egypt for Israel was not accomplished by the blood of the Passover lamb, nor even by the cloud, but by the sea. The sea was the the final cutoff point. The Egyptians could not follow Israel through the sea!
Therefore, the final cutoff point from the world and Satan's dominion for the New Testament believers is water baptism. It is the total provision of God to start the believers' walk in Christ in the salvation process.
Peter gave a beautiful picture of water baptism:
".... in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us - baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ ..." (1 Peter 3:20, 21).
Unless you are water baptized you have no legal right to have freedom from the oppression of demons in your Christian walk. Instead the demons have the legal right to oppress and trouble you!
In fact, in practice this is very true. You will find that when you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord and then water baptized, you would invariably experience some cutoffs. You will lose some of your non-Christian friends. You might even get cutoff from your family members. This is more so in the pagan world or non-Christian countries.
Old Testament Picture of the Cloud
The cloud was a type of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. By studying the nature of the cloud experienced by Israel in the wilderness we can directly apply it to our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Below is a series of Scripture passages that will help us to understand the functions of the Holy Spirit:
1. Exodus 13:21, 22, "And the Lord went before them (the children of Israel) by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people".
Christians must be immersed in the Holy Spirit at all times just as the Israelites were immersed in the cloud. The Lord gave His people pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to guide them.. The same is the Holy Spirit who gives light for Christians and shows them the way that they should go. They will know how to walk in the will of God.
2. Exodus 14:24, "Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians".
The Lord watched over the children of Israel just as the Holy Spirit watches over Christians and delivers and protects them from their enemies.
3. Exodus 33:7 - 11 described how Moses met with the Lord outside the main tabernacle. Moses had his own tent (tabernacle of meeting) where the Lord spoke to him in the cloud.
"All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:10, 11).
The Lord was in the cloud when He spoke to Moses face to face. Similarly, the Holy Spirit often speaks to Christians with a "still small voice". The Holy Spirit is our friend.
4. Exodus 40:34 - 37, "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up".
Moses and the children of Israel were in total obedience and sensitive to the movement of the cloud. They got in step with the Lord and moved with the cloud. This is a vivid picture of our relationship with the Holy Spirit. God desires that we move with the Holy Spirit. We must be sensitive and get in step with the Holy Spirit in our every day life. Christians need to be as sensitive to the Holy Spirit as Israel to the cloud.
5. Psalm 78:21 - 24, ".... And anger also came up against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven".
Israel made their journey through the wilderness but they did not trust God for His total provision. And yet He had mercy upon them. We as Christians must do better and trust the Lord for His total provision in our salvation process.
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:8 - 10, NKJV).
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Spirit of Christ
The Scripture reveals that the Spirit of Christ is not identical to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of the Son of God.
The Bible mentions the Spirit of Christ in only two passages of Scripture, both in the New Testament.
According to Peter
Peter said, "Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:8 - 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some points of observation:
1. It was the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets that prompted them to speak of things that never happened to them.
2. It was the Spirit of Christ in them that prompted them to speak in the first person - speaking about things that would happen to Christ - how He would suffer for our redemption and "the glories that would follow".
Here are two examples:
The psalmist David said, "For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots" (Psalm 22:16 -18).
Isaiah said, "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hid My face from shame and spitting" (Isaiah 50:6)
Both David and Isaiah prophesied the suffering of Christ and His death on the cross for our sins.
3. The purpose of these prophecies was for the benefits of believers who would receive salvation later.
4. In a sense believers are the focal point both of the prophets of the past and the angels of heaven. Their eyes are focused on the the believers. The prophets looked forward of the preaching of the gospel (to be revealed later) and the angels desire to look down on it.
Notice that angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14).
What we have received was declared or proclaimed by the New Testament preachers who preach the gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.
5. I believe the Holy Spirit does not merely speak through the preachers, or through the anointing of the Holy Spirit when they preach. The verse suggests that the Holy Spirit is present there with the preachers when they preach. We come to the conclusion that God never intended the gospel to be preached in any other way. The preachers of the gospel should never be alone. They are in an atmosphere of God's presence by the Holy Spirit - both in them and with them!
According to Paul
Paul said, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness" (Romans 8:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some points of observation:
1. Both the "Spirit of God" and the "Spirit of Christ" are mentioned together in the same verse of Scripture. This suggests the Spirit of Christ is not identical to the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit.
2. A believer is either in the flesh or in the Spirit in his daily living. If the Holy Spirit does not dwell in the believer he is in the flesh. We are talking about the Holy Spirit dwelling or living inside the believer at all times and not just living in the presence (or an atmosphere) of the Holy Spirit.
3. Christ is in the believer by the Spirit of Christ to give the believer life. If the believer does not have the Spirit of Christ then he does not belong to Christ. The Spirit of Christ speaks of the character, personality and other attributes of Christ. Christ-likeness is a virtue of a believer with the Spirit of Christ.
This is consistence with the follow passage of Scripture:
"Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9, NKJV).
Jesus Christ comes from the seed of God and therefore the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of the seed of God. In other words, a believer who has the Spirit of Christ has the seed of God in him. He is made righteous by the Spirit of life (Christ is the Life in him) and therefore he cannot live in sin!
The Bible mentions the Spirit of Christ in only two passages of Scripture, both in the New Testament.
According to Peter
Peter said, "Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:8 - 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some points of observation:
1. It was the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets that prompted them to speak of things that never happened to them.
2. It was the Spirit of Christ in them that prompted them to speak in the first person - speaking about things that would happen to Christ - how He would suffer for our redemption and "the glories that would follow".
Here are two examples:
The psalmist David said, "For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots" (Psalm 22:16 -18).
Isaiah said, "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hid My face from shame and spitting" (Isaiah 50:6)
Both David and Isaiah prophesied the suffering of Christ and His death on the cross for our sins.
3. The purpose of these prophecies was for the benefits of believers who would receive salvation later.
4. In a sense believers are the focal point both of the prophets of the past and the angels of heaven. Their eyes are focused on the the believers. The prophets looked forward of the preaching of the gospel (to be revealed later) and the angels desire to look down on it.
Notice that angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14).
What we have received was declared or proclaimed by the New Testament preachers who preach the gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.
5. I believe the Holy Spirit does not merely speak through the preachers, or through the anointing of the Holy Spirit when they preach. The verse suggests that the Holy Spirit is present there with the preachers when they preach. We come to the conclusion that God never intended the gospel to be preached in any other way. The preachers of the gospel should never be alone. They are in an atmosphere of God's presence by the Holy Spirit - both in them and with them!
According to Paul
Paul said, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness" (Romans 8:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some points of observation:
1. Both the "Spirit of God" and the "Spirit of Christ" are mentioned together in the same verse of Scripture. This suggests the Spirit of Christ is not identical to the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit.
2. A believer is either in the flesh or in the Spirit in his daily living. If the Holy Spirit does not dwell in the believer he is in the flesh. We are talking about the Holy Spirit dwelling or living inside the believer at all times and not just living in the presence (or an atmosphere) of the Holy Spirit.
3. Christ is in the believer by the Spirit of Christ to give the believer life. If the believer does not have the Spirit of Christ then he does not belong to Christ. The Spirit of Christ speaks of the character, personality and other attributes of Christ. Christ-likeness is a virtue of a believer with the Spirit of Christ.
This is consistence with the follow passage of Scripture:
"Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9, NKJV).
Jesus Christ comes from the seed of God and therefore the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of the seed of God. In other words, a believer who has the Spirit of Christ has the seed of God in him. He is made righteous by the Spirit of life (Christ is the Life in him) and therefore he cannot live in sin!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
At some day set aside by God, His Son Jesus Christ will come and take His Bride Home. My message last week concerns the Bride of Christ; this message concerns the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the Wedding guests.
Paul wrote to the Church of the Thessalonians concerning this event:
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis added).
Take note of the following points:
Paul wrote to the Church of the Thessalonians concerning this event:
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis added).
Take note of the following points:
- The Bride of Christ includes true Christians who died before Christ comes for His true Church. The phrase "in Christ" means "true Christians or true disciples of Christ". These Christians are those who have walked or are still walking by abiding in Christ (John 15:5). They have walked or are still walking blamelessly and at all times "depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19).
- The phrase "We who are alive and remain" means "true Christians who are still serving the Lord faithfully and remain faithful to Him" before Christ comes to take all of them Home.
- The phrase "we shall always be with the Lord" indicates that true Christians (dead or alive when He comes) will be with the Lord in eternity. This makes sense because as His Bride we will always be with Him to share His life - there is no divorce in Heaven. In fact there is no marriage in Heaven except the Marriage of the Lamb. Furthermore, as His Bride we will accompany Him when He comes (His Second Coming) to judge the sinful world (Rev. 19:14).
Those Who are called to the Marriage Supper
John heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying:
"Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! These are the true sayings of God" (Rev.19:9)
The above verse says that those who are called (invited) to the marriage supper are blessed. And if they are blessed, how much more blessed will be those who have become the Bride!
The New Testament Scripture seems to indicate that there will be three groups of believers who will be called (as invited guests) to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The only condition is that they must be in heaven before the marriage supper. In other words they must have died after they were saved.
The First Group of believers
The first group of guests are the friends of the Bridegroom.
John the Baptist, the last of the prophets who came in the spirit of the Old Testament, said:
"He (Jesus) who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom (John), who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled" (John 3:29, emphasis added).
I can think of two examples what the New Testament Scriputure calls the Old Testament saints (believers before the first coming of Jesus) as the friend of the Bridegroom.
1. John himself said he was the friend of the bridegroom. Concerning John Jesus said:
"For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Luke 7:28, emphasis added).
John the Baptist, being the greatest prophet was considered less than the least in the kingdom of God because he was only a friend of Bridgroom and not the Bride. Only the true Church of Jesus Christ is the Bride. What great privilege the true believers have!
2. James said, "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God" (James 2:23, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that Abraham was called the friend of God and not just a friend of God!
The Second Group of believers
This group of believers belongs to a dead Church. Even though their names have not been blotted out from the Book of Life they failed to take part in the rapture.
Jesus said to the Church in Sardis, "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before His angels" (Rev. 3:1, 5, emphasis added).
The above passage of Scripture indicates:
- The names of all overcomers (in any Church, even a dead Church) will not be blotted out from the Book of Life. In other words all overcomers will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Some names of those who fail to overcome will be blotted out. But we cannot say all of their names will be blotted out. God alone makes the choice.
- Since a Christian is either an overcomer or fails to overcome some of their names will be blotted out. In other words, some Christians will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians concerning building one's work upon the foundation laid by our Lord Jesus Christ:
"Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:12 - 15, emphasis added).
I believe the work of the overcomers will endure the test of fire. But, the work of those who fail to overcome will be burned because they built their work on the Foundation of Christ with wood, hay and straw! The phrase "he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" means "he will be saved after a narrow escape through the flame".
Therefore we expect some believers who fail to overcome as guests to the marriage supper in heaven. The only condition is that they must die and be in heaven before the marriage supper. If there live through the Great Tribulation they will miss the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The Third Group of believers
The final group of guests are those who are saved after the true Church has been taken up into heaven to be the Bride of Christ. These have died as martyrs during the Great Tribulation. They are the highest hornored guests. Because of this I believe they will attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb as bridesmaids!
Conclusion
This message is the product of my Bible research work. My readers must not take this as the doctrine of the Bride of Christ.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The Bride of Christ
If you are to ask an average Pastor or a Bible teacher in any Local Church this question: "Who is the Bride of Christ"? the answer you are likely to get is: "The Church is the Bride of Christ". In my opinion this is a very careless and presumptuous anwer. The truth is only a part of the Church is the Bride of Christ. Only the part of the Church that fulfills Christ's conditions will be the Bride of Christ!
There is a contemporary Christian teaching that it is the Lord desires that the Local Churches in every nation to grow in quantity and quality. But according to the New Testament Scripture this is not the Lord's primary concern. His primary concern is to prepare a Bride for Himself! Quantity is of secondary importance because only the remnant of Christians will ultimately be saved (refer to my earlier message "The Remnant of God's People").
Let us search out the Scripture concerning the qualitites that Christ looks for concerning His Bride.
1. Paul wrote to the believers in the Church in Ephesus concerning the preparation of the Bride:
"Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25, 26, NKJV, emphasis added).
2. Solomon painted a vivid picture of Israel as God's betrothed Bride. Prophetically, it is a picture of the true Church as the Bride of Christ:
"Who is she who looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as an army with banners" (Song of Solomon 6:10, NKJV, emphasis added)?
3. John heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven (Revelation 19:10) saying:
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Revelation 19:7, 8, NKJV, emphasis added).
From the above three passages of Scripture (two describe the Church on earth and the other describes the Church in heaven) we observe the following:
There is a contemporary Christian teaching that it is the Lord desires that the Local Churches in every nation to grow in quantity and quality. But according to the New Testament Scripture this is not the Lord's primary concern. His primary concern is to prepare a Bride for Himself! Quantity is of secondary importance because only the remnant of Christians will ultimately be saved (refer to my earlier message "The Remnant of God's People").
Let us search out the Scripture concerning the qualitites that Christ looks for concerning His Bride.
1. Paul wrote to the believers in the Church in Ephesus concerning the preparation of the Bride:
"Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25, 26, NKJV, emphasis added).
2. Solomon painted a vivid picture of Israel as God's betrothed Bride. Prophetically, it is a picture of the true Church as the Bride of Christ:
"Who is she who looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as an army with banners" (Song of Solomon 6:10, NKJV, emphasis added)?
3. John heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven (Revelation 19:10) saying:
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Revelation 19:7, 8, NKJV, emphasis added).
From the above three passages of Scripture (two describe the Church on earth and the other describes the Church in heaven) we observe the following:
- The purpose of Christ's atoning death for the Church and for each individual Christian is to prepare a Bride for Himself.
- Christ Himself prepares the Bride. The Bride is a glorious Church - a holy Church, without spot, wrinkle or blemish. Only those Christians who have gone through a process of cleansing and sanctifying will be in the condition necessary for their final presentation to Christ as His Bride.
- God's Word is the means of sanctifying and cleansing. The operation of God's Word in the life of individual Christian is compared to the washing of pure water. Man's ideas and principles, no matter how convincing and seemingly Biblical, no matter how much research work has been done, can never substitute the purification effect of God's Word.
- The Bride is fair as the moon. The unique function of the moon is to reflect the sun. Similarly, the function of the Church is to reflect the Sun of Righteousness, our Lord Jesus Christ (Malachi 4:2).
- The Bride is "as awesome as an army with banners". The banner speaks of victory. The Bride is not called just to win a battle or two but to proclaim the total victory of the War that her Bridegroom has already won on the Cross. The Bride is responsible to demonstrate and administer the victory that Jesus had already won. The Bride is called to be the Army of God and to get involved in doing God's will - in Spiritual Warfare! In other words the Bride of Christ is a prayerful Church.
- After the process of sanctification and cleansing the Bride is ready to be presented to Christ. She "makes herself ready" by putting on her wedding apparel which is made of fine linen, clean and bright.
- The righteous acts of the Christians become the "fine linen" (clothing material) for the Wedding garment. The Bride herself has to produce the material out of which her bridal garment will be made. The material is "bought" by her righteous acts.
Those Who are Christ"s
As we have seen Christ is coming for His prepared Bride who fulfills the above conditions. Nevertherless only Christ Himself knows who are His:
"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity'" (2 Timothy 2:19, emphasis added).
Only the Lord Himself knows exactly those who belong to Him. In outward conduct, however, all such believers have one feature in common - They "depart from iniquity". Those who lack this outward seal are not among those whom the Lord acknowledges as His. Those who do not belong to Him will not be His Bride!
Paul gave a further mark by which such people are distinguished:
"And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:24, 25, emphasis added).
Professing Christians who lead careless, carnal, self-indulgent lives following the ways of the world will not be numbered among those who are His!
A way to avoid this problem is to walk in the Spirit because Paul said earlier, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16).
Christians' Righteous Acts
The New Testament reveals that there are two forms of righteousness - imputed righteousness and outwork righteousness.
Imputed Righteousness
"Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3).
"Now it was not written for His (Abraham's) sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead" (Romans 4:23, 24, emphasis added).
We received imputed righteousness when we are born again. God reckoned Christ's righteousness to us because He was made sin with our sinfulness that we might be made righteous with His righteousness.
Outwork Righteousness
Imputed righteousness is for the purpose of preparing the Christian to walk the Christian walk in holiness and righteousness. It is the beginning of the sanctification process. We have to move from imputed righteousness to outwork righteousness. "The righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. 19:8) are not imputed righteousness but outwork righteousness - the righteous acts we have to perform in order to provide the linen material for our bridal clothing.
John said, "He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous" (1 John 3:7).
John said later, "All unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5:17).
It is therefore obvious that what is required of the Bride is to practice righteousness because Christ is righteous. An unrighteous person and the righteous Christ cannot be unequally yoked together!
Someone had said, at the moment, in God's eyes, we might have just enough material to make a bikini which is not a suitable attire for a wedding banquet! Something has to happen radically before we can say the Bride has made herself ready.
The right attitude toward the Bridegroom
The real problem of the Church is that we do not have the right attitude toward Christ. We are actually lack reverence and respect for the Bridegroom!
As I shared before in an earlier message we have the spirit of Esau who was a type of carnality. We are more concerned on the things of the flesh than the things of the Spirit. We are living as though there is nothing beyond the present world - living without consciousness of eternity.
As the psalmist said we must ask the Lord to "teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Let us make the short time we have left in this world count for eternity!
Failing to submit to the Lordship of Christ
It is beyond the scope of this short message to consider more than one area of wrongdoing the Church is committing. One important area that comes to my mind will become clear if we ask ourselves the following questions:
Is Cod's choice our choice? Is the way we do things in the Local Church based entirely on God's choice? In other words, do we always submit and subject to the Lordship of Christ? Do we always get the Lord involved in the things that we desire to do and seek his will in prayers, intercessions and supplication?
Paul said, "And He (God) put all things under His (Christ's) feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:22, 23, emphasis added).
Notice that God did not put the Church under Christ's feet. He put all things (programs, activities and ministries) related to the function of the Church under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In other words, Jesus is the Head of the Church. Therefore, we must submit to the Lordship of Christ in all things related the the ministries of the Church - both Local and Universal.
Paul said, "Wives, submit to your own husband, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything" (Eph. 5:22 - 24).
In my opinion, by and large, Jesus at the present time is not effectively the Head of the Church. The Church is not subject to Jesus. It makes its own decisions, own plans and treats Jesus as a kind of "rubber stamp" to put His Name on most man-made projects and activities!
A parallel truth is a majority of Christian wives do not subject to their husbands at the present time. On the contrary, it is the wife who becomes the head of husband in many Christian homes! Their family relationship is not right. I do not believe the Church is more subject to Jesus than the wives in the Church subject to their own husbands. In other words, if you want to measure how much the Local Church subjects to Jesus just take a look at the Christian couples. Husbands and wives can be a prophetic message to the world! This I believe is how Jesus relates to His Church and the Church relates to Jesus.
Unless we are totally submitted and subject to the Lordship of Christ we are far from ready to be the Bride of Christ!
The Spirit and the Bride
At the end of the Book of Revelation John recorded:
"And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17).
The Bride can only says "come" when the Spirit says first. It is God, the Holy Spirit's choice and decision when the Bridegroom is coming to take His bride. The Bride simply echos what the Spirit says. The Spirit and the Bride cannot say "come" before she makes herself ready.
Are we ready?
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Outworking of God's Choice
As we have discussed in my previous message that God made his Choice for Jacob over Esau before they were born (Romans 9:10 – 13). His chose Jacob because He loved Israel:
“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness” (Malachi 1:2, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that God has strong feelings (of the soul realm) – He talks about love and hate; for and against!
Moses said, “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, …”(Deuteronomy 7:7, 8).
The Bible never attempts to explain the love of God because His love is not explainable. He loves His people because He loves His people and out of this love He chose them!
God’s principle of election (God’s Choice) also applies to the Church and individual Christian/believer. According to Romans 8:28, 29 God works out the course of our lives we would take.
In Ephesians Paul said the same thing:
“… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, …” (Eph. 1:4, 5).
Why God loved Jacob and hated Esau?
The question is what did God see in Jacob that caused Him to choose him and reject Esau?
God loved Jacob
I believe the one thing that Jacob had going for him was that he appreciated what God had to offer – His blessing. God foreknew Jacob and saw in him that here is somebody who would do anything to get what He had to offer. God had to deal with Jacob for years because he went all together the wrong way of getting it!
Genesis 32:22 – 32 relates how Jacob wrestled with God in order to get His blessings:
“And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’” (Gen. 32:26, NKJV).
God hated Esau
The writer of Hebrews said, “… lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears” (Hebrews 12:16, 17, emphasis added).
Notice that Esau was classified as a fornicator even though nothing was written about him ever committed fornication. His sin of corruption was as the sin of a fornicator. He was also being described as a “profane person” which means being earthly and sensual.
In other words, Esau was a carnal person. He was a man with a type of carnality – being more concerned with things of time than things of eternity; the things of the flesh than of the Spirit. Carnality is living as though there is nothing beyond the present world; living without conscious of eternity!
Esau’s attitude was exactly the opposite of what caused God to love Jacob. He had not appreciated what God had to offer. He had his birthright but he despised it and exchanged it with a bowl of soup. God hates carnality and therefore He hated Esau.
The Outworking of God’s Choice in the Old Testament
Here are a few examples to show how God endorsed His choice:
1. Bringing back the Ark
1 Chronicles 13 relates the story of how David and his people brought back the Ark from Kirjath Jearim. They carried the Ark on a cart driven by Uzza and Ahio (V. 7). David played music before God with all his might with singing (V. 8). When Uzza put out his hands to steady the Ark the Lord struck him dead.
David realized his mistake and said, “No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever” (1 Chronicles 15:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
The above shows the significance of God’s choice. The Church can learn a lesson from this. If we disobey God and are not in harmony with His choice even our praise and worship would not do a thing to please God!
2. Building of the Temple
It was God’s choice for David’s son Solomon to build the Temple. In fact God made His choice before Solomon was born (1 Chronicles 22:7 – 10).
The Word of the Lord came to David:
“Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, an I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever” (1 Chron. 22:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that God even chose the name of David’s son before he was born.
The Outworking of God’s Choice in the New Testament
1. To bear fruit for God
Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16).
Jesus did not say He chose us for salvation. He chose us to bear fruit after He had saved us. If we do not bear fruit every thing that we do will merely be religious effort.
A few verses back Jesus taught His disciples how to bear fruit for God:
“Every branch in Me that does no bear fruit He (God) takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:2, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
We bear fruit for God by abiding in Jesus. This means we live by faith and our entire day to day living entirely dependant on Jesus. We follow His doctrine and be hearers and doers of His Word.
2. Another apostle to replace Judas
Two men, Barsabas and Matthias were qualified to take the place of Judas. The apostles prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place” (Acts 1:24, 25, emphasis added).
The next verse says, “And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26).
3. The conversion of Saul
Saul lost his sight after he met the Lord at Damascus Road. The Lord commanded Ananias to lay hand on Saul to recover his sight and to baptize him.
The Lord said to Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer fro My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15, 16, emphasis added).
4. The sending out of Barnabas and Saul
Barnabas and Saul were chosen and sent out by the Holy Spirit when prophets and teacher gathered and prayed in the Church of Antioch:
“As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’” (Acts 13:2).
Conclusion
Volunteers have no place in the Kingdom of God. God does not ask for volunteers. He alone chooses whoever He wants to use!
“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness” (Malachi 1:2, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that God has strong feelings (of the soul realm) – He talks about love and hate; for and against!
Moses said, “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, …”(Deuteronomy 7:7, 8).
The Bible never attempts to explain the love of God because His love is not explainable. He loves His people because He loves His people and out of this love He chose them!
God’s principle of election (God’s Choice) also applies to the Church and individual Christian/believer. According to Romans 8:28, 29 God works out the course of our lives we would take.
In Ephesians Paul said the same thing:
“… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, …” (Eph. 1:4, 5).
Why God loved Jacob and hated Esau?
The question is what did God see in Jacob that caused Him to choose him and reject Esau?
God loved Jacob
I believe the one thing that Jacob had going for him was that he appreciated what God had to offer – His blessing. God foreknew Jacob and saw in him that here is somebody who would do anything to get what He had to offer. God had to deal with Jacob for years because he went all together the wrong way of getting it!
Genesis 32:22 – 32 relates how Jacob wrestled with God in order to get His blessings:
“And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’” (Gen. 32:26, NKJV).
God hated Esau
The writer of Hebrews said, “… lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears” (Hebrews 12:16, 17, emphasis added).
Notice that Esau was classified as a fornicator even though nothing was written about him ever committed fornication. His sin of corruption was as the sin of a fornicator. He was also being described as a “profane person” which means being earthly and sensual.
In other words, Esau was a carnal person. He was a man with a type of carnality – being more concerned with things of time than things of eternity; the things of the flesh than of the Spirit. Carnality is living as though there is nothing beyond the present world; living without conscious of eternity!
Esau’s attitude was exactly the opposite of what caused God to love Jacob. He had not appreciated what God had to offer. He had his birthright but he despised it and exchanged it with a bowl of soup. God hates carnality and therefore He hated Esau.
The Outworking of God’s Choice in the Old Testament
Here are a few examples to show how God endorsed His choice:
1. Bringing back the Ark
1 Chronicles 13 relates the story of how David and his people brought back the Ark from Kirjath Jearim. They carried the Ark on a cart driven by Uzza and Ahio (V. 7). David played music before God with all his might with singing (V. 8). When Uzza put out his hands to steady the Ark the Lord struck him dead.
David realized his mistake and said, “No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever” (1 Chronicles 15:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
The above shows the significance of God’s choice. The Church can learn a lesson from this. If we disobey God and are not in harmony with His choice even our praise and worship would not do a thing to please God!
2. Building of the Temple
It was God’s choice for David’s son Solomon to build the Temple. In fact God made His choice before Solomon was born (1 Chronicles 22:7 – 10).
The Word of the Lord came to David:
“Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, an I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever” (1 Chron. 22:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that God even chose the name of David’s son before he was born.
The Outworking of God’s Choice in the New Testament
1. To bear fruit for God
Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16).
Jesus did not say He chose us for salvation. He chose us to bear fruit after He had saved us. If we do not bear fruit every thing that we do will merely be religious effort.
A few verses back Jesus taught His disciples how to bear fruit for God:
“Every branch in Me that does no bear fruit He (God) takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:2, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
We bear fruit for God by abiding in Jesus. This means we live by faith and our entire day to day living entirely dependant on Jesus. We follow His doctrine and be hearers and doers of His Word.
2. Another apostle to replace Judas
Two men, Barsabas and Matthias were qualified to take the place of Judas. The apostles prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place” (Acts 1:24, 25, emphasis added).
The next verse says, “And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26).
3. The conversion of Saul
Saul lost his sight after he met the Lord at Damascus Road. The Lord commanded Ananias to lay hand on Saul to recover his sight and to baptize him.
The Lord said to Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer fro My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15, 16, emphasis added).
4. The sending out of Barnabas and Saul
Barnabas and Saul were chosen and sent out by the Holy Spirit when prophets and teacher gathered and prayed in the Church of Antioch:
“As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’” (Acts 13:2).
Conclusion
Volunteers have no place in the Kingdom of God. God does not ask for volunteers. He alone chooses whoever He wants to use!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The Remnant of God's People
All through Scripture God revealed that only the remnant of His people (Israel and the Church) – His divine election will be saved. Both Israel and the Church depend on God’s divine election. More simply stated they depend on “God’s sovereign choice”.
Israel and the Church are two different people of God
Israel is never used in the New Testament as a synonym for the Church.
Paul said, “Israel has not obtained what if seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded” (Romans 11:7, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word “elect” comes from the Greek word “Ekloge” which means “divine selection” or “divinly chosen”. It is obvious that Israel is used here to describe those who have not believed in Jesus the Messiah, and are therefore not part of the Church.
God’s plan for Israel and Gentile Christians is made clear by Paul:
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentile has come in. And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25, 26, emphasis added).
Paul set unbelieving Israelites in contrast with Gentiles who have become believers. The “blinded” Israelites are not identified with Gentile Christians; they are distinguished from them. Only when the full number (chosen by God) of the Gentile become believers then the “all” (all who are not blinded or the remnant) Israel will become believers.
Israel and the Church are the products of God’s Choice
The principle of divine election applies both to Israel and the Church. Both Israel and the Church are the products of God’s choice or God’s election. God has no alternative principle. The truth is, He never endorses or blesses any decision or program which He Himself has not initiated.
Israel is God’s choice
In Romans 9:10 – 18 Paul clearly said that God declared His choice even before the birth of the twins Jacob and Esau:
“It was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger’. As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated’” (Romans 9:12, 13).
Before the brothers were born, without reference to anything they had done, God declared His choice. The older serving the younger – in contrary to the accepted cultural rules of the day. Clearly God’s choice was not based on Jacob’s character or good deeds, since he had not even been born yet. Any goodness that subsequently came out of Jacob’s life was the fruit of God’s choice. Therefore God’s dealings with Israel are the expression of His sovereign decision, not made on the basis of works.
The Church is God’s choice
A careful study of the New Testament Scripture reveals that the same principle of God’s choice applies to Gentile Christians. The principle of divine election (choice) is unfolded by a number of New Testament Scriptures:
Jesus spoke to His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, ….” (John 15:16).
The above implies that only those whom Jesus has chosen will bear fruit. Others are just exercising religious effects.
His disciples had not become followers of Jesus because they made the right choice. It was not they, but Jesus, who made the choice.
Paul said, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29, 30).
The above passage contains a succession of verbs in the past tense: foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified. The whole process had its origin in God’s foreknowledge. From eternity He foreknew each one of us. On the basis of this He predestined us; He planned the course that our lives should take. Unfortunately many contemporary Christians do not understand the divine, eternal origin of our salvation.
We are Christians not because we chose God but because He chose us. In much contemporary teaching, we are left with the feeling that salvation depends entirely on our making the right decision, when actually this is secondary. Salvation depends on the decision God has already made. It is true that we have to make a decision to accept Christ; but any decision we make is merely a response to the decision which God has already made. Furthermore, He made that decision before He created the world.
The Remnant of Israel
In Romans 9 Paul revealed that those Israelites whom God has actually chosen for Himself will be only a remnant out of all Israel:
Paul quoted a prophecy from Isaiah 10:22 concerning Israel:
“Though the number of children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved” (Romans 9:27, NKJV).
In Romans 11 Paul said, “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5, emphasis added).
The remnant of Israel is brought about by God’s grace alone; it is not something that Israel could earn!
Zephaniah, an Old Testament prophet, prophesized the promise of the restoration of the remnant of Israel:
“I (God) will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth ….” (Zephaniah 3:12, 13, NKJV, emphasis added).
God is looking for a meek and humble people who will trust in the Lord – a people who is righteous, honest and without deceit.
I believe God is aiming to produce the same type of people for His Church.
God’s remnant according to prophet Zechariah will be refined through fire:
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I (God) will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; and each one will say ‘The Lord is my God’” (Zechariah 13:8, 9).
God’s ultimate purpose is to produce the remnant (one-third of all Israel) of His choice! Even though it involves refining and testing by fire, God will not cease until His purpose is accomplished.
The Remnant of the Church
The question we need to ask is, “Will the Church that is saved also be a remnant”?
Let us refer to several Scriptures which indicate that not all the Church will be saved.
1. Luke’s description of the Narrow Way
Jesus addressed the question: “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from, depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity’” (Luke 13:24 – 27, NKJV, emphasis added).
The “gate” of salvation is narrow. It speaks of paying the high cost of total obedience and never to compromise the truth of God’s Word!
Paul wrote to Timothy regarding the seal of God for those who are His:
“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity’” (2 Tim 2:19, emphasis added).
2. Matthew’s description of the Narrow Way
At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a similar warning:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:13, 14; 21 – 23, emphasis added).
From the above two passages of Scripture we made our observation:
1. Only few believers are likely to choose to enter by the narrow gate. But only the narrow gate and the narrow way will lead to life.
2. Only believers who do the will of God the Father will be qualified to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
3. Jesus does not know any believer who merely says, “Lord, Lord” or even uses His name to prophecy, to cast out demons or to work wonders! He considers such person as worker of inequity or lawlessness!
Notice that in the above two passages of Scripture there is one phrase that occurs three times: “I do not know you”. This means that even though these “miracle workers” had been busy serving the Lord, they had never been on the list of God’s elect. Apparently God had looked below their public ministry into their personal lives! In their innermost character God had discerned something described as “lawlessness”. This expressed itself in attitudes such as pride, arrogance, self-seeking, covetousness and personal ambition. For such, He had no place reserved in heaven.
God is looking for the nature of the Lamb, manifested in meekness and purity and holiness for those who serve him in public ministry. There is one unvarying requirement of God that runs through the whole Bible:
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, emphasis added).
Israel and the Church are two different people of God
Israel is never used in the New Testament as a synonym for the Church.
Paul said, “Israel has not obtained what if seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded” (Romans 11:7, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word “elect” comes from the Greek word “Ekloge” which means “divine selection” or “divinly chosen”. It is obvious that Israel is used here to describe those who have not believed in Jesus the Messiah, and are therefore not part of the Church.
God’s plan for Israel and Gentile Christians is made clear by Paul:
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentile has come in. And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25, 26, emphasis added).
Paul set unbelieving Israelites in contrast with Gentiles who have become believers. The “blinded” Israelites are not identified with Gentile Christians; they are distinguished from them. Only when the full number (chosen by God) of the Gentile become believers then the “all” (all who are not blinded or the remnant) Israel will become believers.
Israel and the Church are the products of God’s Choice
The principle of divine election applies both to Israel and the Church. Both Israel and the Church are the products of God’s choice or God’s election. God has no alternative principle. The truth is, He never endorses or blesses any decision or program which He Himself has not initiated.
Israel is God’s choice
In Romans 9:10 – 18 Paul clearly said that God declared His choice even before the birth of the twins Jacob and Esau:
“It was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger’. As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated’” (Romans 9:12, 13).
Before the brothers were born, without reference to anything they had done, God declared His choice. The older serving the younger – in contrary to the accepted cultural rules of the day. Clearly God’s choice was not based on Jacob’s character or good deeds, since he had not even been born yet. Any goodness that subsequently came out of Jacob’s life was the fruit of God’s choice. Therefore God’s dealings with Israel are the expression of His sovereign decision, not made on the basis of works.
The Church is God’s choice
A careful study of the New Testament Scripture reveals that the same principle of God’s choice applies to Gentile Christians. The principle of divine election (choice) is unfolded by a number of New Testament Scriptures:
Jesus spoke to His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, ….” (John 15:16).
The above implies that only those whom Jesus has chosen will bear fruit. Others are just exercising religious effects.
His disciples had not become followers of Jesus because they made the right choice. It was not they, but Jesus, who made the choice.
Paul said, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29, 30).
The above passage contains a succession of verbs in the past tense: foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified. The whole process had its origin in God’s foreknowledge. From eternity He foreknew each one of us. On the basis of this He predestined us; He planned the course that our lives should take. Unfortunately many contemporary Christians do not understand the divine, eternal origin of our salvation.
We are Christians not because we chose God but because He chose us. In much contemporary teaching, we are left with the feeling that salvation depends entirely on our making the right decision, when actually this is secondary. Salvation depends on the decision God has already made. It is true that we have to make a decision to accept Christ; but any decision we make is merely a response to the decision which God has already made. Furthermore, He made that decision before He created the world.
The Remnant of Israel
In Romans 9 Paul revealed that those Israelites whom God has actually chosen for Himself will be only a remnant out of all Israel:
Paul quoted a prophecy from Isaiah 10:22 concerning Israel:
“Though the number of children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved” (Romans 9:27, NKJV).
In Romans 11 Paul said, “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5, emphasis added).
The remnant of Israel is brought about by God’s grace alone; it is not something that Israel could earn!
Zephaniah, an Old Testament prophet, prophesized the promise of the restoration of the remnant of Israel:
“I (God) will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth ….” (Zephaniah 3:12, 13, NKJV, emphasis added).
God is looking for a meek and humble people who will trust in the Lord – a people who is righteous, honest and without deceit.
I believe God is aiming to produce the same type of people for His Church.
God’s remnant according to prophet Zechariah will be refined through fire:
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I (God) will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; and each one will say ‘The Lord is my God’” (Zechariah 13:8, 9).
God’s ultimate purpose is to produce the remnant (one-third of all Israel) of His choice! Even though it involves refining and testing by fire, God will not cease until His purpose is accomplished.
The Remnant of the Church
The question we need to ask is, “Will the Church that is saved also be a remnant”?
Let us refer to several Scriptures which indicate that not all the Church will be saved.
1. Luke’s description of the Narrow Way
Jesus addressed the question: “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from, depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity’” (Luke 13:24 – 27, NKJV, emphasis added).
The “gate” of salvation is narrow. It speaks of paying the high cost of total obedience and never to compromise the truth of God’s Word!
Paul wrote to Timothy regarding the seal of God for those who are His:
“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity’” (2 Tim 2:19, emphasis added).
2. Matthew’s description of the Narrow Way
At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a similar warning:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:13, 14; 21 – 23, emphasis added).
From the above two passages of Scripture we made our observation:
1. Only few believers are likely to choose to enter by the narrow gate. But only the narrow gate and the narrow way will lead to life.
2. Only believers who do the will of God the Father will be qualified to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
3. Jesus does not know any believer who merely says, “Lord, Lord” or even uses His name to prophecy, to cast out demons or to work wonders! He considers such person as worker of inequity or lawlessness!
Notice that in the above two passages of Scripture there is one phrase that occurs three times: “I do not know you”. This means that even though these “miracle workers” had been busy serving the Lord, they had never been on the list of God’s elect. Apparently God had looked below their public ministry into their personal lives! In their innermost character God had discerned something described as “lawlessness”. This expressed itself in attitudes such as pride, arrogance, self-seeking, covetousness and personal ambition. For such, He had no place reserved in heaven.
God is looking for the nature of the Lamb, manifested in meekness and purity and holiness for those who serve him in public ministry. There is one unvarying requirement of God that runs through the whole Bible:
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, emphasis added).
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Mega-Churches That Are Merely Storehouses
An evangelist from a third world country was having a time of fellowship with the senior Pastor of a chain of Mega-Churches from a Western country. Before they parted company, the evangelist made the following statement: “Your Local Churches are only storehouses, storing people for hell”. It was without doubt that the senior Pastor was very much offended. This incident happened more than 12 years ago.
To some people this might appear a shocking statement, but somehow I have reasons to believe that the evangelist was actually speaking the truth. In fact he had made a prophetic statement. With the present New Age movement Local Mega-Churches are mushrooming all over the world! These Mega-Churches not only have large worship sanctuaries they have ultra modern convention centers as well.
How to build a Mega-Church
If it is your “goal and vision” to build a Local Mega-Church then all you need is money and some imagination and creativity. Here are the steps:
5. Get them involved in a Church growth/development campaign. Statistics are made available by organizations specializing in studying the growth pattern of thousands of Churches all over the world with various cultures and customs. This is a good way to understand the behavioral pattern of the Universal Church. From these statistics a principle of growth is derived. Using this principle the Local Church will be able to discover the areas of strength and weakness. Spend time and energy on the weak areas and try to achieve a balance. The ultimate goal is to increase the numerical growth rate. It must be good if you believe Mega-Church means a “mega” number of Christians.
The Biblical New Testament Local Church
The “Church” is an “assembly of people” called out from the present world order to serve Jesus Christ and to be prepared by Him to become the collective instrument of the government which He will establish in the next age. The fact that Church people are Christian people called out from the world order means you can never let the world come into the Church to defile the Church.
The apostle Paul described the Church as “His (Christ’s) body” (read Ephesians 1:22, 23). Seen in this light, the Church is not an organization (much less a social club) but an organism. Each member of this body is directly related by personal faith to Christ, as its Head, and through Him to all the other members.
Here are some of my observations concerning the true Church of Jesus Christ:
The whole process of the New Testament salvation consists of justification, regeneration, sanctification and glorification in this order. It is beyond the scope of this message to consider salvation as a continuous process. We shall consider salvation in its most basic meaning – the “initiation” act of entering a life of faith in Christ.
Basically, salvation means the translation of a person from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God. Therefore, being “saved” means being “salvaged from sins” rather than being “saved from hell” even though the latter is the result of the former.
Jesus is called the Messiah because He would save the people from their sin:
The angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “And she (Mary) will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The New Testament makes it plain that the experience of salvation comes to each soul only as a result of personal response to the gospel.
Paul explained that salvation comes to a person through believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth the truth of the gospel:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9, 10).
The born again experience that Jesus spoke about in John 3:3 is further made clear by the apostle John:
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in Hin name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11 – 13, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, the active response to the gospel is personally receiving Christ. The result of this response of faith is becoming a child of God, or “being born of God”. Each person must make his own response; no person can make the response required from another person. Each person will be either saved or lose solely by his own response.
Entrance into the God’s Kingdom
Let me summarize the basic facts of the Gospel and the response which each person is required to make:
1. Christ was delivered by God the Father to the punishment of death on account of our sins.
Paul said, “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Conclusion
If you are truly convinced what the Scripture says about the Church, salvation and the born-again experience surely you will also be convinced that the way of building Mega-Churches is entirely of man’s idea without Scriptural basis and is an abomination to the Lord!
To some people this might appear a shocking statement, but somehow I have reasons to believe that the evangelist was actually speaking the truth. In fact he had made a prophetic statement. With the present New Age movement Local Mega-Churches are mushrooming all over the world! These Mega-Churches not only have large worship sanctuaries they have ultra modern convention centers as well.
How to build a Mega-Church
If it is your “goal and vision” to build a Local Mega-Church then all you need is money and some imagination and creativity. Here are the steps:
1. Spend plenty of money to rebuild your present Church building and equip it with all the facilities (including facilities for youths and young kids) of a country club. Money spent will be recovered very quickly. People who wish to be members of any country club need to pay costly entrance fees and monthly subscription. They are usually wealthy people. But if they can get to enjoy all these facilities for free in a Church, there is no reason why they should not quit going to the country club. Furthermore, they receive all the blessings that a Church offer.
2. Send out faithful and persuasive Church members to invite people to join your Church. Remember not to ask about people’s religious background – whether they are Christians or not or whether they are members of any other Local Churches or not. Be extremely friendly and do their best to build a good personal relationship with new comers. Give them an impression that your Church is indeed an interfaith religious institution. Do not offend anybody. To lead new comers to say the “Sinner’s Prayer” is not advisable. This might frighten them away. Get them water baptized quickly. Make sure you do not mention “repentance” but encouraged them to treasure their new life in Christ. Whether they believe you or not and whether they need to confess their sins or not are not important issues. The important thing is to ensure them of their salvation – tell them they are now saved by the act of water baptism. Tell them all of them will go to heaven because they are now the Bride of Christ.3. When the new comers begin to enjoy the fellowship of your Church slowly but firmly persuade them to give tithes. Put some fear in them. Show them the Old Testament Scripture about robbing God (Malachi 3:8). Preach a few sermons on the topic of tithing. If they are slow to take heed tell them their business might fail if they refuse to tithe properly and regularly. Tell them God might punish them and inflict them and their family members with incurable diseases if they continue to rob God.
4. Never preach repentance or end-time prophecies. Avoid teaching “hell” and the new birth. Instead, tell them they are wonderful, they are good people and God loves them as they are. Tell them their spiritual Church family is more important than their physical home family so than people come from broken families will not be offended. Show them genuine Christian love. You must ensure every sermon preached from the pulpit is an “itching ears” sermon or the sermon they love to hear.5. Get them involved in a Church growth/development campaign. Statistics are made available by organizations specializing in studying the growth pattern of thousands of Churches all over the world with various cultures and customs. This is a good way to understand the behavioral pattern of the Universal Church. From these statistics a principle of growth is derived. Using this principle the Local Church will be able to discover the areas of strength and weakness. Spend time and energy on the weak areas and try to achieve a balance. The ultimate goal is to increase the numerical growth rate. It must be good if you believe Mega-Church means a “mega” number of Christians.
The Biblical New Testament Local Church
The “Church” is an “assembly of people” called out from the present world order to serve Jesus Christ and to be prepared by Him to become the collective instrument of the government which He will establish in the next age. The fact that Church people are Christian people called out from the world order means you can never let the world come into the Church to defile the Church.
The apostle Paul described the Church as “His (Christ’s) body” (read Ephesians 1:22, 23). Seen in this light, the Church is not an organization (much less a social club) but an organism. Each member of this body is directly related by personal faith to Christ, as its Head, and through Him to all the other members.
Here are some of my observations concerning the true Church of Jesus Christ:
1. Over the centuries, the true concept of the New Testament Body of Christ has been corrupted and distorted. The Church as it is known today bears little or no resemblance to the original model established in the New Testament beginning from the Book of Acts.
2. Many of those who consider themselves as members of today’s Local Church have no living, personal relationship with Christ, and are often at enmity with other professing Christians. Only a small minority of those who are currently called Christians are members of the Church which is described in the New Testament.3. Members of Christ’s Body must remember what Paul said: “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’” (2 Tim. 2:19, NKJV, emphasis added). In other words, the true Church has two distinguishing characteristics:
a. God, and God alone, knows all those who are truly His.b. Everyone who claims to be member of His Church is required to demonstrate it by a life of practical righteousness and holiness.
4. You have probably heard this: “Going to Church does not make you a Christian just like going to a garage does not make you a car.” Only born again believers can be true Christians and therefore you cannot invite non-Christians and non-water-baptized people to be members of the Local Church. By careful study of the Book of Acts you will realize that every believer was born again and water baptized before they joined the Local Church. According to the Scripture unbelievers have the “spirit (unclean) who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). The Church being the temple of God is holy and it must not be defiled by any unclean spirit (1 Cor. 3:16).5. The Church does not save and the act of water baptism does not save (please read my earlier Posting – “Understanding Water Baptism”). Therefore by going to Church does not make a person a Christian. Similarly by ministering the act of water baptism does not make a person a Christian. A person must repent and believe before he is qualified to be water baptized (Acts 2:38).
6. God ordained three structures to be built for His glory by His people - The Tabernacle of David, The Temple of Solomon and the Church of Jesus Christ. All three are related; but the first two are physical structures and the Church is a spiritual Structure. All three are built by divine pattern with divine provision and for a divine purpose. David got the pattern for the Temple of Solomon by the Spirit of God (1 Chronicles 28:12). Similar the spiritual pattern for the Church of Jesus Christ is given by the Spirit of God. Men are not called to build any Church, whether a mega-Church or a small Church without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!
The New Testament SalvationThe whole process of the New Testament salvation consists of justification, regeneration, sanctification and glorification in this order. It is beyond the scope of this message to consider salvation as a continuous process. We shall consider salvation in its most basic meaning – the “initiation” act of entering a life of faith in Christ.
Basically, salvation means the translation of a person from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God. Therefore, being “saved” means being “salvaged from sins” rather than being “saved from hell” even though the latter is the result of the former.
Jesus is called the Messiah because He would save the people from their sin:
The angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “And she (Mary) will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The New Testament makes it plain that the experience of salvation comes to each soul only as a result of personal response to the gospel.
Paul explained that salvation comes to a person through believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth the truth of the gospel:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9, 10).
The born again experience that Jesus spoke about in John 3:3 is further made clear by the apostle John:
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in Hin name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11 – 13, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, the active response to the gospel is personally receiving Christ. The result of this response of faith is becoming a child of God, or “being born of God”. Each person must make his own response; no person can make the response required from another person. Each person will be either saved or lose solely by his own response.
Entrance into the God’s Kingdom
Let me summarize the basic facts of the Gospel and the response which each person is required to make:
1. Christ was delivered by God the Father to the punishment of death on account of our sins.
2. Christ was buried.
3. God raised Him from the dead on the third day.4. Righteousness is received from God through believing these facts.
If you are one of those who are afraid of offending an unbeliever by telling him that he needs to confess his sin, look at it the Scriptural way:Paul said, “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Conclusion
If you are truly convinced what the Scripture says about the Church, salvation and the born-again experience surely you will also be convinced that the way of building Mega-Churches is entirely of man’s idea without Scriptural basis and is an abomination to the Lord!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Secular Government Authority
I believe this is a very delicate subject to handle. There are divergent views among Christians. I am talking about the command of God for Christians to submit themselves to secular government authority, whether the government is good or bad, righteous or unrighteous.
Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome:
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake” (Romans 13:1 – 5, NKJV).
There is a parallel passage of Scripture written by Peter:
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men – as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:13 – 17).
Notice that both Paul and Peter were ministering the Gospel during the Roman Empire. Jesus, as well as both Paul and Peter were executed under the Roman Empire. Therefore whatever they said they had to live it out.
Out of the above passages, we may select three statements that are particularly significant:
If Christians are walking in obedience to the will of God, then the government and its officers “are God’s agents working for their good”. But if Christians are disobedient and not walking in the path of God’s will, then the government and its officers become “God’s agents of punishment”. In other words, Christians get the kind of government they deserved.
All authority is in the Hand of Jesus
After the resurrection of Jesus He came and spoke to His disciples:
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Concerning Jesus Paul said, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:9, 10, emphasis added).
Being the Head of all principality and power Jesus has all authority.
Government Authority and our prayer
Every earthly government has the authority to rule because God had appointed and given them the authority. We are not talking about the person (righteous or unrighteous) who occupies the seat of the office of certain government, but about the actual office itself. Both Paul and Peter said behind the office of the Government authority is God’s authority. Our relationship, as Christians, to the office ultimately depicts our relationship with God.
Because not all Governments are necessarily good Paul instructed Timothy to have the Local Church which he called God’s house (1 Tim. 3:14, 15) to pray for a good Government (1 Tim 2:1 – 4). We may sum up this passage of Scripture in a series of logical steps:
1. The first ministry of the Local Church in regular fellowship is prayer.
A question arises – What happens when an ungodly, wicked man or a persecutor is occupying a position of high authority in the Government? Let us consider two appropriate examples:
Jesus and Pilate
Jesus gave us a good pattern to follow, because He encountered the above problem!
Pilate confronted Jesus who claimed to be the King of the Jew. Jesus answered him:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jew; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).
Jesus revealed a very important basis spiritual principle – The Kingdom of God is never established by carnal weapons. It is not that we should not use carnal weapons. But, the Kingdom of God is not established by fighting.
All Christians are citizens of two Kingdoms – We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and also the citizens of our own country. As citizens of our own country it may be our responsibility to fight. But we are not establishing the Kingdom of God by our fighting.
The Lord said to Zerubbabel, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zech. 4:6).
In other words, there is only one power in the Kingdom of God – The Spirit of God.
Pilate told Jesus that he had the power to crucify Him. But Jesus answered him:
“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11).
Here is another remarkable statement made by Jesus. Jesus pointed out that Pilate had a lesser sin than the Jewish High Priest who delivered Jesus to him. The High Priest had no authority at all to do that. But, Pilate even though wicked, had the authority. Jesus showed that he had tremendous respect for secular authority – even for the authority used unjustly against Him! He did not resist Pilate.
Peter and other apostles and the High Priest
Peter and other apostles were put on trial by the Jewish High Priest. He said to them:
“Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name?” (Acts 5:28, emphasis added).
What a remarkable statement – The High Priest said “this name” instead of “Jesus’ Name”!
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
The apostles had a specific mandate, a command of Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The apostles were merely obeying Jesus even thought the High Priest told them not to do. In a way, they were saying they could not stop preaching Jesus – “You can do what you like with us but we would not obey you”. Notice that they did not stage a revolution, stage marches nor hold protests, but just simply submitted to unjust treatment!
What did they do while submitting to the unjust authority? They sang, they preached, and they testified. By their submission they opened the way for God to help them – God vindicated them!
Christians and conscience
Let us refer back to Romans 13:5, “Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake”.
The question is, “What if the ruler (the one in authority) demands that I do something which I cannot do with a clear conscience"? The answer is, “I refuse to do it”. But, you submit by saying that “I would not do that, but you can do what you like with me”. You disobey the authority but you would not give up your submission.
Peter said, “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed” (1 Peter 3:13, 14).
Concerning the faithful followers of Christ, John said:
“And they overcame him (the accuser of our brethren) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, for them it is more important to do the will of God than to stay alive!
Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome:
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake” (Romans 13:1 – 5, NKJV).
There is a parallel passage of Scripture written by Peter:
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men – as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:13 – 17).
Notice that both Paul and Peter were ministering the Gospel during the Roman Empire. Jesus, as well as both Paul and Peter were executed under the Roman Empire. Therefore whatever they said they had to live it out.
Out of the above passages, we may select three statements that are particularly significant:
1. There is no authority but by the act of God.
2. They are God’s agents working for your good.3. They are God’s agents for punishment.
The apostles addressed these words specifically to Christians. They stated that government is established by an act of God. How that government will affect Christians depends upon the attitude and conduct of the Christians.If Christians are walking in obedience to the will of God, then the government and its officers “are God’s agents working for their good”. But if Christians are disobedient and not walking in the path of God’s will, then the government and its officers become “God’s agents of punishment”. In other words, Christians get the kind of government they deserved.
All authority is in the Hand of Jesus
After the resurrection of Jesus He came and spoke to His disciples:
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Concerning Jesus Paul said, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:9, 10, emphasis added).
Being the Head of all principality and power Jesus has all authority.
Government Authority and our prayer
Every earthly government has the authority to rule because God had appointed and given them the authority. We are not talking about the person (righteous or unrighteous) who occupies the seat of the office of certain government, but about the actual office itself. Both Paul and Peter said behind the office of the Government authority is God’s authority. Our relationship, as Christians, to the office ultimately depicts our relationship with God.
Because not all Governments are necessarily good Paul instructed Timothy to have the Local Church which he called God’s house (1 Tim. 3:14, 15) to pray for a good Government (1 Tim 2:1 – 4). We may sum up this passage of Scripture in a series of logical steps:
1. The first ministry of the Local Church in regular fellowship is prayer.
2. The first specific topic for prayer is the government.
3. We are to pray for good government.4. God desires all men to have the truth of the Gospel preached to them.
5. Good government facilitates the preaching of the Gospel, while bad government hinders it.6. Therefore, good government is the will of God.
The need to subject to bad Government authorityA question arises – What happens when an ungodly, wicked man or a persecutor is occupying a position of high authority in the Government? Let us consider two appropriate examples:
Jesus and Pilate
Jesus gave us a good pattern to follow, because He encountered the above problem!
Pilate confronted Jesus who claimed to be the King of the Jew. Jesus answered him:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jew; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).
Jesus revealed a very important basis spiritual principle – The Kingdom of God is never established by carnal weapons. It is not that we should not use carnal weapons. But, the Kingdom of God is not established by fighting.
All Christians are citizens of two Kingdoms – We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and also the citizens of our own country. As citizens of our own country it may be our responsibility to fight. But we are not establishing the Kingdom of God by our fighting.
The Lord said to Zerubbabel, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zech. 4:6).
In other words, there is only one power in the Kingdom of God – The Spirit of God.
Pilate told Jesus that he had the power to crucify Him. But Jesus answered him:
“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11).
Here is another remarkable statement made by Jesus. Jesus pointed out that Pilate had a lesser sin than the Jewish High Priest who delivered Jesus to him. The High Priest had no authority at all to do that. But, Pilate even though wicked, had the authority. Jesus showed that he had tremendous respect for secular authority – even for the authority used unjustly against Him! He did not resist Pilate.
Peter and other apostles and the High Priest
Peter and other apostles were put on trial by the Jewish High Priest. He said to them:
“Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name?” (Acts 5:28, emphasis added).
What a remarkable statement – The High Priest said “this name” instead of “Jesus’ Name”!
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
The apostles had a specific mandate, a command of Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The apostles were merely obeying Jesus even thought the High Priest told them not to do. In a way, they were saying they could not stop preaching Jesus – “You can do what you like with us but we would not obey you”. Notice that they did not stage a revolution, stage marches nor hold protests, but just simply submitted to unjust treatment!
What did they do while submitting to the unjust authority? They sang, they preached, and they testified. By their submission they opened the way for God to help them – God vindicated them!
Christians and conscience
Let us refer back to Romans 13:5, “Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake”.
The question is, “What if the ruler (the one in authority) demands that I do something which I cannot do with a clear conscience"? The answer is, “I refuse to do it”. But, you submit by saying that “I would not do that, but you can do what you like with me”. You disobey the authority but you would not give up your submission.
Peter said, “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed” (1 Peter 3:13, 14).
Concerning the faithful followers of Christ, John said:
“And they overcame him (the accuser of our brethren) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, for them it is more important to do the will of God than to stay alive!
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