Judaism and the New Testament

Today there is much made of the fact that the New Testament (NT) and Christianity is a Jewish religion. Some then draw the conclusion that if we want to understand Jesus and the NT, then we must understand Judaism. This is completely true, for if we do not understand the context Jesus, Paul, Peter and the others wrote to, then we will not understand their sayings and writings. However, this does not mean that we should rush to our local synagogue to understand Judaism. Because Modern Judaism is NOT the Judaism spoken of in the NT.

What is Ancient Judaism?
Ancient Judaism could also be called Yahwism—the worship of Yahweh as the only true God. It was made distinct from the many religions around them which recognized that there were many gods vying for power. All Judaism recognized that there is only one God, Yahweh, and he is the king of all other powers and authorities in and above the world. In the first century (the time of the NT), all the Judaisms were based on the foundation of the Hebrew Scriptures (called by Christians today the Old Testament), especially the first five book—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These were called the Law or Torah and all Judaism recognized many parts of it as the foundation of their beliefs.

However, we must recognize that there was not one kind of Judaism in the first century, but many. And there were many aspects of every kind of Judaism.

Law—All Judaism believed that God gave a law that he wanted his people to follow. And though the five books of Moses included many laws, there were many disagreements as to what law would best be followed, how to interpret God’s law and how it should be enforced among his people. The Pharisees were one group that saw God’s law as central to Judaism.

Temple—All Judaism saw a temple as central for worshipping God and to offer sacrifices at. They saw the priesthood as descended from Moses’ line and they ran the temple. They were all in agreement that God established a place among his people where he should rightly be worshipped. And apart from one sect—the Samaritans—all Judaism believed that the temple in Jerusalem was the place God has chosen to be worshipped. However, some saw it as more important than others, and one group—the Essenes—believed that the temple and priesthood in Jerusalem was impure and God would replace them.

Kingdom—All Judaism recognized that God has established a nation which was chosen by Him. And they all believed that God’s nation was destined to rule the world someday, even as Rome did. Some of them believed that this would take place through God’s chosen king, called a Messiah, who might be the son of David, or might be a priest. However, most Jews were focused on the continuing process of running a nation, especially when most Jews—who recognized that they were a part of God’s nation—lived outside of God’s chosen land, Israel/Judah. Some held that Jews should focus on bringing this kingdom to pass, either through obeying God’s law, or through political maneuvering, or through warfare.

There are many other aspects of Ancient Judaism, such as prophetic speech, good deeds, various schools and much more.


What happened to Ancient Judaism?
Beginning with 70AD, Judaism changed dramatically. The Temple was destroyed in that year, and the priesthood has never been officially recognized since. The nation of Judah lost all political power, and almost all Jews became dispersed from their land. There were only two kinds of Judaism that was prepared to continue past the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD—Christianity and a Judaism that focused on the law.

What is Modern Judaism?
The Judaism that focused on the law was connected to the Pharisees, but distanced themselves from that group, focusing instead on teachers who interpreted the law in a way that could last past the temple. These teachers were called Rabbis—Aramaic for “master”—and they taught that the one who obeyed the Torah of God was the true Jew. However, many of the laws in the Hebrew Scriptures could not be obeyed because there was no more nation, temple or priesthood. So the Rabbinic Jews focused less on the books of Moses themselves, and more on the interpretations of the books. They taught that while Moses himself wrote down laws for all the people, he taught the interpretation of the law to the judges that were called “elders” in the Bible. These elders passed down this interpretation from one generation to another, until finally it was written down in a book called the Mishnah, in about 200AD. Later Rabbis interpreted the Mishnah for contemporary use, and their interpretations were written down in a larger book called the Talmud. Today, most Rabbinic Jews recognize the Talmud as Scripture, and they study it and interpret it for their everyday life. Thus, they do not live out the books of Moses directly themselves, but instead interpret it through the teachings of the ancient Rabbis.

The NT and Judaisms
Thus, we can draw the following conclusions:
Modern Judaism is not the Judaism of the NT
We should not think that we can gain a full understanding of Ancient Judaism on the basis of what we learn from Modern Judaism. To understand the Judaism of Jesus and Paul’s day, the best resources we have are not the writings or teachings of modern Rabbinic Judaism. Rather than reading the Mishnah or Talmud (as helpful as that may be) or consulting with modern Rabbis, we would do better to read ancient Jewish books, such as those found in Catholic Bibles. Books such as Sirach or the Psalms of Solomon or the Testimonies of the Twelve Patriarchs or Tobit give us a much better idea of the Judaism of Jesus’ day.

Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism are equally the outgrowth of ancient Judaism
Modern Judaism is not the “mother” religion, with Christianity being the “daughter”. Rather, Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism are really both “daughters” of Ancient Judaism, which passed with the Temple. Jesus was unique in his understanding of Judaism, and while he was in agreement with some of the ancient ways, he also had a completely different way of seeing it from most people. The Rabbis of the Talmud also saw Judaism differently than the ancients and from Jesus, and so they constitute a different Judaism again. Now, all that is left is Christianity—the outgrowth of Jesus’ understanding of Ancient Judaism—and Rabbinic Judaism—an outgrowth of the Rabbi’s understanding of Ancient Judaism.

The NT is not directly speaking to Modern Judaism
We should not try to understand Jesus’ or Paul’s critique of Judaism in their day on the basis of what we understand Modern Judaism doing. None of the writers of the NT were speaking to modern Jews because modern Judaism did not exist in those days. Rather, the NT speaks to Ancient Temple Judaism, with their political involvement and powerful priesthood and magnificent Temple. On the other hand, the Talmud does have some to say about Jesus and Christianity—and they reject it in no uncertain terms. There is no question that some part of the development of modern Judaism was a negative response to the rise of Christianity, which they saw as an aberrant form of ancient Judaism (not recognizing that they were just as divergent from the ancient religion).

The Messianic Movement
But what shall we say about the “Messianic” movement today, then? This is a group which retains its Rabbinic Jewish heritage, but also claims Jesus as their Messiah. Are they wrong to do this? Absolutely not. But do they represent a return to NT congregations? Probably not. Although what the Messianic congregations do is very interesting, they are not much closer to the ancient Jewish church than Eastern Orthodox churches. And neither group fully represents the ancient church that we read about in the NT.

We must keep in mind that the NT church was based on the synagogue practices of two thousand years ago. All organizations and practices—no matter how traditional in origin—shift over time. To base Christian congregations on Modern Judaism is not a return to ancient practice. It is rather a cultural coloring of Christianity on the basis of Modern Judaism.

Some might have a problem with this, thinking it is corrupting the church. However, it is really the best form of evangelism there is. The Messianic congregations demonstrate to modern Jews that Christianity can honor many of their traditions, and yet honor Jesus as Lord. It has been a cliché that one could be a Jew or a Christian, but not both—the Messianic congregations prove that one could be a cultural, ethnic (modern) Jew and be a full, obedient believer in Jesus. And so they have overcome a hurdle that the church could not have done without them.
The only warning the NT has about these congregations is this: do not allow the practice of your congregation become the basis of judgement against another. There are many ways of honoring the Lord Jesus with our lives—but just because one seems more “Jewish” than another, it does not mean that it is closer to Jesus’ will. Let us all honor Jesus in the freedom Jesus gave us, some as (modern) Jews, and some as (modern) Gentiles. And let us all praise God that Jesus welcomes us all, no matter what our cultural background!

God's Sovereignty: A Different Approach

I think one of the great confusions about God in theology, and what causes the greatest amount of problems, is God’s sovereignty. The basic approach of Christian theology since Augustine, and finalized in the disciples of Calvin, is God’s control over every aspect of creation. Nothing gets done without God’s authority and approval. Of course, this approach to God falls into difficulties when seeing terrible events happen in which many thousands of people die. How can God, who is supposed to love every single person individually, personally approve of a mass killing of those He is tender-hearted about? I don’t want to get into the complex arguments about how this could be, and some of the greatest Christian literature has been written on this subject. My approach, personally, is that our whole conception of God is wrong.

It begins with a wrong idea of what sovereignty is. Somehow, we consider God’s sovereignty to be different than human sovereignty. This would make sense, since, as we have seen, God is considered to be containing all the power of the universe, in all place, knowing all things both possible and actual, active in sustaining all the universe. Such a being, when considered to be sovereign, would be rightly considered in complete control of every event in the universe. However, as we have also seen, the God of the Bible is not exactly the same as this perfect theological picture of God. God can do whatever He wants, but that doesn’t mean that He exerts all power that exists. God can know whatever He wants, and can be wherever He wants, but this does not mean that He is at all places at the same time. God is existing both before and after human history, but this doesn’t mean that God never had a beginning. God’s needs are limited, but it can be shown that He needs us, if only emotionally, which emotions such as anger and jealousy and love we must affirm that God has or else deny the whole of Scripture.

Even so, biblically, we must limit God’s sovereignty. This statement can get me in trouble, because, of course, biblically we must affirm that God is the creator of the universe, and thus He holds the complete right to rule the universe. That I absolutely affirm. But Scripture also affirms that God has surrendered His sovereignty—His rule—of the earth and all it contains to humanity (Genesis 1, Psalm 8). Humanity is now the sovereign one over all the earth, and humanity has surrendered that sovereignty to governments. Thus, the governments act in God’s stead as ruler over the earth.

Is God still sovereign? Absolutely. If a government steps too far out of line of God’s will, then God steps in and takes the government out—as described in Psalm 82, and seen in Genesis 18-19. And if the whole world abuses those whom God protects, then God will take over the whole world again—and this is what is prayed for in “Thy kingdom come” and described in detail in Revelation. Part of the hope of the believer is God’s direct rule over the earth, through Jesus, without anyone else as mediator between the earth and God.

Why do disasters happen? Because they do. The earth isn’t completely stable, and disasters will always happen. God might prevent them, if He is asked to. And He might help more, if He is asked. But God will not move amidst a government who doesn’t seek Him. And God will not protect a nation who isn’t interested in doing His will—which is all of them, without exception. God is much like a parent who releases his child to go out into the world on their own. The child will suffer much and face terrible trials, but as long as the child says, “I’ll do it myself”, the parent will let them.

The exception is supposed to be the people of Jesus. Jesus was fully in tune with His Father, only doing as He pleases, seeking His will and relying on Him alone. The people of Jesus are supposed to have a relationship with God like that. God is to be fully sovereign over those who release their sovereignty to Him. But as long as we, who claim to follow Jesus, retain our sovereignty, and deny God His proper place, then we will never experience God’s love and power. Disasters will still happen and we will have to face them on our own. The more we release ourselves to trusting God, then the more we will experience God’s care for us.

How is it, then, that those who trust God suffer so much? Because we live in churches, in cities, under governments that do not trust God or surrender their sovereignty to Him. We are under the rulership of toddlers who think that they can do whatever they please. In some cases, those who fully trust the Lord are sacrificed for the sake of others so that they might trust God. This is what happened to Jesus, and many of us suffer because God specifically is asking us to stand in the gap for those who need His help so much.

But there are also many who suffer because the ones truly in charge of the world are toddlers who have to do things themselves, not under the guidance of God’s wisdom, with the focus of God’s mercy or the unbelievable magnitude of God’s power. Trusters of God are just as likely to be in a natural disaster, because those who rule the area are not asking God for help. This isn’t some spite by God, but simply a natural event that God could have prevented if people relied on prayer rather than their own power. Trusters of God are just as likely to die in a war as anyone else, because war is a sign of people not trusting in God, but their own power, and as long as war exists then everyone is threatened. Trusters of God are just as likely to suffer poverty as anyone else, because the governments of this world are more interested in denying their own responsibility and asserting others’ responsibility rather than relying on God’s mercy.

This is why we need Jesus to rule the world. He is the only human who can see clearly with God’s power and mercy. Churches talk about God’s sovereignty, but act as if He is powerless and must work through them. Governments talk about mercy, but they neglect the needy in their own nations and the world, because they don’t really believe in God’s mercy. Jesus demonstrated through His ministry God’s unbelievable power and His mercy. And through His death he paved the way for us to live in it.


God’s “sovereignty requires that He be absolutely free, which means simply that He must be free to do whatever He wills to do anywhere at any time to carry out His eternal purpose.” –A.W. Tozer But the inscrutability of God is that He has taken his ultimate freedom and surrendered this freedom to His creation. Freedom in the modern day means that one has a right to follow one’s basic, positive nature. But God surrendered His freedom to accomplish His perfect will on earth to humanity. He took some of the most lively part of His creation and limited His own access to it, limiting his rights to openly act on the earth. And he gave over this freedom to the hands of an unworthy, weak creation.

It is this very act that Satan doesn’t understand and rebels against. Satan tested humanity right at the beginning and found them unworthy. Satan continues to test our best and brightest, and finds them all filled with sin, selfish, and lacking true understanding and mercy. Humanity—because of the powerful nature to imitate that which surrounds them—has copied Satan in despising the weak, and rejecting the unworthy, immediately punishing them as soon as they are found. The very rebellion that Satan acts upon humanity to dethrone them from their high place, is that which makes our planet unlivable—judgment of the weak, and calling unworthy those whom God has given rule.

Instead, God invites us, in His gentle way, to follow Jesus. To grant even the unworthy mercy. To offer forgiveness to those who have rebelled. To give up one’s own rights so that the weak might have power and wholeness. To surrender the unnecessary punishment, but instead to be respectful and welcoming so that humanity might imitate God and not Satan.

True Spirituality John 3:1-16

Welcome to Another Dimension…
There is another universe. It is a universe completely ruled by God, without human intervention. However, it is not a universe without sin or rebellion. But it is a universe ruled as God would have it ruled. It is also a universe of tremendous power. It is a universe ruled with justice, mercy and great wisdom. Sin and rebellion are limited to certain sectors instead of being universal.

If we can connect to that universe, life would be so much better. God would be able to rule our lives directly, instead of through such weak vessels such as government. We could achieve justice on earth and peace, if we could but connect to that world. We could have lives of power, instead of the weakness we live with right now. We can have a connection to God. But how do we do that?

You mean like having an Avatar?
Jesus says, “You must be born again.” Unfortunately, this word has been used by so many people, and been attached to a certain kind of Christianity, that it has lost its original meaning. But what is its true meaning?

We would have to look at what Jesus says. He’s the one who used the phrase to begin with. So what does he say? “That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of spirit is spirit.” “Spirit” is that which is sourced from the alternative universe. “Flesh” is that which is sourced in this world, follows its values, and is invested in this world. What Jesus says makes sense—if a person is to be a part of another world, they need to be re-born of that world, no longer a part of the one they were from. In national terms, this could be called a naturalized immigration. But in terms of being, it would be a rebirth. We don’t need to just be born again, in the same way we were last time. We need to be fully a part of the other world.

This doesn’t mean that we are not still a part of this world. Jesus says, “Unless one is born of water and of spirit, one cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Being “born of water” means being born of this world, born out of a mother’s womb. So the member of the spirit world is actually a being of two worlds—both this world and the next. But the one has to turn aside from the birth on earth in order to fully receive the other world. There has to be a choice, and the choice must be made for the spirit world.

Entering The Spirit World
How do we do this? This isn’t an everyday process. People can try to figure it out. Some will take mushrooms to discover the Spirit world. Some will practice meditation. Some will do yoga. Some will follow religious ritual. However, Jesus makes the choice pretty clear: “No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven: The Son of Man.” So we can look for spirituality all we want, but there’s only one person who can tell us the truth about the spirit world: Jesus himself. He’s the only one who’s been there personally and then come to tell us what goes on there. And He’s the only one who can tell us how to be a part of this world, because he’s the first one to be a part of both worlds.

So what does He say? How do we be born of the Spirit world? He has a lot to say about that, but this is the first step: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so whoever believes in him will have eternal life.” First of all, the Son of Man must be “lifted up”. What does that mean—ascended to heaven? Given an exalted place? Well, that’s all true—but first the Son of Man must be lifted up like Moses lifted up the serpent—hung on a piece of wood. The piece of wood is the “sign” that everyone would notice. And that kind of “lifting up” kills the Son, and then he is raised from the dead—indicating the way to the Spirit world. Resurrection is the true rebirth.

But if resurrection is the true rebirth, then how do we achieve it, while still alive? Again, we must trust in the Son who was killed so that he might be resurrected. We rely on Him, even if it means we die ourselves. We will not perish, even if we die, for life is eternal in the Spirit world.

“You Smell Funny…”
But how do we know if we truly have this new life? Before this resurrection, we already receive eternal life. This is by having the Spirit of God. The Spirit is a piece of the spirit world—of God himself—that is living within us. Because of this spirit, we do strange things. “The wind blows where it wishes, and no one knows where it is coming from or where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The spirit makes one strange, like the prophets of old. The Spirit makes one unpredictable, as one in the world would be. The people of the world follow certain patterns, do things that are of a benefit to themselves. The people of the Spirit are unpredictable, but in a good way. They do crazy things, like loving others, even if it harms them. Like loving their enemies. Like doing good when someone harms them. Like being gentle when one should be angry.

The one who lives in the Spirit acts for the benefit of others. That’s nothing like this world.

Why Do We Need A Christ?

What is Christ?
“Christ” isn’t the last name of Jesus, but it is a title. It means “anointed one”, just the same as the Hebrew word Messiah. But having some guy with oil on his head isn’t what the world needs. Instead, the “Christ” is actually the emperor of God, the ruler of the world. The Christ is like a Roman Caesar or a Napoleon. Someone who takes over the world by force and then rules over a central part of the world, and, by extension and treaty, provides peace to the rest of the world. Other terms that are used both in the Bible and in the pagan world for an Emperor are: Son of God, Alpha and Omega, Father (or Pope), and Lord.

The New Testament claims that Jesus is the fulfillment of this role, appointed by God at his baptism and approved by God through his resurrection. But the promise becomes crystallized at Jesus’ birth, where the promise of the Son of God, the Christ, is displayed to the poor and lowly of Bethlehem

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7

Why do we need a Christ?
This concept of the kingdom of God is exactly what Jesus was speaking about. But why do we need a ruler like this? Hasn’t it been proven that dictators are a bad idea? Shouldn’t we learn to rule ourselves? Well, anarchy has been attempted and all it does is lead to injustice and chaos. But why a Christ? According to the Old Testament, there are some very good reasons why we should have an Emperor of God:

So the world can acknowledge God as the true ruler
God is the Creator of the world, the King of the universe. Yet most of the world did not acknowledge him as God or properly give God his due. Instead, they saw other gods, who assisted them with their petty lives, as being more worthy of their devotion and sacrifice. But with the Christ ruling the world, then God will be given his proper due and praise and thanks will be offered to Him by all the world.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD… For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:3,9

To destroy the injustices of secular empires
The rulership of the world has passed on from one empire to another from the ancient days to today. And not a single empire has ruled with justice or with equity. There is always an elite, who reap the benefits of the empire, and a servant class on whose backs the empire is built. The rulers always ignore the rule of God and establish their own rule according to their own principles. But the new kingdom will be built upon justice and righteousness, and set aside the old empires with their injustices.

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Daniel 2:44 And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. Isaiah 11:5

To take us out of the system of judgment
For all governments of the world, if you do wrong, there is a penalty. Do the crime, pay the time. This is a system of judgment, and it was established by God. However, this is not the only system of dealing with lawbreakers that God had established. Jesus’ system is that of repentance and release. In other words, give a person the opportunity to make their crime right and to turn from their ways and then just welcome them back. Jesus as the Christ does not do away with the system of judgment, but he gives us an opportunity to escape it. This is done through his death, where his new system of dealing with crime is the judicial basis of his kingdom, established by his death and resurrection.
As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:11

For the poor to be heard
In every system of government that has ever existed there is a lower class for whom there is no justice. This group is always assumed to be the criminals, they are feared and hated and accused of the most terrible crimes. Should one of this group do something wrong, then they are all punished. But the Christ will listen to the poor and acknowledge their actions. He will not judge them according to their class, but according to their deeds. And he will love the poor and draw them up to rule with the elite.
With righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. Isaiah 11:4

For there to be shalom
Only through God’s righteousness and justice will there be an opportunity for the world to run as it should, not only for people, but for all creation. “Shalom” is usually translated “peace”, but it really means a community of well-being, a society where everyone is benefited. The Christ brings this peace to all who can enter into his kingdom.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them… And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, Isaiah 11:6-9

This is the promise of Christmas, “Peace on earth for those favored.” Christmas isn’t just about the incarnation—God coming to earth—as important as that is. It is about the fulfillment of the hope of the Christ that God’s people have been waiting for. It is the coming of the Emperor of God, who rules today from heaven and will rule on earth when he returns.

Got Christ?
We can participate in his kingdom today. We don’t need to wait until he returns. In fact, he doesn’t want us to. Jesus is ruling at the right hand of God and wants us to turn our lives over to him so we can live in his justice and peace right now. If we commit our lives to his rule and get baptized in his name then we will begin living in a different kingdom, under the best ruler of the world that has ever existed, free from our wrongs and living in peace.

Why Is The Bible Important?

The Bible is the best selling book in the world, perhaps 2.5 billion copies sold. It is the most printed book, with 6 million copies printed—the second being Mao’s Little Red Book at 900 million (The most popular Harry Potter book sold about 100 million copies). It is also the most translated book in the world— at least portions have been translated into 2454 languages. Clearly, it’s important to somebody.

But why is it important? And does it deserve its reputation and acclaim?

It is one of the oldest books in the world
The Bible, more than any other book, reflects a wide spectrum of ancient life, customs and thought. It is a sourcebook of ancient history, spanning a period (at least) of a thousand years.

It Expresses Human Experience
Because the Bible is written by forty different authors, as well as a number of editors. And it tells the stories of hundreds of people, who lived over a period of time of 2000 years (from Abraham to Jesus). All these stories cover the broad spectrum of human experience: joy, love, guilt, anger, lust, hope, sorrow, sacrifice, selfishness, murder, piety, hypocrisy, power, humility, farming, building, ruling, slavery, visions, butchery, and so much more. In all of these experiences, the Bible invites each reader to experience all this, and to see it all from the perspective of the ancient Hebrews. No book, novel or otherwise is such a masterwork.

It is about Humanity’s Connection with God
The Bible’s single theme is the relationship between humanity and God. It speaks of how God relates to men through individuals and government, through judgment and mercy, through prophets, philosophers, kings and everyday people. It speaks of how people relate to God through ritual, though prayer, through reading, through mystical experiences, through everyday life, through childbirth, through eroticism, through mourning, through exile and through work. It is the broadest explanation of spirituality and spiritual life that exists.

It Gives a Common Story for Believers
For those who believe in God, the Bible gives what might be the only common element between them all. It is the storybook for all believers, where examples of all things occur. It also gives a common language, full of quotes and unique turns of phrase which is used by many cultures, whether they believe or not. The Bible is the basis for all of our discussions about God, letting us know who God is and how He relates to humanity.

It is God’s Communication about Himself
The Bible is God’s word. This means that it gives us God’s communication. To be honest, if we read it carefully, we can see that contains God’s word, as it does not claim for itself that God is speaking through every verse. But it does give us God’s words, within colorful, varied contexts. God speaks to individuals, He speaks to nations, and more importantly, He speaks to us. In this book alone God tells us what He thinks it is most important for us to know. He tells us how we ought to live, how we can relate to Him, how we can gain His best. The Bible is the only book that clearly and definitively answers these questions.

It is About Jesus
The clearest, most accurate communication about God is Jesus himself. And the Bible is the only place that has the most historically accurate information about Jesus. The Gospels are the best books about Jesus ever written, collecting together eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life and teaching. The rest of the New Testament considers the basic implications of Jesus to those who follow Him. And the Hebrew Scriptures are the very books Jesus quoted from, using it to definitively describe what God is like and what He wants from humanity. Jesus is still the most important person influencing the world today—perhaps in this last century more than ever! If we want to know about Him, about his most correct representation of God, then we need to go to the Bible.


The Bible: It’s not just a book, it’s experiencing God.

The Truth of the Trinity

A.W. Tozer scoffs at those who deny the Trinity of God because it does not make logical sense. “Some persons who reject all they cannot explain have denied that God is a Trinity. Subjecting the Most High to their cold, level-eyed scrutiny, they conclude that it is impossible that He could be both One and Three.” He goes on, rightly, to explain that God is incomprehensible, and it is good for our humility to remember that we cannot understand everything.

However, in the matter of the Trinity, most Trinitarians and most Christian anti-Trinitarians have forgotten their humility, their stand with the word of God, in order to say about God only that which Scripture says. Scripture says there is one God, only one. Scripture says that the Father is God. Scripture says that Jesus is God. And Scripture implies that the Holy Spirit is God. That we can stand with. But when, in the fourth century, it was determined by a council that anyone who denies that the Father and the Son is of the same essence is a heretic, outside the church. Yet Scripture no where gives this explanation for the unity of the Father and the Son. In fact, Jesus prays that the Church “may be one, even as You and I are one.” The Church does not share in the essence of the Godhead, does she? No.

Part of the problem comes in with how Scripture uses the word “god”. We want to use the term strictly for the single, unified, all-powerful being that created the universe. However, as even Jesus himself pointed out, Scripture uses the term “god” in different ways. It is used for angels, it is used for pagan gods—or demons—frankly, it is used even for Satan! And so we cannot say that because the term is used for one being that the being is of the same essence as another. Scripture just doesn’t give us enough information.

I affirm the mystery of God. In this I also affirm the mystery of the trinity and how Jesus is God and the Father is God yet there is one God. Are they the same essence? No one knows. Does Jesus have a beginning? No one knows. Is the Holy Spirit of the same essence of the Father and the Son? No one knows. Orthodox theology, while affirming mystery in general, denies many mysteries that exist in Scripture, acclaiming and affirming that which is unknown by God’s revelation. Some authorities of the church have put themselves above God’s own word in declaring when God is silent. And they have made the worse mistake by judging those who affirm that silence.

Let us repent of our rejection of those who see Scripture differently, when we have no reason to say that they are wrong. Let us repent of our high-mindedness, and humbly admit that God truly is unknown, and yet he reveals himself to us through His Son.

Restoring Faith

Some people think that the Christian life is something one does one day a week, and the rest of the week is for real life. Most of us Christians know better than that.

Some people think that the Christian life begins at one place and then just moves on steadily from there. As if there was nothing else to do but to have faith at first.

Some people see the Christian life as a lot of ups and downs, beginning with a spiritual high and then going down from there. That’s pathetic, but it is many people’s experience of life in Jesus.

Some people think the Christian life is a series of spiritual highs, going from one retreat to another revival to another move of the Spirit. So they are sadly always seeking out the next emotional experience, as if getting a blessing is what Jesus is about.

The Christian life is a life of faith. This faith is best expressed by an ongoing commitment to Jesus as our Lord. Jesus is the King we have chosen and His kingdom is our nation. His law is the law we follow and His life is the model for our lives. In His death is found our hope, for in this the kingdom began and the basic principle of being humble to obtain blessing.

Jesus’ kingdom at times seems the opposite of the kingdoms around us: Jesus’ kingdom is invisible, but we can know who is a part of it. It has no specific land except a world that exists in another universe. Jesus’ kingdom has few basic regulations, but a very strict code of conduct. Jesus’ kingdom is made up of people of all races, all languages and all nations of the world. Jesus kingdom is worldwide, but not of this world at all. The power of Jesus kingdom is not in economics or in armies or in weapons, but in spiritual power that is more effective than all these.

Jesus as a world ruler seems pretty strange as well. Jesus is never seen, but often heard from. He does amazing work in the world, although he doesn’t step on it. Jesus has millions in his kingdom, but no standing army. Jesus meets and consults with his leaders completely in private. And Jesus is at the source of the greatest Power the universe has—the Force that actually created the universe to begin with.

On the surface, the people of Jesus seem pretty rag-tag and disorganized. They don’t have a common agenda. They often disagree with each other. Loudly. They are often poor and with little to give. They are often self-absorbed. They often completely ignore their leader, preferring to focus on what they can get. And yet, the work of Jesus is done through them throughout the world.

Why should we choose to be a part of this kingdom? Because Jesus is the only one offering any real hope in the world. And as faulty as his people seem to be, Jesus followers are welcoming, giving and are actually changing the world for the better.

The Christian life is a commitment to this King, this kingdom and to this people. It is a commitment to give sacrificially to God’s work and to love all without exception. It is a commitment to the way of the cross. It is a commitment to trusting Jesus, even when it seems hard.

At one point of our lives, through baptism or a dedication or a prayer or a simple action, we committed ourselves to Jesus. And Jesus wants us to recommit ourselves. Because the life of the Christian is a life of re-commitment.

• We recommit ourselves through the taking of the Lord’s Supper, taking on the death of Jesus into ourselves.
• We recommit ourselves through praying the Lord’s Prayer.
• We recommit ourselves every time we act to serve another in Jesus’ name.
• We recommit ourselves when we help someone in need in Jesus’ name.
• We recommit ourselves when we do good to those who hurt us in Jesus’ name.
• We recommit ourselves each time we listen to and live in the Spirit.
• We recommit ourselves when we see Jesus in someone else and encourage them.

May every day, even every hour be another moment in which the Lordship of Jesus shines forth.

The Shame of Christmas

There are many glorious things in the Christmas story. Many miracles and eye-popping angels and a quick escape to Egypt. But to only see the glory is to only see half the story.

Becoming Human: Amazing that anyone could do it! But to change from perfect spirit to a body filled with organisms and living nine months in fluid and having to go through birth and… being a teenager? No thank you.

Virgin Birth: An amazing miracle of God that a virgin can be pregnant by the Spirit, without any fleshly contact. However, that virgin then had to face the shame of dealing with neighbors and her fiancée wondering who the other man is.

Annunciation: An angel coming to announce the pregnancy is fantastic, but there is the simple human question of “how?” And this is insulting to the angel. Luckily, he just says that nothing is impossible for God.

Going to Elizabeth: Elizabeth and the pre-natal John the Baptist were rejoicing to hear about the virgin birth. But Mary recognizes her lowliness and poverty and desperation. But she recognizes that God is raising her to a different level—one of blessing.

Going to Bethlehem: Sure, having your baby born in the town of prophecy, the city of David is great, and fulfilling the prophecy is great. But it is not so great to be forced there by a Satanic, Roman power.

Shepherds and Angels: “Glory to God” and people worshipping is great. But shepherds? Shepherds are the lowest of the low, the rejected profession. Why did it have to be them?

Three Magi: It’s great to have aristocrats from afar to give you money, just like a king. But to have them accidently lead your great enemy to you—the local ruler— that’s not so good.

Escape to Egypt: Wonderful that God gave Joseph a dream to help him escape the persecution. But having other babies die for the sake of the one who escaped is awful.

Going to Nazareth: After all this adventure and excitement, finally it’s time to settle down in a small, hillbilly town, living a quiet, normal life. What was all this for, anyway?

Did you see the other half? For every glorious, wonderful, miraculous event, there is another aspect of shame and sadness and even terror.

The story of Jesus sometimes is seen as simply a story of glory—of miracles and successes and happiness. But the real story is God bringing glory out of a context of shame. The virgin birth is shameful. Mary had to face her family and friends and to be shamed by their stares, their whispers and outright lies about her. God did that through His miracle. God knew it would be done. And it was necessary.

To live in a world that sees God’s ways as something less than ideal means that to live for God is to live in shame. It means that people will look at a God-led lifestyle and say that you need to “get a life”. It means doing good and having people hate you for it. It means people doing wrong to you and you never doing wrong back to them.

Sometimes we can feel that our lives are lives of shame, of people hating us all the time, of them looking down on us. However, just because others look down on us doesn’t mean that God does. If we are doing our best to live for Him, and holding onto His word and helping others, not judging them—then we have nothing to be ashamed about. Our lives should not be about shame.

Instead of focusing on the shame in our lives, we should focus on God’s glory through us. We should see the miracles God is doing in our lives. We should recognize that if we are getting shame from others in living for God, then we are just like Mary. Just like Joseph. Just like Jesus.

And that’s nothing to be ashamed about.

Who Is God?

 

Signs of A Healthy Congregation

1. The healthy congregation is founded on and acts out the teaching of Jesus and the apostles, seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness. (Luke 6:46-49; Acts 2:42; Acts 4:33; Matthew 6:33)
The unhealthy congregation focuses on the needs and requirements of this world, rather than the teaching of Jesus. (Mark 4:18-19; Matthew 6:19-34)
The believers in an unhealthy congregation give commands to each other that are not found in the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. (Mark 7:1-8; I Corinthians 14:36-39; Revelation 22:18-19)

2. The members have faith in Jesus Christ, have repented of their past sins, have been baptized, and have received the Holy Spirit. (Romans 10:9-10; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Acts 2:37-38; Luke 14:33;)
The unhealthy congregation sanctifies or accepts something that Jesus and the apostles call sin or fail to discipline believers who do not repent. (I Corinthians 5:1-2; I Timothy 6:4; Revelation 2:20)

3. The believers adhere to the teaching of Jesus and obey it with all their heart as disciples of their master, including, receiving the Lord’s supper, loving their enemies, renouncing wealth, seeking the lost, reconciling with brothers, pray regularly, etc.
The unhealthy congregation allows some aspect of the teaching of Jesus to be ignored or despised. (II John 1:9; I Timothy 6:3-4)
The unhealthy congregation listens to the words of Jesus, but do not do them. (Luke 6:46-49; Revelation 2:4-5)

4. They meet together regularly to worship together, to pray and to encourage each other to do acts of love and righteousness and participate in the Lord’s supper. (Acts 2:42, 46-47; I Timothy 2:1; Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 2:46)
The believers in an unhealthy congregation separate from each other due to petty controversy, unforgiveness, unclear interpretations of Scripture, or rejection of actions that are not sins in the teaching of Jesus. (Mark 7:1-8; Romans 14:1-13; Galatians 5:19-21; I Timothy 1:3-4)

5. The actions of the believers in a healthy congregation are controlled by the desire to benefit the other. (Philippians 2:3-4; Matthew 7:12; Galatians 5:22-23)
The actions of the believers in an unhealthy congregation are based on selfish desires. (Philippians 2:3; James 4:1-3)

6. There are clear manifestations of the Holy Spirit, through power and giftings used by all the believers, supporting the church and the teaching of the gospel. (Acts 2:43; I Corinthians 12:7-11; I Corinthians 14:26)
They deny the power of the Spirit or they focus on powers so much that they are blind to the requirements of love. (Mark 3:22-30; I Thessalonians 5:19-21; I Corinthians 12:31-14:1)

7. When there are physical needs among those in the congregation, or among believers passing through, those who have resources attempt to meet those needs. The congregation also strives to meet the needs of unbelievers, as they are able.(Luke 12:33; Acts 4:34-35; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 6:32-36; Galatians 6:10)
The unhealthy congregation ignores the needs of the poor and needy, withholding their good for their own comforts. (I John 3:17; Acts 5:1-10; Luke 12:15-21)

8. Conflict between members is dealt with in the church, in reference to the teaching of the apostles, in love and gentleness, through mediation if necessary. (Acts 15; I Corinthians 6:1-8; Galatians 6:1-2; Matthew 18:15-17).
In an unhealthy congregation, conflict is ignored, dealt with in outside courts, or dealt with harshly. (I Corinthians 6:1-8; Galatians 6:1-2)

9. If sin is found among the believers, the sin is confronted gently, with the goal in mind to cause the believer to repent. (Matthew 18:15-17; Galatians 6:1-2; Luke 17:3-4).
The unhealthy congregation ignores those who are apart from Christ in their sins, or denies them forgiveness when they repent. (Luke 15:1-32)

10. They are bold and loving in their witness of Jesus Christ, and they suffer because of their proclamation of and obedience to the gospel or stand with those who do suffer. (Acts 4:1-34; Revelation 2:9-10; II Timothy 3:12; Hebrews 13:3)
The unhealthy congregation avoids suffering at all cost, even if it compromises the gospel. (Mark 4:16-17)

11. They have a good reputation and a positive relationship with other congregations, meeting the needs of other congregations and listening to the correction and encouragement of others. (I Thessalonians 1:7-9; II Corinthians 8:1-8; Ephesians 4:11-13)

12. Although they remember that they are all brothers before God, elders and deacons of the healthy congregation are respected and submitted to and they in turn serve humbly, with the needs of the individuals in the church foremost in their minds. (Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 5:1-5 ; Luke 22:24-27)
The unhealthy congregation ignores the counsel of the elders and speak ill of their church leaders. (I Timothy 5:17-19)
The leaders of an unhealthy congregation lord it over the congregation, demanding control and strict obedience to their every whim. (Matthew 24:45-51)

Seeking and Saving

The focus of the church is distracted amongst many diversions. Church growth, Sunday schools, building management, worship, the most recent Christian events or Christian concerts. These things can be good, in context, but none of them should be the focus, the center-point of the church’s time and resources. Jesus gave us a clear commission, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John 20 We are to continue Jesus’ mission, and take it as our own.

What was Jesus’ mission? The clearest, broadest statement made by Jesus is in Luke 19—“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus came to find those who had fallen away from God, but were still soft-hearted toward Him. Those whom Jesus found were ready to respond to him in faith, he restored them to God, allowing them to find acceptance in God’s kingdom.

This is to be our mission as well. Our mission, our focus is not for the feed and caring of the ninety-nine who remain in the fold, but to leave the flock behind and search for the one or two or million that are lost. There are many in every one of our communities, and beyond our communities, that are ready to be restored to God. So often, however, we think that the revival of our own congregations lie in the teaching or worship or entertainment of our group. Rather, our quickening comes as we do work that is led by the Spirit alone—restoring the fallen back to God.

Our focus isn’t to be on the latest book or video, the latest Christian event that comes around the circuit. Rather, our focus is to be reaching out to the lost, wherever they may be. We are to seek out the downcast, the ones who seem to have no reason to have faith and give them reason to have confidence in God through Jesus Christ. We are to seek out the poor and encourage them to seek God for deliverance. We need to seek out the destroyed and give them hope in God’s restoration. We are to seek out the mentally ill and pray with them into wholeness. We are to seek out the oppressed and tell them of God’s coming day of salvation. We are to seek out those misled by false teachers and to assure them of God’s truth, purity and love.

So often we demonize groups that seem to be opposed to our way of life and that threaten our comforts. We make bold stands against Muslims, the Mormons, the homosexuals, the secular humanists and various cults. Or we can vilify others who are Christian or evangelical for holding views opposed to our own. Perhaps some of their ways aren’t the ways of Jesus, but we fail to recognize that in our accusatory polemic we are ostracizing and separating when we really ought to be reaching out to those among those groups who are ready to be restored to God. Our job is not to destroy the enemy, but to restore those oppressed by our true Enemy.

It is our task to go out to the lost, to find where they are and to seek them out. We need to teach the truth gently and with great patience—greater than the world gives. We need to coax the lost back to God, treating them with kid gloves. We need to assure them that they are welcome and that the Lord is waiting for them to commit themselves to him. We need to pray for them to receive the covenant of God and to hear and listen to the Holy Spirit. This is the mission of the church. This is our focus.

In this mission is our life. In this we will be revived in the Holy Spirit. In this, we will gain the tools that we need to change the world, to establish God’s kingdom.

Mixing God and Culture

God is a mystery of another world. God is Spirit, another substance, another entity, a person that we can relate to, but can only understand through symbol and metaphor and the broadest of concepts. God is separate from this world, as different from this world as a cow is different from an amoeba. God is a part of Himself, which before creating this universe created the spirit world for His essence to dwell in, although nothing can hold Him.

We, however created by God and in God’s image, are creatures of this world. From the instant we are born, possibly before, we are swimming in the substance of our world, breathing in the ideas, experiencing its vision, consuming the smells and tastes around us. All that we experience is not just created by God, but created by humanity. The sea of humanity is not only the mass of people, but the crowd of human creations that we cannot escape. This force, as pervasive as gravity or air, is culture.

The culture we are raised in and live in is not just something we live in, but it lives in us. Even as our soul is united with our body, our being is infused with culture. Every thought we think is a cultural thought. Every act we perform is a cultural act. Every word we speak is a cultural word. The unique ones are never a culture of their own—at best they are a sub-culture of one, but still reacting in one way or another to the culture or cultures they know and remain a part of, even if absent.

How then can we know God, who is so apart from this world, and we are so inseparable from it? The only way to experience the greatest of all Aliens is to have the superior intelligence teach the lesser one. To understand the best of who God is, we need to have it explained to us in cultural terms. We have no reference to who God really is, but God patiently presents himself in terms we can appreciate and understand. How God wants us to live is encased in culture. And when we relate to God, whether in worship or in prayer, God kindly allows us our cultural expression, for we have no other.

The difficulty is that culture is not a rock foundation on which our ideas are based, but culture is in constant flux. It is an ocean, that as soon as you have determined a pattern of water flow or of hot and cold streams, it shifts, or there is a hurricane and everything changes. With each generation, culture makes a major shift again with minor shifts happening all along. And if a single culture is divided, then it becomes two, distinct, unique cultures within two generations, and never can they be united again without irreparable harm.

Because of this, our relation to God changes. That which one generation holds as the truest form of worship, within two is completely rejected. The worship itself has not shifted, but the mode would be unthought-of by all previous generations. The communication of how we live must change, for the good life of one culture could be evil in another and visa versa. In one context, it is good to give money to beggars, while in another it is death. And even our understanding of God himself, wrapped up in an ancient culture, becomes an enigma, uncovered only by those who have knowledge of the ancient culture, and that only in the most vague way.

God continues to display himself. He is not limited by time, by changing contexts or by unused languages. He continues to speak, and yet He does not neglect his older speech. But that speech is transformed, born again, renewed. It is both old and yet strangely new. It’s old context and life still lives and it lives again. Yet God can only be understood by communication that comes from God himself. Because He is fundamentally unknown, that which we know about Him, as vague as that is, must come from Him, not our own culture, our own thoughts. For God is beyond our thoughts, never being of our culture, as much as He uses our culture.

The difficulty we have about God, however, is trying to grasp Him only through His communication, and not through our own. Alongside the God that dwells in the Spirit world is a god, in the semblance of the former, that is a creation of culture. This god (in reality, gods) is very real in the minds of humans, more real than the true God of heaven. But this god is real because it is a part of culture, a part-and-parcel of “real” life, everyday existence. And this god can use the same ancient revelation and mode of modern communication in order to take the place of the God who existed before time.

This god promotes religious prejudice. This god limits himself, even as he makes claims that are vast. This god is everyone’s friend, and yet he creates enemies and has his people kill them at their pleasure. This god places himself in philosophical concepts of Trinity and Sovereignty, Prime Mover and Anti-Flesh. This god becomes a part of patriarchy, of empire, of rebellion and of complete independence. So a culture of human theology is created, and shifted and soon there are many theologies and many truths about god, all equally inadequate. And they can all say, “We have as much truth as the last theology,” and it is true, for none of it is based on revelation, but on speculation.

And then this god makes demands to shape and warp culture into his own image. His followers become advisors and judges and lawyers and politicians in order to control the passage of culture. He imposes his own limits and laws, his unique principles and precepts become the law of the land. Other cultures fight against this trend, and the followers of the god say, “You are opposing god! You are evil incarnate!” Yet the true God waits on the sidelines, allowing the culture war to play out.

Other cultures to whom God is revealing Himself in a unique way become the evil cultures, in opposition to god, no matter how close some in those other cultures are to the true God. The followers of god do not have understanding of God, so they cannot see Him at work. So the strong culture of god makes war with the other cultures—often destroying the communication of God there. The god of a culture is never the critic of the culture, for the culture itself becomes the god. And anyone or anything that changes the culture is trying to change god. Yet God never changes. He waits, continuing to communicate, continuing to love and critique all equally, for all need support and all need change.

To overcome god, we must restore God to His place. We must re-discover the revelation that God has given—both ancient and modern—and take such revelation seriously. We must not hear it for what we want it to say, but allow it to speak for itself. For it is the best understanding of God we have. We must allow Jesus and the prophets and apostles speak. And we must listen.

In listening, we must do two things. We must first create principles of the cultural communication to have ideas that surpass culture. And then we need to embed the concepts back into culture, otherwise they are words with no life. We must see how revelation is in agreement with culture, and when it opposes culture, remembering that God is beyond all culture, not taking sides, but is only on the side of Truth and Love. God is no respecter of persons, upholding one culture above another, one human ideal above another. So God has both a message of approval and of change for every culture, equally.

If we truly want to see God, then we must look for His communication to other cultures as well, in ways that we would not have expected. And when we find God in the other culture, in the context of that culture, we will know more of Him than we ever would have in one culture.

And we must never automatically reject another’s worship or communication with God or ethical pattern until we understand how they are trying the context of what they are doing. We fear and reject that which is unfamiliar—that is the human pattern. But to grasp God, we must go beyond the human as God does. God’s revelation, one might notice, has few items that are condemned in comparison to the limitless variety of the human experience. The variety, obviously, is pleasing to God, and so we must accept it, wherever it comes. And if a particular mode of variety is displeasing, then God will correct it, if we would but trust it.

But we must be rid of god. We must be rid of the cultural idol we have created in our own image. We can often recognize this god when he says, “We must not speak this way. We must not act this way. We must not love this way. We must not restore this way.” God rarely says these things. But god will demand destruction of the other, will limit variety at every incarnation of it. We know that god has reared his ugly head when each of our congregations look the same, worship the same, act the same and always knows what the other congregations are talking about. In God there is natural conflict—but in God there is the craving of accepting so that we all might achieve the One in many.

Co-laboring With God

Jesus the king
For all who believe in Jesus, Jesus is the Lord. The King of a kingdom does not just accept or reject people in his kingdom, but he gives people responsibilities. To some he provides a full-time job, whether that of a counselor or that of a kitchen servant. Sometimes he provides a particular task, such as taking a message to one of his servants. But in the Bible, the worker for a king is called the kings servant or slave. Thus, we are all called to be the servant of Jesus, to participate in his work and to follow his commands. But if we are to do Jesus’ work, how much is his work, and how much is ours?

Our work is not our own, but it is really a communication or relationship with God. God initiates the work, and we respond to God’s call. God provides the ability and we use it. God tells us what to do, and we do it, and then God gives us the ability to do it. The work of God is not just the work we do for God, but it is our response to God’s work and God’s working through our response. As far as our work goes, God is in all, and the source of all and the end of all. (Colossians 1:29)

God’s initiative in our work
God begins our work. Without God’s beginning, we could never do God’s work. Of course, God’s creation of the world and of humanity is the foundation of all of our work, but he also initiates our work more directly.

Establishing our work
God saw us as a people before the foundation of the world, and he created the world for our sakes. But God did not only that, but also established the very work that we would do. He desired that his people would be doing work, specifically the work of love, and he prepared the whole world in order for us to do his work. (Ephesians 2:10)

Calling us
God drew us to Jesus, calling us to believe in him and obey him. Jesus commanded us to do his work, and told us what it would be. Then God sent the Holy Spirit so we could know specifically, day by day, what our work should be. The call of God is like an employer first advertising a job in the newspaper—inviting people to apply—and then hiring an employee to a particular task. (John 6:24; Acts 13:2)

Gifting us
God not only calls us, but he also provides abilities that are beyond ourselves. Each of us have an ability that we only gained through the Holy Spirit—we would be unable to do them without him. Some of these gifts are prophecy, tongues, pastoring, or celibacy. Not everyone has every gift, some have certain ones while others have other ones. But all of us have received something from the Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:7)

Our gifting is not the same as a talent. A talent is something we have a fleshly, natural ability to do, like being good at sports or at reading. A gifting is something that comes only by the power of the Spirit. Our gifting is also not like our calling. Sometimes we are called to a task that the Lord did not give us the ability to do. This is a frustrating situation, but we do what we can for God is in control. And sometimes we have an ability, but God did not call us to use it. Perhaps God is waiting for us to mature in obedience and love before we are allowed to use our gift.

Providing a pattern of work
God not only provides the ability and call to work, but also gives us a pattern to work with. From the beginning God was working—he was never lax. But he also took a day of rest after six days of work, a day to appreciate what he gained from his labor. God gives us this same pattern—six days to work, one day to rest. God also provides the context for work—that we are to love everyone in our work, even those that hate us. (Exodus 20:9-11)

Our acceptance of God’s calling
Believing in Jesus
God called us to believe in Jesus, to be faithful to him. That is the heart of our work, our whole work. Our response to this is to do the work he calls us to, to believe in Jesus, to obey Jesus and to honor Jesus with our actions and mouths both privately and before people. (John 6:29)

Asking for the Spirit
We need to recognize that without the Spirit, we cannot do God’s work. Thus, to participate in God’s work, we should ask for the Spirit, so that we can enjoy the benefits of working for God. (Luke 11:9-13)

Asking for gifting
We are told as well to seek God for certain gifts, especially for prophecy or teaching, which Paul calls “greater gifts”, because they accomplish much good in the church. (I Corinthians 14:1)

God’s part of our work
Resourcing
God himself is the resource of our work. If we do the work of healing, God is the healer. Jesus is the one teacher. And all prophecies come from the Lord. Thus, we rely on God to do all the work we do. (John 5:19)

Providing for the worker
God is the employer, so he provides the wage. We can rely on God to provide for our needs, although God’s idea of a salary might be different than the world’s. No matter what, however, God will make sure that the needs of his workers are taken care of. (Luke 10:7; Matthew 6:25-33)

Growth of the work
The worker works, but God causes the work to either succeed or fail. While we respond to God’s initiative, God is the one who provides power in our work. (Mark 4: 26-27; I Corinthians 3:6-7)

Encouragers of work
God also provides other people in the church to encourage us to do the work. Sometimes we don’t know how to work properly or we might need to be trained in our work. The Lord provides leaders in his church to train us and prepare us and guide us in our work. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Our response to God’s Work
Diligence
The main part of our work is to respond to God. God tells us where to go, what to do, who to help us and he gives us the resources to do our work. Our main work is responding to God’s work. The Scripture tells us one thing—act diligently. We are to respond to God’s work with struggle and with every effort. We must work hard at the work God provides. (II Peter 1:10)

Point-men
This means that our work is not so much working with our effort alone, but working hard to provide opportunities for God to work. Elijah challenged Baal, and he worked hard and suffered much in order to accomplish the defeat, but the actual work—the swallowing up of the altar with flame—was God’s alone. Elijah was there as a point-man—one who creates opportunity for another to do their work. That is really a summary of our task.

Endurance
Our work is not only to accomplish what God wants us to accomplish, for we will also face much opposition in our task. Not only do we have to work, but the hardest thing we will have to do is to endure in the work. Again, it is God’s work, but we have to persevere in providing opportunity for God to do his work among men. (I Corinthians 15:58)

It is God who is at work in you in order that
you may work. Philippians 2:13

The Context of Work

There are some who look at working for God and get frustrated. They say, “I can’t work for God. I’m stuck paying off debts for the rest of my life.” Or some are required to care for children. Or others are forced to work where they don’t want to. Some are incapable of working at all because of a disability of some sort. These might be frustrated, because they long to work for God, and find it almost impossible to do so. There were many in the early church who were in the same situation. There were wives, who were trapped in their social role to do very little for the people of God. There were slaves, forced to do their master’s work, but none of their own. Even so, some of us feel trapped by our work situations.

However, Scripture is clear that even if you can’t change your job situation, that doesn’t mean you can’t work for God. What you do for God is certainly important, but your work environment is what matters the most in working for God. Perhaps you may think that your work environment is completely godless, but that’s not true—because YOU are in it.

Whether we are working for God or not depends upon the context of our work, and that context is created by us. It is what we bring to our work that makes it a work of God or not. If we bring deceit to our work or laxness or hatred, then God cannot be in our work, no matter what it is. But if we bring love and faith and purity to our work, then even if we are doing a seemingly senseless task, we could be working for God. The Scripture says again and again that the work that God acknowledges is work done in faith and love and self control—and that is what really matters! (I Thessalonians 1:3; Galatians 5:6; II Corinthians 8:7; Colossians 1:4; I Thessalonians 5:8; Revelation 2:9; II Timothy 3:10; I Timothy 4:12).

The Basic Context
Faith and Love and Purity are the most important matters, but that doesn’t mean God’s work is all attitude—as if the work itself isn’t important. The work matters quite a bit as well. In our work we need to follow these principles to work for God:

We must do the work, not just be willing to do it
Just like the son in the parable that Jesus told (Matthew 21:28-31), we need to not just want to do God’s work—we have to actually do it. To do God’s work is to work hard and willingly.

Work to meet your basic needs
When we work, we need to have at least part of our work be providing for our basic needs (Ephesians 4:28). This doesn’t mean that we need a job, but we should be providing for ourselves with our work, and not just sponging off of someone who doesn’t really want to support you. If we work, we work to meet our basic needs and wants. And if we have a family, we must work to provide for them as well (I Timothy 5:8).

Do the Work God Tells You To
There is some work that is evil before God, no matter how good of an attitude you have. If your work is to make pornography, loving your co-worker doesn’t absolve you from working evil. We must never work evil, and, if we have any choice, we should seek God as to what work we should do, and obey him in that.

Faith
When the Scripture says that we need to work in faith, it is saying that in our work we need to be devoted to God, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. To love God with our whole selves means that everything we devote to work—our intentions, our desires, our thinking, our abilities, our labor—all of this needs to be devoted to God. It is like what Paul said, “In whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31).

Do what God says in our work
To work for the glory of God means that we are thinking about how to obey him in our work (Heb 4:11-12). We need to be constantly focusing on God’s word and how that word can be fulfilled in working (II Timothy 3:16-17). Perhaps it is how you do the work (for instance, with dillegence) or it could be something you do in your work (for instance, singing to the Lord—Colossians 3:16).

Commit your work to God
When you are working—and before your work—commit it to God, and acknowledge it is his. (Proverbs 16:3) If we are looking toward God in all of our work, seeking his direction in it and his power through it, then it will be his work we are working, and not our own. (Psalm 127:1-2)

We look for God's blessing on our work
Throughout our work, we are seeking God’s blessing on it. This is a part of our devotion, because we are acknowledging that our work is only fruitful if God makes it so. So we seek out the Lord to make the work worthwhile. (Job 1:10)

Self-Control
To have “self-control” means that in your work you won’t let your desires get control of you, so you do whatever you want, even if the Lord doesn’t want that for you. It is allowing the godly part of your self have control over the part that just will do whatever it wants. If we are to work for God, we need to be under control.

Purity
First of all, in our work, we need to be pure from evil. This means any area in which God has condemned—hostility, hatred, evil desires, and more. (II Timothy 2:19-21) Our work should be a pure, holy offering to God, without our flesh or evil side getting in the way.

Submission
Another area we need to control ourselves is allowing ourselves to be ordered by others. More often than not, in our work, we are told what to do and how to do it by others. If that is the case, then we need to control ourselves to be submitted to that leader. (Colossians 3:18-24) That doesn’t mean we agree with everything that person says or obey them in everything in our lives, but if we have leadership above us, in the area they are a leader, we do what they say. Another part of submission is to not make it difficult on the leader, but to give them no reason to hate their work (Hebrews 13:17)

Love
If we want our work to be worthwhile at all, we need to do it in the context of being concerned for others. Paul says that even if we do great works for God—fantastic miracles and saintly deeds—if we did not do it for the benefit of other people, then our work was pointless. If we do not work in love, then we do not work for God. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

Edification
To work in love is to “edify” (Romans 15:2; I Corinthians 14:12, 26). What is meant by that is to build up, like a tower toward Christ. To edify is to help others be strong in Christ, to encourage, to exhort, to draw one up toward God in speech and action. No matter what we do, we should do it in a way to remind others that we are working for Christ and that Christ cares for them, and wants his best for them.

Patience and Humility
In our work, we often need to deal with many difficult people—sinners, fools and jerks. But with all of these people, we need to show patience as we work. If we do this, we are showing that the Spirit is working in us, giving us the ability to deal with situations that we could not handle on our own. We should also place other’s needs before our own, displaying that we care for other’s before our own welfare. (Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 2:3-4; Ephesians 4:2)

Helping the Needy
In every work we do, we gain something from it—often it is money, but sometimes it is something else. In whatever we gain, we must do one more work—help those who are in need. It is in this way that the Lord will bless our work—if we do not help the needy, he will not bless our work and cause it to be worthwhile. (Deuteronomy 15:10; Ephesians 4:28)

Why Work For God?

Okay, so God wants us to work. Buy why should we? I mean, God can do the work on his own, can’t he? And God is so powerful that he doesn’t really need us. So why don’t we just relax and bask in the knowledge that God’s got it all under control? Well, here’s some good reasons for us to work for God:

1. God and Jesus gave us an example to work
Jesus worked all the time—and the reason he gave for his hard work is because his Father is working (John 5:17). God is working all the time—creating, sustaining, healing, helping, providing for, and more and more. Jesus was also working on earth, recognizing that his time was short. Because of this, we should be like Jesus and do his work as much as we can. We are in the midst of the same workplace Jesus was—the world full of suffering, oppressed people. So we need to keep working (John 4:34, 38).

2. Jesus commanded us to work
When Jesus left the world, he didn’t tell his disciples to just sit around talking about him. Nor did he want them to just meditate on the word all the time. Rather, Jesus commanded his disciples to make more disciples—to do work with other people! (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus commanded the disciples to do work while they still could, because the time is growing short and there will be a time when the work cannot be done. (John 9:4).

3. If we work, the kingdom of God will be stronger
The work we are supposed to do is work for the kingdom of God. It isn’t just in a vacuum, but the work is among God’s people. If we do this work for people, as we are supposed to, then we will cause God’s kingdom to grow stronger. This is our goal for working. The kingdom of God will last forever, and if we build it up, we are a part of God’s eternal work. This is a good reason to work! (Ephesians 4:16)

4. If you do the work of God, you will be provided for
If you work, you get paid with what you need. To be honest, not every work provides you with what you need, but God’s work does! If you focus on God’s work, Jesus promises that you will be provided for and that you will have more than what you need—even if you don’t have a salary. (Matthew 10:10; Mark 10:29-30)

5. We are judged according to our work
The Scripture says many times in many contexts that everyone will be judged according to their work. It does not say that we will be judged according to our thoughts, our desires, our intentions or our faith. It says that our final state—reward or loss—is determined by our work. So what work we do is very important. If we do the wrong work, we will be judged according to that. But if we repent from dead works and do the work of God, then we will be rewarded. (Proverbs 24:11-12; Job 34:11; Psalm 62:12; Jeremiah 25:14; Ezekiel 24:14; Lamentations 3:64; John 5:29;I Corinthians 3:12-15; II Corinthians 5:10; I Peter 1:17; Revelation 20:12-13; Ezekiel 18)

6. We are rewarded for our work
If we work well, then we will be rewarded. And the more we work, with the better gain, we will be rewarded more. Everyone who works will at least gain the kingdom of God. But those who work harder for Jesus will gain greater prestige and honor from Jesus on the last day. (Matthew 20:1-16; 25:14-23; I Corinthians 3:12-15)

7. If we do not work for God, we will be not allowed in the kingdom of God
However, with every good news comes bad news. Those who claim to be of Jesus and who have received blessing from Jesus, if they do nothing with that blessing or that glory, then they will receive nothing from God on the final day. They who do no work for God, gain nothing from God. Those who work a little receive at least the kingdom; but those who do not work at all receive nothing. They may think that it is all grace, but God expects us to respond to that grace and do his work as well. So if we do not work, then we will be rejected by God. (Matthew 25:14-30; Matthew 22:10-14)

8. The church will judge us if we do not work
Because the church wants to make sure all people, even their own people, enter into God’s kingdom, they will discipline those who do not work. If a person is not working for God at all, the church will begin a process of discipline, which may mean that they will have to not fellowship with us for a time. This is not because the church wants to cause us to submit, but because they care about us enough to even discipline us to do what God wants us to do. (II Thessalonians 3:10-15)

To do God’s work is to gain God’s kingdom

What is Working For God?

When we work for God, we are participating in God’s work. Just like when you work for a company, you are no longer working for yourself, but for your employer, even though you gain benefits from it (like a paycheck), even so those who work for God are not doing their own work, but the work of their boss, God himself. But what is this work? In general, what is God asking us to do?

1. Working for God is not working for the world
“Whatever you do, do your work as to the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23
When we are working for the world, we are working for our own purposes or for the purposes of the world. Maybe we just want to survive, or to be comfortable. Maybe we want to continue living in sin, and so we work toward that. Maybe we want to be seen as good by other people, or to do something good for the world apart from what God says is good. Any of this would be acceptable to normal employers, because they don’t care why you work, as long as you work well. The Bible tells us not to work for the world, not only because it would be futile (Psalm 127:1; John 6:27), but because to work for the purposes of the world means we gain no reward (Matthew 6:1-4; I Corinthians 3:13-15).

Just because we are not to work for the purposes of the world, we can work for men, if it serves the purposes of God. Paul worked for men, so that he would care for his own needs while working for God. In fact, many people are required to work for others in order to work for God. We must remember two principles, however: a. we must work for God as much as we can, as well as work for men, and b. In working for men, we must work as if we were working for God—obey God’s principles of work, and work dilligently for those whom we work for. (John 6:27; Colossians 3:22-25; II Peter 3:10).


2. Working for God is not working under the law
“By the works of the law no flesh will be justified in God’s sight.” Romans 3:20
Many people do not want to do work for God, because they think that it is trying to gain “salvation by works.” The works that the Bible says we cannot be saved by is the works of the law. If we are in Christ, we cannot be saved by the works of the law, or any religious body. The Bible says that even though the law is good, it has no power to save, and it can be used to oppress or do evil to others. In this way, no one can be pleasing to God by the law. Even so, no one can be saved just by trying to obey some kind of religious rule, even if it comes from God (Romans 2:12-13; 7:12-14).


3. Working for God is believing in and obeying Jesus
“The work of God is this: to be faithful to the one whom He sent.” John 6:29
The key to working for God is faith, or loving God. We work for God because we love him through his Son, Jesus. To believe in Jesus is the foundation for all of our work for God, and it is an indication of how we love God. Another indication of our love of God is obeying Jesus (which we will speak of more, later). To obey Jesus based on our faith is not just an empty action—an act of the law— but it is displaying our great love for God. Nor are we working for the world, but we are doing what God is pleased to see us do—act in response to our faith in Jesus. (John 6:29; Mark 10:17-21)


4. Working for God is building up God’s kingdom
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” Matthew 6:23
The main purpose God wants us to work for is to build up his kingdom. This does not mean to create buildings or to buy up land. Rather, to build up God’s kingdom is to do the work of placing God’s word in people, and helping them to live it out. To build up the kingdom of God is to build up the people of God, to help them be in Jesus, to remain in him and to work for him. (Romans 14:19-20)


5. Working for God is following the Spirit of God
“If we live by the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25
Our main directive in working for God is to obey the Spirit of God— God speaking to us, within us. It is the Spirit of God who will keep us from working for our own purposes, and it is the Spirit of God that will direct us into the next work God wants us to do. The Spirit gives us our abilities to work for God and the character with which to work. Our work is not complete unless we are working under the direction of the Spirit. Our work is not just a piece of paper which tells us our objectives—it is a partnership with God, in which he does the work and we work with Him. The Spirit is essential to make this partnership work.

Working for God is devotion to Jesus, for the purpose of building God’s kingdom, in partnership with God’s Spirit.

Working for God

What is work?
Work is all that we do for a purpose. It is the action we take toward the focus of our life. For many people, one’s work is the most fundamental building block to who one is. That at the end of one’s life, people ask about two things—who one’s family was and what one’s work was—and this is what is usually placed on gravestones.

We all work
Some older people complain because “this generation doesn’t work anymore”, or they talk about “bums” who “have never done a lick of work in their life.” The reality is that everyone works, without exception. Only an invalid in both mind and body does no work. Every human is made to do work, to make or create, to work to survive, to labor (Genesis 3:16-19). We can work for many different reasons, but everyone works and everyone wants to work. The one who cannot work is not the lucky one, but the pathetic one—because they are unable to fulfill their created goal. People have different styles of work, and different kinds of work—some are ditch-diggers, while others are poets; some are computer engineers, while others are dumpster divers—but everyone works.

The goal of work
The major difference between what one would call “work” and what another would call “laziness” is for what purpose the work is done. For most Americans, unless one has a forty-hour a week job that provides for a family’s livelihood and a family’s comforts, plus a bit for savings, then one is not truly “working.” Someone could be holding up a sign for change in shame thirty hours a week for a meager living and some little pleasure, but most people would say that they needed to get some “work”. Why? Because they are not working toward the established American goal—a regular wage that sustains and provides creature comforts.

Why work?
At some point in our lives, we need to ask the question, “For what reason am I doing my work?” We recognize that we are working—some how we are making a living, even if we consider that living inadequate. But why are we working? Each of us will have different reasons. Some of us work simply so we can make a living. Some have to have a specific kind of work in order to release themselves from the oppression of debt. Some work because they consider the work itself to be significant—such as politics or teaching children. Some work because they want to provide enough for their family so that they will not feel ashamed. And our satisfaction with our work has everything to do with the reason we are working for. Unless we accomplish our motivation for work, our lives will not have meaning.

The Futility of Work
And, in fact, most people feel that their work has little meaning. Perhaps they are allowing their families to survive, but the work itself is pointless—without honor in and of itself. The Bible also talks about how the work we do is simply futile: “I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool” Ecclesiastes 2:17-19 The Preacher was frustrated because he saw that his work ultimately led to nothing, and produced nothing significant for himself. And most everyone’s work can be seen this way.
• You may work for your family, and your family may still hate you.
• You may work for comfort, but ultimately all the pleasure is meaningless.
• You may work to better others, but all your efforts could still be fruitless and you may help no one.
• You may work to make a living, but when you’re dead, then you can see that it was pointless.
• You may get yourself out of one debt, only to pile up more and more and more.
In the end, all of the reasons we do work seem meaningless.

Working for God
However, there is one way of working that actually seems significant. A motivation for work that has real meaning—meaning that will be beyond yourself, and beyond your limited life span. That is working for God. This does not mean necessarily working in a church or for a religious group. It means participating in the work that God is already doing. God is the boss, and he is looking for workers—people who will take part in his work on earth. God is the one who tells his workers what to do and how to do it. He provides the resources and the context to work in. And he provides all of the regulations in which the work must be done, otherwise it isn’t his work. But those who participate in His work are working for Him.

The great thing about working for God is that it isn’t pointless. The Bible says, “Everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14) God’s work is significant, and those who assist God will see the work they do last longer than the pyramids of Egypt. For the rest of eternity, they will see their work accomplish amazing things. Perhaps the work itself seems insignificant, but anyone who participates in any part of God’s work gains greater wages than anyone on earth could give. For God’s wages are eternal life and eternal peace—beginning now.

Perhaps the daily wage for God’s work isn’t so great, but the retirement package is fantastic.

Evolutionary Creationsim

 

Boy, You Turn Me Upside Down

My heart exults in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
There is no one holy like the LORD,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.
Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the LORD is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are shattered,
But the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.
Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children languishes.
The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The LORD makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S,
And He set the world on them.
He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.
Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed.
An ancient Hebrew poem

In I Samuel 2, this song is quoted by Hannah, a formerly barren woman who had been oppressed by her co-wife, who had many children. The context of this song is that of increasing God’s reputation in the world because of the great things he had done. While Hannah might have specifically been focusing on verse 5, that shows God’s help to the barren woman, the song speaks in general of God’s strength being given to those without strength.

She sings about the “feeble” who have no power against those who take up arms against them. She sings about the hungry, who are unable to provide themselves even with the staples of life. And, of course, she speaks of barren women, who have no ability in themselves to gain what they most desire in life—a child. These are the hopeless, the ones who gain nothing from anyone.

But she also makes it clear that these are the ones whom God has focused on. God takes these resourceless people and provides them not only with what they need, but more. Not only do the defenseless have protection, the hungry have food and the barren have children, but they are also given authority and power over those who used to have all the world.

It is a natural part of life that those who have look down on those who have not. It is a moral position of the powerful and satisfied that anyone could possibly have gained their position or strength or wealth or authority. All that would need to happen is for them to be self-disciplined and wise enough and anyone would have gained the same power. But, say the powerful, since they were morally superior, they gained the greater position, and thus the greater life. For this reason, the powerful place themselves in the position of moral guardians and standard-bearers. No one else is worthy.

And this unworthiness of those who are not in positions of authority is a natural consequence of those who have. Those who do not have wealth or position or possibilities in their lives, they must be in some way morally inferior. The rulers are righteous, while the pauper is morally poor as well.

“What right do these lowlifes have to ask our kind for money? Perhaps they are in need, but it is their own fault. They just want to take advantage of honest, hardworking people! Why don’t they just get a job? Aren’t the shelters and workhouses still open? If I give—which I probably won’t—I want to make sure my money’s not being used for drugs or alcohol. If they want some food, okay, I can understand that, but I can’t trust that they would actually use it on food! Since they are on the street, drugs must be more important for them than food. In fact, I wonder if they are truly human in the way that we are. After all, real humans are more interested in slaving all day so we can spend an insignificant fraction of our lives in wealth and extravagance. These people who wish to live simply, who do not seek power, who live a hand-to-mouth existence—I just don’t trust them. Some kind of alien, I think.”

Hannah sees the ones who have military might, more than enough to eat and multiple children as being boasters, arrogant in their strength. They are not righteous at all, but the lucky who do not humbly recognize the One who gave them their strength.

And God is strong, in Hannah’s view. God is the source of all strength, authority and power. Human power is nothing, Hannah boldly proclaims. Human strength is not real strength. The reality we see is like the matrix we mentioned before. That which looks to be strong is only the semblance of strength, and the real strength is at the foundation of reality. In Hannah’s song, real power and might comes from God. And the only ones who will obtain that power in the end are those who are weak enough to depend on God for that power.

For this reason, reversals are necessary. The wealthy who oppress the poor will be set aside and destroyed. They will be “made low” or taken out of their positions of authority and power and wealth. The weapons of the soldiers will be destroyed; the full of food will soon be so desperate they will hold signs saying “will work for food”; the woman with many children will be in mourning. These will soon have nothing, looking at their empty hands wondering what happened to their lives. But the lowly—those who depended on God to strengthen them—they will gain the fullness of God’s strength. They will be the strong, the powerful, the important.

And these reversals display God’s strength, God’s power. It does not show that God can grant his power arbitrarily, but that he chooses those who depend on Him. God looks for the nobodies to display what he can really do with what he has.