Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Filled with the Knowledge of His Will

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. (Colossians 1:9)

This is Paul’s prayer for the believers at Colosse. It is a pastoral prayer.* He asks of God that they may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will “in all wisdom and understanding.”

First, note the word “filled” (Greek, pleroo). The idea of fullness shows up a number of times in this letter. This suggests that one of the errors Paul may have been addressing is a teaching that one can have the fullness of divine blessing through the legalistic and pagan notions being introduced to the Colossian believers by false teachers.

Gnosticism (from the Greek word gnosis, “knowledge”) taught that the universe was created imperfectly by demiurges, intermediaries or emanations of God, and that an esoteric knowledge of this was necessary in order to escape the material world. One of their terms for God was Pleroma, the Greek word for “fullness.”

Paul’s message to the Colossians is that the fullness of God is not found through some special knowledge of divine emanations or the exaltation of angels, but in knowing the will of God. But what is the will of God? Paul talks about it at the end of chapter 1 (of course, there were no chapter or verse divisions in the original letter), when he speaks of “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27).

This is not an esoteric knowledge but a mystery, a secret that has now been revealed to all the saints (remember that “saints” does not refer to elite believers but to all believers). The will of God has everything to do with this: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In other words, it is in Jesus the Messiah, not in angels or hierarchies, that we have every expectation of the fullness of God’s glory being revealed in us.

Paul’s prayer for believers is that we may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. The Greek word for “knowledge” here is epignosis. It is a fullness of knowledge, not some vague mental notion of God’s will, but a personal, intimate experience of God’s will — a personal, intimate experience of Jesus living in us.

In all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” This wisdom and understanding comes to us by the Holy Spirit ministering to our own spirits. The role of the Spirit is always to point us to Jesus. Speaking of the Spirit, Jesus said, “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:15). Here is the fullness of God revealed to us in the Son by the Holy Spirit.

In the mystery of God, which is freely given to every believer, and in Jesus the Messiah, who is revealed in us by the Holy Spirit, we find “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Here is all the fullness, all the wisdom, all the knowledge we need. Not in angels or hierarchies, but in Jesus the Messiah. When we understand who Jesus is in us, individually and as the Church, we understand what the will of God is all about.

*For more about the pastoral prayers found in the New Testament, see Praying With Fire: Change Your World with the Powerful Prayers of the Apostles.



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Jesus Above All

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you. (Colossians 1:9)

Their faith in Jesus the Messiah, their love for all the saints, the hope laid up in heaven for them, their love in the Spirit — Paul is thankful to God for all these things. Prayers of thanksgiving, such as Paul offered in Colossians 1:3-4, are about where we have been and where we are now, and they are quite wonderful in themselves. However, Paul now takes a turn in his prayer for them, a prayer that will launch them into where they are going. It is a pastoral turn, so I call this a pastoral prayer*.

In Greek, the word for “pastor” is the word for “shepherd.” That is what a pastor is, a shepherd. The concern of the pastor/shepherd is to guide the sheep to good pasture and protect them from wolves. It will become apparent, as we continue in his letter to the believers at Colosse, that Paul sees wolves (false teachers) circling and that he is writing to protect the sheep and direct them to safe feeding ground.

Commentators on the book of Colossians have never been certain of the exact nature of these teachers and the philosophies they were bringing, but the teaching seems to be a mixture of three things:
  • Jewish legalism — with an emphasis on things like circumcision, dietary laws, sabbaths and new moon celebrations (Colossians 2:16).
  • Pagan elements — “according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). The “basic principles of the world,” particularly, seems to be a reference to pagan ideas of elemental spirits and hierarchies.
  • Christian veneer — These false teachers smuggled their legalist/pagan mixture into the church under the guise of Christian doctrine, but were actually exalting angelic hierarchies above Jesus.
For all that, we do not know exactly who and what these teachers and their doctrines were, although they may represent an early form of Gnosticism. Paul does not address them head on. He does not define the error for us; instead, he focuses on the truth. It is all about Jesus the Messiah, in whom and through whom God has accomplished everything that needs to be done in the world.

As we work through this letter to the believers at Colosse, we will see a number of “in Him” and “with Him” statements. It will help us see Paul’s point if we read them with emphasis on the word “Him” (that is, “in Him,” “with Him”) in contrast to the “basic principles of the world” and the erroneous emphasis on angels. This will also help us better understand, by a sort of mirroring technique, the error Paul addresses as he stresses its opposite, the all-encompassing truth God has revealed to us in Jesus.

*For more about the pastoral prayers found in the New Testament, see Praying With Fire: Change Your World with the Powerful Prayers of the Apostles.



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Love for the Saints, Love in the Spirit

Who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. (Colossians 1:8)

In verse 4, Paul gave thanks to God for the believers in Colosse, for their faith, their hope and their “love for all the saints.” Not just for their own little group, but for all the saints. Love does not take offense, keep score or bear grudges. There is no place for unforgiveness in love.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
How does that happen? Where do we find that kind of love with which to love everyone that way? Paul leads us to an the answer. In verse 7-8, he speaks of Epaphras, one of their own, who “declared to us your love in the Spirit.” Paul presents us with two aspects of love. Where verse 4 speaks of the object of their, “all the saints,” verse 8 identifies the source of their love, “the Spirit.”

Love is the “fruit of the Spirit,” Paul tells us (Galatians 5:22). Now, fruit is not something that you clip on to the branches of a tree; it arises from the life of the tree. That is the way it is with love; it arises from the Spirit of God within us. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). We become the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). As we yield ourselves to God and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, God brings forth the fruit of the Spirit, which is the character of Jesus, in our lives. Now it is possible for us to love in a way and with a depth we never could before.

A word about saints: They are not elite or super spiritual, just everyday believers in Jesus the Messiah, from the greatest to the least of them — without any consideration of greatness or leastness. To be a saint means to be sanctified, to be holy, which is to say, set apart as God’s own. The believers at Colosse came to have love for all the saints.



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Fellow Servant, Faithful Discipler

As you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. (Colossians 1:7-8)

As the gospel, the good news about the grace of God through Jesus the Messiah, began to fill the world, it soon came to Colosse, where some believed. Ever since then, Paul says, it has been bringing forth fruit among them. The grace of God is not a one-off experience where you hear the good news, believe it and that’s that. That is just the beginning. There is a new life, and a new way of living. The grace of God continues to work, bearing its fruit in us. In Galatians, Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The grace of God is a tree of life within us, and the process of learning to walk in this grace and experience this fruit is called discipleship.

“You learned this from Epaphras,” Paul says. The Greek word for “learn” is manthano. From it comes the word mathetes, the Greek word for “disciple.” The believers at Colosse were discipled, taught how to live in the grace of God, by Epaphras. So who is this guy?
  • He is one of their own, a man of Colosse — one of you,” Paul says (Colossians 4:12) — who ministers throughout the region, in Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:13).
  • He is a well-loved “fellow servant” with Paul and Timothy, and indeed of all who serve Jesus the Messiah.
  • He is a faithful “minister.”
  • He is a man of fervent prayer and great zeal (4:12-13).
  • Not only a fellow servant, he is also a “fellow prisoner” with Paul. That’s what Paul calls him in his brief letter to Philemon (v. 23), one of the believers at Colosse. Paul wrote both of these letters, as well as the ones to believers at Ephesus and Philippi, while he was in prison for proclaiming King Jesus.
Notice that Paul calls Epaphras both a “fellow servant” (Greek, syndoulos, slaves together) and a faithful “minister” (Greek, diakonos, deacon). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words explains the difference between these two words this way:
Diakonos is, generally speaking, to be distinguished from doulos, “a bondservant, slave”; diakonos views a servant in relationship to his work; doulos views him in relationship to his master. See, e.g., Matt. 22:2-14; those who bring in the guests (vv. 3-4, 6, 8, 10) are douloi; those who carry out the king’s sentence (v. 13) are diakonoi.
Servant speaks of the One to whom Epaphras belonged. Minister speaks of the function he performed, the service he rendered to Jesus and His church. It was a work in which he was found to be trustworthy. He did not just introduce the Colossians to Jesus; he ministered the grace and hospitality of Jesus to them. With fervent prayer and great zeal, he discipled them in faith, hope and love and became founding pastor of the Church at Colosse.



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Lenten Thoughts

Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent remind us that we are the dust of the earth ~ and the breath of God. The season of Lent is a time to consider again what it means to live out our Baptism in the world.

Here is a quote I came across in my reading. I was impressed enough with it to put it up on my Facebook page, though I did not initially think of it in the context of Lent. But upon reflection, I see that it does have a Lenten meaning.
And to the question, “What is meant by the Fall?” I could answer with complete sincerity, “That whatever I am, I am not myself.” This is the prime paradox of our religion; something that we have never in any full sense known, is not only better than ourselves, but even more natural to us than ourselves. ~ G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Lent is a season to consider King Jesus the Messiah, who He is and who we are in Him, to become who we are. Not only in what we leave behind, but also in the yoke we are called to take upon ourselves — His yoke, which is easy and the burden light. To learn from Him who is gentle and lowly in heart, and so find the rest for which our souls are so desperate (Matthew 11:29).

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, six weeks before Easter Sunday. Like Advent, it is a time of repentance and preparation. The ashes on the first day of this season represent mourning over sin and the longing for holiness. In Lent, we remember the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and His journey to the Cross. We become aware of how Christ humbled Himself and how God calls us, also, to humility as we participate in His redemptive purposes. We consider, also, what our own place of service and sacrifice is in His divine plan.

Lent concludes with Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, we think of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, knowing that soon He would be rejected by the very ones who waved their branches and shouted Hosanna! The irony of this is subtly observed by the burning of this year's palms to become next year’s Lenten ashes.

Holy Thursday commemorates the institution of the Lord’s Supper. It is also called Maundy Thursday because of the new commandment Jesus gave His disciples to love one another (maundy comes from an Old Latin term for “mandate” or “command”). On Good Friday, we think of Jesus on the Cross and behold the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Holy Saturday recalls how the world hung between death and life, sin and righteousness, darkness and light. It is a vigil for the Light.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Be Fruitful and Fill the Earth

Which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. (Colossians 1:5-6)
We are breaking into the middle of one of Paul’s ponderous sentences (of which there are many in his letters). So far, he has thanked God for the faith and love evident in the believers at Colosse, and the hope laid up for them in heaven. They came upon this hope — this positive expectation, this joyful anticipation — when they heard the “word of truth,” the good news of the gospel that was brought to them, and experienced the grace of God.

There is an interesting comparison between what Paul notes was already happening with the gospel, and the divine mandate given to first man and woman Genesis 1, especially when we remember that the gospel results in new creation: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The one who is in Jesus the Messiah is not only a new creature himself, but he is part of the new creation, which God has already begun and will culminate in a new heaven and a new earth. In 1 Corinthians 15:45, Paul compares Jesus to Adam: “So it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” Closer to home in the context of this letter, Paul calls Jesus “the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15).

When God created the first man and woman in the divine image and likeness, He blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Notice especially in this divine commission the idea of fruitfulness and of filling the earth. Do you hear the echoes of it in Colossians 1:6 with respect to the gospel, which even in Paul’s own day was filling the world and bringing forth fruit?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and He did it by the Word: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). The new creation comes the same way, by the Word of God, which Paul here calls the “word of the truth of the gospel.” Jesus, who by His resurrection from the dead became the firstborn of the new creation, gathered His disciples and gave them this commission:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
This was already beginning to be fulfilled, as Paul attests. The gospel had come to Colosse, “as it has in all the world” and it was bearing fruit, “as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth.”



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Heaven as Your Source

Because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. (Colossians 1:5)
In the Bible, hope is not wishful thinking or maybe so/maybe not. The biblical words for “hope” in the Old and New Testaments speak of expectation. Hope is a positive expectation, a joyful anticipation. Hope is about things that are not yet seen but which we fully expect to see. The author of Hebrews tells us that faith is the underlying reality of hope and the evidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1).
Paul gives thanks for the hope that belongs to the believers at Colosse, a hope “laid up for you in heaven.” We often think of heaven merely in terms of destination, especially as future destination. Many also often think of it as a place far, far away, somewhere out in space, at the edge of the universe or beyond.

For those who know Jesus the Messiah, though, heaven is a present reality. Paul tells us that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1:3), that He has made us alive together with Jesus the Messiah, raised us up together and made us sit together with Him in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:5-6). Notice the tense. These are not future events but accomplished acts and present realities. They are both now and forever. Heaven is not far away — how can it be when we who are of earth have already been seated there with King Jesus? Think dimensionally instead or merely geographically.

Think, also, of heaven, not merely as destination, but as source. Paul tells us that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Although he traveled far and wide preaching the gospel, his citizenship was in Rome. That brought with it certain benefits and privileges, which Paul could invoke no matter where he was in the empire. Likewise, our citizenship in heaven brings with it certain benefits and privileges, which we may call upon at any time wherever we are in the world. Heaven is not just our destination and our location; it is our source.

We are people of heaven and earth. God’s plan is that, in the end, heaven and earth will come together as one (see Revelation 21, which portrays the New Jerusalem, the city of heaven, coming down to unite with the earth). It has already begun. Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Matthew 11:12 NIV; see also A Kingdom Forcefully Advancing). Our job is to lay hold of it by faith and to pray, as Jesus taught us, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 JVD). The apostle John tells us, “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8).

These are all present realities, in the process of coming to pass in the here and now. Though we do not see them all now, we can have every expectation that they will be revealed. As we joyfully anticipate the completion of what God has already begun, we can, by faith, draw on heaven as our source and supply. This is good news from the gospel.

For more about heaven on earth, see The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth: Keys to the Kingdom of God in the Gospel of Matthew.



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Divine Power Trio


In rock and roll, a power trio is bass, guitar and drums (no rhythm guitar, no keyboard). But I have something different in mind, a power trio that comes from God.
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. (Colossians 1:3-5)
Having pointed out his and their identity in God and extended to them the blessing of the Father, Paul now offers a word of thanksgiving to God for the Christian believers at Colosse. Three things that stand out in them for which he is especially grateful.
  • Their faith in Jesus the Messiah.
  • Their love for all the saints.
  • The hope laid up for them in heaven.
Faith, hope, love. These are huge on Paul’s list — and God’s. They are the “abiding” things. Remember how Paul ends his discourse on love 1 Corinthians 13. “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (v. 13).

Notice, however, that Paul does not thank the Colossians themselves for these things, as if they somehow worked them up within themselves. No, he gives thanks to God, because they come from Him. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), which is given by inspiration of the Spirit of God. Love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Hope, which is a positive expectation, a joyful anticipation, comes by the work of the Spirit: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Because this is the work of God, and not of ourselves, it is possible for faith, hope and love to be revealed in our own lives. Our part is simply to yield to the work of God in us.

Faith, hope and love are a divine power trio. All three come from God, and all three work together to release heaven on earth. Faith is the underlying reality of things that are not yet apparent but which we fully expect to see (Hebrews 11:1). However, faith without love is meaningless and vain, of no value or profit (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). This is because faith works through love, expressed and energized by love (Galatians 5:6). That is why, of the three, the greatest is love.

(For more about the prayers of thanksgiving found in the New Testament, see Praying With Fire: Change Your World with the Powerful Prayers of the Apostles.)



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Claim Your Inheritance, LORD


Psalm 2 begins with a question — or is it a cry?
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His Anointed [Messiah], saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
(Psalm 2:1-2)
God’s response to these kings and rulers? Yahweh laughs. Then He goes on to say,
“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
I will declare the decree:
“The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.’”
(Psalm 2:6-8)
This is about the Messiah, Jesus. God is giving Him the nations for His inheritance, and the ends of the earth for His possession. After the Cross and the Resurrection, and before He ascended to His throne at the right hand of the Father, Jesus came to the disciples and said,
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and out of that authority, He sends us to make disciples of all the nations, to baptize them in His name and teach them to obey His teaching. Luke records how Jesus gave His disciples the power to fulfill this Great Commission to the nations.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
God has given Jesus the nations for His inheritance and the end of the earth for His possession. The prayer of my heart as I read this psalm today and consider the turmoil in the world is a prayer of agreement:
Claim Your inheritance, Lord.

A Prosperous New Month


As many of my regular readers have probably picked up by now, I pray through the book of Psalms each month (150 psalms divided by 30 days in a month = five a day). At the beginning of each new month, I start again at Psalm 1. And here is what greets me:
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:1-3)
Blessed! It is my confession. To confess something means to speak in agreement with it,* and I speak in agreement with this psalm.
  • I am a blessed man.
  • I do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
  • I do not stand in the path of sinners.
  • I do not sit with the scornful.
  • I delight in the instruction of the LORD.
  • I mediate in it continually.
  • I am like a tree planted by rivers of water.
  • I bring forth fruit in its season.
  • My leaf shall not wither
  • And whatever I do prospers.
I say these kind of things out loud, sometimes very loud and with great enthusiasm, and I recommend it to you. It is a wonderful way to start off a prosperous month.

For more on this, I’ve written a number of times about Psalm 1 and also about confession. Click the labels at the bottom of this post.
*Someone recently asked if our ministry practices “positive confession.” I answered that we practice speaking in agreement with the Word of God.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Father’s Blessing

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:2)

After introducing himself to the Colossians as an apostle of Jesus the Messiah, and introducing them to themselves as faithful brothers and sisters in the Messiah, Paul offers a benediction, as he does so often in his letters.

A benediction is a prayer of blessing. A common Jewish salutation in those days was “Greetings and peace.” The Greek word for “greetings” is chairein, but Paul has replaced that with a related word, one that is theologically much more potent: charis — grace! Grace is the favor of God, who opens up all the resources of heaven on our behalf.

The Greek word for “peace” is irene, but Paul, being Jewish, no doubt had the Hebrew word shalom in mind, which is, again, more theologically profound. Shalom speaks of wholeness and restoration, with nothing missing or broken. The shalom of God is the wholeness that comes from being in right relationship, in covenant relationship, with God.

The divine favor and wholeness of which Paul speaks comes from “God our Father.” Here again, Paul signifies the relationship he has with the believers at Colosse (see Building Relationship at Colosse). God is our Father. This speaks of family, of household, of inheritance. As believers in Jesus the Messiah, we each have a place in the family and a share in the abundance of the house. Paul teaches us elsewhere that we share equally in the inheritance with Jesus Himself (Romans 8:17).

Father’s blessing of favor and wholeness comes to us also from the Son, Jesus the Messiah. The confession we make as Christians is that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9), which is to say that He is both God and King over all. It is through Him, through faith in Him, that we have wholeness in our relationship with God the Father and enjoy His favor (Romans 5:1).

(For more about the benedictions found in the New Testament, see Praying With Fire: Change Your World with the Powerful Prayers of the Apostles.)



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Building Relationship at Colosse

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse. (Colossians 1:1-2)

Paul had never been to Colosse, but he spent an extended time in Ephesus, about 120 miles away, preaching and teaching about Jesus the Messiah, and the influence of his ministry reached Colosse. Luke records, “And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10).

It was probably at this time that a man named Epaphras, of the region of Colosse, Laodicea and Hierapolis, heard Paul and became a believer in Jesus the Messiah. Epaphras came home with the message of the gospel. Many there became believers and a church was started, meeting in a number of homes. Epaphras returned to Paul with news of their “love in the Spirit” (Colossians 1:8).

Now Paul sends them this letter. Notice, though, that it comes not just from Paul, but also from Timothy. This does not mean that Timothy actually composed any part of this letter, however, although he might well have served as Paul’s secretary in putting pen to papyrus. So why does Paul mention him? He is building on relationship. Notice that he refers to him as “our brother.” In the Greek text, Paul uses the definite article before the word for brother. Timothy was not just a brother but the brother, that is, the brother of us.

Timothy was himself converted by the ministry of Paul. Elsewhere, Paul calls him, “a true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). Timothy was native to the region and often travelled and served with Paul in his journeys throughout that land. He was known to the Colossians but would also have been known by some, perhaps many, of them as well. By referring to him as “our brother,” Paul immediately establishes a family bond between himself and the believers at Colosse.

In two brief sentences, the From and To slots of his letter, Paul connects with the Colossians in the vertical and horizontal dimensions. Vertically, Paul identifies himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” He belongs to God. Apostleship was not something he took upon himself or, indeed, could have taken upon himself. It was something God did, “by the will of God.” In a similar way, Paul addresses the Colossians as “saints” — holy ones! To be holy means to be set apart for God. It is not something we do ourselves but something God does. He has set us apart for Himself. To be a saint, then, means to belong to God. Paul belonged to God, the believers at Colosse belonged to God, and that is a very strong point of fellowship. This relationship has everything to do with Jesus the Messiah. It is through Him that Paul is an apostle, and it is in Him that the believers in Colosse have put their faith.

Horizontally, Paul relates to the Colossian believers as brothers and sisters. He does this in two ways. The first is indirect: He calls Timothy “our brother.” If you and I have the same brother, then we must be sisters and brothers also. The second way he demonstrates this relationship is explicit: He calls the saints at Colossae “faithful brethren” (brothers and sisters). They all share in the same devotion of faith with him.

The powerful truth of relationship in these opening verses is that all who put their faith in Jesus the Messiah belong to God and to each other as brothers and sisters.



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Chosen Inheritance

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
(Psalm 33:10-12)
Ancient of Days ~ by William Blake
When presidents, kings or heads of state rise up to declare their counsels, whether they be good or evil, do not get excited. They will not last for long. Kings come and go; movements rise and fall. They are only here for a season.

More importantly, they cannot stop the counsel of Yahweh. Rather, He brings the counsels and plans of the nations to nothing, and He does it so that He may establish His own counsel and the plans of His heart. The counsels of the nations bring chaos. The plans of the peoples cannot bring about the wonderful destiny God has for the world. Only the counsel of God can establish it.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. In the Old Testament, Israel was that nation, the people He chose as His inheritance. God chose her to be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6). Through her He would gather in all the nations (see Isaiah 2:2-4 and Isaiah 60-62). In the New Testament, this is fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah, Son of David, Israel’s King.

Jesus came into the world and announced, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel [good news]” (Mark 1:15). He taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come. Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 JVD). This is the purpose of God — heaven on earth! Now all who receive King Jesus, whether Jew on non-Jew, have a share in this plan and are described in this way:
You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10; see A New Kind of People)
Before Jesus ascended to His throne at the right hand of the Father, He gathered His disciples and gave them this charge:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-20)
God’s heart is for all nations and all generations. His plans and purposes are as wide as the world and as deep as time. His counsel endures forever. His kingdom has come into the world and will come to completion when King Jesus returns. Blessed is the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the people He has gathered as His own inheritance.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Blessed Be Egypt, My People

In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. And the LORD will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.
In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of Hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” (Isaiah 19:19-25 ESV)
This is an amazing promise Yahweh of Armies (“the LORD of Hosts”) spoke through the prophet Isaiah. The whole chapter is about Egypt. It is like a good news/bad news story. The first seventeen verses speak of the divine judgment that would come upon Egypt, but then it suddenly takes a wonderful turn, a gospel turn, and prophesies salvation for Egypt.
  • It speaks particularly of five cities, though not by name, except for one. The Hebrew for “City of Destruction” sounds very much like that for “City of the Sun,” and some ancient versions of this text render it as the latter. This would be a reference to the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis (“City of the Sun”), the site of which lies under the northern portion of modern Cairo. These five cities will speak the language of Canaan, possibly a reference to Hebrew, the language Israel spoke in Canaan, and they will swear allegiance to Yahweh of Hosts.
  • Worship of Yahweh will be central in the land of Egypt, and His honor will extend throughout, even to the borders. These will be a sign and a continuing witness to Yahweh in the land.
  • They will cry out to Yahweh and He will send a savior who will defend and deliver them.
  • Yahweh will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and they will acknowledge, give thanks devote themselves to Him.
  • Yahweh will “strike” Egypt with the purpose of healing. Think, for example, of a surgeon who slices into his patient and removes a cancer so that the patient may be healed. This “striking” will cause them to turn to Yahweh and call on Him, so that He can show them His mercy and heal them.
  • There will be peace between Egypt and the Assyria, her enemy. Though the Assyrians are now scattered throughout the Middle East, both they and the Egyptians will worship Yahweh together.
  • God will bless all three — Israel, Egypt and Assyria — in the land. Egypt was the ancient enemy who once held Israel in captivity. Assyria was Israel’s current enemy. The wonder of this prophecy is not that judgment would come upon Egypt, as upon Assyria and also Israel (foretold earlier in Isaiah), but that salvation would come to all three together in the worship of Yahweh, the God with whom Israel was in covenant.
Various Bible commentators have identified events in history they believe fulfill this prophecy, at least in part. Perhaps, but I believe there is a greater fulfillment coming, and it is for this I know pray. The coming of King Jesus the Messiah into the world was not just for Israel but also for the whole world. He is the One sent by God to be the savior, defender and deliverer of all. Even His name, which in Hebrew is Yeshua, means “salvation.” Before He ascended to His throne at the right hand of the Father, Jesus commissioned the Church to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

So, this has been my intercession for Egypt is recent days: That God will remember His ancient promise. That He will send the Savior, the Defender, the Deliverer — Jesus the Messiah — and make Himself known to them. That He will say, “Blessed be Egypt, My people.”

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Yahweh the Righteous One

Yahweh the Righteous One
Has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked
(Psalm 129:4 JVD)
Yahweh is the Righteous One. The Hebrew word for “righteous” is tsaddik. The Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament defines it as “communally faithful.” It has much to do with covenant, and the relationship God has established with and for His people. To say that someone is righteous means that he has been faithful in that relationship. God is faithful to His people and honors those who are faithful in their relationship with Him:
  • God knows (has regard for) the way of the righteous (Palm 1:6).
  • God blesses the righteous, and surrounds him with favor (Psalm 5:12).
  • God is righteous and He loves righteousness; the upright will see His face (Psalm 11:7).
  • God eyes are on the righteous and He hears their cries (Psalm 34:15).
  • God delivers the righteous out of all their afflictions (Psalm 34:19.
  • God upholds the righteous (Psalm 37:17).
  • God is the salvation and strength of the righteous (Psalm 37:39).
  • God is gracious and merciful (Psalm 116:5).
  • God is righteous in His judgments (Psalm 119:37).
  • God is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works (Psalm 145:17).
  • God loves the righteous (Psalm 146:8).
If the relationship should be broken, God is not the one who broke it, but He will always do what is right in regard to it.
Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’” So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The LORD is righteous.” (2 Chronicles 12:5-6)
The judgments of Yahweh are always in line with His covenant and faithful to His promises.
The LORD is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails.
(Zephaniah 3:5)
The ultimate expression of God’s covenant faithfulness — His righteousness — is found in Jesus the Messiah, who took the sins of the world upon Himself and nailed them to the cross in His own body. By His blood, He has cut a new covenant with the Father on our behalf. If we sin, He stands before the Father for us, on the basis of that covenant act, so that we may be counted as righteous before God — faithful in our relationship with Him — even as God is faithful and just toward us.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin … If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7, 9)

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. (1 John 2:1)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Crammed Full of God

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:9-10)
All the fullness of the nature of God dwells in Jesus the Messiah. In Him, all that God is, is manifested in bodily form. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14).

In Colossians 1:27, Paul talked about the mystery God has been making known among the nations, to all who believe in King Jesus the Messiah: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Now in Colossians 2:10, he tells us that we are “complete in Him.”

The Greek verb translated here as “complete” means to make full; to fill up to the top; to the brim, so that nothing is lacking; to cause to abound; to level up; and from Strong’s Greek Dictionary — and this is a meaning that really captures my imagination — to cram. In Jesus the Messiah, we are made “complete” — crammed full. Full of what? Of God Himself. All the fullness of God is in Him, and He is in us, so all the fullness of God dwells in us.

From Genesis 1:26-28, we learn that we were created in the image of God, to be like Him on the earth. He has given us dominion over all the works of His hands (Psalm 8:6). Through faith in King Jesus, we have received “exceedingly great and precious promises,” that through these we might “partake of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Now, let me be clear here: We do not become God, but we are made to be like Him and to fellowship with Him in His divine nature. He has given us His Spirit to dwell in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). Indeed, Messiah Himself dwells in us by the Holy Spirit. This is the mystery God has been revealing to the nations ever since Jesus came. This is the “hope of glory,” the joyful anticipation of God’s glory and goodness manifesting in us and through us.

In other words, in King Jesus the Messiah we are crammed full of God.



The Focus of Our Faith
The Focus of Our Faith
Paul’s Letters to the Jesus Believers at Colosse
Bite-Size Studies Through Colossians
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Mighty God, Yahweh

The Mighty God, Yahweh speaks
And summons the earth
From the place where the sun rises to the place where it sets.
(Psalm 50:1 JVD)
This verse presents us with a combination of God’s names: El Elohim Yahweh (אל אלה'ם 'הוה). El speaks of God in His might and authority. Elohim is how God revealed Himself in the creation of heaven and earth. Yahweh is the name of His person, and is the name by which He made covenant with His people, Israel.

There is only one other place in the Bible where we find this combination of the divine names. That is in Joshua 22, where the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh were accused by the rest of Israel of turning from the Lord and being unfaithful to His covenant. They appealed to God to judge the matter between them: “The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the LORD do not save us this day!” (Joshua 22:22 NASB). It soon became apparent that they had been faithful and just.

In Psalm 50, this same name is used of God when He summons heaven and earth to witness as He judges His people (v. 4). Divine court is in session.
Gather My saints together to me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrificed.
Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge.
(Psalm 50:5-6)
The heavens and the earth were present when God made His covenant with the children of Israel, in the book of Deuteronomy: “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth” (Deuteronomy 32:1). Now they bear witness that God is righteous in this dispute.

This is all about covenant, the covenant God made with Israel. He has a bone to pick with them: He has been faithful to the covenant — which is what righteousness is about — but they have not. Two groups are in the dock. First, there are those who have kept all the mandatory rituals, but all in a very impersonal, obligatory way, and as if God was dependent upon their burnt offerings. His corrective word to them is this:
Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.
(Psalm 50:14-15)
This is a sacrifice of thanksgiving, a voluntary offering of fellowship. God is not looking for a perfunctory people — it is our fellowship He desires, an offering of the heart. The more we come to Him with thanksgiving and praise, the more we realize our dependence upon Him, the more we come to trust Him, the more we learn to call on Him, and the more we discover that He is there for us in the day of trouble. The second group is those who make a pretense of covenant fidelity with their lips, but their hearts are far away from God.
But to the wicked God says:
“What right has you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth.”
(Psalm 50:16)
They hate the instruction of the Lord and cast off His words (v. 17). They consent with thieves and partake with adulterers (v. 18). They give their mouths over to creating evil and their tongues to speaking deceit (v. 19). They sit in fellowship with their brothers and sisters, but then, in the greatest hypocrisy, speak slander against them (v. 20). God will rebuke them and bring their offenses out in the open for all to see (v. 21). However, all is not lost for them; God offers them opportunity for repentance.
Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.
(Psalm 50:22-23)
To those who turn to God and acknowledge Him with praise from the heart, and walk according to His instruction, He will show His salvation. God desires covenant fellowship with His people, but He also requires covenant faithfulness from them.

Israel never was able to remain faithful, so God’s plan all along was to keep Israel’s part through the Messiah, the perfect Israelite in whom all the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled. Through faith in Him, we are justified, declared to be right with God.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)
The Mighty God, Yahweh, is the divine judge who counts us faithful covenant-keepers through Jesus the Messiah.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

A Storehouse of Faith


“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” Jesus said (Matthew 12:34). Then He talked about the storehouse of the heart. If we store up good things in our hearts, that is what will come out; if we store up evil things then evil will come out (v. 35; see What’s In Your Storehouse?). Now, let me show you one reason why this is so important. Consider the words of Jesus in Mark 11:22-25.
Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
See the dynamic of the heart and the mouth, how they word together? If you have faith in God and do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will be done, you words become very powerful, even to the moving of mountains. But notice what must be in your heart in abundance — not just in your heart, but in your heart in abundance? Faith! Yes, it starts like a mustard seed, but like a mustard seed, when you plant it, it grows (see Faith is a Seed). When faith is in your heart in abundance, and your mouth speaks out of the abundance of your heart, that is a powerful combination.

So where does faith come from, and how to you get it into your heart in abundance? Paul said that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). When God speaks, things happen, and God always keeps His Word. When we give our attention to the Word of God, to meditate on it, and when we let it instruct our hearts and change our thinking, the Spirit of God works through that. Faith in God begins to rise up within us. As we continue meditating the Word, faith begins to fill our hearts in abundance. Then, when we speak, and our words are in alignment with the Word of God, they come forth with the force of faith. Things we thought improbable, or even impossible, begin to happen.

But there is also something else that must fill our heart, and that is forgiveness. We must be willing to forgive everyone we have anything against. It is no coincidence that Jesus speaks of forgiveness immediately after He talks about faith-filled words and prayer. No, it is integral to the operation of faith.

When Jesus told Peter and the disciples that they must forgive “seventy times seven,” they said, “Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:4-5). They realized that real forgiveness requires the power of faith. However, Jesus teaches us that the opposite is also true: powerful faith requires a heart of forgiveness. They must go together. If we do not have the faith to forgive then we do not have the faith to move mountains. Paul tells us that even if we did have faith to move mountains, but do not have love, then we are nothing and our accomplishments are in vain (1 Corinthians 13:2).

This brings us, then, to a third thing we must have in our hearts in abundance: Love. In a religious dispute that was taking place in the first-century Church over a ritual issue, Paul concluded, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

There it is. Faith works through love. That is, faith is activated, energized, made effective, through love. If faith worked without love, we would soon destroy the world. Imagine the debris that would litter the highways as people charged their road rage with the power of faith. No, there must be love if we are to have mountain-moving faith. Indeed, love is the most important. “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three,” Paul said, “But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Out of the storehouse of the heart the mouth speaks. When faith, forgiveness and love fill your heart in abundance, your words will become very powerful. Mountains will move.

What's in your storehouse?

(See also Faith Comes by Hearing and How to Forgive by Faith)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Confessions on Romans 8:28


If you have been a Christian for while, you’ve probably heard this verse: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). It is quoted often (one of those “refrigerator verses”), especially in difficult times. One of the keys to understanding this verse is to recognize that this is about those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. It is a comfort to know that God’s purposes for us will be fulfilled.

But another important key, I believe, is found in the words “work together,” or rather, the Greek word behind it, synenergeo. It is a compound word: syn means “with” or “together” and energeo means “to be at work.” As you might guess, it is from this that we get our word “synergy.” It is this prefix, syn, that interests me most — we find it in various forms (sym, sys, and syg) a number of times in Romans 8:
  • “The Spirit Himself bears witness with [symmartureo] our spirit that we are children of God ...” (v.16).
  • “… and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs [sygkleronomos] with Christ, …” (v. 17).
  • “… if indeed we suffer with [sympascho] Him, that we may also be glorified together [symdoxazo].” (v. 17).
  • “For we know that the whole creation groans [systenazo, ‘groans together’] and labors with birth pangs together [synodino] until now” (v. 22). The whole creation is waiting, Paul says, for the manifestation of the sons of God, when it is “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (v. 19-21).
  • “Likewise the Spirit also helps [synantilambanomai] in our weaknesses” (v. 26). This word speaks of two parties laying hold together, each one doing his part, like oarsmen, to obtain a goal.
In verse 23, Paul says, “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” And in verse 26, “For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” The Holy Spirit groans within us and we also groan within ourselves. So, even though the prefix is not used concerning this, the Holy Spirit groans within us together with us.

What is more, Paul adds, “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (v. 27). The Father knows the mind of the Spirit who is at work within us, and the Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God. In other words, the Father and the Spirit are working together on our behalf.

It is at this point then that Paul concludes, “For we know that all work together [synenergeo] for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Many translators add the word “things,” which I have left out here because it can be misleading. It is also not necessary because, in the context and flow of Romans 8, “all” refers to all that Paul has just finished listing. We can just as well say, “All these things” or leave it simply at “All.”

The point is that we have all the things Paul talks about in Romans 8 working together on our behalf. They are mighty indeed, full of the power of God, and through them God can bring forth good even in the worst of situations. So this is my confession of faith in good times and bad:
The Holy Spirit bears witness together with my spirit that I am a child of God, that I am a joint-heir together with Christ, that if I suffer together with Him I will be glorified together with Him. All creation is groaning together, waiting for me to manifest as a mature child of God, because I walk in the glorious liberty of the children of God. The Holy Spirit is groaning together with me, interceding in me, with me and for me with powerful prayers that’s express God’s great desire for me — and these prayers are being answered! All these things are now working together for my good, because I love God and I am called according to His purpose. Nothing can stop His good plan for me from being fulfilled.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

What’s in Your Storehouse?


The tagline of the current Capital One(TM) campaign asks, “What’s in your wallet?” Let me tweak that a little bit and ask, “What’s in your storehouse?” Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35).

The Greek word for “treasure” is thesaurus. The Septuagint, which is a very early Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses thesaurus to translate the Hebrew word for “storehouse.” My translation of Matthew 12:35 is, “The good man out of the good storehouse of the heart brings out good things, and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings out evil things.”

What is a storehouse? It is a place where things are deposited, collected, laid up, stored away for future use. Each one of us has a storehouse in our heart and we are continually making deposits into it. These deposits are the words, thoughts, deeds and desires we focus on and give place to in our lives.

For example, in Luke 2, when the shepherds came and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus lying in a manger, they told of the angelic visitation and all the things that were told them about Jesus. Then we read, “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). That is, she gathered them all up and gave place to them in her heart, where she could consider them, meditate on them, and let them shape her thoughts, her decisions, her emotions, words, her deeds — her life! She made a deposit of good things into her storehouse, and they were there for her to draw upon every moment of her life.

Another example is found in Acts 5, where Ananias and Sapphira pretended to bring all the proceeds of a piece of land they sold to lay at the apostles’ feet. Peter saw through their deceit and said, “Why has satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? … Why have you conceived this thing in your heart?” (Acts 5:3-4). The Greek word for “conceived” means to set, place or put forth. Ananias and Sapphira made a place for satanic deception and treasured it in their storehouse. It filled their hearts with evil, and when opportunity arose, evil is what they brought out.

We must be very careful what we allow in our storehouses and deposit in our hearts, because that is what will come out in our lives. “Keep your heart with all diligence,” Proverbs says, “for out of it spring the issues of life” (4:23). We are always making deposits and we are always drawing on our storehouse account. If we collect up and ponder good things — the promises of God, the fruit of the Spirit, the things Jesus taught — that is what will come forth from us. Paul said, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Now, you can tell what someone has been storing up in their heart by paying attention to what they say. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” Jesus said (Matthew 12:34). What is in their heart in abundance, whether good or bad, is what they have been depositing in it over time. When they open up their mouths to speak, what they have stored up is what comes out; this is especially true when they are under pressure.

This is very important because, as Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” That is why we will have to give account before God for the things we say. Jesus said, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Words that are in line with the love of the Father, the faith of King Jesus the Messiah, the fruit of the Spirit and the promises of God, are words that will bring forth good things. Every word that is out of alignment with the Word of God will bring forth evil things. It all begins with the deposits you make in your heart.

What’s in your storehouse?

Monday, January 10, 2011

God, Exalted Among the Nations, Exalted in the Earth

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
(Psalm 46:10)
One of my favorite mugs has the first line of this verse imprinted on it: “Be still and know that I am God.” It is what is called a “refrigerator verse,” something people stick up on their iceboxes as a reminder. You can also find it at your local Christian bookstore or inspirational shop, on a variety of kitschy products: calendars, plaques, mugs, and even magnets to hold other kitschy things on your refrigerator. It is often thought of in a personal-devotiony sort of way, as if it were instructing us to go find a cozy little place to nestle into and get all quiet and still with God. There is no problem with that sort of thing, of course — I’ve had many precious times with God that way, silencing all other voices in and around me so that I can hear the voice of God more clearly. But the context of this verse presents it a bit more … militantly. Look, for example, at the verses that immediately precede it.
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
(Psalms 46:8-9)
The “works of the LORD” are the desolations He makes in the earth (not of the earth), and the desolations are the end He puts to wars and all their implements. He settles things decisively and those who remain are unable to stand against Him. It is at this point that the psalm writer, one of the “sons of Korah,” says, “Be still and know that I am God.” That is how many versions, such as the KJV, the NKJV and the NIV put it. However, consider how some other versions render it; I think they capture the sense of what “be still” means much better.
  • “Cease striving” (NASB)
  • “Stop your fighting” (HCSB)
  • “Desist” (Young’s Literal Translation)
  • “Let be” (JPS Bible)
  • “Stop fighting” (Good News Translation)
Put an exclamation point after each one of those, and I think we will have the force of it. God is speaking to those who have been warring against Him, and against His people! He is calling them to cease their striving with Him, to give it up. More than that, He is calling them to “know” — to recognize, acknowledge, confess — that He is God. He is not calling them to destruction, though, but to something very much better. In Psalm 2, He puts it this way.
Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
(Psalm 2:10-12)
“Exalted among the nations, exalted in the earth.” This is what He is; this is what He will be. The Hebrew can be rendered either way. God exalts His name among the nations, and in the end, the nations will acknowledge that He is King. Even now, this is coming to pass. God has raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him far above all principality, power, might and dominion, and has put all things under His feet (Ephesians 1:20-22). He has given Him the name that is above every name, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

After the resurrection and before He ascended to heaven, Jesus came to the disciples saying, ““All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20).

All the nations will be taught of Him and be baptized. They will “kiss the Son” and be blessed, and they will know that He is God, Exalted in the Nations, Exalted in the Earth.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Yahweh, God of Truth

Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
(Psalm 31:5)
Pursued and harassed, David looks to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as a “rock of refuge” and a “fortress of defense” to which he can run and be saved (v. 2 ). He knows that traps have been set for him and he calls on God to pluck him out of the net (v. 4). He has come to know Yahweh as the God of Truth.

“Into Your hand I commit my spirit.” The Hebrew word for “commit” means to give as a trust or deposit. There is an idea of stewardship here: David entrusts himself to God to watch over him, to keep him safe. The “hand” of God speaks of action, what God does. It is dynamic. David does not look to God to passively hold him but to actively keep him.

“You have redeemed me.” The word for “redeemed” means to ransom or rescue. The pictograph of the Hebrew letters in this word (Pe, Dalet, He) is interesting. It gives us the image of an open door (Benner, Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible). God “opens the door” for David so that he is no longer trapped but is set free.

The tense of this word is also interesting. The NKJV and many other translations render it in the past tense, as an accomplished fact. Other versions, such as the HCSB, have it as “You redeem me” (present), or as the NIV, as a petition, “Redeem me.” However, Keil and Delitzsch, in their Commentary on the Old Testament, note that it is “the praet. confidentiae [confident past tense] which is closely related to the praet. prophet. [prophetic past tense]; for the spirit of faith, like the spirit of the prophets, speaks of the future with historic certainty.” In other words, what David was asking God to do, he was so confident that God would do it, he considered it a “done deal!” Why? Because He was committing himself to Yahweh El Emet — Yahweh, God of Truth.

Now, notice how he contrasts this in the next verse. “I have hated those who regard useless idols” (v. 6). Many newer versions say “useless,” or “worthless” or “vain idols.” However, older versions, such as the KJV, the Jewish Publication Society Bible and Young’s Literal Translation say “lying vanities.” Keil and Delitzsch render it as “vain illusions.” This is a more literal translation of the Hebrew words, although the phrase was often used as a reference to idols. Everything that is not of God is a lying vanity that can very easily become an idol to us.

Notice also the word “regard.” The Hebrew word speaks of those who “guard” or “keep” or “watch over” something. David has no use for vain illusions. They have no power to watch over and keep him, but must be protected themselves. So David has no respect for those who guard such vanities and illusions. He reiterates his faith: “But I trust in the LORD.”

Yahweh is the God of Truth. He is true to Himself and true to His word. What He says is what He does and what He does is what He said He would do. We can always count on Him to keep His promises and we can entrust ourselves to Him in perfect confidence that He will take care of us in all things.