A Discipleship of Gentleness and Humility

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29 NIV)

“Learn from me,” Jesus says. It is an invitation to be His disciple (the Greek word for “learn,” in this verse, and the word for “disciple” come from the same root). What Jesus calls us to learn from Him is gentleness and humility. These are traits that reveal the Lord Jesus Himself, in His incarnation, in the saving work of the cross, and in His exaltation. It is not surprise, then, that the New Testament writers also hold them in high regard:

• “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” (Romans 12:16 NIV)
• “By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you.” (2 Corinthians 10:1 NIV)
• “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
• “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.” (Galatians 6:1 NIV).
• “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:1-2 NIV).
• “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12 NIV).
• “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth.” (2 Timothy 2:23-25)
• “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” (Titus 3:1-2 NIV)
• “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13 NIV)
• “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:6-7)
• “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV).
• “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).
• “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” (1 Peter 5:5)

Given that Jesus invites us to come and “learn” gentleness and humility from Him, what should Christian discipleship look like?

Today I Have Begotten You

I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”

(Psalm 2:7)

In this psalm of David, the Lord says to him, “You are My son, today I have begotten you.” Some have wondered what it means that God has “begotten” him. We usually find the Hebrew word in the “begats” section of Genesis and in other places throughout the Old Testament. So, how can God say to David, “Today I have begotten you”? And what does it mean?

To answer that, we need to look back to the history of David, particularly in 2 Samuel 7, where the Lord made a covenant with David, in which He promised David a throne that would endure forever. Here the Lord says of him, “I will be his father, and he will be my son” (v. 14).

We also find a similar reference to this covenant in Psalm 89, where the Lord says of David, “He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’ And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth” (vv. 26-27).

The author Hebrews quotes Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 together and applies them to the Lord Jesus, to demonstrate the superiority of Christ to the angels:

For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”?

And again: “I will be to Him a Father; and He shall be to Me a Son”? (Hebrews 1:5)

This Father-son relationship is about David’s kingship. In Psalm 2, the Lord says, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain” (v. 6). Then David recalls God’s promise, “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’” (v. 7). Or as the NIV puts it: “I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’”

So, the use of “begotten” in verse 7 refers to God’s promise that He would be David’s father, and David would be His son. The language is a bit different, but the meaning is exactly the same. God identifies the king as His son and His son as king. These are words of enthronement and indicate the special relationship He makes with David, and by extension, with those descendants who would reign on David’s throne.

The Hebrew readers in Old Testament times would have been reminded of the covenant God made with David. Of course, they realized very early that David was not the perfect king in whom all the promises and provisions would be fulfilled. However, because they took God as true to His word, they had an expectation that there would one day be a descendant of David who would sit on David’s throne, who would perfectly fulfill the role of king, and in whom all of God’s covenant promises would be made complete. They looked for this One who would be God’s anointed king. In other words, they looked for the Messiah.

This is why it is very significant that Jesus is the Christ. Christ means the same thing as Messiah. It refers to the Anointed. Jesus is the Christ, that is, the one God anointed to reign as king on David’s throne. It is also why it is very important that Jesus is the descendant of David, for only a descendent of David could qualify to sit on David’s throne forever.

This is not merely a matter of historical interest, however, but is also a very important part of Paul’s proclamation of the gospel. We see that in his letter to the believers at Rome, as well as in his final letter, which is to Timothy:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God — the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:1-4 NIV)

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel (2 Timothy 2:8 NIV).

These two passages have three things in common in regard to the gospel:

• They both identify Jesus as Christ, that is, the Messiah.
• They both present Jesus as descended from David.
• They both declare the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The fact that Jesus is descended from David is important to His identity as Messiah. Indeed, if He were not descended from Messiah, He could not be the Messiah. The resurrection demonstrates that Jesus truly is the Messiah, Son of God, whom God has anointed as King to reign on David’s throne forever. The gospel is the announcement that this is now so.

Reigning King and Well Pleasing Servant

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

This scene is recorded in all three of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). John’s account of the Gospel refers to it only indirectly, as John the Baptist simply gives this witness: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him” (John 1:31). But the thing I would like to focus on today are the words that were spoken from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

This is My Son

The first part, “This is My beloved Son,” identifies Jesus as the Son of God. Jewish expectation was that Messiah, God’s Anointed, whom God would establish as king over Israel and the nations, would be His Son. This comes from Psalm 2, which is a messianic psalm. In verse 2, kings and nations conspire together against God’s Anointed. God’s response to them in verse 6 is, “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” And He declares to this Messiah King, in verse 7, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” All the nations would be given to Him for an inheritance, and the raging kings would be brought into submission (vv. 8-12).

Israel, in the days of Jesus, was deep in exile and awaited a divine Son, the kingly Messiah. When the time had finally come for this King to arrive, John the Baptist began his ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven it as hand!” (Matthew 3:2). He preached a baptism of repentance and identified himself as the forerunner who was promised in Isaiah 40, the voice crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the LORD.”

And now came Jesus to be baptized of John. This would identify Him with all who were repentant and prepared for true righteousness to be fulfilled. So Jesus was baptized, and the voice from heaven said, “This is my Son.”

In Whom I Am Well Pleased

The second part of the saying, “In whom I am well pleased,” is also full of prophetic significance. It identifies Jesus as God’s “servant” in Isaiah 42: “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!” (v. 1). This also is Messiah, and it becomes clear later on in Isaiah that this Servant would suffer for the sins of His people (see Isaiah 52:13-53:12). However, the Jews were not sure how these two seemingly opposite images of Messiah — as reigning King and as suffering servant — were to be reconciled. Some even thought that there might be two Messiahs. But what the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism shows is that Jesus is the anointed one who would be King over all as well as the one who would suffer for the iniquity of all.

The Servant Messiah

But let’s take a closer look, in Isaiah 42, at this Servant Messiah in whom God is well pleased:

Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles [the nations].
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.

Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

(Isaiah 42:1-7)

This is very much a description of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. He came to open blind eyes and set prisoners free from the darkness. He came to bring justice to the earth and a shining light to the nations. He came not only to establish a new covenant with God’s people but to be that new covenant. He is the divine Servant whom Isaiah foretold, and in whom God delights and is well pleased.

Now, notice particularly, in Isaiah 42:1, that God would put His Spirit upon this Servant. And that is indeed what happened at Jesus’ baptism. When Jesus came up out of the water and “the heavens were opened to Him” (which is a very significant thing in itself), the Spirit of God descended like a dove, came upon Him and settled there. This is the anointing by the Spirit of God that showed Jesus to be the Son and Messiah of Psalm 2 as well as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 42. And in this perfect Trinitarian moment, the voice of the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Gentle and Humble in Heart

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30 NIV)

Jesus calls us to come and “learn” from Him. The Greek word for “learn” in this passage is mathete, and from it comes the word for “disciple,” which is mathetes. To be a disciple is to be one who learns. But what is it Jesus calls us to learn from Him? Gentleness and humility.

Gentleness

The Greek word for “gentle” here is praos and is often translated as “meek.” But meekness is not milquetoast. Far from it. It is not weakness but strength. It is, however, a strength that is patient and calm, the kind of strength befitting a king. In the Bible, it takes on the added meaning of being yielded to God.

In the beatitudes, the opening of the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). And when He made His final entry into Jerusalem (which we remember on Palm Sunday), Jesus applied the words of the prophet Zechariah to Himself: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey’” (Matthew 21:5 NIV).

Indeed, the promised Messiah would be characterized by this kind of gentleness towards those who were willing. Isaiah prophesied concerning Him, “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3). Is this weakness? Perhaps in one sense it is. But it is this very weakness that would be Messiah’s strength, for look at what it would accomplish, as Isaiah continues his prophesy: “He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth” (Isaiah 42:3-4).

Humility

Jesus also calls us to learn humility, for He is “humble in heart.” Often, the burden we must set aside is our own vanity or pride or arrogance. But Jesus is neither vain nor proud nor arrogant. He came to us as a servant. On the night of the Last Supper, He washed the feet of the disciples, saying, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Jesus came to give Himself, even to the point of giving His life. In the book of Philippians, Paul exhorts bickering believers with this profound portrayal of Jesus in His servant humility:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which 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 2:5-11)

Humility is not something Jesus put on when He became a man and then took off again when He was exalted to the highest place and given the name that is above every name. No, being humble in heart is part of who He is. Being a servant did not camouflage His divinity — it revealed it. It showed that God is, by His very nature, a servant.

The author of Hebrews says that Jesus is the “express image” of God (Hebrews 1:3), and Jesus Himself said that those who have seen Him have seen the Father (John 14:9). So when Jesus says, “I am gentle and humble in heart,” we are seeing something that is not just true of Him in His humanity. It is true of Him in His divinity, and therefore true of the Father as well.

This gentleness, humility and servant heart are basic to the nature of God. For they manifest love, and John tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). It is this nature that caused the Lord Jesus to pour Himself out, to become a human being and submit to a terrible death on the cross for our sake.

It is these God-like qualities that we are invited to come and learn from the one who lives them most deeply. And it is in taking up this yoke of His that we will find rest and restoration in our lives. For the yoke of gentleness is kind and good to us, and the burden of humility is not heavy but light — and it is the Lord Jesus who bears them.

See also Divine Humility, Divine Greatness and The Humble God-Man Exalted with the Highest Glory.

Come, Take, Learn

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Mathew 11:28-30 NIV)

Jesus invites us to Himself, to come and take and learn.

Come. This invitation is for those who are “weary and burdened.” The One to whom we are invited to come is the One who bears our burdens. “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). “Praise be to the LORD, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:18 NIV). Come, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Take. We very often think of “give” and “take” as belonging together. When someone gives us something, we receive it by taking it. Here, Jesus promises to give us rest, but then He calls us to take His yoke upon ourselves. This seems a paradox, for a yoke is made for bearing a burden, and we normally think of bearing a burden as the opposite of rest. But here, it is in taking Jesus’ yoke that we find the rest He offers.

Learn. What is the yoke Jesus invites us to take? Read the words again: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Notice that taking up Jesus’ yoke is not a separate thing but is paired with learning from Him. Back in those days, rabbis spoke of taking the “yoke of the Torah,” that is, of being devoted to learning the law God gave to Moses. However, Jesus’ call to take up His yoke is the invitation to come and learn from Him. The Greek word for “learn” in this passage is mathete (the word for “disciple” is mathetes).

For all who are weary and burdened — and who of us hasn’t been? — Jesus calls us to be His disciples, to come and take and learn Him. Learning Jesus is walking with Him, for a yoke is made for two. But Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light for us because He is the one who carries it. And it is in this way that we discover and experience what is truly rest for the soul.

A Message from God in My Heart

I have a message from God in my heart. (Psalm 36:1 NIV)

This morning during my devotional time, I lit my candle, took my guitar and sang a bit in worship and then settled down with my Bible to pray the psalms for the day. Opening to Psalm 36, I read the first line: “I have a message from God in my heart.”

I received such a blast from that, I let out a laugh and sat back with my hands crossed over my heart — because, indeed, I do have a message from God in my heart. So, I let that line percolate in me for a little bit because, regardless of whatever else may be going on in my world, God is always speaking to me, and I carry that message in my heart, the very center of my being.

Marinating in that, I looked back at the psalm to see what the writer had in mind, what the message he was bringing was about. I read the next line: “… concerning the sinfulness of the wicked.”

That did not have the same impact on me as the first line had. In fact, it was a bit of a buzz kill. But I went with it, to understand what message from God was ringing in his heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. Because I want that message ringing in my heart, too. Now, I’ve prayed through this psalm many times before. In fact, I’ve even written about it a number of times. But as often happens when I am praying the psalms, it came to me with fresh strength.

So, what about the wicked? The writer gives us a rundown in verses 2-4: They are arrogant, self-flattering and deceitful. They have no regard for anything that has to do with God, or for what is good, or for what expresses moral wisdom. Nothing new there. But I do not think that was what the writer came to say. The message in his heart is not about the badness of those who do evil (although they certainly are bad) but about something much greater — the pervasive goodness of God — and beginning in verse, he bursts forth with something very different. There is no segue, no transition — it is as if he were beginning, here in verse 5, a new and very different psalm:

Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
    your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.

(Psalm 36:5-6)

Notice that the love of God reaches to the heavens. We might have expected to read that the love of God reaches from the heavens. But the point is not about where it comes from but about what it inhabits. It fills the space between heaven and earth. It surrounds us. There are no boundaries to it and nothing it cannot touch. Likewise the faithfulness and righteousness and justice of God that sets things right.

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
    you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light we see light.
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
    and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

(Psalm 36:7-9)

Here is something incalculable and infinite, with feasting and abundance and delight. Here is endless source of life, and a light that overwhelms the darkness. And now a request for God to keep on loving with His strong, dependable love and take care of all those who are doing what is right. Oh, and what about the wicked?

May the foot of the proud not come against me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
See how the evildoers lie fallen —
    thrown down, not able to rise!

(Psalm 36:11-12)

Yes, there are many in the world today who are doing what is evil; there is no need for me to expound on that. But let not your heart be overwhelmed by them, for there is something much greater going on all around you and it will eventually set everything right — the faithful love of God.

Epiphany: The Light Has Come

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. (Isaiah 60:1-6 NIV)

Today, January 6, begins the season of Epiphany, celebrated by the Church around the world. Epiphany means “appearance” or “manifestation,” and in this season we remember how Jesus was first revealed to the world. The story is told in Matthew 2.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)

These wise men were not Jews but men of other nations. They were pagans, which is to say, they had no covenant with the God of the Jews. Yet they came seeking the King of the Jews, for they had seen His star, and they greatly desired to honor Him.

Throughout the Bible, significant shifts among kings and kingdoms were often indicated by the symbolism of stars and other cosmological events. We see this, for example, in Genesis 37, where Joseph’s prophetic dream of the sun, moon and stars depicted his father, mother and brothers all bowing down to him. Or in Revelation 12:1, the great sign that appeared in heaven, of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars,” bearing the Child (Christ) who is caught up to the throne of God, and from there rules over all the nations of the earth. Likewise, Biblical language about sun, moon and stars being darkened signifies the fall of kings and nations. We can see this in prophecies concerning the fall of Babylon, Edom and Egypt (respectively, in Isaiah 13:10, Isaiah 34:4-5 and Ezekiel 32:7-8).

So, these wise men were watching the stars. But they may also have been aware of a prophecy about it in the Hebrew Scriptures: “A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17). Now they had seen that Star and followed on to find the One it represented, who was born King of the Jews.

They went to Jerusalem not because the Star had led them there but more likely because Jerusalem was the capitol city of Judea — and where else would you expect to find the new King but in the capitol city? “Where is He?” they asked. After discovering another ancient prophecy that God’s great Shepherd King was to be born in Bethlehem (which was the “city of David”), the angry and deceitful King Herod (who was not of the line of David) sent them on their way.

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. (Matthew 2:9-10)

Earlier, they had lost sight of the Star when they headed into Jerusalem, but now as they reoriented themselves toward the little town of Bethlehem they saw it once again. They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. Or, to use the words of Isaiah, they looked and were radiant and their hearts throbbed and swelled with joy. And the Star led them all the way to the newborn King.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

In Epiphany, we remember that the promise of Isaiah 60 is being fulfilled. The Star has appeared, the glory of the Lord has arisen and the Light has been manifested in the world, not only to Israel but to the nations. The wise men who followed that Star brought their treasures of gold and incense to proclaim the praise of the Lord and honor the King of the Jews. This was but the beginning, for at the end of the book of Matthew, we find Jesus possessing all authority in heaven and on earth and sending out His disciples to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

Random Thoughts

Here are some thoughts to begin the new year, culled from my random file. Some have occurred to me in moments of quiet reflection, some in discussion with others. For your meditation, edification and motivation.

• Years ago, I got out of thinking about the Christian life as rules and regs and began thinking about it as relationship, because that seems to me to be what the Lord Jesus is about. So I've just been learning to love Him and walk in His love for me, and letting that love overflow in me to others. It is love that fulfills the law and produces in me what the rules and regs never could.
• A faith that does not change a person is not a faith worth having. It is not a real faith, only a head fake. And a gospel that does not change a person is not good news after all. Neither faith nor the gospel are all in your head, but they show up in your life.
• Grace is not just God’s favorable attitude toward us but also God’s favorable action on our behalf through Christ, and in us by the Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit is not “asleep at the wheel” in the life of any believer but is active to bring forth the fruit of love.
• The heart that is caught up with the love of God does not count out what it gives and carefully weigh it out against what it receives. It loves with abandon.
• The grace of God is greater than our ability to believe it — or to doubt it.
• When the heart breaks, there is nothing to do except give it to God.
• My past is redefined by Christ, my future is redefined by Christ, and so also my present.
• God is love. To whatever extent we have encountered love, we have encountered God. And to whatever extent we express love, we express God. Love is a revelation of God.
• God is love. Lord, let me be love, too. Amen.

The Paradox of God-Centeredness

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16 NIV 2011)

In the Bible, a mystery is not a secret but a revelation, something that God has made known in Jesus Christ. Godliness is holiness, or piety, or the “fear of the Lord.” Godliness is God-centeredness.

What Paul is about to tell us here is something he describes as “beyond all question,” or, as the NKJV has it, “without controversy.” The Greek word is homologoumenos, which has to do with confession. In other words, it is something about which the early Church was quite in agreement, a confession of faith, straight up and orthodox. Paul is likely quoting a creed or hymn that was already in circulation in the Church.

So, what is this mystery, the revelation about God-centeredness of which Paul speaks? It is a confession of the gospel. It is the proclamation of the good news, encapsulated in six short statements. But it is the first statement that I want to particular consider today. This is where the mystery begins: He appeared in the flesh.

The mystery of godliness is the mystery of the incarnation, that God appeared in the flesh. As John the Evangelist put it, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word with God, and the Word was God … and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14). This is what we celebrate in the season of Christmas, and is why Jesus is called Immanuel, “God with us.” This is where the gospel begins, for it is as a human being that Jesus was vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world and was taken up in glory.

In his letter to the Jesus believers at Philippi, Paul speaks of the mystery of godliness this way:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which 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.

So the great mystery is also a paradox, for it turns out that God-centeredness is gloriously centered on a man — Jesus the Messiah, God become flesh. He is the one we believe and confess, and in Him we learn true godliness.

(See also Divine Humility, Divine Greatness)

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

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

Joseph Pondered

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. (Matthew 1:18-20)

In Luke’s telling of the Christmas story, when the shepherds came running and found the baby Jesus and revealed what the angels had announced to them in the field, Mary “pondered” all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19). In Matthew’s account, we learn that Joseph had some pondering of his own, a pondering of a different sort.

Joseph was “betrothed” to Mary. Legally, it was more binding than what we would today call an “engagement,” but they were not yet living together as husband and wife, as the marriage had not yet been consummated. But one day, while he was making his plans and preparations, Joseph suddenly learned some very disturbing news: Mary was pregnant — and Joseph was not the father.

Joseph was shattered. The life he was preparing would now not take place. His dream was irreparably broken. He turned the matter over and over in his thoughts, his head in hard tension with his heart. He was bewildered. Had Mary betrayed him? It certainly seemed that way to him — he had not yet realized that the child she carried inside her was of the Holy Spirit.

Now he considered what he must do. The choice before him was not whether to continue the marriage. It was a foregone conclusion that he would not. Could not. The only decision was whether he would allow Mary to be subjected to public disgrace. But he was a “just man,” a man who understood something about covenant love, and he was not willing for her to be openly shamed. So he would divorce her quietly. Just sign the papers and walk away. But while he was pondering these things, he had a dream. An angel of the Lord came to him and said,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:20-23)

Then Joseph woke up and did as the angel of the Lord told him — he took Mary as his wife, just as he had planned. But everything was different now, and that would be okay. Because now he realized that this was part of a much bigger plan. Not his own plan, but God’s. A plan that meant great healing and forgiveness for his people — and for the world. Mary gave birth to a son, and Joseph called his name Jesus. God with us in a new, and redemptive, way.

And that was something for Joseph to ponder the rest of his life.

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Let Earth Receive Her King
Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom of God
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

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

Knowing My Brother Now in a Different Way

My sweet brother Gary, now with Jesus.

This past week, on Monday, December 2, my brother Gary went to be with Jesus. Though we grieve his absence here, we rejoice that he is now experiencing the pleasures of God in a much more profound way. Here are the remembrances I gave at his memorial service on Friday.

I want to share with you about how I know my brother Gary. I was born on his fourth birthday — he got no cake that year. We are exactly four years apart, and I have always felt a special connection with him from that. But I did not realize how strong that was for me until this last birthday, just a couple of weeks ago, when Gary was in that hospital bed, in a coma — and it was so very precious to me that we got to be together on that birthday.

How I know my brother Gary. Growing up, Gary and I shared a bedroom. He was my first roommate, and I was his. We got along together pretty well when we were little, and he was my first playmate. As we grew older, the four years between us began to show, as his interests became different from mine. I became the pesky little brother, and I remember Gary chasing me out of our room many times — especially when he had his friends over (he was a popular guy).

How I know my brother Gary. I know him in his music. I was there when it began, when he first learned to play and sing and write songs (he came a long way). I learned to sing and play, too, in large part because of him. We never really played together, though, our styles were so different, but I heard him and he heard me, and we sang on each other’s CDs.

How I know my brother Gary. In know him in his faith, with its many ups and downs, and the difficult years when he was trying to find his way, and my heart broke for him because he was so unhappy. And I know him in his faith when he began to find peace and healing. And then Gary found Jan. His years with her were the happiest, and his music — and his faith — blossomed in new directions. I know him in the happiness of his last years, which were the very best.

How I know my brother Gary. Now I will know him in a new way. Through his son, Emile. Through his wife, Jan. Through our father and mother. Through our brothers, Greg and Jon. Through all who know him and love him, and through all whom he knows and loves — for he knows and loves us still. And we will know him through each other.

But even more than that, I will know him when I worship and when I pray. For he is now with Jesus. I will know him in my baptism, and at the communion table, the Table of the Lord. For we both belong to the body of Christ. So I will know him in our faith, and I look forward to the resurrection, or when I go to God — whichever comes first — when I will know Gary once again face to face.

By a Way You Do Not Know

Moses and the children of Israel were hemmed in. Before them was the Red Sea. Behind them, Pharaoh’s army was closing in. They could see no way out. Only days earlier, they had been filled with hope and rejoicing, but now that had quickly vanished. In Psalm 77, in a direct praise to God, the psalm writer recounts what happened next:

The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

(Psalm 77:18-20)

God did something completely unexpected: He made a path through the great waters of the sea. It was not there before they needed it and it closed in after they passed through it. But just when they needed a way, God made a path for them where they did not even know to look. When they first beheld the sea, all they saw was an impossible situation. But as Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). And the children of Israel walked through the sea on dry land.

Think of Abram. He was the son of an idol maker — a trade completely antithetical to the God of the Bible — and he was getting on in years. But one day God came to him anyway and said, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Then God made wonderful promises to him: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

So Abram believed and did as the Lord directed, though he had no idea where all this would take place or even how it would take place. After all, he was already 75 years old, and so was his wife, Sarai, who was well past child-bearing years. So what God promised him was impossible, at least from Abram’s point of view. But it came to pass anyway, and from him came a great nation — and a Redeemer — through whom all the families of the earth can now be blessed.

Finally, in the book of Isaiah, God describes how He will bring His people through, by a way they do not know.

I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.

(Isaiah 42:16)

Our human nature always wants to see the way before us, but God often leads us by ways we do not know, ways we would not recognize or understand even if we could see them. Our part, then, is not to see but to trust. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). God makes a way for us that we could never have imagined, and leads us through.

Learning Jesus, Finding Rest

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

The yoke Jesus is talking about here is not for plowing the fields or pulling the carts. It is about being with Jesus, side by side, and learning from Him. We can think about it in three ways, each one leading us to the next.

• Learning of Jesus. This is hearing about Jesus, learning about Jesus, and coming to Him. it begins with His invitation, “Come to Me.”
• Learning from Jesus. When we come to Jesus, He becomes our teacher and we become His disciple. We begin to learn from Him about many things.
• Learning Jesus. This goes beyond knowing about Jesus, and knowing the things He has taught us. It is about Jesus Himself, knowing Him more and more.

My wife and I have been married now for 35 years. We know each other. Not just about each other. She knows me and I know her. We have learned each other so that we can even anticipate one another (not that we cannot still surprise each other — the more I know her, the more each day becomes a revelation of her). It happened over time, day after day, year after year. Turning to each other, tuning to each other, deepening with each. There is now an ease that we have with each other. A confidence, a trust, a rest with each other.

That is what Jesus invites us to, to learn Him — and find rest.

Praying through my psalms for the day, Psalm 131 seems particularly appropriate to this:

My heart is not proud, LORD,
My eyes are not haughty,
I do not concern myself with great matters,
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
Like a weaned child I am content.

(Psalm 131:1-2 NIV2011)

Delivering Us to Love

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24 ESV)

In Galatians 3:24, Paul tells us that the Law of Moses was a paidagogos. The KJV translates this a “schoolmaster,” and the NKJV has it as “tutor,” but I think those give too big a role to the word. Young’s Literal Translation says, “child-conductor,” and the ESV and LEB say “guardian,” which I think gives us a more accurate idea. The Law, in Paul’s mind, was not so much about instruction as it was about keeping the people of Israel out of trouble until the Messiah. “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith,” Paul says.

The Law governed behavior, but God was always looking beyond behavior to the heart. The Law required circumcision of the flesh, but what God desired more than that was “circumcision of the heart.”

Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. (Deuteronomy 10:16)

And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts. (Jeremiah 4:4)

However, the Law could never produce that in us. Yet, what the Law could not do, the Lord Jesus has done in us Himself:

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)

So, what God has always been looking at is the heart. And what He has always been looking for is love — love for God and love for each other. That is what the Law and the Prophets were always pointing us to. Or as Jesus put it, loving God with everything in us and our neighbor as ourselves — all the Law and the Prophets hang on that (Matthew 22:35-40). So when we love, we fulfill what the Law and the Prophets were always calling us to.

In Ezekiel 36:26-27, God promised Israel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” I believe that is what God has now done for every believer in Jesus Christ. He has given us the Holy Spirit, who works in us and causes us to walk in His statutes, and to keep His judgments. How does the Spirit do this? By the fruit of the Spirit — love! And as Paul declares, “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). So the case is not that the Law no longer has significance for us but rather that it is fulfilled in us by the Spirit of God, through the fruit of love.

By the way, I believe that every Gentile believer is “grafted into” the “olive tree” that is Israel (see Romans 11:13-24), so that we receive the Messiah that was promised to Israel, the Spirit that was promised to Israel (for example, in Ezekiel 36:26-27), and the salvation that was promised to Israel. But that is a post for another day.

Perfectly Joined Together

Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together. (Psalm 122:3)

Jerusalem is Zion, “the city of our God … the city of the Great King” (Psalm 48:1-2). It is where the “tribes of the Lord” go up to worship the Lord and give thanks (Psalm 122:4). It is the place of the “house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).

The revelation of the New Testament is that there is a New Jerusalem, a heavenly city which will one day come down and join heaven and earth together as one — the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven. And all who believe on King Jesus the Messiah are now citizens of that city (see Praying With Zion).

The psalm writer says that “Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together.” One translation puts it this way: “Jerusalem is built as a city whose fellowship is complete” (this is Brenton’s English translation of the Septuagint, which is an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament).

For the psalm writer, Jerusalem was more than a geographical location, it represented a relationship — the people of the Lord entering together into His presence. It is a fellowship that is complete, compacted together.

Paul writes about the Church in a similar way. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, he admonishes the Jesus believers at Corinth to be “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” He wanted their attitude and behavior to reflect what was actually already true about them. And in his Ephesians letter, he describes that truth about our relationship as the body of Christ, with Christ as the head,

from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)

Joined and knit together. A city that is compact together, whose fellowship is complete. That is the truth about the heavenly Jerusalem and the reality of our identity in Christ. Let us, then, be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. In this way we will manifest who we are in Christ, and the unity that we truly have in Him.

Many or Few? A Surprising Answer

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

This is part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” It is a popular text for many preachers, one they can use in any number of sermons to bring a strong sense of urgency to whatever their message happens to be. Just tag on a few words about the narrow and broad ways, about how few find the narrow way that leads to life but many continue on the broad road to destruction. It plays well, especially to those who have assured themselves that they are among the few who are on the narrow way to life. And these are, after all, the “red letter” words, the word of Jesus.

However, this is not the end of the story. For not many verses later — in the very next chapter, in fact — Jesus says this:

Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:10-11)

Jesus had just healed the servant of a Roman centurion (Matthew 8:5-10). Being a centurion, this man understood very well the nature of authority but he also believed that Jesus had the authority to heal, and that made for a strong faith. The result is that his servant, though not even present, was healed at Jesus’ word.

Jesus commended the man’s faith. It was exactly the kind of faith He had been looking for in Israel, among the Jews, but had not found. And now here was an outsider who knew how to trust Him. But then Jesus talked about others just like this man, outsiders who would come from east and west and would be a part of the kingdom of God. Not just a few, but many would come. The Greek word for “many” here is the same one used earlier, about the “many” on the broad way to destruction. In the earlier passage, only a few would find the way to life. But here is this one, there are many who will enter it.

So which will it be, many or few? Will there be only a few who come into the kingdom of God and find life, or will there be many? We can find the answer to that by considering two things: Who is Jesus talking about, and when is Jesus talking about?

First, who was Jesus talking about? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was addressing the Jews, many of whom, whether they realized it or not, were on a path to destruction. But in Matthew 8:10-11, Jesus was talking about those who come from east and west — the outsiders, like the Roman centurion whose servant He had just healed. Not just a few, but many like him will come into the kingdom.

Second, when was Jesus talking about? Pay attention to the tenses that are used in each case. In Matthew 7:13-14, we find the present tense: “There are many” who go in by the broad gate, and “there are few” who find the narrow one. Jesus was not necessarily foretelling the way things would be in the future but He was talking about the way things presently stood. Many of the Jews were at that time on the wrong path, one that led to destruction. But surely one purpose of Jesus’ sermon was to show them the right path, the one leading to life. For He said that He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Now look at the tense used in Matthew 8:11: “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” This is future tense, not about the way things were at the time but about the way things will be in the future. Many will come, and many will sit down in the kingdom of heaven (the Greek text shows that both the coming and the sitting down are future tense).

There will be many, then, who enter into the kingdom of God and see life. Even among the Jews, we should not suppose that only a few will find it, for Jesus’ warning was not about what will be or must be, but only about what then was the case when Jesus began His ministry. Indeed, we can expect to see many Jews, as well, who will take their place in God’s eternal kingdom. For that appears to be Paul’s expectation as he concludes his long discussion about Israel in Romans 9-11, “And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

Short of the Glory

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Perhaps you have heard that one before. Many people have. It has been thundered from many pulpits and bellowed on a thousand street corners. Maybe you read it on a roadside billboard, or even on the side of a barn somewhere in rural America. Often the focus is on the bad news that “all have sinned,” and the problem that creates between us and God. Fair enough.

But there is also some good news hidden in that verse, and it is this: We were created to participate in the glory of God. Man was created in the image of God and according to His likeness.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

God’s plan from the beginning was for us to be like Him and to be His image in the world. In other words, we were created to bear the glory of God. Like the moon bears the glory of the sun and reflects it to the earth, we were meant to reflect His greatness and goodness to all creation.

The terrible news about sin is that by it we have “come short” of that glory. We have all “sinned.” The Greek word, hamartano, literally means to “miss the mark.” God created us to reflect His goodness, but we have done what is evil. God meant for us to show forth His righteousness, but we have done what is not right. Consequently, we have fallen far short of the glorious role He prepared for us.

But the good news is that in the Lord Jesus Christ that glory is being restored in us, as Christ lives His life through us, the Holy Spirit brings forth His fruit in us, and the Father conforms us to the image of His Son (Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:23-23; Romans 8:29). Indeed, the mystery that has been revealed in the gospel is that Christ in us is the hope, or expectation, of glory (Colossians 1:27). And now, as Paul says, “we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Seventy Times Seven

In the fragmented way we often read Bible passages, we usually do not hear how they resonate together, though they may be separated by many centuries. For example, take the case of Lamech, and how he rationalized killing another man:

Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” (Genesis 4:23-24)

In the Septuagint (aka, LXX), which is an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, the words for “seventy-sevenfold” are hebdomekontakis hepta.

Now contrast this with Matthew 18, where Peter asks the Lord Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (v. 21). Do you remember Jesus’ answer? “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (v. 22).

First, notice that Peter asks about forgiving his brother “seven times” (Greek, heptakis). Lamech spoke of Cain (who killed his brother, Abel, remember) being avenged “sevenfold” (in the LXX, heptakis). Peter is on to something here though he does not yet realize how far it is to extend.

But see how Jesus sets aside Peter’s limitations and says, “No, seventy times seven.” The Greek words are hebdomekontakis hepta, the same as in the old Greek translation of Genesis 4:24. These are the only two places in the Bible where this phrase is found. However, see how Jesus’ use of it brings a reversal.
In Genesis 4, Lamech’s use demonstrates how justified he felt in killing another man. “Seventy times seven” was the measure of how much his vengeance was worth. But on Jesus’ lips, “seventy times seven” is no longer about vengeance but forgiveness.

King Jesus overturns old paradigms and sets things right side up.

Lessons from Hebrews on the Nature of Faith

Hebrews 11 has often been called the “hall of fame of faith,” because of the litany of Old Testament saints and the dynamic of faith at work in their lives.

• When Abel “offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews11:4)
• When Noah “prepared an ark for the saving of his household,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews 11:7)
• When Abraham “obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews 11:8)
• When Abraham “dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews 11:9)
• When Abraham “offered up Isaac, and he who have received the promises offer up his only begotten son,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews 11:17)
• When Moses became of age and “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews 11:24-26)
• When Moses “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews 11:27)
• When Moses “kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them,” was it a matter of faith, or of works? (See Hebrews 11:28)

The answer, of course, is that it was all “by faith.” What does this tell us about the nature of faith?

The Gospel That Judges Our Secrets

In the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. (Romans 2:16)

“Gospel” means “good news.” Not just any bit of news that happens to be good. In the Bible, the Greek word for “gospel,” euangelion, is most often used in a particular sense: the announcement that the kingdom of God — and its King, Jesus the Messiah — has come.

According to the gospel Paul preached, there is coming a day when God will “judge the secrets of men.” This is the same message Paul preached to the philosophers at Mars Hill in Athens, declaring that God has “appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:31).

When God comes to judge, it means that He comes to set things right in the world. Whatever is out of joint will be brought back into proper alignment. Whatever is evil and cannot be put back right will be removed. And whatever is good and proper will be established forever.

This can be a very encouraging prospect — but also a very terrifying one. On one hand, there are a lot of things wrong in the world that we would love to see put right. But on the other hand, we realize deep down that we are part of what is wrong with the world. There is a story told about G. K. Chesterton that, in answer to the question, “What is wrong with the world?” he said quite simply: “I am.”

There is coming a day when God will judge the secrets of our hearts, yours and mine, and that is a sobering thought. We can fool others, and even ourselves, for a time, but we cannot fool God. “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

The gospel is supposed to be “good news,” but when the secrets of our hearts are finally revealed, will it truly be good news for us? For those who have entrusted themselves to the Lord Jesus, the answer is Yes!

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

And here is the secret that rescues us from the secrets of our own hearts: In Jesus the Messiah, God gives us a new heart, just as He promised His people in the Old Testament.

This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:33)

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

This promise is not just for Israel but for all who receive the Lord Jesus. “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 1:27).

On that day when King Jesus comes and judges the secrets of our hearts, He will find a new heart and a new spirit — the Holy Spirit — at work in us. That is why He came, to bring this about. And He will be satisfied with what He has done in us.

The Rich, Young Ruler in Three Scenes

Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17)

Jesus’ encounter with the “rich young ruler” (RYR) is the middle scene in a three-scene narrative. Matthew, Mark and Luke include all three scenes together and in the same order. Notice what comes before and what comes after.

• First, there is the blessing of the children, where Jesus says, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Mark 10:13-16; see also Matthew 19:13-15 and Luke 18:15-17).
• Second, along comes the RYR, who asks, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17-22; see also Matthew 19:16-22 and Luke 18:18-23). Then a brief exchange follows between him and Jesus.
• Third, after the RYR departs, Jesus says, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23-31; see also Matthew 19:23-30 and Luke 18:24-30).

Let’s take a closer look. In the first scene, Jesus says that only those who receive the kingdom of God as a “little child” will enter it. Now, the thing about a little child is that he has nothing. No position, no power, no possessions — nothing! He is completely dependent upon his parents for his well-being, and apart from them he is helpless.

That is how it is with the kingdom of God. We do not enter it or receive it by anything of ourselves. Neither position, nor power nor possessions will gain it for us. We must come helpless, totally dependent upon God.

And now here comes the RYR. He is loaded with position, power and possessions. But he realizes that there is something he is missing. He wants to know about how he can inherit “eternal life,” which is, literally, the “life of the age to come.” In other words, he wants to know how to receive the kingdom of God, which is all about the age to come (yet which has already broken into this present age). Of course, Jesus has already answered that question in the first scene: The only way one can receive the kingdom of God is as a little child.

Let’s be clear here: the problem is not that the RYR has all these possessions, the problem is that he trusts in them. He depends on them to see him through whatever comes his way. That is revealed when Jesus tells him to go and sell what he has and give the proceeds to the poor. The RYR is quite saddened to hear that because he has a lot of possessions. So he goes away, grieved and offended.

But that is not the end of the story. There is yet another scene. After the RYR leaves, Jesus says to His disciples, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24). Obviously, He is referring to the young man in the previous scene. The RYR was trusting in his riches, yet seeking to enter the kingdom of God and inherit eternal life.

On the other hand, here are the disciples, puzzling over what Jesus has just said, and asking among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” Comparing these three scenes, we can see that “saved” means “inherit eternal life” means “enter the kingdom of God.”

So, Peter starts in and says to Jesus, “See, we have left all and followed You,” as if to ask, “What about us?” The disciples are not trusting in their possessions — they have left all that behind to follow Jesus. They did what the RYR was unwilling to do. Their faith is now in Jesus. So Jesus answers,

Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)

The disciples are no longer trusting in their possessions, yet they will have more than they need for life in this present age — “and in the age to come, eternal life.” Eternal life. Isn’t that exactly what the RYR came seeking? And he could have received it, too, except that he was trusting in his riches. But he went away sad, not willing to give up what he had, yet having no assurance that what he possessed would be sufficient to see him through this present life, let alone the life to come.

Then Jesus adds the kicker: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31). The kingdom of God turns everything upside down. Or right side up, depending on your perspective. The RYR had everything in life — position, power and possessions. He thought he would be a shoe-in to be among the first, but it turns out that he will be among the last. Yet, those who receive the kingdom of God like a little child, who put no trust in position or power or possessions but in the Lord alone, even though they might appear to be among the last and the least in this life, they will be among the first in the kingdom of God.

The Unveiling of Jesus the Messiah

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants — things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. (Revelation 1:1)

Revelation is an “unveiling.” That is what the Greek word apocalypse, which is translated as “revelation,” means. It is a compound word, from apo, “off” or “away,” and kalypto, “cover.” It is taking away the cover, like pulling back the curtain of a stage play to reveal what is happening behind the scenes. That is what this book does for us, it pulls back the curtains and shows us how the gospel — the announcement that the kingdom of God has come and Jesus Christ is the King —plays out in history and changes the world.

Notice that the revelation of Jesus Christ is something God gave to Jesus Christ to show to His servants. It was given to Jesus but it is also about Jesus, and has everything to do with it means in the world that Jesus is Lord — what it meant for John’s day, what it means for the end of the age, and what it means for the time in between.

In this opening verse of Revelation, John gives us three important clues about how to interpret the rest of the book. First, John immediately identifies it as an apocalypse. This clearly indicates that it belongs to a specific genre known as apocalyptic. This Jewish form of literature is visionary, highly pictorial, draws heavily on the Old Testament prophets and portrays what will happen in heaven as well as on earth, and how everything will turn out for the people of God. Recognizing the genre as apocalyptic alerts us that the book of Revelation is not to be read as straight prose, or as a newspaper-like account of history in advance, but as a highly stylized form of literature that requires some decoding.

Second, the content of Revelation is about what God gave to the Lord Jesus to show it to His servants. The Lord Jesus, in turn, sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. The Greek word for “show” has to do with what is seen. The book of Revelation is a collection of visions John was shown and it records what he both saw and heard in those visions. The word for “signify” is semaino and has to do with what is indicated or made known by a sign or symbol. These two terms, “show” and “signified,” alert us that the content of Revelation is not meant to be taken literally but symbolically.

Third, the book of Revelation is about “things which must shortly take place.” The Greek for “shortly” is en tachei. It is about things that would not only happen quickly but would also happen “soon,” which is how many major translations render it (e.g., NIV, NASB, ESV, NRSV). There is no suggestion that it will be delayed for an indefinite period of time (such as hundreds or even thousands of years) and then happen quickly whenever it does begin, however far in the future that may be. Quite the opposite, John reinforces the nearness of these thing when he says, in verse 3, “for the time is at hand.” At the end of the book, in Revelation 22:6, John reiterates, “And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon [en tachei] take place. ‘And behold, I am coming soon [tachu]. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book’” (ESV). And in Revelation 22:10, John once again observes, “for the time is at hand.” This alerts us that the book of Revelation, though it was about the future, was mostly about what was for John and his audience the near future, and not some distant time.

The Verdict on Judgment Day (Part 2)

(Part 1)

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. (Romans 2:6-10 ESV)

There is coming a day when God will judge each one of us according to our works. On that day of judgment, there will be only two outcomes: For those who do what is good, eternal life. For those who do not obey the truth but do what is wrong and unjust, there will be wrath and fury. There is no middle ground, no compromise solution.

When Paul speaks of “law” in his letter to the Jesus believers at Rome (also in his letter to the believers in Galatia), he is not referring to some general principle of right and wrong, or of conscience or consciousness about such a general principle, but to the Torah God gave His people through Moses.

Paul asserts that the “doers of the law will be declared righteous.” His Jewish readers at Rome may have had the written Torah, engraved in stone, but that did not give them a leg up on the Gentiles in regard to God’s judgment at the last day. That is because it is not those who hear the law but those who do the law who will be justified, that is, “declared righteous.”

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:13-16 ESV)

Who are these Gentiles who “by nature do what the law requires” and have the law “written on their hearts”? Merely a hypothetical group conjured up for the sake of argument, a null set with no actual members? I do not think so. Rather, I believe they are Gentiles who have come to faith in Jesus the Messiah. The law of God written on the heart was the very thing God promised He would do for His people in the age of Messiah:

For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (Ezekiel 36:24-27)

Jeremiah refers to this same reality in terms of the new covenant, and also speaks of the law of God written on the heart:

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)

So when Paul speaks of Gentiles who have the law of God “written on their hearts,” he is referring to the new covenant reality that Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied by the Spirit of God. God has given every believer in Jesus the Holy Spirit, by whom is written the law of God on our hearts. The fruit of the Spirit produces in us all the things God requires but which the law never could produce (see The Spirit of God Fulfills Righteousness in Us). The surprising things for many Jews in the days of the early Church was that God would do this not just for believing Jews but also for believing Gentiles.

Now let’s move forward a few verses to the end of Romans 2, which is still very much in the flow of the same context:

For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (Romans 2:25-29 ESV)

Who is Paul describing here? Merely some people who have a primal remnant consciousness of right and wrong? No. He is speaking of those who are of the true circumcision, a circumcision “of the heart.” It is done not by the letter of the law but by the Spirit of God. See how Paul speaks of this “circumcision of the heart” elsewhere, in Philippians 3:3 and Colossians 2:11.

The Gentiles Paul describes in Romans 2, then, are believers in the Lord Jesus who, though they are Gentiles outwardly, are Jews inwardly. They are people upon whose hearts God has written his Law, just as He promised to do for His people. And they have been given the true, inward circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit, just as God promised.

So on that day when every person is judged according to their works, the work God has done in us through His Son and by His Spirit will confirm that the verdict He has already announced to us in this present time, through faith in Jesus the Messiah, is a completely just and appropriate one. That verdict will not be based on anything of our own initiative, our own abilities, or our own works but completely on God’s gracious initiative in Christ, His almighty power and the work of the Holy Spirit in us and through us. That is why Paul can say of those, both Jew and Gentile, who believe on Jesus the Messiah:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)

Random Thoughts

Some thoughts culled from my random file. Some have occurred to me in moments of quiet reflection, some in discussion with others. For your edification, inspiration and/or amusement — or your money cheerfully refunded.

• I have given up the idea of doing “great things” for God — I don’t trust my judgment anymore about what is “great.” I am learning to be content with doing what God leads me to do. He knows what He wants me to do, and I believe that will actually end up being the greatest thing I can do, whether or not it appears that way to me at the start. After years of ministry, I have learned that it is often the small things, things I don’t even remember doing or saying, that have the greatest effect.
• If anyone thinks of ministry as a competition, he has already cut corners and is headed for trouble.
• True ministry in the lives of others is always something initiated by God. We plan it one way, it often happens another. We stumble into it. We back into it. We wake up in the middle of it.
• My advice to anyone who feels “called to ministry,” is to understand that the ministry is not his or hers — it belongs to Jesus. The ability to do ministry does not come from themselves — it comes from the Holy Spirit. When we yield it all completely to God, He will do amazing things through us, above all we could ask or imagine, because it will be His power at work in us.
• My advice for Christians in other fields is similar. Our vocation (“calling”) is an assignment from the Lord, and it belongs to the Lord because we belong to the Lord. If He has called us to it, He will provide whatever we need to accomplish it. And when we yield it all completely to God, He will do amazing things through it, above all we could ask or imagine, because it will be His power at work in us.
• I view preaching, both in the prep and in the delivery, as dynamic, not static. It is a process. I want to be aware of not just what the Word and the Spirit have said but they are saying in regard to the people to whom I am ministering. I have often experienced the message I end up delivering to be more effective than the one I prepared. There has often been an overlap between the two, of course, but not a 1:1 ratio. That said, I don't think it is usually necessary to announce that the Holy Spirit has given me something to preach that is different from what I prepared. I just go with what God is giving me, and count the prep for preaching to be a matter of the preparation of my heart as much (and usually more) than the preparation of my notes.
• I don’t actually think much in terms of obedience. I think more in terms of loving God and loving others and letting the love of God work through me. It’s been said that we become like what we behold. As I get older, I find that my desire is to behold God more. In that, I discover that godly things flow out of my life, not as a matter of obedience or discipline or discipleship, but more naturally than that.
• What does faith mean in the face of disappointment and tragedy? Faith does not deny the reality of tragedy, sickness or death, but it says that God is bigger than all those things, that He gets the last word on them and that that last word is a good one.
• “Your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). Young men see what is, old men see what will be. Both aspects speak of awareness of who we are, where we are and why we are. God is from eternity — He takes the long view. His plans and purposes endure. “He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations” (Psalm 105:8). God has dreams a thousand generations long.
• Every thought, word and deed should flow out of love for and relationship with God. Do nothing except what His love compels you to do.
• The size of your God determines the size of your miracle. That is, how great and powerful and good you understand God to be will determine how big a miracle you will be able to believe Him for. Little God, little miracle. Big God, big miracle.
• What does it cost to change the world? Everything. But it is well worth the price.
• When you learn how to hear, you will know what to do.
• Intimate relationship with God is the seedbed for every pure desire.
• “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Believe the love.
• Faithfulness — the ability to walk in faith, exercise faith, be full of faith.
• Discipleship — in training to be like Jesus. Not a program but a relationship with Jesus and His people.