New Thoughts (06/09/14-06/14/14)
The Limits of Prophecy (06/10/14)
The comments made upon this passage have brought me to recognize a particular brilliance in what Peter has done here. In these verses he has amplified our privilege by showing us the prophets and angels who would know more of what we know as our possession. Simultaneously, he has done us great service in curbing our idolatrous tendencies towards both prophets and angels.
This is something needful for us. The Jews held the OT prophets in sufficiently high regard that they are referred to as the Prophets. Even today, I think we hold them in honored memory. In some branches of the Church, the modern-day claimants to the prophetic mantel are held in esteem as high if not higher. We read that we ought not despise the prophet and take it as cause to leave every purported prophecy unexamined, taken as writ without question. But, look! They don’t even know the whole of what they write. If they are true prophets, after all, they are not speaking from their own wisdom, but by the inspiration of God Himself. They spoke, and then they hungered to know what it all meant. They knew in part, but not in so great a part as do we.
Likewise the angels who are often sent out on missions directly to our benefit. Yes, they are mighty beings, and awesome. But, they are not to be worshiped, nor would they except such. They are not ours to command. No! And in this comparison they are shown at the same time greater and less than we. They are greater in that they already dwell in heaven. They are greater in that they – at least those in heaven still – have no personal acquaintance with sin, modern cinematic portrayals notwithstanding. But, they are less in that they have no personal acquaintance with redemption and therefore have a somewhat lesser taste of the grace of God. But, let me save further comment on the angels for its proper place.
Let us stick with the human for the moment: The prophets. That these were men speaking under the inspiration of God is a matter beyond dispute. It gets to the very definition of their office. Yes, they served, as the Reformers would hold, as covenant prosecutors. But, they also served as direct spokesman for the God of the Covenant. As I have already noted, though, this is not the same as saying they fully understood what they proclaimed. That is exactly Peter’s point. They prophesied, yes. But, they followed that with careful search and inquiry. Matthew Henry writes, “Their being inspired did not make their industrious search needless.” That’s a useful corrective for those of us with charismatic leanings. Inspiration is not an alternative to study. It is at best a delivery of materials for study.
Now, there is some room for debate as to what all these prophets did understand. Mr. Henry holds that they had at least some grasp of the Trinitarian nature of God. If, he reasons, they knew the Spirit of Christ inspired them, they must also have known that the Spirit was separate from Christ Himself. For, they prophesied a man, not a spirit. Mr. Barnes, on the other hand, points out that while Peter quite rightly declares them indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, there is no reason to suppose they understood that it was He. To be sure, they knew themselves inspired of God, but that does not automatically lead one to suppose them aware of the Triune nature of God, or even, I should think, of the godhead embodied in Messiah. Barnes concludes that there is no indication in their written record that they understood it was Messiah Himself who inspired them to prophesy of Messiah.
We do well to be reminded that the greatest of prophets was yet a man such as ourselves. Isaiah was as much a man in need of salvation as you or I. As Barnes points out, prophesying does not save the prophet, nor preaching the preacher. This does far more, then, than correct our tendency to put such men on a spiritual pedestal of sorts. If we are inclined to lift them up beyond their due measure, far more do we exalt ourselves! We see ourselves used by God for this work or that, and take that to be something to boast of. We are still, for all that we know better, inclined towards a works based view of salvation. We still suppose ourselves to be earning entrance. Look what we have done for the Lord! Surely, He will save us now. But, the reality is that He has saved us, and the fact that He chooses to use us is at best an evidence of that salvation already accomplished.
But, I am ever mindful of this: God can and does use whomever or whatever He pleases. Even Pharaoh was used by the Lord. Even the devil is used by God. As such, they could claim to be doing things for the Lord, not that they would be so inclined. But, clearly, that usage does not render them saved. Neither do our works render us saved. Salvation renders our works sweet to our own taste. We take pleasure in finding we have been of service to our Lord and King. But, we simultaneously see our meager efforts as wholly insufficient and unworthy of comment. We are but doing as we ought, being servants of the Most High. Preaching won’t save the preacher. Written more generally, works won’t save the worker.
In one manner of understanding things, preaching and prophecy are very nearly identical, if not exactly so. The purpose of both is to ‘tell forth’ the word of God. The one comes by direct inspiration, the other by study. Or, so we might make the distinction. I’m not so sure it’s that cut and dried. But, this much we can say: Neither is of value apart from the Spirit of God. The most talented preacher with the most finely written sermon will change nothing except the Spirit is present not only in him but in his hearers.
Here, I would turn to Adam Clarke, whose words on this subject are particularly striking. “Christ was never known by prophecy, but through his own Spirit; and he never was known, nor can be known, to the salvation of any soul, but by a revelation of the same Spirit. It is he alone that bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God.” The same might be said while replacing prophecy with preaching. To be sure, Scripture is perfectly clear on the point that we must preach. “How shall they call on one in whom they have not believed, and how shall they believe in Him if they’ve never heard of Him? Will they hear if we don’t preach? And, how shall we preach if we aren’t sent?” (Ro 10:14-15a). It is a great work the preacher does, and he ought rightly to feel compelled to do so, just as the prophet felt utterly compelled to prophesy – often against their own better judgment. (Isa 53:1 - Who has believed our message?) But, let us not fall into thinking it is our words, our oratory that gets the job done. It is the Spirit of God Himself, else the work is fruitless vanity.
Now, those who know me will know that I have yet this abiding question as to prophecy. How could I not? I came to faith in a Pentecostal church and grew in a Charismatic one. I have prophesied myself, or at least spoken prophetically. That, at least, is my understanding of the matter. I do not make any claim to revelation by that statement, only to have been operating under the immediate direction of the Holy Spirit. I have known times when my actions and my words were not my own. I have spoken things too wise for my own understanding. I have done things without quite knowing why, only to find out after the fact that this was to God’s purpose.
So, then, when I encounter this brick wall of Reformed teaching that declares the charismata long since ended, I find it difficult to accept. I consider the Scriptures and find no clear evidence to support such a claim. Indeed, I find much in the Apostolic record to suggest the opposite. Going through the material for this particular study, I encountered one passage I could almost take as supporting the cessationist viewpoint. It comes out of Daniel’s prophecy of Messiah and the end times. “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your city, to finish transgression and make an end of sin, to atone for iniquity and bring in eternal righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place” (Dan 9:24). I have underlined the salient point. If vision and prophecy are to be sealed up at that time that would certainly suggest an end to them. The question, then, is what is that time?
This is not the time or place for me to enter into a full scale study of Daniel either in whole or in part. I can, however, recognize two possibilities. The first is that this prophecy points to the Ascension of Christ. Hebrews indicates that Christ, at His ascension, cleansed the Holy Place in heaven, which must assuredly be the ‘most holy place’. What could be more holy? If that is what Daniel refers to, then indeed we have cause to suppose prophecy at an end. But, it is also possible that this points farther afield, to the time of Christ’s return and the completion of the kingdom when all is restored as it ought to be and every last vestige of sin and sin’s effects have been removed. If that is the case, then prophecy rightly continues.
This latter understanding seems more in keeping with Paul’s point, that, “We know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away” (1Co 13:9). If that referred to the Ascension, then it was already done and there’s no point discussing it further. But, Paul speaks of some future point, and that would seem to require our coming to perfection, to that point when “I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1Co 13:12). That whole section of Paul’s letter, of course, deals with the charismata in proper use. Again, if these things ceased with the ministry of Jesus, to what end this long treatise on their use? They would have no use, and ought properly to have been thoroughly discouraged by the Apostles.
So, then, another verse that came up is Revelation 19:10. This passage will provide transition to the topic of angels, but it also speaks to the matter of prophecy. John had fallen at the feet of this being in worship, but the being was not to be worshiped. He told John straight out. “Don’t do that! I am your fellow servant. Worship God!” Then comes this statement. “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Clemens Alexandrinus, apparently building upon this very passage, declared that Christ is, “Lord of all the prophetic spirit.” This clarifies the point that the Spirit is the Spirit is the Spirit. Whether spoken of as Holy Spirit, Spirit of God or Spirit of Christ, He is the same Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. Apart from Him there can be no prophecy; no true prophecy. Taking it back a point, apart from Him, the truest of prophecies would be to no avail, for His presence in the hearer is a necessity to there being fruitful hearing.
But, as concerns this matter of the validity of modern-day prophecy, it seems to me that this message from Revelation could be construed as suggesting it continues. Jesus continues. His testimony continues. We call it the Gospel. If this continues and this is the spirit of prophecy, then do we not rightly say that prophecy continues? Or, ought we more properly to understand this angelic being as indicating that the testimony of Jesus is the proper subject matter of prophecy? It assuredly is, and as Peter is showing us, it always has been. Yet, if it is the topic, as opposed to was the topic, then again it would appear to imply that prophecy continues.
The Limits of Angels (06/12/14)
As concerns the angels, there is assuredly much about them of which to be in awe. They are powerful beings and blessed to serve our Lord through eternity. Yet, Scripture tells us we are but a little lower than they, and that for a season. There will come that time when our redemption is completed and we, who alone in creation are made in the image of God, shall be made like Him. We alone shall have experienced the wonder of His grace poured out and of His atoning work on our behalf.
It puts me in mind of those whose testimony consists in relaying a faith that goes back as far as they can remember. They hear the things God pulled some of the things God rescued the rest of us from and feel their testimony to be of less value by comparison. They did not experience the lifting from the depths and perhaps have more difficulty relating to those still in the depths. But, their testimony, as we so often feel need to remind them, is wonderful in itself. How glorious that God can preserve one so in the midst of so fallen a world!
We could consider the angels in a similar light. There is this matter of lifting from the Fall that they can only witness, not experience. To be clear, the evidence shows that angels can indeed fall. But, so far as we understand what is revealed in Scripture, no provision is made for their restoration. Is it any wonder that they are so intrigued? If you think how you pray for that lost friend of yours, or that wayward child, is there reason to suppose that they are so different? Perhaps they had friends amongst those fallen angels. Do we suppose them passionless beings with no care for their fellows? Yes, God’s will reigns supreme, and they are more fully attuned to that than we are as yet. But, that does not preclude concern for those who have fallen.
We are indeed possessed of a privilege of which they have reason to wonder. We have this marvelous salvation, a thing beyond heaven’s experience. It is ours already, and we are assured of the full experience of it in God’s time. In light of that, there is something from Isaiah 53 that hit like a slap in the face (which I expect it was intended to do). “As for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?” (Isa 53:8). Reading that, there is the almost inevitable attempt to relegate that to Israel in the first decades AD. Ah! Isaiah is talking about the Pharisees and the Sadducees. But, no! We are still His generation. We have a tendency to ignore this reality unless constantly reminded.
When I paraphrased that chapter, I arrived at this rendering: “None considered that it was for their own sins.” We are a forgetful people. Even though we who have believed on Christ believe He died for our sins we still, I suspect, do not really consider it. We know it and yet, at the same time, we go on about our lives as if it were not true. We’re still pretty sure we have to do something. We’re still pretty sure we did do something, that in spite of Scripture’s testimony we really are somehow worthy of this grace God poured out. But, we are not.
Now, I’ve headed this particular section ‘The Limits of Angels’. To be clear, though, as Calvin points out, Peter is not telling us our knowledge is greater than theirs. What Peter is indicating is their desire to see the promises to us fulfilled. Why? Because this magnifies and exemplifies the glory of God in the highest. As I have also suggested, there may be another desire interwoven: That they might see similar grace upon their fellow angels. Although, in this as in all things, Deo volente. This is something we do well to develop as our own perspective. It is well to long for the salvation of our lost companions and family members. It is not well to place their salvation above God’s will. If God has so determined that they shall not be saved, far be it from us to complain. God is glorified, and it is enough. That may sound callous, but it is not. It is honorable to Him who alone deserves all honor.
One final point regarding Peter’s mention of angels: The seeming allusion to the cherubim over the mercy seat. This seems to have come up in pretty much every commentary. For the most part, it is taken as a given that Peter has this intent. Alone amongst those I read, Barnes indicates that this is not a necessary takeaway, although it is certainly possible. He takes it a step further in noting that we don’t really know with great exactitude just what posture those cherubim above the Ark really assumed.
That said, the particular term Peter has pulled out to describe their observation, parakupsai, does indicate a stooping down to get a better look. It is the term used to describe the reaction of Peter and Mary at the empty tomb. It is also used by James to discuss our own interest in the ‘perfect law of liberty’ (Jas 1:25). Looking at the description of the mercy seat in Exodus 25:20, the cherubim are described simply as facing one another with faces toward the mercy seat. That ‘toward’ is ‘el, which does suggest motion towards a thing, but can mean only near. Still, the mercy seat is a clear type of Christ, and it would not be unfitting to see this image of the cherubim intent upon the mercy seat as a foreshadowing of this angelic interest of which Peter writes. In both cases, the object of their attention is the redemption of man; which is to say their attention is on the greatest manifestation of God’s glory.
The Limits of Inquiry (06/12/14)
As I have already pointed out, Peter’s mention of prophets and angels serves a dual purpose: To encourage us to be steadfast, and to temper our esteem for these fellow servants of God. Let me add a third purpose: As we see the response of prophet and angel to the partial revelation of God’s redemptive plan, we are taught our own boundaries. We are given limits as to the extent of our probing, and also as to the means.
Let me borrow from Calvin and from Matthew Henry to make my point clear. The desire to more fully comprehend what God is pointing us towards is lawful and holy. That prophets longed for deeper knowledge of what was revealed to them is not sinful. But, desire to know does not somehow bind God to answer. Desire to know, as Calvin points out, does not rule out patient waiting. I could take to Augustine and point out that where God has determined He will not answer, it is no longer proper for us to insistently inquire. It certainly is not permitted us to derive an answer of our own because He has been silent.
We may apply this to our study of Scripture, to be sure. I can think of many times I have had a question as to some matter that has come up in the course of study. On some occasions, the answer has come almost immediately. On others, the answer came some time later, when my studies had proceeded to some subsequent passage. Then, there are those questions which have, so far as I can recollect, never been answered. It’s God’s prerogative. There’s no harm in asking, but there is great harm in demanding.
That same lesson applies to our prayers which are, after all, a form of inquiry as well. To ask is lawful and holy. To demand answer is not. To demand the shape of the answer is not. It is indeed one of our most blessed assurances that God does not answer according to our wisdom, but according to His. I really liked Matthew Henry’s statement on this. “God is pleased to answer our necessities rather than our requests.” That is the very definition of that particular, agape love that God has for us. He will do for us as we need. He will do for us as we need even when our need runs contrary to our desire.
There is another aspect of this that the JFB brings out, which again gets to our own boundaries. The prophets, as Peter describes for us, were not diligently pursuing salvation. I think we should argue that the prophets were already possessed of salvation, albeit in future promise. Not, it was not salvation they pursued, but concerning salvation. They knew their Redeemer was coming just as we know He has come and will come again. But, this did not prevent them from desiring to know the time and nature of His coming.
As we have been going through the book of Revelation during our Sunday sermons this last little while, it is quite clear that many questions remain regarding Christ’s return. There is a reason so much is written about this text, and why there was some question as to its canonicity. We are curious to know when and how the end comes. We are anxious to arrive at home once for all, to know an end to sin and suffering. We hate the unknown. It’s just part of our nature. Uncertainty unsettles us. But, the one thing God has told us is certain is that we shall remain uncertain as to the timing until the time is come. We know, too, that when He comes, there will be no uncertainty about it.
There is also this point which Calvin makes. The prophets did not seek to reason out the coming of the kingdom, as if the power of human thought was sufficient to the task. They sought, Calvin would have it, revelation by the Spirit. Now, other commenters have said that they were comparing notes, examining each other’s revelations. Daniel had the weeks. Isaiah had the character of the Suffering Servant. Others had their own particular contributions to the picture. Did each prophet look to those who had preceded him and to his contemporaries in this pursuit of understanding? There’s no reason these two ideas must be held as mutually exclusive. After all, the writings of another prophet were as much Spirit-revealed as their own.
The bound is back with reasoning versus revelation, and it is to this boundary that Calvin points us. From the prophets we learn to set our bounds properly to that which the Spirit reveals. The corollary is that without the Spirit presiding over our investigations, curiosity knows no bounds. We need look no further than the scientific pursuits of our own times to recognize this. Scientific inquiry has too often consisted in curiosity unbound. Without the presiding Spirit it devolves into the perspective that what is possible to do is thereby acceptable to do. The physical possibility is automatically the moral propriety. Clearly, this is wrong and yet we as a society tend to take it as writ.
Far better we remember our boundaries and let the Spirit preside. May He preside not only in our theological pursuits, but in all our pursuits. May we learn once more the proper limits of inquiry, lest we destroy ourselves with knowledge too great for us.
Continuity (06/13/14)
I have labeled this part ‘Continuity’, and I will address that in two ways. The first follows Peter’s thinking. There is a distinct continuity between the prophets who spoke and the preacher who speaks. They present the same message, only from different perspectives. The prophets declared the One Who would come to die for you. The preacher speaks of Him as well; as the One Who came. The message is the same because the One speaking is the same. The prophets were prophets because, as Peter presents it, the Spirit of Christ spoke through them. The preacher preaches as the same Spirit of Christ speaks through him. It is the same Spirit, the same Christ, Who fills both with word of the Kingdom of God. It is that same Spirit of Christ Who also opens your eyes and ears to lay hold of what He is saying, to hear effectively and to respond accordingly.
The Spirit of Christ is still speaking! I don’t care if you’re a Charismatic or a Fundamentalist. It doesn’t change this essential fact. Either the Spirit of Christ speaks through your pastor or your pastor speaks in vain. I could put it somewhat differently. Either the Spirit is informing your Christianity or you haven’t got Christianity. This is not in any way to suggest the canon of Scripture isn’t closed. It is not to suggest that every Spirit-filled preacher speaks with authority equal to the Apostles. It is not even to propose that modern-day prophecy is on a par with that which has been given us. The Scripture is our rule, our only rule. By it we measure every word that is given us as godly. By it we measure the preacher’s sermon. By it we measure the words of the prophet. By it we measure our own thoughts and imaginations. It is the standard of the Truth of God and what does not accord with it must be set aside as falsehood.
There is continuity, as I say, because there is one God ensuring that continuity. There is One Spirit. He is set forth under many names, but He is One. This is fundamental for us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of God. He is One Spirit. This in itself sets the Trinity before us, for as Spirit is Spirit is Spirit so Person is Person is Person. The Holy Spirit is God as the Christ is God as the Father is God. They are One though Three. They are the same and yet not interchangeable. It would be impossible to describe this reality with proper accuracy. Our language and our thinking do not permit of it. Yet it is the reality of God: One and Three, Three in One. Behold the Lord your God, He is One. Father, Son and Spirit, He is One. And He is speaking still. He speaks the Gospel of His kingdom, calling all whom He wills to call that they may repent and believe.
I returned to this passage for our prayer time this last Wednesday: They asked Jesus, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” And Jesus gave answer: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (Jn 6:28-29). Do you know, re-reading that this morning I am coming away with a completely different understanding than I did Wednesday! If you had asked me then, I would have said Jesus was correcting our idea of working our way into the kingdom, reminding us that it’s all God’s doing or it’s not done at all. But, I look with fresh eyes this morning and see the nature of the question that was asked. They wanted to work miracles. Jesus says, “Here’s the miracle! You believe!”
And it is a miracle. It is a thing impossible to the normal course of nature. But, God stepped into His creation and made it so. The Spirit of Christ entered into you and you believed. The things you may have heard a million times to no effect suddenly come clear. He is real! He lives! You really are a sinner and He really did die for your sins in order that you might know forgiveness and live.
You would see miracles in our time? Forget the charismata. This is way bigger! You want to see miracles, preach the Gospel. Angels got this part a long time ago. Every time one of us poor benighted humans comes into the Light of Life it is the greatest of miracles. God has worked the work of God (and who else could)! A sinner has become righteous. An infinite debt has been paid in full. Is it any wonder they rejoice at the news? See the glory of God made marvelously manifest!
Let us, then, reconsider the humble preacher. He does not make bold pronouncements of sudden inspiration. He doesn’t preface his remarks with, “Thus sayeth the Lord”. He doesn’t look for or even desire to have some sort of atmospheric phenomena backing his words. He doesn’t need them. His words are from the Spirit of the Living God, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit through Whom you have hope of hearing to any avail. He speaks as the Spirit gives him utterance and don’t you doubt it for a minute! He knows full well that his ministry, like any other, depends on the Holy Spirit for efficacy. Put simply, either God is doing it or it isn’t getting done. We are but vessels for His glory, tools in His hands, and gladly used of Him.
Calvin looks back upon this period and writes to the effect that men were the preachers and ministers but the Spirit was the teacher. Again, if He is not in it, it is of no value. If He is not speaking, the words are empty. If He is not listening (to bring it to the other side of the conversation), the words fall on deaf ears. The preacher is not any the poorer for that. But, we are infinitely poorer.
I asked myself the question when first I came through this passage and it bears considering again. Do I give such heed to the sermon as befits hearing the Holy Spirit speak? I am not suggesting hearing the man of God speak as if infallible himself. No. He is a man like unto myself, if better trained and prepared for this particular labor. He has his failings as do I. He is capable of misunderstanding as am I. He is capable of misinterpreting as am I. As is Calvin, or Martin Luther, or Augustine or any other godly man who has sought to proclaim God’s truth since the Apostles left the stage. Yet, fallible though these men may be, yet they speak by the Holy Spirit. I do well to hear Him and not them. I do well to honor the word of God as it comes forth. I do well to treat it as the Spirit speaking even if it does not come with the flashiness familiar to me from earlier years. It’s not the flash that indicates God is speaking. It’s the Truth of the message.
I will add one more thought on this matter of continuity and sourcing. As the Spirit of Christ presides over the ministering pastor, and as He presided over the prophets of old, so must He preside over all who would teach the Gospel. Here, too, I am indebted to Calvin for the thought. This, then, includes me in its scope. If my teaching, both here in these studies where I primarily teach myself and in my efforts at adult Christian education, is not presided over by the Spirit of Christ, if my teaching is not pointing such students as I may have to the Gospel, then it is fruitless, egotistical, self-promotion and nothing more. And I don’t doubt for a moment that I am capable of just such a fallen, miserably self-serving approach to the task. Oh! How we want the admiration of our fellows. How we wish to be seen as something. Look at my knowledge of Scripture! Look at my effort. Look at my holiness.
Pharisee! If they’re looking at me how shall they see God? If they’re following me, well! Insofar as I am following Christ I suppose that’s all well and good. But, what, when I take a wrong turn? What when I’m blindly chasing the things of this world? Follow me? Not if you know what’s good for you! Follow Christ! If I can help, praise God! If I am a hindrance, O brother, correct me, and you take the lead for a while. The Spirit of Christ must preside over all who teach. The Spirit of Christ must preside over all who would hear. The Spirit of Christ must be all and in all, or all is lost.
Mission (0613/14-06/14/14)
The mission of the Church is to be seen in the behavior of these prophets, which is to say it is to be seen in the working of God Himself. What we see unfolding throughout history, what we have experienced firsthand in our own lives, is that God grows His kingdom. That is primarily the mission set before us: Grow God’s kingdom. But, in His workings we find our model for doing so. How does God grow His kingdom? By reaching His enemies and making them friends! “If while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Ro 5:10). That’s it! That’s the mission!
So, then, the prophets heard from God of His plan of redemption. They saw that it would entail His enemies being made His friends. Consider Jonah’s reaction to the work of God in Assyria. I knew you’d go and save them, God. That’s why I didn’t want to come here. That is a poor comment on Jonah as a spokesman for God, but it is a marvelous display of God’s missionary methods! But, more generally, the thing we are seeing in Peter’s words here is that these prophets understood that what was being revealed to them was not primarily for their own benefit, nor even for the benefit of those they knew and dwelt among. It was for us. It was for an age to follow, which they were informed they would not see. But, how did they respond? They became that much more determined to tell the world!
If this work of God is a thing playing out across centuries, we must make it known both to our own time and to those who will follow. If the time is not now, then those of us now living will need the comfort of recognizing that though it remains future, yet we are not left behind. If the time is then, it will give courage to those leaving darkness behind to see how long their own redemption has been in the works. If it is the time between now and then, surely both will apply.
It deserves a bit of introspection to consider how we would respond in the same circumstance. I have faced that question of, “what would you do if God told you to give it all away?” many times now. But, add to that. What if He told you that you would not be around to enjoy the fruits of that sacrifice? What if He told you to devote every fiber of your being, every moment of your life to His cause even knowing that you would not see the things for which you worked? Would you do it? Can you be so selfless? It’s what you are called to be. It’s what these men of God were. It continues to be what men of God are. For them, it was news of the coming Redeemer. For us, it’s news of the coming King. Yet, none of us knows if we shall be walking the earth when that time comes. It will certainly be a minority of the faithful who are blessed to see that day from the land of the living. Yet, we are called to continue the good work, to seek out the enemies of God not to destroy them, but that they may be made friends of God in the only way possible: By the power of God working in us and in them. We go, ensuring that they may hear, for without hearing, how can they know, and without knowing, how shall they ever have hope to believe?
God, then, gives us the example of the prophets. When it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, they did not therefore cease from serving. They served the more. Understanding that they were not cut off from mercy – never that! – but only given news of things they would not see in their own day, we can see that they have the Spirit of Christ in them, for they are doing as He would teach. “Freely you received, freely give” (Mt 10:8b). They received God’s mercy. They poured it out for others to receive, laboring to ensure that those who would come after them would have word of His mercy.
Here is a lesson for us. We can so easily become jealous of the good done to another. How come they get healed but I don’t? How come they are given this gift or that but I am not? Why should they get all the joyful service and I’m left here with these sorrows to work through? But, that is not the Spirit of Christ at work. That is the way of the world. These men show us a better way, the Way of Christ. They saw in this gift of salvation something so grand that even when they learned only that it would not come in their own day, yet they could not stop speaking of it. There was no greater blessing they could desire than to have a part in making this coming salvation known. They would speak of the ‘partial good’ that was for their own generation, as the JFB points out. But, they would also proclaim the full benefit that was to be had in our time.
Understand that even this knowledge came only after much searching. They learned of the salvation God had in store, and sought diligently to learn more as to the time and nature of that salvation, and what did God add to their knowledge? Not now. Not for you – at least not in that way. How, then, did they respond? Clarke says that news was, ‘sufficient to repress all needless curiosity’. It is enough, Lord. Oh! How we incline ourselves to pester Him with all manner of questions! What will tomorrow bring? What is coming five years hence? How, exactly, do the end times play out, and when? We are no different than the prophets in these questions. Where we differ is in knowing our bounds.
I really appreciate the point Clarke makes on this topic. “If all succeeding interpreters of the prophecies had been contented with the same information relative to the predictions still unaccomplished, we should have had fewer books and more wisdom.” Consider how many libraries could be filled with books written regarding how the Revelation maps onto current events, or past events, or future events. Every year brings a wealth of theories, but none of them coming from that same Spirit of Christ who set forth the vision in the first place. We could add to that the myriad prophets, at least according to their own declarations, who have come along since. Some of these, no doubt, are truly prophets with an understanding of what that means. But, many more are men and women pronouncing their own vain imaginations; men and women who know not contentment in the Lord, but must have more – must be more.
We who study run the same risk. It is easy to let our thoughts range far ahead and far afield. It is easy to cease from considering what God is saying through His Word and resorting to what I think, seeking to justify my thoughts by the Word. May God be pleased to keep me from crossing that line.
Response to Suffering (06/14/14)
It is well to remember that Peter’s primary purpose in writing is to address the matter of suffering. These Christians (and we can debate whether they were Jews, Gentiles or both) were suffering for their faith. It does not appear to be the case that they were suffering in that fashion that would define the height of Roman persecution, but they were suffering none the less. Peter’s point in displaying the great worth of salvation is by way of strengthening that faith and making the suffering more bearable. As such, in the midst of this notice as to how highly salvation was valued by those who would not experience the Incarnate Christ, he points us to the way in which the Incarnate Christ pursued His purpose.
The prophets, he reminds us, learned that this Messiah, this Savior, would achieve our salvation through His suffering (v11). You’re not the first! You won’t be the last. And, you’re certainly not the greatest. I don’t say these things with the cynicism of modern man. I say them as simple points of fact that tend to elude us when we’re in the midst. Jesus put this front and center. They do this to Me; it is impossible that they would not do it to you. The servant is not above his master. They hate you because of Me, but the Father loves you because of Me. Which is more important? If you are suffering, you are doing no more than He did. You will never, thanks be to God, suffer as He suffered. You may undergo physical pains that parallel His. But, never will you know that separation from eternity that He experienced. Never will you taste of the fullness of death, for you have been granted the fullness of Life!
But, here, I want to turn to something Calvin points out, because it answers a question that has long bothered me. Christ, he says, suffers daily in His members; His members being us whom He has saved and yet remain in the world. It is thus that we complete His sufferings. This, of course, points to Paul’s words to the church in Colossi. “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, the church, in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col 1:24). That sounds so arrogant, doesn’t it? Paul! Do you really think so much of yourself? But, of course, he doesn’t. If he perseveres amidst his sufferings it is by the power of Christ. It is, in a very real sense, Christ who suffers, for Paul is as much His body as any other in the church. “He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Heb 2:17-18). He is with us in the fires of life. He suffers with our suffering. We, in turn, are granted to rejoice with His rejoicing.
I come back to the mission that the prophets understood: A call to sacrifice for some benefit we will not see, nor will anybody we know. The prophets underwent much in service of a future generation they would never meet this side of heaven. Many a missionary has gone forth to serve, working for a lifetime – sometimes a very foreshortened lifetime – to reach a people that by all appearances remained unreached. There was no sign of life, no hint of God growing something, yet the man of God persisted. He would never see the fruit of his labors in this life. He would know hours of despair, thinking the effort all for naught. But, by faith he would persevere, even to the point of death. Only later, in the fullness of time, would the fruit of his life be seen in the change of those he served. That’s sacrificial service.
What of us? Are we who fill the pews in our day willing to serve a generation we’ll never know? Do we even give them thought? It is well to pass on faith to your kids, but that remains rather self-serving in its fashion. It is well to reach the community around us, seek out the helpless and the hopeless and minister to them in the service of our Lord. But, we must look further afield. I am not talking about giving foreign missions a higher priority. I’m talking about giving future generations a higher priority. What church do we leave them? What gospel?
This strikes me in rather a different fashion at this juncture than it did on my first pass through the text. It strikes me, in particular, because I have taken up the responsibility of serving as an elder for another year, and that is no light thing. We bear a burden as regards the present. We have this task of being servant to the body of the local church. We have the task of caring for each member as they face their own challenges and their own suffering. To be sure, there are pleasures in this duty as well. But, pleasures are light. In Christ, I know, even the burdens are light. But, they remain burdens, don’t they?
What is more of interest to me in this moment, though, is our duty to the future as elders. We understand that we have a charge to preserve sound doctrine. But, that can be undertaken as something that is again rather self-serving. We, after all, have no desire to have our ears tickled, so it is only right that we should do our best to ensure that those who preach to us preach Truth. We may have our own offspring in mind, if they are in the church. We would that they hear and lay hold of this same Truth. But, we must expand our horizons. We hear often enough that the church is never more than a generation away from rank heresy, and we see more than sufficient evidence that this is so. What, then, are we doing to ensure that it is not so with us? What are we doing for those generations to come, who may have no particular connection with us outside of faith? What are we doing to preserve the course of the church when we are long gone from the scene?
Listen! We know we live in dangerous times. With a bit of historical perspective, we know that we have ever lived in dangerous times, we Christians. There is no such thing as a safe period until Christ returns. But, we see the particular challenges of this era: the influence of post-modern thought, the discounting of truth as a concept, the rise of an ‘anything goes’ perspective tinged with nihilism. We see a rising despair so deep it doesn’t even recognize its own sorrows. And, we see that this despair is intent on destroying hope. Have no doubt. It is a work of the evil one. But, the very gates of hell will not stand to oppose that church that remains true to its Lord and King. Our task is to ensure, as best we may, that our church us such a church. May we take counsel together with Christ to know how best we may pursue our task.
A Healthy Universalism (06/14/14)
As a final note for this portion of my study, I turn to Mr. Barnes. This fine gentleman sets forth a perspective that is rare indeed, for he points us to the universe around us. In doing so, he provides what I would call a healthy universalism. We have seen sufficient of the unhealthy universalism which is the sadder part of New England’s contribution to theology. But, here is a universalism that has not forgotten Who made the universe. Indeed, it is filled with that very thought.
Barnes looks at the universe, in light of its Creator, and recognizes something we are inclined to forget with all our superior knowledge: The universe must have a purpose. We can cut that finer and say with confidence that every part, every aspect of the universe must have a purpose. It is not that the whole mechanism has a purpose, but we are left little more than tiny cogs in a vast machine. It is that every one of those cogs also has a purpose – a unique purpose that it alone serves.
Barnes builds on this to say that each planet in this universe has its own particular aspect of God’s glory to reveal. He reasons that if God saw fit to create so many, He had a reason for doing so. He had a reason for each one, a particular reason. This is, I would note, the same as we can say for each man and woman born to this earth. Each of us has a particular reason for being. It’s not the pointless existence that so many suppose it to be. It’s not just eat, live, reproduce. There is a reason. We may not know the details, but we ought not to suppose our lack of understanding means there are no details.
Back to the planets: If each planet has its purpose, its glory to reveal, then where shall we find this purpose when it comes to our own? It shall not be found in nature. Every aspect of nature, we may presume, can be found in greater magnificence on some other world. Barnes arrives at the conclusion that here alone, in all the universe, has God’s redemptive work been made manifest. This runs contrary to the old Larry Norman lyric, but who’s to say Barnes is wrong? Certainly, we have yet to find any signs of intelligent life elsewhere for all our years of searching. It cannot be ruled out, but it has yet to make its presence known. If there’s life on other planets, then we may suppose He has been there, too. But, perhaps not. Perhaps humankind really is unique in all creation, the only form of life, even admitting aliens, made in the image of God. Perhaps we alone have been granted this experience of redemption. Until proven otherwise, it can do little harm to accept this as our working theory.
If, to follow Barnes’ line of thought, we are indeed unique in this display of redemption; if, in all the universe the redemptive work of God is to be found in no other place; is it any wonder that we seem to so attract the attention of the angels? Here, on this unimposing block of dirt and water, God has seen fit to demonstrate His character, His manifold attributes, ‘in beautiful harmony’. Here, and apparently here alone, we have God’s Justice and God’s mercy in simultaneous exercise. Here we see God’s pardon given in such a way as does no damage to His Justice or His Truth. Here, Wrath and Love are demonstrated as being parts of the same whole of God.
Let it be accepted that we are alone in this experience of God’s redemption, and we must surely reach the same conclusion as does Mr. Barnes. “If heaven was held in mute astonishment when the Son of God left the courts of glory to be poor, to be persecuted, to bleed, and to die, not less must be the astonishment than when, from those lofty heights, the angelic hosts look down upon a race unconcerned amidst wonders such as those of the incarnation and the atonement!”
May it be said of us that we gave the angels no such cause for astonishment. May it be said of us that we held this marvelous work of the Son of God ever before our eyes, and recognized in Him the sole value of all existence. In Him we live, and move and have being (Ac 17:28). For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Ro 11:36)!
As we face the sorrow and suffering of this life, let us never lose sight of what lies ahead. Let us never lose sight of the inexpressible privilege we have in demonstrating God’s glory in this unique fashion.
“Let it be said of us that the Lord was our passion, that with gladness we bore every cross we were given; that we fought the good fight, and we finished the course; knowing within us the power of the risen Lord.” So writes Steve Fry in the song, ‘Let it Be Said of Us’. Let us thus serve out our purpose in Christ, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Amen.
