Eternal Kind of Life
I had always thought that having eternal life meant unending life. Never really thinking that the word eternal is descriptive of not of time, but of timelessness. In order to be eternal it would have to have no beginning as well as no end.
It was while reading “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard that I was first introduced to the concept that “Eternal life” refers to a KIND of life. (p.53)
In today’s terminology, I think it might be expressed “sustainable life”…the kind of life that could safely be allowed to continue “forever”.
When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God…(Genesis 3) God had told them that they would die as a consequence….and they did, but in the mean while, God had to remove them from the idyllic Eden (Gen 3:22) “lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” My Bible has a footnote there which says, “This sentence is left unfinished, as if to hasten to avert the tragedy suggested of men living on forever in their now fallen state.”
Now leaving Genesis and going to Jesus’ beautiful prayer for us which is in John 17, (Please read the whole lovely chapter...preferably in the Amplified Bible...haha) we see Jesus giving the definition of eternal life which Dallas Willard had indicated in his book. In v.3 (He is talking to His Father) Jesus says, “And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), whom You have sent.”
I feel like I could go in a few different directions from this point but I hate to have too long of a post….and I want to slow down and write thoughtfully…so for this time I will just leave it at this. “Eternal life” is not about “making it” to heaven….it it about becoming, through the work of Christ and the ongoing workings of the Holy Spirit, the kind of person whom Father God can safely allow to continue in a sustainable (perfect) ongoing life. (To be continued)
Showing posts with label Bible Commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible Commentary. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Three signals
When I read my Bible, I love to follow the cross references, read all the notes. Both the printed footnotes…and the notes I have left myself.
As it happened I was reading in John today and came again, to the story of Lazarus. I thought I had blogged on the idea of the three signals some time ago, so I checked and found this one from 3 ½ years ago.
http://mamalenasporch.blogspot.com/2007/06/comments-on-john-11.html
I was a little surprised that I had mentioned the idea of the three signals but then only wrote about the first one. (sidetracked with other ideas…haha…to no-one’s surprise)
So I want to note in this post the other two signals as I see them. This is of interest to me because, Jesus always said things like, “My hour has not yet come,” and “I can do only what I see my Father doing…” He always seemed to know what His Father was doing and what His own next step must be. Since Jesus tells us that we are to do His works in the same way as He has done Father’s works….then the process of guidance must be worth investigating to try to see how Jesus received guidance. So…to recap….
The first signal I noticed, which seemed to indicate to Jesus that “His hour” was at hand was the signal of Lazarus. (John 11:4) When Jesus received the news of Lazarus’ illness He said, “This sickness is not to end in death; but (on the contrary) it is to honor God and to promote His glory.” Then He hesitated going to him for a couple of days….on purpose…. Somehow, this gave me the impression that Jesus was receiving a signal…direct guidance…. I will not get sidetracked again although the whole story gets my mind stirring with thoughts which I’ve already mentioned in my other post on John 11. It is enough to note that after the miracle of Lazarus, both Jesus and Lazarus had been catapulted to rock star status, so much so that “From that day on they took counsel and plotted together how they might put Him to death.” 11:53
The second signal (as I see it) is given in Chapter 12. Jesus is attending a dinner at the same home; that of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus. The story of Lazarus’ resurrection had really blazed abroad…and so many people had showed up to see both of them, that the elite began to think of ways of killing Lazarus too. At the dinner, Mary shocks the guests by entered the room and pouring $20,000 worth of ointment on Jesus feet. (I’m figuring that roughly…because the Bible states that it was worth a years wages for an ordinary working man… 52 weeks x 40 hours x $10 per hour… If he was talking about a plumber…then the ointment was worth A LOT more…haha… Anyhow…it doesn’t matter what the value….or what anyone else (Judas) thought of the "waste." Jesus seemed to receive it as a signal…a sign…a preparation for His death and burial. And we are told that the very next day was Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem which was the first link in the chain of events leading to Golgotha.
The third signal was puzzling to me at first. But so often, when I find something puzzling…there is a beautiful nugget to be found….and I thought it puzzling when in 12:21-24, we are told that some Greeks had come to worship at the feast and had asked to see Jesus. When Philip and Andrew went to tell Jesus about them, He didn’t set up a meeting for later that evening or for any time for that matter…His response was, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified and exalted…” And He goes on with a beautiful sermon, punctuated by a voice from heaven (which was heard by the bystanders) intended, it seems, to prepare Himself and them for His imminent death. He closes the sermon with the statement, “Whatever I speak, I am saying (exactly) what My Father has told Me to say and in accordance with His instruction.” (So we know that what He has told them… we really need to read again …with comprehension.) But…If only we could realize that kind of guidance…of “walking in the Spirit.”
So...why that signal? How was the request of those Greek fellows to see Jesus a signal to Him?
There are two statements that, I believe give us insight into why that might be a signal. Both refer to the expansion and growth of the kingdom of God. In v.24 He states, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit.”
And then in verse 32 He says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
Jesus had previously instructed the disciples to preach only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel…but now, I think the coming of the Greeks was a signal that the timing was right for the message of Christ to begin it’s outward spread to the whole world. That the time for the final act had come…for the first domino to fall… And those attending the feast from near and far....would become incidental witnesses to the death and resurrection of Christ and would begin to bring His message to the rest of the world....
As it happened I was reading in John today and came again, to the story of Lazarus. I thought I had blogged on the idea of the three signals some time ago, so I checked and found this one from 3 ½ years ago.
http://mamalenasporch.blogspot.com/2007/06/comments-on-john-11.html
I was a little surprised that I had mentioned the idea of the three signals but then only wrote about the first one. (sidetracked with other ideas…haha…to no-one’s surprise)
So I want to note in this post the other two signals as I see them. This is of interest to me because, Jesus always said things like, “My hour has not yet come,” and “I can do only what I see my Father doing…” He always seemed to know what His Father was doing and what His own next step must be. Since Jesus tells us that we are to do His works in the same way as He has done Father’s works….then the process of guidance must be worth investigating to try to see how Jesus received guidance. So…to recap….
The first signal I noticed, which seemed to indicate to Jesus that “His hour” was at hand was the signal of Lazarus. (John 11:4) When Jesus received the news of Lazarus’ illness He said, “This sickness is not to end in death; but (on the contrary) it is to honor God and to promote His glory.” Then He hesitated going to him for a couple of days….on purpose…. Somehow, this gave me the impression that Jesus was receiving a signal…direct guidance…. I will not get sidetracked again although the whole story gets my mind stirring with thoughts which I’ve already mentioned in my other post on John 11. It is enough to note that after the miracle of Lazarus, both Jesus and Lazarus had been catapulted to rock star status, so much so that “From that day on they took counsel and plotted together how they might put Him to death.” 11:53
The second signal (as I see it) is given in Chapter 12. Jesus is attending a dinner at the same home; that of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus. The story of Lazarus’ resurrection had really blazed abroad…and so many people had showed up to see both of them, that the elite began to think of ways of killing Lazarus too. At the dinner, Mary shocks the guests by entered the room and pouring $20,000 worth of ointment on Jesus feet. (I’m figuring that roughly…because the Bible states that it was worth a years wages for an ordinary working man… 52 weeks x 40 hours x $10 per hour… If he was talking about a plumber…then the ointment was worth A LOT more…haha… Anyhow…it doesn’t matter what the value….or what anyone else (Judas) thought of the "waste." Jesus seemed to receive it as a signal…a sign…a preparation for His death and burial. And we are told that the very next day was Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem which was the first link in the chain of events leading to Golgotha.
The third signal was puzzling to me at first. But so often, when I find something puzzling…there is a beautiful nugget to be found….and I thought it puzzling when in 12:21-24, we are told that some Greeks had come to worship at the feast and had asked to see Jesus. When Philip and Andrew went to tell Jesus about them, He didn’t set up a meeting for later that evening or for any time for that matter…His response was, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified and exalted…” And He goes on with a beautiful sermon, punctuated by a voice from heaven (which was heard by the bystanders) intended, it seems, to prepare Himself and them for His imminent death. He closes the sermon with the statement, “Whatever I speak, I am saying (exactly) what My Father has told Me to say and in accordance with His instruction.” (So we know that what He has told them… we really need to read again …with comprehension.) But…If only we could realize that kind of guidance…of “walking in the Spirit.”
So...why that signal? How was the request of those Greek fellows to see Jesus a signal to Him?
There are two statements that, I believe give us insight into why that might be a signal. Both refer to the expansion and growth of the kingdom of God. In v.24 He states, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit.”
And then in verse 32 He says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
Jesus had previously instructed the disciples to preach only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel…but now, I think the coming of the Greeks was a signal that the timing was right for the message of Christ to begin it’s outward spread to the whole world. That the time for the final act had come…for the first domino to fall… And those attending the feast from near and far....would become incidental witnesses to the death and resurrection of Christ and would begin to bring His message to the rest of the world....
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Good News?
The language of the evangelism I’ve always known hasn’t always sat well with me…but as I’ve been repeatedly told. “I like the way I’m doing it wrong better than the way you’re not doing it at all.” Anyhow, I think I am finding a way to express the Gospel in such a way that I can be at peace with the message…and I think that’s important, because if you’re not convinced it is hard to be convincing. The way we always expressed it seemed more like a threat than “good news” and I think that what we have to share really is good news….to all men. So I say, why bully people, with a threat that is an insult to our loving Father’s nature and intentions? I don’t see Jesus doing that.
I happened to be in a church service this week and the speaker was giving a “gospel” message, in the course of which he said, “You can become a child of God. You simply have to pray this prayer….etc….and you’ll know that if you die…you’ll go to heaven” It struck me that what bothers me is this very rudimentary start point of the message.
I thought of verses that I had recently noticed in chapter two of the book of Ephesians. The first two verses speaks of “sons of disobedience…(the careless, the rebellions, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God)” (AMP)
I noted in the margin….Sons nevertheless….
Verse three speaks of, “children of God’s wrath, and heirs of His indignation.”
Again I noted in the margin…..children and heirs nevertheless…
We often sing songs about “We’re all God’s children …” etc. and since it’s only a song, we don’t get into trouble, but should we genuinely believe that ALL are God children…we would be told…NO…only those who choose to accept Him are His children. (this is spite of the fact that God clearly states in John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,”) So I think we should be able to accept that we are ALL God’s children. If not His….then whose? He created us….He calls us His children….and so I think the message…the good news is…. “You ARE a child of God.” As far as I know…the devil nor anyone else ever created any people, so we are all children of Our Father. (John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.)
So I guess I might say (when mounting my soap box)…something like… “God has sent me to tell you that YOU ARE His beloved child and you are living a life beneath what He has provided for you. He wants you to come home…He wants you to receive your inheritance. He wants you to align yourself on His side and against the lie that you have believed, which has kept you in bondage.”
The prayer we should pray is “Thy kingdom come…Thy will be done…by me…in me…through me…and in the whole world. Let me have a role in bringing it to pass.” By means of this prayer…which Jesus taught us to pray….we are saying, “I’m aligning my will with the will of God….My Father….and acknowledging my real identity as His child.”
I like how Neil Anderson says, “What you do, doesn’t define who you are… who you are determines what you do….” I might not have quoted that just right…but the point is that it is important to know that you are a Child of God, because this important knowledge will bear fruit in your life. You will begin to act and live out of your identity as a child of God. You will be enabled to grow out of your carelessness and rebellion and live out the truth of Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;..”
Dallas Willard speaks about a “bar-code religion.” He says, people have been told that they just need the right bar-code…you pray a prayer…you get your bar-code and then you just forget about it. Your place in Heaven is reserved and that’s really all that matters. But Father wants His Children to grow up to be like Him…. It’s not just Hell avoidance….that’s just a threat….it’s not the good news…it’s bullying…it’s soap sales.
The good news is, “Father loves you and He wants you to come home. You are His child and although you may be in rebellion… He is the kind of a Father who will never let you go. He created you and He loves you. You are His workmanship and ‘He who began a good work…will be faithful to complete it.’ Come easy and live a blessed life…or be prepared for a long hard road at the end of which…you will find Him waiting.”
I happened to be in a church service this week and the speaker was giving a “gospel” message, in the course of which he said, “You can become a child of God. You simply have to pray this prayer….etc….and you’ll know that if you die…you’ll go to heaven” It struck me that what bothers me is this very rudimentary start point of the message.
I thought of verses that I had recently noticed in chapter two of the book of Ephesians. The first two verses speaks of “sons of disobedience…(the careless, the rebellions, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God)” (AMP)
I noted in the margin….Sons nevertheless….
Verse three speaks of, “children of God’s wrath, and heirs of His indignation.”
Again I noted in the margin…..children and heirs nevertheless…
We often sing songs about “We’re all God’s children …” etc. and since it’s only a song, we don’t get into trouble, but should we genuinely believe that ALL are God children…we would be told…NO…only those who choose to accept Him are His children. (this is spite of the fact that God clearly states in John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,”) So I think we should be able to accept that we are ALL God’s children. If not His….then whose? He created us….He calls us His children….and so I think the message…the good news is…. “You ARE a child of God.” As far as I know…the devil nor anyone else ever created any people, so we are all children of Our Father. (John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.)
So I guess I might say (when mounting my soap box)…something like… “God has sent me to tell you that YOU ARE His beloved child and you are living a life beneath what He has provided for you. He wants you to come home…He wants you to receive your inheritance. He wants you to align yourself on His side and against the lie that you have believed, which has kept you in bondage.”
The prayer we should pray is “Thy kingdom come…Thy will be done…by me…in me…through me…and in the whole world. Let me have a role in bringing it to pass.” By means of this prayer…which Jesus taught us to pray….we are saying, “I’m aligning my will with the will of God….My Father….and acknowledging my real identity as His child.”
I like how Neil Anderson says, “What you do, doesn’t define who you are… who you are determines what you do….” I might not have quoted that just right…but the point is that it is important to know that you are a Child of God, because this important knowledge will bear fruit in your life. You will begin to act and live out of your identity as a child of God. You will be enabled to grow out of your carelessness and rebellion and live out the truth of Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;..”
Dallas Willard speaks about a “bar-code religion.” He says, people have been told that they just need the right bar-code…you pray a prayer…you get your bar-code and then you just forget about it. Your place in Heaven is reserved and that’s really all that matters. But Father wants His Children to grow up to be like Him…. It’s not just Hell avoidance….that’s just a threat….it’s not the good news…it’s bullying…it’s soap sales.
The good news is, “Father loves you and He wants you to come home. You are His child and although you may be in rebellion… He is the kind of a Father who will never let you go. He created you and He loves you. You are His workmanship and ‘He who began a good work…will be faithful to complete it.’ Come easy and live a blessed life…or be prepared for a long hard road at the end of which…you will find Him waiting.”
Friday, February 6, 2009
Comments on John 8 and Daniel 5
I'm going backwards I know...but I wanted to record my thoughts about John chapter 8 because I've heard people talk about what they think Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger... and some time ago, I came up with a theory of my own and I'm almost sure I'm right...haha.
As Jesus was teaching early in the morning at the temple, the Scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery....I imagine her in a bedsheet...humiliated, and in order to test Jesus, they ask him what should be done with her because the Law of Moses states that she should be stoned. They must have suspected that Jesus wouldn't agree with that...hence the test. This idea is interesting in itself, because we see Jesus at varience with the application of the Law.
Jesus wisely suggests that the one without sin should be the first to throw a stone. And He bends down and starts writing in the dust on the ground with His finger. I notice that the phrase "with his finger" is repeated twice...in v. 6 and again in v. 8 and and I find myself wondering why that little detail....and why the repetition? I've heard the suggestion that He wrote down the 10 commandments....or the particular sins that he knew applied to the potential stone throwers... but the whole "finger" thing got my mind working in another direction.
It reminded me of another writing finger....one in Daniel 5:5. So I decided to read that story again and see if there were any parallels between what happened in Daniel 5 and what was happening here in John 8. Here is what I found... that convinced me that the words Jesus wrote with His finger in the dust could very well have been, "mene mene tekel epharsin."
The occasion in Daniel was the feast of Belshazzar, where the king had taken the sacred vessels from the temple to use as wine goblets...showing his contempt for the things of God and his pride in his own majesty. A hand appears and writes a cryptic message on the wall. While the Chaldean wise men might have understood the words themselves...the letter...they were not able to understand the meaning of the message...the spirit. The words were, "mene, mene, tekel upharsin" and they mean "numbered, numbered, weighed, divisions," so it is easy to see why Belshazzar needed help with understanding the implications. The meaning of the message was given by Daniel in verse 26-28:
Mene - God has numbered the days of your kingship and brought them to an end
Tekel - You are weighted in the balances and are found wanting
Peres - the singular of Upharsin - Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians
It was natural for me to think that perhaps Jesus was giving this same message to the religious elite of His day. I noticed that according to Daniel, the very night this interpretation was given to Belshazzar...he was slain....and Darius the Mede took the kingdom.
I think that if Jesus had written these words in the sand, they would not have been without significant meaning to these scholarly Jews. I believe they would have recognized the import immediately...that Jesus was declaring an end to their rule and the beginning of a new regime. v. 9 states that they began going out conscience stricken, one by one till there was no one left but Jesus and the woman.....and then he said those beautiful words, "I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more."
From then on though, Jesus preaches about a new government, opening with the words, "I am the light of the world." I think this story indicates the end of Temple worship and the establishment of the KINGDOM OF GOD.
I notice in the preceeding chapter (7) two references to the religious elite....v. 26 and v. 48-49. Both speak of the religious rulers being looked to in order to validate or discredit Jesus. I thought that it is significant that the question is asked (v48) "Has any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in Him?" and contempt is shown for the laity by the leaders in (v49) when they say "As for this multitude (rabble) that does not know the Law, they are contemptible and doomed and accursed!"
On the contrary, Jesus has said to the unfortunate woman, who is undeniably guilty of sin, "I do not condemn you either..." but later (v26) he says of the religious elite, "I have much to say about you and to judge and condemn..."
This is only the first part of this chapter, but it causes me to reflect on the pedestal we have tended to put the religious elite even in our day..... and to wonder sometimes if the writing is not on the wall for some contemporary kingdoms.
As Jesus was teaching early in the morning at the temple, the Scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery....I imagine her in a bedsheet...humiliated, and in order to test Jesus, they ask him what should be done with her because the Law of Moses states that she should be stoned. They must have suspected that Jesus wouldn't agree with that...hence the test. This idea is interesting in itself, because we see Jesus at varience with the application of the Law.
Jesus wisely suggests that the one without sin should be the first to throw a stone. And He bends down and starts writing in the dust on the ground with His finger. I notice that the phrase "with his finger" is repeated twice...in v. 6 and again in v. 8 and and I find myself wondering why that little detail....and why the repetition? I've heard the suggestion that He wrote down the 10 commandments....or the particular sins that he knew applied to the potential stone throwers... but the whole "finger" thing got my mind working in another direction.
It reminded me of another writing finger....one in Daniel 5:5. So I decided to read that story again and see if there were any parallels between what happened in Daniel 5 and what was happening here in John 8. Here is what I found... that convinced me that the words Jesus wrote with His finger in the dust could very well have been, "mene mene tekel epharsin."
The occasion in Daniel was the feast of Belshazzar, where the king had taken the sacred vessels from the temple to use as wine goblets...showing his contempt for the things of God and his pride in his own majesty. A hand appears and writes a cryptic message on the wall. While the Chaldean wise men might have understood the words themselves...the letter...they were not able to understand the meaning of the message...the spirit. The words were, "mene, mene, tekel upharsin" and they mean "numbered, numbered, weighed, divisions," so it is easy to see why Belshazzar needed help with understanding the implications. The meaning of the message was given by Daniel in verse 26-28:
Mene - God has numbered the days of your kingship and brought them to an end
Tekel - You are weighted in the balances and are found wanting
Peres - the singular of Upharsin - Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians
It was natural for me to think that perhaps Jesus was giving this same message to the religious elite of His day. I noticed that according to Daniel, the very night this interpretation was given to Belshazzar...he was slain....and Darius the Mede took the kingdom.
I think that if Jesus had written these words in the sand, they would not have been without significant meaning to these scholarly Jews. I believe they would have recognized the import immediately...that Jesus was declaring an end to their rule and the beginning of a new regime. v. 9 states that they began going out conscience stricken, one by one till there was no one left but Jesus and the woman.....and then he said those beautiful words, "I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more."
From then on though, Jesus preaches about a new government, opening with the words, "I am the light of the world." I think this story indicates the end of Temple worship and the establishment of the KINGDOM OF GOD.
I notice in the preceeding chapter (7) two references to the religious elite....v. 26 and v. 48-49. Both speak of the religious rulers being looked to in order to validate or discredit Jesus. I thought that it is significant that the question is asked (v48) "Has any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in Him?" and contempt is shown for the laity by the leaders in (v49) when they say "As for this multitude (rabble) that does not know the Law, they are contemptible and doomed and accursed!"
On the contrary, Jesus has said to the unfortunate woman, who is undeniably guilty of sin, "I do not condemn you either..." but later (v26) he says of the religious elite, "I have much to say about you and to judge and condemn..."
This is only the first part of this chapter, but it causes me to reflect on the pedestal we have tended to put the religious elite even in our day..... and to wonder sometimes if the writing is not on the wall for some contemporary kingdoms.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Comments on John 11
John 11
This Chapter is the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. I have always been curious about how Jesus was able to hear Father’s instructions and feel so confident that He was following directions implicitly. My desire is that I would be given ears to hear like He had.
A couple of years ago, I noticed in this chapter and in chapter 12 what I have referred to as the three signals.
I’m sure that there were other signals along the way, and Jesus was always aware of whether or not “His hour had come.” But these three signals stood out to me.
The first signal was when Jesus received the news of Lazarus’ illness. Jesus’ response was immediate. (V. 4) He said, “This sickness is not to end in death; but [on the contrary] it is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by it).” It seemed that He was aware of wheels being set in motion.
v. 5 describes the love of Jesus for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, so it is a little surprising that v. 6 begins with the word “therefore” …”Therefore….He still stayed two days longer …where He was.” Possibly the disciples assumed that fear kept Jesus from going to heal Lazarus, because two days later, when Jesus said it was time to go, they warned Him that the Jews only recently were intending to stone Him. (v.8)
Jesus reply is a bit puzzling at first, He answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? Anyone who walks about in the daytime does not stumble, because he sees [by] the light of this world. 10. But if anyone walks about in the night, he does stumble, because there is no light in him [the light is lacking to him] Jesus’ references to light are always of interest to me. In this passage He is letting them know that He is the light, and He knows exactly what action to take and where it leads so there is no uncertainty or cause for concern. When taken with his statement in 12:35 it also lends strength to the idea that Jesus had received a signal that the process has begun that will lead up to the ending of His temporal life. In ch.12:35 Jesus is talking about his death and he makes the statement, “You will have the Light only a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light [keep living by it], so that darkness may not overtake and overcome you. He who walks about in the dark does not know where he goes [he is drifting].
This is another incidence of “the tur.n” It seems he is talking about daylight, but what He is really saying is “I have the light of another world…Light from my Father, so I will be that light for you. You can follow me trusting that I know what to do and why…” They don’t really trust Him though, as evidenced by Thomas’s statement, in v. 16 Let us go too, that we may die [be killed] along with Him.
In v 23 Jesus tells Martha that her brother shall rise again, and in an interesting twist, she spiritualizes the meaning of His promise. Jesus says in v 25 “I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live.” He has told the disciples that He is the Light, and He told Martha that He is the Resurrection and the Life. This takes me back to chapter one where the statement is made, (v.4) “In Him was Life and the Life was the Light of men.”
Jesus has turned from the natural to the spiritual now too, and he goes on in v26, “And whoever continues to live and believes in (has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on) Me shall never [actually] die at all. This makes me think of Enoch of whom it is said (Hebrews 11:5) that he was “caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death.” But it could also refer to the fact that the death of the believer will be like Christ’s death…which was actually a resurrection to the life that he had previously had with The Father.
I wonder why Jesus wept. He had deeply disappointed three people who He considered beloved friends. Although Jesus was not a “man pleaser” it must still have been painful to have seemingly been unresponsive to those who had trusted Him and hoped for His help. He must have had empathy for their feelings. Still He knew what God’s plan was…to raise Lazarus up… v. 33 says, “He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. [He chafed in spirit and sighed and was disturbed.]” v. 38 says He repeated sighed and was deeply disquieted. Perhaps He was dismayed at the fact that people seemed to have no hope after death…that it was such a thing of dread” But it seems to me that His passion began here.
I love it where Jesus prayers are recorded. Here, He spoke to Father as a demonstration to the people. He was already in complete unity with Father’s plan, but He said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard me. Yes, I know You always hear and listen to Me, but I have said this on account of and for the benefit of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You did send Me [that You have made Me Your Messenger].”
He raises Lazarus…with a word. What God purposes to do…he speaks….and it is done.
The Jews go back to Jerusalem and report to the chief priests and Pharisees, and almost immediately, the plot is initiated to kill Christ. They said, v.48 If we let Him alone to go on like this, everyone will believe in Him and adhere to Him, and the Romans will come and suppress and destroy and take away our [holy]place and our nation (our temple and city and our civil organization). Once again, there is a choice to be made and the elite choose the institution over the truth. In v. 50 Caiaphas, the high priest,(and unwitting prophet), makes the statement that it is better for everyone that one man should die on behalf of the people than that the whole nation should perish. v. 51 says, “Now he did not say this simply of his own accord [he was not self-moved]; but being the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation. V.52 And not only for the nation but also for the purpose of uniting into one body the children of God who have been scattered far and wide”
No doubt Caiphas meant something quite different than what God meant in having him make this prophesy. No doubt he meant that if they got rid of Jesus, the Jews would be drawn together again, instead of splintering off. But God’s meaning alludes to the “one flock” of John 10:16. “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” Jesus had to die in order to expand the range of the gospel beyond the limited context of the Jews. (the third signal shows this as well)
v.53 “So from that day on they took counsel and plotted together how they might put Him to death.” And Jesus was careful about appearing in public from then on because although He knew the wheels were in motion, leading Him to Calvary, He had two more signals to receive before His hour…
This Chapter is the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. I have always been curious about how Jesus was able to hear Father’s instructions and feel so confident that He was following directions implicitly. My desire is that I would be given ears to hear like He had.
A couple of years ago, I noticed in this chapter and in chapter 12 what I have referred to as the three signals.
I’m sure that there were other signals along the way, and Jesus was always aware of whether or not “His hour had come.” But these three signals stood out to me.
The first signal was when Jesus received the news of Lazarus’ illness. Jesus’ response was immediate. (V. 4) He said, “This sickness is not to end in death; but [on the contrary] it is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by it).” It seemed that He was aware of wheels being set in motion.
v. 5 describes the love of Jesus for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, so it is a little surprising that v. 6 begins with the word “therefore” …”Therefore….He still stayed two days longer …where He was.” Possibly the disciples assumed that fear kept Jesus from going to heal Lazarus, because two days later, when Jesus said it was time to go, they warned Him that the Jews only recently were intending to stone Him. (v.8)
Jesus reply is a bit puzzling at first, He answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? Anyone who walks about in the daytime does not stumble, because he sees [by] the light of this world. 10. But if anyone walks about in the night, he does stumble, because there is no light in him [the light is lacking to him] Jesus’ references to light are always of interest to me. In this passage He is letting them know that He is the light, and He knows exactly what action to take and where it leads so there is no uncertainty or cause for concern. When taken with his statement in 12:35 it also lends strength to the idea that Jesus had received a signal that the process has begun that will lead up to the ending of His temporal life. In ch.12:35 Jesus is talking about his death and he makes the statement, “You will have the Light only a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light [keep living by it], so that darkness may not overtake and overcome you. He who walks about in the dark does not know where he goes [he is drifting].
This is another incidence of “the tur.n” It seems he is talking about daylight, but what He is really saying is “I have the light of another world…Light from my Father, so I will be that light for you. You can follow me trusting that I know what to do and why…” They don’t really trust Him though, as evidenced by Thomas’s statement, in v. 16 Let us go too, that we may die [be killed] along with Him.
In v 23 Jesus tells Martha that her brother shall rise again, and in an interesting twist, she spiritualizes the meaning of His promise. Jesus says in v 25 “I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live.” He has told the disciples that He is the Light, and He told Martha that He is the Resurrection and the Life. This takes me back to chapter one where the statement is made, (v.4) “In Him was Life and the Life was the Light of men.”
Jesus has turned from the natural to the spiritual now too, and he goes on in v26, “And whoever continues to live and believes in (has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on) Me shall never [actually] die at all. This makes me think of Enoch of whom it is said (Hebrews 11:5) that he was “caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death.” But it could also refer to the fact that the death of the believer will be like Christ’s death…which was actually a resurrection to the life that he had previously had with The Father.
I wonder why Jesus wept. He had deeply disappointed three people who He considered beloved friends. Although Jesus was not a “man pleaser” it must still have been painful to have seemingly been unresponsive to those who had trusted Him and hoped for His help. He must have had empathy for their feelings. Still He knew what God’s plan was…to raise Lazarus up… v. 33 says, “He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. [He chafed in spirit and sighed and was disturbed.]” v. 38 says He repeated sighed and was deeply disquieted. Perhaps He was dismayed at the fact that people seemed to have no hope after death…that it was such a thing of dread” But it seems to me that His passion began here.
I love it where Jesus prayers are recorded. Here, He spoke to Father as a demonstration to the people. He was already in complete unity with Father’s plan, but He said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard me. Yes, I know You always hear and listen to Me, but I have said this on account of and for the benefit of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You did send Me [that You have made Me Your Messenger].”
He raises Lazarus…with a word. What God purposes to do…he speaks….and it is done.
The Jews go back to Jerusalem and report to the chief priests and Pharisees, and almost immediately, the plot is initiated to kill Christ. They said, v.48 If we let Him alone to go on like this, everyone will believe in Him and adhere to Him, and the Romans will come and suppress and destroy and take away our [holy]place and our nation (our temple and city and our civil organization). Once again, there is a choice to be made and the elite choose the institution over the truth. In v. 50 Caiaphas, the high priest,(and unwitting prophet), makes the statement that it is better for everyone that one man should die on behalf of the people than that the whole nation should perish. v. 51 says, “Now he did not say this simply of his own accord [he was not self-moved]; but being the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation. V.52 And not only for the nation but also for the purpose of uniting into one body the children of God who have been scattered far and wide”
No doubt Caiphas meant something quite different than what God meant in having him make this prophesy. No doubt he meant that if they got rid of Jesus, the Jews would be drawn together again, instead of splintering off. But God’s meaning alludes to the “one flock” of John 10:16. “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” Jesus had to die in order to expand the range of the gospel beyond the limited context of the Jews. (the third signal shows this as well)
v.53 “So from that day on they took counsel and plotted together how they might put Him to death.” And Jesus was careful about appearing in public from then on because although He knew the wheels were in motion, leading Him to Calvary, He had two more signals to receive before His hour…
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Comments on John 10
This chapter is a continuation of the teaching of Jesus following the conversion of the blind man who had received his sight. I puzzled over the characters in the analogy of the shepherd…the shepherd, the thief, the sheep, the watchman, the hireling, the owner of the sheep, the fold and the door. (these are characters too) So far what I see is that Jesus is both the door and the shepherd. V. 3 says the sheep listen to the shepherd’s voice and heed it. I am constantly challenged by that idea,”My sheep know my voice…” I know there have been many times when I’ve thought, “Is that Your voice, Father, or is it my own….or worse….the enemy’s” and I’ve also thought if I could be more certain about knowing the voice, I would certainly be quicker about heeding it….obeying. But it is one of those things that we almost have to learn by experience….if we have a practice of second guessing….or ignoring His voice…..we will not learn to recognize it, and possibly even lose the capacity to hear it, but if we make a practice of heeding it….we will learn to hear and recognize it….seems backwards, but oh well….
I find it interesting when you link this story with the chapter before it, about choosing the light/life over the institution, in v. 3 it states…”and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them OUT. This is stated again in v. 4 “When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice….
When you just grab a few minutes and read a few verses in the Bible, you will probably always receive something on some level….but when you read with the idea of following the thread from where Jesus started and where He takes it….and consider “the turn” when it happens….sometimes there is even more to be gained. In any event, it seems to me that Jesus was teaching the people, that though they were to be taken out of the Institution that they knew and loved, He was walking on before them, and would lead them.
When I tentatively took my first steps out of the IC (institutional church) I was a little nervous about being led astray. I think this is a learned thing. That we are taught to put our trust in the professional theologians, and not trust that we will hear or recognize Father’s voice. However, in v. 5 Jesus reassures us that “They will never (on any account) follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call.” There are many religious movements we can get in on and many bandwagons to join, and I don’t feel any responsibility to debunk them, but I recognize that they are not the voice I’m listening for. Thank you Father….you are giving me ears….to hear.
Besides being the Shepherd, Jesus is also the door. It is by means of Him (and only by means of Him) that we enter into spiritual life. In V. 9 He states, “I am the Door; anyone who enters IN through Me will be saved (will live).” That’s what being saved is….receiving life...God’s life…the eternal kind of life. It’s not that we are just saved from the death of ET (eternal torment) we are saved from the condition we are now in….death….the kind spoken of in Genesis 2:17.
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” God said we’d die...and God does not lie…. And now, Jesus is telling the people, the way to be saved not from death…but OUT OF death.
Now Jesus compares the Good Shepherd, with the hireling, who He says, works for wages, and runs away and deserts the flock when trouble comes. The Good Shepherd, on the other hand knows and loves each of his own, and lays down his life for them. V. 15 says, “I am giving My life for the sheep.” He doesn’t ask us to stay in the fold because He knows that’s not the way of the sheep and that we’ll simply die if kept in and not brought out to pasture. V. 9 states, “He will come in and he will go out (freely) and will find pasture.” That’s because He leads us….and if we go astray….He will come and find us and lead us back to be in His care.
v. 16 is a verse which people have puzzled over. “I have other sheep (beside these) that are not of this fold. I must bring and impel those also; and they will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be (they will become) one flock under one shepherd. I’ve heard this verse used as support for the idea that there is life on other planets. It is also thought that since He is addressing Jews, he is referring to Gentiles. I think that’s certainly one facet of the truth, but the AMP Bible that I use, has a note taking me back to Ezek. 34:23, which is the verse that it seems Jesus is quoting. In speaking of the evil shepherd, He is also referring back to that passage in Ezekiel. From this we learn that Jesus is identifying Himself in the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophesy, just as He did with Isaiah’s prophesy, when He said (Luke 4:21) “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
As well as self-identifying as the Messiah, and I believe, preparing the Jews with the knowledge that the Gentiles were included in his plan, it is a message to us, that while there are some that are His sheep, and know His voice, there are other, that are not of THIS fold, but who He says He “must bring and impel also; and they will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be (they will become) one flock under one Shepherd.” This is supportive of 1 Cor. 15: 22-28 , which is possibly the most clear teaching found in the Bible, of the eventual restoration of all thing under Christ. God does things in ages and stages…and that does NOT mean sleepers, creepers, leapers, pre-school, primary, intermediate, jr and sr high, c&c, Young married’s, homebuilders, seniors. It means each in his own rank and turn: Christ…then those who are Christ’s at His coming, and then the kingdom wholus bolus. It means in ever widening circles… Jerusalem...Judaea…Samaria… the uttermost part of the earth. It means over the course of ages….aeons…
So then in v 17and 18 He speaks of the love of the Father which accrues to Him in special measure “because I lay down My (own) life – to take it back again. V. 18 No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily…” I used to think that there was something wrong there….because I felt that when one is executed, one’s life IS taken from one. And Jesus was executed, He did not commit suicide. I’ve learned though, that whenever there is an especially puzzling bit it scripture, there can usually be found a nifty little key which opens up something that was formerly closed to us. In this case, I believe Jesus was not talking about giving up his temporal life on earth; something He had not yet done. In v 15 He speaks in the present tense -not in the future, about giving his life. Also, in my Amplified Bible the word life is amplified with (very own) which seem to indicate a special meaning to the word life. In v. 18 He takes especial care to spell out the fact that, “No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily. [I put it from Myself.] I am authorized and have power to lay it down (to resign it) and I am authorized and have power to take it back again. These are the instructions (orders) which I have received [as My charge] from My Father.”
For these reasons, I believe that Jesus is referring here to laying down His pre-existent life rather than his physical life. In John 17:5 He speaks of his resurrection from this “death-life” to his pre-existent life when He prays, “And now, Father, glorify Me along with Yourself and restore Me to such majesty and honor in Your presence as I had with You before the world existed.” He laid down his pre-existent life voluntarily, with the understanding that He would take it up again. His physical life was taken from Him, even though He did give it in the sense that He was “brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Also, Jesus consistently refers to the carnal or temporal life as death. Consider what he said to the disciple when he called him, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” So Jesus voluntarily laid down His (very own real pre-existent life) to become one of us (dead) in order that He might share His (eternal kind of) life with us when He has resumed it…which He has done.
V 19 says, “Then a fresh division of opinion arose…” Everywhere Jesus went division arose, because as He Himself said in Matt. 10:34, He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. A sword is a tool, not just for battle, but often used to separate or divide. Consider Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” He came to sort, who’s in and who’s out, sheep from goats…but today, there is almost nothing worse that you can be than divisive….it’s almost as bad as intolerance. There is a lot of pressure on us all to stay homogeneous with the crowd, to not set ourselves apart by becoming too spiritual. It seems you have to act carnal to be normal, and to not make anyone feel spiritually inferior. It’s like work to rule. If no one raises the bar, then we’ll all feel a lot more comfortable. But everywhere Jesus went, the sword of division went too. And anyone who is serious about following Jesus will be persecuted and ridiculed by those who are happy where they are. If we attempt to live the Christ life, we will have the same divisive effect Jesus had, and if we are highly successful, we will very likely be treated as cruelly as He was.
So they badgered Him and mocked Him “He is insane – He raves, He rambles…” They ask Him if He is the Christ, and He plainly tells them that He has already affirmed that He is. He says in v. 26 “But you do not believe and trust and rely on me because you do not belong to My fold [you are no sheep of Mine.]” Once again we are reminded that there are more folds than one. Jesus reiterates in v. 27 that the sheep that are His own hear and are listening to my voice…not only that they hear…but they deliberately hear…they are listening and following. He knows who they are, and no one is able to snatch them away from Him.
His remark in v. 30 “I and the Father are One,” reminds me of the opening two verses of the book of John. “…and the Word was with God (two) and the Word was God (one) The same was in the beginning with God (two). Is Jesus God? Well If a man has a son, is the son the father? Are they one person or two? Jesus has referred to Himself as the Son of God, and even more commonly, the Son of man, I believe that when He makes the statement, “I and the Father are one," He is saying they are in complete and total agreement and alignment. Jesus’ prays for us in John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:” It is our destiny to be one with the Father in the same way that Jesus is. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” It’s affirmation that we deliberately align our will with His and agree with Jesus’ prayer, that we all be one.
We read in 1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” We can read this verse and we can sing it….but if we really believe that it is our destiny to become sons of God, then we will be treated the same as Jesus was. Our consolation for the persecution we can expect to suffer is found in 2 Timothy 2:12 “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”
In V. 36 He asks, “ “Do you say of the One Whom the Father consecrated and dedicated and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God?” (Once again, Jesus makes a clear claim to be the Son of God.) At the end of v. 39 Jesus makes the statement “The Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [One with Him]. I think that reinforces the concept of being in a state of complete and perfect unity with God. I will repeat Jesus’ prayer for us which is found in John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:” This is what I understand to be meant by the term “Sonship.”
I find it interesting when you link this story with the chapter before it, about choosing the light/life over the institution, in v. 3 it states…”and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them OUT. This is stated again in v. 4 “When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice….
When you just grab a few minutes and read a few verses in the Bible, you will probably always receive something on some level….but when you read with the idea of following the thread from where Jesus started and where He takes it….and consider “the turn” when it happens….sometimes there is even more to be gained. In any event, it seems to me that Jesus was teaching the people, that though they were to be taken out of the Institution that they knew and loved, He was walking on before them, and would lead them.
When I tentatively took my first steps out of the IC (institutional church) I was a little nervous about being led astray. I think this is a learned thing. That we are taught to put our trust in the professional theologians, and not trust that we will hear or recognize Father’s voice. However, in v. 5 Jesus reassures us that “They will never (on any account) follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call.” There are many religious movements we can get in on and many bandwagons to join, and I don’t feel any responsibility to debunk them, but I recognize that they are not the voice I’m listening for. Thank you Father….you are giving me ears….to hear.
Besides being the Shepherd, Jesus is also the door. It is by means of Him (and only by means of Him) that we enter into spiritual life. In V. 9 He states, “I am the Door; anyone who enters IN through Me will be saved (will live).” That’s what being saved is….receiving life...God’s life…the eternal kind of life. It’s not that we are just saved from the death of ET (eternal torment) we are saved from the condition we are now in….death….the kind spoken of in Genesis 2:17.
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” God said we’d die...and God does not lie…. And now, Jesus is telling the people, the way to be saved not from death…but OUT OF death.
Now Jesus compares the Good Shepherd, with the hireling, who He says, works for wages, and runs away and deserts the flock when trouble comes. The Good Shepherd, on the other hand knows and loves each of his own, and lays down his life for them. V. 15 says, “I am giving My life for the sheep.” He doesn’t ask us to stay in the fold because He knows that’s not the way of the sheep and that we’ll simply die if kept in and not brought out to pasture. V. 9 states, “He will come in and he will go out (freely) and will find pasture.” That’s because He leads us….and if we go astray….He will come and find us and lead us back to be in His care.
v. 16 is a verse which people have puzzled over. “I have other sheep (beside these) that are not of this fold. I must bring and impel those also; and they will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be (they will become) one flock under one shepherd. I’ve heard this verse used as support for the idea that there is life on other planets. It is also thought that since He is addressing Jews, he is referring to Gentiles. I think that’s certainly one facet of the truth, but the AMP Bible that I use, has a note taking me back to Ezek. 34:23, which is the verse that it seems Jesus is quoting. In speaking of the evil shepherd, He is also referring back to that passage in Ezekiel. From this we learn that Jesus is identifying Himself in the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophesy, just as He did with Isaiah’s prophesy, when He said (Luke 4:21) “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
As well as self-identifying as the Messiah, and I believe, preparing the Jews with the knowledge that the Gentiles were included in his plan, it is a message to us, that while there are some that are His sheep, and know His voice, there are other, that are not of THIS fold, but who He says He “must bring and impel also; and they will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be (they will become) one flock under one Shepherd.” This is supportive of 1 Cor. 15: 22-28 , which is possibly the most clear teaching found in the Bible, of the eventual restoration of all thing under Christ. God does things in ages and stages…and that does NOT mean sleepers, creepers, leapers, pre-school, primary, intermediate, jr and sr high, c&c, Young married’s, homebuilders, seniors. It means each in his own rank and turn: Christ…then those who are Christ’s at His coming, and then the kingdom wholus bolus. It means in ever widening circles… Jerusalem...Judaea…Samaria… the uttermost part of the earth. It means over the course of ages….aeons…
So then in v 17and 18 He speaks of the love of the Father which accrues to Him in special measure “because I lay down My (own) life – to take it back again. V. 18 No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily…” I used to think that there was something wrong there….because I felt that when one is executed, one’s life IS taken from one. And Jesus was executed, He did not commit suicide. I’ve learned though, that whenever there is an especially puzzling bit it scripture, there can usually be found a nifty little key which opens up something that was formerly closed to us. In this case, I believe Jesus was not talking about giving up his temporal life on earth; something He had not yet done. In v 15 He speaks in the present tense -not in the future, about giving his life. Also, in my Amplified Bible the word life is amplified with (very own) which seem to indicate a special meaning to the word life. In v. 18 He takes especial care to spell out the fact that, “No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily. [I put it from Myself.] I am authorized and have power to lay it down (to resign it) and I am authorized and have power to take it back again. These are the instructions (orders) which I have received [as My charge] from My Father.”
For these reasons, I believe that Jesus is referring here to laying down His pre-existent life rather than his physical life. In John 17:5 He speaks of his resurrection from this “death-life” to his pre-existent life when He prays, “And now, Father, glorify Me along with Yourself and restore Me to such majesty and honor in Your presence as I had with You before the world existed.” He laid down his pre-existent life voluntarily, with the understanding that He would take it up again. His physical life was taken from Him, even though He did give it in the sense that He was “brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Also, Jesus consistently refers to the carnal or temporal life as death. Consider what he said to the disciple when he called him, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” So Jesus voluntarily laid down His (very own real pre-existent life) to become one of us (dead) in order that He might share His (eternal kind of) life with us when He has resumed it…which He has done.
V 19 says, “Then a fresh division of opinion arose…” Everywhere Jesus went division arose, because as He Himself said in Matt. 10:34, He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. A sword is a tool, not just for battle, but often used to separate or divide. Consider Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” He came to sort, who’s in and who’s out, sheep from goats…but today, there is almost nothing worse that you can be than divisive….it’s almost as bad as intolerance. There is a lot of pressure on us all to stay homogeneous with the crowd, to not set ourselves apart by becoming too spiritual. It seems you have to act carnal to be normal, and to not make anyone feel spiritually inferior. It’s like work to rule. If no one raises the bar, then we’ll all feel a lot more comfortable. But everywhere Jesus went, the sword of division went too. And anyone who is serious about following Jesus will be persecuted and ridiculed by those who are happy where they are. If we attempt to live the Christ life, we will have the same divisive effect Jesus had, and if we are highly successful, we will very likely be treated as cruelly as He was.
So they badgered Him and mocked Him “He is insane – He raves, He rambles…” They ask Him if He is the Christ, and He plainly tells them that He has already affirmed that He is. He says in v. 26 “But you do not believe and trust and rely on me because you do not belong to My fold [you are no sheep of Mine.]” Once again we are reminded that there are more folds than one. Jesus reiterates in v. 27 that the sheep that are His own hear and are listening to my voice…not only that they hear…but they deliberately hear…they are listening and following. He knows who they are, and no one is able to snatch them away from Him.
His remark in v. 30 “I and the Father are One,” reminds me of the opening two verses of the book of John. “…and the Word was with God (two) and the Word was God (one) The same was in the beginning with God (two). Is Jesus God? Well If a man has a son, is the son the father? Are they one person or two? Jesus has referred to Himself as the Son of God, and even more commonly, the Son of man, I believe that when He makes the statement, “I and the Father are one," He is saying they are in complete and total agreement and alignment. Jesus’ prays for us in John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:” It is our destiny to be one with the Father in the same way that Jesus is. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” It’s affirmation that we deliberately align our will with His and agree with Jesus’ prayer, that we all be one.
We read in 1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” We can read this verse and we can sing it….but if we really believe that it is our destiny to become sons of God, then we will be treated the same as Jesus was. Our consolation for the persecution we can expect to suffer is found in 2 Timothy 2:12 “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”
In V. 36 He asks, “ “Do you say of the One Whom the Father consecrated and dedicated and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God?” (Once again, Jesus makes a clear claim to be the Son of God.) At the end of v. 39 Jesus makes the statement “The Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [One with Him]. I think that reinforces the concept of being in a state of complete and perfect unity with God. I will repeat Jesus’ prayer for us which is found in John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:” This is what I understand to be meant by the term “Sonship.”
Monday, May 21, 2007
comments on John 9
I’m in the book of John today and you know how tempting it is for me to go to chapter one, (or go and comment on 1 Peter one…or for that matter begin at Genesis 1, but since I am on chapter 9, that’s where I’ll begin.
The first three verses tell of the disciples question about the man born blind. Whose sin is this poor man being punished for. Jesus answer of course is that he’s not being punished for anyone’s sin but that he was born blind “in order that the workings of God should be manifested.”
This is evidence to me that ALL THINGS are of God. In this case, a miracle of healing was going to be performed to bear witness to the power of God manifested by Christ. I believe that God is sovereign and that what He does is good, even if it doesn’t seem to be in human terms. Even if there are not signs, wonders and miracles, what He has done is good, and His testing and challenges, are not to destroy us but part of the creation process. We would not be who we are without the sufferings of molding and the times in the kiln.
In verse four Jesus says, WE must work the works of Him Who sent ME. I notice the word WE and I don’t think He is using the royal we….I think he is including us….as his own body….partnering with Him in doing the work of Our Father.
In verse five, he says, “As long as I am in the world, I am the world’s Light.” This reminds me that He also said in Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Also Acts 13:47 he says, “I have set you to be alight for the Gentiles….and it also reminds me of the first chapter of John verse 4 - 9….”In Him was life and the life was the light of men…that illumines every person.” We are his body and we share his function of illuminating the world with the light…which is life of God….which is the eternal kind of life. Often people have expectations of us, and will be disappointed in us if we don’t live up to those expectations, but as Jesus said, in the previous chapter – John 8:29, “I do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught Me.” This is our pattern and our ideal as we make choices whether to please men or to please God. Jesus was a disappointment to those who expected Him to set up an earthly kingdom, and we will disappoint people too, whose expectations for us conflict with the way Father wants us to live His life… Anyhow…moving along….
I would love to know why Jesus chose to use mud and saliva in healing the man….His methods are sometimes surprising to say the least….in any case, I suppose there is demonstrated a trusting and obedience on the part of the man healed…or maybe Jesus didn’t want him to be able to see Him and identify Him until after the Jews had grilled him. But when he was asked he bore witness that he had been healed by Jesus, but he did not know where he was….perhaps he wouldn’t have recognized Jesus as he had never seen Him yet.
In v. 16 where the man has been brought to the Pharisees, they said, “This Man (Jesus) is not from God, because He does not observe the Sabbath.” Once again, Jesus didn’t live up to the standards that the Pharisees had set, but He certainly was sent from God….and pleased God. We are always doing this to each other….”If you loved God, you would do ___.” (Fill the blank with what the speaker expects) If you loved your children you’d spank them….If you loved your children, you would never strike them…. So they got the “therefore” wrong. Because Jesus didn’t conform to their interpretation of the Sabbath, they ruled Him not to be of God. The arrogance of the elite. It’s why we need to do only what we see the Father doing….and we have to know Him personally not just through the interface of the elite.
So the Pharisees next interviewed the parents…who chose the institution over the Life/Light. Afraid to lose their place in the synagogue, they pled ignorance. Verse 22 demonstrates that even before the crucifixion of Jesus, believers were being expelled from Judaism. They couldn’t follow Jesus and have the institution too. Some weighed the cost longer than others. Look at Nicodemas and Joseph of Arimithea…secret believers….but eventually they had to make a choice whether to be a pillar in the synagogue or a lively stone in the body of Christ. The parents, in this story bowed to social pressure to avoid becoming pariahs.
Meanwhile, the Pharisees went back to the man and harassed him until in verse 25 he says,” I do not know whether He is a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know that whereas I was blind before, now I see.” He seemed to be trying to preserve his place in the mainstream too, but they prodded him until he was frustrated and said, “I already told you and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Can it be that you wish to become His disciples also?”
At this, of course, they went ballistic.I like the Amplified which states,”they jeered, they sneered…etc” and the verbal battle escalates, till in a rage, the leaders show their conceit and their utter contempt for the laity, and they shout,” You were wholly born in sin (from head to foot); and do you (presume to) teach us?” …”So they cast him out (threw him clear outside the synagogue.)
I wonder whether if he had not faced this persecution, he might just have settled back into his old life (only with his sight) and never have come to believe in and follow Christ. But Jesus, after the man had been cast out, then chose to go and look him up….anonymously, for the man had not yet seen Him….he was blind….Jesus asked him, “Do you believe in and adhere to the Son of Man?” And the man, who had nothing left to lose….he had already been kicked out….said, (this guy has some personality I think) “Who is He, Sir: Tell me, that I may believe in and adhere to Him.” When Jesus identified himself, immediately the man said, “Lord I believe”….and worshiped Him.
It seems to me that there is a very strong object lesson in this story. It wasn’t just a case of a blind man being healed. But he was showing them something about the Kingdom of God…Jesus was ALWAYS teaching about the kingdom of God. So when He stated in v. 2 that the purpose of the man being born blind was so that “the workings of God should be manifest” ….well now He comes around in the last three verses of the chapter to the moral of the story.
Jesus says in v. 39, “I came into this world for judgment (as a Separator, in order that there may be separation between those who believe on Me and those who reject me) AMP. It’s quite plain that the parents chose their status in the institution over the light and the life of Christ. Their son, chose to pay the price of losing his temporal status, in order to receive and believe In Christ. In order to drive the message home, Jesus goes on to say, “…to make the sightless see and to make those who see become blind.”
The blind man had received his natural sight, but he had also received his spiritual sight. It’s another sort of literary device…if you will… that I always see in Jesus’ teaching….what I call… “the turn”…when Jesus turns in mid sentence, or mid story…anyway…without much warning…to the spiritual.
(Like for example in Luke 21:18 where he has just given a hideous litany of persecutions which He says we will face…including being put to death….and then He ends with, “ But there shall not an hair of your head perish.” He has turned to the spiritual and though the hair of your head sounds like a very physical symbol, He obviously doesn’t mean we won’t suffer physically…even die….but that spiritually, we will be safe and secure. I digress….but this defines what I refer to when using the term “the turn”)
So this use of “the turn” is something that the Pharisees did not fail to notice, and they then asked (rhetorically I’m sure), “Are we also blind?” This very nicely set Him up, so Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but because you now claim to have sight, you sin remains. [If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but because you insist, ‘We do see clearly,’ you are unable to escape your guilt.]
There might be a bit of a case here for the idea that those who have never been given an opportunity to hear about Christ, will be held to a different standard than those who have …as it says in Luke 12:48 “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” I believe that they will simply be brought in to the kingdom at another stage according to 1 Cor. 15:22-23 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Be that as it may, I think the lesson Jesus is presenting is, that the only way to escape our guilt is to admit it. Pride keeps us blind. How can we ever be taught if we are proud enough to think we have nothing more to learn?
The first three verses tell of the disciples question about the man born blind. Whose sin is this poor man being punished for. Jesus answer of course is that he’s not being punished for anyone’s sin but that he was born blind “in order that the workings of God should be manifested.”
This is evidence to me that ALL THINGS are of God. In this case, a miracle of healing was going to be performed to bear witness to the power of God manifested by Christ. I believe that God is sovereign and that what He does is good, even if it doesn’t seem to be in human terms. Even if there are not signs, wonders and miracles, what He has done is good, and His testing and challenges, are not to destroy us but part of the creation process. We would not be who we are without the sufferings of molding and the times in the kiln.
In verse four Jesus says, WE must work the works of Him Who sent ME. I notice the word WE and I don’t think He is using the royal we….I think he is including us….as his own body….partnering with Him in doing the work of Our Father.
In verse five, he says, “As long as I am in the world, I am the world’s Light.” This reminds me that He also said in Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Also Acts 13:47 he says, “I have set you to be alight for the Gentiles….and it also reminds me of the first chapter of John verse 4 - 9….”In Him was life and the life was the light of men…that illumines every person.” We are his body and we share his function of illuminating the world with the light…which is life of God….which is the eternal kind of life. Often people have expectations of us, and will be disappointed in us if we don’t live up to those expectations, but as Jesus said, in the previous chapter – John 8:29, “I do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught Me.” This is our pattern and our ideal as we make choices whether to please men or to please God. Jesus was a disappointment to those who expected Him to set up an earthly kingdom, and we will disappoint people too, whose expectations for us conflict with the way Father wants us to live His life… Anyhow…moving along….
I would love to know why Jesus chose to use mud and saliva in healing the man….His methods are sometimes surprising to say the least….in any case, I suppose there is demonstrated a trusting and obedience on the part of the man healed…or maybe Jesus didn’t want him to be able to see Him and identify Him until after the Jews had grilled him. But when he was asked he bore witness that he had been healed by Jesus, but he did not know where he was….perhaps he wouldn’t have recognized Jesus as he had never seen Him yet.
In v. 16 where the man has been brought to the Pharisees, they said, “This Man (Jesus) is not from God, because He does not observe the Sabbath.” Once again, Jesus didn’t live up to the standards that the Pharisees had set, but He certainly was sent from God….and pleased God. We are always doing this to each other….”If you loved God, you would do ___.” (Fill the blank with what the speaker expects) If you loved your children you’d spank them….If you loved your children, you would never strike them…. So they got the “therefore” wrong. Because Jesus didn’t conform to their interpretation of the Sabbath, they ruled Him not to be of God. The arrogance of the elite. It’s why we need to do only what we see the Father doing….and we have to know Him personally not just through the interface of the elite.
So the Pharisees next interviewed the parents…who chose the institution over the Life/Light. Afraid to lose their place in the synagogue, they pled ignorance. Verse 22 demonstrates that even before the crucifixion of Jesus, believers were being expelled from Judaism. They couldn’t follow Jesus and have the institution too. Some weighed the cost longer than others. Look at Nicodemas and Joseph of Arimithea…secret believers….but eventually they had to make a choice whether to be a pillar in the synagogue or a lively stone in the body of Christ. The parents, in this story bowed to social pressure to avoid becoming pariahs.
Meanwhile, the Pharisees went back to the man and harassed him until in verse 25 he says,” I do not know whether He is a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know that whereas I was blind before, now I see.” He seemed to be trying to preserve his place in the mainstream too, but they prodded him until he was frustrated and said, “I already told you and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Can it be that you wish to become His disciples also?”
At this, of course, they went ballistic.I like the Amplified which states,”they jeered, they sneered…etc” and the verbal battle escalates, till in a rage, the leaders show their conceit and their utter contempt for the laity, and they shout,” You were wholly born in sin (from head to foot); and do you (presume to) teach us?” …”So they cast him out (threw him clear outside the synagogue.)
I wonder whether if he had not faced this persecution, he might just have settled back into his old life (only with his sight) and never have come to believe in and follow Christ. But Jesus, after the man had been cast out, then chose to go and look him up….anonymously, for the man had not yet seen Him….he was blind….Jesus asked him, “Do you believe in and adhere to the Son of Man?” And the man, who had nothing left to lose….he had already been kicked out….said, (this guy has some personality I think) “Who is He, Sir: Tell me, that I may believe in and adhere to Him.” When Jesus identified himself, immediately the man said, “Lord I believe”….and worshiped Him.
It seems to me that there is a very strong object lesson in this story. It wasn’t just a case of a blind man being healed. But he was showing them something about the Kingdom of God…Jesus was ALWAYS teaching about the kingdom of God. So when He stated in v. 2 that the purpose of the man being born blind was so that “the workings of God should be manifest” ….well now He comes around in the last three verses of the chapter to the moral of the story.
Jesus says in v. 39, “I came into this world for judgment (as a Separator, in order that there may be separation between those who believe on Me and those who reject me) AMP. It’s quite plain that the parents chose their status in the institution over the light and the life of Christ. Their son, chose to pay the price of losing his temporal status, in order to receive and believe In Christ. In order to drive the message home, Jesus goes on to say, “…to make the sightless see and to make those who see become blind.”
The blind man had received his natural sight, but he had also received his spiritual sight. It’s another sort of literary device…if you will… that I always see in Jesus’ teaching….what I call… “the turn”…when Jesus turns in mid sentence, or mid story…anyway…without much warning…to the spiritual.
(Like for example in Luke 21:18 where he has just given a hideous litany of persecutions which He says we will face…including being put to death….and then He ends with, “ But there shall not an hair of your head perish.” He has turned to the spiritual and though the hair of your head sounds like a very physical symbol, He obviously doesn’t mean we won’t suffer physically…even die….but that spiritually, we will be safe and secure. I digress….but this defines what I refer to when using the term “the turn”)
So this use of “the turn” is something that the Pharisees did not fail to notice, and they then asked (rhetorically I’m sure), “Are we also blind?” This very nicely set Him up, so Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but because you now claim to have sight, you sin remains. [If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but because you insist, ‘We do see clearly,’ you are unable to escape your guilt.]
There might be a bit of a case here for the idea that those who have never been given an opportunity to hear about Christ, will be held to a different standard than those who have …as it says in Luke 12:48 “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” I believe that they will simply be brought in to the kingdom at another stage according to 1 Cor. 15:22-23 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Be that as it may, I think the lesson Jesus is presenting is, that the only way to escape our guilt is to admit it. Pride keeps us blind. How can we ever be taught if we are proud enough to think we have nothing more to learn?
Friday, April 20, 2007
Comments 1 Peter 2 1-10
Thursday, March 29, 2007
1 Peter 1-10 Category: Religion and Philosophy
I am often a little overwhelmed with respect to the expectation that I sense to simply explain myself to others. I Know the two things that bothers people, is my:
1. rejection of the teaching of eternal torment... argued by some...nevertheless...
2. withdrawing from participation in the institutional church.
I got on to this blog space, because I wanted to read my neice Tanya's blog and it seemed that I had to register myself in order to view hers. I had thought about blogging befor, because I want to express myself on spiritual matters but it seems I have no real spiritual fellowship for several reasons including (but not limited to) points one and two above. Anyhow, I don't plan to go in to this at this point in time. I actually am a little uncomfortable with just blathering whatever comes to mind, but that seems to me to be the way blogs work. I am not very adept at methodical thinking and expressing myself in an impromptu way, so I have made a decision...(for this time at least) to comment on Scripture starting from where I am reading this morning. Hopefully my perspective on Scripture will reveal something of why I am what I am.
I hope to defend myself on points one and two on this blog to the satisfaction of myself and whoever else might read it...but it might take some time...I don't know....So here goes....I'm starting with the 2nd chapter of 1st Peter because that's where I am...
1. So be done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (evy, jealousy) and slander and evil speaking of every kind.
If our intention is to follow Christ....then my motto is "Get the easy stuff right!" Sometimes, we don't see things like insincerity and grudges and that type of thing in ourselves (but with practice and humility...we can) but surely we DO see obvious wickedness and depravity etc. so why not start there and then get down to the fine details after that. My feeling is that a lot of Christians leaders seem NOT to be serious about starting with the first steps indicated in v. 1. and yet, their followers do nothing to help themselves, spiritually, but depend on these "leaders" to spoon feed them. That kind of complacency is killing us.
I don't think I can type out the whole Bible...so you'll have to open yours and read it for yourself (I'm reading the Amplified...which is really good!) Verse two talks about newborn babies CRAVING the milk and growing unto (completed) salvation. This is not demonstrated and won't happen by simply going to a Church service once or twice a week. It tells me that I am to go after what I crave in order to GROW unto completed salvation. It's a process of putting off (our carnal responses to things) and putting on (the nature of Christ) It all sounds rather spiritual but if we simply think WWJD...it's not a bad start.
Carrying on, we are advised to come to Him (that is Jesus) who is the Living Stone(v.4)....and becoming a living stone ourselves and built into a spiritual house (v.5) This is the church of which I AM a member...and I am promised that I will never be disappointed or put to shame (v. 6) I'm very glad of that....because I have been disappointed and put to shame in the past.
In Verse 8 it refers to the fact that this spiritual building will be an offense or a stumbling block for those who disbelieve "as those (who reject Him) were destined (appointed) to do." This tells me that there is some truth in the doctrine of "election." That many are called....but few are chosen....that some may not be chosen now but will be chosen later...(v.10)
I am blessed if I am able to see something in the spiritual realm....but how can I expect that others act on my say-so. God will bring us all along in His own timing....He is always at work in all of us, and He has a perfect sense of timing. This reference in verse 8 to a disbeliever being destined or appointed to reject Christ (for now) seems to support what is suggested in 1Corinthians 15: 23-24 "each in his own rank and turn" ... And then (v.10) seems to suggest that even though I might have been excluded at one time...that doesn't mean that I will forever be excluded.
This is getting quite long so that's all I have to say for now. Here is a brief summary of the topics I believe this passage of 10 verses support.
1. Salvation is progressive with the intention of our perfection.(v. 1-3)
2. We are living stones in the body of Christ - we are His workmanship.v. 4-7)
3. The progression is individual as well as collective. He is at work in us as individuals to bring us to perfection and He is also bringing us collectively to perfection....in stages....
Wish I could be briefer....I have the habit of saying all I have to say with one-liners for fear of being told to "shut up." The beauty of blogging is that no one can really tell you to "shut up."
1:05 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
HI Mom!I know what you mean about trying to condense everything down to one liners... I think this is a great idea for actually taking time to write it out and be understood... i'm interested to read the rest and see where you're at... did you notice you are a francophone site? Il faut ecrire en francais!!! :)..The whole idea of salvation being progressive goes against a book i remember you had when i was a little girl (Kingdom of the Cults? Something about "Rainbow?") - anyway, it was that Christianity was differentiated from other religions by rejecting a deepening "initiation" - once you're in, you're in... That was something that kind of sat there in my unconscious - and now i'm wondering what Bible verses would back up that assertion... because YES - i do believe that conversion/submission comes to a head at some point for every believer, a stone of remembrance where they can look back to "this point, when i became a Christian" - but like C.S. Lewis so memorably put it, it does seem to be a call to "Farther in and Further Up"... Never enough to just sit on your butt and be content - it seems the Father is ALWAYS working on something new and we are forced to grow or die... either let that main root force new life into our little branch, or wither... lovestephanie
Posted by stephanie On Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 8:20 PM
Well yes! It is both instant and progressive. Like a baby. A baby is born....is fully human....but then it develops into an adult. It was a human being right from the start...but it is to be hoped that it doesn't stay an infant...but grows into a full fledged adult.
So since we are spiritually born of God we should expect to grow and mature as such. Becoming more and more like our Father. I like how Dallas Willard puts it...that God wants us to become the kind of people who He can set free to do whatever we want. Isn't that what we want too?.....Don't have to worry about Shirley..I know exactly what she'll do.., because she thinks and acts just like Me.
Posted by Mamalena On Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 11:41 PM
1 Peter 1-10 Category: Religion and Philosophy
I am often a little overwhelmed with respect to the expectation that I sense to simply explain myself to others. I Know the two things that bothers people, is my:
1. rejection of the teaching of eternal torment... argued by some...nevertheless...
2. withdrawing from participation in the institutional church.
I got on to this blog space, because I wanted to read my neice Tanya's blog and it seemed that I had to register myself in order to view hers. I had thought about blogging befor, because I want to express myself on spiritual matters but it seems I have no real spiritual fellowship for several reasons including (but not limited to) points one and two above. Anyhow, I don't plan to go in to this at this point in time. I actually am a little uncomfortable with just blathering whatever comes to mind, but that seems to me to be the way blogs work. I am not very adept at methodical thinking and expressing myself in an impromptu way, so I have made a decision...(for this time at least) to comment on Scripture starting from where I am reading this morning. Hopefully my perspective on Scripture will reveal something of why I am what I am.
I hope to defend myself on points one and two on this blog to the satisfaction of myself and whoever else might read it...but it might take some time...I don't know....So here goes....I'm starting with the 2nd chapter of 1st Peter because that's where I am...
1. So be done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (evy, jealousy) and slander and evil speaking of every kind.
If our intention is to follow Christ....then my motto is "Get the easy stuff right!" Sometimes, we don't see things like insincerity and grudges and that type of thing in ourselves (but with practice and humility...we can) but surely we DO see obvious wickedness and depravity etc. so why not start there and then get down to the fine details after that. My feeling is that a lot of Christians leaders seem NOT to be serious about starting with the first steps indicated in v. 1. and yet, their followers do nothing to help themselves, spiritually, but depend on these "leaders" to spoon feed them. That kind of complacency is killing us.
I don't think I can type out the whole Bible...so you'll have to open yours and read it for yourself (I'm reading the Amplified...which is really good!) Verse two talks about newborn babies CRAVING the milk and growing unto (completed) salvation. This is not demonstrated and won't happen by simply going to a Church service once or twice a week. It tells me that I am to go after what I crave in order to GROW unto completed salvation. It's a process of putting off (our carnal responses to things) and putting on (the nature of Christ) It all sounds rather spiritual but if we simply think WWJD...it's not a bad start.
Carrying on, we are advised to come to Him (that is Jesus) who is the Living Stone(v.4)....and becoming a living stone ourselves and built into a spiritual house (v.5) This is the church of which I AM a member...and I am promised that I will never be disappointed or put to shame (v. 6) I'm very glad of that....because I have been disappointed and put to shame in the past.
In Verse 8 it refers to the fact that this spiritual building will be an offense or a stumbling block for those who disbelieve "as those (who reject Him) were destined (appointed) to do." This tells me that there is some truth in the doctrine of "election." That many are called....but few are chosen....that some may not be chosen now but will be chosen later...(v.10)
I am blessed if I am able to see something in the spiritual realm....but how can I expect that others act on my say-so. God will bring us all along in His own timing....He is always at work in all of us, and He has a perfect sense of timing. This reference in verse 8 to a disbeliever being destined or appointed to reject Christ (for now) seems to support what is suggested in 1Corinthians 15: 23-24 "each in his own rank and turn" ... And then (v.10) seems to suggest that even though I might have been excluded at one time...that doesn't mean that I will forever be excluded.
This is getting quite long so that's all I have to say for now. Here is a brief summary of the topics I believe this passage of 10 verses support.
1. Salvation is progressive with the intention of our perfection.(v. 1-3)
2. We are living stones in the body of Christ - we are His workmanship.v. 4-7)
3. The progression is individual as well as collective. He is at work in us as individuals to bring us to perfection and He is also bringing us collectively to perfection....in stages....
Wish I could be briefer....I have the habit of saying all I have to say with one-liners for fear of being told to "shut up." The beauty of blogging is that no one can really tell you to "shut up."
1:05 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
HI Mom!I know what you mean about trying to condense everything down to one liners... I think this is a great idea for actually taking time to write it out and be understood... i'm interested to read the rest and see where you're at... did you notice you are a francophone site? Il faut ecrire en francais!!! :)..The whole idea of salvation being progressive goes against a book i remember you had when i was a little girl (Kingdom of the Cults? Something about "Rainbow?") - anyway, it was that Christianity was differentiated from other religions by rejecting a deepening "initiation" - once you're in, you're in... That was something that kind of sat there in my unconscious - and now i'm wondering what Bible verses would back up that assertion... because YES - i do believe that conversion/submission comes to a head at some point for every believer, a stone of remembrance where they can look back to "this point, when i became a Christian" - but like C.S. Lewis so memorably put it, it does seem to be a call to "Farther in and Further Up"... Never enough to just sit on your butt and be content - it seems the Father is ALWAYS working on something new and we are forced to grow or die... either let that main root force new life into our little branch, or wither... lovestephanie
Posted by stephanie On Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 8:20 PM
Well yes! It is both instant and progressive. Like a baby. A baby is born....is fully human....but then it develops into an adult. It was a human being right from the start...but it is to be hoped that it doesn't stay an infant...but grows into a full fledged adult.
So since we are spiritually born of God we should expect to grow and mature as such. Becoming more and more like our Father. I like how Dallas Willard puts it...that God wants us to become the kind of people who He can set free to do whatever we want. Isn't that what we want too?.....Don't have to worry about Shirley..I know exactly what she'll do.., because she thinks and acts just like Me.
Posted by Mamalena On Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 11:41 PM
Comments on 1 Peter 2:11-25
03/30/2007
1 Peter 2:11-25 Category: Religion and Philosophy
11. Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles (in this world) to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul.
This makes me think of sitting around the campfire with the youth group (at Arlie and Gail's) singing "We are strangers...we are aliens....we are not...of...this world." It made me smile at the time....but it's true. Problems start when we begin to put too much stock in the systems of the world....which as Watchman Nee in his book, "Love not the World" reminds us, are all fading away. They are temporary. Verses like this tend to put things in proper perspective. Remind us to look up....
Verses 12 -17 talk about how to behave ourselves as aliens. Giving respect for authorities and living as exemplary citizens even while knowing we have a higher citizenship. It is easy to think, "This is not taking into consideration, the society we now have and the corruption of leadership..." but in fact it is most likely that Nero was in power at the time this was written. That tells us something. I do think it should be held in balance with verses like Heb. 11:23 where Moses' parents are commended for concealing their baby because, "they were not overawed and terrified by the King's decree." Then there is the example of people like Corrie Ten Boom who became part of the underground....and even Deitrick Bonhoffer....implicated in an assasination plot against Hitler. There are many questions that this could arouse about practical applications, so my idea is that somewhere in there we must deal Christianly within the evil empire without becoming cog in the wheel of evil ourselves. Is there a way to be salt...to season and preserve?....or light.....to expose...then I think that's our part....(but maybe not throwing a pie in the PM's face...haha)
The next bit is to household servants....all employees probably. But I think we can all relate to the bit about unjust suffering. V 20-21 indicates that we should expect to suffer unjustly, and if we bear it patiently....it is acceptable and pleasing to God. V 21-23 speaks of the suffering of Christ for our guilt and how it doesn't mean that He suffered INSTEAD of us...but left us an example so that we should suffer like He did. "He made no threats (of vengeance;) but He trusted Himself and everything to Him Who judges fairly." (v23) When it speaks of Him "bearing our sins" (v24) I think it relates to v 23 where we are told to "bear patiently with suffering."
Your children can make choices which you have to adjust your life around if you want to have relationship. For example, you might have to visit them behind prison bars....rather than being invited over to their house for Sunday dinner... it might be different than you had hoped for, but you take relationship on the available terms. (not my children....of them I am well pleased...thrilled even.)
Other people effect our freedoms.....Osama Bin Laden....we all bear the consequenses of his actions in terms of diminished freedoms....getting frisked at the airport....our hairspray and nailfiles confiscated. There might be some truth to the statement of J. Sartre, "Hell is other people..." I'll probably get nailed for quoting that old athiest in my little Bible commentary....haha....because we all know it is our duty to love people like our Father does. Maybe that's the whole idea though....some are easy to love....and some we have to be able to bear their sins in order to love them. V. 24 says that He bore our sins "that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness." I wish I had a really good understanding of this whole issue...I don't...but I think there's more to it than I once understood...if indeed I ever did.
4:13 PM
1 Peter 2:11-25 Category: Religion and Philosophy
11. Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles (in this world) to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul.
This makes me think of sitting around the campfire with the youth group (at Arlie and Gail's) singing "We are strangers...we are aliens....we are not...of...this world." It made me smile at the time....but it's true. Problems start when we begin to put too much stock in the systems of the world....which as Watchman Nee in his book, "Love not the World" reminds us, are all fading away. They are temporary. Verses like this tend to put things in proper perspective. Remind us to look up....
Verses 12 -17 talk about how to behave ourselves as aliens. Giving respect for authorities and living as exemplary citizens even while knowing we have a higher citizenship. It is easy to think, "This is not taking into consideration, the society we now have and the corruption of leadership..." but in fact it is most likely that Nero was in power at the time this was written. That tells us something. I do think it should be held in balance with verses like Heb. 11:23 where Moses' parents are commended for concealing their baby because, "they were not overawed and terrified by the King's decree." Then there is the example of people like Corrie Ten Boom who became part of the underground....and even Deitrick Bonhoffer....implicated in an assasination plot against Hitler. There are many questions that this could arouse about practical applications, so my idea is that somewhere in there we must deal Christianly within the evil empire without becoming cog in the wheel of evil ourselves. Is there a way to be salt...to season and preserve?....or light.....to expose...then I think that's our part....(but maybe not throwing a pie in the PM's face...haha)
The next bit is to household servants....all employees probably. But I think we can all relate to the bit about unjust suffering. V 20-21 indicates that we should expect to suffer unjustly, and if we bear it patiently....it is acceptable and pleasing to God. V 21-23 speaks of the suffering of Christ for our guilt and how it doesn't mean that He suffered INSTEAD of us...but left us an example so that we should suffer like He did. "He made no threats (of vengeance;) but He trusted Himself and everything to Him Who judges fairly." (v23) When it speaks of Him "bearing our sins" (v24) I think it relates to v 23 where we are told to "bear patiently with suffering."
Your children can make choices which you have to adjust your life around if you want to have relationship. For example, you might have to visit them behind prison bars....rather than being invited over to their house for Sunday dinner... it might be different than you had hoped for, but you take relationship on the available terms. (not my children....of them I am well pleased...thrilled even.)
Other people effect our freedoms.....Osama Bin Laden....we all bear the consequenses of his actions in terms of diminished freedoms....getting frisked at the airport....our hairspray and nailfiles confiscated. There might be some truth to the statement of J. Sartre, "Hell is other people..." I'll probably get nailed for quoting that old athiest in my little Bible commentary....haha....because we all know it is our duty to love people like our Father does. Maybe that's the whole idea though....some are easy to love....and some we have to be able to bear their sins in order to love them. V. 24 says that He bore our sins "that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness." I wish I had a really good understanding of this whole issue...I don't...but I think there's more to it than I once understood...if indeed I ever did.
4:13 PM
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