The Reality of God

Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord

(Hosea 6:3 esv)

The knowledge and understanding of God is the most fundamental search a person can undertake.  In a world of so many options regarding ‘higher powers’, Who exactly is God?

God exists.  This is a foundational presupposition of the Bible and the Judeo-Christian Faith.  The Bible never argues the existence of God; it is simply assumed.  The Bible opens with a statement of plain fact: “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1)

Scholars and theologians have attempted to develop many ‘proofs’ for the existence of God [the Law of Causality; the Arguments from Design & from Reason]; each having some merit and some flaw.  We could also look to the witness of history, ‘providence’, nature, the study of Biblical revelation, and the testimony of Jesus, ultimately belief in God is an act of faith.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11:1-2)

The writer of Hebrews understood that faith in God is not a blind faith, but a reasonable and certain conviction that there is One Who is greater than us, yet Who enters into our lives in meaningful and powerful ways.  He looks to the lives of the great heroes of faith—Noah, Abraham and Moses—to demonstrate the reality of faith in God.  As they lived believing, God blessed them, giving His approval by the way He worked in their lives.   

Their faith in God grew as they followed God.  This may seem odd to the world: believe and then you will know, rather than know so you can believe.

This is what the writer of Hebrews went on to say: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

A person who approaches ‘theology’ with doubt in the existence of God will not only find it difficult to discover what they are looking for, worse, they may experience an even greater sense of emptiness: “Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.  Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” (Isaiah 8:21-22)

Just as God approved of those ancient heroes and heroines, He is ready to commend and bless all who will come to Him in faith that He is.  Like them, our faith in God will grow as we follow God.  We choose to believe that we may know, and in that knowing we find greater confidence to believe.

Be blessed

Authority Issues

Authority is not a very popular word or concept in today’s society.  The authority of law enforcement is openly mocked and challenged.  Authority of civic leaders is derided—and to be fair they bring it upon themselves.  The idea of authority within marriage relationships causes mouths to drop open, aghast at such a suggestion.  Authority within the local church—an area in which I am keenly interested—is confused and confounded. 

I was having lunch with some ministry colleagues recently and we were conversing on the issue of authority in the church.  One of the participants made a comment that got me thinking.  He said, for one to exercise authority they must be under authority. 

As I pondered that statement I was drawn to think on Genesis 3.  In the beginning God created the world and everything in it.  As His crowning act, God created human beings—a man and a woman.  Prior to the creation of the woman, God conferred authority upon the man (“work and keep” of Genesis 2:15 is the origin of the “subdue and have dominion over” in 1:28).  After the creation of the woman, while she shares in the rulership over the created order, she herself is under the authority of the man (refer to 1 Corinthians 11:8-10; 1 Timothy 2:12-14).

When the man ate of the fruit, he ceded his authority and thus the conflict between men and women began.  Man, by virtue of his order in creation, was still intended to exercise authority, but in his act of rebellion he sought to cast off the authority of God over him and thus his right to rule was diminished.  He lost control of his authority over the creation (Genesis 3:17-19) and his ordained authority over woman was now warped and would become a point of strife and contention (Genesis 3:16b- the phrase is perhaps better understood as, ‘you will desire to supplant your husband, and he shall dominate you.’)

Another example from Genesis comes from the account of Nimrod.  Nimrod was a grandson of Noah by Ham and the founder of the city of Babel—yes that same Babel in which the tower was built.  The name ‘Nimrod’ is thought to mean ‘rebellion’ and the story of the tower is a story of rebellion.  After the flood, God commanded Noah and his descendents to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1), but humanity decided to congregate in cities.  This was at the movement of those who came to be leaders, Nimrod in particular.  He is described in Genesis 10 as “a mighty one” and “a mighty hunter”.  However, this does not paint Nimrod in accurate detail.  The Hebrew word ‘gibor’ in 10:8 certainly means mighty, but take the account in detail and the other nuances of the word emerge: ‘one who behaves arrogantly’, ‘a tyrant’.  Genesis 10:9 does not therefore picture a skilled huntsman, but one who dominates over his fellow men.  This is confirmed for me in 10:10 in which he founds a kingdom—the first time the concept of ‘kingdom’ enters the Scripture.  The world was God’s realm, but now a rebel sets up his own competing domain.  I am convinced that the tower episode in Genesis 11:1-9 fits chronologically between 10:10 and 10:11.  In 10:10 we read of “the beginning of his kingdom” in Shinar—the very place the tower was built (see 11:2).  In 10:11 “he went forth”.  What would drive mighty Nimrod out of Shinar?  God stepped in.  The rebel king decided, against the express command of God, not to go out into the world, but to consolidate.  Under Nimrod’s rebellious leadership the people said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4 ESV)  Notice the clear rebellion- “lest we be dispersed…”  So God relieved Nimrod of his authority. Because Nimrod no longer recognized authority over him, he was disqualified from exercising authority—at least to the degree that he had been up to that point.  With his people confused and beginning to scatter, he also was forced to leave.

[As a side note, I find it absolutely fascinating that this rebel was responsible for founding the two empires which would later seek to dominate and destroy God’s people—the city of Babel (founded in Genesis 10:10) would be the center of the Babylonian Empire and Nineveh (founded in Genesis 10:11) would be the capital of the Assyrian Empire.]

To exercise authority, one must be under authority.  What it comes down to is this: only under the authority of Christ can the situation be put right.  

In the home, only as a husband is submitting himself to the authority of Jesus can he claim the right to exercise that correct authority given to him by God.  This is the correct understanding of Ephesians 5. 

 In the Church, as leaders place themselves under Christ’s authority and under the authority of fellow leaders in cooperative ministry, they may confidently lay hold of the Biblical right to shepherd the flock in the Way of Christ and the Apostles (more on this in a later post on ‘modern apostleship’).

If governments would submit themselves to the God who is truly King over all the earth (Psalm 22:28; Romans 13:1) they would be endued with His grace and would rule justly, being recognized as good (Proverbs 29:2).

Our authority issues stem from living under the curse.  While Christians endure in this sin sick world, we are not bound to it.  Christ has set us free to live under His perfect authority and to once again walk in the role that God purposed for humanity, and specifically for a humanity redeemed through Jesus; to regain the right to reveal God’s authority as we live under His righteous rule.  

The Night Before (the First) Christmas

’Twas the night before Christmas;

the very first one,

That most holy of nights

when God gave us His Son

A little town lay quiet

in the hours before morn,

Not knowing that Immanuel

soon would be born

A woman cried out,

Mary labored in pain,

She caught her breath once,

then cried out again

And Joseph, her husband,

formed a mattress of hay

For there was no room

in which they could stay

Mary lay down,

concern filled her heart

A stable was no place

for the King’s life to start

Her thoughts drifted back

to that Nazareth day

When an angel first spoke

of the wonder to be

‘May it be unto me’,

she replied, greatly awed

As the angel assured her

of the power of God

Her life on that day

had forever been changed

As she blessed her great God

and rejoiced in His Name

Her gaze turned to Joseph,

quiet and strong

Watching over her now,

as he had all along

Joseph smiled down

at the girl in the hay

His life had also

been changed on that day

‘Joseph,’ the angel declared.

‘Be strong in your heart’

‘For God is at work,

and you have a great part.’

‘To bring the Messiah

into the world

As the prophets have spoken

since ages of old.’

Another sharp cry

brought his mind back to life

and he knelt down in the hay

next to his wife

The time had arrived,

and soon it was done

Mary gazed with great wonder

at her firstborn, a son

Here now He lay

in the straw of a stall

The infinite God,

so tiny and small

Away to the north,

three men lifted their eyes

To look upon a special star

that again filled the skies

Their quest for the King

had begun months ago

When they saw from their home

that very same glow

They smiled and they laughed

and picked up their pace

More eager than ever

to look on His face

Some shepherds were camped

in the fields that same night,

When they were enveloped

by a very great light.

The glory of God

exploded the sky,

They fell to the ground,

convinced they would die

And then, through the radiance,

to their jubilation

An angel appeared

with a great declaration

The Angel spoke kindly,

with words reassuring,

A message of God’s great love

so enduring.

‘Do not be afraid,

for I bring you good news

A wonderful joy,

for all Gentiles and Jews’

‘As God, in His love,

promised in ages long past,

His Word is wonderfully

fulfilled at last!’

‘In Bethlehem town

there is now born the Savior

Christ the Lord, a small babe,

lying there in a manger.’

The shepherds arose

and quickly in haste

Made their way to the town

and found the child in His place

The Magi arrived,

and rejoiced with great joy

The King of the Ages,

a small baby boy.

And then with a sound

that shook heaven and earth

the armies of God

gave a new song its birth

‘Peace to the world!’

They were heard to exclaim,

‘All glory to God

and praise to His Name!’

Soon the stall was empty,

and with joyful tears Mary wept

And for the first time in all of eternity…

God slept.

The Song of the Harvest

I always enjoyed autumn in New England; the crispness of the air and the crunch of the leaves.  But it has long been the theme of the harvest that draws me in.  There is something about a full pumpkin patch or a soon to be harvested corn field that touches something ‘primal’ in my spirit.

One of my favorite 'autumn' hymns is Come, Ye Thankful People Come by Henry Alford. This is such a wonderful Song of the Harvest.  Here is the song, if you are not familiar with it (it is in the Public Domain, so I can post it here)

1) Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, Ere the winter storms begin;
God our Maker doth provide For our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, Raise the song of harvest home.

2) All the world is God’s own field, Fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown, Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade, and then the ear, Then the full corn shall appear:
Lord of harvest, grant that we Wholesome grain and pure may be.

3) For the Lord our God shall come, And shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day All offenses purge away;
Give His angels charge at last In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store In His garner evermore.

4) Even so, Lord, quickly come, Bring Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in, Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, In Thy garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, Raise the glorious harvest home.

Verse 1 celebrates God's material provision for His people.  King David celebrated God’s abundance in Psalm 65 (all references are from the English Standard Version):

9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it;  the river of God is full of water;  you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.  10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.  11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.  12  The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13  the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (Psalm 65:9-13)

The Lord is a God of abundance and our Thanksgiving holiday has its roots in this understanding of God’s blessing.  But there is a Song of the Harvest that goes beyond pumpkins and apples and roasted turkey.  The hymn reflects the heart-song of the Christian; the longing for the Day when the Lord will come to ‘harvest the Earth’, not of crops, but people.

Consider the second stanza of the hymn.  The Bible speaks often of people and events in farming terms because this was an image most people understood.  Jesus too used farming images to convey His teachings.  

In Matthew 13 Jesus told a parable: 24 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.  26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.  27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?'  28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'  29 But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.  30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" (Matthew 13:24-30)

The problem at hand is that a farmer, after sowing his crop, discovers his enemy has sown weeds into the field.  The servants wonder if they should uproot the weeds but the farmer is concerned that the grain would be damaged in the process, so he determines to let both grow together until harvest.

Jesus went on to explain the parable: "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. (Matthew 13:37-39)

Jesus tells us clearly that the field is the world.  God created the world through Jesus.  Jesus, the Son of Man, planted Himself in the hearts of His human creation.  He planted His love and His place as Savior.  But we read in Genesis 3 that satan, the enemy, planted the evil seed of sin.  As people spread across the earth, the two seeds spread.  Some—Jesus calls them sons of the kingdom—recognized the seed of God and obeyed Him.  Others—named by Jesus as the sons of the evil one—chose to follow the seed of the enemy. 

The Church exists as good seed, ‘wheat’, in a world filled with weeds.  The removal of the weeds, if done before the wheat is ready, would damage that good grain as well.  So the heavenly Farmer, for the love of the Church and waiting for all wheat to grow, allows both seeds to grow together; and “each…is known by its own fruit.” (Luke 6:44)

Think on the third verse of the hymn.  There is a Day of Harvest on the horizon.  On the Day of God’s choosing, Christ Jesus will send His harvesters to collect the wheat and the weeds.  Both are gathered, but each has a very different ending:

30 ‘…Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn…’ 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.  41  The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,  42  and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matthew 13:40-43a)

The barn is a metaphor for the coming eternal Kingdom of God.  The ‘wheat’, the Church made pure, will enter into the Kingdom in great joy.  The ‘weeds’, all those who have rejected God’s Word and Way in Jesus, will be cast into a fiery pit which the Bible calls ‘the Lake of Fire’ (Revelation 20:15) where they will be consumed and cease to exist.

Two other passages affirm this event:

John the Baptizer saw the Day of Harvest: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12)

And Jesus spoke of the Harvest again: “26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” (Mark 13:26-27)

Look again at the fourth verse of the hymn.  As believers in Jesus we are the wheat and how we look forward to the day Christ comes to gather us into His Kingdom!  In that place there will be no sadness, no pain, no death.  It will be wonderful beyond words.

But as much as we long for that Day, we cannot forget that there is ‘wheat’ yet to grow; people to whom we are responsible to share the Good News of the Farmer and to aid in their growth.  And it is important to remember that we are not the harvesters; it is not our job to cut down the weeds.  Certainly we must guard against the weeds choking out the wheat, but the Lord is the Farmer.

So then, are you wheat, or a weed?  I’m not sure one can become the other, but I do know that all had better listen well to what Jesus says: “He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:43b)

Submitting to the Word

"If we do not submit to the truth of the Scriptures and the reality of God's call on the lives of His people, we will continually be reconstructing our theology to fit our circumstances and conforming our image of God to fit our dreams for life and our desires for comfort. (Mills, Bill. The Day of the Lord!: Preparing to Meet the Bridegroom)*

Take a moment to process that statement- let it really sink in because the author of that passage, Bill Mills, is spot-on right.

In Philippians 3:10-11 Paul writes, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

The first part of verse 10 sounds so good- "to know Christ and the power of His resurrection".  Verse 11 is great- "to attain to the resurrection of the dead."  But it's that part in the middle that we ignore to our own detriment as disciples- "the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings".  

Modern American Christianity is often denuded of any real power or influence not because the world refuses to submit to God and His Word, but because the Church refuses to do so.

A great number of today's Christians have been fed a steady diet of poor (dare I say wrong) theology that reduces or ignores the call to suffering.  So when suffering comes, there are only two options: recast one's view of God, or abandon the Faith entirely.

There is a third option which Mills lays out: "submit to the truth of the Scriptures and the reality of God's call on the lives of His people".

If one calling oneself a christian (small 'c' intended) rejects the Bible as God's perfect Word, they have no real basis for understanding the world around them.

They will never have a fixed foundation of belief because they will "continually be reconstructing [their] theology to fit [their] circumstances".  They will attempt to interpret truth based on experience rather than the other way round.

They will never gain a healthy perspective about God because they will forever be "conforming [their] image of God to fit [their] dreams for life and [their] desires for comfort."  They will craft idols of the mind, concepts of God that are false and misleading.

Submission to the Bible is has become socially ridiculous and quite frankly, if you are reading this and do not claim to be a 'born again Christian' I would not expect it of you.  But if you claim to follow Jesus, yet do not submit to His Word, I ask you just what you think a 'christian' (again small 'c' intended) is.

A Christian (there's the capital 'C'!) is one who has, in faith, recognized and repented of sin and surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible.  We do not attempt to change our theology based on our experience, but interpret our experience based on God's Revelation.  We do not attempt to change God to suit our desires or lifestyles, but change those to come into line with Who He is and what He has called His people to- even if that means suffering.

I'm taking God at His Word and look for Him to define my dreams and desires no matter what that may look like.

How about you? 

Leave a comment below!

*Mills, Bill. The Day of the Lord!: Preparing to Meet the Bridegroom. Leadership Resources International, 2002. Print page 172

Yahweh's Promise to His People (Psalm 23:6)

[This is the final entry in this series on the 23rd Psalm]

¹Yhwh is my shepherd…⁶Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Shepherd song now reaches the end.  David has praised Yahweh for the provision, protection and ‘promotion’ He has given to His people.  David concludes by singing of Yahweh’s promises.

⁶Surely goodness and love will follow me…

There is a certainty to all God’s promises.  David knows that surely Yahweh will keep His promises; what He says he does.  And what is it that is promised?  First, David recognizes Yahweh’s promise of His goodness and love towards David.

The word ‘goodness’ refers to something ‘beautiful’ or ‘pleasant’; it is that which is good from God’s perspective, primarily that that which is becoming to, or ‘adorns’ the life of faith (see 2 Peter 1:5-8 and Titus 2:9-10).  The term ‘loving-kindness’ is used to attempt to capture the meaning of the Hebrew word hesed, which is the unique, covenantally based love and favor of Yahweh for his faithful people (it is, as near as I can tell, the OT equivalent of the Greek agape used in the NT).  This ‘goodness and love’ of God will follow me.  Here is the sense of a pursuit or a chase, which what the Hebrew term for ‘follow’ conveys.  Yahweh longs for and desires to win over His people and He follows hard after them with the purpose of overtaking them and making them His special possession.  David rejoices in this pursuing passion of Yahweh.

…all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The second part of the promise is found in these words about the duration of Yahweh’s pursuit of David: all the days of my life.  The Lord never tires in His chase to make His people whole and blessed; each and every moment of each and every day God’s presence is near and real for His people.  But—O the wonderful truth!—the ‘goodness and loving-kindness’ of the Lord does not cease when a person dies, but carries them on through death in the promise of new and eternal life: I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  The Hebrew literally reads, I will dwell unto perpetuity of days meaning ‘all the days of this life and all the days of the age to come’.

What promises!  What blessings for God’s people to look forward to; to hold onto with hope and joy!  These promises are certain.  Sometimes we fail to see the ‘good’ in things, but God always knows what is good and I am confident that God is bringing good out of all situations.  God’s unique ‘hesed’ is mine because I am one of His ‘sheep’.  The goodness and love of the Lord will chase me down every day because He loves to lavish them on me. (see Matthew 7:9-11; Romans 5:5, 9-17, 8:28-29; 1 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:4-6).  I live in confidence knowing that because I am God’s child, He will always have a place for me in His ‘house’, both the body of believers here on earth or in His forever Kingdom.  

All this is possible only because Yahweh is my Shepherd.  I own no other; I desire no other.  Yahweh alone—His provision, His protection, His ‘promotion’, His promise.  I have the goodness and hesed of the Lord hot on my trail.  It overcomes me and I gladly surrender.  In this life and all the ages to come, I will sing of my shepherd.

Amen!

Yahweh's 'Promotion' of His People (Psalm 23:5)

¹Yhwh is my shepherd…⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

The song to the Great Shepherd continues.  Yahweh provides (23:1-3); Yahweh protects (23:4) and here, Yahweh ‘promotes’.  David sees a relationship between himself and the Great Shepherd which moves from simple dependency towards sublime intimacy.  The image of the table, the oil and the cup all point towards relationship, friendship and favor.  Yahweh has looked upon David and ‘promoted’ him into this special place of relationship.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 

David is invited to eat at Yahweh’s table as a confirmation of the friendship he shares with Yahweh, and he sits, no less, in the presence of all those who have stood against him.  God invites each believer into this relationship of intimate friendship.  As the believers sit to enjoy the banquet of God, enemies are forced to stand mute and humiliated as they watch the faithful enter into the joy of fellowship with God which the wicked have rejected for themselves.

 

The present reality is that each of us may enjoy a communion with God that cannot be taken away even if surrounded by foes.  There is also a hint of a future feast (see Revelation 19) at which those who once mocked and ridiculed hope and faith in God will be judged by their exclusion from this table (see Luke 14:1-24).

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Yahweh anoints David with oil, symbolic of a special choosing of David to rule with Yahweh’s authority.  This anointing also represents a great display of hospitality, affection and love.  The ‘cup’ overflows with blessing and favor reminding us that in the presence of God there is abundance with no end (refer also to Luke 6:38; 7:46; Ephesians 3:20; 1 John 2:20, 27; Hebrews 1:9).

How beautiful for God’s people in Christ!  Though we are His sheep (Luke 12:32) we are privileged to be called His friends (John 15:15).  We are invited to eat with Him (Revelation 3:20).  He has anointed us in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:21-22) and has overflowed our ‘cup’ with blessing (Ephesians 1:3).  We are not simply dependent sheep, but intimate friends with our Shepherd.  We are ‘promoted’ to this place through the love and mercy of God through faith in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. 

To Him be the glory!