About a year ago, I wrote an article entitled “The Existence of Evil” wherein I confronted the atheist’s intent to deny the existence of God, or at a least an actively “good” God, for the cause of evil’s enduring existence. I essentially picked up on the tack of Job 40:7 & 8, whereupon God recriminates the self-purportedly good & wise would-be indictors of God (Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, & Zophar) by appearing in a whirlwind & questioning their knowledge & abilities relative to His; God proceeded to denigrate their arrogance for supposing to understand the cause for which this suffering has happened upon His servant. None of these earthbound creatures held the awesome spatial spectrality of the transcendent Creator; they were anchored by both space & time, but as both the Beginning & the End, He transcends space & time. Their relatively greater (in relation to other men) cognitional capabilities only drove them to madly think themselves to be on plane with God Almighty, with their pretentious claims to understand things for which they have no evidence (Job 38:2). Like so many gifted, but pompous academics, their blessing of intellect became for them a curse of contemptuous pride. As Paul speaks of their sort: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:21,22) They claimed to know so much, yet their wisdom was shown as poor & pitiful by the Lord’s questioning statements of chapters 38-41.
All four sinned- Eliphaz, Bildad, & Zophar in purporting to “know” that Job’s suffering was due to some unascertained evil he must have committed- & Job for his pretentiousness to “justify himself rather than God” in the face of his friends’ probing accusations (Job 32:2). Essentially, Job claimed innocence & therein accused God of wrongly causing him to suffer. He declared himself righteous & questioned God’s ultimate goodness for allowing such evil to happen upon him. He laid the onus for origin of evil upon God’s doorstep. His faithful integrity stood fast at first (Job 1:21-22 & 2:9-10) but faded down the stretch as he speculated his life would be better apart from God (Job 10:20). Just as Satan was allowed into the Garden to reveal, to draw out the sin deep within Adam & Eve’s hearts, Satan was allowed to put Job’s heart through a trial by fire to find the wicked way that dwelled deep within. The sin in the Garden came not at first bite, but at the initial craving for more than God had given.
Jeremiah also suffered without evident righteous cause, but he accepted this as God’s trial of his character. Despite his pain, he never accused God of unrighteousness:
Jeremiah 12:1-3 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? (2) You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart. (3) But you, O LORD, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
In Job’s suffering, as in Jeremiah’s, the evil was clearly evident in the nature of the persecutors (Satan & King Jehoiakim, respectively), but not so explicit in the persecuted. Sometimes suffering comes not for the cause of extroverted, apparent sin, but for the introverted, unrealized, & unrecognized sin nature. As with Job (Job 1:8 & 2:3), we may appear outwardly blameless, but inwardly “full of dead men’s bones” (Matt. 23:23ff). It is the “inside of the cup” that is most in need of cleansing, & sometimes no people better exemplify this than the zealously religious. Few have better demonstrated the irony of the whitewashed tomb better than the Pharisees; but we all have the potential to present a perfect persona while obfuscating the ugly reality within.
In the trial, God “pulls out” the wickedness within so that it may be dealt with & “slaughtered” in the throes of Christ’s cross. In that sole act of justification, Christ, through His cross, saved us; but it is in the manner of our cross of suffering that God provides sanctification (Luke 9:23, Rom 5:3,4).
In the trial, God “pulls out” the wretchedness within so that it may be dealt with & “slaughtered” in the throes of Christ’s cross. In that sole act of justification, Christ, through His cross, saved us; but it is in the manner of our cross of suffering that God provides sanctification (Luke 9:23, Rom 5:3,4). This is where His suffering, after it provides for our justification, continues to cross paths with our daily suffering to continually give birth to sanctification (or, "newness of life"- Rom 6:4). Jesus speaks of our “cross” at many times through the Gospels, but Luke 9:23 hints how our cross differs from His. His perfection necessitated that He should take up His cross only once for all time for the task of our justification (Rom. 6:10), but our imperfection in sanctification demands we must take up ours “daily”.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, (13) for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Simply put, His cross justifies us in the presence of an angry God, while our cross sanctifies us for “his good pleasure”. The conflagration that ensues as the holy & righteous One abides within our unholy & unrighteous soul is a cause of great tension. We fear & tremble in the very midst of, more so- because of- our salvation, for His will & work is not at peace with the natural man’s will & work. The Spirit of God does bring peace to our soul, but it only comes through the terrible costs of war. This is the tension that Paul lucidly expounds upon in Romans 7. Our emotional, & sometimes physical suffering works out towards peace with a holy, therefore angry God.
In our walk, we will suffer, but then cathartically rejoice, as God purges the evil from within us:
Romans 6:4-7 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (6) We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (7) For one who has died has been set free from sin (8) Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. (9) We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. (10) For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. (11) So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
In suffering, we are called not so much to wonder why,
More so- to suffer & die.
What must suffer most is the evil, fleshly way,
Else there we truly suffer to stay.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Shepherd as Teacher
Ephesians 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (14) so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Last week we opened the discussion of the office of pastor, or “shepherd”, as the Greek “poimēn” is most properly translated. We discussed the scope of the office as comparable to the office of apostle in regards to its necessary wide range of gifting. This spiritual shepherd is tasked not only with feeding a flock, but tending to their many varied spiritual needs, & so must wear many different hats on any given day. So while feeding the flock is only part of the shepherd’s ministry, I believe it is the most important part.
The shepherd’s protection for his flock from outside aggressors, the wolves, is a very important component of his job of tending them, but Scripture tells us (Romans 7) the flock’s most consistent aggressor comes from within, not without. While it is true that Satan prowls as the hungry lion (1 Peter 5:8), it is the flesh that most often consumes us. Either way, it is the faith within the heart & mind (Rom. 7:25, 1 Peter 5:9) that is our sword & shield against our adversary. Where does this faith come from? The Word of God is both sword & shield in the fight, & for us to utilize these tools we must both have them & be enabled in their use:
Romans 10:6-15 But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) (7) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). (8) But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); (9) because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (11) For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." (12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. (13) For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (14) How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (15) And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
The spiritual shepherd’s most pressing need, therefore, is preach to & teach his flock- to make the word near them, in their mouth and in their heart- so they might have that righteousness based on faith, not carnal might. This is the pastor’s preeminent portion- to strengthen his flock by feeding their faith- & this is garnered by such only by the nearness of God’s Word to that heart & mouth.
Beyond the philosophical biblical mandate for the pastor to be a teacher is the technical biblical mandate. The Greek article “ho” precedes each office in Eph. 4:11, but it does not precede “teacher”. The esteemed 18th century Greek grammarian Granville Sharp’s most famous contribution to understanding Koine Greek is stated thusly:
“When the copulative kai connects two nouns of the same case of personal description respecting office, dignity, affinity, or connection, and attributes, properties, or qualities, good or ill, if the article ho, or any of its cases, precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle: i.e. it denotes farther description of the first-named person..."
So, in other words, this rule dictates the two should be considered one in the same person, just as in Titus 2:13 “God” & “Savior” refer to the same person in the indicative “Jesus Christ”.
Feed a starving man a fish or a fennel makes him set for the day, but teaching him where & how to fish & farm makes him set for life. Likewise then, a good shepherd feeds his flock the full Word of God- the fennel and the fish, the spinach and the steak, the broccoli and the beef- along with the promise of a heavenly dessert to come later. In so doing, he grows the flock into maturity as they are nurtured for each day, but are also concurrently learning where the fish & the seeds of life are found- in Scripture, & how they are to be gathered, allowing the flock to begin to sustain themselves to some extent. The shepherd should not be forced to carry the full burden of caring for the flock’s every trifling need, for as blessed with the varied gifts of God as he is, he is still just a man, & not laboring behind him in the work of gathering the flock’s provisions forces the shepherd to be nothing more than a daycare provider for retarded, infant sheep. Such a shepherd’s devotion & love for his flock would be to his glory when the Chief Shepherd appears; but the flock will be sorely ashamed in that day if the cause for their perpetual infancy was, in fact- not inborn retardation- but a simple blasé, slothful, indifference towards the work of the shepherd.
1 Thessalonians 5:11-14 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (12) We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, (13) and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (14) And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
Last week we opened the discussion of the office of pastor, or “shepherd”, as the Greek “poimēn” is most properly translated. We discussed the scope of the office as comparable to the office of apostle in regards to its necessary wide range of gifting. This spiritual shepherd is tasked not only with feeding a flock, but tending to their many varied spiritual needs, & so must wear many different hats on any given day. So while feeding the flock is only part of the shepherd’s ministry, I believe it is the most important part.
The shepherd’s protection for his flock from outside aggressors, the wolves, is a very important component of his job of tending them, but Scripture tells us (Romans 7) the flock’s most consistent aggressor comes from within, not without. While it is true that Satan prowls as the hungry lion (1 Peter 5:8), it is the flesh that most often consumes us. Either way, it is the faith within the heart & mind (Rom. 7:25, 1 Peter 5:9) that is our sword & shield against our adversary. Where does this faith come from? The Word of God is both sword & shield in the fight, & for us to utilize these tools we must both have them & be enabled in their use:
Romans 10:6-15 But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) (7) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). (8) But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); (9) because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (11) For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." (12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. (13) For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (14) How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (15) And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
The spiritual shepherd’s most pressing need, therefore, is preach to & teach his flock- to make the word near them, in their mouth and in their heart- so they might have that righteousness based on faith, not carnal might. This is the pastor’s preeminent portion- to strengthen his flock by feeding their faith- & this is garnered by such only by the nearness of God’s Word to that heart & mouth.
Beyond the philosophical biblical mandate for the pastor to be a teacher is the technical biblical mandate. The Greek article “ho” precedes each office in Eph. 4:11, but it does not precede “teacher”. The esteemed 18th century Greek grammarian Granville Sharp’s most famous contribution to understanding Koine Greek is stated thusly:
“When the copulative kai connects two nouns of the same case of personal description respecting office, dignity, affinity, or connection, and attributes, properties, or qualities, good or ill, if the article ho, or any of its cases, precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle: i.e. it denotes farther description of the first-named person..."
So, in other words, this rule dictates the two should be considered one in the same person, just as in Titus 2:13 “God” & “Savior” refer to the same person in the indicative “Jesus Christ”.
Feed a starving man a fish or a fennel makes him set for the day, but teaching him where & how to fish & farm makes him set for life. Likewise then, a good shepherd feeds his flock the full Word of God- the fennel and the fish, the spinach and the steak, the broccoli and the beef- along with the promise of a heavenly dessert to come later. In so doing, he grows the flock into maturity as they are nurtured for each day, but are also concurrently learning where the fish & the seeds of life are found- in Scripture, & how they are to be gathered, allowing the flock to begin to sustain themselves to some extent. The shepherd should not be forced to carry the full burden of caring for the flock’s every trifling need, for as blessed with the varied gifts of God as he is, he is still just a man, & not laboring behind him in the work of gathering the flock’s provisions forces the shepherd to be nothing more than a daycare provider for retarded, infant sheep. Such a shepherd’s devotion & love for his flock would be to his glory when the Chief Shepherd appears; but the flock will be sorely ashamed in that day if the cause for their perpetual infancy was, in fact- not inborn retardation- but a simple blasé, slothful, indifference towards the work of the shepherd.
1 Thessalonians 5:11-14 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (12) We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, (13) and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (14) And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Shepherd
Ephesians 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (14) so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
The church offices listed in Ephesians 4:11 vary widely in the scope of their ministry. The prophet & evangelist are narrow in scope; the former is charged only with being a direct conduit for the heart, will, & word of God to man, while the latter seems even more purposed in his mission of simply teaching & exhorting men towards embracing the good news of Jesus Christ’s salvation.
Contrastingly, as we found in the teaching weeks prior, the apostle has the widest scope of any in his course of ministry:
“Quite simply an apostle is nothing less than one who possesses, by the appointment (1Tim. 2:7) of God, all the titles & gifts of God in his person. He shepherds, preaches, teaches, prophesies, evangelizes, works miracles, & has complete authority over comparatively large portions of Christ’s church body. All gifts of God are potentially actionable through the office of apostle.”
The shepherd- or pastor as some versions choose to translate the Greek “poimēn” (Strong‘s #4166)- is another who is wide in the scope of his ministry. Similar to how the apostle is the highest calling & authority to the church at large, the pastor is as such in the local assembly. Though the modern parlance has us calling them “pastor”, the Greek “poimēn” is translated as such only in Ephesians 4:11 (in most good English Bibles). The 17 other instances of “poimēn” are translated “shepherd”; this is important because the position of pastor is much better understood when we picture the work of a shepherd.
In pretentious piousness, some claim Christ as their only shepherd, but this is unbiblical; for Christ’s office of “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4) has its own distinct Greek term- “archipoimēn”. The prefix “archē ” (Strong’s #746) means “a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank), beginning, corner, the first estate…” (Strong’s). Therefore Christ is rightly & distinctly set apart from the common “shepherd”, but this does not of necessity dispense with the pastor’s lower authority. No, very much to the contrary, “arche’s” definition as “a commencement” indicates a new order of “shepherds” following in the way of the “Chief Shepherd” to help lead God’s people in the day of God’s new covenant (Jer. 31:31 & Hebrews 8:8 et seq.). Peter’s usage of the term “archipoimēn” itself demands that such as “poimēn” must be ordained of God “for building up the body of Christ”; men that declare otherwise are arrogantly foolish to think that they need not to learn submission as even Christ Himself did. They should check their hearts for the main enemy of God’s elect- fallacious, stubborn, deceiving pride. This comes from the old man that still lurks within; he tells us we are good enough, strong enough, wise enough to do it on our own. He lies.
The church offices listed in Ephesians 4:11 vary widely in the scope of their ministry. The prophet & evangelist are narrow in scope; the former is charged only with being a direct conduit for the heart, will, & word of God to man, while the latter seems even more purposed in his mission of simply teaching & exhorting men towards embracing the good news of Jesus Christ’s salvation.
Contrastingly, as we found in the teaching weeks prior, the apostle has the widest scope of any in his course of ministry:
“Quite simply an apostle is nothing less than one who possesses, by the appointment (1Tim. 2:7) of God, all the titles & gifts of God in his person. He shepherds, preaches, teaches, prophesies, evangelizes, works miracles, & has complete authority over comparatively large portions of Christ’s church body. All gifts of God are potentially actionable through the office of apostle.”
The shepherd- or pastor as some versions choose to translate the Greek “poimēn” (Strong‘s #4166)- is another who is wide in the scope of his ministry. Similar to how the apostle is the highest calling & authority to the church at large, the pastor is as such in the local assembly. Though the modern parlance has us calling them “pastor”, the Greek “poimēn” is translated as such only in Ephesians 4:11 (in most good English Bibles). The 17 other instances of “poimēn” are translated “shepherd”; this is important because the position of pastor is much better understood when we picture the work of a shepherd.
In pretentious piousness, some claim Christ as their only shepherd, but this is unbiblical; for Christ’s office of “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4) has its own distinct Greek term- “archipoimēn”. The prefix “archē ” (Strong’s #746) means “a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank), beginning, corner, the first estate…” (Strong’s). Therefore Christ is rightly & distinctly set apart from the common “shepherd”, but this does not of necessity dispense with the pastor’s lower authority. No, very much to the contrary, “arche’s” definition as “a commencement” indicates a new order of “shepherds” following in the way of the “Chief Shepherd” to help lead God’s people in the day of God’s new covenant (Jer. 31:31 & Hebrews 8:8 et seq.). Peter’s usage of the term “archipoimēn” itself demands that such as “poimēn” must be ordained of God “for building up the body of Christ”; men that declare otherwise are arrogantly foolish to think that they need not to learn submission as even Christ Himself did. They should check their hearts for the main enemy of God’s elect- fallacious, stubborn, deceiving pride. This comes from the old man that still lurks within; he tells us we are good enough, strong enough, wise enough to do it on our own. He lies.
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