The OT Sacrificial System, A Pattern of What Was To Come

Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples on the very night that he was betrayed by Judas, one of Jesus' own chosen disciples. The Gospel of John records one stirring event that night that has been imitated again and again by Christian communities as they remember and celebrate the Lord's Supper  in Holy Week. Jesus laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel wrapped around Him. This was, of course, the lowly task of a servant in the household of a great lord and certainly not the work of the Messianic King—or at least so the disciples thought.

Peter objected to what Jesus was doing, saying, "You shall never wash my feet."

Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.". . . And then he went on to explain, "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. - John 13:8,13-16 ESV

The writer of Hebrews 8 uses this same word, example (hypodeigmä in Greek), to describe the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. He also calls it but a shadow (skia in Greek) of the heavenly things. God had given Moses specific instruction to make everything according to the pattern (typos in Greek) given to him. The tent had to be just so in size with a specific number of rooms. In each room certain specific objects were to be fashioned and placed. The high priest, in turn, was to be dressed in specific clothing and he had detailed instructions about how and when to carry out his duties.

The ministry or service that the high priest performed, says Hebrews, was not what goes on in heaven before God. All these rituals and sacrifices were but copies or shadows of what was to come when Christ, the true promised Messiah, came. They pointed forward to the substance or the living body and ministry of Christ (Col. 2:17). The entire law, Hebrews will go on to say, was but a shadow of the good things to come. It was not the true form (icon in Greek). 

In the next chapter he will use yet one more word to describe the various gifts and bloody sacrifices offered by the high priest for himself and the worshippers. He calls them all a parable ( parabolē in Greek) for that particular time, a period that came to an end when Christ, the true High Priest, fulfilled his duties upon the cross (John 19:30). 

So Hebrews practically exhausts the Greek language in order to point out that the whole sacrificial system, with the Tabernacle and later the Temple, the high priest and his helpers, the thousands of sacrifices of bulls, sheep and goats and all the various rituals—the entire system— was not and never was intended to be anything other than a . . . 

• shadow
• example
• copy
• pattern and
• parable

. . . of what was to come and what Christ completed once and for all in the presence of God, in the heavenly places. Watch how again and again the writer makes that point. In the words of Christ, "It is finished!" No more sacrifices, no more blood and no more death. It is over. The debts are paid. And what a comfort it is for all of us who put our faith and trust in Jesus, our true High Priest. 

And Peace On Earth To Men

In the wondrous festival of Christmas we Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a birth that is a great and mighty wonder we boldly confess in the Nicene creed:

"We believe in one Lord, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father . . . For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. "

Jesus' entire life was marked by mighty works, wonders and signs. Some call these mighty works (dynamis in Greek) miracles. The  English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible has the word miracle only occuring once—in Exodus 7:9. The ESV translates the plural form of dynamis as miracles seven times . In the ESV translation of the Gospels miracles are always called mighty works. Here is a partial list of Jesus' mighty works.

• A great draught of fish convinces Simon Peter, James and John to follow Him - Luke 5:1-11
• A evil spirit is ordered to come out of a man in the Capernaum synagogue - Mark 1:21-28
• A Roman Centurion's servant is healed in Capernaum - Matthew 8:5-13
• A paralyzed man, also from Capernaum, is empowered to walk - Mark 2:1-12
• The only son of a widow from Nain is raised from the dead - Luke 7:11-17
• The daughter of a Jewish official named Jairus is also raised from the dead - Matthew 9:18-26

Jesus' mighty works caused people to be astonished. Again and again they asked,"Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? - Mark 6:2

In the Gospel of  John seven of Jesus' mighty works are called signs. John's Gospel breaks into four parts. The second is often called The Book Of Signs (1:19-12:50). In that section we read about

• Over a hundred gallons of water turned into wine at a wedding - John 2:1-11
• The son of a government official from Capernaum  healed - John 4:45-54 
• An invalid at the Bethesda pool cured - John 5:1-15
• Over 5,000 fed with 5 loaves and two fish - John 6:5-14
• Jesus walking across the Sea of Galilee amidst a storm - John 6:16-24
• A man blind from birth having his sight restored -  John 9:1-7
• Lazarus raised from the dead - John 11:43-44

This has been the message of the church from the beginning. On the first Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection the Apostle Peter proclaimed,

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- - Acts 2:22 ESV

Jesus continues to perform mighty works, wonders and signs. Ask any gathering of Christians and you will find those who testify to being fed, healed and rescued from death by Jesus. Such signs of Jesus' presence and power are only recognized by believers. Unbelievers will credit modern science or medicine or chance. Believers see Jesus' hand at work in all things. This faith in Christ is the greatest wonder of all. We believe and confess that in our Baptism Jesus has taken us into his death and brought us with him out of death into the new life of faith (Rom. 6:4). This is the great and mighty wonder of new birth known and experienced by every true believer in Jesus Christ. It is a miracle unknown and rejected by the world. The Church is the living Body of Christ in whom His Spirit and life dwells. The Church is the great sign of His Presence to this very day (Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 12:27; Rom. 12:5). And it all began with Christmas.

A great and mighty wonder, a full and holy cure:
The virgin bears the Infant with virgin honor pure!
Repeat the hymn again: “To God on high be glory
And peace on earth to men!”

The Word becomes incarnate and yet remains on high,
And cherubim sing anthems to shepherds from the sky.
Repeat the hymn again: “To God on high be glory
And peace on earth to men!”

While thus they sing your Monarch, those bright angelic bands,
Rejoice, ye vales and mountains, ye oceans, clap your hands.
Repeat the hymn again: “To God on high be glory
And peace on earth to men!”

Since all He comes to ransom, by all be He adored,
The Infant born in Bethl’em, the Savior and the Lord.
Repeat the hymn again: “To God on high be glory
And peace on earth to men!”

And idol forms shall perish, and error shall decay,
And Christ shall wield His scepter, our Lord and God for aye.
Repeat the hymn again: “To God on high be glory
And peace on earth to men!”

The Door Duty Of Pastors

We continue our study of the duties of pastors and their relationship to the flocks they are called to shepherd. Listen again to Jesus' comment about himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. - Jhn 10:9-13 ESV

This door to the sheep fold business is quite interesting. Consider what this meant to a first century shepherd. Quite often the sheep belonging to several families were grouped together and led by a hired shepherd. His job, of course, was to protect and guard the sheep from potential predators like wolves or even lions, to say nothing of human thieves. Consequently this could at times be a demanding and dangerous job. He is their door day and night. As the day begins they leave the protecting walls of the sheepfold by passing between his legs. And then throughout the day he guards them. As night draws near they return to the sheepfold by passing between his legs. He counts them and checks each one for wounds or bites received during the day's foraging. Then he sleeps at the door of the sheepfold, ready to spring into action should any marauding predator or thief suddenly appear in the darkness of the night.

This is why "a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep" would run rather than fight with a wolf. This hired shepherd "flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." The true shepherd, however, hired or owner, takes ownership and responsibility for the sheep. He may have as many as a hundred sheep under his control. Nevertheless, he learns to know each of them individually and they, in turn, know and accept him as their shepherd. They know and listen to his voice and they follow where he leads them.

The writer to the Hebrews urges his readers to recognize the same thing about their shepherds.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. - Hebr 13:17 ESV

Note well that shepherds or leaders, as the Hebrews passage calls them, "will have to give an account." To whom? To the Master Shepherd, of course. He calls each under-shepherd to oversee a flock in a particular place and time. They carry out their duties in the name of the Master  And when they do them well, the sheep recognize the "voice" of the Good Shepherd and they follow their shepherd. And what does the Good Shepherd say to his sheep? Listen.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. 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. 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. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. - Rom 6:1-8 ESV

Sin returns day by day. Consequently the faithful pastor calls his sheep to confess their sins before Jesus, to pass, as it were, between his legs again. Show him your faults and failings, he urges, and permit him to pour on you the soothing and healing water of your baptism. Hear him tell you that you were buried with him by baptism. You died with him. Your sins are forgiven. Now rest and be prepared in the new day to follow where he leads. And rejoice that we all are destined to live with him into all eternity.

Thus the pastor leads each sheep of his flock to rethink his/her relationship with Jesus day by day. This is what it means to repent. The original Greek word metanoiein means "to get a new mind" or way of thinking. This re-thinking is a daily process for the follower or Jesus. It is quite literally a dying to sin and rising again with Jesus day by day.

The same thing is true for the flock as a whole. The entire flock together is an individual body. So the Apostle writes to the congregation in Corinth as he says,

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1Cr 6:19-20 ESV

Note that he does not say "your bodies" are each temples of the Holy Spirit. Rather he says "your (plural) body (singular) is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you." This particular body in Corinth—and then in Houston or Philadelphia or Omaha, etc.—is a temple of the Holy Spirit, a temple tempted to sin, a temple that must also must repent and rise with Christ. The under-shepherd speaks the voice of the Good Shepherd as he also leads the particular corporate body of Christ, flock assigned to him, to die to sin and rise again with Jesus.

Of course, I do not have space here to spell out the implications of this task. Suffice it to say for now that this duty of the under-shepherd, the pastor of a flock assigned to him, is ongoing. The members of the flock recognize this, rejoice in it and do everything they can to support and love their pastor as he carries out his responsibilities.

Feeding The Whole Man, Both Soul And Body

I'm discussing the meaning of discipleship in the light of John's Gospel, particularly John 6 and the story of Jesus feeding thousands in the wilderness.

Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 

Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?" 

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. - Jhn 6:5-10 ESV

As noted in yesterday's Gospel, Philip was called by Jesus to be one of His disciples. He was from Bethsaida on the northern coast of the inland Sea of Galilee, the same town where Andrew and Peter lived. Philip introduced Nathanael to Jesus. Unlike the other disciples, Philip had a Greek name, implying some connection to the Greek speaking community of that multi-cultural region of Palestine. Later in John's Gospel Philip introduced members of this community to Jesus (John 14:8-11). We must assume that mixed among this crowd that followed Jesus out into the wilderness were Greek speaking people, perhaps many who were not even Jews. This may well explain why Jesus approached Philip first to ask him how they might feed such a large crowd.

But why be concerned about feeding the crowd at all? For the same reasons that Jesus was concerned about healing.

Back in the 1940s and 50s a psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow introduced something he called the Hierarchy of Needs. These ideas were presented in his book Motivation and Personality, first published in 1954 and now available as an e-book. Maslow's theory is that basic to all human existence are the primary physiological and biological needs for air, food, shelter, warmth, sex, etc. Only as these are satisfied are people motivated to seek higher levels of need. This hierarchy is often presented in diagram format.

From Wikipedia: Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Keeping this understanding of human psychology in mind, it seems safe to conclude that our Lord Jesus was saying two things when he approached first Philip and through him the rest of the disciples.

1. There are people here who are not Jews. Philip, you know that better than the rest of us. You speak Greek, you have relatives among them. It doesn't matter that they don't speak Aramaic like the rest of us or that they may be Greeks, Romans, Syrians or even Samaritans. They're hungry and in need. We must care for them. How shall we do this?
2. Consider especially their physiological and safety needs. We must care for them or they'll never pay attention to their need to believe in Me, Jesus, their Lord, Savior and King. 

And with that I strongly urge all of us who are Christians and followers of Jesus to recognize the strategy of Jesus in reaching out to people. He has established the basic and fundamental model for all of us involved in His mission to reach the lost. In the name of love we cannot ignore all people's basic needs for food, shelter and sleep. Immediately following that are the needs for security and health for individuals and for their families. If we are indeed the Body of Christ, His arms and hands in our communities, then we must indeed be concerned for these fundamental needs of all, whether in the church or outside it. With these satisfied or cared for, people will be motivated to concern themselves with higher needs. Then we feed their souls as well.  

Jesus always cared for the whole person. Likewise this has always been the concern of the church, the living, active body of Christ in this world. Across the centuries this has led the church to establish hospitals and clinics, to feed the hungry, provide clothing and shelter for those in need and on and on and on. And along with these commitments to care for the body, the church brings the teaching of God's Word so that we may feed men with the Bread of Life (John 6:35-48), Jesus, Savior of the world and care for their spiritual needs. The two types of feeding, the feeding of both body and soul, are inter-connected and can never be separated one from the other. 

More about this in my next post as I continue this discussion of discipleship. 

The Spirit Blows Where He Will

For these past two weeks I've posted studies on spiritual gifts, based upon Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4. Today I'd like to pull these studies together with a brief summary. This is, of course, only a small part of what could be said about this important part of life in the Christian community.

In speaking about spiritual gifts it is easy to overlook what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit and the work of the Spirit. It is easier to focus upon the recipients of the Spirit's gifts by fashioning various inventories and questionnaires so that the congregation can help members identify their gifts, put these members to work in order to grow in numbers and influence. Nowhere in any of the four texts examined are there any instructions given by the Apostles to carry on such a practice. Why not?

The answer to that question is found in the very nature of these inventories. Members are encouraged to look internally at their own experiences and feelings. Here are some questions from one such spiritual gifts discovery tool I found online:

1. I am successful at getting a group to do its work joyfully. 
2. I enjoy making something that is artistically appealing.
3. I can readily sense when someone is promoting God’s purposes or their own personal agenda.
4. I look for occasions to share what Jesus means to me with unchurched friends and neighbors.
5. I welcome opportunities to minister to people who need comfort, consolation, encouragement, and counseling.
6. I see life as an adventure and am not afraid to take risks if it moves God's work forward.
7. I have a real hunger for seeing others spending time together in the Word and in prayer.
8. Without hesitation, I give generously and freely to worthwhile projects and ministries.
9. I count it a privilege to relieve someone in a responsible position of some small task, so that they may attend to more important things.
10. I truly feel that the needs and well-being of others are more important than my own.

Note the emphasis upon 'I' this and 'I' that. I am successful, I enjoy, I sense, I look, I welcome, I see, I have a real hunger, I give, I count it a privilege, I truly feel, etc. Such an emphasis leads us away from the Word of God and from the Spirit speaking directly to our hearts from that Word. Instead we are encouraged to focus upon my experiences, my feelings, my viewpoints, my giving, my senses, etc.

Further, in the discussions of spiritual gifts, we are told that these are different from creaturely or natural gifts. So we are led to believe that the Holy Spirit only wants us to focus upon our spiritual gifts, for these are not the same as our natural gifts. So some would point out that a reborn and truly spiritual Christian will always speak in tongues. In this way, there are two types of Christians, e.g. believers and Spirit filled or born again believers. In that connection it is important to note that in those Scripture verses that speak about disciples being filled with the Spirit nothing is said to indicate that this filling is a permanent and continued gift. In other words, we do not own or control the Spirit. He blows when and where He will (Acts 2:4, 4:8,31; John 3:8). 

Above all the Scripture teaches that everything is by God's grace. The Spirit working in God's Word teaches that everything comes down from the Father as God's wondrous and unmerited gift. Our whole lives, our bodies, our personalities, our intellectual abilities, our artistic talents, our athletic skills, our powers of perception—everything we have and are has been redeemed by Christ and given to us. As Paul says,

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? - 1 Cor 4:7 ESV

 All this we offer back to God in praise and worship as a living sacrifice. 

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. - Rom. 12:1 NLT

What the Spirit also teaches is that not only are we redeemed by Christ, we are members of his body. We are part of that community, that wondrous and varied body of believers in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Speaking to the entire community in Corinth, Paul writes 

Do you not know that you (plural) are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? - 1 Cor 3:16 ESV

 So it is that we are the temple of God and the body of Christ and individually members one of the other. Each is important and each is God's gift to the other. So God intends that each of us is a gift to the other members of the body. Our unique personalities, experiences, gifts, abilities, talents and vocations are gifts of God through which God blesses others. Thus if I am a father, I have the calling to care for my children and to bless them through the uniqueness of who I am. If I am called to be a pastor-teacher, I have the opportunity and responsibility to bless the flock over which I am assigned with the teaching and application of God's Word. If I am a musician, I shall bless others with my music. So Paul writes,

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. - 1 Cor 12:4-7 ESV

It may be that spiritual gifts inventories could be used to help Christians discover their gifts. The cautions listed above are most important however. At most such inventories must be seen as tools toward the end of helping one another to give as they have received. Pride, discouragement and fear always lurk in our hearts because of sin. The Apostles speak to this as they emphasize in all these matters that we live by grace. It is in the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Christ that we find our life, our joy and our strength, never in the gifts we have or do not have.

Teachers of God's Word Are God's Gift To Us

We've been taking another look at spiritual gifts in the body of Christ, the church. We turn now to the second pair of texts commonly used in any discussion of gifts. However, before we go further it is vital that we take a look at the several Greek words translated into English as gift.

• Charisma—What is usually called a spiritual gift (1 Cor. 1:7, 12:4-31), including faith, healing, prophecy, tongues, etc. Love (Agape) is the greatest of the three eternal gifts that include faith and hope (1 Cor. 13:13). 
• Charisma—Also used to speak of salvation. The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 5:15-16, 6:23). Refers to God's mercy toward both Jews and Gentiles. He is the Giver of all things (Rom. 11:29-36). 
• Dōma—Gifts parents give to their children (Matt. 7:11). Sometimes gifts are given and receivers are expected to return the favor (Phil. 4:17), something Paul did not seek. 
• Dōsis—Gifts churches give to support others (Phil. 4:15). A good thing, like Doma, that comes down from God the Father (James 1:17; Matt. 7:11). 
• Dōron—God's free gift is that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8; Rom 3:24). Because we have received this gift by grace (charis), in gratitude and praise we offer back our lives (bodies) to God as as living sacrifices  (Rom. 12:1). 
• Dōrehma—Any free gift, also called a complete or perfect gift, from the heavenly Father (James 1:17; Rom. 5:16). 
• Dōrea—The Holy Spirit, the living water (John 4:10; Acts 2:38). Grace is also called a Dōrea (Rom 3:24, 5:15). 

The Apostles and Evangelists exhaust their vocabulary in speaking about gifts in order to emphasize that everything, everything we have is a gift, undeserved, unearned and certainly something that can never be given back to God as a way of earning His mercy and forgiveness. As Paul says, 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. - Rom 11:33-36 ESV (cf. Job 41:11). 

With this clearly in mind, we turn to Ephesians 4. We have each received God's grace, says the Apostle. How and when God measures out that grace is in God's hands. Whatever gifts we have are truly gifts, unearned and undeserved (Eph.4:7). We are therefore urged to use our gifts to serve one another as stewards or managers. So Peter writes, confirming what Paul has said,

As each has received a gift (charisma), use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: - 1Pe 4:10 ESV

 Paul continues, 

Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts (Dōmata) to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) - Eph 4:8-10 ESV

What particular gifts (Dōmata) does the ascended Christ give to His people, His body, the church? He lists four groups of people:

1. Apostles
2. Prophets
3. Evangelists
4. Shepherd-teachers (pastors)

Remember how Paul emphasizes the importance of Apostles, Prophets and Teachers in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:28)? These people bring the Word of God to the Body. The Spirit works through that Word to create, sustain and strengthen faith in Christ (Rom. 10:17; 1 Cor. 4:15). Faith in Christ is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God's gift. All and everything is God's gift. And since God does everything through His Word, those called to proclaim and teach God's Word are
absolutely essential to the body. Their task, writes the Apostle, is

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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, 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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. - Eph 4:12-16 ESV

The body is how Christ manifests Himself here on this earth (1 Cor. 12:27). This body is a living organism made up of many members. The head of the body is Christ Himself (Eph. 5:23). We each are members of His body, joined and held together by the joints, the places and times where and when we come together. Nurtured and nourished by the Spirit through the Word, we grow together into Christ. And as the body of Christ we strive together to share the message of God's love so that others too may receive the grace of God.

Part of the difficulty we face in dealing with this particular text in the context of our discussion of spiritual gifts is the disagreement about this list of four gifts. Are they offices in the church? Are the bishops or overseers (Acts 20:28) the people who have inherited the office of the apostles? Did Christ establish a distinctive ordering of those called into these offices? And what about those spiritual gifts discovery tools that suggest that any member of the church may potentially have the gift of pastor or teacher or prophet or apostle?

To answer these and related questions would take us far, far afield. We'd have to review the long history of clergy vs. laity, the teaching about vocations and callings and the distinctions between various levels of clergy. I'm not going there. Perhaps another day.

Suffice it to say for now that in Ephesians 4 Paul emphasizes the vital importance of those who proclaim and teach the Word of God in the body of Christ. Through those gifted by the Holy Spirit and called to these tasks the Spirit strengthens and grows the body to maturity. These people are gifts for which we give thanks and praise to God. We could not survive without them.

Spiritual Gifts And I Corinthians 12

We are looking carefully at the primary passages used in current discussions of spiritual gifts. We examined Romans 12. We move on now to the second '12' passage, I Cor. 12. I discussed that chapter in an earlier post about psychics and mediums. Much remains to be said, especially about the Apostle Paul's teaching on spiritual gifts.

As in his letter to the Romans, chp. 12, Paul emphasizes that faith in Jesus as the LORD (YHWH of the OT—Exod. 3:13-14, etc.) is God's gracious and good gift. Jesus Himself taught this to Nicodemus as He emphasized the need for rebirth from above (John 3:3-6). Everything depends upon God's gracious gift of life in the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 12:3). After creating new life in Christ the Spirit empowers believers to offer their entire lives as living sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving.

OK. Fundamental. But there's more to be said. So now, let's take a look at three distinctions or parts of this life in Christ among the members of Christ's body. How is this life in the Spirit divided, apportioned, distributed and sorted out among the members of the body (Luke 15:12)? It all depends upon the Spirit who does the empowering and manifesting of His life for the good of the entire body of Christ. Paul emphasizes three things. There are varieties or different kinds of . . .

• gifts (charismata)
• service (diakonia)
• activities or energies (energmata)

And all of it is the gracious gift of the same Spirit, Lord and God—Holy Spirit, Son and Father—revealing and manifesting themselves in the life of the Body for the good of all members (1 Cor. 12:4-7). Having said that, the Apostle will now demonstrate how this life of the Spirit works out among the members of Christ's body here on the earth.

Through, according to and by the same Spirit one or the other member of the Body is given . . .

• the utterance of wisdom
• the utterance of knowledge
• gifts of healing
• working of miracles or mighty works (Mark 6:5)
• prophecy 
• ability to distinguish between spirits
• various kinds of tongues
• the interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 12:8-10)

Paul doesn't say who gets what gift and when. That's the Spirit's work. He doesn't say that the gifts are given permanently. That may be implied, but certainly not taught. Nor does He even say that a believer is to discover and own his gift. He simply says that all members of the Body, regardless of race or social status, drink from the same fountain, the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). The Spirit energizes and empowers each member to serve in whatever manner, whenever and wherever He chooses.

And he points out that the Body needs every member, just as our individual bodies need eyes, ears and noses. In fact, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker or unpresentable are indispensable. The Body needs each and every member. We are all the Body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Cor. 12:27).

Finally, Paul points out that God has first (prohtos in Greek) appointed apostles in the church, second prophets and third teachers (1 Cor. 12:28-29). The Apostles are first in rank, influence and honor. They are part of the church's foundation. They are the ones who were with Jesus Himself, heard Him teach, witnessed His power and His resurrection (Acts 1:13-26). They received the Holy Spirit through Him (John 20:21-23). Consequently, whenever apostles and prophets are listed, the Apostles are always listed first. So we read . . .

• . . . built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, - Eph 2:20 ESV
• And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherd-teachers, - Eph 4:11 ESV

The Apostles now serve the Body with the Word, the Gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ. They demonstrate and proclaim Jesus as the fulfillment and center of all the teachings and prophecies of the Old Covenant. Now the Spirit works through the Word of the Apostles to create and sustain faith. That's why these gifts and these gifted people are so vital to the on-going life of the Body.

The prophets, evangelists and shepherd-teachers follow the Apostles in rank and importance, especially since theirs' is also the service, ministry and gift of teaching and proclaiming the Apostolic Word. We don't have room here to discuss what the Apostle Paul means here by the higher or greater gifts (charismata ta meizona in Greek). That would require us to move into chapter 13. Such a study will have to remain for another time. Instead from here we move on to the first of the two '4's', Ephesians 4.

The Church Is Invisible

Fifty days after the Passover Festival, Jewish believers in N.T. times celebrated their third great annual festival, the Feast of Weeks (Hag Shabu'ot), literally, the Feast of Seven-periods following the Passover. This feast began on the day after those seven full weeks, the fiftieth day, also called the Fifty Day (Hamishim Yom) Feast. The Greek word for this feast is Pentecost (fifty). It marked the early wheat harvest at about the sixth of Sivan, their month near the end of our own month of May. Later Jews celebrate God's giving of the Torah on this festival.

We Christians celebrated Pentecost this past Sunday as the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the assembled believers in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul calls Christ the "first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20), linking Him to the Passover and this Festival of Weeks. The first sheaf harvested in the spring belonged to the LORD as a token that all the harvest was His gift to His people. In turn, the resurrected Christ is the first sheaf, the guarantee that all God's people redeemed by Christ will also share in His resurrection. In that sense, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost is a symbol of the coming resurrection.

Pentecost more specifically marks the birth of the Christian Church by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We believers argue back and forth about whose church is the true church. Lutherans like me point out that only God knows that. This is why we've often called the church invisible. By that we've never meant to say you can't find Christians anywhere, because they're not visible to the human eye. That would be silly. What we do mean, however, is that only God truly knows who has faith in Christ and in His sacrifice upon the cross. In that sense the church, the body of Christ, is known only to God and is invisible to us. We cannot see the church here on planet earth. It is hidden. It's what Paul refers to when he says,

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. - Col 3:1-4 ESV

On the other hand, believers are found wherever the Gospel, the good news of Christ, is proclaimed and taught. We have Christ's Word on that. The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts by means of God's Word. That's one reason why we call the Scriptures and the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper the means of grace. So we can trust God to be creating His church wherever Christians gather to hear the Gospel and to celebrate the sacraments. Paul again,

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. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 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? 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!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. - Rom 10:12-17 ESV

This is also why we may never dare to insist that only Lutherans or only Catholics or only Baptists are the church. But you can probably guess that I'm getting myself—and you—into deep trouble now, because many among each of these named groups like to claim that theirs alone is the true church. Let's look at this more carefully next time.

Marriage And The Body Of Christ

In my previous post I promised to speak more about the "one flesh" relationship in marriage. In fact, I already have—several times. You may want to review these posts. What remains to be said? A deeper look at what the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians is also helpful.

¹² "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. ¹³ "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. ¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two will become one flesh." ¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. ¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.           (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)  

 Paul speaks about a man joining sexually with a prostitute. He calls this not only immoral, but enslavement, a strange way to talk. In our day such sex is rather called freedom and broadly endorsed. Many refuse to be bound by such rules and morals. Consenting adults are free to make their own rules. Note, however, another thing the Apostle says: "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." What is he saying? Whose body does he speak about, that of the man who joins his to a prostitute or some other body? Both. He writes about the man, but not only about that man's body.


In the very next verse Paul changes to the plural. He writes, "the Lord . . . will also raise us up by his power. Do you (plural) not know that your bodies are members of Christ (body)? And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you (again plural) not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I (singular) then take the members (plural) of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? (1 Corinthians 6:13-15).


What is all this moving back and forth between singular and plural? Obviously the sexual act is between but one man and one woman. And yet, strangely, that singular act is the joining of all the members of Christ to the members of a prostitute (v.15). This is not merely the act of one person involved in consensual sex. It involves all the members of Christ, all the members of his body. Every other sin other than sexual immorality, Paul writes, is a sin outside the body. Again whose body? The sinner's or Christ's? Obviously Christ's, because in the very next verse he writes, "Or do you not know that your (plural) body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you (plural), whom you (plural) have from God? You (plural) are not your (plural) own, for you (plural) were bought with a price. So glorify God in your (plural) body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).


Paul is here revealing more of the mystery of Christ and Christ's body, his bride, the church. In his letter to the Ephesians he writes, ". . . we are members of his (Christ's) body. 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:30-32).


A mystery is hidden until revealed. In the coming of Christ into the world we see the great, wondrous, amazing, profound wisdom of God manifested indeed. Great is this mystery of God! Born of a virgin, God has become a man. And as a man he has reconciled the world to himself upon the cross. The Holy Spirit at work in God's Word has revealed this wondrous news to us. And throughout the world millions of all races and both sexes also believe in this same Christ as Savior and Lord. Together we are the members of His body (1 Timothy 3:16).


Follow the Apostle's reasoning then. When a believing man joins his body to a woman selling hers, a prostitute, he joins Christ and Christ's body to that prostitute. The same holds true for a believing woman. This act is a sin against all the members of Christ's body. It is a betrayal of the trust between the believer and his or her Savior. It is also a betrayal of the responsibility each believer has to model and encourage other members of Christ's body to trust and obey their Lord, for we are members one of the other (Romans 12:5). 


Our Lord's plan and will is that one man and one woman be bound to one another for life in marriage. His blessing rests upon this union. This is His creation. He has instituted and established this union as a blessing to us all. The rejection of this plan is a sin against all the members of Christ's body and, of course, against the other member of the marital couple. This is why the Christian must flee from all sexual intercourse outside of marriage, including that committed in his heart (Matthew 5:28). We are not free to make our own rules of morality. For us Christians there is no such thing as "consenting adults" having sex outside the boundaries of marriage.


Thus the Christian whose spouse has broken the marital bond by adultery or prostitution knows also that the bond between that spouse and the Lord's body has also been broken. The one flesh union is gone. The divorce has already happened. A reunion can only happen through confession and forgiveness in Christ.

We Will Not Be Married In Heaven

Today I promised to comment upon Christ's teaching that in the age to come we will not be married. Here's what He said as recorded in Matthew:

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.'

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her."

But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." (Matthew 22:23-30; see also Mark 12:25)

The Missouri Synod's study of Human Sexuality: A Theological Perspective reminds us that marriage remains an earthly order. St. Paul discusses this in 1 Corinthians 7 as he cautions believers to deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.

"For the present form of this world is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:31).  

I wrote about this in an earlier blog and concluded with these words: 

So where is all this going? Simply here. In the resurrection the mystery will be completed (Ephesians 5:18-33). In the new creation all of us will joyfully and willingly have only Jesus as our LORD and God. We will completely love, honor and serve Him and in so doing we will honor His Father (John 14:9-14). Marriage in this age is a type of Christ's union with His body, the church, His bride. He came to earth to unite us to Himself. We are made to be one with Him, His flesh and bone, but were separated from Him by our sinful nature (Pss. 51:5; 58:3). We have now come with Him from the "deep sleep" of His death into a new life of oneness with Him. We are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. And when He returns the wonder of that gift will be fully realized. 

We have here but a glimpse of what that fullness will mean. On that day we will be like the angels, ever rejoicing together in His presence and power forever. We will certainly know one another in heaven. We will not miss our marriages nor pine away for their loss as do some widows in this age. Something more wondrous awaits us all, as we are bonded to our heavenly Husband and His Father and to one another in ways never before possible, even in marriage. 

In the next blog we'll begin a discussion of the three purposes of marriage. 

We Still Have The Kingdom

Psalm 46:1-11 is appointed for the upcoming final Sunday of the Church Year, usually known as Christ the King Sunday. It is also the psalm appointed for Reformation Sunday at the end of October and the psalm upon which Martin Luther based his famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." I shall lift up the teachings from Luther's great hymn. Here is how the Psalm begins.

God is our refuge and strength,
   a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
   though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
   though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 

Surely life is filled with turmoil and trouble. I read this morning in the Houston Chronicle about a family wiped out by a careless driver who will most likely be charged with reckless driving and manslaughter. Beyond that comes the news that a loved one has cancer, a hurricane has wrecked havoc on an entire island nation and an upstanding citizen is charged with bribery. Why all this?

The Bible's answer is simple, sharp and clear. We have all sinned and fallen far short of God's commandments. We are under judgment. What could we possibly expect?  But we have hope, for in our time of trouble "God is our refuge and strength."That is, of course, quite puzzling. How can we be under God's judgment and at the same time find Him to be a tested and sure source of refuge and strength?

Luther sorts out this dilemma in the following manner. He points us to Christ. We believers in Christ who sing this psalm must realize that we are no longer at war with God, but with "the old evil foe," Satan and all his demons. By means of guile, deception and other dread spiritual arms they would deprive us of our faith in Christ and devour us with despondency. Against them we can do nothing. As soon as we attempt to fight our spiritual battles alone we lose.

But for us fights the valiant One, whom God Himself elected? Who is this? Jesus Christ it is. He is the Lord of hosts—Hebrew: Sabaoth. He is God and the Son of God. He holds the field for us and will do so forever. He won the victory over sin and death upon the cross. He now pleads for us before the throne of God. Satan can no longer harm us. God has spoken His Word by raising Jesus from the dead. He has accepted the sacrifice of His Son. We can put our trust in this fortress and be unafraid.

So let devils fill the world, all eager to swallow us. We tremble not. We fear no ill. They shall not, they cannot overpower us. Oh, this world's prince may still scowl fierce as he will, lifting up our sin and mocking us with shame. Let him. He can harm us none. He and his rebels are under judgment themselves. They must now flee before the Word, Jesus Christ.

The Word is by our side on the battle field. He has not left us here alone. He is here with His good gifts, the preaching and teaching of His Word and the sacraments administered to us and our children. In them we hear again and again the assurance that we are the forgiven children of God. And so we are secure.

Will we still face trials? Yes we will. That is the lesson of the book of Job, the story of a righteous, God-fearing man whom God permitted to endure grave trials and tests. In Job 2:4-6 we read of how this came to be.

Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face." And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life."

 As you know, murderous thieves and natural disasters were responsible for the deaths of Job's sons and daughters. After that a horrid disease wracked his body. No wonder that his wife urged him to "curse God and die" (Job 2:9).  Yet through it all Job clung to God's Word and promise. Listen to his words.

"Oh that my words were written!
   Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
Oh that with an iron pen and lead
   they were engraved in the rock forever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
   and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
   yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
   and my eyes shall behold, and not another" (Job 19:23-27). 

 God does not tempt us to sin, but He does permit our faith to be tested, sometimes most severely. All this is always and ever for our eternal good. His concern is to produce endurance, character and hope. He wants to teach us that we can only depend upon Jesus for mercy and forgiveness (Romans 5:1-11).

So Dr. Luther can write, "Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child or spouse, though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. the Kingdom's ours forever." What a powerful lesson for Christ the King Sunday.

   

                

Sing A New Song

The church has an ancient tradition of choosing certain lessons to read and meditate upon for each Sunday of the worship year. Consequently, as I prepare my sermon for the second to the last Sunday of that year it is important that you and I look at those lessons. They were chosen for a reason and have been reviewed again and again.

The first of those four lessons for this Sunday is Psalm 98:1-9. The Psalm begins with worshippers inviting one another to sing a new song.

I do and I don't like new songs. I don't because then I have to learn a new melody and new words and it is much easier to keep on singing the old songs. They can be so nostalgic, bringing back old memories of good—and sad—times, places and people. That's true with hymns. For instance, singing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," the Lutheran hymn of the Reformation, always brings back memories of my years at both Concordia College, St. Paul and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. On cold Reformation Day mornings, October 31, we would gather at 6:30 a.m. before a statue of Martin Luther to sing that hymn, listen to a meditation and pray. That's a fine tradition, but in northern climates in can also bring memories of shivering in the cold when you are barely awake.

Psalm 98 says, "Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him." 

Undoubtedly this is a song to celebrate God's new work of salvation. There was an old, familiar song that celebrated God's acts in former days. That song was the Song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-8.

"I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."

The LORD kept his promises to his people. He brought them out of slavery and put them into a new land of prosperity, a land flowing with milk and honey. Psalm 98 invites us, however, to sing a new song. There was another time in Israel's history when they were enslaved by the Babylonians for 70 years. For those who returned to the Promised Land, there was good reason to sing a new song. Thus when the exiles returned and finished the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem their musicians led them in singing a new song with gladness and thanksgiving (Nehemiah 12:27-30).

For us, however, that's an old song, like the hymn of the Reformation, familiar, good to sing, filled with many memories of our LORD's mighty acts, but an old song nevertheless. What new song shall we sing? What new wonders working salvation and revealing his righteousness have we to sing about? At this point we remember who this LORD is. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the long awaited Messiah who revealed his righteousness in the sight of all nations of the world. That righteousness revealed is his holy life and his bitter suffering upon the cross of Calvary. By those wonders the Son of God removed the righteous judgment of God upon the children of men. He offered his life for ours. He was forsaken that we might never be. In this way "he has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel" and "the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God" (Psalm 98:3).

But wait, the song is not yet ended. He who came once is coming again. Now there is something to get worked up and excited about. As we think about it, we realize that the entire creation is waiting on tip toes for this to happen (Romans 8:18-25). Everything in creation is in bondage, just like old Israel was. We who are part of that old creation see it all around. Corruption, decay and death abound on all sides. We ourselves are wasting away, day by day. With God's people of old we cry, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2-11).

What new song have we to sing? Will it always be this way, the same old same old? Oh no! Our LORD has done a new thing. Christ is risen! Say it with me. He is risen indeed! That's the seal of our salvation. The Father has accepted the sacrifice. His death is our death. His life is no our life and we too shall rise with him. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him AND for us.

"Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity."

In these last days of the church's year of worship we remember that Christ is coming again—soon! And so our hearts are filled with a new song.

 

Establish the Work of Our Hands

In my Bible class last Sunday we got to talking about wisdom, the practical application of Biblical teaching to daily life, something that very few possess. We talked about how important that is for pastors who guide and nourish the flocks put under them. Some clergy seemingly have a vast store of knowledge, but when it comes to putting it to wise and practical use they bomb out. 

That leads me to a psalm in which Moses teaches us all to pray for wisdom. He writes, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

He writes this prayer against a sober background that speaks of our human limitations. We're 'gonna' die, all of us, he says. Oh, we may make it to seventy and maybe even eighty years, but who can deny that those years have been filled with hard work and troubles? Ask any of us septuagenarians about how fast those years have gone by. We'll tell you that Moses has it right. They are like a flash flood, last night's dream or grass that withers away in one day's heat. 

All this can get one into some really sour moods. And no little fits of depression and anxiety, especially when you start looking at your failures to do God's will and keep his commandments. Pretty soon you start thinking—rightly, Moses adds—that we're all under judgment and God's wrath. 

So . . . here comes the prayer for wisdom: "LORD, have pity on your servants! Before the dark night of death descends, while I can still see the light of the morning, satisfy my deep longing for your steadfast love. I want to sing and rejoice. I long to be happy and not so filled with anguish and despair. I have both physical and mental disabilities. I have seen evil all around. Now, LORD, please, I pray, give me wisdom to see and trust in your work and see your glory, your glorious power and favor."

And at once that prayer is heard and answered in this Holy Week. We have but to kneel before the ONE hanging upon Calvary's cross and hear Him cry, "It is finished!" He has completed the work of salvation. Our sins are forgiven. Put your trust in Him. In that faith, move confidently back to your work today and rejoice in doing it in His name. 

Last Sunday I used a little story to speak about our work, "the work of our hands" as Moses writes about it. It is about a statue of the Christ that miraculously escaped destruction during the bombing of Strassburg, Germany in WW II. When the parishioners went back to assess the damage they discovered that the Christ statue's outstretched arms had both hands knocked off by a falling beam. Other than that the statue was unscathed.

A similar statue in Soweto, South Africa

A sculptor offered to restore the hands, but the congregation's leaders decided to leave the statue as it is. "After all," they said, "we are Christ's hands in this world. So let us be reminded of this each time we gather to worship." 

So we are and so we conclude with Moses' prayer: "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes establish the work of our hands!" (Psalm 90:17).  

How To Define A Christian

The largest religion in the United States is Christianity. According to a religious identification survey in 2008 over 76% of Americans identify themselves as Christian, with over 56 million Roman Catholics and over 116 million other Christians for a total of over 173 million. 20% either claim no religion (the Nones) or refuse to answer the survey, with just under 4% claiming some other religion. The numbers for mainline Christians are rapidly falling as the numbers of non-denominational Christians rise. The Catholic population grew by one percent since the last survey ten years prior, but is still a percentage point lower than it was 20 years ago. Check out the tables for further information about the growth of Eastern religions like the Muslims, for instance.

One question remains in all of these numbers. How do you define or identify a Christian? The Bible gives a clear and forthright answer in two passages:

"By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already" (1 John 4:2-3).

"Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Here's what I'm seeing in these blunt statements:

1. A Christian believes in the Incarnation, that is, in what we just celebrated during the Christmas season. God came among us in human form, born as a man child from the womb of the Virgin Mary.
2. He was not conceived through the union of a man and a woman. Rather he was conceived by the powerful working of God's Holy Spirit who overshadowed and enveloped Mary (Luke 1:35-37).
3. This child was named Jesus, a name that means "The LORD saves from sin." The name points to Jesus' office or calling to be the messianic king foretold by ancient prophecy (Matthew 1:19-23). 
4. Not only is Jesus the Messiah, the king descended by lineage from David, he is also true God, the Son of God, in fact God with us (Isaiah 8:8-10 and Isaiah 9:6-7). 
5. Those who have been reborn by the working of God's Spirit acknowledge and accept this. For them Jesus is LORD, that is, the God of the First Covenant, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the great I AM. This was the claim of Jesus himself (John 6:48-51; John 8:12-19; John 8:57-59; John 10:6-14, etc.). 
6. Moreover, this LORD offered up His life as the full and complete sacrifice and final payment for the sins of all mankind (Hebrews 9:11-16) and rose victorious on the third day. 
7. He lives now, is ever with us and will return at the end of this age (Matthew 28:18-20).  

Those who deny these truths or who try to make Jesus merely an example of how a pious person should live are not Christians. They who wish to call themselves Christian, but who deny the divinity of Jesus are led by another spirit. The Apostles called this the spirit of the antichrist. Much has been and will continue to be written and taught about this spirit. For my purposes here it is sufficient to point out that this is an attitude and a belief opposite to everything the Bible and historic Christianity has ever taught.

We Christians quarrel and argue among ourselves about many details of our teachings, but if we are Christians at all we accept what is written above. 

Two Kingdoms and the Mystical Body of Christ

The questions I raised yesterday about Christ's eternal sovereignty persist. How is it that we can believe that in His ascension He received all authority in heaven and on earth and a kingdom in which peoples of all nations and languages serve Him? (Matthew 28:18 and Daniel 7:13-14)

When I return to Nazi Germany, as I have been, I see that while there was great apostasy, there were ever the faithful few. This is indicated by the Confessing Church, started by Dr.Martin Niemoeller in 1933-34. I'll not go into details here other than to point out that these faithful Christians—Lutherans mostly—rejected Hitler's move to create an Aryan church controlled by the state. Many Christians in Germany and in Scandinavia hid Jews and helped them to escape.

Many of these Christians chose to give their lives rather than back down from their convictions about the evil that had pervaded the German national church. Niemoeller was sent to concentration camp. Dietrich Bonheoffer was hung for his  complicity in the attempted assassination of Adolph Hitler. What I personally believe about Bonhoeffer's teaching will have to await another day. Suffice it to say that he died for his beliefs and opposed the Aryan Protestant Church of the Nazi state. Others went out of their way to hide or help Jews to escape Germany.

In discussing this issue I must again distinguish between the two kingdoms, church and state. When confronted by the Roman Prefect or governor Pontius Pilatus about His kingdom, the Lord Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world" (John 18:33-38).

Jesus had already taught us to distinguish the two kingdoms when questioned by the hypocritical Herodians about paying taxes. Jesus knew of their evil intent, so upon receiving a Roman denarius he said, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:16-21).

These important distinctions had long before been muddled and muddied in Europe, especially with the state supporting the church since the days of Constantine, over 1,000 years.

The kingdom of Christ is one created and sustained by the inner working of the Holy Spirit. In fact, as Jesus pointed out to the inquiring Jewish ruler Nicodemus, one cannot even see or enter it without the creative working of the Spirit in baptism. To be in this kingdom is nothing less than having experienced a rebirth. Those who have been reborn have eternal life (John 3:1-21).

I can only point to these distinctions here. The task of maintaining the separation of the two kingdoms continues in our day. The church is not a political power player. She is the mystical, mysterious, inscrutable and yet very real presence of Christ in this world, working through men and women called by Him to millions and millions of vocations and responsibilities. She still suffers and dies on behalf of the weak and helpless throughout the world as she takes up her cross to follow her Husband and Master (Matthew 10:37-39 and Matthew 16:23-25).

Living in the Living Savior

The first of this month of March I began to serve what we, in our circles, call a vacancy. That's not a Biblical term. It is simply a way of saying that the congregation is searching for a full time, permanent pastor and in the meantime another pastor--or in our case two--is called by the Lord through the congregation to serve them with the Word of God and the Sacraments. That's where I am. I'm one of a team of two pastors serving Living Savior Lutheran Church in this 'vacancy'.

I love the name of this congregation--Living Savior. I love it because it points directly to Jesus. When the LORD confronted Moses on Mount Horeb to send him to lead Israel out of captivity, Moses asked, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"

God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

The name means not only that the Lord exists, but that He is present and active in the lives of His chosen people. He is the Living One, the Eternal One who is sending Moses in answer to their prayers. That is His name. This name became known among them by four letters, YHWH. In Hebrew the vowels are implied, but were not originally written in the text until after the time of Christ.

Anyway, to make a well known story short, they began to regard this Name as being so unique and holy that they would not even speak it. Instead, they substituted their word for LORD or Master whenever they saw it written in the sacred texts. In many English translations we see all the letters of the name capitalized as LORD. This is a way of indicating that the Name YHWH is in the original Hebrew, a name unspoken by the pious Israelites, because they feared to take the Name of the LORD in vain.

When Jesus, the Word of God, came among us, He laid claim to this Name. The Apostle John records many instances of this in his Gospel. For instance, confronted by the Pharisees about His age and His claims, Jesus replied, "Before Abraham was, I AM!" Of course, they all knew what He meant. That's why they tried to stone Him to death. He was making himself equal to the LORD.

This LORD tells us directly why He has come among us. In that same Gospel we hear Him speaking of Himself as the sheep gate through whom His sheep pass on their way to abundant and full life. He says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

We who call ourselves by His Name (we translate it as Living Savior), are now asking ourselves what it means to go through Him to live. What is this abundant life that this Living One, this Living Savior, brings? And how is He leading us to live it?

We have some clues. We have much to learn. One of the vital clues is to be found in the writings of the Apostles. Peter, for instance, speaks of us Christians as living stones built upon THE Living Stone. Paul picks up this understanding when he asks the question, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." In this instance the words 'your body' are plural. That is, Paul is not talking about a single person, but rather about the entire body of believers gathered by and filled with the Holy Spirit.

So we Living Savior people are asking ourselves what this means for us. How is the Living Spirit of the Living Savior living in us leading us to live? As we grow together and prepare to go together out into our part of the world, we will keep asking such questions. I am quite assured that our Living Savior will answer them. We need only to listen and to follow.

You Did It For Me

It is a bit uncommon for me to fill a pulpit on any given Sunday morning. That is my own choice, I suppose. Some classmates and friends are interim or vacancy pastors, still preaching every Sunday morning. Be that as it is, I am privileged to preach this Sunday, the final in the traditional church year. My sermon to the small congregation in Livingston, TX. is based upon the Gospel lesson from Matthew 25:31-46, the final separation of the righteous from the unrighteous. What struck me again about that lesson is the vision our LORD has for Christian community. Upon commending the righteous for their lives, He says,

"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."

They protest, indicating they didn't see Him. But He responds, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

All of their deeds of kindness, care and concern were in reality done to Him. In other words, the believer's entire life is one of response to the love we receive from Him. We love Him because He first loved us. "If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:18-20).

Note that the word 'brother' is used both by Jesus and by the Apostle John. John says that the brother in need is visible enough, even though God remains physically invisible. So if I love God who first loved me in Christ, the immediate way to love God is to love my brother. Earlier in the same chapter of his letter John writes, "if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

This points to that strange mystery about the church, the mystical body of Christ in the world. We are His body, hands, feet, eyes and ears. His Spirit lives in us. It is through us that He continues to teach, heal, serve and care. Consequently it is quite unthinkable that we do not love one another.

The word 'love' is, of course, the tricky word here. English speakers are bound to use the word love in all directions, whereas the Greeks of Jesus' day had four words available: agape, or spiritual love; storge, or familial love; philia, the love between friends; and the familiar eros, sexual love.

C.S. Lewis took all this apart in his well known work, The Four Loves, published by Harcourt in 1971. In it he points to the many ways by which familial, 'philial' and sexual love can be twisted from the purposes for which they were created. Yet all this changes when the 'agapic' love of Christ takes hold of one's life. Then you begin to love as you have been loved and in those very acts you are changed. As John wrote, "His love is made complete in us."

As we approach a national day of Thanks Giving, I give thanks that I have been called into this love of God so clearly seen in Christ Jesus. Consequently I have been and continue to be loved by my brothers and sisters in the great family of God. In turn I have family members all around who need and welcome my love. What a wonder. What a reason to give thanks indeed.