Judging According To The Flesh

Yesterday as I wrote about the rapidly changing views on marriage and sexual license here in the United States I was painfully aware of how different my views are from those self-styled enlightened voices calling for such changes. To most of us who follow Jesus, it seems so very obvious. The definition of marriage is clear : one man and one woman for life! Period, end of discussion. This is what Jesus teaches clearly in his Word. This is how he, our Creator, Master and Lord designed human life. We have no choice but to follow his way of life. He is LORD. He brings light. He is the Light of the world. And when we follow this Light our personal, family and community lives are blessed.

But my conclusions are not at all obvious to those outside Christ's Kingdom, to those who do not accept his authority nor that of the Scriptures as God's Word. You can see this clearly as we pick up the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus has just declared himself to be the light of the world.

So the Pharisees said to him, "You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true." Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. - Jhn 8:13-16 ESV

"You judge according to the flesh!"

Like the talking heads who decided which candidate won the recent series of televised presidential debates here in the United States, the Pharisees brought their own personal agendas into this conflict between themselves and Jesus. They judged him, says Jesus, "according to the flesh!" And as a result they did not accept him nor the light he brought into the world.

Flesh in Jesus' usage refers not to the soft substance that covers the bodies of men and beasts. Rather, it refers to that sensuous, sinful nature of a man or woman with a self-centered agenda. To "judge according to the flesh" is decide on the basis of "what's in it for me." The apostle Paul puts it this way:

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. - Rom 8:7-8 ESV

In the minds of the Pharisees, Jesus was nothing more than some self-promoting carpenter from the nothing-town of Nazareth. "You are bearing witness about yourself," they shouted. "The claims you make are empty and meaningless."

Jesus countered, "Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me." 

They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" 

Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." - Jhn 8:16-19 ESV

Earlier in the Gospel of John we hear Jesus equating the Scriptures to the voice of his Father.

And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. - Jhn 5:37-40 ESV

The Pharisees and learned Scribes rejected the witness of the very Scriptures they so highly treasured. Driven by their flesh, they persisted in the belief that they could earn the blessings of God by their righteous lives. In this belief they were blind to what these same Scriptures say about sin and about Jesus as the only Savior from God's judgment upon sin. They continued to "judge according to the flesh!"

Bottom line: when we Christians despair about how the morals of this world are changing, let us remember that that this is the world of men and women who "judge according to the flesh!" It has always been so. It will always be so until Christ returns. Until and unless they are reborn by the power and working of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-6), there will be no changing of their minds. We must ever be conscious of this truth. Jesus' kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).

About Our Confusion About Baptism

If you have followed my study of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, you have come across some common words and phrases used by Christians. These include born again, born from above, water, Spirit, flesh. Confusion and disagreement about these words and their meanings continue among us Christians. We argue back and forth about water baptism versus Spirit baptism, one baptism versus many baptisms, about which baptism saves, the baptism of children, making a decision for Christ before being baptized and so forth.

I do not suggest that my comments will bring an end to these arguments. Each of us must make his or her own decisions about these matters. Instead, I will summarize what I have shared in my earlier blogs about this important conversation and invite you to draw your own conclusions.

1. Nicodemus and his party saw Jesus as a Rabbi, but failed to see Him as the LORD, YHWH, God with us, Emmanuel, the Word (logos), the Son of God.
2. To gain this insight and faith, one must be reborn.
3. This rebirth comes from above; it is the work of God's Holy Spirit. Like the wind it is outside human control or decision making.
4. These reborn are chosen by God to be members of the royal family of Jesus Christ (Messiah), priests of God, members of Jesus body and of the Father's eternal family. 
5. Water plays a critical role in this rebirthing work of the Holy Spirit. It points to the long history of God's chosen people Israel and to their Exodus journey from slavery to the promised land. 
6. In, with and through this water (baptism) the Spirit declares us reborn to be members of God's chosen people, forgiven for all sins for the sake of Christ and promises that God will raise us up with Him in the new creation.
7. This powerful Word connected with the water (baptism) both creates and sustains the Spirit's new life within us as we continue on our journey to the promised land.

If indeed you are a reborn member of God chosen people, you personally know and understand what I have summarized above. You are not like Nicodemus who asked, "How can these things be?" (John 3:9). You also understand that these are but earthly things. Knowledge about heavenly things still awaits us (John 3:10-13). however, the center, the crux of the matter, the most important point at issue in the whole conversation is to be found in these words of Jesus:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. - Jhn 3:14-18 ESV

Jesus purposely draws a parallel between what was to happen to him upon the cross and the bronze serpent Moses was commanded to raise up as he led the Israelites on their journey to the promised land (Numbers 21:7-9). You see, they complained again about the misery of the wilderness. There was no food, no water and they had come to loathe the daily supply of Manna, calling it "worthless food". To awaken them to their sin the LORD sent venomous snakes among them. Many died. This led to their confession and plea, "Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses did and the LORD heard their prayers.

And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. - Num 21:8-9 ESV

This bronze serpent event, said Jesus, points beyond itself to the cross upon which Jesus was to be raised up. And it is all God's doing, God's gracious gift. Just as the wilderness people did not die from the snake bites, so all who believe that Jesus was judged, condemned and killed upon the Roman cross on the hill of Calvary for us and for all, will not die. They will be saved from the eternal wrath of God and receive instead a resurrected body and a new life that will never end.

That, as I said, is the crux of the matter, what its all about. Nothing else matters more than this. It is all about God's grace, unearned and undeserved. And faith to believe it is all the working of God's Spirit, sent from above and beyond us, working through this Word of grace. This is the rebirth Jesus speaks about, for which we shall praise him and the Father to all eternity.

I shall wrap up this discussion in my next post.

Royal Priests

I'm continuing my meditation upon Jesus' conversation with the Sanhedrin member Nicodemus, recorded in John 3:1-21, especially our Lord's comments about being reborn.

My maternal grandmother used to tell us grandchildren that we are descended from British royalty. Of course, we all thought that a big joke. Anyway, as Americans who cares? And yet . . . it was kind of fun to imagine what that might mean. Her maiden name family was Brommel or Brummell—I never discovered how to spell it correctly. A brief Google search reveals that the Brommel family did indeed come from England and spelled the name in various ways, including Bromell, Bramhall, Bromhale, Bromhal, Bromehall, Brumel, Bromhill, etc. Further, Richard Bromwell came to Maryland in 1674 and Anne Brumwell arrived in Virginia in 1703, along with thousands of others with similar names.

Grandma like to say that we were descended from George Bryan Brummell (1778-1840), commonly known as "Beau" Brummell. He's the guy credited with introducing the modern men's suit, worn with a tie. It was a mode of dress that rejected overly ornate fashion in favor of fitted and tailored clothing with dark jackets and full-length trousers rather than knee breeches and stockings. Ta dah! I suppose that one day I'll have to research the validity of Grandma's fancy.

From Biblical times to the present birth status has been important. In fact, in Biblical times birth status was the single most important factor in determining a person's worthiness of honor. Such honor usually remained with a person for life. So if Jesus was talking about being born again (a meaning of the Greek adverb anohthen assumed by Nicodemus), such an event would be truly life changing. How could this be? One surely could not enter his mother's womb again.

However, as I pointed out in yesterday's post, Jesus spoke instead of being born from above. That means being born of God's realm or kingdom. It means to become in truth a child of God. And such a birth raises one to the highest possible status, far above royalty or kings and queens of any sort. And all the children born of such a father would likewise be princes and princesses. Later on, the Apostle Peter does in fact make such a claim for all followers of Jesus Christ as he writes,

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. - 1Pe 2:9-10 ESV

The status of priest or kohen in Hebrew was originally conferred on Aaron, Moses' brother, and his sons as an everlasting covenant (Exodus 28:1-4). To be born into this family put you into the highest status level, especially since the priests were those who performed the ritual duties of the temple, praying for the people and offering sacrifices.

Jesus was not a descendant of Aaron's family. He was of the family and lineage of Judah. However, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews affirms that Jesus' priesthood is superior and more ancient than the Levitical priesthood of Aaron's family. He is of the priesthood of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20 and Psalm 110:4). You may read about this in Hebrews 5:1-10 and 7:11-19.

Note also that Peter calls Christians a chosen race of royal lineage. This fits in, of course, with Jesus' own lineage, recorded in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 1:26-35. He is of the royal family of David and has inherited David's throne and kingdom of which there will be no end. All born from above and again into that family share in the highest possible status of both priest and king or queen, or as Peter says, the royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession.

I did not choose to be born into my Grandma's family, if it is indeed true that I am descended from the Brummells. What is vastly more important and of eternal significance is that I was chosen and given rebirth into the family of Jesus of Nazareth, son of David and Son of God. This happened in my baptism, as Jesus says,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." - Jhn 3:5-8 ESV

If you, my brother or sister, have been born of the Spirit you know what Jesus means. If you have not, I pray that you will receive this blessing. Nicodemus asked, "How can these things be?" I shall try to explain it further in my next postings.