Christ in the OT #8

HAVING THE WISDOM TO BELIEVE

Suppose that our worship this morning really touched you. Whether or not the choice of songs was to your liking or the sermon touched you doesn’t matter. You worshiped God and loved him. Later, during your afternoon nap you have a dream. God speaks to you in this dream and says, “My heart was filled with joy because of your devotion to me. Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”

            Can you imagine such an offer? What would you ask for that only God could give? Would you ask for wealth so that you could be more charitable? Would you ask for a successful business and give the excess to the community and to the poor? Would you want to be more popular and have everyone hang on your every word? Think of the influence you could have if people actually listened to you.

            I know this sounds like a “genie in the lamp” kind of situation and I don’t want to give the impression that God is like that. But just imagine if God offered to grant you anything.

            In 1 Kings 3 this happened to Solomon. He had worshiped God; sacrificed 1000 of his cattle to God. Such devotion touched the Lord and he offered to give Solomon anything he asked for – wealth, fame, etc. Solomon considered the great task before him of sitting on the throne of his father David and felt inadequate. So Solomon took this opportunity to ask God for discernment to govern Israel. Wisdom! And God gave Solomon wisdom and so much more.

            Our journey to discover Christ in the OT focuses on Solomon today. He is a template for Christ, an imperfect image of the coming Messiah, a foreshadow of the true Son of David. We want to look this morning at Solomon’s wisdom through the eyes of the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10. Please be alert for the parallels to Christ in this first part. Then be prepared to have this lesson turned on you. Jesus’ wisdom is greater than Solomon’s wisdom. What does that matter?

1. How great was Solomon’s wisdom?

God gave Solomon incredible wisdom and discernment. What that actually looked like is hard to know apart from Scripture. We can assume that he had keen powers of observation, a scientific mind if you will, and the ability to put knowledge into action. 1 Kings 10 tells us a little about the magnitude of Solomon’s wisdom.

a) Solomon’s wisdom was world-famous – In the age of Tweeting and Facebook information travels faster than you can think it. The Arab Spring revolution owes its success in large part to texting and tweeting. Consider then how slow information traveled in Solomon’s day. Slow camel caravans carried the news of the day and word of mouth was equally slow. Imagine then, how electric the news was about Solomon that it traveled as quickly as it did. Check out 1 Kings 4:29-31.

            Among the inquirers was the queen of Sheba. We can deduce that she came from about 1000 miles away. “When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon…she came,” (10:1a) and “The report I heard in my own country…” (10:6).

b) Solomon’s wisdom was sufficient for every question – The queen came with a hint of skepticism. She wanted to know for herself if the legend was true. We read that “she came to test Solomon with hard questions…she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her,” (10:1b, 2b-3).

            Solomon seemed to know about everything. Go back to 1 Kings 4:32-34. You will recall the story about the two prostitutes fighting over the baby and how Solomon ordered the baby cut in two thus revealing the true mother. This was that knowledge put into action.

            There are also legends about the queen of Sheba’s visit and the tests she put to Solomon. One mythical story says that she brought in several boys and girls around 9-years old, same haircuts, same clothes. She then asked Solomon to tell her who the boys were and who the girls were. According to legend Solomon brought in basins of water and had them wash. One group rolled up their sleeves while the other group sort of played with the water but didn’t really wash. The former were girls and the latter were boys, Solomon said.

c) Solomon’s wisdom was visible – If you look at verses 4-5 you get a description that seemingly only women could appreciate – nice home, good food, beautiful table setting, and spotless uniforms for servants. And the queen called this wisdom. She was overwhelmed.

            We have all heard the expression that a clean desk is the sign of a disturbed or sick mind. I keep my desk messy so that no one will find out how disturbed I am. But apparently, a well-ordered life was a sign of wisdom.

d) Solomon’s wisdom went deeper than hearsay – The queen of Sheba declared, “…I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes…” (7b). News travels fast, but is it always accurate? Hardly ever. But the Wisdom of Solomon was greater than the stories people were hearing.

e) Solomon’s wisdom brought joy to his people – A wise leader is a joy to his people. The queen saw the connection between wise leadership and the harmony of the people. She said, “How happy your people must be!...” (8-9). Solomon was full of wisdom and wise sayings for his people. The book of Proverbs contains some of that wisdom.

            One proverb that stuck out for me this week was Proverbs 26:17: “Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.” I remembered an image in my mind of a U.S. President holding a dog by its ears. It was Lyndon B. Johnson, the same man who began sending young Americans to Vietnam to be slaughtered in a war that made no sense. How wise and prophetic was Solomon?

            Solomon was a delight to his people, keeping peace with other nations and prosperity for his own. Unfortunately he compromised his faith in God by worshiping idols due to his many influential wives. He is, however, forever known as a paragon of wisdom.

2. “Something greater than Solomon is here”

Jesus is greater than Solomon and his wisdom; Jesus is God’s wisdom personified. Consider the parallels and contrasts of Jesus and Solomon:

a) Jesus’ wisdom is world-famous. Unbelievers quote him all the time without thinking about it (Golden rule).

b) Jesus’ wisdom is sufficient for every question. Solomon knew about plants and animals; Jesus made everything (John 1:3).

c) Jesus’ wisdom was visible.

d) Jesus’ wisdom went deeper than hearsay. Consider the Sermon on the Mount (“You have heard it said…but I say”).’

e) Jesus’ wisdom brings joy to his people (compare Is. 9:6-7).

We turn now to Luke 11 where Jesus had healed a man with a demon. When the demon left the man began to speak because the demon had made him mute. The observers were divided. The authorities thought Jesus had a demon himself. Others were intrigued but not convinced. Matthew’s account (12:38-42) includes in the scene the Pharisees and lawyers saying, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”

            What this request indicates is a resistance to making a decision about Jesus. There are two factors that pop out:

            First, it was likely that the strong opposition of Israel’s religious leaders put pressure on the crowds not to decide for Jesus. The Pharisees were popular among the people and no one wanted to offend them or the other leaders. It would not go well for you if you challenged those in authority over you. So they may have been impressed with Jesus but another sign might help.

            Second, another reason for resisting choosing Jesus was that if you believed he was the Son of God as he said and demonstrated, that means you have to obey him. This is how Jesus answered the woman who declared the mother of Jesus blessed for having him (11:27). Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and believe it,” (11:28).

            To ask for a further sign is something we are inclined to do before making a commitment. We Google prices, makes and models before buying a car. We want evidence to make a good choice. It is the scientific method – to get all the facts before making a decision.

             Jesus, however, has a strong word for those seeking a heavenly sign. He said, (Read Luke 11:29-32). Asking for a sign that Jesus is the Son of God reveals their wickedness, Jesus says. He then gives two OT instances to further shame them. The first are the people of Nineveh who accepted the sign of Jonah and repented; the second is the Queen of the South (Sheba) who believed the reports about Solomon.

            These two signs say several things. The sign of Jonah is one that Jesus uses to describe his stay in the tomb after his crucifixion. Jonah was in the whale/fish for three days – when Jesus is crucified, they will know he is the Lord when he rises three days later. But what really shames the Jews who ask for a sign is this: both the Ninevites and the Queen of the South are Gentiles, and because they believed, their belief will condemn the unbelief of this generation of Israelites. They also believed with much less evidence than that which this generation had seen.

            Consider Jonah’s story. Jonah ran away when God told him to go and preach to the Ninevites. God caught him with a fish and spit him back on the right shore. Then he goes to Nineveh, disheveled and smelling like a fish market, and preaches the worst message ever. “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” And they repented! He wasn’t even trying to convert them.

            So too with the Queen of the South when she heard Solomon’s words; she was convinced of his wisdom when she beheld its power. In both of these cases, Jesus points out that it is a belief based on words, not signs, that God is looking for in his followers.

            Obviously, signs were not enough, since they had just witnessed Jesus healing the demoniac. So too with the feeding of the 5000, the Jewish leaders come to Jesus and say, “What miraculous sign will you give that we may see it and believe you?” (Jn 6:30). The biggest problem with sign-seeking is that it does not find the words of God to be enough. Rather than encourage faith, it demands an ongoing stream of miraculous works. This is the age-old sin of putting God to the test.

            Don’t we do this too? We may not realize it but when we pray we are hoping for an answer that will bolster our faith. We want to see signs and miracles to rest our faith upon. I have done this too, even in preparation for a sermon. I pray sometimes, Lord do a marvelous thing with this sermon. Sometimes I am disappointed. What’s wrong with this? Well, for starters, why isn’t the preaching of the Word of God enough?

            Jesus said, “…now something greater than Solomon is here.” And the people who repented at the preaching of Jonah will stand up at the last day and say, “You had the scriptures. You had the prophecies. You had Jesus himself, greater than Solomon, and you did not repent? What’s the matter with you?”

            And I say to you too, is the Word of God not enough? Christians are looking for experiences these days. They want to see the healings, the signs and wonders, and they want to feel something in a service. They want to know that the Holy Spirit was there in that place. But the Ninevites and the Queen of the South will stand up on Judgment Day and say, “Look at what’s in your hands. Look at your bookshelves. They are full of Bibles, translations of every sort, and you wanted a sign? You had the wisdom of God at your fingertips. But you ignored it.”

            Perhaps the problem is the same as it ever was. If we accept Jesus’ words as is, no signs, no wonders, just the Word of God, we will actually have to commit to obeying it. Now something greater than Solomon is here, and he was pretty great. But Jesus is greater. His Word is enough for salvation.

I marvel at the stories of conversions where one word or phrase was enough to bring a transformation. That can only be born of the Holy Spirit. The Ninevites heard, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” Augustine heard, “Take up and read.” Charles Spurgeon heard, “Look to Jesus.” That was enough.

            Paul chided the Corinthians with these words: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,” (1 Cor 1:21-24).

            We preach Christ crucified. This is the power of God and the wisdom of God. It demands a response. We can wait for more evidence, prove the faith through our trials and prayers, or we can say that Christ’s Word is enough. And if we make that confession, we must obey the Lord’s commandments. The greatest is this: Love God. The second is like it: Love your neighbor.

            This is wisdom.

                                                                        AMEN

Christ in the OT #7

WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

Life is a battle. It is a struggle. It is filled with conflict.

            I am sorry if this sounds pessimistic, but the reality is that we have battles in our daily life, great and small battles. Some of you are battling an expanding waistline. If that sounds minor, consider the inner conflict you feel when you are trying to eat healthy salad while the fellow next to you is eating KFC chicken. There is spiritual warfare even in this.

            The greater conflicts involve life and death. Robin Williams took his own life this week after a life-long struggle with drugs, poor self-image and depression. There are many who are impacted by the comedian’s death. If a man of seemingly limitless humor and mirth becomes so despondent as to take his own life, what hope is there for others? In retrospect I have often thought that Williams was a rather sad man behind all that craziness. His off-the-charts antics were a mask for pain. "Cocaine," Williams said, "was God's way of saying you are making too much money."

            So whether your battles are great or small, they are battles nevertheless; they are your battles. No one can stand in your shoes truly and know what you struggle with in life. Your battles are incomparable to what others go through. And the truth is, whether it is a struggle with food or a battle with the meaning of your life, all are spiritual conflicts. Each one colors what you think of God, God’s world, and your place in it.

            One of the questions we might ask, especially as believers, is this: Whose side is God on when we face our troubles? Some days it doesn’t seem like he is on our side. Is he on our side? Is he just a bystander? Is he the one pressing us with these trials? The answer comes in this text, Joshua 5.

            Once you have consented that life is a battle, there are two things we need to do as we face the enemy. One is to get ready for the battle. Two is to know who is really in command.

            Are you ready to accept the keys to spiritual victory?

1. Getting ready for the battle

After 40 years of wandering in the desert due to a lack of trust in God’s plan, the children of Israel were preparing to take the Promised Land. Moses was dead; Joshua was now leader. God had given Joshua his blessing and the charge to be “strong and courageous.” Now they stood on the cusp of invading the Land. But first there were four things they needed to consider:

a) Figure out the Fear Factor – You know that I have read about countless battles in history. What I have discerned from them is that the greatest element in any defeat was fear. That fear factor has led to disastrous decisions over and over. Does the enemy outnumber us? Do they have better weapons? Fear defeats people before they even engage the fight.

            In this story, fear is the enemy’s enemy. Rumors had whipped across the Jordan to the kings about how the LORD had dried up the Jordan so the Israelites could cross. Now, “their hearts melted in fear” and “they no longer had courage,” (5:1).

b) Get right with God – Before taking advantage of this fear, Joshua had all the men circumcised (2-9). There were two reasons for this minor surgery. One was that the men of military age who left Egypt had disobeyed God when he originally told them to go and take the PL. God made them wander until those men had died in the wilderness. In the meantime, the children born during the wandering were never circumcised. Circumcision was a special mark that this people belonged to God. And two, heading into a land where idolatry involved sexual immorality it was especially important that these warriors be marked as being set apart for God. It was an act of faith and spiritual preparation.

            It was a tactical risk but one of faith as well. You see, the Israelites had crossed the river and then performed the circumcision. While they healed they were sitting ducks for the enemy. Risky yes, but a great act of faith in God’s plan.

            Essential to our spiritual victory in life is our understanding that in Christ, all our enemies are defeated foes (Colossians 2:11-14).

c) Celebrate God’s faithfulness – After the mass circumcision, the people celebrated Passover (10). Eating the Passover meal was a commemoration of how God delivered them from the slavery of Egypt. The significance of this was huge: Just as the crossing of the Red Sea was followed by the destruction of the Egyptians, so also after crossing the Jordan, the Lord had promised the defeat of the Canaanites. So remembering the past became an excellent preparation of faith for the tests of the future.

            We can see the parallels of communion for us today. Eating the bread and the juice helps us to remember the body and blood of Jesus sacrificed for us. We remember his victory is ours and that we are completely forgiven. At the same time, Paul tells us that we participate in communion, proclaiming the Lord’s death “until he comes,” (1 Cor 11:26). Christ’s past victory promises future victory for us.

d) Be ready for the change – As the children of Israel ate the Passover something life-changing happened: the manna stopped the next day (5:12). God had been feeding them miraculously with bread from heaven. Now was they ate the Passover and ate of the produce of the land, there was no turning back. This may have been scary at first glance, but it really underlined the fact that God was going to bless them with their own land flowing with good things.

            There is a mythical story in history about a man named Cortez who ordered his men to burn their ships. They had sailed from Spain to conquer Mexico in 1519. In order to motivate them to go forward, he had them burn their ships. There was no going back; it was conquer or die trying.

            Both of these stories illustrate a reality with God: Once you commit to God’s plan there is no going back. There is no need. We can trust him and move forward without looking back. Think of the Israelites sitting on a flood-level riverbank and looking to Jericho. Walking with God is like that.

2. Know Who’s in Command

I picture Joshua on a cool night, walking out under the stars, facing the lamplights of Jericho, and thinking, “How are we going to take that city?” They had swords, spears and slings; they didn’t have siege engines to take down the walls. A lot of responsibility hung on Joshua’s shoulders. And then out of the darkness, a warrior with a drawn sword approaches him.

a) Who is this warrior? Seeing this man with a drawn sword would have been alarming. Joshua might have reached for his own sword. The stance of the warrior suggested he was ready to fight. But for who? And who was he?

            In v. 14 he tells Joshua that he is “commander of the army of the LORD,” or “Captain of the Host,” as it says in other versions. What is really shocking is that Joshua falls down to worship this man and the man does not discourage him. Actually, if he were merely a man or an angel, he would have repelled the worship. Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14 freak out when the people want to worship them and tell them to stop. And when John the Revelator goes to worship an angel in Revelation 19:10 and again in 22:9, the angel says, “Don’t do it! I am a fellow servant.”

            The only answer to the identity of this warrior is that it is what we call a theophany, a manifestation of God. Some would even call it a Christophany. That means they believe that it is the pre-Bethlehem Jesus, who, as the Word (John 1:1) is the One who reveals God. That’s why he doesn’t stop Joshua from worshiping. Is this Jesus? Some say it was Jesus in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

b) Are you for us or against us? That’s a fair question when you meet someone whose sword is drawn. However, Joshua’s question reveals a mindset we all have when we are faced with difficulties, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” (5:13b).

            What is this mindset? Well, we are a sort of people that like to be in control of our destinies and even of our problems. So we see the battles that we face as our battles and the forces that stand opposed against us. Our causes, our concerns, our agendas and even our spiritual convictions are threatened at times. We own our problems and believe wholeheartedly that we are the only ones who can solve our problems.

            If someone, including the Lord, wants to help us – bonus. But in all likelihood we are convinced that these helpers will only assist us, not fix the issue. No, the responsibility rests with me, myself, we say.

c) It’s His War – That is not the answer that Joshua receives, and it is not the truth where Christ’s followers are concerned. Joshua asked, “Are you for us or against us?” And the Warrior answers, “Neither!”

            In the past, my impression of this answer is that the stranger was just there to observe. Not so. The meaning of this answer is that God did not come to take sides, but to take over and take charge as Commander of the Lord’s Armies. It’s his war, not Joshua’s. So the real question is aimed at Joshua: Whose side are you on? Are you on the Lord’s side? (Refer to story in 2 Chronicles 20:15-17; battle is not yours but God’s)

            We can learn two things from this moment. One, it is neither our place nor our right to claim God’s allegiance for our battles or causes or agendas. We may think that we are in the right and that our cause is just but still not have the right perspective of God’s place in it. Instead of trying to get God on our side we need to check to make sure we are on God’s side. Joshua had to swallow some pride perhaps and acknowledge that God’s claim over Joshua was far greater.

            Secondly, the theophany or Christophany reminded Joshua that God was with him. Both God’s personal presence and limitless provision were with Joshua in the coming battle. You do not need own these battles you face; you are fighting a battle that belongs to the Lord and so he will go before you into the fight. It’s his war, not yours.

d) Responding appropriately – Joshua’s response to the realization that this is the Lord Himself is to fall down and worship him.

            Joshua had seen from a human perspective that this was a war between the Israelites and the Canaanites. Now his eyes were opened to a larger reality, that this was a spiritual conflict between Holy God and ungodly darkness.

            Whether we face the battle of the bulge (dieting) or something more serious like cancer, it is often beyond us to see the spiritual aspect of such earthy and human conflicts. How can we declare that these things are too unspiritual for God to bother about? How do we know that there is not something greater happening beyond our comprehension? How do we know that God cannot bring glory for himself out of our suffering and fighting? If it is his battle then he must know what he is doing. And when we realize our position before God in this great struggle, all we can do is worship him.

            Joshua may have been reminded of what the Lord said to Moses when the Israelites were cornered at the Red Sea, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only be still,” (Ex 14:14). You need only be still…

e) Standing on Holy Ground – Joshua had come face to face with the commander of the army of the Lord. As he worshiped him he asked, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (5:14a).

            He replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy,” (5:15). To stand at Ground Zero in New York or at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland would require some sort of quiet reverence. Those are places of tragedy and require somber thought. That’s not what this is.

            This is Holy Ground because the Lord is there, because the One who created the universe is appearing before you. Holy Ground is where you meet with God and realize how small you are and how great God is.

            Take off your shoes. This is a sign of respect and submission. Take off your shoes. You are before your Holy God. “We can only enter into the battle so that we experience God’s deliverance when we remove our sandals and submit to his authority and his presence and power.”[i]

Joshua was a man of noble character and godly faith. It is no wonder that Jesus was named after him. Y’shua is the Hebrew; Jesus is the Aramaic form of Joshua. The name means “God saves.” God saves!

            Each of us is in some sort of battle. Together, as the church, we battle against the encroaching culture of our times that wants to water us down and make us benign. Individually and together, we are in a battle.

            Joshua 5 is a wonderful template for preparing us to fight on God’s side. The template of this chapter offers us a few things to think about and apply:

            First, ask yourself if there is something in your life that you need to get right with God. Circumcision represented setting yourself apart for God. Is there a reason why you have not been baptized? Have you promised God something that is yet unfulfilled? Do you need to change an attitude or lifestyle? To prepare for battle a soldier first checks his equipment. In the same way our hearts must be set in order before the fight.

            Second, recognize the commander is the Lord Jesus. He will not leave you nor forsake you. He goes before you and has walked the path of suffering you now walk. Jesus knows your struggle.

            Third, remember that your battle is really the Lord’s battle. You cannot win it on your own. The battle belongs to the Lord. Jesus took the written code that was against us and nailed it to the cross. What is there that stands opposed to you today that God cannot overcome for your sake? Believe in the Lord Jesus.

            As a benediction let’s conclude with Romans 8:31-39.

                                                            AMEN

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[i] J. Hampton Keathley III (outline adapted from his sermon The Captain of the LORD’s Army

Christ in the OT #6

DESIRING GOD’S INTIMATE PRESENCE

Is the Lord among us? Are we experiencing his presence in our church today?

            We know that God is everywhere-present. That is a biblical truth that we believe. Psalm 139 declares that no matter where we go, God is there. We have this “head” knowledge; I am not so sure we have a “heart” knowledge of this truth all the time.

            We go about the many activities of “worship” and our programming quite mechanically. Seldom do we, or shall I say “I”, stop to acknowledge or consider the presence of God. This is not a criticism of our church per se, but rather a false reality that everyone lives in. Living in a constant consciousness of God’s nearness is almost impossible, even for the most devout believer.

            That does not excuse us from desiring God. Do we desire the presence of God in our midst?

            When the Israelites promised to keep the Law that God gave them from Mt. Sinai, it was scarcely 40 days before they broke that promise. Moses had been gone up the mountain for so long they thought he was dead. In the absence of their leader they grew restless, so Aaron made a golden calf for them to worship. Everything went wild. People were dancing and singing and doing whatever they pleased. It was chaos. God saw this and was angered; so angry he threatened to wipe them out and start again with Moses and his children to create a new people. But Moses reminded God of his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make a nation from them and to be their God. (God didn’t forget; Moses was being tested).

            Moses came down from the mountain, saw the revelry over the golden calf, and smashed the tablets he was carrying. Then he destroyed the idol, grinding it to a powder and made the Israelites drink it. Moses interceded with God for the people, but the relationship had changed.

            Instead of saying “My people” God said to Moses “your people” (32:7). And clearly this sin had caused a rift in the relationship because God said to Moses, “Go up into the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way,” (33:3).

            These words of God caused Moses to make a petition, a prayer pleading for the presence of God in his life and the life of his people. I believe that this is a prayer that every Christian who loves God can make their own.

1. Request #1: “I want to know you”

Moses considered the responsibility that God had given to him to lead these people. It was turning out to be a nightmare. These people were grumblers, complainers and quick to turn back to their pagan ways when God or their leaders failed their expectations. God said, “Lead these people,” now Moses says, “OK but you have to do something for me.”

            Moses’ first request of God was this, “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people,” (33:13).

            Now consider that God has asked Moses to lead a people who are new to God; they don’t really know God yet. And he is supposed to lead this newly formed nation to a land that is filled with idolatrous people who could influence his people for evil. So it is no wonder that Moses is concerned about heading into Canaan. And no wonder that he would like to know this God who is going with him.

            God had given his name to Moses when he first met him. He said to Moses, “I am who I am.” That is the most holy name for God, Yahweh, the Great I AM. But Moses was growing in his relationship with God and wanted more. So he asked two things of God to know him better.

a) Teach me your ways – Moses’ desire to know God’s ways is intimately related to knowing God himself. That he desires to know God’s character helps him to know God’s way of doing things. To know God’s ways is to know God and to better understand how one should live in a way that pleases God. And then as Moses learns to please God, his aim is to find favor with God.

            This is what a hunger for God looks like. To know God, to know his character, and to know what pleases him. John Piper once asked, "Do you have hunger for God? If we do not have strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world that our soul is stuffed with small things and there is no room for the great. We are hungry not because we have not tasted but because we have."[i]

b) Remember this nation is your people – God was on the verge of rejecting Israel as his people because of their sinfulness. Moses pled for grace. He asked God to forgive them and if God had to, to blot Moses’ own name out of the book of life in exchange for theirs (32:32). Moses wants God to view the Israelites as his chosen people. I think that God must have grinned slightly because Moses reflected his own heart for these people; Moses was growing a heart like God’s, and that pleased God.

            But God replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest,” (33:14). The “you” is singular and that was not good enough for Moses.

2. Request #2: “We want you to be with us”

God’s assurance of rest and presence were for Moses as he led the people to the Promised Land. That doesn’t say anything about Israel, just Moses.

            There are two very telling features in this story concerning the presence of God. One is that the tent of meeting where Moses met with God was outside of the main camp (33:7-11). As Moses entered the tent the pillar of cloud descended and God would meet with Moses. The people would stand at the doors of their tents watching and worshiping. But no one else could meet with God in this way. God was removed from them in spatial terms.

            Two, as mentioned, God was angry with Israel for sinning with the golden calf. So he told Moses to go up and take the land without him. God said, “If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you,” (33:5).

            But Moses replied, “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here,” (33:15). Moses would rather stay in the desert where food and water were scarce, than go up to the land flowing with milk and honey if God was not going to be there.

            Are we willing to say that? If God is not in it I don’t want it. I would rather be poor with God than rich without him. I would rather be a godly failure than a godless success.

            This week I was watching some Youtube clips and these ads kept popping up. Michael Chang was promoting his fitness secrets. This guy is ripped and he wants everyone to be ripped too. I considered my physique and was envious for a moment. But considering this scripture I was working with I quickly thought, if a muscular body costs me time with God, forget it.

            As a church, our desire is the same. We want the presence of God more than a full church. A full church without the presence of God is truly empty. Moses said, “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (33:16-17). The identifying mark of a gathering of people as a true church is the visible presence of God. Otherwise we are a social club, nothing more than a gathering of moralists and philosophers.

            "The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God, and the church is famishing for want of HIS PRESENCE."[ii] Therefore it is in the church, this gathering of people, that the world should find the presence of God in a very tangible way. O God, we want you to be with us!

3. Request #3: “I want to see your glory”

This is Moses’ boldest request, “Now show me your glory.”

            What did Moses want to see exactly? What is God’s glory?

            In the NT, the word "doxa" is used for glory and means beauty, radiance, brilliance and is the total manifestation of God's attributes and revelation. “The glory of God is the beauty and excellence of his manifold perfections. God's glory is the perfect harmony of all of his attributes into an infinitely beautiful and personal being."[iii] His glory is the totality of who he is in all his holiness.

            “You cannot understand the purposes and plans of God unless you understand and begin to grasp the glory of God. The purposes of God are wrapped around his glory. The plans of God revolve around the orbit of his glory. The salvation of humanity revolves around the essence of the glory of God because all throughout Scripture from the beginning of creation until the end of creation it all swirls around this gravitational pull of the glory of God. The glory of God is the essence of who he is and is the manifest beauty of all his attributes. At the center of what God wants to do is to reveal himself. In salvation, he reveals himself. Through your life, he reveals himself. Through worship, he's revealing himself. It is the revelation of who God is that changes you.”[iv]

            So God responded (read Ex 33:19-23). This is what he said he would do. When God fulfilled this request God proclaimed his name, Yahweh (I AM), (read 34:6-7).

            Now this seems out of our realm. To see the glory of God, the back of God and to hear his name, is beyond our experience here. Moses received a very special answer. But what are we to do with this request? If we should ask God to see his glory what should we expect?

            In the gospel of John we are told something quite amazing. “The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth,” (John 1:14). The word “lived” should be translated “tabernacled” or “tented” among us. While in Moses’ day the tent of meeting was outside the camp, in the person of Jesus, the presence of God put on flesh and camped right in our midst.

            As the disciples came to know Jesus they began to perceive his Sonship. Remember when Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me?” And Jesus said quite clearly that he was “I AM,” (John 8:58). So when Jesus rose again from the dead, the disciples were convinced and filled with joy. They had seen the glory of God; they touched him, heard him, saw him and knew him. Knowing that he could not stay with the disciples, Jesus promised them the person of the Holy Spirit would come and live in their hearts.

            We do not see God’s back like Moses. We do not have Jesus in the flesh before us. So how we can we know the glory of God? We have the Holy Spirit. J. I. Packer explained the work of the Spirit like this:

            “What is the essence, heart, and core of the Spirit’s work today? What is the central, focal element in his many-sided ministry? Is there one basic activity to which his work of empowering , enabling, purifying, and presenting must be related in order to be fully understood? Is there a single divine strategy that unites all these facets of his life-giving action as a means to one end?

             I think there is, and now I offer a view of it – a view that I focus…in terms of the idea of presence. By this I mean the Spirit makes known the personal presence in and with the church of the risen, reigning Savior, the Jesus of history, who is the Christ of faith.” We can have the presence of God in our lives more intimately than Moses, even more than the disciples. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

            The Apostle Paul reflected on this and considered that Moses, after he had been with God, radiated the glory of the presence in his face. Not just glowed; radiated. And after a while that glory began to fade so Moses put on a veil until he met with God again. But Paul notes that the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives is considerably different. He wrote, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” (2 Cor 3:17-18).

A church had a special concert and the worship center was packed. The congregation had one of their greatest times of worship ever! Later that evening, a young mother from the church was putting her little boy to bed. He had enjoyed the concert so much and couldn’t stop talking about it.

            The mother said the usual bedtime prayer with her boy, kissed him goodnight and was about to leave her son’s room, when he surprised her with a deep thought: "Mommy, I really had a good time at church tonight! I sure wish Jesus could have been there!"

            Is that how our worship feels? Does it seem like its all good stuff but Jesus isn’t there?

            A piano tuner tunes each key to one single source: a tuning fork. That fork is the standard to which each key conforms. It doesn’t help to tune one key to another. If each of us focuses on the presence of God in our own lives we will find a remarkable affinity and unity with one another in this church.

            I believe that Moses’ prayer is a model for us and we should, each one of us, pray:

            I want to know you Lord

            I want you to be with us Lord

            Now show me your glory Lord.

            And the glory will be found in the radiant faces of those who love and obey Jesus Christ. The Lord is with us all the time. He will never leave us or forsake us. But we need to invite him into the center of our lives every morning.

            Let’s desire his intimate presence with great passion.

                                                            AMEN

---

[i] John Piper

[ii] A. W. Tozer

[iii] John Piper

[iv] Mark Jobe, New Life Community Church

Christ in the OT #2

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GENESIS

 When we think of Genesis 3 we are prone to think of the first sin, the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the descent of humankind and creation into a sinful existence marked with suffering, wickedness and death. And we would be right in our summary of that passage…for the most part.

            What we might miss is the presence of the gospel embedded in the story. There is a subtle but heavy tone of good news that permeates this narrative. It may sound ludicrous to say but it’s there. In the midst of God’s questioning of Adam and Eve and his eventual sentencing of the conniving serpent and the guilty pair, there is a glimmer of the plan of redemption.

            One verse that captures the essence of the gospel is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is easy to see; simple, direct and to the point as to where our redemption is found.

            However, when I compare John 3:16 with Genesis 3:15, I see a common thread: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

            Do you see it? I know, it’s bizarre. How do you find the gospel, let alone John 3:16, in God’s condemnation of a snake? Yet theologians call this protevangelium, or “the first gospel.” And Augustine, reflecting on the glorious triumph of God through Christ over sin, considered that we would never know the incredible love and mercy in the heart of God if Adam had not sinned. He called it Felix culpa, (fortunate transgression).

            So there it is, the first key played in the musical score, the song of redemption, God’s symphony. God was not surprised by man’s sinfulness; indeed, he was prepared for it. For Peter wrote, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake,” (1 Peter 1:20). Now how does that song go, this song that God began to sing? How did it start?

1. The Context – The Original Sin

Because Genesis 3:15 is so important to the history of redemption we need to put it into context:

a) Time and Place – We begin with the observation that this event took place at the dawn of human history. Some will call this a biblical myth, that it was a story used for teaching, but was not intended to be taken literally. While the talking serpent is not something you see every day, I am going on the belief that this is an historical event. One solid reason for this is that the NT writers treat it as an historical event. Jesus is in the line of Adam and Paul speaks of Adam as a real person.

            In Garden of Eden, at the dawn of creation, when everything was perfect, two people were given a choice: trust and obey, or go your own way.

b) A serpent, a woman, and a man – The story features that talking serpent coming to the woman and planting ideas in her head. Why he chose the woman is unclear to the reader. Perhaps it was because God’s command not to eat from a specific tree was not given in her hearing; she only heard from the man that she should not eat of it. The question on our mind’s then is, where was the man? But 3:6 reveals that when the woman gave some to her husband, “who was with her,” he ate without question. Did he hear the whole conversation with the serpent and say nothing?

c) Sin is born – The most important detail in the context is that this is where sin began.

            The serpent’s strategy in this attack was to instill doubt and desire in the woman’s heart. He planted doubt by asking, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (3:1b). The woman innocently answers that they may eat from any of the trees but one. That one tree, she explains, must not even be touched or you will die. God did not say that. He said, eat of it and you will surely die (2:17). No matter, the serpent drives the doubt deeper. He says that they will NOT surely die. In fact, in Hebrew it reads, “Dying, you will not die…” casting a huge shadow of doubt on what God said.

            What’s at stake here is the heart of God. Is God good or not? Would God deprive humankind of anything that they needed? Would God keep from us that which would make us better people? The serpent convinced the woman that God must be keeping something from her.

            Then the serpent applies desire. When you eat of it your eyes will be opened, you will be like God, you will know good from evil. Wouldn’t you like to be wise like God?

            The woman’s response comes on three levels:

The Practical Level: the fruit looked good to eat; she desired it – THE LUST OF THE FLESH!

The Emotional Level: it looked good (pleasing to the eye) – THE LUST OF THE EYES!

The Spiritual Level: it would make her wise – THE PRIDE OF LIFE!

            This is the core of sin. “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world,” (1 John 2:16).

2. The Conflict – Spiritual Warfare Begins

Sin introduced a new element into the world – conflict. Conflict between God and humankind, between man and woman, between all people and between people and the serpent. Our focus in the main verse is this: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers,” (3:15a).

a) God’s mercy – There is a gentle sense of God’s mercy in this story. God knew what the man and woman did. He could have thundered from his throne and condemned them on the spot. God might have started over with a new couple – he could have if he wanted to, but he didn’t.

            What did God do? He gave them a chance to explain their actions. That doesn’t mean he would excuse their sin and say, “That’s okay, we all make mistakes.” No, but he went looking for them, seeking them out, giving them an opportunity for reconciliation.

            What did they do? They tried to cover their nakedness (sin) with fig leaves (the works of their hands); they hid from God; the man blamed the woman; the woman blamed the serpent. They did everything but confess.

            God could have been angrier still. He had no choice but to pronounce sentences on the three. And it is in this odd sentence that we find the gospel; in the serpent’s condemnation is our good news, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.”

b) Unmasking the serpent – It is only through the NT writings that we know the true identity of the serpent. John unmasks him in his Apocalypse, “The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him,” (Rev 12:9).

            Satan was the serpent, or used the serpent. Either way, it was his work that led the woman astray. So God declared that there would be hostility between the woman and the serpent (is that why woman don’t like snakes?). Satan continues to use deception, doubt and desire to lead people astray.

            I caught a small scene out of the movie Out of the Grey one night. The synopsis of the movie is that a plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness and the survivors have to outrun wolves to stay alive. There is one survivor left at one point, and he cries out to the sky calling on God to show himself or do a miracle. The survivor pledges to believe in God for the rest of his life if God will do this. No answer. He swears at God, keeps moving, and is eventually killed by wolves. The story is very vexing and perplexing in terms of relating to God. Why did God not answer him? Or save him? I discovered the answer later (I’ll share later).

            The point is that Satan deceives and blinds the people of this world even to this day, making them doubt the goodness of God. That is the present conflict we live with in this world. Faith in God is at odds with the world system.

c) Hostility with the world – “I will put enmity…between your offspring and hers.” Our verse implies that the descendents of the woman and of the serpent would be at odds. Satan can’t literally have children but people would choose his deception over the truth.

            Jesus pointed this out when talking to the Jews who claimed to have the truth, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies,” (Jn 8:44).

            Those who oppose Jesus can be none other than people of the lie. If we follow Jesus then we can expect hostility from those who think Jesus is not who he says he is.

3. The Cure – Who is this seed?

“He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is the gospel according to Genesis.

a) “You will strike his heel” – The difference between a head wound and a heel wound is tremendous. If you walk on gravel with bear feet and hit that one piece that is razor sharp, you will dance and scream and cry – but you won’t die. If you hit your head in a fall or a car accident, there’s a good chance you will be badly injured or die.

            The cross was a small wound to the heel. Yes it was deadly. Jesus died. But to the Son of God who rose from the dead, it was but a moment of painful dying compared to the power of eternity that was his life.

            Satan had been nipping at Jesus heels all through his life and ministry. Almost as if to repeat his victory in the Garden, Satan tried his deception out on Jesus after 40 days in the wilderness. Nip #1 – “make some bread.” Nip #2 – “Jump off the spire of the temple.” Nip #3 – “bow down to me.” Jesus would have none of it. He knew Satan’s lies.

            Remember the man chased by wolves who cried out to God? I was vexed by the situation. But then God showed me that Jesus was in the same situation. On top of the temple, Satan tried to make him jump and see if God would catch him. Jesus replied that you ought not to put God to the test. What Jesus meant was, even in dire straits, God asks us to trust him. Isn’t that where Adam and Eve failed? They weren’t in danger and they failed to trust God. What if we are in danger – chased by wolves? Can we trust God? Jesus said, “Yes,” emphatically. The cross underlined that trust.

            Satan continued to nip at Jesus. He used Herod; he used Pilate; he used Judas; even Peter was a tool of Satan. Satan finally murdered Jesus through the cross. He thought he had won.

b) “He will crush your head” – It turned out that the cross was a crushing blow to the head of Satan. I have heard that even if you cut the head off a snake, the body still wriggles for a while – and the venom is still deadly. Satan is in his death roes, but he is still deadly.

            But he is conquered. We have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ who has crushed the head of Satan. I love how Paul puts it in his letter to the Colossians, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross,” (Col 1:13-15).

            The cross was supposed to be Satan’s defeat of Christ; it turned out to be Satan’s humiliation. He was made a public spectacle through the cross. Our sins can be forgiven; our bodies of death transformed into bodies of life; our curse exchanged for blessing.

            Who is this seed in Genesis 3:15? It is Jesus Christ!

The book of Romans is a beautiful letter that explains in-depth the meaning of the cross. Paul takes us through an explanation of sin, the law, grace, redemption and the new life. At the end of the letter he makes some personal remarks to friends and adds a few warnings. Then he says this, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet,” (Rom 16:20).

            Whose feet? Jesus’ feet? No. Your feet. Jesus has already stomped on that serpent. Now it’s our turn. Through Christ’s victory and because of our faith in his gospel, we can have the privilege of stomping on Satan’s head.

            He is nipping at our heels. He whispers defeat into our ears when we fail to grasp the joy of the Lord or live the victorious Christian life. Satan wants us to wallow in the darkness of his thinking and believe his lies that our sins are too great. In short he still makes us question the goodness of God.

            But are we victims or victors? We need to stop playing the victim and claim the victory in Jesus. Mike Mason wrote, “The idea of attacking my spiritual enemies would have chilled me to the bone. Yet gradually I learned a surprising truth: What matters isn’t the force or skill of my attack, but the simple resolution to fight. As long as I hang back in fear, I cannot win. But the moment I take up arms with a will, the enemy’s on the run. It’s exactly as Scripture says: ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,’ (James 4:7).”

            The best weapon is joy. The reason for Joy is this gospel. This is the gospel song begun back in Genesis.

                                                            AMEN            

Christ in the OT #1

THE IMAGE OF GOD

It is not that long ago that we celebrated Easter and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. You will remember that the text we studied on that Sunday was the Road to Emmaus event. This was where Jesus came upon two disciples who were still grieving the death of Christ and did not recognize who it was that asked them such crazy questions. They were incredulous at this stranger’s lack of awareness concerning the death of Jesus.

            Then Jesus, still incognito to the two disciples, rebuked them for their lack of understanding that the Christ did indeed have to suffer. Then Luke records, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself,” (Luke 24:27).

            I said it ten weeks ago and I say it again; I would love to know what Jesus told them. I would love to have been a part of that conversation and to know the connections Jesus made to himself in Moses’ writings. In a way it is good that we don’t know, because now we have the thrill of discovering those connections for ourselves in the OT.

            The first connection we will focus on this morning is found in the story of Creation. Specifically, we will look at the 6^th day and the creation of humankind. I wonder if this is where Jesus started with Cleopas and his friend. Did Jesus go right back to the beginning and start with the image of God?

            To understand a very important truth about the coming of Jesus and what his life means to us today, we cannot but help going back to this point in the story. The point we want to impress upon ourselves this morning is this: The image of God in humankind that was distorted by the Fall is restored to us in Christ.

            Let’s look at Genesis 1:26-31 and what it means to be made in the image of God. Then we will study the implications of the image in the light of Christ.

1. We were created in the Image of God

a) What it means to be created in God’s image – “Man is neither angel nor beast…”[i] Some of the ancient cultures imagined that humankind was part god and part beast. Even for Christians to say that we are made in the image of God can be somewhat mysterious. So what does it mean to be created in God’s image?

            The Genesis account makes three things very clear about our being made in the image of God: First, God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (1:26a). Who was God talking to – angels? Isaiah 40:14 says that God does not consult with anyone else concerning his plans. What we have in this text is a hint of the Trinity. God in three persons discussed this plan within the Godhead. What is unique about this decision is that it is not said of any other creature. God creates the fish, birds and animals with a mere word. But with humankind he stops and makes a declaration, “Let us make mankind in our image…”

            Second, a purpose is given to the creature called man. God creates humankind “…so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals…” (1:26b). Man is a creature; he is made by God. But he is a unique creature, made in the image of God. Part of that image is found in his role. Man is to rule over creation. Some of this dominion is seen in 2:20 where the man gives names to all the other creatures. There is power and authority in the naming of something else.

            Third, humanity stands at the pinnacle of creation. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them,” (1:27). Repeating the word “created” God puts an exclamation point here to say there is something special about this creature. It is important to note that both male and female are created in the image of God.

            What these three things imply is enormous. That God creates humanity in his own image makes humankind his representative to creation. “Man” is responsible for the ecosystems of this planet as a steward for God. The glory of God to creation is seen first of all in humanity. Through “man” God deals with his creation personally. “Man” represents God to creation.

            On the other hand, “man” is a created being and that qualifies him (or her) to represent creation to God. With human lips “man” speaks on behalf of creation, of which he is the head, to God.

            So humankind has a dual purpose in being created in the image of God: to represent God to creation as its ruler, and to represent creation to God as a creature. Humanity is like a mediator, a conduit through which God and creation interface. It is kind of like being a priest in the OT sense, an intermediary between God and creation.

b) The image was shattered – The event where Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God is called the Fall. Although men and women were made in the image of God, the image has nevertheless been marred or shattered as result of their sin. A remnant of the image remains – it is not completely lost – but we are not what God intended. We are fallen creatures and the effects of the Fall are seen at every level of our being.

            British essayist G. K. Chesterton once remarked, “Whatever else is true of man, it is certainly true that man is not what he was meant to be.” Man is not what he was meant to be because he was meant to be something better than he is.

            Ironically, the serpent tells Eve, “you will be like God.” Weren’t Adam and Eve already like God having been created in his image? Theologically speaking, Satan wrested the role of ruler of creation out of the hands of humankind in that moment. The world is messed up because of sin and Satan. We think we are in control of our world but we are deceived in that regard.

            Even though the image was shattered, it was not lost. God continued to give commands based on the image. He said to Noah that the shedding of human blood was forbidden because humankind was made in the image of God (Gen 9:6). He told Moses in the Ten Commandments that Israel was not to make idols or images of anything representing heaven or God (Ex 20:4-6). Underlying that commandment is the fact that God reserves the right to choose for himself how he will be represented.

            Nevertheless, the image was shattered. Our role as representatives of God and creation has been damaged beyond our control.

2. Restoring the Image through Christ

a) The Son is the exact representation of his being - Recently I went to visit my dad at Menno Home. When we were about to leave he introduced me to one of the staff “as my oldest son – he’s a pastor.” The staff lady looked at me and immediately recognized the relationship. I was the image of my father apparently.

            A concrete image that represents the original, stands face to face with him, and resembles him by nature – is that not what a son is to his father?

            After the Cain and Abel mess, Adam has another son, Seth. The Genesis accounts says, “…he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image…” (5:3). In the same language as 1:26 where God created man as sort of an earthly son, Adam has his own son. If God had said “son” instead of “image” there might have been a misunderstanding that mankind possessed some sort of divinity. That could not be allowed. The word “son” had to be reserved for the closer relationship or communion that God the Father has with Jesus, the Son.

            Interestingly, however, the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3 we see a connecting thread. John baptizes Jesus and a voice comes from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased,” (Lk 3:22). What follows is a lengthy list of relatives beginning with Joseph and ending with these words, “…the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God,” (3:37b).

            What does this mean? It means that Jesus belongs to the line of humanity created in the image of God. Jesus is fully qualified to represent humankind as a Son of Adam, whom Luke brazenly calls a son of God.

            Then the Apostle John, as he begins his gospel, writes, “No one has even seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known,” (Jn 1:18). John is very careful to make sure that his readers know that Jesus, the man, is the Son of God. Later, when one of his disciples, Philip, asks to see the Father, Jesus replies, “Don’t you know me, Philip…?” (14:9), implying that Philip is looking at God.

            The implication of both the genealogy and the testimony of John is a return to Genesis 1. Jesus is a son of Adam and therefore qualified to represent Creation to God, and he is the Son of God, qualified to represent God to Creation. He is the perfect representative; Jesus shows us God and he shows us true humanity. Jesus is what the image of God was meant to be. As such, he is the Alpha (a restoration of the image-bearing man) and the Omega (the goal of every human being).

            “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” (Colossians 1:15).

b) Transformed into his likeness – Have you ever heard of Kintsugi? It is            the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer resin dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Legend says that a Japanese shogun shattered a Chinese tea bowl and sent it back to China for repairs. When it came back it was stapled together in one ugly mess. So Japanese artisans came up with this method to make the repairs more aesthetic.  It became so popular that many collectors were accused of purposely smashing pottery just to have it repaired.

            The philosophy behind kintsugi is that one does not try to hide the damage but to highlight it with the repair. In this way the cracks and repairs are seen as simply an event in the life of an object rather than allowing its service to end at the time of its damage or breakage.

            As human beings, we are a fractured, broken race. Our goal is to be made whole and to find meaning in life, a peace for our souls. Only through Christ can we find wholeness, meaning and peace.

            Paul explains this transformation as a process in Colossians 3. We are to put off the old self, characterized by the shattered image of selfishness, and “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator,” (Col 3:10). This knowledge is not academic, but personal knowing, as in a relationship. We seek to know Christ who is the true image-bearer so that we can begin to fulfill our purpose as human beings. On the one hand, we make an effort in this regard, as putting off the old self. But on the other hand, the Spirit helps us: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” (2 Cor 3:18).

            This definition of humanity, mankind as the image of God, illuminates the harmony of Scripture. Jesus joins the first and greatest commandment with the second which “is like it” – ‘You shall love the Lord your God…you shall love your neighbor…’ (Matt 22:37-40). The logic behind this is the likeness between God and his image. If you love God then you should love his image too. All Scripture that exhorts us to “love our enemies” or “pray for those who persecute you,” or promotes love for others, is grounded in the truth that every person you meet is made in the image of God. Even the unbeliever was created for the purpose of glorifying God.

            We are being transformed into the likeness of Christ, fractured as we are. Instead of gold, we are made whole by the blood of Christ, that precious token that exemplifies just how important humankind is to God.

What this means for us

“In Jesus Christ, who is both the Son of God and the Image of God, we are restored to our humanity, as true images of our Creator, and more than images, we become God’s sons (and daughters) in his Son, by the bond of a new covenant.”[ii]

            In Christ we are restored to our roles as representatives: for God to creation; for creation to God. We are mediators again praying for our fellow humans and for creation. We become a “priesthood of all believers.” That’s why we are here. If you do nothing else but pray for your family, your friends and your world, you are doing a fantastic thing – you are doing what you were created for.

            We are image-bearers. We live to show how God can take broken vessels and make them whole again. Our weakness reveals God’s strength, how he can take the lowliest human being and redeem him or her for his own glory.

            And finally, as men and women created in the image of God, we take on a new ethic. If we believe that every living person regardless of mental capacity or physical ability is made in the image of God, we will see that capital punishment, abortion and euthanasia or any other kind of murder, are abhorrent to God because it destroys his image on the earth. We believe in life because God made us for life. Each person is precious. Bullying and domination are not Christian; favoritism and discrimination blasphemes God’s order; slander and gossip defaces what God said is good. Therefore these things have no place in the life of holiness.

            Ladies and Gentlemen, we are created in the image of God. What a privilege that is.

                                                            AMEN

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[i] From Pascal’s Pensees

[ii] Henri Blocher, In the Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis, p. 94.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

IT’S CAMPING SEASON!!!

So it’s camping season. These brief summer months beckon us to nature while the weather is hot. This is our reprieve from the long winter months we have just endured.

            Some of my earliest vacation memories with my family were of tenting in Banff or Detroit Lakes. We had this orange tent with a roof of blue and white stripes. In those days the tents were made of thick canvas and needed water-proofing. If it rained we were strictly told not to touch the walls of the tent or we would be in a flood of trouble. Otherwise, sleeping in a tent with Mom and Dad and my brother and sister was a unique experience.

            Another tenting experience I had was not so pleasant. Some work friends invited me to go camping for the weekend at Grand Beach. The girls were given a large tent to sleep, while I was supposed to cram into a pup tent with a guy I had just met. It rained the whole weekend. And for some unknown reason, my companion thought it was fun to touch the roof of the pup tent and watch the water drip. He did this several times. Soon we were soaked right through our sleeping bags.

            Whether your camping experiences, like mine, were good or bad, eventually they come to an end. You have had enough of frying bacon in the rain; you tire of swatting mosquitoes around a campfire; you grow weary of being wet. It is time to go home, back to your solid walls that don’t drip, to your bed where roots don’t gnaw your back.

            In a rather stark illustration, Paul likens our life on earth to camping and to our bodies as tents. He gives us the impression that even the comfy life we lead is really just roughing it in comparison to the life to come. The question he seems to be answering is this: What happens to the believer when she dies? More than that, what hope does the Christian have when she dies?

            In 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, Paul gives camping a whole new meaning.

1. Our earthly body is like a tent

In the passage we are studying today, we read that Paul compares our bodies to tents. He spoke of this earthly tent being destroyed.

             I mentioned one of the drawbacks of tenting: rain dripping in. But there are two words that describe tenting further: insecure and uncomfortable. Tents are insecure in regards to intruders or wild animals. You can’t bolt the door or trust the walls for protection. Our bodies are vulnerable like that. Life is insecure. Our lives can be destroyed in a second. We accumulate goods, exercise and put security features on our homes to protect us, but no matter what precautions you take we are still living in a tent that can be blown over.

            The second word, uncomfortable, describes the humidity, the dirt, and your deflating air mattress. You can endure those things for a while, but then you soon miss your air conditioning and clean floors. Physically speaking, as we get older the more uncomfortable we grow with our bodies. They begin to ache and get tired quicker. We long for a body that doesn’t know pain and doesn’t grow weary.

            This is what Paul is talking about in 5:1, “For we know that if the earthly tent is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”   Now we understand the tent analogy, what is this building from God? There are several suggestions: It could be the New Jerusalem, or the church, or some kind of temporary body God gives us when we die. But I think the best answer is that this building refers to the glorified, resurrection body we will receive. There are two reasons for this: One, the “building” stands in parallel relationship with the “tent.” And Second, the building is not made with “human hands” so obviously God has made for us a glorified body. Whereas our “tents,” our bodies, wear out, upon our death, God gives us a new body.

            In verses 2 and 4, Paul says that we groan and long to be clothed with the new body. It is as though we are no longer comfortable in this corruptible flesh of sin and decay. The groaning is not doubt or fear based. It is like the longing of a woman who is 8 ½ months pregnant, waiting for this child to be born so she can begin this new chapter. We long for the new chapter of the next life.

            Now, for you younger men and women whose bodies do not ache, you feel pretty good, invincible even. Paul’s attitude is not exclusive to the elderly. He struggled with this present life because of his love for Jesus. Paul longed to depart and be with the Lord. He said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body,” (Phil 1:21-24).

            Paul’s perspective on life and death can be boiled down to three options: It is good to remain alive and serve Christ. On the other hand, it is better to die physically and enter the presence of Christ. But the best option would be to be alive when Christ returns, avoiding death and meeting Jesus in our glorified bodies. As if he had a choice.

            In the meantime, Paul indicates, it is as though we were naked. This earthly body is inadequate for true life. We are not properly clothed as we are for eternal life. So, having realized this, Paul longs for the heavenly body that will allow him to be where Jesus is and enjoy the Lord forever. Is that not a great desire? Should we not have that same passion?

            Until then, God has given us His Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (v. 5). This recalls Ephesians 1 which teaches that when you believed in Jesus you were given the Holy Spirit (1: 13-14). He is a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance. This same Spirit is not static, but is working in you to prepare you for heaven. He is the same Spirit of resurrection that raised Jesus from the dead (1:18-20). That’s why Paul says, outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Your body is actively dying; your spirit is being made alive by the Holy Spirit.

2. We prefer Home over Tents

Calvin, the 16^th century reformer said, “Let us consider this settled, that no one has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection.”

            We don’t think or talk like that. We cling to life, even as Christians, as though this were the only life we get. Calvin anticipated death; Paul declared that to live is Christ, to die is gain. Why?

            He puts it quite simply in verse 6 & 8: If you are at home in the body, you are away from Christ; if you are away from the body, you are at home with the Lord. There is no purgatory, or intermediate state whereby you are some floating orb in a sea of stars. When you die, you sleep; when you awaken in an instant, you are face to face with Jesus. So the question, “When a Christian dies does he or she immediately enter Christ’s presence?” finds a categorical yes for an answer.

            The logic of verses 6 & 8 supports this answer. In v. 6 we see that existing in the physical body is the same as absence from Christ, so that when the body dies so does the latter absence. With the physical death of the believer, the believer enters into the presence of Christ. Thus Paul says, to die is gain.

            We may have misused Paul’s words ourselves in the sense that one is better than the other – to live or to die. When we think of death we might say, “I don’t know which is worse – the troubles of life, which death could free me of, or the terrors of death, from which life protects me.” Both life and death look like two evils. But Paul sees two blessings which to him are difficult to choose between.

            Until our inevitable deaths, we live by faith. In v. 7 Paul gives us a mantra worth following: “For we live by faith, not by sight.” It is important to say this – when we talk about absence from the Lord, we are talking about a spatial absence, not spiritual. While we live in this body we do not see Christ but walk by faith in the physically absent and unseen Lord. Death brings us into the same space as Christ so that we can see him. So death does not cut us off from relationship with Christ, but heightens it.

            This is radical. This teaching alters our perspective of life. It makes this life a pale semblance of what is yet to come. We live by faith, not by sight. But what we do see is temporal. That is why we fix our eyes on what is unseen. What we see is temporary; what we do not see is eternal.

            What does this mean for the expression of falling asleep in Christ? Are the Christians who die sleeping right now? Sleep is a metaphor in Scripture. Sleep implies rest from earthly labors, the ending of toil in this realm. The imagery of sleep is used to describe death because the body does sleep – it is at rest, without life. But the Bible does not say that the soul or spirit sleeps. Sleep is used to illustrate that the pain of death as a penalty for sin is gone. Death is not to be feared; it is rather like dozing off for a nap. And so we prefer home over tents.

3. While we live in tents…

While we live in these bodies we have both an ambition and a motive for life.

            In v. 9, Paul says, “…we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” This is our ambition. If we long for the day when we will see Jesus, our Savior and Lord, we will strive to live a holy life.

            John underlined this thought when he said, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure,” (1 John 3:2-3).

            John expressed the same hope as Paul. We don’t know what kind of bodies we will have exactly when we see Jesus. But we do know that they will be like his body – glorified. When Jesus appeared to his disciples he was not a ghost, but had a body that he invited them to touch and investigate. They could see his scars so that they knew it was him, otherwise he was transformed beyond his usual appearance. So it will be with us – we will look like us, but better, glorified, transformed.

            With this hope in mind, we are encouraged to live lives that reflect this incredible grace. We want to be obedient to Christ in every way. If he commands baptism, then get baptized. Whatever he tells us to do, we ought to do it, to live holy lives and put away our sinful lifestyles.

            In v. 10, we are given a further motive for holy living. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

            We are not talking about your eternal destiny here, whether you get in to heaven or not. This judgment determines reward and status in the kingdom. Consider this judgment:

            It is inevitable (“we must all appear”)

            It is universal (“we must all appear”)

            It is individual (“each of us”)

            Its mode (“we must all appear”; we do not simply show up but we are laid bare before him 1 Cor 4:5)

            Its judge (“the judgment seat of Christ”)

            Its standard (“deeds done in the body”)

We are told in 1 Corinthians 3 that Jesus is the foundation of the excellent house God is building. We get to build on it according to faith in Christ. (Read 1 Cor 3:12-15).

            James Denney wrote, “The books are shut now, but they will be opened then. The things we have done in the body will come back to us, whether good or bad. Every pious thought, and every thought of sin; every secret prayer, and every secret curse; every unknown deed of charity, and every hidden deed of selfishness: we see them all again; and though we have not remembered them for years, and perhaps have forgotten them altogether, we shall have to acknowledge that they are our own, and take them to ourselves.”

            While we live in tents we must practice living in a mansion.

When Camping Season Ends

Camping season is short.

It will soon be over.

And then we will go home.

The funny thing about going on vacation for a few weeks is that coming home can seem anticlimactic. We are tired of living in tents and out of suitcases and backpacks; we are tired of being on the road; we want to go home. But when we enter the front door, we realize that the work is not over. We have to clean up the camping equipment, throw laundry in the machine, and put our clothes away. And the worst part, tomorrow we have to go back to work. Mom and Dad often felt like they needed a vacation from the vacation.

            Let me tell you, entering the kingdom will be nothing like that. Coming home to Jesus will be exhilarating and beyond description.

            What hope is there for the Christian when she dies? What does the believer look forward to beyond this life? We will know what it means to be home, to be clothed with an everlasting body, and to live forever in the presence of Jesus.

            I just had to tell you that.

                                                AMEN