THE BURNING BUSH - EXODUS 3:1-7


Exodus 3:1-6
1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
 2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
 3 So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up."
 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
 5 Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
 6 He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
 

Our interest today is not in the rest of the details of the Lord’s calling Moses to go back to Egypt, but in the appearance of the Lord in a bush that burned but was not burned up.  Whether the bush was large enough or genetically appropriate to be called a tree is a question we cannot answer, so I’ll assume that it was large enough and qualified to be studied as a small “tree.”  The “bush” (Hebrew “sene;” possibly a blueberry bush) is only mentioned in one other passage in the Old Testament, and that is when Moses blessed Joseph and his lineage in Deut. 3:16 (speaking of “the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush”).  It is mentioned three times in the New Testament (Mk. 12:26, Lk. 20:37, Acts 7:30), all in reference to this event.  The word used there is the Greek word “batas,” meaning a thorn or bramble bush.

The remarkable thing about the bush is not its kind.  The remarkable thing, and the thing that attracted the attention of Moses in that wilderness near Sinai was that the bush was on fire yet it was not burning up.  It stayed intact.  Fire usually destroys any wooden object, but this fire was not ordinary fire.  Moses “turned aside” (went out of his way) to see this marvelous (great) sight.  We have lilac bushes in our front yard, and if they caught fire, they would be burned, and so would our garage!  People would be attracted to the fire.  But suppose the fire burned for a long time and neither the bushes nor the garage were damaged!  Imagine the attraction that would be!

The reason the fire did not destroy the bush is that it was the glory of the Lord being manifested in the bush.  The Angel of the Lord was in the bush.  This is one of the places where the Angel is not just a messenger, He is the Son of God:  “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  The presence of the Lord was holy, so the ground around it was made holy.  Because of this, the Lord God told Moses to take off his sandals. Not only did Moses remove his shoes, he covered his face, feeling totally inadequate and unworthy to look at God.  

That the Lord could have appeared to Moses apart from the bush is obvious.  The Angel of the Lord (not the Lord’s angel) appeared in various ways to people, so this appearance was especially chosen to display God’s glory through a lowly bush.  If we were to read the rest of the chapter, we would see Moses arguing with the Lord about his unfitness to go back to Egypt and to do what the Lord was commanding him to do.  Because of this, the choice of the bush makes more sense.  It’s place in the story would seem to be like that of the lowly donkey in Balaam’s meeting with the Angel of the Lord.  Balaam needed to be awakened to what the Lord was doing, so the lowly donkey spoke to him.  The Lord who can cause a donkey to speak, can also speak from a lowly bush to awaken self-deprecating and fear-filled Moses to his ability to do God’s will, and to reveal the presence and Name of the Lord God who would use him to speak to Pharaoh and to the Israelites.

The lesson of this tree (bush) is an important one for each of us who wrestles with the certainty that I can be what the Lord wants me to be, or that I can do what God wants me to do.  If the Lord can use a lowly bush, causing it to burn without being extinguished, and making it and the ground around it holy, He can use each one of us however lowly and inadequate we may feel.  He has sanctified us in Christ Jesus, and He has commanded us to be holy as He is holy (As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." 1 Pet. 1:14-16).  Stop telling yourself you cannot be THAT kind of Christian, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

















 
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THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD & EVIL - Part 2


Some of us learn best by exploring and thinking things through in advance, others by experience.  It is obvious that the first two people to learn by experience were Adam and Eve!  As I mentioned in the previous blog, neither Eve nor Adam had experiential knowledge of death before they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE).  Though they were naked, they were unashamed until they ate the fruit of this tree.  Then they were suddenly ashamed.  

What they had experienced was knowledge.  They knew things.  The serpent wisely encouraged Eve to think that eating the fruit of the TKGE would allow her to gain knowledge that would make her like God.  We assume that knowledge is good.  But imagine if your knowledge only consisted of things that are truly GOOD!  That was the condition of Adam and Eve before they ate the fruit.

The Tree of the “Knowledge” of “Good” and “Evil” deserves a lot of thought.  In our last blog, we looked at the context and history of what happened.  Now it is time to look at the meaning of the tree.  They were not to eat the fruit of the tree because it would give them forbidden knowledge.  Throughout the ages, one of the great passions of seekers was to find hidden, or forbidden knowledge.  They thought it would bring them health, wealth, power, and unending life.  Often that search led them to dark, demonic places; they found what they should never have known.  This search began at the foot of the TKGE.

The phrase “good and evil” is quite comprehensive!   Knowing all things good cannot be bad.  But knowing evil was terrible.  Even knowing the distinction between the two was terrible.  God knew that difference.  God knew the potential horrors of evil.  But He did not want Adam and Eve to know them.  We desire to become like God but wanting to know all that the Lord God knows is foolishness.  

We humans think nothing is impossible to us, and great marvels and mysteries have been DISCOVERED and INVENTED by us, but nothing has been discovered and invented that has not already been known by God.  Much that has been discovered is helpful, and much that has been invented is useful, but many examples of both are destructive and evil.  We do not have the wisdom to know what we have unleashed until we have unleashed it, and then it is too late.

When the serpent said, “you will not surely die,” he was playing with Eve’s ignorance of death.  There was beautiful life all around, and the Tree of Lives was right next door!   No, they did not drop physically dead after they ate the fruit, but they died spiritually.  Instead of a beautiful connection and relationship with God, they were filled with fear and hid from Him.  What is spiritual death?  It is as James described death, a separation.  It is first the separation of the spirit from the Spirit of God.  As we learned from the study of 1 Corinthians 15, death is an abomination; it should never have happened.  We are all born with a propensity to sin, a tendency to kill, and a waiting to die.  It took the death of the Lord Jesus and His resurrection to undo the curses of sin and death that began at the foot of that tree.  Sadly, because of their partaking of death, God sent them out of the garden so they would not.

All the good they needed to know would have gradually been taught to them by the Lord God.  He obviously desired the best for them.  Paul wrote, “I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil” (Rom. 16:19), and that was the desire of the Lord for his first children.  Instead, their heads were filled with things that should never have been there, and the resulting sin was horribly illustrated in the death of Able at the hands of Cain.

The Lord wants us to know the things that are good, and the sad history of evil, so that we will desire Him, so He has given us His Word.  What we have seen should remind us of a passage in the Epistle of First John, Chapter 2, Verse 16: “For all that is in the world-- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life-- is not from the Father but is from the world.”  What a terrible thing that the beautiful creation of the world and all that is in it, pronounced “very good” by the Creator (Genesis 1:31) was tainted by the Evil One, who designed his own world system, and by this first human pair who abandoned the command of their Creator not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and sinned, unleashing evil, because of their desire for things they should never have had.

May God grant that our increased knowledge and understanding of the terrible things that happened at the foot of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and our thoughts concerning these things enable us to desire that which is good, and hate that which is evil; to be wise in what is good, and innocent concerning things that are evil; and to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD & EVIL - Part 1

So that the reader will be able to understand the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE), both the context of its presentation in Genesis, and the name of the tree must be explored.  This will take some time and space, so this blog will be longer than most of the rest.  The passages we will read are presented in the English Standard Version.

In this first blog, several important passages related to the TKGE, the context, will be explored.  The first verses are found in Chapter 2 of Genesis.  In verse 9, the planting and description of the trees are given: “And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”  Moses tells us that the Lord had caused trees “to spring up from the ground,” and that every tree was “pleasant to the sight and good for food.”  Keep in mind the language describing the trees.  They were pleasing to look at, and the fruit of all of the trees was edible.
 
In Chapter 3, verse 6, we are told that Eve looked at the tree (with the deceptive words of the serpent in mind) and saw that the tree was “good for food,” and “a delight to the eyes.”  We already know that every tree was beautiful and that the fruit of each one was good for food, but good looking or not, the fruit of that tree was not to be eaten.  We know this, and Eve knew this.  

We know it because of what Moses wrote in what we now call “Chapter two, verses 16 and 17.:  “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."  The Lord “commanded the man.”  Adam was commanded by God to eat of every tree God had planted in the garden except the TKGE.  Notice that this command was given to Adam, and it was his responsibility to tell Eve positively that God had said that they could eat of any tree, and negatively that they were not to eat of the TKGE.  Along with the command was a warning: should you eat the fruit of that tree, you shall definitely die.  So, although the TKGE was beautiful, and its fruit was edible, the fruit of that tree was never to be eaten.

One day, a beautiful and very wise creature met Eve at the TKGE.  We believe that he was not acting on his own.  Lucifer had already fallen from his exalted place as a cherub in heaven and was now as a high ranking but fallen being, a Satan on a mission of his own, attempting to cause the first couple to sin.  

Eve had been carefully coached by Adam, and when the serpent asked her,  "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"  She answered, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"  Notice that a bit of uncertainty had already entered into her thinking because she added “neither shall you touch it,” to what God had actually said.

The serpent, cunningly mixing truth with deceit, told Eve that she would “not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (3:3-5).  Continuing to plant doubt, the serpent twisted God’s command into a lie on God’s part about death, and a jealousy on His part concerning knowledge.  Note carefully two things that we will revisit in the second part of this study:  Eve was not truly aware of the significance of death, and she was encouraged to disobey God by the thought that she would gain knowledge that would make her like God.  Assuming that Adam was nearby when all of this was being discussed, he could have been swayed by these words.  

Now we can better understand Chapter 3, verse 6:  “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”  Eve was attracted to the TKGE because of its beauty, its potential deliciousness, and now, because of its ability to make her wise.  So she ate it, gave it to Adam, and he ate it.  Because God had given the command to Adam in the beginning, Adam was the most responsible party!

“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (Gen. 3:7).  The serpent had said that their eyes would be opened, and they were.  They recognized something they had not before they ate the fruit of the TKGE: their bodies were exposed.  We’ll look at the meaning of that knowledge in the next blog.  Here it is important to realize that they were suddenly ashamed.  In addition, when the Lord God appeared in the garden, they hid themselves from Him among the trees (!) because they were afraid.  God knew what they had done, but they were suddenly, for the first time, ashamed and afraid in the presence of their Lord (3:8-11).  These two, who had been honored to be the first family in existence, created by the hand of God, were now filled with shame.

We will further explore the meaning of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the results of their sinful disobedience in the next blog, but we cannot end this one without asking ourselves this question:  would I, even as a redeemed, born-again, sanctified, knowledgeable, and spirit-led Christian, if exposed today to the greatest temptation (either beautiful or terrifying) to disobey God, listen to the voice of the tempter instead of that of the Lord God, and for fear or desire partake of “the forbidden fruit?” The results would not be as catastrophic, but you would hide from the Lord in shame and fear until in sorrow you confess it to Him.  Yes, Jesus died for that sin, but is it ever worth it?  I hope your answer would be, by the grace and with the help of God, no.

THE TREE OF LIFE

8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.   9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   (Gen. 2:8-9)
 
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."   (Gen. 2:16-17)
 
Two trees, among the many trees that were pleasant to the sight and good for food, in a paradise full of luxuriant growth.  Why pay so much attention to the Tree of Lives and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE)?  Well, while the Garden of Eden was filled with animals at peace with one another, soon to be named by Adam, the Tree of Lives and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE) are the only named trees, except the lowly fig tree that provided leaves for Adam and Eve (3:7) after their sinful disobedience of the command of God concerning the TKGE.  Of course, there is also the 180-degree difference between the effects of partaking of the fruit of two trees worthy of careful attention.

Today’s study is the Tree of Lives.  Yes, the form of the Hebrew word for life, “chayim,” is plural.  While the form is thought to be strictly a matter of the gender of the noun, it makes sense to see it transcend that grammatical point when its use is considered in Genesis.  Untold numbers of lives could be refreshed, renewed, and preserved by the Tree of Lives.  When God gave life to Adam, He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen. 2:7).  Again, though the breath breathed into Adam gave him life, the life produced in and through the first human became an inconceivably great multiplicity of lives!
The expression “Tree of Life” is found in four passages in Proverbs where several sources are described as being a tree of life:  Wisdom (3:18), the fruit of righteousness (11:30), a desire fulfilled (13:12), and a gently tongue (15:4).  Here the Tree of Life is a metaphor, an ultimately desirable thing to experience.  The Tree in the garden was of ultimate value because its fruit would have provided refreshment and stimulation of long, enriched life.  

We know that the intended purpose of the Tree of Lives was to provide unending life, because that is what the Lord said when He sent the man and the woman out of the Garden.  “Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever-- " (Gen. 3:22).  Lives given through creation and birth were to be extended through the gift of the Tree of Lives.  
The most exciting descriptions of the Tree of Life after the account of Genesis 3 are found in the Book of the Revelation.  The first is in Revelation 2:7, where the one who listens to what the Spirit says to the churches and conquers is to be granted the right to eat of “the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.  
 
The second amazing passage is Revelation 22:2, part of the description of the New Jerusalem, the place where the saints will live: “through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”  Here the trees are described as yielding fruit each month, fruit that will not only refresh the saints, but also heal the nations.  People of every tribe, nation, and tongue will be joined together in that great city when the judgment of God concludes, and the healing necessary – especially for those who have come out of the Great Tribulation will be provided by these fruitful trees.  Verse 14 emphasizes that those who have washed their robes (in the blood of the lamb) will have the right to the tree of life, having entered the city through the gates.  Finally, in verse 19, people are warned not to subtract anything from the words of the Revelation, this book of prophecy, because they will be outside, unable to enjoy a share in the tree of life.
 
Every believer will walk on those streets someday.  Adam, Abraham, Moses, Malachi, John, and Gaius will be on those streets, and the trees of life will be a reminder to them that there is no death for those who, through “the obedience of faith,” have believed, and have received the gift of God, which is eternal life (Romans 6:23).  No one will be removed from that everlasting Paradise of God, so the trees of life will be to them like the Tree of Lives.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS ON SUFFERING

Many things take a lifetime of experience to truly learn.  This is one of them.
Some of us in the church have been involved in a kind of ministry no one desires.  It is called sharing in, or the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ.  It is called this for a specific reason.  Jesus Christ suffered in behalf of others.  Not one of His sufferings was because of or for Himself.  His sufferings were allowed by God to bring about the purposes He had for others.
Peter and Paul described this suffering as something in which we can share.  It is not the same suffering, but it has the same purpose.  It is for others.  As Jesus did, so do we experience this suffering in the flesh.  It is physical, but it involves the inner person, too.  The sufferer realizes that the sufferings experienced are not the same as those experienced by Jesus.  They are unique (not that others have not experienced the same or worse) to the sufferer.  But as with Paul and his sufferings, the sufferer must finally understand that God has allowed the sufferings for others.  

Some suffer for their faith and die – and we call them martyrs.  Others suffer in their bodies and live – and become martyrs.  The meaning of the word martyr is witness.  When a Christian suffers deeply or at length, that one suffers for others and through this witness to others the grace and strength that God provides.  God’s provision is not necessarily a miraculous healing of the body – though it could be.  Often, instead, it is the strengthening of the heart, mind, soul, and spirit of the sufferer by the Lord to testify, live, encourage, comfort, and strengthen the faith of others as they see the sufferer endure.  In every passage in which sharing of the sufferings of Christ is mentioned, there is a clear and helpful instruction as to what that ministry is for, what it looks like, or what it results in.

This perspective on suffering will transform your life and service.  Whether enduring a great loss, living with chronic pain, going through persecution, or living a faithful witness before others under terrible emotional or physical duress, your ministry to others will be that of showing the grace of God under fire to those around you (believers and unbelievers) for His glory.  

Perhaps this perspective will help us to entrust our souls to our faithful Creator, and to say, I will keep on rejoicing as I share in the sufferings of Christ (1 Peter 4:13) ; when I am suffering when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10); as the sufferings of Christ are abundant, my comfort is also abundant in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:5); and, finally, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 13
 
With These Things in Mind, What Shall We Do?  -  1 Corinthians 15:58Every good message needs a conclusion that encourages the contents of the message to be applied.  If the message contains explanation, the application provides exhortation to use what the hearer has just learned.  Biblical truth is not intended to “make the sheep (believers) fat.”  It is intended to help us to understand what God has told us in His Word so that we can live out its practical truths and share them with others.

Paul’s application of the incredible, beautiful, and encouraging words of Chapter 15 is found in the last verse.  There he exhorts His beloved brethren (including us, since we, too, are in the family of God) to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.  We’ll look at those individual phrases in a moment, but we must now miss the confidence expressed in the last phrase: “knowing that your toil in the Lord is not in vain.”  It is because we know that all we know from Paul’s explanation in this chapter, from the gospel to the death of death, is true, that we can do these things.  We have assurance, we have confidence, we have hope that everything we do is not meaningless – even if we do not see the evidence at the time!

Missionaries, pastors, teachers and those quietly serving the Lord in less prominent ways frequently feel that they have poured enormous amounts of effort into the lives of people but seen so little fruit, so small a change, so many failures, and even torture at the hands of religious fanatics.  They are tempted, at times, to weep over the people, and over the work, wondering if anything has been accomplished.  In their older years they look back and see the victories but being human they tend to better remember the failures.

But God’s point of view is not like ours.  He has opened doors, provided protection, touched many lives, and changed many minds through the lives of His servants.  He has not forgotten those who have professed to be discipled and fled.  He has taken the planting and watering of His servants and over the long run He has provided the increase.  He has prompted the continuing prayers and answered according to His wisdom.  He has marked the faithfulness, dried the tears, and prepared a crown for the humble servant who has served without the prominent results that in the eyes of the world spell success.  And He has blessed the successes of those who have humbly confessed that all the glory goes to Him!

Therefore, be steadfast.  The Old Testament words frequently translated “steadfast” mean firm, honest, leaning, resting, and casting oneself upon the Lord.  The New Testament words can also be translated sitting, firm, and secure.  In Hebrews 6:19, the idea is that of being anchored.  Paul’s word, though slightly different, means the same thing: being firmly or solidly in place.

Our word “immovable” is found only in this place in the New Testament, but a synonym helps.  In Luke’s description of the shipwreck he and Paul experienced, we read, “But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves” (Acts 27:41).  The ship was stuck tight, it could not be moved.  That is what Paul meant by our being immovable: not capable of being moved, or of wavering in our faith.

The third command Paul gave was to be abounding in the Lord’s work.  In Colossians 2:7, Paul wrote, “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”  Our word is translated “overflowing” in this verse.  The idea is to be over and above.  Not doing the work of the Lord in a grudging, or even half-hearted way, but being over the top in serving the Lord.  And why should we have such an enthusiastic commitment to serve?  Of course, above all, it is because we love the Lord, Who first loved us, and desire to please Him.  But Paul adds another reason, that is, that we know that our efforts are not in vain in the Lord.  

Because we are in the Lord Christ, led and empowered by Him, the service we render, the ministries we perform, the labor we expend, the trials we face, the work we do in His behalf, all of these are meaningful, purposeful, worthwhile, and fruitful, even if we do not immediately see the results.
 
So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.  Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.  For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building (1 Cor. 3:7-9).

Paul wrote the Philippians that he had a desire to leave his body to experience all we have learned about in this chapter, but he knew that for the people of God, born and not yet born in Christ, it was important that he remain for their progress and joy in the faith (Philippians 1:23-25).   Dear ones, be confident in His promises, immovable and overflowing as you serve Him each day, while “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13).

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 12
 
Death is Swallowed Up in Victory - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57The word enduo in the Greek is used by Paul many times in his letters.  It has the idea of “putting on” or being “clothed with” something.  Paul would frequently exhort us to take off certain practices, and to put on new ones in keeping with our relationship to God in Christ Jesus.  

He uses it in our passage to describe the future experience of perishable, or corruptible, bodies being clothed with imperishableness, and mortal bodies being clothed with bodies that are not subject to death.    This will be the time when the prophecy of Isaiah, Chapter 25, verse 8, will be fulfilled:  “ He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.”  

The context of this fascinating passage is remarkable for its comprehensiveness.  In verse 6, the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on His mountain.  He will (verse 7) “swallow up the covering, which is over all people, even the veil which is stretched over all nations.”  Then comes our verse.  Following the promises to remove the veil stretched over all nations (possibly mortality), and swallow up death, Isaiah tells us that God will wipe away tears, remove the reproach of His people (Israel) from the whole earth.  Following that a saying will go forth: “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us; this is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

What a beautiful promise, to Israel, of course, but quite obviously to “all peoples.”  The veil cast over the nations, the reproach of Israel, and the curse of death will all be done away with by our LORD!

The reference to the sting of death is found in Hosea 13:12-14.  The people of God, represented by Ephraim, are described as those who are bound up in iniquity with their sin stored up.  Because “he” is not a wise “son,” “he” is not prepared to deal with the pains of birth; holding back from doing what is right.  God asks if he should ransom His people from the power of the grave (Sheol) and redeem them from death.  It is as if He cries out, “O Death, where are your thorns?  O Sheol, where is your sting?”  If the Lord were to ransom them, Death would lose its thorns, and Sheol would lose its sting, but the time for that had not yet come; so compassion was, for a time, hidden from His sight.

So, the sting of death was sin for them, as it is for us, and the power of sin is in the law – that is the failure of humans to live up to the standard of righteousness the law reveals.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ.” (Romans 6:23).  Yes, the time of ransom and redemption was to come, and it came in the person of Jesus, the Messiah.  He defeated death and the grave and removed the sting of the thorns!  

“But let God be thanked for He has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  There is victory in life and victory in death, for Jesus is the resurrection and the life!  The pain of death, and the questions of where and how it will come, are swallowed up in the absolute confidence we can have that being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  

Jesus prayed, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.  This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (Jn. 17:1-3)

Now let us pray, “Father, I thank you that through the gift of your Son and His death in my behalf, bearing my sin, I have been freed from bondage to sin, and have been given life that will never end.  Whether I die physically or never face death and am taken immediately from life into your presence, I have your promise that death has been swallowed up in victory.  I believe that neither death nor the grave has any power over me.  Thank you, my God, for leading me and my brothers and sisters in Christ in victory.  I cannot wait to see you, but if for a while you would have me remain in this world with its challenges, triumphs, trials, sorrow and pain to point people to Jesus, I will willingly remain here, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!  Amen.”

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 11
 
A Transformation Like No Other - 1 Corinthians 15:50-53In his first epistle, the Apostle John wrote the following about our hope to fellow believers: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.   And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 Jn. 3:2-3).  What a beautiful thought.  As much as we know – and want to know – Jesus now, and as much as we desire to have the Holy Spirit produce the character of Christ in us, we will not fully know what it is to be like Him until He appears and receives us to be with Him.  Since we know that day is coming, we should desire to be more pure, more holy, each day to be as much like Him here as we can be.  When others truly see Christ in us, they, too, will be transformed from death into life through faith in Him!

Paul describes this hope of change in a more detailed way.  He emphasizes that inheritance of a place in the kingdom of God will not take place while we are still flesh and blood as we are.  In our present physical form, we are subject to death; to perishing.  We must be changed into beings who are not subject to the ravages of aging and death.  

Paul was given the opportunity of revealing the mystery of the process of transfer from this life to life with God.  It is a “mystery” because it was not revealed in the past, but it is now revealed through this letter.  Yes, there are a few passages in the Old Testament that refer to resurrection, and Jesus told his disciples to watch for His coming.  Jesus Himself rose from the dead, and the disciples spent time with him observing the changes that had taken place in their Lord.  Eternal life had been promised!  But, before John wrote his epistles, and before the book of Revelation was written, Paul was given the opportunity of telling us a vital truth:  some believers will not die, but all believers will be changed when Jesus comes.  It will be so rapid a change that Paul describes it as being in a moment, as rapid as a beam of light twinkling from an eye.  One moment our flesh and blood bodies will have corrupted in the earth, or we will still be alive in perishable flesh and blood bodies, and in the next moment we’ll be changed.  The bodies that died and were corrupted will be raised imperishable, and the believers who are alive at His coming will be changed from those who are destined to death to immortal beings:  beings who will never experience death.

The sounding of the trumpet is always a call for attention.  Jesus described this sounding in this way:  31 "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matt. 24:31).   In another letter, Paul described this event in the following words:  16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:16-18).  For the saints of God, no further calls to action or war will be needed.  This one sounding will be the last: we who are alive will be gathered to the Lord, but not until after those who were dead have been raised.  

We will all meet the Lord in the air when He comes in the clouds.  We will all be transformed!   In reference to the dead, Paul does not answer the question of whether the soul and spirit sleep with the body until the resurrection, or not.  He speaks of “the dead” rising, and “the living” being changed, but he is emphasizing the body here.  It is the body that is corruptible.  But in another place, he answers the soul sleep question with a simple phrase:   “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight-- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord”  (2 Cor. 5:6-8).  When we are caught up (“raptured”) alive to be with the Lord, everything changes at once.  When we die, our bodies die, but our immaterial parts (soul, spirit) are absent from the body and present with the Lord.  

Some struggle with the idea of bodiless existence.  In truth, spirit-beings (angels, for example) would not struggle with this at all!   Our human, emotional struggle, is with the idea that we are not whole without the “material” and “immaterial” me being one unit.  Paul’s teaching here is that the whole “me” will be transformed for life in eternity.   Exactly what the immaterial “me” will be like apart from the body is neither explained nor emphasized.  What is emphasized is that the mortality (capability of death) and corruptibility (capability of corruption) will be removed.  We will be clothed with both immortality and incorruptibility!    Death will be swallowed up in life!

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 10
 
2 Adams – 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

This passage is the conclusion of the argument we saw in the last blog.  One of the reasons for looking at it separately is the discussion of the two Adams.  Paul mentioned this is passing in verse 22, but it will be helpful for us to revisit this thought.  In his book of Romans (chapter 5, verses 14 and 15) Paul described the relationship of the two Adams, and the distinct difference between them.

“Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.  But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.”

Notice that Adam is referred to as a “type” of Him (the second Adam) who was to come. Jesus was the antitype.  To understand this, it is helpful to think of a mold into which wax or clay was pressed, or the pressing of a ring into wax to make a seal.  The one takes on the shape of the other.  This word is usually used to describe something which in the future (the antitype) will be like something [or someone] in the past (the type).  The relationship is that of being the fountainhead, or the source, of people who were to come.  We who came from Adam have been subject to death because of his sin, or transgression (violation) of the law of God.  Jesus was born as a Man, but was born without sin, and because of the grace, the unmerited favor, of God, He was able to be the gracious giver to many of freedom from the transgression of the first Adam.

We are Adam physically.  Adam was not an ape-like brute.  He was created with intelligence and the ability to make choices.  Unlike Eve, who was tricked, he willfully chose to disobey God, and because of this, in Adam everyone is subject to both physical and spiritual death.

The first Adam was made from the earth, but the second Adam, Christ Jesus, came from heaven.  So Jesus had a human body, capable of dying, but He was alive in His spirit from the moment of His conception.  He was “heavenly” from eternity past, where we have known only “earthiness” from our birth.

But the incredible truth Paul is explaining here is that though we have had the image – form, shape - of the one who was born from the earth, like snapshots of Adam, we now bear the image of the second Adam, who was heavenly.  Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and even though our daily walk before the Lord is not perfect, He sees us in His Son, so we bear His righteousness.  We are, in the mind and plan of God, already seated in heaven:  “and (God) raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).  To be perfectly sanctified and glorified, we must be changed to be fully heavenly.

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 9
 
Glory - 1 Corinthians 15:40-44

The beauty of the heavens is a lasting tribute to the Triune Creator God who designed, created, and decorated it.    “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Ps. 19:1).  “The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory” (Ps. 97:6).  Paul now continues his argument concerning the resurrection with the concept of glory.

There are both heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies, and each has its own glory.  There is a distinct kind of beauty to be found in everything created to be located on the earth.  The majesty of the lion is in contrast with the beauty of the bioluminescent (glowing) algae in a nighttime surf.   Each is glorious in its own way.

But the heavenly bodies, including the sun, the moon, and the stars, are glorious in a different way.   They fill the sky with light.  The sun shines in its blinding glory during the day, and then its glory gives way to the silvery beauty, the glory, of the moon (which is, in fact, reflecting the light from the sun, but its light is quite different).  Though we know that the sun is a star, to the ancients the distant stars were beautiful lights of their own kind.  God designed the sun to accomplish on the earth, through its light and heat, what could not be done by any of the distant stars.   But the combined effect of all of the stars, galaxies, planets, and nebulae is a glory that is different and is overwhelming.

We often explain the glory of the Lord as the “outer manifestation of His inner nature.”  In a creaturely sense, the glory of each of the heavenly bodies (except for the planets) is a brilliant effect of the inner workings of each star.  That is further enhanced by the collective brilliance of all the bodies within a galaxy or a nebula.   The planets are different, of course, because, like the moon, they reflect the light from the sun.

Paul is careful to emphasize that the stars differ from one another in glory.  That is, some stars are brighter than others because of the differences in their size, their motion, and their distances from the earth.  But whether a pinpoint of twinkling light, or a planet the size of Jupiter, each object possesses its own strength, power, and glory.

Next Paul compares the body of the resurrection with the glories just described.  Our earthly bodies are prone to death – the seed of death is in every living thing.  But when the body is raised, it is imperishable:  it cannot experience death again.  It is born with a sin nature – a source of shame.  But in the resurrection, the sin nature is completely eradicated, and the person is glorified; capable of living forever in the glorious presence of God.  The church as a whole is pictured as the combined end result of the sanctification and glorification that is in Christ Jesus: “that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27).

The body is sown in weakness, subject to all of the ravages of life in this world, but it is raised in power, the power of the One who raises it, and a power that will be resident in it that will bring it everlasting endurance.  The body on earth is a fleshly body, prone to respond to life in a carnal way.  The raised body is a spiritual body, and body that is empowered by, responsive to, and characterized by things that pertain to the spirit.  It is a body that is fully attuned to the Spirit of God and is motivated by the things of God that were in warfare with the sin nature before resurrection.

Because of the resurrection of Jesus, the one who believes in Him, though born in a natural body, will be raised in a spiritual body.  If we think of the body of Jesus, though He was the God/man, he was born as a Jewish baby, He rose in a spiritually perfect body.   Even as the writer of Hebrews wrote, “He himself partook of flesh and blood” … “made like His brethren in all things” … “tempted in that which He has suffered” to render the power of the devil powerless, to free those who are slaves to the fear of death all of their lives, and be a merciful and faithful High priest in making propitiation (a satisfaction before God) for the sins of the people.  As imperfect as our bodies are now, they shall be perfected in glory.

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 8
 
Returning to the Witnesses - 1 Corinthians 15:5

     5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.


Because of my parallel work on the Book of the Revelation for Adult Bible Studies on Sundays and this set of devotionals, I sense the need to scratch where (perhaps) no one else is itching.  We Bible students and theologians tend to do this, and without apology, because this is how we answer the questions that are sometimes pushed under the rug.  I will return to the regular progression of chapter 15 in Week 9 with a study called “Glory.”

The problem we are returning to is that of the first witnesses mentioned by Paul in verse 5.  He mentions Cephas and the twelve.  The problem has two parts: first, why is Cephas (Peter) mentioned separately; and second, why are the twelve mentioned when technically there were only eleven.  Except for the Book of the Revelation, this is the only place where the expression “the twelve” is found referring to the twelve disciples/apostles after the book of Acts.  

In Acts chapter 1, the disciples had watched Jesus’ ascension (verses 9-11), and then they returned to the room where they were staying in Jerusalem (verses 12-13).  Those mentioned as being in the room in verse 13 are Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.  So, eleven disciples were listed (along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers (Acts 1:14).  Joining them, by the time of Peter’s address about the death of Judas (verses 15-22) were over 100 others (verse 15).  

Peter then went on and described the need for a witness of the resurrection who had been with Jesus from the beginning to take the place of Judas.  He used portions of two Messianic Psalms to underscore the need for a replacement for the traitor Judas.  Here they are with some context:  
“In return for my love they act as my accusers; But I am in prayer.  Thus they have repaid me evil for good, And hatred for my love. . . .  Let his days be few; Let another take his office.” (Psalm 109:4-5, 8); and “Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. … May their camp be desolate; May none dwell in their tents.  For they have persecuted him whom Thou Thyself hast smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom Thou hast wounded.” (Psalm 69:20-21, 25-26).  

Two men, Joseph (called Justus and Barsabbas) and Matthias, were put forward for selection.  They drew lots (probably colored stones), and Matthias was the one (presumably under the direction of the Lord) whose lots were most numerous.  Matthias was then considered the newest member of the twelve.  Some have suggested that this was premature, since, as we’ve mentioned, Paul was made an apostle later, and it is possible that he was intended to be the apostolic replacement for Judas.  

But back to our two questions.  First, Peter’s being mentioned as the first male eyewitness of the resurrection is probably based upon his and John’s report of their arrival at the tomb, and a subsequent appearance of the Lord Himself to Peter that is the testimony of the disciples in Luke.  John apparently ran faster, but Peter was the first one to enter the tomb (John 20:4-8).  In Luke 24, Luke explains that after the disciples heard from the women about the empty tomb, Peter rose and ran to the tomb (verse 12).  Later in the same chapter, after the arrival of the two disciples who had met Jesus on the Emmaus Road, they told “the eleven” (verse 33) that Jesus had appeared to them, and the disciples told the two that “"The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon."  (verse 34).  After that discussion, the Lord appeared to all of them but Thomas, who saw Him the next time He appeared.

In Luke 24:9, those who had been to the empty tomb reported what they had seen to “the eleven.”  In Mark 16:14, Jesus appears to “the eleven” after His resurrection.  In Matthew 28:16, we are told that “the eleven disciples” went to Galilee to meet Jesus.  In Acts 2:14, Peter stood before the crowd “with the eleven.”  Other than the selection mentioned in Acts chapter 1, this is the first time that the “12” are described with the inclusion of Matthias.  When Paul wrote about Jesus’ appearing to “the twelve,” he was either including Matthias in the group, or he was using “The Twelve” as a descriptive term that was in common use to refer to the original followers of the Lord Jesus.  

Those who care little about the details assume that we are being a bit too picky in insisting that in certain places, for instance Revelation 21:14, “And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” a specific number of individuals, not including Judas, must be meant.  Whether the twelfth apostle is Matthias or Paul, the “twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” should be a specific number, not just a common designation of the group.

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Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 7
 
God Gives it A Body of Its Own - 1 Corinthians 15:35-39

35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised?  And with what kind of body do they come?"  36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;  37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.  39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.
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We are foolish if we do not pay attention to the evidence all around us in what is usually referred to as “nature.”  The “natural” may not be spiritual, but it functions as it does because of God’s creative work.  Paul was concerned about answering the questions of those who thought they were wise, but were fools, concerning the resurrection.  

Many Greek philosophers were convinced that the body and the spirit (or the flesh and the immaterial) were incompatible.  The immaterial part of a human was effectively trapped in the body and was free only when the body in which it was located died.  The idea of reincarnation and the transmigration of souls, found in many religions, was founded upon this concept.  The immaterial soul or spirit lived on to be reborn into another human body, or that of another creature.  Karma added the twist that rebirth up and down the chain of being was based upon the activity of the soul in each of its birth forms.
Based upon the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and the evidence of nature, Paul argued that return to life through transformation of the whole person, including the body, is the goal of resurrection.  

Paul used the seed as an illustration of this point.  The “bare grain,” the seed, of wheat, barley, or any other grain, is planted, and it “dies.”  That is, it ceases to exist in the form in which it was planted.  The seed will not become the plant it is intended to be unless it gives up the form that it had as a seed and develops into the form it is to become.  God has designed another body for it; each plant sown has a body appropriate to it, and that body is different from all other bodies.  

It would be foolish to walk along a series of planted rows in a garden, observe the various plants, and say, “there is a cabbage,” “that also is a cabbage,” “oh, look, there is another cabbage,” when in fact one is a cabbage, one is lettuce, and one is a watermelon.  The wise farmer learns which plants produce which seeds, and which seeds produce which plants!  

Paul moved to the next phase of his argument by pointing out that not only are the bodies of the plants grown from the seeds different, but it is also true that there is variety in the flesh of the other living creatures the Creator made.  “All flesh is not the same flesh.” Humans, various animals, birds, and fish, all have their own “flesh.”  

This argument is adequate for Paul’s explanation of resurrection, but of course it is simplified.  It is simplified in that there are some species not mentioned, and many species within each of the categories of “flesh” mentioned.  Just as the kind of seed is not important in this explanation, the breakdown of the varieties of species within each category is also unimportant.  In that sense, Paul’s explanation is like that of Moses in Genesis 1 concerning the “kinds.”  
The connection between the thought of the variation in flesh between one creature and another builds on the first part of Paul’s argument.  That the “seed” of each creature produces the creature, and the change of the form of the seed (sperm, egg, etc.) into a different form while the creature is becoming what it is meant to be is a crucial point in this argument.  The Lord told us through Moses that the life of the flesh is in the blood, and the joining of the genetic characteristics of the male and female ensures that the resulting creature will develop from and into the appropriate kind of living flesh.  The life of the creature that is to come is in the combined “seed” of the parents, and the infant that is born is changed in form from the seed, but has the characteristics of its parents.

Obvious in this argument, and crucial for what follows, is the fact that Jesus had to die to be raised in His resurrection body.  So much of what He was before He died was still there, but He was gloriously changed.  In our case, dying is the preparation for our being raised in resurrection bodies, bodies that will be capable of and appropriate for living with God through eternity future.  For those who are alive at the time of Christ’s coming, there is the promise of an instantaneous change into that form.  Paul will have more to say about that later in this chapter.  For now, perhaps it is enough for us to enjoy the thought that the God who designed us for life in this world has also designed the whole person each of us will be when we are raised at the coming of the Lord Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).
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Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 6
 
Resurrection and Motivation - 1 Corinthians 15:29-34

29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead?  If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?  30 Why are we also in danger every hour?  31 I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord,
 I die daily.  32 If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me?  If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.  33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."  34 Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. 


In this portion of our passage, Paul writes of positive and negative motivations related to the reality of the resurrection.  They can be restated as follows:
     1.  What is the motivation for saints to follow the Lord in baptism to take the place of those who have been martyred?
     2.  What is the profit for Paul and others if they battle persecution only for human motives, motives having nothing to do with the resurrected Christ?
     3.  If there is no resurrection, why not just decide to live it up until death?
     4. The reality of the resurrection should encourage the believers to stay away from false teachers.
     5.  The truth of the resurrection should wake believers up from the sinful shame of neglecting the necessity of sharing the good news of the gospel to the lost.

Let’s explore these one at a time.
1.  The Mormons believe that this passage is teaching that their followers should be physically baptized for dead people to “Mormonize” them.  Paul’s meaning is very different.  Baptism has always been a public acknowledgement of one’s faith.  Believers worldwide have been baptized with the realization that some of those who witness the baptism will tell unbelievers of their baptism, and those enemies of the faith will persecute and perhaps even martyr them.  Being baptized to replace those who have already died for their faith is a sobering thing, and it would make little sense for a person to publicly testify of their faith only to die, if they have no confidence that their Savior has conquered death.  The resurrection of Christ is a powerful motive for believing, obeying, following, and dying for the Lord.

2.  Paul did not face danger every hour, prepare his heart for the possibility of death every day, and face the dangers of the wild beasts in the colosseum in Ephesus, for fame, glory, and other human motivations.  He faced all of those things – even being stoned to death (Acts 14:19) – because of his confidence in the Lord Who had commissioned him, and in everlasting life provided because of the resurrection of the Messiah.

3. The ancient Epicureans believed that the greatest purposes of life were enjoyment and pleasure.  The expression given here, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die,” captures well the attitude of Epicurus.   Paul is referring to their attitude as one of hopelessness of resurrection.  Not motivated to strive for the approval of God, nor filled with zeal in the light of the hope of resurrection, one could certainly choose to concentrate on living the good life until the moment of permanent death and decay in the earth.

4. Paul’s constant concern as an apostle was that false teachers would lead believers astray.  The influencer could be a former disciple of Sadducees, a Gentile with a Greek or Roman mythological or philosophical mindset, or a carnal individual who simply desires to encourage believers to follow him/her in boundless worldliness that pays no attention to the imminent return of the Lord to take the church to be with Him through resurrection.  Those who spent much time with any of them would become like them and their behavior, the outworking of their corrupted moral fiber, would suffer.

5. Whether through forgetting their first love for the Lord (like the Ephesian church in Revelation chapter 2), becoming lukewarm believers (like the Laodiceans), or losing their burden for the lost, the believers were sinning to the degree that their testimony before the lost was gradually being destroyed.  Paul wanted these believers to understand that it is a shameful thing to lose sight of the urgency of the salvation of those with no knowledge of God.

In this day when so many people are leaving the church, we need to be motivated more than ever to live our faith, display our hope, and proclaim the gospel to the lost.  We should rejoice in every disciple who follows the Lord in baptism, teach those disciples the truth, and encourage each other to watch and wait for the coming of the Lord, and to be unashamed at His coming.

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 5
 
The Amazing Beauty of Subjection  -  1 Corinthians 15:27-28

27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.  But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.  28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.


At the end of our last devotional, we studied the words “then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.  For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.   The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”  Today, we will be considering again the thought of Messiah Jesus handing the kingdom to the Father.  The word that best summarizes Paul’s argument at this point is “subjection.”

History is full of examples of great generals who won fame and glory on the battlefield.  At the end of his last and greatest conflict, the general would return to the cheering and adulation of the multitude in his native country but would still have to appear before the throne of the king or the desk of the president to make his report.  The King or President would then seemingly take credit for the victory of the general in his proclamations.  The general would accept that (at least publicly) because he was subject to the King or the President; he was under the ruler or leader who was responsible for the activities of many generals in the greater prosecution of the war.

Paul begins this section with a quotation from Psalm 8:6, “You have made him to rule over the works of your hands, you have put all things under His feet.”  In this passage, David is marveling over the fact that God not only pays attention to unworthy humans, but in the beginning, He put all things under the rule of “the son of man.”  The first Adam was, while in the garden, the ruler over all things.  He lost that exalted position because of the Fall, when, knowing that God had forbidden it, he took the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from Even.  But Jesus Christ, “the second Adam” (see, in a coming devotional,1 Corinthians 15:45),  who referred to Himself as “the son of man,” in the will of the Father has had all things put under His feet (see Psalm 2:7-8, and Psalm 110:1).  All creation is moving toward the subjection of everything to the Son.  

For the sake of God’s working out His perfect plan in creation, the Son has voluntarily subjected Himself to the Father.  So, as Paul continues, he states logically that even though all things are put under subjection to the Son, the Father is not put under subjection to Him.  As a result, when all things are subjected, put under the sovereign control of, the Son, He will present them and Himself to the Father.

The extraordinary phrase that ends this portion of 1 Corinthians 15, verse 28, “so that God may be all in all,” is found four times in Paul’s letters.  The first is in an explanation of the variety of the gifts of God, who, “empowers them all in everyone.”  In Ephesians 1:23, the Church is described as His (Christ’s) Body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.”  The final passage is Colossians 3:11, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”  Literally, this last phrase is “but the all and in all (is) Christ.”

So whether describing the empowering of all gifts to everyone who receives; the fullness of the Body of Christ with Him in all and every part; the absence of distinctions in the Body of Christ in which He is everything in everyone; or, as in our passage, the point at which in all things and everything God will be supreme.  

This is more than just the presence of God to all things, or His being the ultimate sovereign.  These things have always been true: “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all,” (Ephesians 4:6).  But the world has groaned under the bondage of sin; a corruption that had to be completely removed.  At the future point described in 1 Corinthians 15:28, there will be nothing in all creation that will not be fully and completely under His control.  No sin, no enemies, no death, and no impurity will be found. God will dwell with and among everything and everyone, and all will willingly and joyfully be subjected to Him.  
John describes this beautifully in the 21st chapter of the Book of the Revelation, verses 3 and 4: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

How can we not eagerly long for the day when every bit of sin and ungodliness is gone, and our Triune God is recognized, worshipped, honored and enjoyed by every living creature?

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 4
 
The Death of Death in the Resurrection of Christ.  -  1 Corinthians 15:20-26

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.  21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.  23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming,  24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.  25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 

Paul’s argument continued, moving from the negative (if Christ has not been raised) to the positive (but now Christ has been raised from the dead!).  He had been raised from the dead as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  The first fruits are those that are harbingers – first evidence – that more fruit is to come.  The resurrection of Christ is the evidence that resurrection from the dead is not only possible, but it is the fulfilment of every promise made in both Testaments of the Bible that resurrection will happen!
Since Adam introduced death (both spiritual and physical) into the human race, it was appropriate that the Second Adam, Christ Jesus, would introduce resurrection into the human race.  It is in this sense that Paul uses this illustration.  He is not arguing here about the spiritual destiny of those who rise; he is arguing instead about the reality of all being raised, and the resurrections being in proper order.  
Christ was raised first.  Then those who are Christ’s at His coming will be raised at the time of His return to receive His Body, the Church.  Then, at the beginning of the Millennium, Jewish believers will be raised as described by Isaiah (26:19) and Ezekiel (37:12), and at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment, all of the dead will be raised to appear before Christ (Revelation 20:11 and following).  As Daniel wrote, “2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2).  As for Daniel, he was told “then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age."
At the very end, when judgment has been concluded, the Son will hand over the Kingdom to the God and Father.  He will have abolished all rule, authority and power.  This expression suggests that those who are in authority, whether human or demonic, will have been brought under submission to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  His reign will continue through the ages, but He will not be ready to offer the Kingdom of the New Heavens and New Earth to the Father until all His enemies have been defeated.
The startling concluding words of this section of our chapter describe a reality none of us has ever experienced.  Things and people die daily, and we find ourselves repeatedly mourning the loss of those we have loved.  But death is not normal.  Death should never have existed.  God put the “tree of lives” in front of Adam and Eve, but they forfeited access to that tree when their rebellious disobedience gave them knowledge and experience of something violently opposed to life in Paradise.  They experienced death, and death claimed the evil and the good from that day onward, except for a few, like Enoch and Elijah, who were taken alive into God’s presence.  Jesus raised the dead, but it was His resurrection, the victory of God over the grave, that opened the way for death to die.
Death is an enemy, an enemy that robs us of the presence of loved ones, but Christ made a new and living way into the presence of God, and His victory turns death – the enemy – into victory for everyone who receives Him.  Absent from the body, present with the Lord. The ancient Israelites spoke of the grave, Sheol, as a place where one could no longer serve nor worship the Lord.  Yet the reality is very different.  Jesus told those who attempted to trip Him up that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob “is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Mark 12:27).  
So, those who have feared death, or shuddered at its power; who have watched the slow, painful death of a loved one, or the rapid accidental death of a stranger, and have hated the ravages of this enemy, Paul wants to encourage you.  He does so with both the assurance of resurrection and the promise of the death of death.  He will return to this theme later, but for now it is sufficient to see that Christ’s resurrection was the assurance that we, too, will experience resurrection, and that His certain victory will bring about the death of death.  Our life and death in this world, with its manifold dangers, may cause you to fear the means of your death and to hate this abnormal enemy, but Jesus with a promise and a statement invites us to the new reality He brings:  “Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" (Jn. 11:25-26).

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 3
 
“No Resurrection,” The False Teachers Claim - 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.  15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.  16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Paul and others were faithfully preaching that Jesus has been raised from the dead.  When the gospel was preached, the resurrection was a vital element of the message to be believed!  Yet many people were claiming that the resurrection did not happen.  That was no surprise, since there were so many Jews and Gentiles who had a stake in denying the claims of Christianity.  Yet, surprisingly, based upon the news he had received from Corinth, Paul claimed that some of those who were teaching that there was no resurrection were false teachers among the Corinthian Christians!
 
Now, there was a sect of Judaism that taught that there is no resurrection.  They were the Sadducees.  This is stated several times in the New Testament (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27), and in the book of Acts, we find Paul using his knowledge of the differences in beliefs of the Pharisees and Sadducees in his favor by bringing up the subject of the resurrection:  6 But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!" 7 As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.   8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.”   (Acts 23:6-8).  Since this was so, it was possible that the false teachers were professing Jewish Christians who believed the doctrine of the Sadduccees.
So, beginning with verse 13 of this chapter, Paul begins a reasoned presentation of the negative impact of the arguments of these false teachers, followed by a positive presentation of the truth of the resurrection of Christ.

First, he argues, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ Jesus was not raised.
Second, if Christ was not raised from the dead, then that which Paul preached was meaningless, as was the faith of those who had believed this message.
Third, Paul, and others who preached the gospel would have been false witnesses before God in that they testified that God had raised Christ from the dead when He had not done so since God does not raise people from the dead (as the argument goes).  Circling back, Paul argues that if the dead are not raised, then even Christ Jesus has not been raised from the dead!  If that were true, the faith of the believers – not only those at Corinth, but all believers – have believed something that is worthless, and they are still unforgiven and in their sins. 
Fourth, if the dead are not raised, all of those who have “fallen asleep” (died) as Christians have perished; that is, they have been utterly destroyed … they no longer exist!  To this, Paul adds the logical result:  if the hope of Christians pertains only to life in this world, we are the most pitiful of human beings, because we have put our hope in one who has promised everlasting life.
 
Before moving to Paul’s more positive argument based upon the reality of the resurrection, it is good for us to stop and think about our presentation of the gospel and how it is received.   People hearing the gospel for the first time have three big obstacles in mind:  the first is the idea that a man who died two thousand years ago could have provided a foundation of salvation through faith.  The average listener will assume that a heroic substitute can do nothing more than save the physical life of one or more people.  The second is that this Jesus rose from the dead.  No one alive today has seen a person who was dead and buried raised from the dead, though near death situations and remarkable recoveries abound!  The third obstacle is very personal:  it is the admission that one is a sinner in need of a Savior.  If there is a struggle before believing, or an unwillingness to believe, these are often standing in the way of faith in Jesus as one’s Savior.

As missionary servants of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, we have had the privilege of seeing the sovereign God work in the hearts and minds of people in Japan, with even more obstacles occupying their minds, bringing them to faith in the Savior.  Ours was, and is, a message of hope, and those who have believed have believed in a living Savior.  Our next lesson will expose us to the next, more positive aspect of Paul’s argument.

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Devotional Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15

Week 1 - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

JESUS’ UPSIDE-DOWN TEACHING - MATT. 5:1-12

In this very first setting of teaching from the Lord in the New Testament, immediately we are shaken by what He says.  The list of 9 Blessings is completely foreign to our world’s, and our own, thinking.  It turns what we would commonly think completely on it’s head, completely upside-down.  Each one is either NOT a positive in our estimation or even the exact opposite what we would think is good.  If you listed the top blessings in your life right now, I would imagine none of these subjects would appear.  They don’t for me either, … and we even know the truth of the text!

Let’s look at these …

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” – Blessed are those who are having a tough go of it.  This is the exact opposite of, not only what we want, but what we say about God.  So, often I have heard people say, “I know God wants me to be happy.”  Well, in Jesus first words of teaching in the New Testament, He declares that it’s not so important to Him.  The longer-range truth is, whether this day is hard or easy, God’s child has the kingdom of heaven as their own and for it’s blessings to enjoy forever.

“Blessed are those who mourn” – Again with the anti-happy rhetoric.  Maybe the Benedictine Monks had it right after all.  We would not put this on any list of blessings we ever made ourselves.  Mourning is so challenging, but to everything there is a season.  Glee ends and must be recreated.  Mourning does not really end here, but neither does the comfort once we sense it’s presence.  Again, as above, to the child of God, we look forward to all our tears being wiped away in the glory of His presence.

“Blessed are the gentle” – This word could be translated, “gentle, humble, or meek.”  They’re all a fitting translation and they’re all awful!  If you want to get ahead in life, the attitude you need to have is _________ .  Whatever someone puts in the blank is not gentle, humble or meek.   However, as we look at things through Jesus’ perspective, He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.  He gave victory to Israel over Jericho, David over Goliath, and offers victory over the grave.   We do not need to be the big man that conquers.  We can with confidence submit in surrender to the Almighty God, our Father.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” -  This one captures multiple levels.  Many at the time and in our world had/have physical hunger, and Jesus is teaching that these basic needs are not what bring satisfaction.  However, to step it up, others do have greater than “physical hunger” pursuits, but have nothing to do with righteousness.  They (we) pursue selfish desires, personal ambitions, prideful accolades which will not really bring satisfaction on their own either.  Just as hunger brings some satisfaction when fed, these other pursuits bring short-term confirmation in our life as well.  However, when we know that righteousness is at the core of what is accomplished, the satisfaction, even here, is amplified, because we are truly free to be fulfilled in it.  

“Blessed are the merciful” – This upside-down truth may not be a great strategy in competition or for a nation in warfare, but is the correct, God-honoring thought in our personal life.  When we have the opportunity to to help someone who is no real help to us OR when we can crush someone who has hurt us, what do we do?  I would say that in our current culture nothing displays  the light of Christ as clearly as mercy.  It is rare.  It is evident when practiced.  It is also a reflection of what has been given TO us already.

“Blessed are the pure in heart” – This is a slap in the face to the religious elite of His day that desired to show to everyone just how really, really good they were.   Instead, Jesus is emphasizing a true purity that you know is true at the core of you and that is not focused on others noticing.  Now, none of us actually have inner purity and when we seek it, we realize our frailty, but in Christ it is given freely to us, putting us in a right and acceptable place to “see God” and enjoy an eternal relationship with Him.

“Blessed are the VICTORS! … sorry, I got caught up in my own upside-down thinking for a second.   “Blessed are the peacemakers” – How wimpy does THAT sound?  However, if you’ve ever been called on to show great restraint, help with calming a heated situation, or pass on personal vengeance for a greater good; then you understand the kind of steeled strength it requires.  The “sons of God” title given to these are both because they example God’s redeemer-like qualities, but also due to the seemingly super-human accomplishment peacemaking work is in our broken world.

These last 2 certainly go together … “Blessed are those who have been persecuted” either for righteousness or for something directly related to the Lord.  When we feel like throwing our own not-so-little pity party for ourselves because we have done well and have received persecution.  Instead we can actually turn it upside-down and realize we are blessed, evidencing His kingdom, and go on our way “rejoicing that [we] had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.” (Acts 5:41)

Well, in all of these, it is unmistakeable that Jesus’ teaching was going to be a drastic change from what they had heard and what they thought was productive.  It is still the same.  May we follow His right teaching and not our world’s upside-down ways.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 - Encourage One Another

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.  11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

This short little passage, tucked at the end of thought about the coming of the Lord and just before several quick practical instructions for the believer’s life, is a higher truth and instruction bridging the  two together.  

Firstly, it is higher because it draws our attention to both the Lord and to eternal truth.  While God stands in righteousness and ultimately as Judge over all things, IN CHRIST we are not “destined for wrath.”  Jesus, the Anointed One, the Christ, the very Son of God has come to our world.  He not only came, but lived flawlessly as is His nature and gave His life as a ransom, paying for the sins of the world.  His death offering complete forgiveness to all who believe in Him.  So, while I/we deserve God's wrath on our own, we can live KNOWING that we are free, and with confidence for those who have died in faith.  

Secondly, with this eternal and ultimate confidence in the Lord, we are able to live with less concern for our own way, our own wants, or honor for ourselves.  Rather, we can live with a stable foundation in what Christ has already done for us, and live, in gratitude, with a focus on being a help and encouragement to others.  We can choose to "encourage" and "build" in one another's lives knowing that our own destiny is graciously cared for.  In addition, as we practice this, we are encouraged and we find satisfying purpose worth living for, and even have times when we receive honor.  If we can selflessly give of ourselves to others in a reflection of His glorious gift of forgiveness and sonship, the Lord will bring real good toward us as well.

There are fearful and difficult times, to be sure.   Life can be a whole spectrum from relationally messy to completely heart-wrenching.  These are times we need the confident knowledge of God's love and care AND how helpful others can be as they encourage and build up.  

Lord, help us.  Help us to see You clearly, to see Your love, Your grace, and Your care.  Give us wisdom in sharing of this goodness into others' lives.  Father, may we give you honor, glory and praise in the way we become a reflector of grace and love, focused on what is good for someone else and not selfishly concerned only of ourselves.  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of complete forgiveness in Christ, for providing salvation from the debt of our own sin.  We choose to praise you with both our words and lives.  

Ephesians 4:4-7
“There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as also you were called in ONE hope of your calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of ALL who is over ALL and through ALL and in ALL. But to each ONE of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
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Here in the middle of this letter shared among several churches and now shared down through the ages, we see a beautiful accounting of our unity in Christ.  In verse 3 we are called to keep the unity among the brethren in the bind of peace and here we are given a more than sufficient rationale.  Each time I read through this passage, I am thrilled all over again to be solidly connected with the saints of all times, the saints from all around the world, and the dear ones we love and worship with regularly.  We are all ONE in Christ.  ONE in whom we have placed our faith.  ONE in where our purpose, forgiveness and eternal life is found.  ONE in, as the end of this passage completes, the great truth that each ONE of us has received great grace from the Lord on high.  

In all these ONE’s, we have no real excuse not to find unity with one another.  Above this, with all these, we can rejoice together so that our focus is selflessly on the greatness and graciousness of the Lord, bringing a meaning and deep bond with one another.  

May He be honored in each of our lives and in how we reflect His grace into one another’s lives.    “There is one body and one Spirit …”

ROMANS 10:1-4 - MAN‘S WAY OR GOD’S WAY?

As I begin reading Romans 10, Paul’s brokenheartedness is evident (as in the previous chapter) for Jewish people that he cares about deeply.  His comments are not generically about all Jewish people, but rather the ones who are continuing to trust in their own religiosity for their eternal well-being.  They, as he puts it, “have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.”  This is such a sad state.  They seem to want to be in a right relationship with the Lord.  They use His name in their practices.  They even claim to be directing others in His ways.  However, all of these things are being done in actual ignorance, “without knowledge.”  They think they know, but they do not.

This brings us to the options presented to them; continue in their own patterns and practices or surrender to God’s way … or as Paul says it, “subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”  Sadly, in their pride, they would not give up THEIR way, which is previously what led to the crucifixion and is breaking Paul’s heart as he sees so many continue disconnected from the grace that has been purchased, provided, and offered freely.

In our day, really not much has changed.  We are not heart-broken over those following the Jewish rules and regulations so much, though some are certainly still caught in that.  Today, we have a whole variety of paths for people to follow, deciding it is a better way, a more elevated way, a higher path than the one provided by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ.  Sadly, just like these early Jews, so often their pride will not allow them to surrender to God’s true way, leaving them similarly disconnect from forgiveness, from righteousness, and from eternal life.  May our hearts be broken like Paul’s for these dear ones.

I am confident that my own pride was (is) abundant enough to keep me from Him, but He helped me to see the truth and understand my need for Christ.   Thank you, Lord, for your great grace!

     Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
     Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
     Yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured,
     There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

     Grace, grace, God’s grace,
     Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
     Grace, Grace, God’s grace,
     Grace that is greater than all our sin

Psalm 139 has many easily “devotionalized” verses and subjects.  It is full of overwhelming thoughts of God’s greatness, nearness, power, and care.  For this short thought, I would like to focus on just the section found in verses 13-19.  This is a famous passage because of the power of the words, the evident meaning, and the clarity both provide.

Each year whether on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, as it was yesterday, I run into a problem.  In our service on these holidays, we enjoy giving out awards for both somewhat meaningful and somewhat silly subjects related to Mom’s and Dad’s.  I try to vary them from year to year, but they are around the same themes: Mom visiting from the greatest distance; Dad who last grilled for his family; Grandmother with the most grandkids; and, as was used yesterday, Oldest Dad (because you just can’t do that on Mother’s Day).  At each of these holidays, it is customary to give recognition to the “Newest Mom” or “Newest Dad.”   This is where I get into trouble.  For this award, we judge by the respective parent of the youngest baby that has been born, but that is not really a correct assessment.  Each child’s life began well before the day he or she was birthed.  However, you might understand my being averse to seeking to track publicly any more information.  So we stick with the post-birth plan, but I have to explain nearly every time … and that’s probably a good thing.

Psalm 139 is a powerful and clear passage on this subject with additional truths connected that are intensely special as well.  

“For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”

The Lord, having actually made Adam & Eve, set in motion a reproductive process that continues to produce children.  In this sense, He is the Maker.  However, more than that, the Lord knew ME and knew YOU and was active in giving us life from the very beginning, which was not at our first cry after birth, but well before that ”in my mother’s womb.”  Psalm 139 clearly says that I was already me before my birthday and that the Lord, creator of the universe, was awesomely and bewilderingly involved my beginning … and your’s.  “And my soul knows it very well.”

”My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

Having just gone through the joy of receiving 2 new precious grandchildren into our family, I was amazed at how far technology has come since the Ultrasounds of our own kids.  These things are almost like photographs!  By comparison, our‘s were sonar of a ship deep in the darkness of the sea … if you squint and turn your head, “I think that’s the stern and that’s the bow.”  

In the time of the author of the Psalm, pregnancies were completely “blind.”  Everything that was happening was inside and only the outside effects could be seen.   However, these things were not unknown or unseen to God.  He was well aware of, even active in, my forming from nothing to growing human being.  Even though it was happening where people couldn’t see it … “in secret,“ “in the depths of the earth,” or “unformed substance” … He was not only aware of that moment, but my future as well.

”How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.  When I awake, I am still with You.  O that You would slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.”

The fact that the Lord thinks of us at all is astonishing, but as we grow in our understanding of His great love for us and His sacrificial provision for us in Christ, I hope you would join me in echoing this Psalm’s awe of the weightiness of this truth.  God also continues through life to be involved as the Psalmist awakes though in danger from attack.  The Lord has given life, not just at conception, and not just evidenced in a growing belly (I know the baby grows in the womb, not the belly), and not even just at the day of birth; but even here when the Psalmist recognizes God’s protection of life on that night once again.

This is why ”men of bloodshed” are so wrong.  God gives life and those who take it are robbing of one of the greatest gifts ever given.  Murder of a human life, whatever the age, is wrong.  “You shall not murder.”  Duet. 5:17


You can stand strong in your own life, confident in what the Lord says about the life of a pre-birth human.  Our culture may moan and complain, but God has graciously, lovingly given life and it is not our’s to take away.  You can also greatly rejoice because God is near always.  He was involved at your beginning, He has provided forgiveness through Christ so you can be in close relationship with Him, and He continues to work in and around your life to draw you even closer.

”I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;”

Psalm 136 is a joy!  There is no other way to put it.  As it rehearses the history of God’s work in history and specifically Israel, each thought is derailed before getting to the next.  In the reading process, this can be … annoying.  However, when you consider the greatness of the interruption, how wonderful it becomes!  “His mercy endureth forever.”

A few things to notice about this Psalm quickly.  The first thing is that it seems evident that this Psalm would be read responsively, with someone leading reading the historical fact and the congregation echoing, “His mercy endureth forever.” each time.

Secondly, the idea that God’s love or mercy “endureth forever.”  There are 2 truths here that work together to make His faithfulness even greater.  1 - Actually His love and mercy IS forever.  No start, no end … forever.  AND 2 - His love and mercy do “endure,” they keep coming.  He repeatedly shows them to be true.    These 2 things only amplify the truth that His interrupting love and mercy is something we can count on!

Now, let’s think about the main word, translated “mercy” or “love” or “lovingkindness” in different translations.  The word in Hebrew is HESED [or chesed] and is difficult to directly translate.  In a sense, “Lovingkindness” is both the best and the worst translation.  It is the best, because the word seems to include both the idea of love, but not without action.  It isn‘t just a feeling, for sure.  So, lovingkindness is a good translation.  However, who uses the word lovingkindness?  It sounds much too fluffy to even come close to the genuine care of this word and thereby is NOT a very good translation.

Let me add to this that often this word carries with it the idea of a stronger one caring for a weaker one.  When this practically happens … loving action displayed from a stronger one to a weaker one … it is explained best with the word “mercy.”  So, even though this isn’t a direct translation, it can be a really good translation of the word.  

So which is it?  I have thought about this several times (as I love this passage) and even delayed writing this blog throughout this week in order to have some sort of answer for this question.  However, I’m not content constraining it to any particular of these options.  Also, it is plainly true that His love, lovingkindness, and mercy all endure forever.   So I’m choosing to simply rejoice in these truths and be ok with the challenge of the translation.

How beautiful it is that God has stepped into history repeatedly with His love and mercy.  How faithful He has been as He interjected Himself in the ups and downs of the nation of Israel with ongoing, steadfast love.  How loving and merciful He has been in our lives, not only in the plain merciful verse of Rom. 5:8 (“while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”), but also in the patient, persistent love He shows as displayed in Phil. 1:6 (“He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.”).

Praise the Lord for His interruptive, faithful love and mercy!

Psalm 118 has so much that could be said of it.  Verse 22, alone, is quoted in the New Testament not just in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but also in Acts, Ephesians and again in 1 Peter.  These messianic assignments of Jesus as the one rejected becoming the “chief cornerstone” are powerful and picturesque from the triumphal entry through the early church’s bold proclamations.

Today, however, I would like to draw our attention to a different beauty in these verses.   My attention is drawn to the confidence we can enjoy, enjoy, in the greatness of the character of God and His care for us.    As the Psalm begins, His character is immediately praised.  “He is good.”  Truly beyond what we can quite understand, He is pure, righteous, and altogether good.  Then we have a 4 verse echo (as we will see beautifully again through Psalm 136) that, “His lovingkindness is everlasting” or as the KJV says, “His mercy endureth for ever.”   This repeated assurance takes the truth of His GOOD character and brings it into action as He interacts in our lives.  He is loving.  He has been loving.  He will be loving.  

This brings me to a confident place where I can call on Him in any difficulty or distress, because I know, “the Lord is for me” and has the fitting response, “What can man do to me?”

These only set up the best part of the believer’s life of enjoying this confidence in the Lord.  As we go a bit further in the Psalm, we find that the adversaries of the psalmist have swarmed him like bees (v. 12) and it seems as though life is headed for trouble.  However an abrupt change happens at the end of verse 13 with, “but the Lord helped me.”  These foundational truths of God’s good character and His ongoing lovingkindness give us a victorious outlook.  Our world’s normal mode would be respond as victims and in martyrdom, but not as children of the King of Kings.  We are victors and can enjoy this confidence.  Look at the following response in Verses 14-15, “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.  The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous ….”  Consider this response.  The psalmist feels surrounded and swarmed by distresses of life, but knows God is good, great, loving, and faithful.  So, he can respond not with dread, but with strength; not with weariness, but with song; not with a view only of today’s difficulty, but choosing to focus on the eternal victory already won; and not with a life of victimhood, but with victory shouts of the goodness and grace of God.

May we respond faithfully with praise based on His ongoing goodness in our lives.