theology-acst – Page 4 – jeffersonvann

ACST 57: The Transformed

The author of Hebrews identifies the church as a people caught up in what God is doing. At first, the prophets spoke of Jesus in the Old Testament, then Jesus fulfilled what they predicted, then the apostles and other early believers attested to that truth. Finally, God has continued the testimony through the church, verifying our words “by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”[1]

Just how does the Holy Spirit verify the gospel we preach? There are at least three ways: 1) He transforms us into the image of Christ, 2) He brings about new growth in the church by helping us reach people with the gospel, 3) He breaks through the normal issues of life and manifests supernatural interference – i.e., miracles.

new people

When the religious traditionalists of Jesus’ day complained that his disciples did thing differently that theirs, Jesus responded to their complaint. He implied that we should expect his church to be different. Believers in Christ were “new wine” and cannot be contained in the “old wineskins.”[2] If anyone dared to put new wine in a wineskin that had been previously expanded, it would expand again, and he would have a mess to clean up. That is why those who make wine start afresh with a new skin. That is what God has done.

It is true that there is continuity between ancient Judaism and Christianity. Most of our biblical content is the same. Most of the spiritual principles taught in the New Testament have their origin in the Old Testament. But the questions asked in the Old Testament which had no answer are answered in the New Testament. In many cases, the Old Testament testified to a “what” but did not prescribe “how.” The New Testament fills in its blanks.

One of those all-important “whats” is the concept of the new covenant. Jeremiah predicted this:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the house

of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the

covenant that I made with their fathers on the day

when I took them by the hand to bring them out of

the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke,

though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with

the house of Israel after those days, declares the

LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will

write it on their hearts. And I will be their God,

and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer

shall each one teach his neighbor and each his

brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall

all know me, from the least of them to the

greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive

their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no

more.”[3]

The old covenant was the result of God’s grace rescuing his people from Egypt, and leading them to a new life governed by his laws in the promised land. There was a time when that was the new covenant. It promised the newness of freedom rather than the oldness of slavery. Yet, following it proved to be problematic. It can be stated in this way: if God’s people will follow his laws, he will keep them free and give them new hearts. We all know what happened. The people of Israel as a whole never got to the “new hearts” part.

The new covenant would reverse the process. It would be the work of the Holy Spirit, who would first write God’s laws on the hearts of the forgiven, enabling them to know him. Then, he would bring them to their new land. Instead of being attested to by the sacrifice of a lamb, this new covenant would begin with the death of Christ on a cross.[4] Once initiated, the new covenant was meant to replace the old one, making its provisions obsolete.[5] There was nothing wrong with the old covenant, except that it only offered a temporary inheritance. It was designed to point us all to the new covenant, which promises an “eternal inheritance.”[6]

It is in that sense that the church today can be called the new Israel. God’s new covenant with Israel is not intended to add to one nation but to multiply through all nations. The blessing of faith that Abraham manifested is now possible for all of those who believe in Christ, no matter who they descended from. Rights to that new covenant were purchased for all through the blood of Christ.

Just as people served under the old covenant, we also serve under the new covenant. The difference is “that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.”[7] We begin with grace and we end with glory. If we attempt to get to the glory by means of keeping the law, we will fail. But if we dare to walk by the same Holy Spirit who has regenerated us, we can become like Christ. We can give others a taste of that new wine.

new growth

There was a missions aspect of the old covenant. People were supposed to be drawn to God by seeing his blessings and glory manifested in loyal Israel. God wanted Abraham’s faith to result in blessings for all the nations surrounding Israel.[8] The surrounding nations were blessed occasionally, but the process was often overshadowed by the opposite affect: people ridiculing God because of the sufferings and disloyalty of Israel.

Missions was built into the DNA of the new covenant. Jesus commanded his church to make disciples of all nations,[9] to proclaim the gospel to all nations,[10] to offer repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations.[11] If the old covenant could be described as “come to us,” the new covenant is best described as “go to them.” In the Great Commission text, the participle “go” does not have the same weight as the imperative “make disciples.” However, the fact that Jesus was sending his disciples somewhere (in actuality, Jerusalem) was significant. It set the stage for a church that would always be going with the gospel.[12]

That role of expanding ourselves through reaching new lands and cultures with the gospel is also described by Jesus in his “vine and branches” message. He told his disciples “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.”[13] Jesus did not simply command us to stay where we are and bear fruit. He appointed us to “go” and “bear fruit.” The word translated “go” in that text is not the same word used in Matthew 28. It is the word used for sending someone off in a particular direction for a particular purpose. The mission of reaching new lands, peoples, and cultures with the gospel is built into our new identity as branches of Christ’s vine.

The church is made of people who have found the greatest thing that could ever be found. It is therefore no surprise when we selflessly abandon all that we have for that treasure. As Jesus put it, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”[14] Here again, the words “he goes” are a form of that same mission we were appointed to by Jesus. However, the motivation for our mission is made clear in this text: “in his joy.” The church expands and permeates not because we are bound by some solemn obligation. We have good news to share with the nations. We go in our joy.

The cultural mandate is also part of our great commission mandate. Jesus told the rich young ruler to “go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”[15] Some people will never be able to come to Jesus because they will always refuse to go away from their possessions. The rich young ruler went away sad and unchanged, because what he had was more important to him than what he could gain in Christ. There are some people who are like this with their homes and families. They will not come to Christ because Christ would require that they give up life in their comfort zone.

For believers in Christ, what we have now is his to give away through us. We embrace the cultural mandate to bless the nations with food, clothing, and other things they need. We do not see this as something separate from spreading the gospel. It is a way of our divesting ourselves of that which is superfluous in our lives so that we can share him. It is also something that brings us joy. We can either give as Christ compels us, and gain joy in doing so, or we will “go away sad” as this young man did.

The mission to go does not always mean to cross geographical boundaries. Sometimes we want to go away and the LORD calls us to go home. The delivered Gerasene wanted to hop in the boat and go away with Jesus and the other disciples. Jesus would not allow him to do so. Instead he said “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”[16] Sometimes abiding in the Vine means abiding in your own hometown. It is still a mission, when it is responding to the “go” from the Master. It is still a mission when its end result is more people in the kingdom.

new normal

The new people that is the church of Jesus Christ is a people born of the Spirit,[17] having the firstfruits of the Spirit,[18] set free by the law of the Spirit,[19] and setting their minds on the things of the Spirit.[20] Outwardly, they still look like they did when they were merely of the flesh, but inwardly, they have undergone a transformation. Normal is no longer what it was. There is a new normal, because everything believers think and do is now judged by a new standard: the image of Christ within. People without the experience of regeneration cannot understand this new disposition. The things of the Holy Spirit are foolishness to them.[21]

That original disposition toward exalting and caring for the body of flesh has now been – not removed – but challenged. Believers still want to be preserved from death and hunger and the like, but they also have a strong desire to care for and promote the welfare of Christ’s body, which they are now a part of. Just one look into the eyes of Jesus makes the born again person want to be like him, to introduce others to him, and to experience his power. The Holy Spirit inside believers wants our sanctification, our involvement in evangelism, and our experience and demonstration of his miracles.

The Holy Spirit is an amazing person. Although fully equal to the Father and Son in deity, he seeks to manifest himself through mortal and imperfect human beings. He is both the key to unity in the church, and the reason for our glorious diversity. He embraces our differences, and instead of causing us to suppress them, he utilizes those differences to mature us, and to reach the most with the gospel. Any time the church seeks too zealously to manufacture an artificial unity, we tend to squelch the Holy Spirit’s work. He is too big to fit within our carefully constructed labels.

The Holy Spirit works within each believer individually, and wants to manifest his power through each believer “for the common good.”[22] He makes each believer a gift to the group as a whole, by ministering his spiritual gifts, and manifesting his spiritual fruit. He is the author of supernatural miracles, transformed character, and church growth. Church traditions tend to push cooperation with him in one area or the other, but he seeks all three at the same time. To put it negatively, a believer has not yielded to the Holy Spirit unless she is willing to let him manifest his power in her life through miracles, renewed holiness, and outreach.

The Spirit and the word

The word of God is the Spirit’s weapon – the sword of the Spirit.[23] Those who hear and believe the word are sealed with the Holy Spirit.[24] He uses the written and spoken word to accomplish his purposes in and with the church. He uses the Scriptures to catch us, change us, turn us into evangelists, and give us faith to receive his miracles. Theoretically, one might say that the word alone is powerless to do anything. For example, demons laugh when unbelievers attempt, apart from the Holy Spirit, to use texts from the Bible as some sort of animistic charm to ward off evil. In the church’s hands, however, the word is backed by the power of the Holy Spirit. In that case, the word is anything but powerless.

Prayer and the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is also the key person in the prayer ministry of the church. Paul encouraged believers to pray at all times, but added the explanatory phrase “in the Spirit.”[25] The prayers of unbelievers are always heard by God, but the church’s prayers are actually sponsored by God. When we pray in the Spirit, we are praying words which are not just intended to reach the throne, but words which actually originate there. Prayer by believers is cooperation with God and affirmation of what he is doing and wants to do.

Refusing to pray leads to powerless people, limited growth, and hardened hearts in the church. A church can have all the right theology of the Holy Spirit in their creeds, but if they do not pray, those words are empty. The act of prayer substantiates what a person or group believes about the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit is so eager to touch this world with manifestations of himself, he often uses praying people who have seriously defective theologies. This happens to the shame of many more “orthodox” churches, because they do not pray as they aught.

Worship and the Holy Spirit

One of the ways that the Holy Spirit speaks to believers, and through them, is the act of corporate worship. He is the means by which we manifest authentic worship: it is by the Spirit.[26] The apostle Paul taught that the true circumcision – that which really matters – is that which is done by the Holy Spirit, and it results in praise from God.[27] The text is a bit ambiguous about whether that praise is being received by the true Jew, or given by him. It could be interpreted either way, because God honors authenticity, and authentic people give authentic worship.

One of the Old Testament predictions about life under the new covenant is that believers would be characterized by gladness and joy instead of sadness and sorrow.[28] When the church worships, we celebrate the reality of this age of grace, and our new status as part of that reality. Worship flows from who we are, who Christ is, and what our future is because of what Christ did. The Holy Spirit within us serves as our guarantee of this future inheritance.[29] No matter what might distract us in the present, he helps us remember what we were made for – glorifying, enjoying, and worshipping God throughout eternity. While we are worshipping, we are more in touch with who we truly are and will be than at any other time.

Recognizing the Holy Spirit

Jesus is the only person of the Holy Trinity who can be seen in bodily form, because he is the only one who has taken on flesh. If one wants to look for the Holy Spirit, one has to look for the evidence. If you want to see the wind, you look for open sails and fast moving sailboats. If you want to see the Holy Spirit, you look for growing, maturing, gift-manifesting churches. The transformed church is his calling-card.

[1] Hebrews 2:4 ESV.

[2] Matthew 9:17.

[3] Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV.

[4] Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25.

[5] Hebrews 8:8-13.

[6] Hebrews 9:15.

[7] Romans 7:6 ESV.

[8] Genesis 18:18; 22:18; 26:4.

[9] Matthew 28:19.

[10] Mark 13:10.

[11] Luke 24:47.

[12] When Jesus gave his Great Commission, it was to the eleven in Galilee, just before they were to return to Jerusalem. It would make sense to take the participle of poreuomai (go) as adverbial of time, which would result in Jesus telling them that after they go (to Jerusalem) they were to make disciples. Translators usually take the participle as having a practically equal status with the imperative (matheteusate from matheteuo) in that text. Each case when Matthew uses the aorist participle of pereuomai with an accompanying verb, the stress is on the action of that accompanying verb. See Matthew 2:8; 9:13; 11:4; 21:6; 27:66. The command in Matthew 28:18 is to make disciples. Going places is incidental, but necessary to obeying that command.

[13] John 15:16.

[14] Matthew 13:44 ESV.

[15] Matthew 19:21 ESV.

[16] Mark 5:19 ESV.

[17] John 3:5-8.

[18] Romans 8:23.

[19] Romans 8:2.

[20] Romans 8:5.

[21] 1 Corinthians 2:14.

[22] 1 Corinthians 12:7.

[23] Ephesians 6:17.

[24] Ephesians 1:13.

[25] Ephesians 6:18.

[26] Philippians 3:3.

[27] Romans 2:29.

[28] Isaiah 61:3.

[29] 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:14.

ACST 56: The Saved

The apostle Paul taught that believers are “the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”[1] We leave the scent of Christ wherever we go, and with whomever we come into contact. Those who have never met Christ, can do so by meeting us. Those who find a friend in Christ, find a friend in us. Those who reject Christ, will probably despise or chose to ignore us.

Believers have a symbiotic link to the person of Christ. Every metaphor which describes his person and role has a corresponding implication for the identity and role of his disciples. The best way to get a grasp on the biblical view of the Church is to know clearly who Christ is and what he did, and then extrapolate our place and work based on his.

He is the Savior, we are the saved.

The New Testament proclaims that Jesus is a Savior,[2] Israel’s Savior,[3] the church’s Savior,[4] and the world’s Savior.[5] Believers are delivered from the penalty of their sins as a result of what Christ did for us on the cross, so it is appropriate for us to identify ourselves as the people who were saved.[6] We are also in the process of being delivered from the present power and consequences of our past sinful life, so it is appropriate to refer to ourselves as being saved.[7] We also expect and anticipate a culmination of Christ’s saving work in our lives – a glorification at his return. This means that it is also still appropriate to say that we will be saved.[8] Jesus has saved us, is saving us, and will save us.

This relationship the church has with Jesus as her Savior helps answer one of the sticky questions that have emerged about us: “Can a believer sin all he wants to, and still be saved?” If salvation is seen as some kind of spiritual/mechanical event in a person’s life, we would expect the answer to that question to be ‘no.’ We would expect that once a person had been zapped by the salvation wand, he would no longer be under the influence of the flesh, but would be totally under the Spirit’s power. He would find himself no longer wanting to sin, and no longer capable of sinning if he had the desire to do so.

The reality is that Christians struggle with sins, sinning, and the desire to commit sins all their lives. This is not to deny that a miracle takes place inside us when we come to Jesus. It merely concedes that the initial miracle of regeneration is just the beginning of a process that will not be complete until our Savior returns. Our salvation is secure – not because it has made us sinless, but because our Savior is.

The connection between the church and its Savior is seen clearly in Paul’s use of “a number of Greek prepositions to stress the close identification between Christ and his followers that bonds them together in union as a distinct community.”[9] The saved have been immersed into the person of Christ, and are now growing up into him.[10] Their lives are no longer destined to be what they were, because their spiritual DNA has changed to reflect his. Their destiny is now the destiny of their Savior. The saved are said to be “in Christ.”[11] Their identities are somehow fused with his. They have experienced all of the crucial events of Christ’s life, along with him, having been crucified, buried, and spiritually raised with him.[12]

These realities certainly affect how believers act, but they also affect how others act around and react to them. The saved are expected to influence the world as the Savior did. He is the light of the word, and now, so are his disciples.[13] The saved are not saviors themselves, but they are infected with and carriers of the salvation virus. Anyone coming in contact with believers in the church is exposed to potential salvation.

He is the King, we are his subjects.

The Bible describes both the present reality of salvation and the destiny of ultimate salvation using the metaphor of a king and his kingdom.[14] One of the most important implications of this metaphor is that of authority and submission. A king is only as powerful as his subjects let him be. If a king has to deal with constant rebellion and ignorance of his commands, he cannot reign effectively. Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels relating to the kingdom of God constantly encouraged his followers to stay true to him, to commit themselves to obeying his words. Jesus’ sharpest criticisms were to those who only pretended to follow God’s word, but were secretly only interested in building their own kingdoms.

The king/kingdom metaphor also reminds the church who the boss is. A king is sovereign over his domain. He is king regardless of whether his domain has accepted that fact or not. The subjects of the king do not make the rules, and they do not have veto power when the king commands them to do something. His commands are their business.

King Solomon reigned for decades and was constantly building in Jerusalem and in other cities as well. It was impossible to be a subject of Solomon’s reign and not be involved in some way in Solomon’s work. The majestic temple and the royal palace could be seen from anywhere in the city, and were constant reminders of what it meant to be in the kingdom of Solomon. In the same way, it is impossible to be in Jesus’ kingdom without being constantly reminded of the Gospel and the church’s role in spreading it. Jesus is building a kingdom. We will either be involved in his work, or not. The extent to which we are involved in his work determines our identity as his subjects. Obedience is the more important way to profess that we are part of Christ’s kingdom.

He is the head, we are his body.

Many of the implications of the metaphor of Christ as the head, and the church as his body will be examined more closely in another chapter. What is important to see at this point is the symbiotic relationship which is communicated by this and the previous metaphors as well. The Savior came to save. The saved exist for the Savior. The kingdom needs a king. We have not only been delivered from the penalty of our past sins, but also into the kingdom of our Savior. The head and body exist as a unit. Our many bodies are now being assimilated into his one body.

Before coming to Christ, we were fairly comfortable with our own bodies, and found ways of utilizing them to meet our needs, bring us pleasure, and accommodate our interests. Now, things are different. Now the many have to become one. Now the many wills have to become subservient to the one will.

He is the Bridegroom, we are the espoused bride.

The Bible uses the bridegroom/bride metaphor in a number of places.[15] It speaks of preparation for and anticipation of the event of the wedding, and for the joy that both parties have in each other. The church is seen in the book of Revelation crying out “come, Lord Jesus.”[16] This is partly a cry for relief from all the suffering and battle she has endured. But it is also the cry of a fiancé who has endured too long without her beloved. To say that the church is a bride is to admit that longing in our hearts to see our Savior again – for the first time.

Once accepting the proposal, the bride begins preparing herself for the day when she will no longer be single. She has to orient her life around the anticipated new reality. She begins to scribble her new name on table napkins. Although she has had a lifetime of seeing the world from her perspective, she now has to ask what her future husband thinks. Though she has limited her associations according to her own standards for friendships and companionships, she now has to adjust to her future husband’s associates and friends.

The church of Jesus Christ exists in this life as a preparation for the next. Our life now matters precisely because eternity matters. Jesus is returning to this earth to claim us for his own. That makes it very important for us to use this time before his return wisely. We find that every place we look there are preparations to be made. As we get older, those preparations become more significant – more urgent. We begin to realize how little we have accomplished, and how little time we have left.

To be an Advent Christian is to embrace the preparation process because of the joy anticipated when our Savior comes for us. We cannot help but evaluate all the possibilities that are around us on the basis of the reality that awaits us. We will puzzle the watching world as we turn down this promotion (because it will take us away from our family), or accept this volunteer position (because it will help us spread the gospel to a group we could not reach otherwise). We realize that the experiences we have, and the choices we make, are significant because we are being groomed for the Groom.

Before we were saved, we tended to spend our lives looking out for number one. Now, we do the same thing – except that number one is now our Savior. He deserves to be first place because he rescued us from dead last place. He has also given us a taste of the divine presence when he sent his Holy Spirit to reside within us. That taste can make us hungry for more.

Sanctification changes us. At first, we hope for Christ to come because we expect him to fix all of our problems. As the maturation process continues, we begin to see that although his coming will solve our problems, it is not about us. His coming will reboot the world to its original agenda – his agenda. The more we stay stuck on ourselves, the less we enjoy the idea of being interrupted by his glory. The more we concentrate on being like him, the more we anticipate our glorification at his return. Most of our lives are spent in a kind of spiritual adolescence. We are changing, but we do not always like it, and we do not always show it.

As we all go through this process, the best thing we can do for each other is to encourage each other to give in to the transformation. We need to be careful not to expect too much of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Growth is a slow process, and it is not easy to adjust to the changes. We know how often we fail ourselves, so it should make us that more forgiving to those around us.

The commands of the King are of utmost importance, and should not be trivialized. It is not a coincidence that our Savior, while giving us his Great Commission –to MAKE DISCIPLES, used an explanatory participle – by teaching all that I have commanded you. It is impossible to be a disciple without both learning and obeying Christ’s commands. Our king expects us to be about his business, doing what he commanded.

His commands are messy. They will not allow us to stay comfortable in our social circles, our schools, our political parties, or our jobs. They demand too much. They cry out for justice for those whom we would rather neglect. They cry out for work when we would rather rest. They cry out for us to stay connected to this suffering world when we would rather zone out, and be entertained by fantasy. It is just this messiness that reminds us that Christ’s kingdom is not yet fully realized. We cannot seem to get it right. That does not stop us from trying, but knowing that the King is not here yet does help console us when we blow it.

The body analogy can also be helpful. Knowing that our Savior is separated from us physically, it is hard for us. Remembering that he is the head of the whole body, the church, reminds us that there is still a connection. We are his body, not his corpse.[17] He is just as alive today as he was when his feet walked the shores of the Sea of Galilee. In fact, his feet are still walking the shores of that sea, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. His hands still heal, because he uses our hands. His presence still does miracles, and he allows some of us to experience them. Whatever he is doing, he wants to use us to do it.

The Saved, not the System

Jesus empowers people through the indwelling Holy Spirit to minister to the world in his name. He has not ordained a particular system of government or ministry and the church. Too often, believers – thinking that they are backing the “biblical” system, become defensive and divisive over issues relating to the various systems and the unity of the Holy Spirit becomes an illusory thing. All systems are humanly contrived and humanly run. Some may be more practical in some situations than others, but none have any kind of divine stamp of approval.

The vast number of Advent Christian churches and conferences follow a congregational form of government. Most are led by pastors in cooperation with a church board, or perhaps a board of elders. This works for most of our churches because most of them were planted in countries with democratic governments, and our churches are more familiar with this kind of check-and-balance leadership. Some of our mission fields adapted this structure wholesale, and in some it has worked well. in others, not so much. The structure of the organization is not the important thing. It is the spirit of the people that matters. Structures should reflect the people who are doing the ministry. The people should not be slaves to the structures. Most of our ecclesiastical structures are antiquated – including those that are called “congregational.”

How we organize ourselves should be reevaluated every few years. Making changes in our structure might free the people in our churches to be who they are called to be. It might enable more of the saved to introduce their communities to the Savior. Churches and conferences should not be afraid of making those changes.

Of course, change simply for change’s sake might be just as counterproductive. Some churches are constantly fighting battles having to do with their own self-identity. The ministry of the gospel loses out, because the controversies distract. Often that happens because both sides tend to think that there can only be one “biblical” solution. But when it comes to structure, the bible describes many multi-level ministries going on, and thriving at the same time: apostles, prophets, elders, evangelists, teachers, etc. Our systems tend to simplify those structures, but the Bible does not. It just throws them out there and says “this is the way it was.”

Old Testament history was like that too. Most of the time, it was not clear who had jurisdiction over a matter: the king, the prophets, the priests, the elders … It was usually clear when the Holy Spirit was acting, but it could not be easily mapped out according to the human political and social structures. The people who usually got into the most trouble were those who assumed that they understood how God wanted to work, as well as what he wanted to do. The Old Testament is filled with irony because the Holy Spirit refused to act according to human expectations.

It is this same – gloriously unpredictable Holy Spirit who resides within each believer in the church of Jesus Christ. He ministers through anyone he chooses within the body, regardless of their status in the community or their experience in ministry. He surprises us constantly, and intends to do so. There is no hierarchy in his sight. He looks on a saved soul and says “I choose to use her in this ministry” – without stopping to ask our permission, or to check her credentials.

Most of us who have been in ministry for decades are really frustrated by this. We see people who are new in the Lord getting involved in ministry regularly, and it is unsettling to us. We are afraid. We find it hard to trust people who did not come up through the school of ecclesiastical hard knocks that we did. We are tempted to assume that their zeal will not last, and sometimes it does not. Yet, the reality is, the ministry of Jesus Christ is now being orchestrated by the omnipresent Holy Spirit. He does not need our structures as much as we think he does.

The Aroma

Being the aroma of Christ is simply a matter of being authentically Christian. Anyone who dares to have a personal relationship with Christ, follow his commands in scripture, and live what he believes is going to have that accompanying influence. It does not mean that we always know the right thing to say, or do, to fix every problem. It means we have decided to stop allowing the worldliness of our old self to block the scent of our new self. We invest ourselves in that authenticity, and the investment is paying off. People see the Savior when they look our way.

[1] 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 ESV.

[2] Luke 2:11; Philippians 3:20.

[3] Acts 5:31; 13:23.

[4] Ephesians 5:23; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:4; 2:13; 3:6; 2 Peter 1:1, 11; 2:20; 3:2, 18.

[5] John 4:42; 1 John 4:14.

[6] Romans 8:24; 10:10.

[7] 1 Corinthians 1:18; 15:2; 2 Corinthians 2:15.

[8] 1 Corinthians 3:15.

[9] Kevin Giles, What on earth Is the Church? (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2005), 101.

[10] Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:15.

[11] Romans 6:11; 8:1f; 9:1; 12:5; 15:17; 16:3, 7, 9f; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 3:1; 4:10, 15, 17; 15:18f, 22, 31; 16:24; 2 Corinthians 1:21; 2:14, 17; 5:17, 19; 12:2; Galatians 1:22; 3:26, 28; 5:6; Ephesians 2:6f, 10, 13; 3:6, 11, 21; Philippians 1:1, 26; 2:1, 5; 4:21; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 4:16; 5:18; 1 Timothy 1:14; Phlemon 1:23; Hebrews 3:14; 1 Peter 3:16; 5:10, 14.

[12] Rom. 6:8; 8:17; 15:5; 1 Cor. 12:12; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:5; Phil. 1:23; Col. 2:20; 3:1, 3.

[13] Matthew 5:14; John 8:12; 9:5.

[14] Matthew 6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43; Mark 1:15; 4:11, 26, 30; 9:1, 47; 10:14f, 23ff; 12:34; 14:25; 15:43; Luke 4:43; 6:20; 7:28; 8:1, 10; 9:2, 11, 27, 60, 62; 10:9, 11; 11:20; 13:18, 20, 28f; 14:15; 16:16; 17:20f; 18:16f, 24f, 29; 19:11; 21:31; 22:16, 18; 23:51; John 3:3, 5; Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 4:20; 6:9f; 15:50; Galatians 5:21; Colossians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:5.

[15] Isaiah 61:10; 62:5; Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11; Joel 2:16; John 3:29; Revelation 18:23.

[16] Revelation 22:20.

[17] David A Dean, Resurrection Hope. (Charlotte, NC: Advent Christian General Conference, 1992), 46. “The church is the body – but not the corpse – of Christ. Through it he continues to minister to the world’s needs. Because he lives, the church survives all attacks and advances its crusade for truth.”

ACST 55: The Chosen

God loves you, but not just you. The Bible makes it clear in both Testaments that God’s plan for redeeming involves a people, not just individual persons. When theologians seek to explain this, doctrines of the church emerge. A biblical doctrine of the church has to answer at least three general questions:

1. what is the church? (the identity question),

2. what does the church do? (the mission question) and

3. how should churches be governed? (the leadership question).

The most important of these questions is the first, because biblical answers to the latter two questions only make sense in the light of a clear understanding of question one. The reason for this is that both mission and leadership emerge from a proper understanding of a person’s identity as a part of the whole, and the relationship that the whole (church) has to God.

When Jesus began to draw a community of believers to himself, he instructed them to pray to God by saying “our Father.”[1] He drew attention first to the relationship that these people had with God. The fact of that relationship was the most important thing for them to know. The same is true today. The most important thing anyone needs to know about the church is that it consists of people who have a relationship with God.

That relationship is described in images and with metaphors. Those metaphors are “the picture language of another century”[2] but still manage to speak the truth powerfully in our own. Even the term ‘father’ is a metaphor. While it is true that God is the creator of all humanity, we use the term ‘father’ to speak of a more specific relationship than the creator/creature one. God is the source of our existence, but he is more than that. He is the supplier of our every need, but he is more than that. He delights in our existence. We bring him joy by just existing, and greater joy when we reflect his nature by ours. Jesus taught that those who call God ‘father’ will act like it.

“let your light shine before others, so that they may

see your good works and give glory to your Father

who is in heaven.”[3]

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute

you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in

heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on

the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”[4]

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly

Father is perfect.”[5]

The term speaks of a dependence upon God as well. We do what we do because we expect to be rewarded by our Father who commanded it.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before

other people in order to be seen by them, for then

you will have no reward from your Father who is

in heaven.”[6]

“when you give to the needy, do not let your

left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret. And your

Father who sees in secret will reward you.”[7]

“when you pray, go into your room and shut

the door and pray to your Father who is in

secret. And your Father who sees in secret will

reward you.”[8]

“when you fast, anoint your head and wash

your face, that your fasting may not be seen

by others but by your Father who is in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will

reward you.”[9]

The deeds themselves (and even the rewards) are not the point. Jesus condemned those who thought that good deeds themselves were what God wants. Jesus commanded that his church do acts of righteousness as a manifestation of the relationship we have with our Father. We give because he first gave. We love because he first loved us. God is the Chooser,[10] we are the chosen.

Family

The image of God choosing people to be his family begins in the Old Testament. He is the father of all in the sense of our creator, but “the usual biblical language speaks of him as Father in relation to his spiritual children.”[11] God called Abram, and renamed him Abraham: the father of many nations. This was true physically, as many nations trace their ancestry back to him – not just Israel. But it is also true because Abraham is regarded as the father of the faithful as well.

“in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through

faith. For as many of you as were baptized

into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither

Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,

there is neither male nor female, for you are

all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s,

then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs

according to promise.”[12]

God’s sovereign and gracious choice of people from all ethnic, economic and social backgrounds, and both genders produces a whole new nation out of all nations. Being chosen suggests a special relationship which brings about a new identity with special status and responsibilities. It also implies a new destiny, an inheritance.

Being all in the same family, we now call ourselves brothers[13] and sisters.[14] God intends us to recognize and live according to that new distinction.

“Therefore go out from their midst, and be

separate from them, says the Lord, and touch

no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,

and I will be a father to you, and you shall

be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord

Almighty.”[15]

A church made up of children of God is expected to be different from the world from which it emerges.

“Do not love the world or the things in the

world. If anyone loves the world, the love of

the Father is not in him. For all that is in

the world – the desires of the flesh and the

desires of the eyes and pride in possessions

– is not from the Father but is from the

world.”[16]

We have been adopted,[17] and are therefore in the process of releasing the allegiances and habits of our old family, and learning those of our new family. This is not an easy process, and the Adversary wants us to cling to the old self/kingdom/family because that remains under his control.

New

Within the shell of the old creation there is now a new one. It gives us a new identity but also involves a struggle with the old one. All believers are encouraged to embrace the reality of their new selves. Paul taught “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”[18] Many aspects of our old life will remain, but they will be spiritually insignificant.[19] We can still be categorized by race, gender, social status, age, geographical background, etc., but those categories no longer need to limit our new identity in Christ, nor our relationships with other believers.

The people of God are fresh new wineskins into which the Master Vintner is pouring his new wine.[20] They are scribes trained for the kingdom of heaven, new treasures that the Master brings out of his house.[21] They are a new garment, capable of taking a patch without tearing.[22] They are participants in the new covenant.[23] They are recipients of the new commandment.[24] These images speak of the church as a fundamentally different way that God intends to do things in the new world,[25] and we begin following those new instructions now.

Old

But there is continuity with the people of God manifested in Old Testament times as well. It is best not to make such a clear distinction between the New Testament church and the Old Testament saints. Movements within Christendom sometimes insist that the Church was born at Pentecost, and did not exist before then. Yet this New Testament Church had the same Old Testament Scriptures for its Bible, the same God for its father, and the same Messiah for its Savior as the Old Testament saints did.

Paul described it this way: he described the people of God as a tree. The Old Testament saints are its root, those descendants of Abraham who rejected Jesus as the Messiah are natural branches that have been broken off of the tree, and the Gentiles who come to faith are wild branches grafted into the tree.[26] There are plenty of Gentiles in Old Testament times who, by faith, were grafted in to Israel.

There is both continuity and discontinuity in the analogy. The continuity is found in the faithful who have a relationship with God. The discontinuity is found in the “natural branches” which do not have a relationship with God, and therefore were broken off from the tree, and the fact that Jesus commanded his church to target all nations with the gospel.

Implications

1. There is only one Church. We may call ourselves by many names and trace our existence to various traditions, but all true believers are united in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

2. The Church consists of many individuals, all of which have the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and each of which has a ministry to perform as part of the body of Christ.

3. The temptation has always been for some individuals to “lead” by downplaying the gifts and ministries of others while promoting their own. This kind of leadership is disastrous, and does not reflect the reality that God wants to reach the world through all of us, has chosen all of us, and called all of us to ministry.

4. Change is to be expected. One of the most dangerous things that any church can do is try to decide what the original “biblical” church did, and force its membership to comply. Such attempts always produce division and stifling of the Holy Spirit. The Church at Pentecost was a product of both continuity with the old traditions, and radical changes brought on by the new wine, which required the development of new traditions.

5. The most important question any church movement should ask is not “Do we conform to the patterns of the past?” The most important question is “Are we accurately reflecting our relationship with God?” The people of God has undergone numerous changes since Old Testament times, yet has survived those changes because of its relationship with God. Therefore, believers should be less worried about conforming to some artificial standard, and more concerned with the reality of their individual relationships with the Lord.

6. Believers need to be more comfortable with the diversity that exists among themselves, and less inclined to correct each other’s faults. Paul taught the Romans “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”[27] That certainly applies to the issue of interdenominational cooperation. We should feel free to support and work with any true believer, and any organization of true believers, regardless of their historical background or chosen affiliation.

7. Believers should look on each other not according to the limits and preconceptions inherent in who they are “in the flesh” but according to who they will be for eternity thanks to their new relationship with God through Christ. The limiting factors of our “in the flesh” existence will not survive the new age, when Christ comes and gives us our immortality. Instead, we will be “like angels”,[28] — no longer defined by the things that limit us now.

[1] Matthew 6:9.

[2] Paul S. Minear, Images of the Church in the New Testament. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960), 17.

[3] Matthew 5:16 ESV.

[4] Matthew 5:44-45 ESV.

[5] Matthew 5:48 ESV.

[6] Matthew 6:1 ESV.

[7] Matthew 6:3-4 ESV.

[8] Matthew 6:6 ESV.

[9] Matthew 6:17-18 ESV.

[10] chapter 49.

[11] Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 114.

[12] Galatians 3:26-29 ESV.

[13] Romans 16:23; 2 Corinthians 1:1.

[14] Romans 16:1; Philemon 2.

[15] 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 ESV.

[16] 1 John 2:15-16 ESV.

[17] Romans 8:15, 23; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5.

[18] 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV.

[19] Galatians 6:15.

[20] Matthew 9:17.

[21] Matthew 13:52; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37.

[22] Mark 2:21; Luke 5:36.

[23] Luke 22:20.

[24] John 13:34.

[25] Matthew 19:28.

[26] Romans 11:16-21.

[27] Romans 14:4 ESV.

[28] Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25.

ACST 54: The Life

A truly saved person has both repented of his past sins and trusted Christ for his present and future life. This converted person will live a life of faith that reflects his new commitments. The life lived in faith makes the gospel real to the believer, and confirms his testimony. The Bible gives us both examples and descriptions of that life. John wrote that “all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.”[1] It is a life that aspires to the purity of Jesus.

Anyone attempting to live a life of sinlessness will immediately encounter obstacles in doing so. We have been changed, and we no longer want to sin, but sin and the sinful nature is still with us. As a result, we will constantly find ourselves conflicted, as Paul was in Romans 7:

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my

flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.

19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very

evil I do not want! 20 Now if I do what I do not want,

it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.

21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good,

evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law

of God in my inner being. 23 But I see a different

law in my members waging war against the law of

my mind and making me captive to the law of sin

that is in my members.”[2]

The bad news about the Christian life is that all of us are going to live with this kind of struggle going on inside. Even great Christians like Paul admitted to the inability to be completely what he wanted to be. Yet, Paul also knew the good news of the Christian life, and he went on to explain that good news in Romans 8:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for

those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law

of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set

you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For

God achieved what the law could not do

because it was weakened through the flesh.

By sending his own Son in the likeness of

sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned

sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous

requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us,

who do not walk according to the flesh but

according to the Spirit.”[3]

The good news is not that Jesus has already changed our nature so that we are no longer tempted to sin. It is that Jesus has already paid the price for our sins, so that they no longer separate us from God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is free to work with and within us to actually accomplish righteous acts, as we surrender to him. We are in a temporary state in which the laws of two dominions apply to us. The law of sin and death is still at work, so we will fail at times. But the law of the Spirit of new life in Christ Jesus is also at work, so we can actually please God as well. Both freedom and bondage are possible, depending on who we choose to surrender to.

a forgiven life

A person living this life reflects a confidence that his sins have been forgiven, and God will never forsake him. Paul told the Colossian Christians that “you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.”[4] As a result of this new status, they were free to forgive others who offended them. He said “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”[5] A forgiven life is a forgiving life. Instead of seeking revenge, or passing judgment on someone else who wrongs them, people who live the forgiving life remember that they too have been forgiven, and follow Christ’s example and forgive. A negative example of this reality is found in Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant:

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be

compared to a king who wished to settle

accounts with his servants. 24 When he began

to settle, one was brought to him who owed

him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he

could not pay, his master ordered him to be

sold, with his wife and children and all that

he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the

servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have

patience with me, and I will pay you

everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the

master of that servant released him and

forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same

servant went out, he found one of his fellow

servants who owed him a hundred denarii,

and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying,

‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant

fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have

patience with me, and I will pay you.’

30 He refused and went and put him in prison

until he should pay the debt. 31 When his

fellow servants saw what had taken place,

they were greatly distressed, and they went

and reported to their master all that had

taken place. 32 Then his master summoned

him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I

forgave you all that debt because you pleaded

with me. 33 And should not you have had

mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy

on you?’ 34 And in anger his master

delivered him to the jailers, until he

should pay all his debt. 35 So also my

heavenly Father will do to every one of

you, if you do not forgive your brother

from your heart.”[6]

Jesus’ story reveals some helpful parallels in the subject matter of sanctification. First, the grace by which the master forgives the servant is the result of the master’s choice. Second, it is unmerited by the servant. Third, the servant’s choice to not forgive his fellow servant for the lesser debt was wrong. Now, notice this: if the servant had not been forgiven by his master, he would have been under no obligation to be lenient on his debtor. But, since he had been forgiven a great debt, he was not under obligation because of grace to forgive the lesser debts. Since he had been saved, he was now expected to imitate the kindness and generosity of his savior.

The forgiven life implies more to us than the mere fact that we should forgive others. It also means that we can live outside of the condemnation that our debt had put on us. Having been forgiven, we are free to live and love as never before. Thus, we can express our love for others because we are no longer under the bondage of self-condemnation. An example of this aspect of the forgiven life is found in the Gospels:

“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him,

and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took

his place at the table. 37 And behold, a woman

of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned

that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s

house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,

38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping,

she began to wet his feet with her tears and

wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed

his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited

him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man

were a prophet, he would have known who and

what sort of woman this is who is touching him,

for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said

to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain

moneylender had two debtors. One owed five

hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When

they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of

both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for

whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he

said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then

turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do

you see this woman? I entered your house; you

gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet

my feet with her tears and wiped them with her

hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time

I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she

has anointed my feet with ointment. 47

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many,

are forgiven- for she loved much. But he who

is forgiven little, loves little.””[7]

Simon’s concept of life was minimalistic. He gave only to the extent that he perceived others deserved it. He felt only what he perceived was appropriate. This sinful woman, however, had been set free. Her encounter with Jesus removed the bondage that had inhibited her life. It was not the gift that Jesus was impressed with. He knew this woman’s heart. She gave not in order to be forgiven, but because she knew forgiveness already. The love she showed Jesus was not the means of her reconciliation, but the method she used to proclaim it. It is the same for Christians as they live the forgiven life. We love, not in order to be forgiven, but because we have been forgiven.

an obedient life

A person living this life submits to the lordship of Christ, obeying his commands. The commands of Christ are important to him because he has a relationship with the commander. Jesus gave numerous commands to his disciples, which can be summarized as follows:

1. Invest your life in eternity. Seek PERMANENCE, don’t get sidetracked with the things that are only temporary.

2. Put God first. Make DEVOTION to him your reason for living.

3. Be what you claim to be. Let your GENUINENESS declare to others the veracity of your testimony.

4. Rely on God to do what you cannot do. TRUST him to provide for the needs which are beyond your capability.

5. Keep in contact with God. Make PRAYER the link between your life on earth and your Master in heaven.

6. Learn, proclaim and keep God’s Word. Let his TRUTH guide your mind.

7. Be used by God to fulfill his will. Let his POWER flow through you as a conduit.

8. Live in expectancy of Christ’s second coming. Let his ADVENT be the focus of your actions.[8]

an eternal life

The eternal life we have in Christ is real but not yet actual. It is a promise. Christ promises to raise us to immortality at his second coming. But one of the keys to living the sanctified life is living out that promise, putting less emphasis on the things that are temporary, and more on those which are permanent. Our present needs are real, but they have less importance because of the future in which all our needs are going to be met. Therefore, we can forego meeting some needs for a time, and concentrate on meeting other peoples’ needs.

Knowing that we were created to have an eternal relationship with God allows us to make the kind of decisions that put him first. We see our devotional life as a necessity, and thus are not likely to put it aside when things get busy. Nothing is more important when seen from the standpoint of eternity – not even other people. The one relationship which we are going to have forever is our relationship with God.

Someday we will be able to look back on all the deeds that we have done in this age and see them for what they really were. Everything done out of false motives and for wrong reasons will be clearly exposed. The Christian seeks to live in such a way that his genuineness will never be called into question. It is not just a matter of appearances. The Christian knows that he has only one life. He does not have a public life and a private life. His entire life is public before the one who matters. God sees all. The Christian does what is right in order to be honest to God.

This life will put us to test. All of the famous biblical saints were tested as they sought to live out the life given them. The same will be true for anyone who dares to proclaim Christ. Suffering will be the rule rather than the exception. The trust involved in living the Christian life in spite of suffering is a testimony to the reality of the faith.

The Christian life is lived on the knees. Through prayer we keep the link between our temporary present, and our eternal hope. Every Christian who tries to live the Christian life without regular, sustained prayer knows how difficult it can be. Those with genuine faith all know that prayer is essential. Prayer does not change things. God changes things. But God keeps us safe in the transition by sustaining us in prayer.

The Christian life is a biblical life. God has sent us a text message, and we rely upon it. We look for answers in his words and keep looking because we trust him. The Bible is not an object that we venerate, but a subject we investigate. We look to his word because we want him. His truth guides us.

The Christian life takes advantage of power that the world does not know. We have the advantage of being able to see beyond the laws of nature, and gain access to another set of laws altogether. We can trust our mustard seed prayers to do what all the nuclear bombs cannot. We have access to the power that God had when he said ‘let there be light’ and when Jesus said ‘little child, arise.” That is power.

The Christian life is also lived with the awareness that even if we fail, we will eventually win. We are free to take enormous risks, because we know we are on the winning team. The eternal life we are living has a king who is coming soon. The things we endure for him are worth it, because he is returning. Nothing is going to prevent his keeping his promises.

a community life

In systematic theology, having first dealt with the reality of the saved person as an individual, we then naturally progress to study the saved as a whole: the church. Who and what the church is, and what the church does, is always important because Christ not only died for me, he died for all of the redeemed. The life that we live in Christ is not just an individual life. It is part of a greater whole.

[1] 1 John 3:3 NLT.

[2] Romans 7:18-23 NET.

[3] Romans 8:1-4 NET.

[4] Colossians 2:13 ESV.

[5] Colossians 3:12-13 ESV.

[6] Matthew 18:23-35 ESV.

[7] Luke 7:36-47 ESV.

[8] For more on these commands, see http://commandsofchrist.wordpress.com/.

ACST 53. The Testimony

God’s work of regeneration opens the mind to the reality the Bible reveals about God, Christ, sin, Satan, the world, and the Church. The believer’s self-awareness is forever altered. This new way of thinking is called repentance. One major result of this new way of thinking is how it is reflected in the believer’s testimony.

The first disciples said that Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection because they were “chosen in advance to be his witnesses” – which included preaching and testifying about Jesus.[1] He told them “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”[2] They shared their testimony and turned the world upside down with it. Most of them gave up their lives sharing that testimony. In fact, the word “witness” soon took on the predominant meaning of someone who died for their faith.[3]

What made these believers witnesses was not merely the fact that they were willing to die for what they believed. They were passing on the reality of Jesus Christ. They were God’s means of testifying to the existence, work, and significance of his Son. He could have chosen to prove his existence some other way. He could have endowed places or symbols with his power. He did not. He could have written the life of Jesus on tablets of stone for people to idolize. He did not. He entrusted the good news to those who received it.

The process of passing on the most significant news in the history of the universe was not delegated to angels. Human beings were both the recipients and the messengers of this good news. Long before the New Testament was completed, ordinary people were sharing the story of Jesus and its importance to humanity. It was God’s choice to spread this good news through this method. It still is.

What They Testified To

The Bible mentions some specific details that were part of the testimony of early believers. Jesus called this testimony “the facts about me.”[4] They included…

1. the fact that Jesus was God’s choice to judge the world.[5]

2. that God’s righteousness is available to all.[6]

3. the good news that God saves people by grace.[7]

4. that Christ had been with the Father, and appeared to humanity.[8]

5. that the Father had sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.[9]

6. that Jesus was the Messiah whom the Jews had waited for.[10]

7. that Jesus is the King of God’s Kingdom, of whom the Old Testament speaks.[11]

8. that Christ gave himself on the cross as a ransom for all.[12]

9. that God raised Christ from the dead, which guarantees our resurrection.[13]

10. that Jesus is the Lord in whom we must put our faith.[14]

11. that God has promised eternal life for those who are in Christ.[15]

The gospel is not about us. It is not the fact that if we do something, then God is obligated to save us. The gospel is about Jesus Christ. It is the story of what he did for us. It is the glorious truth that God has a solution for humanity’s failure, and invites us to accept it, and experience it. It is the revelation of a divine plan, which began in eternity past, and will result in a glorious future eternity.

God’s primary means of turning the world to himself is the testimony that believers communicate. His plan includes an eternal destination, and he has chosen us to get the news out, so that others can join him there. That eternal destination has often wrongly been called “heaven.” It is an unfortunate choice of words because the destination to which we aspire is not a particular location (heaven as opposed to earth) as much as it is an inheritance. God’s plan is to redeem all creation. That is why the Bible speaks of a new heaven and a new earth.[16]

The testimony of faith looks at all the ugliness of this present reality and chooses to trust Christ and his promises. The believer does not wish to escape earth and go to heaven, but longs for the redemption and restoration of the whole universe so that it once again can be called “very good.” The goal of faith is not to escape the evil but to outlast it. The key to doing that is the resurrection of the righteous. By faith, the believer looks beyond her own death, and embraces the promise of a resurrection unto eternal life at Christ’s return.

In the mean-time, the believer chooses to live in the kingdom of Christ, and occupy herself with proclaiming the good news of that kingdom’s existence. It is a kingdom which is both now and later. It is a dominion of a king who is willing and able to rule in the lives of those who submit to him. But it is also a promise of a future rule of that same king over the domain of the entire universe. The testimony is a declaration of salvation both here and now and there and then. It is the good news that Jesus can cleanse and restore our broken lives and relationships today. It is also the good news that another, future life awaits those who put their faith in him, with a glorious transformation unlike anything that we can experience in the present. Gospel witnessing includes these three messages:

1. what Christ did for us on Calvary’s cross,

2. what Christ can do for us today,

3. what Christ promises for eternity.

How to witness

Jesus testified of himself by means of the spoken word, and has commanded his church to do the same. He testified by public preaching and teaching and by small group and private conversation. At no point did he restrict his intentions by allowing only the professional to witness.

“Then he opened their minds to understand

the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is

written, that the Christ should suffer and on

the third day rise from the dead, and that

repentance and forgiveness of sins should be

proclaimed in his name to all nations,

beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses

of these things.”[17]

The first obligation to witness was upon those who observed his death and resurrection. That observation of those events, however, did not especially qualify them as witnesses. To be a witness in the New Testament sense is not to have observed something, but to testify of it. It is something you say, not something you see. A person was a witness in court not because he had seen something, but because he had been chosen to testify of what he had seen (or heard). The emphasis was always on the saying, not the seeing. Also, the reason they got into trouble with the authorities was not that they had observed Christ and his resurrection and ascension, but that they talked about those facts and used them as proof that he is alive and is Lord of all. It was not what they saw, but what they said.

We who follow after those first witnesses are just as obligated to speak about who Christ is, what he has done, and what he is going to do. Jesus prayed for us when he prayed for “those who will believe in me through their word”[18] – that is, those who carry on the faith that the apostles propagated. He wants us to share that faith utilizing the same means: public speech and private conversations.

The testimonies were not limited to speeches and conversations. The gospel truth soon became incorporated in the Gospels and epistles. All media available at the time was utilized to get the good news out to those who needed it. The words of the gospel found their way into the songs and stories and art of the witnesses. As time progressed new media were developed. Each of these has also become a means of testifying to the truth that Jesus exists, what he has done, and what he is going to do.

Witnessing was more than an individual responsibility. Witnesses naturally gathered together to encourage one another. Associations with others who named the name of Christ became a means of testifying as well. Communities of believers witnessed to each other as a means of building one another up and promoting the act of witnessing to the lost. By being associated with other believers, witnesses showed that Christ was more than a mere ideology. Those who congregated (when possible) showed that they shared a relationship with Jesus and with each other. The Church became the social network of all social networks. It became one of the visible witnesses to the work of the invisible Holy Spirit.

Before long, traditions developed in the churches that reflected the reality of what was preached in the pulpits. It became clear that some of the things that Christ had commanded his disciples were meant to be carried on by each successive generation of the church. The act of baptizing new converts as a means of confessing the reality of the new life and the hope of a resurrection was one of those traditions. The meal celebrating the new covenant initiated by Jesus with his disciples in the upper room was another.

The apostles insisted that Christ-like character was to be expected of all believers. This was to be the means of witnessing to the reality of our words. The words were to be validated and verified by our actions, attitudes, and relationships. Thus, when the apostles encountered problems in their churches, they responded with strong rebuke and discipline. The words of the epistles continue to minister to us by drawing attention to our transgressions. The reason for this is that our task of witnessing to the reality of the gospel is just as pertinent today. The first mission is still the foremost mission. Anything that we do that subverts that mission must be corrected.

Distorted Testimony

Not only should we watch our lives to make sure that they are reflecting what we testify, we should also constantly watch what we are saying. Our witnessing needs to be a careful balance between two extremes. We can distort the gospel by making too much of it. That is, we can pack so much content into our presentation of the good news that we overwhelm those we are trying to reach. We need to develop the skill of saying the words that people need to hear about Christ, and just those words.

On the other hand, if we say too little, we run the risk of presenting a message other than that “once for all delivered to the saints.”[19] A message that is too simple runs the risk of leading people to a faith that is too simple. A truncated gospel leaves too much out. It makes a person religious without being devoted to Jesus. Also, it becomes a self-perpetuating mistake. Whole communities have been encouraged to come to Jesus without repenting from their sins. A gospel without true repentance is not the gospel at all. While that may be a way of gaining popularity with the world, it is also a way of making the church irrelevant.

The true good news is good news because it takes into account the bad news of sin, failure, and depravity. For the church to be a reliable and faithful witness to Christ, she must share the reality of Christ’s rescue along with the backdrop of humanity’s failure and sin. But we must remember that we are witnesses, not judges. We have to be honest about our own failures and problems, and share the reality of our own struggles. Then, those who struggle with the same things will know how Christ helps. If we are not honest, the world will get a wrong idea about what Christianity. A witness to hypocrisy only breeds more hypocrisy.

Those who truly seek to share the good news are going to have to adjust their methods to meet the current culture. Tried and true methods of the past will have to be surrendered when it becomes obvious that they are no longer practical or effective. New methods will have to be developed which scratch where today’s society itches. Care must be taken to ensure that vital content is not lost in the process. This is all part of the process of witnessing wisely.

The most effective means of verifying and validating one’s testimony is the subject of the next chapter. The life lived in faith makes the gospel real to the believer, and confirms his testimony.

[1] Acts 10:41-42.

[2] Acts 1:8 ESV.

[3] The Greek word martus is one of several which took on this connotation.

[4] Acts 23:11.

[5] Acts 10:42.

[6] Romans 1:16-17.

[7] Acts 20:24.

[8] 1 John 1:2.

[9] 1 John 4:14.

[10] Acts 18:5.

[11] Acts 28:23.

[12] 1 Timothy 2:6.

[13] 1 Corinthians 15.

[14] Acts 20:21.

[15] 1 John 5:11-13.

[16] Revelation 21:1.

[17] Luke 24:45-48 ESV.

[18] John 17:20 .

[19] Jude 3.