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.

the stewardship from God

The epistles in the New Testament offer readers a picture of the gospel in missions and church context. We seldom read them that way, choosing rather to pick a verse here, a paragraph there, and try to apply those isolated texts to our personal lives. That usually works, though, because God’s word does have implications for our personal lives. It would be helpful, however, for us to read through an entire epistle every once in a while, and try to figure out its message to the people it was written to.

We conditionalists often quote 1 Timothy 6:16, because it teaches that God’s immortality is exclusive. That is a great proof-text for our message, because it blows a hole in the concept of innate immortality in humans. But are we taking that text out of its context? The only way to answer that question is to actually look at the epistle as a whole. Once we understand the message of 1 Timothy, we can then see how 6:16 fits within that message.

the context

Ephesus was a major city in the Roman world during the first century, and the church founded there would be a major player in the task of evangelizing that world. We read about Ephesus in the book of Acts,[1] 1 Corinthians,[2] Ephesians,[3] the epistles to Timothy,[4] and The Revelation.[5] Ephesus was an important city financially for the empire, located on a port at “the greatest harbor in Asia,”[6] and serving as an economic center for the province of Asia Minor. Roman inscriptions from the time of the emperor Claudius indicate that the city had a problem with corrupt leaders, stealing funds earmarked for the preservation of its great temple.[7] Ephesus had bad stewards.

the apostle

Reading the letter, it is not difficult to point out the major characters it presents. There is, of course, Paul the apostle, sent by God and seeking to obey his command to spread the gospel and plant churches among the Gentiles. Paul was never the “pastor” of the church at Ephesus. Neither was he a duly registered representative of a governing body of elders. His authority was his message, and the fact that many in Ephesus first heard the gospel as a result of his ministry.

the missionary

He addresses the book to Timothy, whom he regards as his true child in the faith. Timothy is a disciple of Paul as Paul is of Christ. He was sent by the apostle to proclaim the gospel, to evangelize, and to maintain the work of the churches already planted. He served as a representative of the churches to Paul, and a representative of the apostle to the churches. Timothy was not the “pastor” of the “church in Ephesus.” He was more of a missionary, seeking to further establish the church – which consisted of several congregations meeting in several places throughout the city.

the false teachers

The antagonists in 1 Timothy are a group of people who are influencing the church to be something other than what God and Paul intended them to be. They are referred to as “certain persons” who are teaching a “different doctrine.” [8] They are false teachers, but the exact content of their false teachings is not revealed, and has been a matter of a great deal of speculation. It is not too difficult to get an idea of what they taught by paying close attention to what Paul said against them. They are people who know the gospel message, but swerve from it,[9] wandering away into vain discussion.[10] They do not understand what they are talking about,[11] but still keep talking. They have rejected their former faith and have shipwrecked it.[12] They lie like demons,[13] perpetuating silly myths[14] instead of the gospel. These guys are bad news, yet they are teaching within the congregations of Ephesus.

the gospel as truth entrusted

1 Timothy proclaims the good news of life only in Christ as the most valuable thing the world has ever known. This “glorious gospel” is a truth which has been “entrusted” to Paul, and he has passed it on to the Ephesians.[15] Paul was formerly a blasphemer, rejecting that truth, but he was forgiven, and is now charged with proclaiming it. He tells the world that Christ came to save sinners,[16] and that whoever believes in him will gain eternal life.[17]

As he declares this truth, Paul cannot help but stop and glorify the only God, who is the King of ages, immortal, and invisible.[18] God wants all people to be saved and to come to know this gospel truth.[19] He wants his church to serve as a pillar and buttress of this truth.[20] If people within the churches do not discipline themselves to act appropriately, it is like they are denying their faith.[21] The truth entrusted is the message that the church must pass on to their generation, and the next. Anything that people do within the church that hinders that proclamation needs to be confessed and corrected.

stewardship as a motif

Paul describes that obligation to protect and proclaim the gospel as the theme for the epistle. Scattered throughout its six short chapters are terms that reflect the concept of stewardship. The false teachers are promoting speculations (distractions) rather than the “stewardship from God which is by faith.”[22] The term stewardship in Greek is a combination of the word for house, and the word for law. It is also the word from which we get the English term economy. Stewards in rich households were usually trustworthy slaves that were given management responsibilities. When Paul used the term, he was referring to the valuable gospel that has been entrusted to the church. The false teachers were not living up to that trust.

By contrast, Paul says that God found him faithful, and appointed him for service (as a steward of the gospel).[23] Paul, in turn, entrusted that mission to Timothy,[24] who was commanded to entrust it to the faithful leaders in Ephesus.[25] These leaders must not be lovers of money or greedy for dishonest gain.[26] They must have proved themselves by managing their own households well, before being appointed to manage God’s household.[27] These leaders are valuable assets to the church as well, and should be well provided for financially, because the Scriptures teach “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”[28]

Key to the strategy of winning Ephesus to Christ was the personal godliness of the church members. While training for physical fitness is valuable, training in godliness is valuable in every way.[29] That godliness is not just spiritual piety. It works its way into everyday life, by producing a love for family that takes care of aging parents.[30] By properly managing their households, believers “give the adversary no occasion for slander.”[31]

Those members of the congregations in Ephesus who actually are slaves should do well by their masters, and not take advantage of them if they are believers as well. Instead, “they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.”[32] Their masters, the “rich in this present age” are encouraged not to put their hopes on “the uncertainty of riches” but on their Master, God, “who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”[33]

The false teachers are described as people known for their heated arguments and personal vices, and for their mistaken assumption that godliness will necessarily make someone rich.[34] Paul encourages Timothy to be financially content, but to pursue the attributes of godly living: “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”[35] These attributes point people to the LORD who made them possible by his grace. This was the stewardship from God, the strategy to win people to eternal life by means of showing God’s miraculous work in the lives of believers.

6:16

The point of mentioning God’s exclusive immortality in this epistle is to show that the only thing of real value in this life is the promise that we, too, might someday share that attribute. Presently, God is invisible, immortal, and dwells in unapproachable light. But those who are being saved have his promise that someday we, too may share in his immortality. Since that is the case, the last thing believers would want to do is get sidetracked by false teachings, and miss out on the only thing of eternal value this life offers – hope of the next life.

Sharing the gospel is a stewardship from God. We are called to manage his household by providing for the needs of those within it, and by bringing others into it. Like Timothy, we are charged with the task of guarding the deposit entrusted to us.[36] The gospel is our resource. Faith in Christ is our currency.

[1] Acts 18:19, 21, 24; 19:1, 17, 26, 35; 20:16f.

[2] 1 Cor. 15:32; 16:8.

[3] Eph. 1:1.

[4] 1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 1:18; 4:12.

[5] Rev. 1:11; 2:1.

[6] Robert C. Linthicum, City of God, City of Satan. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1991), 296.

[7] Robert McQueen Grant, Gods and the One God. (Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 1986), 27.

[8] 1 Tim. 1:3,6.

[9] 1:6; 6:21.

[10] 1:6.

[11] 1:7.

[12] 1:19.

[13] 4:1.

[14] 4:7.

[15] 1:11.

[16] 1:15.

[17] 1:16.

[18] 1:17.

[19] 2:4.

[20] 3:15.

[21] 5:8.

[22] 1:4.

[23] 1:12; 2:7.

[24] 1:18.

[25] 3:1-13.

[26] 3:3, 8.

[27] 3:4, 12.

[28] 5:18.

[29] 4:8.

[30] 5:4.

[31] 5:14.

[32] 6:2.

[33] 6:17.

[34] 6:2-5.

[35] 6:11.

[36] 6:26.

After or Beyond?

Apologist Dinesh D’Souza spent years studying how the various cultures of the world viewed the afterlife. Among his conclusions was that there was remarkable similarity among the three “Abrahamic” religions. He said “… in all three cases (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) there is an official teaching and an unofficial teaching. … The official teaching is bodily resurrection. … The alternative, unofficial, view – is the immortality of the soul. In this view the body perishes but the soul lives on. Oddly enough, this idea is first articulated not in biblical or Quranic sources, but rather in Greek philosophy.” [1]

He attributes the view’s popularity to Plato. He states that “Life after death is not exclusively a religious belief but is also one that is shared by Western philosophy going back to Plato.”[2] He credits Augustine for making it standard doctrine within Christianity. It was a slight twist of emphasis in theological anthropology. According to D’Souza, “Christianity since Augustine does not espouse life ‘after’ death, but rather life ‘beyond’ death.”[3]

D’souza was ready to concede that this evolved view is more appropriate for Christianity, and set out to prove it by means of science, philosophy, and practical reason. His arguments only prove what we conditionalists have championed all along: the doctrine of innate immortality is not proven by Scripture, because Scripture teaches something else. It makes a great deal of difference whether one believes in life after death (all conditionalists do), or life beyond death.

theology proper

To suggest that all human beings continue to live beyond their apparent deaths is to say that all human beings are immortal. The Bible clearly claims that only God has the attribute of immortality.[4] The only way the proponents of traditionalism have of responding to this fact is by borrowing another idea from Plato – the concept of dualism. Dualism teaches that human beings are made up of two parts, the body and the soul. Plato taught that the body dies, but that the soul lives on, and always will. Traditionalists imagine that when Paul asserted that only God has immortality, he must have referred to the fact God never experiences bodily death, the way his creatures do. However, conditionalists see Paul making a more fundamental statement. Plato’s claims had been taught for four centuries. The readers of 1 Timothy knew about his claims. Paul’s claims about life after death had to either agree with Plato’s or reject them. Paul rejected the concept of life beyond death. God’s attribute of immortality was exclusive to him alone.

anthropology

The notion of life continuing beyond death instead of being revived by resurrection after death suggests that human beings are endowed by their Creator with not only a right to life, but also with the inability to actually die. The Bible teaches the opposite: that human beings are mortal.

“Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh.”[5]

“Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal?”[6]

“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.”[7]

The Resurrection

The only biblical teaching that suggests a possibility of changing our destiny of death is the hope of the resurrection. Paul taught the Corinthians that our resurrection day will be our day of victory.

“For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”[8]

The proponents of the life beyond death philosophy would have us believe that the real victory has already happened. As they would have it, we do not have to wait for the resurrection to swallow up death, because death is merely an illusion. Our victory over it is found in the fact that we were created to survive it. Yet, that is not what the apostle said. Paul said that the victory will happen if and when the resurrection occurs.

Translators, seeking to justify their own view of life beyond death, simply insert the word “body” or “bodies” in the text of 1 Corinthians 15:53.[9] The word is not in the original Greek text, nor is it implied. Paul was not talking about a partial victory. The whole person (not just his body) will become imperishable and immortal at the resurrection, because the whole person is perishable and mortal before the resurrection.

It is for that very reason that Paul claims his purpose in life is not to survive death, but to be raised to life after death.

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”[10]

The Wages of Sin

The Bibles teaches that the wages of sin is death,[11] but if people are found to survive it, and have an automatic eternal life beyond it, then death is not real. The wages are paid with bogus, fake, Monopoly money. If people just “cross the Jordon” and are found on the other side of “the great divide” — then death turns out to be a blessing, not a punishment. Yet, the Bible is clear that death came upon all people as a consequence of our ancestors’ sins. The Bible says “in Adam all die.”[12] The tactic that many people take in evangelization is to immediately deny that fact. The first thing they tell the unbeliever is that they will never die, no matter what. No wonder that so many people reject their “good news.” They immediately deny the “bad news.”

The truth is, we all die. Those cemeteries are full of people, not just bones. Those tombs will one day be opened at the sound of Christ’s second coming, and the people within them will come out. Jesus said “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”[13] They are bound to those graves until then. They are imprisoned in a dark, silent place, which the Hebrews called Sheol. The Greeks called it Hades. We call it the grave.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus has the keys to that place. He can set people free from their imprisonment. He proclaimed “I have the keys of Death and Hades.”[14] To suggest that death is really not a prison in which people are confined before the resurrection is to – again — reject the Bible’s good news for some other good news. It is to say to Jesus, “you can keep your keys, death and Hades are not so bad.” To relish in life beyond death is to reject God’s plan to rescue us by Jesus. It is to swallow the original lie of Satan in the garden, that we will not surely die.[15] It is to presume that we are all born without the need of rescue. It does not do justice to what God actually says about death. Death is not a friend, giving us entrance into the Father’s presence. It is an enemy,[16] keeping us from our eternal destiny with him.

Final Punishment

Insisting that everyone continues to live beyond death also circumvents the great warning that reverberates throughout Scripture. People are constantly challenged to repent of their sins and turn to God because he will ultimately and permanently judge and destroy all those who do not. The wages of our ancestors’ sin is the first death, but the wages of our personal sins is the second death.[17] The difference between the two deaths is made clear: from the first death everyone will be raised,[18] but the second death is in a lake of fire. The fire cannot be put out until it has destroyed all within it. From that death there will be no resurrection. Those who are found in that fire will suffer the “punishment of eternal destruction.”[19]

Life After Death

The good news that the Bible proclaims is that through Jesus Christ those who believe in him can have resurrection life after their deaths, not a continuation of disembodied life beyond death. One advantage of holding to this good news rather than accepting the counterfeit good news is that it is what D’Souza calls the “official teaching” of the Bible, rather than the popular “alternative, unofficial view.” We conditionalists need never resort to having to prove our view by practical reason and science alone. We have God’s word on it.

Another advantage of proclaiming life after death through the resurrection is that it is actually what people are really after. As much as a traditionalist might boast about his desire for going to heaven, he will spend his entire fortune to delay the trip. What people really want is to be alive – fully and functionally alive, and to enjoy God and the universe that he created for us. His plan for us is a new heaven and a new earth, restored to its holiness and spiritual vitality. That is our destiny, and it is a certainty for all who are in Christ. But that great event will not happen when we die. It will happen when death dies. It will happen after our Savior returns. Come, Lord Jesus.

[1] Dinesh D’Souza, Life After Death: The Evidence . (Washington: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2009), 42.

[2] D’Souza, 35-36.

[3] D’Souza, 48.

[4] 1 Timothy 6:16-17.

[5] Genesis 6:3 (NLT)

[6] Psalm 89:47 (NET)

[7] Romans 1:22-23 (NET)

[8] 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 (NASB).

[9] See ESV, NET, NLT, NRSV.

[10] Philippians 3:8-11 (ESV).

[11] Romans 6:23.

[12] 1 Corinthians 15:22.

[13] John 5:28-29 (ESV).

[14] Revelation 1:18.

[15] Genesis 3:4.

[16] 1 Corinthians 15:26.

[17] Revelation 20:14; 21:8.

[18] John 5:28-29.

[19] 2 Thessalonians 1:9.

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.”

road trip

Have you ever had one of those “Aha” moments, where you realize that the LORD is making your schedule for you, and you are meeting just the people you need to meet to get the job done? Penny and I had lots of those moments in our recent road trip to Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Each of us wear a number of “hats” – having three part-time jobs apiece, and a number of volunteer positions. We had initially planned a trip to Florida so that I could do some church business as elder of the McAlpin Advent Christian Church. As time went on, we began to see that we could kill a whole flock of birds with this stone. So, we planned meetings at the Advent Christian Village, and Bixler Memorial Advent Christian Church. The LORD provided key people for us to meet with about some projects we are working on as Asia Pacific Area Directors. He provided key people for us to meet with concerning the new ACGC Global Training Initiative. We were amazed at the number of new contacts and the amount of helpful information we received – all in one place.

The return trip was just as helpful. We stopped at Columbia International University for some missions research, and – you guessed it – meetings. We caught up with people who had studied with us when we attended there. We met and prayed with one of Penny’s former professors. One of the things that has always impressed me about CIU is how its core commitments are clear in all the classes. It can even be seen on campus. There are monuments throughout the campus to EVANGELICAL UNITY, AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE, WORLD EVANGELIZATION, and VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING. In many ways, coming back to the CIU campus is like coming home for us.

Lastly, we stopped off to visit the Walsh family, and for some … wait for it .. meetings at the ACGC denominational offices in Charlotte NC. We have been meeting quite regularly with Jeff Walsh, the ACGC world outreach director, by video conferences. The face-to-face meetings we had with Jeff and all the other helpful people in the denominational offices were encouraging and productive.

This is just a summary of our road trip. It was busy. We had the chance to interact with some great people – some of whom we have not even mentioned. (You know who you are). Returning home to Virginia now, we thank the LORD that he has allowed us to serve him through ACGC, and to be a part of this team. He is sovereign, and there are no chance happenings with him.