jeffersonvann

reading Psalm 39

One should always read the psalms with a view toward what the human writers are feeling. The psalms are – after all – poetry, and poetry of every age seeks to pass on emotions rather than mere facts. The psalms are also part of that body of scripture referred to as wisdom literature, which means they reflect what God’s people have discovered about life by living it with God in mind. So, we should expect to find the psalms theologically correct, even though they are not theological teaching. Because the psalms are inspired scripture, we should expect them to agree with the theology taught elsewhere in scripture, since the shared inspiration is from the same Holy Spirit.

With those concepts in mind, I invite you to read Psalm 39 with me. Reading this text with its original context in mind will help us to feel what the author felt. Along the way, we might also find reason to question a popular theological concept or two. I am convinced that both the emotion and the theology of this psalm speaks against the popular and pagan notion that human beings are born with immortality. If you happen to agree with that notion – and even consider it biblical – I urge you to look carefully at this text.

I also think this psalm speaks to the concept that some have that God wants them to right every wrong they will face. It tells the story of a godly man who went wrong by taking charge when God wanted him to “sit this one out.” It speaks to the need for all of us to keep who we are in perspective – compared to who God is.

1 TO THE CHOIRMASTER: TO JEDUTHUN.A PSALM OF DAVID.

I said, “I will guard my ways,

that I may not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

These are the words of a believer who sees a particular injustice, and is tempted to respond to it. Yet he (the subscription says he is David) determines to keep silent. He apparently feels that if he complains about this injustice, the wicked who are in his presence might use that complaint against him. So, he applies a muzzle to his mouth. He is conflicted. He wants to talk, yet he knows he should not. The reader is asked to imagine him strapping a muzzle onto his mouth to prevent himself from speaking. If he speaks, he runs the risk of sinning with his tongue.

I dare say that if you and I were to start listing all the things about life down here on this planet that are injustices, our list would be huge. Yet, resisting the urge to be constant complainers, we have learned the skill of muzzling ourselves too. It is true that there are lots of things wrong with this world. Paul describes this present creation as in bondage to corruption, subject to futility, and eagerly longing for future freedom.[1] David saw the results of that bondage to corruption in his own life and family. Yet, he decided not to lash out at the Creator because of the brokenness and disfunctionality he saw in creation. It was a wise choice.

2 I was mute and silent;

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

Yet, the wise choice to keep silent in the face of injustice does not lead David to immediate harmony. He holds his peace, yet does not experience peace. Instead, the knowledge that things are not right in the world around him leads to distress and turmoil within him. His Creator has given him a conscience, and that conscience will not leave him alone.

Some philosophers claim that the problem is in our view of the world. They claim that if we only looked beyond the apparent disharmony and pain in the world and within ourselves we would see a greater harmony and economy at work – which would grant inner peace and joy. Do not believe it. The world around us is really broken, and it needs to be fixed. If you look deep inside yourself and get in touch with your inner child, you will find that she is a spoiled brat.

The Bible does not invite us to rewrite our experiences. It challenges us not to embrace the evil around us and call it good. Instead, it encourages us to look clearly at all that is wrong with our environment, and run to our creator for answers. Yet, it also warns us that we will not find all the answers now. We will have to learn to be content with a relationship with the one who has the solution to the problems we find. As long as we focus on the problems instead of He who is the solution, our knowledge of what is wrong will only be an ever-increasing burden. We will suffer in silence, and our distress will grow worse.

3 My heart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

David confesses that his wise choice to remain silent did not give him the solution he was looking for. The pain he was holding back was a flame burning in his heart. It grew larger and larger, until he gave in and let his mouth explode.

And that is it. that is the end of what David was worrying about. He confesses that he made a wrong choice and bleated out his complaint, and then the narrative ends. We are never told the exact nature of the complaint, or whether David’s emotional outburst accomplished anything. The reason is simple. This is not a psalm about David’s problem – whatever it was. This is a psalm about David’s relationship with the LORD.

4 “O LORD, make me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

David confesses that he had been guilty of taking the world upon his shoulders, and in the process of doing so he discovered that the world did not fit on his shoulders. He saw the truth, and he could not handle the truth. That is why, after he lashed out in anger at a fallen world, he addresses his LORD. For a short while, he had been tempted to think that he was going to settle something. But, after coming to his senses, he recognizes that settling that problem is not his job. There is one who will outlast him. He, the LORD, is the judge.

Every few years, most nations on this planet hold elections, and we desperately try to convince ourselves that an elected executive is what we need to solve our problems. Then reality sets in, and we spend another few years complaining about how the person we voted for (or against) has let us down. The reality is that even someone as great as king David is incapable of solving the problems that really matter. David recognized this. That is why he asked the LORD to remind him of his end – the measure of his days – how fleeting he is. David needed to be reminded that God was immortal, and he was not.

Yes, you read that right. The LORD’s life would go on and on, but David’s life would come to an end. Here is a theological concept which is mirrored elsewhere in scripture. Paul says that God alone has immortality.[2] Jesus says that we mortals should fear God because he is able to destroy human beings entirely (body and soul) in hell.[3] But Solomon says that we humans pass the few days of our vain lives like a shadow.[4]

David took solace in that theological reality. He finally saw that his was not the responsibility to correct all the world’s problems. That is what he has a Creator for. His responsibility was to stay focused on his relationship with the LORD – that Creator. By admitting his own mortality, David found the solution to his personal turmoil. The justice he was seeking would not come from his own hands. It was in the hands of his immortal LORD.

5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

Nowadays (as far as I know) we do not use handbreadths to measure anything but horses. The idea, however, is still quite clear. Our days are numbered. They are few, and the older we get, they seem too few. Even if we do have the joy to experience a few days with our grandchildren, we do so with the bittersweet knowledge that we will probably not know them all their lives.

David asks us to look at our lives from God’s perspective. To him, even a lifetime that we might consider long is nothing – as a mere breath. Breathe in, breath out, that is it. That is a human life from God’s perspective.

Centuries later, some human philosophers will get together and say that it is not so. They will posit the most ridiculous anthropological concept ever imagined. They will suggest that human beings live just as long as God does – for eternity. Strangely enough, many in the world will believe them. The concept of the immortality of the soul will be born.

But David is having none of that silliness. He honors God by admitting that he alone is immortal. He shares that characteristic with no one – at least not yet.[5] David’s point is that since God will outlast his problem, it is God he should have turned to with the problem, instead of trying to solve it himself.

6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;

man heaps up wealth

and does not know who will gather!

Having reflected on the nature of God, now David stops and takes a good look at the rest of humanity. He sees how humanity as a species is guilty of the same kind of blunder that he had fallen into. Like David, the human race is seeking to build a heritage that they are destined to leave to others. Like David, they worry themselves all their lives to heap up a treasury that they will not be able to enjoy. Their shadow will pass, and someone else will gather in the wealth.

David had become one of the richest men of his time, but he also learned to realize how insignificant it is to be rich. Wealth for many becomes a bondage, and a thing that one must struggle for the rest of his life to maintain. The rat race never ends – until life ends. When it does end, all that stuff that the wealthy has accumulated is just stuff. David was a rich man who developed the heart of a Lazarus. He had riches, but they had ceased to have him.

7 “And now, O Lord,

for what do I wait?

My hope is in you.

So, David had come to see that his personal struggle for justice was a means that the LORD used to bring him back to himself. The key and solution to all the things that we strive for is found in God himself. Many have troubles, but do not turn to God. David had troubles, and they forced him to see God for who he is. The LORD is the treasure we all seek. Most of us just do not know it. He is the One we are waiting for. He is our hope.

8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.

Do not make me the scorn of the fool!

Having seen his relationship with God as the most important pursuit there is, David now reflects again on that original pursuit of justice. Many a human being has been destroyed by seeking justice instead of seeking the Just One. David confesses that his attempt to take matters into his own hands only led him to ridicule. He confesses the attempt as what it was – a transgression.

But, why did he see it so? Was he not seeking to right a wrong? Yes, but he came to learn that while God commands us to right as many wrongs as we can, the attempt should never cause us to put ourselves in God’s place. The prophet Isaiah encourages God’s people to “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”[6] But it was this same prophet who, after seeing the LORD in a vision, declared “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”[7] The LORD is the eternal source of all justice, redemption and restoration.

9 I am mute;

I do not open my mouth,

for it is you who have done it.

What the LORD had done was rebuke David for his attempt at usurping the throne of heaven. Even God’s king is still a mortal man with no business taking God’s place. So the one who could not help but scream out against injustice in verse three is struck dumb in verse nine. He is finally forced to admit that the resolution of the problem will come from God’s action, not his.

10 Remove your stroke from me;

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

David had lived his life as a “hands on” kind of person. If there was a bear or a lion endangering his father’s flocks, David would take care of it. If there was a noisy Philistine threatening his brothers and embarrassing his king, David would get his sling. There is a time for “hands on” in the Christian life, but all of us must learn to let God be God. That calls for some times of “hands off.” David’s ordeal led to his being disciplined by the LORD so that he could take his hands off and let the sovereign God be sovereign in this situation.

His loving Shepherd LORD was making him to lie down in green pastures.[8] The Israelis use the same Hebrew word today for a knockout in a boxing match. Sometimes a gentle shepherd has to be a little more than gentle. Sometimes our loving God has to push us down with a hostile hand.

11 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin,

you consume like a moth what is dear to him;

surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

The LORD laid his heavy hand of discipline upon his servant, David. It consumed what was dear to him like a moth consumes a cloth. It reminded him of his own temporary nature. It caused him to contemplate the mortality of all mankind. He stopped to think about what he had experienced, and it gave him perspective.

12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not your peace at my tears!

For I am a sojourner with you,

a guest, like all my fathers.

Once more, David speaks out. But this time he is speaking out to the right party. He addresses his complaint to the right department. He sees himself not like a dominant king, but as a dependent sojourner. He is not the master of the house, but a guest, dependent upon the master’s hospitality. He does not pronounce judgment like a “hands on” person. He prays. He cries out for God to hear. He cries tears for God to see.

13 Look away from me,

that I may smile again,

before I depart and am no more!”

Does it seem odd for a psalm to end this way? Should there not be a resolution of the original problem? Was there another ending to this psalm that has been lost due to time or a copyist error? No, this is the end of the psalm. The reason the original complaint was not resolved is that resolving our problems is not the most urgent thing for God to do. The most important thing is not that God solve my temporary problems. The most important thing is that he restore my relationship with him.

So, David prays for God to “look away” from him. He wants God to ease up on that hand of discipline upon him, so that he can “smile again.” Once again, he admits that God is immortal, and he is not. Too soon David will “depart” and be “no more.” David asks for his final days to be spent in joy and happiness. He wants to have learned from his mistakes, but he does not want his mistakes to define him.

He seems to have also learned his lesson about being “hands on.” He is willing to let God handle the big stuff in his life. That original problem – the one that vexed him so much earlier – is not even mentioned again. He seems comfortable letting God be God. That is a lesson we all need to learn.

[1] Romans 8:19-21.

[2] 1 Timothy 6:16.

[3] Matthew 10:28.

[4] Ecclesiastes 6:12.

[5] The New Testament reveals that Christ brought immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). Believers can be raised to life immortal, and this will happen at Christ’s return (Romans 6:5;1 Corinthians 15:42; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This immortality is not innate (we are not born with it), but is a gift from God’s grace (Romans 6:23).

[6] Isaiah 1:17.

[7] Isaiah 6:5.

[8] Psalm 23:2.

ACST 48: The Intimidators

When all else fails, Satan and his demons are prepared to manifest themselves visibly, or through some display of power, in order to prevent people from learning and living the truth. They prey upon the fears of believers and unbelievers alike. Paul told Timothy that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control..”[1] The demons are uncomfortable around people that they cannot control through fear. For that reason, when people are close to the gospel as unbelievers, or close to living the victory that they have in Christ as believers, demons will manifest.

This fact is a condemnation upon modern western society. The very fact that one does not see evidence of demonic manifestation on a regular basis in the modern world tells against our claim to spiritual superiority. It does not mean that we have the spirit world under control. It means that the demonic realm has us under control. Manifestation reveals the truth of demons’ existence. They do not want to do that because they are more comfortable working in the background, and convincing people that evil is inherent within them, and that there is no remedy for the suffering it causes.

The Christ of the Gospels

When Jesus appeared on the scene in the Gospels, he came in complete awareness of the demonic presence, and with power to overpower it. When people saw that someone was capable of dealing with demonic oppression and possession, they “brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word”[2] These were not people with merely psychological problems, or brain illnesses. They were people under the control of spirit-beings. Jesus did not counsel them, or hold therapy sessions. He cast the demons out. In a society where demonic oppression and possession is denied a priori, such victims have to be put away because modern science cannot treat them. Jesus was under no such restriction. He was able to properly diagnose and treat the cause of these people’s suffering.

The church in the west today must rediscover this gift. In fact, it is part of what makes us distinctive as a religious body. Christ called his disciples together “and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out.”[3] That authority has never been rescinded. We do our society and our planet an injustice when we disregard this fundamental aspect of our existence. Christ was known as one who had power over demons, and he intended for us to be known for that as well. Across the world today, in cultures deep in the depression of demonic bondage, some believers stand out as rays of hope because they do not fear the Intimidators. The Church in the west is not seen as the solution to this kind of problem, but we can be.

In Jesus’ day, the people took note of his teaching because it was more than just ideas. He backed up his words with power, so “they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.””[4] His acts of deliverance drew the people to his words. When he said that God loved them, they could believe it, because they had seen him manifest God’s love by healing and delivering people from demons. That is what deliverance ministry is for. It is not intended to promote the minister but to verify the message. Sometimes today, people get involved in deliverance ministries for the wrong reason. Deliverance is intended to advance the gospel, not to overshadow it.

Deliverance is designed to reveal who Christ is. When the demons encountered Christ in the Gospels, they recognized who he was. The Bible says, “whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.””[5] That is the essence of the church’s authority against demons today. It is not a magical power invested in us. It is the reality of who our Savior is that makes the demons afraid. For that reason, any born-again believer can oppose a demon. One does not have to be properly taught and pre-conditioned. All one really has to know is who Jesus is.

Deliverance overcomes bondage and frees people for productive ministry. Many of the women who supported Jesus’ public ministry were free to do so because he had freed them from demonic bondage. Demons do not really want to kill us as much as they want to keep us in bondage to worldliness so that we are unproductive in kingdom living. If worldliness loses its charm, the demons will seek to keep us distracted with fear by physically manifesting. The only thing that prevents them from doing so more often is the knowledge that manifesting removes them from the category of things that do not really exist.

How a demon can manifest.

Demons manifest as departed human spirits regularly. That explains why practically everybody had a ghost story. These ghosts are not really the spirits of dead people. They merely pretend to be. They can do a convincing job because they have observed those they choose to imitate prior to their deaths. Christians who are aware of this tactic can immediately dismiss these visitations and send the demons back where they came from with a failed mission.

Demons can also manifest as monsters that exist in public imagination. They take advantage of fear and seek to maintain an atmosphere of fear. There are remedies against any such paralyzing fear: often merely mentioning the name of Christ, or the power of his blood will send the demons away with a taste of their own medicine. Demons fear Jesus more than anything. They are aware that he will bring about their destruction at the end of the age.

Dabbling in the occult.

Some people open themselves up to demonic attack by dabbling in the occult or getting too interested in paranormal phenomena. Even Christians can do this. Some have argued that it is impossible for a true Christian to become oppressed by a demon because he has the Holy Spirit within. This is faulty reasoning. True Christians are attacked by spirits all the time; the presence of the Holy Spirit does not prevent it. Also, these demons are persons. Believers are free to communicate with these persons, although doing so is not wise.

Levels of influence

There are levels of influence for demons, from the lowest (the attack) to the highest (possession). Giving in to fear (or curiosity) leads to more loss of control, until one is completely under the demon’s control. At any point up until complete possession, a person may get freedom by professing Christ. The higher the level of influence, the more likely a person may need the help of others in breaking away.

The Reality of the spirit realm

Some general conclusions are in order before leaving the subject of the spirit realm.

1. Angels and demons do exist. They are not figments of the imagination.

2. Angels have been commissioned to serve humanity, particularly those who will inherit eternal life.

3. Demons have a variety of functions and manifestations. Their attacks can be categorized as follows:

TEMPTATION

DECEPTION

ACCUSATION

INTIMIDATION

4. Demons do most of their work in darkness. That is, they function without the awareness of those on whom they are working.

5. Demons can manifest, but seek to work usually without doing so. Manifesting removes the illusion that they do not exist.

[1] 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV.

[2] Matthew 8:16 ESV.

[3] Matthew 10:1 ESV.

[4] Mark 1:27 ESV.

[5] Mark 3:11 ESV.

the gospel

At the office this week, one of my co-workers (who came from a Catholic background) was asking me about my church. He had heard the term evangelical before, but was not clear on what the word implied. I told him that when a church calls itself evangelical, it tends to emphasize the gospel, rather than some church tradition or heritage. The term comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “good news.” My co-worker’s question brought back to my mind something that I had learned some time ago: most evangelicals do not really know what the gospel is.

Oh, they know that if they believe in Jesus they can receive eternal life (and that is certainly true). But most would be surprised to discover that this conditional statement is not the biblical good news. The Good news that the Bible teaches is something different. Consider, for example, the following texts which contain the word euangelion:

“Jesus traveled throughout the region

of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues

and announcing the Good News about

the Kingdom. And he healed every kind

of disease and illness.”[1]

This first occurrence of the term in the New Testament is remarkable for what it does not say. It does not say that the gospel is a theological concept that someone must believe. No, the good news is not about a theological decision one makes (or prayer that one prays) as much as it is about a kingdom that one can join. Jesus himself is the king of that kingdom. He teaches about himself, and then proceeds to back up that teaching about himself with miracles that prove he is who he says he is. The gospel here is not as much about what you and I believe as it is about who Jesus is.

“Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is

proclaimed in the whole world, what she has

done will also be told in memory of her.”[2]

When Jesus commanded us to proclaim the gospel to the world,[3] he was not referring to another gospel: a gospel other than the one he was preaching. Yet he had not been proclaiming his death and substitutionary atonement. As important as that truth is, it is not the heart of the gospel. The heart of the gospel is something else.

“But none of these things move me, neither

count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might

finish my course with joy, and the ministry,

which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to

testify the gospel of the grace of God.”[4]

Paul called his message “the gospel of the grace of God.” He was set apart to teach and proclaim this gospel.[5] It was the good news – not that we can do something for God (like believe in his Son) – but that God has graciously done something for us. The good news is Jesus himself – a gift of God’s grace.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

for it is the power of God for salvation

to everyone who believes, to the Jew

first and also to the Greek. For in it

the righteousness of God is revealed

from faith for faith, as it is written,

“The righteous shall live by faith.””[6]

Knowing this gives the reader a fresh perspective on how Paul describes the gospel in Romans. If the gospel that is the power of God for salvation is the person of Christ himself, then the faith that leads to the righteousness of God is not just acceptance of his forgiveness. It is acceptance of all that he is, all that he has done for us, and all that he will do. The gospel does not simply draw our attention back to the cross. It also draws our attention to the eternal ramifications of the cross. It is good news, not just because of something done in the past, but also because of the future.

The righteousness of God revealed in the gospel is not simply the fact that God regards us as righteous because of what Jesus did for us. It is a righteousness that is imputed by justification, and imparted by sanctification, and realized by faith in future glorification. So, the good news that is the gospel touches us in all three tenses.

Past:

Jesus died for me. I have been saved from my sin by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. My sins are atoned for by his death. They are forgiven. I am no longer on the list of those whose destiny is eternal death.

Present:

Jesus teaches me. I stand forgiven, and have access to the Holy Spirit to affect true change in my behavior. I can now live in victory over sin, and grow in the likeness of Christ. The key to living this life is the gospel message that Jesus proclaimed when he was on this earth. He gave commands which can drastically alter my life. But I have to learn and obey those commands. I am a disciple of Christ. I must choose to live like one. The gospel is the gospel of the kingdom. If I choose to live outside of the principles taught in the gospel, I have not responded to the gospel, regardless of what I believe about the atonement.

Future:

Jesus will make me immortal. I have an eternal destiny that will begin the day Jesus breaks the clouds and returns from heaven. On that day, if I am still alive, I will be transformed, and never taste death. If I die before that happens, I will be raised to life at Christ’s command when he returns, never to die again. The gospel is good news because it shows us the destiny that is our beyond the grave. It does not deny that death is real. It shows hope beyond death.

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of

the gospel I preached to you, which

you received, in which you stand, and

by which you are being saved, if you

hold fast to the word I preached to you

– unless you believed in vain. For I

delivered to you as of first importance

what I also received: that Christ died

for our sins in accordance with the

Scriptures, that he was buried, that

he was raised on the third day in

accordance with the Scriptures”[7]

This explains why Paul’s most extensive presentation of the gospel is found in a chapter entirely dedicated to the resurrection. There is no gospel without the resurrection. Because Christ was raised, we now can have victory over the penalty of sin in the past, and the power of sin in the present. Because Christ will raise us from the dead, we now have an eternal destiny – a future besides destruction in hell.

You cannot really understand the gospel without this perspective on the future, and that is exactly what the problem was in Corinth. The believers in Corinth had lost the good news of the resurrection. They had lost the gospel.

“how can some of you say that there

is no resurrection of the dead?[8]

Throughout the world today, this problem continues to exist. People live with no eternal hope. They live for today because they think today is all that we have. Author Paul David Tripp calls it “eternity amnesia.” He outlines the following symptoms of this malady:

1. Living with unrealistic expectations.

2. Focusing too much on self.

3. Asking too much of people.

4. Being controlling of fearful.

5. Questioning the goodness of God.

6. Living more disappointed than thankful.

7. Lacking motivation and hope.

8. Living as if life doesn’t have consequences.[9]

We can understand it when people who do not know Christ live this way. But all too often, those of us who claim to know Jesus find the same symptoms. Tripp explains that “because we fall into thinking of this life as our final destination, we place more hope in our situations, relationships, and locations than they are able to deliver.”[10]

We are victims when we should be living in victory. The victory was already obtained by Christ. Because of what he did for us, we need never live as if these temporary lives are all that we have. We can see everything that happens now in the light of the glory that awaits us in eternity. We can tolerate pain and failure because we understand them to be temporary setbacks. We can better grasp the significance of success when we see it from the standard of eternity as well. We can look on every soul we encounter as another being who is potentially immortal and glorified, which might help us tolerate their present imperfections. We can have a better attitude about our own present failures to hit the mark.

“And if our hope in Christ is only

for this life, we are more to be

pitied than anyone in the world.”[11]

If you take away the resurrection, Christianity is an empty religion with no real hope, and believers are of all people most to be pitied. The reason is that all human beings are born mortal. We have a death sentence hanging over us because of Adam’s rebellion. We imitate Adam by being creatures who return to the dust. But the hope of the resurrection gives us an opportunity to imitate Christ, the man from heaven.

“As was the man of dust, so also

are those who are of the dust, and

as is the man of heaven, so also are

those who are of heaven.”[12]

People who live without the forever perspective can only hope to accomplish “of the dust” things. No matter how happy or successful or significant their lives, that happiness, success and significance will be buried in the ground when they die. But people who have a forever perspective – a gospel perspective, can accomplish “of heaven” things. We can make an eternal difference in other people’s lives by pointing them to the Savior. We can get our minds off of the things which enslave others, because our focus is on serving the “man of heaven.”

Knowing our future can free us to truly live in the present.

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an

eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet

shall sound, and the dead shall be raised

incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on

incorruption, and this mortal must put

on immortality. So when this corruptible

shall have put on incorruption, and this

mortal shall have put on immortality,

then shall be brought to pass the saying

that is written, Death is swallowed up

in victory.””[13]

The resurrection is God’s victory, and ours. The gospel is the good news about that victory. It is the story of God entering this world of sin and pain through his Son, and taking on that sin and pain through the atonement on the cross. It is the story of the crucial battle won on the cross, and demonstrated by Christ’s resurrection. It is the story of the final victory over sin and pain through the resurrection at Christ’s return. Coming to faith in Christ is entering into that story. We know how the story ends. That is why we can have an eternal perspective.

As we celebrate the resurrection this year, may the knowledge that Christ’s tomb is empty help us to avoid eternity amnesia. May we not live recklessly – like there is no tomorrow. But may we live fearlessly, because there will be a tomorrow. The gospel assures it.

Jefferson Vann

Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Saturday, February 18, 2012

[1] Matthew 4:23 NLT, (see also Mark 9:35).

[2] Matthew 26:13 ESV.

[3] Mark 13:10.

[4] Acts 20:24 KJV.

[5] Romans 1:1.

[6] Romans 1:16 ESV.

[7] 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV.

[8] 1 Corinthians 15:12b ESV.

[9] Paul David Tripp, Forever: Why You Can’t Live Without It. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011). Kindle edition, location 254-287.

[10] Forever, location 416.

[11] 1 Corinthians 15:19 NLT.

[12] 1 Corinthians 15:48 ESV.

[13] 1 Corinthians 15:52-54 KJV.

the mystery of godliness

Foundational to the Christian message is that salvation is not something one earns, but is a free gift. It is based not on what we do for God but on what he has done for us through Jesus Christ. Anyone who has ever tried to get on God’s good side by following some code of conduct knows that all such attempts are doomed to failure. We are a condemned race, destined to disappoint our creator, with only one exception, and it is not me.

Grace in the bible is not a character trait or idea. Grace is a person, who “has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.”[1] By his sinless life and sacrificial death for everyone, Jesus did what every other human being could not do. He tasted death for everyone.[2] Having paid that penalty for sin, he was able to offer us the gift of eternal life which God so wanted to give us – out of his heart of grace.[3]

Christ’s death redeemed us from the penalty of death that we owed, and made us right in God’s sight as well. Because of that redemption, we “are justified by his grace as a gift.”[4] From Christ’s fullness “we have all received, grace upon grace.”[5] We owe everything to him – the fact that we are not what we once were, and the fact that we will be something better still in eternity future.

Rules and regulations can never do what Christ did. They are a poor substitute for grace. Even the law of God in the Old Testament had become just a set of rules to live by for the Israelites in Christ’s day. The Gospels tell us that “the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”[6] The apostle Paul had been a staunch supporter of this law to live by, until he met Christ on the Damascus road. Then things changed. He learned that the law was not God’s plan for the salvation of the world. He found that “if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”[7]

So his message changed. He taught that salvation “is no longer on the basis of works” (actually it had never been). “Otherwise”, (he reasoned) “grace would no longer be grace.”[8] This message of salvation through the completed work of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross was called the “gospel of the grace of God”[9] It was also called simply “the word of his grace.”[10]

It was a message of sacrifice – not that God wants us to sacrifice for him, but that he has willingly sacrificed for us. It reminded people of what God had done to freely offer deliverance from sin and death. People were encouraged to think about Christ’s sacrificial life and death. Paul told the Corinthians “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”[11]

This word of grace was not for Paul an excuse to sit back and rest. It was motivation for him to work harder than ever. He once proclaimed that he had worked harder than any of his opponents to get the gospel of grace out to the world that needs it. Ironically, he did so because it was the grace of God working with him.[12] For Paul, grace was not in conflict with hard work.

Yet there is a challenge we find in the New Testament that seems to conflict with this message of grace. These same apostles and evangelists that champion Christ as the grace of God revealed, also challenge their readers to live lives of holiness, righteousness and godliness.

Why? If Christ’s death is all the grace we will ever need (and it is) why are we encouraged to live godly lives as well? If our acts of righteousness are insufficient for our salvation – indeed are as filthy rags in God’s sight,[13] why should we waste our time trying live out impossible godly lives?

Yet, we cannot escape these challenges toward godliness for they are just as prevalent in the New Testament as the messages of grace. Paul tells Timothy to train himself for godliness, because “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”[14] So, he encourages Timothy to pursue godliness.[15]

Peter encourages every Christian to seek godliness. In light of the evil nature of the last days in which we live, he says “what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?”[16]

How we live as Christians is intended to reflect upon the holiness and godliness of the one we proclaim. That is why Paul instructed Timothy not to allow widows who were too young to become dependent upon the church for their support. Instead, they should go to live with their children or grandchildren. That would give the children or grandchildren a chance to “make some return to their parents.”[17] This would please God, and also be a good witness to the community that Christianity encourages family responsibility.

Paul also encouraged women in worship services not to dress with inordinate jewelry or immodest dress. Instead they should demonstrate “what is proper for women who profess godliness.”[18] Their husbands are encouraged to pray without anger – not to let their worship times be distracted by personal disputes or envy.[19] The reason is the same: godliness points people to Christ, ungodliness in Christians turns people away from Christ.

It is in this context that we read about what Paul calls “the mystery of godliness.”

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.[20]

At first glace, it seems strange that Paul should use such a title. He is not talking about godliness here, but about what he elsewhere calls grace. He is describing the willing sacrificial life of Christ on our behalf. The mystery of godliness is not about what we can do for God, but about what he has done for us. Godliness is what the incarnation was: truth manifested in the flesh.

This is where the gospel of grace and the apostle’s encouragement toward godliness collide. This is the reason that Christians should live out the righteousness that was bought for us at Calvary, at the price of Jesus’ blood.

There have always been those who say that what one does “in the flesh” does not really matter. Many have fallen for the deception that was prominent in the movement later to become known as Gnosticism. They valued knowledge (Greek gnosis) above action. Indeed, for some, no action was significant at all. All that mattered was what one believed. Eventually, this deception paved the way for all kinds of immorality, because it was believed that the flesh did not matter because it was not eternal. They were taught that the soul was as immortal as God, so it was all that mattered.

Others went in the opposite direction, and warned that too much contamination with the world would defile that all-important immortal part within. These would forbid people to marry, or forbid eating meat, defining godliness as meaning what one does without.[21] Godliness was defined as keeping one’s immortal soul pure, not allowing this world of matter to contaminate it.

If Jesus is God’s definition of godliness, then his life blasted away that Gnostic definition. He did not keep his life separated from the world. He invested his life in the world. He did not come simply to convert people’s souls – he came to redeem and heal and resurrect their bodies. His goal was not eternity in a disembodied state, he took on flesh never to lose it again. For infinity he will be walking around in a glorified human body – without sin or shame.

So, after establishing that Christ – the mystery of godliness – came to manifest God’s truth in the flesh, Paul tells Timothy to do the same. He is to pursue righteousness not in order to be saved, but to point people to the Saviour.

He is to be a good man, not out of fear of judgment, but out of love for those who do not yet know Christ, the living manifestation of godliness. Godliness is truth manifested in the flesh. When Christians live godly lives in the midst of a fallen and reprobate world, it draws people to Christ.

This is where the Christian message of grace and the encouragement toward godliness should also meet. Our message of grace should never give people the mistaken assumption that since we are saved by grace it does not matter how we live “in the flesh.” It mattered how Christ lived in the flesh – it should matter for us. Our lives should manifest such integrity and lack of sin that people should assume that they are backed by supernatural power. Our connection to God should be so real and honest that others seek us out when they want to know him. That is what it means to manifest the truth in the flesh.

There is always a danger that those seeking to live out this definition of godliness might fall back into legalism and bondage. As a believer grows and experiences God’s grace, he might go through stages where he feels more “hands on” in his own sanctification. But there will also be times when the believer is overwhelmed with his own unworthiness and depravity, and must fall back to the “hands off” position. God is at work in the believer’s life no matter what his subjective feeling is about it. The God of grace is also a God who works within us to accomplish his will.[22]

God wants us to live lives that manifest his truth while our tongues continue to proclaim it. Godliness, then, should never take the place of Christ as our primary message. We are called to live godly lives so that people will listen to us when we proclaim freedom in Christ.

The Gnostics got it wrong, because they had adopted a false theology about human nature: that human souls are as immortal as God. People who followed the Gnostic teachings became more and more enslaved. People who followed the gospel message were set free to live lives of godliness. They could manifest the truth in the flesh.

It remains to see what this generation is going to choose. Will they leave Egypt or remain in bondage? Will they follow Christ – the mystery of godliness – or seek a godliness of their own making?

LORD, teach us how to celebrate your grace with our tongues, and manifest your truth with our hands.

[1] Titus 2:11.

[2] Hebrews 2:9.

[3] Ephesians 2:8; Titus 3:7.

[4] Romans 3:24.

[5] John 1:16.

[6] John 1:17.

[7] Galatians 2:21.

[8] Romans 11:6.

[9] Acts 20:24.

[10] Acts 14:33; 20:32.

[11] 2 Corinthians 8:9.

[12] 1 Corinthians 15:10.

[13] Isaiah 64:6 KJV.

[14] 1 Timothy 4:8.

[15] 1 Timothy 6:11.

[16] 2 Peter 3:11-12.

[17] 1 Timothy 5:4.

[18] 1 Timothy 2:10.

[19] 1 Timothy 2:8.

[20] 1 Timothy 3:16.

[21] 1 Timothy 4:3.

[22] Philippians 2:13.

Calvin on Psalm 31:5

“Into your Hands I commit my spirit.”

David’s statement of trust in the midst of trial was so spiritually significant that the Lord Jesus himself quoted it on the cross. Later, Stephen quoted the same text at the moment of his own death by martyrdom. What does it mean to commit one’s spirit into God’s hands. Does this affirm the immortality of the soul?

John Calvin thought so. He was convinced that “man consists of a body and a soul; meaning by soul an immortal though created essence, which is the nobler part.”[1] He concluded that “Christ, in commending his spirit to the Father, and Stephen his to Christ, simply mean that when the soul is freed from the prison-house of the body, God becomes its perpetual keeper.”[2]

Calvin did not come to that conclusion by reading Psalm 31. He rightly commented on David’s statement by saying “Whoever commits himself into God’s hand and to his guardianship, not only constitutes him the arbiter of life and death to him, but also calmly depends on him for protection amidst all his dangers.”[3] David was asserting his trust in God to deliver him, not his confidence in possessing an indestructible spirit.

Yet Calvin could not resist taking David’s words out of their context, and teaching that Christ and Stephen asserted something not about theology but about anthropology. His belief in Plato’s doctrine of the immortality of the soul was so strong that it led Calvin to forget his rules of exegesis.

Christ quoted from Psalm 31:5 while dying on the cross. He said “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”[4] In doing so, he was expressing the exact same sentiment that David had expressed when he had used those words. He was not saying that his body was going to die, but that the real him was going to fly to heaven to be safe in his Father’s hands. He was saying that he trusted his Father to rescue him.

His Father did rescue him. He was raised from the dead three days later. His spirit had not gone to heaven to be with his Father at death. He told Mary “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.”[5] Christ went to the grave. He had committed his spirit – that is, his life – into the hands of the one person who could redeem it.

Stephen’s quote of Psalm 31:5 was also true to its context. Stephen knew that he was going to die. The prison-house was not his alive body, but death itself. But he also had confidence that his death would not be the end. God would rescue him from the prison-house of death in the same way that he had rescued Jesus – by a resurrection. Luke records, “as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.””[6] I heard a preacher at a funeral of a friend of mine say that Stephen did not sleep in the grave because God received his spirit. The preacher had quoted this verse. Later, I had to remind my students (who also heard this sermon) that the preacher forgot about the next verse! Luke continued “And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”[7] Stephen’s committing his spirit to Christ was not a rejection of the reality of death. It was an expression of confidence that death would not be permanent.

Calvin’s commentary on Psalm 31 also quoted Paul’s reflection on death. He says “What David here declares concerning his temporal life, Paul transfers to eternal salvation.”[8] He was referring to where Paul says “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”[9] What Calvin did not point out is that Paul’s words in 2 Timothy are not words of someone who denies death. Paul’s words imply that his death would come, but he has entrusted himself to God who can rescue him from that death. Paul’s trust was not in his possessing an immortal soul, but in his possessing a resurrecting God.

That is the sentiment expressed in Psalm 31:5 by David, and reflected in the words of Jesus on the cross, and those of Stephen at his death. It is not that God has made a part of our being that will never die. It is that God has promised to restore his own by a complete resurrection. It is not about something inherent within us. It is about the faithfulness of God.

[1] John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 1. (Forgotten Books), 190.

[2] John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 1. (Forgotten Books), 190.

[3] John Calvin, Calvin’s Bible Commentaries: Psalms, Part I. (Forgotten Books), 429.

[4] Luke 23:46 ESV.

[5] John 20:17 ESV (emphasis mine).

[6] Acts 7:59 ESV.

[7] Acts 7:60 ESV (emphasis mine).

[8] John Calvin, Calvin’s Bible Commentaries: Psalms, Part I. (Forgotten Books), 431.

[9] 2 Timothy 1:12 NIV.