Romans, Part 72

In this essay I continue to consider Contribute (κοινωνοῦντες, a form of κοινωνέω) to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.[1] But  I’m looking at the dark side of contributing (or, sharing in), specifically (2 John 1:9-11 NET):

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God.  The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting, because the person who gives him a greeting shares (κοινωνεῖ, another form of κοινωνέω) in his evil deeds.

My religious mind hears evil deeds in English as some sin, preferably one to which it is not particularly prone—molesting young boys, for instance—and fixates on that as the meaning of evil deeds.  In Greek, however—κοινωνεῖ τοῖς ἔργοις (a form of ἔργον) αὐτοῦ τοῖς πονηροῖς (a form of πονηρός)—is just as likely to mean “shares (or, contributes to) his works full of labours, annoyances, and hardships.”  This is the more likely meaning, in fact, in reference to the New Testament ἐκκλησία.  Religious people tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.[2]  Jesus said (Matthew 11:28-30 NET):

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (ἀναπαύσω, a form of ἀναπαύω).  Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (ἀνάπαυσιν, a form of ἀνάπαυσις) for your souls (ψυχαῖς, a form of ψυχή).  For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.

As I continue to distinguish the teaching of Christ from that of religious people I consider Love the Lord your Godwith all your soul[3] (ψυχῆς, another form of ψυχή).  After Jesus’ Father revealed (Matthew 16:16, 17 NET) to Peter that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, and after Jesus instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ[4] (Matthew 16:21-27 NET):

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.  So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord!  This must not happen to you!”  But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”  Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life (ψυχὴν, another form of ψυχή) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (ψυχὴν, another form of ψυχή) for my sake will find it.  For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life (ψυχὴν, another form of ψυχή)?  Or what can a person give in exchange for his life (ψυχῆς, another form of ψυχή)?  For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

Granted, there is a lot packed into this passage.  First to love yehôvâh with all your soul (or, life), is to become a follower of Jesus, yehôvâh incarnate, made human flesh as a man.  If anyone wants to become my follower, Jesus said, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  I’ll consider deny himself as it is demonstrated here.  It was revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah.  Peter thought he knew who the Messiah was and what He had come to do.

When the Messiah said that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, Peter said, This must not happen to you.  I assume that Peter didn’t even hear the part about being raised on the third day or his response would have revealed a different confusion.  All Peter heard was that the Messiah he and his people longed for would suffer at the hands of his religious leaders and be killed.

When Jesus called Peter Satan, He did not mean that Satan is the true representative of man’s interests.  He meant that Peter’s words appealed to that fleshly part of Jesus’ own humanity as Satan had tried to do in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12, 13, Luke 4:1-13 NET).  Peter accepted Jesus’ rebuke, picked himself up and followed all the way to what he perceived was a last stand (John 11:7-16 NET; cf verse 16) in the garden of Gethsemane (John 18:10, 11, Matthew 26:51-54, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:49-51 NET), without ever fully understanding what Jesus’ meant until after the resurrection.

Like Peter, I thought I knew what Jesus’ final statement meant: For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has doneAlexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm, Paul warned Timothy.  The Lord will repay him in keeping with his deeds.  You be on guard against him too, because he vehemently opposed our words.[5]

The Lord will repay him in keeping with his deeds, is an allusion to Psalm 28:4 according to a note (19) in the NET.  A comparison of the Greek texts follows.

Paul (NET) Parallel Greek David (NETS)

Septuagint

Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm.

2 Timothy 4:14a

Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ χαλκεὺς πολλά μοι κακὰ ἐνεδείξατο

2 Timothy 4:14a

The Lord will repay him in keeping with his deeds.

2 Timothy 4:14b

ἀποδώσει αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ

2 Timothy 4:14b

Give them according to their works,

Psalm 28:4a

δὸς αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν

Psalm 28:4a

  and according to the wickedness of their practices;

Psalm 28:4b

καὶ κατὰ τὴν πονηρίαν τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων[6] αὐτῶν

Psalm 28:4b

  according to the works of their hands give them;

Psalm 28:4c

κατὰ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν δὸς αὐτοῖς

Psalm 28:4c

  render them their due reward.

Psalm 28:4d

ἀπόδος τὸ ἀνταπόδομα αὐτῶν αὐτοῖς

Psalm 28:4d

“He’s making a list / And checking it twice / Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice…He sees you when you’re sleeping / He knows when you’re awake / He knows if you’ve been bad or good / So be good for goodness sake!”[7]  No, my parents never tricked me into believing in Santa Claus.  They didn’t even trick me into believing that Jesus was born on December 25th.  Christmas was the arbitrary season the Church chose to celebrate Jesus’ birth.  I made this connection to being repaid in keeping with my deeds, thinking, I suppose, that parents made Santa Claus in Jesus’ image.  But children were never good for goodness’ sake.  They wanted presents, rewards, rather than a lump of coal.

This was essentially my understanding of good works.  They had nothing to do with salvation except that I should want to do them because Jesus did a “good work” for me, dying for my sins.  Good works were done primarily for rewards.  No one knew what these rewards might be but no one wanted to be left out when everyone else was receiving rewards for their good works.  As I got older, good works merited good things happening to or for me here and now, while bad works merited the opposite, karma, in a word.  Fear is the key motivation, whether fear of social embarrassment or literal harm.

And again Paul wrote, But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed!  He will reward each one according to his works.[8]  According to a note (16) in the NET this is a quotation from Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12.  The Greek texts are compared below.

Paul (NET) Parallel Greek David (NETS)

Septuagint

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed!

Romans 2:5

κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητα σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ θεοῦ

Romans 2:5

And to you, O Lord, belongs mercy,

Psalm 62:12a

ὅτι τὸ κράτος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ σοί κύριε τὸ ἔλεος

Psalm 62:12a

He will reward each one according to his works:

Romans 2:6

ὃς ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ

Romans 2:6

because you will repay to each according to his works.

Psalm 62:12b

ὅτι σὺ ἀποδώσεις ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ

Psalm 62:12b

Mercy above is ἔλεος in the Septuagint.  Later in the same letter to the Romans Paul recalled the long name (Exodus 33:19 NET) of yehôvâh: I will have mercy (ἐλεήσω, a form of ἐλεέω) on whom I have mercy (ἐλεῶ, another form of ἐλεέω), and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.  So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy (ἐλεῶντος, another form of ἐλεέω).[9]  For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy (ἐλεήσῃ, another form of ἐλεέω) to them all.[10]  “Go and learn what this saying means,” Jesus said to religious people, I want mercy (ἔλεος) and not sacrifice.’  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[11]  And, “If you had known what this means:I want mercy (ἔλεος) and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”[12]

Paul (NET)

Parallel Greek Solomon (NETS)

Septuagint

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed!

Romans 2:5

κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητα σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ θεοῦ

Romans 2:5

If you say: “I do not know this person,” be aware that the Lord is familiar with the heart of everyone, and he who formed breath for all, he knows everything,

Proverbs 24:12a [Table]

ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃς οὐκ οἶδα τοῦτον γίνωσκε ὅτι κύριος καρδίας πάντων γινώσκει καὶ ὁ πλάσας πνοὴν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς οἶδεν πάντα

Proverbs 24:12a

He will reward each one according to his works:

Romans 2:6

ὃς ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ

Romans 2:6

he who will render to each according to his deeds.

Proverbs 24:12b [Table]

ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ

Proverbs 24:12b

Here, though the familiar fear-of-the-Lord usage is evident, Solomon’s purpose was that His son Rehoboam as a prince and eventually king of Israel would, “Rescue them who are led to death, and buy back those who are to be slaughtered; do not delay!”[13]  In each of these verses the Greek phrase translated according to his deeds (or, works) is κατὰ τὰ ἔργα (a form of ἔργον) αὐτοῦ (according to their works is κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν).  But Jesus made a minor change when speaking this way to his disciples, to those who followed Him, who loved yehôvâh with all their soul or life: ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν (a form of πρᾶξις) αὐτοῦ.  Jesus’ followers will be rewarded according to their practice as opposed to their works.

Do they live by the Spirit (πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε)?  Are they led by the Spirit (πνεύματι ἄγεσθε) or by the flesh?  Their works of the flesh (τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκός) as isolated incidents are already forgiven, condemned in the flesh.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.[14]  Of course, if they practice the works of the flesh they were never Jesus’ followers to begin with: Those who practice (πράσσοντες, a form of πράσσω) such things will not inherit the kingdom of God![15]

The hope for Jesus’ followers is the Sabbath rest…for the people of GodFor the one who enters God’s rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις) has also rested (κατέπαυσεν, a form of καταπαύω) from his works (ἔργων, another form of ἔργον), just as God did from his own works.  Thus we must make every effort (Σπουδάσωμεν, a form of σπουδάζω) to enter that rest (κατάπαυσιν, a form of κατάπαυσις), so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience (ἀπειθείας, a form of ἀπείθεια).[16]  But the one who practices (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) the truth, Jesus said of his followers, comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds (ἔργα, a form of ἔργον) have been done in [or, by] God[17] (ὅτι ἐν θεῷ ἐστιν εἰργασμένα [a form of ἐργάζομαι]).

Finally, Jesus felt no need to motivate his followers with fear.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love.  We love because he loved us first.[18]  Do not leave Jerusalem, He told them after his resurrection, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.  For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.[19]  And the fruit of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.[20]

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets, Jesus cautioned.  I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill (πληρῶσαι, a form of πληρόω) them.[21]  Love (ἀγάπη) does no wrong to a neighbor.  Therefore love (ἀγάπη) is the fulfillment (πλήρωμα) of the law.[22]  And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me, Jesus said.  Whoever finds his life (ψυχὴν, another form of ψυχή) will lose it, and whoever loses his life (ψυχὴν, another form of ψυχή) because of me will find it.[23]

For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter offered, no, we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur.[24]  But in the light of these details even those who reject the Gospel as cleverly concocted fables need to pause to appreciate just how cleverly concocted the details are.  Maybe it’s not the devil in the details.

I began this essay with an oblique reference to pedophile priests.  My point is simply this: I don’t believe that Catholic priests who molested children were trusting in their deaths to sin (Romans 6:3-14 NET) through faith in Jesus’ crucifixion as they molested those children.  They weren’t believing their resurrection to new life (Romans 7:4-6 NET) through Jesus’ resurrection.  They weren’t walking or living by his Spirit (Romans 8:1-11 NET), depending on his daily infusion of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:13-6:5 NET).  I believe they relied on their own abilities as Catholic priests to live up to centuries of Catholic rules governing the behavior of Catholic priests.  That is molestation (or an eruption of any other sin) looking for a time and a place to happen, because it is the practice which plays to sin’s strength: the power of sin is the law.[25]

Romans, Part 73

[1] Romans 12:13 (NET)

[2] Matthew 23:4 (NET)

[3] Mark 12:30a (NET)

[4] Matthew 16:20 (NET)

[5] 2 Timothy 4:14, 15 (NET)

[6] http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=e)pithdeuma%2Ftwn&la=greek&prior=tw=n

[7] http://www.41051.com/xmaslyrics/santatown.html

[8] Romans 2:5, 6 (NET)

[9] Romans 9:15, 16 (NET)

[10] Romans 11:32 (NET)

[11] Matthew 9:13 (NET)

[12] Matthew 12:7 (NET)

[13] Proverbs 24:11 (NETS)

[14] Romans 7:20 (NET)

[15] Galatians 5:21b (NET)

[16] Hebrews 4:10, 11 (NET)

[17] John 3:21 (NET)

[18] 1 John 4:18, 19 (NET)

[19] Acts 1:4, 5 (NET)

[20] Galatians 5:22-24 (NET)

[21] Matthew 5:17 (NET)

[22] Romans 13:10 (NET)

[23] Matthew 10:38, 39 (NET)

[24] 2 Peter 1:16 (NET)

[25] 1 Corinthians 15:56b (NET)

Romans, Part 71

This is a continuation of my consideration of Contribute (κοινωνοῦντες, a form of κοινωνέω) to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.[1]  I’ll begin with the dark side of contributing (or, sharing in): Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, Paul warned a young preacher, and so identify (κοινώνει, another form of κοινωνέω) with the sins of others.  Keep yourself pure.[2]  John mirrored this admonition to a leader ordaining elders (1 Timothy 5:17-22 NET) with one addressed to followers receiving leaders (2 John 1:9-11 NET):

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God.  The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting, because the person who gives him a greeting shares (κοινωνεῖ, another form of κοινωνέω) in his evil deeds.

To begin to understand the teaching (διδαχῇ, a form of διδαχή) of Christ I turn to the Gospel according to Mark.  When asked by one of the experts in the law—Which commandment is the most important of all—Jesus replied with the love (ἀγάπη) [that] is the fulfillment (πλήρωμα) of the law[3] (Mark 12:29-31 NET):

“The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love (ἀγαπήσεις, a form of ἀγαπάω) the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  The second is: ‘Love (ἀγαπήσεις, a form of ἀγαπάω) your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”

That is true, Teacher, the expert in the law said, you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him.  And to love (ἀγαπᾶν, another form of ἀγαπάω) him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love (ἀγαπᾶν, another form of ἀγαπάω) your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.[4]  The concept of love as the fulfillment of the law was not foreign to him.  When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far (μακρὰν) from the kingdom of God.”[5]  And in this narrow distance I hope to find how the teaching of Christ differs from the teaching of religious people.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, Jesus said to religious people who accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul.  But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.  Make a tree good and its fruit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός) will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός) will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός).[6]  Though religious people may know this as it pertains to horticulture, in religious culture the religious mind hopes to make the tree good by making the fruit good.  If I do good things I will be good, rather than if I am good I do good.  Why make this reversal?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart[7] (καρδίας, a form of καρδία) is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:5—Love the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) your God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהיך) with all your heart.  Here is what Jesus said about the heart with which we are to love yehôvâh.

Offspring of vipers, He said, speaking still to religious people.  How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil?  For the mouth speaks from what fills (περισσεύματος, a form of περίσσευμα) the heart (καρδίας, a form of καρδία).[8]  The word translated fills here is not πλήρωμα but carries the idea of filled to overflowing.  At the present time, Paul wrote the Corinthians, your abundance (περίσσευμα) will meet their need, so that one day their abundance (περίσσευμα) may also meet your need[9]  So I take the mouth speaks from the abundance (or, overflow) of the heart as a psychological truth from the mouth of the Creator of the human psyche.

Now if I disallow that Jesus’ intent was to be as rude and insulting as possible to some of the world’s most accomplished religious people, what can I make of his statement?  I don’t think He expressed literal ignorance of how religious people say anything good.  He knew He had given them his word.  He quoted it, too: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.[10]  That is the key, I think, to recall what Jesus knew.

He knew what was in man.  But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart (καρδίας, a form of καρδία),[11] Jesus reiterated this basic knowledge of the human psyche.  For out of the heart (καρδίας, a form of καρδία) come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.[12]  He knew he had not yet been crucified or resurrected.  He knew that the religious people before Him had not yet been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so [they] too may live a new life.[13]

He knew their old man was [not yet] crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate [them], so that [they] would no longer be enslaved to sin.[14]  He knew He had not yet sent the Holy Spirit to fill them with his love (ἀγάπη), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[15]  Do not leave Jerusalem, He told his disciples after his resurrection, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.  For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.[16]  You will receive power, He promised them, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.[17]

Given this knowledge Jesus’ words sound more like wonder and perhaps even a grudging admiration at how near to the kingdom of God these particular religious people had come on their own.  Though I called the distance narrow and recognize that the difference between the teaching of Christ and that of religious people is subtle, the gap is unbridgeable apart from yehovah’s incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection.  Not only is it impossible to love Him with all our evil hearts, our hard hearts love our religious rules more than our fellow human beings (Mark 3:1-6 NET):

Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him.  So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.”  Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?”  But they were silent.  After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts (καρδίας, a form of καρδία), he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.  So the Pharisees went out immediately[18] and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him [Table].

We think our religious works merit special privilege or indulgence relative to those sinners who don’t even try to do good (Ezekiel 18:26-29 NET):

When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die.  When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life.  Because he considered and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die.  Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’  Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel?  Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

Actually, our continued rejection of Jesus’ salvation (whether in whole or in part) opens the door of mercy to more sinners (Romans 11:11, 12, 15, 22, 23 NET)

I ask then, [Israel] did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they?  Absolutely not!  But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous.  Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring?

For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.  And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief – will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

For this reason I tell you, Jesus said to religious people, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit (καρποὺς, another form of καρπός).[19]  But the fruit (καρπὸς) of the Spirit, Paul wrote the Galatians, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.[20]  So religious people, actors at heart, reverse Jesus’ dictum, Make a tree good and its fruit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός) will be good.  This, in a word, is our unbelief.

Religious people do not believe they need to be baptized by Jesus in the Holy Spirit.  We do not believe that his Father knows our needs before we ask Him—or that He is willing to supply our needs.  We don’t accept that our most pressing need is to sit at Jesus’ feet, to listen and to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  True, our unbelief is a continuum from ignorance of Jesus’ salvation to the selfish preference for some other way—“My way.”  But all lead to the same outcome: the vain attempt to make ourselves good by doing good deeds.  You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, Jesus said to religious people, but God knows your hearts (καρδίας, a form of καρδία).[21]

But I say, live by the Spirit, Paul wrote the Galatians, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.  I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice (πράσσοντες, a form of πράσσω) such things will not inherit the kingdom of God![22]

The good person brings good things out of his good treasury, Jesus concluded, and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury.  I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak [the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart].  For by your words you will be justified (δικαιωθήσῃ, a form of δικαιόω), and by your words you will be condemned (καταδικασθήσῃ, a form of καταδικάζω).[23]

“Therefore I will judge (shâphaṭ, אשפט; Septuagint: κρινῶ, a form of κρίνω) you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord (ʼădônây, אדני) GOD (yehôvâh, יהוה).  Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.  Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!  Why will you die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord (ʼădônây, אדני) GOD (yehôvâh, יהוה); so turn, and live.”[24]


[1] Romans 12:13 (NET)

[2] 1 Timothy 5:22 (NET)

[3] Romans 13:10b (NET)

[4] Mark 12:32, 33 (NET)

[5] Mark 12:34a (NET)

[6] Matthew 12:32, 33 (NET)

[7] Mark 12:30a (NET)

[8] Matthew 12:34 (NET)

[9] 2 Corinthians 8:14a (NET)

[10] Matthew 4:4b (NET)

[11] Matthew 15:18a (NET)

[12] Matthew 15:19 (NET)

[13] Romans 6:4b (NET)

[14] Romans 6:6b (NET)

[15] Galatians 5:22b, 23a (NET)

[16] Acts 1:4, 5 (NET)

[17] Acts 1:8a (NET) Table

[18] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εὐθὺς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ευθεως (KJV: straightway).

[19] Matthew 21:43 (NET)

[20] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[21] Luke 16:15a (NET)

[22] Galatians 5:16-21 (NET)

[23] Matthew 12:35-37 (NET)

[24] Ezekiel 18:30-32 (ESV)

Apostles and Prophets, Part 1

As I considered the relationship of Moses the prophet and Aaron the priest in Numbers 16 it occurred to me that my religion all but outlaws apostles and prophets. I even wrote that in the essay.  But as I turned to Jesus’ response to the argument he walked down the mount of transfiguration into I thought better of taking on an argument over apostles and prophets in that essay.  Still, the urge to do so persisted.

I suppose that everyone who is called by God, born from above[1] and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit walks down from that experience into 2,000 years of theological arguments with the implicit task of choosing sides or adjudicating between them.  Generally, I try to avoid theological arguments.  Time to study the Bible is precious.  If I spend it on arguments, I am not led by the Holy Spirit but by the people who started the arguments.

But since I have quipped to friends that one way of viewing Evangelicalism is as a mutiny of pastors and teachers against apostles and prophets I have apparently chosen a side without serious thought or consideration. I’m obligated now to be led around by the nose for a time by those who defend the assertion that apostles and prophets are no longer necessary or authorized by God.

My starting position was: why would anyone hope to be church in a hostile environment without such marvelously gifted people? As usual, once I took the time to formulate a coherent question the Holy Spirit was ready with an answer (Jeremiah 31:33, 34 NET):

“But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord.  “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds.  I will be their God and they will be my people.  People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me.  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord.  “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done” [Table].

I asked an older friend if these verses were the goal, aim, purpose, end (τέλος) of the church, the body of Christ. (My friend doesn’t care much for church as a translation of ἐκκλησία.)  The initial response was a qualified, “No, this is for the nation of Israel.”  But that position softened as Paul’s words came to mind: Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root[2]  My own impression that these verses do serve as τέλος for the ἐκκλησία began to harden as I recalled Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:7, 11-13 NET):

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ….It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.

Prior to this approach I would have lined up the above verses right beside Paul’s mention of the same in his letter to the Corinthians as evidence of an ongoing role for both apostles and prophets (1 Corinthians 12:27, 28 NET):

Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a member of it.  And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues.

When I quipped about mutiny I had assumed that first, second and third were meant as a ranking of authority.  This time I could hear the possibility of a temporal ordering of arrival (and departure?) on the scene.  The net effect for me is not unlike voir dire.[3]

Many years ago I was impaneled for jury selection on a criminal case. As I sat across from the defendants in the courtroom there wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that they were guilty.  How else could they have gotten so far through the system?  After the defense attorneys in particular had a go at me during voir dire I didn’t have a clue whether the defendants were guilty or not.  I can only assume that the prosecutors had a similar impact on any who walked in assuming the defendants were innocent because the police and courts only exist to oppress and victimize black people. Voir dire is a very clever procedure for detecting and highlighting bias.

So I began this investigation with my biases exposed and confused. I typed “apostles no longer necessary” into Google and “No Prophets or Apostles Today[4] by Lori Eldridge appeared at the top of the list.  The first step in her argument was to distinguish between gift and office.

Gift

Office

…the “gift” of prophecy (defending and speaking forth the ESTABLISHED Word of God)… …the “Office” of Prophet (speaking forth NEW revelations from God and establishing scripture).
The gift of prophecy is still in effect… …but not the office of Prophet…

The same can be said for the gift vs the office of Apostle…

…and the former to build new churches on that foundation already established. …the latter being for the purpose to lay the foundation for the Church…

The gift of apostle and prophet is fairly easy to find in the Bible. But to each one of us grace (χάρις) was given (ἐδόθη, a form of δίδωμι) according to the measure of the gift (δωρεᾶς, a form of δωρεά) of Christ.[5] It was he who gave (ἔδωκεν, another form of δίδωμι) some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers[6]  The office of apostle and prophet is a bit more elusive.  But to say that there is no office of apostle and prophet in the Bible is not quite the same as saying that there was an office of apostle and prophet but it exists no longer.  So I’ll spend some time trying to track down the meaning of office of apostle or prophet.

And it came to pass, that while [a priest (ἱερεύς) named Zacharias[7]] executed the priest’s office (ἱερατεύειν, a form of ἱερατεύω) before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office (ἱερατείας, a form of ἱερατεία), his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.[8]  The concept priest’s office is not two words in Greek but one: ἱερατεύειν in the first instance and ἱερατείας in the second.  I should point out that ἱερατεύειν was translated serving as priest in NKJV and ἱερατείας as of the priesthood.  There is a trend toward eliminating the word office over time.  Be that as it may the priest’s office helps clarify the meaning of office.

The requirements, duties, rights and privileges of priests were spelled out in great detail in the law. The law makes the officeofficial. And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office (ἱερατείαν, another form of ἱερατεία) have authorization (ἐντολὴν, a form of ἐντολή) according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, although they too are descendants of Abraham.[9] In the New Testament in Modern Speech (MSNT) Hebrews 5:1-4 is translated as follows:

For every High Priest is chosen from among men, and is appointed to act on behalf of men in matters relating to God, in order to offer both gifts and sin-offerings, and must be one who is able to bear patiently with the ignorant and erring, because he himself also is beset with infirmity.  And for this reason he is required to offer sin-offerings not only for the people but also for himself.  And no one takes this honorable office (τιμὴν, a form of τιμή) upon himself, but only accepts it when called to it by God, as Aaron was.

The KJV translated τιμὴν as honour.  The translators of the more recent translation added the concept office to that honour.  But I find no fault with the concept of a priestly office carefully delineated in law.  So the question comes to mind, what law authorizes the office of apostle?

Lori Eldridge began as follows:

The following shows us the requirements of the replacement for Judas:

Acts 1:21-26, “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become A WITNESS WITH US OF HIS RESURRECTION.”

This quotation is from the NIV. It is preceded by: For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be made desolate, And let no man dwell therein: and, His office (ἐπισκοπὴν, a form of ἐπισκοπή) let another take.[10]  At least that’s how ἐπισκοπὴν was translated in the ASV and the NKJV.  The KJV translated it bishopric, and the NIV place of leadership.  But if I am going to find a law authorizing an office of apostle, the word of an apostle seems a likely place to start—on the surface of it.  But watch what happens if I expand the context.

Jesus had told Peter, Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.  For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.[11]  Instead, prior to receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter took it upon himself to replace one of the Apostles Jesus had chosen[12] (Luke 6:12-16 NET).

Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God.  When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:  Simon (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

So what did Jesus do? He made a personal appearance on the road to Damascus and chose Saul, a Pharisee who persecuted the early believers.  I can’t say that Jesus deliberately confounded Peter’s rule for apostle selection, because I believe that God’s prerogative—I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion[13]—trumps all law.  I can say that Saul was not one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us, Peter’s stated prerequisite that Ms. Eldridge quoted but did not emphasize in all capital letters: For one of these (ἕνα τούτων) must become (γενέσθαι,a form of γίνομαι) A WITNESS WITH US OF HIS RESURRECTION.

In John’s vision on Patmos the wall of the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God[14] was described as having twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.[15]  I wonder if those who believe that Peter created (and limited) the office of Apostle as stated in Acts 1:21-26 also believe that Matthias will be the twelfth name on those foundations.  If it seems like I’m lobbying for Paul, I am not.

In the past I have lobbied for Paul. But now that I know him better and Jesus through his writing I hope that the twelfth name is Judas Iscariot.  I can’t imagine a more beautiful memorial to the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ.  And I think Paul would agree with me: so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling[16] So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.[17] For the gifts (χαρίσματα, a form of χάρισμα) and the call of God are irrevocable.[18]

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”[19]

But perhaps the office of Apostle precedes Peter’s questionable rule as ἐπισκοπὴν (translated office in the ASV) precedes it.  I’ll look into that in the next essay.  For now I want to wrap-up by saying that this is not an enjoyable pastime for me.

Lori Eldridge was “raised in a cult as a child,” and “saved through Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth.”[20]  It seems that she hears or reads sermons or religious writings and the Holy Spirit brings Scripture to mind that contradicts what the preacher preached or wrote.  Though her faith allows her to declare those the Holy Spirit contradicts false prophets and teachers[21] and mine does not, I might still be better served by trying to befriend her rather than by disputing with her.

People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me.  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me, the Lord promised through Jeremiah.  It seems fitting here to highlight the equalizing power of the Bible.  With it, led by the Holy Spirit, Lori Eldridge challenges prophets and teachers and declares them false.  With the Bible, led by the Holy Spirit, I can question the wisdom of Peter’s actions and whether his word established a rule for an office of apostle.  None of that changes if apostles and prophets are still active (and necessary) in the ἐκκλησία.

Apostles and Prophets, Part 2

[1] John 3:3 (NET)

[2] Romans 11:17 (NET)

[3] http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=2229

[4] http://www.endtime-prophets.com/noproph.html

[5] Ephesians 4:7 (NET)

[6] Ephesians 4:11 (NET)

[7] Luke 1:5 (KJV)

[8] Luke 1:8, 9 (KJV)

[9] Hebrews 7:5 (NET)

[10] Acts 1:20 (ASV)

[11] Acts 1:4, 5 (NET)

[12] John 6:70, 71 (NET)

[13] Romans 9:15 (NET)

[14] Revelation 21:10 (NET)

[15] Revelation 21:14 (NET)

[16] Romans 9:11 (NET)

[17] Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

[18] Romans 11:29 (NET)

[19] Romans 11:26, 27 (NET)

[20] http://www.endtime-prophets.com/statement.html

[21] http://www.endtime-prophets.com/

Romans, Part 35

After the crescendo of faith and victory in Christ at the end of chapter eight, Paul’s abrupt admission at the beginning of chapter nine is disconcerting.  I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit – I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.[1]  But the sense of his great sorrow and unceasing anguish comes with its cause.  For I could wish that I myself were accursed – cut off from Christ – for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen, who are Israelites.[2]  This has become more personal to me as I reflect on the fundamentalist Christians who are my people by birth.

To them, Paul continued writing about the descendants of Israel, belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.  To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever!  Amen.[3]  While this is objectively true of Israel I grew up feeling it subjectively, that fundamentalist Christians were the true heirs of it all.  It is not as though the word of God had failed,[4] Paul continued.  What does it mean for the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe[5] when the people for whom it was prepared rejected the Gospel of Christ?

This sounds, even to my ear, like a harsh judgment of the fundamentalist Christians I call my people.  But I am taking the absence of internet chatter regarding the movie “Courageous” as anecdotal evidence.  I only found one comment from a Lutheran theologian criticizing “Courageous” for being too synergistic (not monergistic enough).  I had to look it up, too, so I won’t choose up sides and argue theological jargon.  It makes me feel a little too much like a Gentile living in the futility of [my] thinking.[6]

I will simply say that the character Adam in the movie sought to have his own righteousness derived from his own reading of the Bible as a list of rules he resolved (or, swore an oath) to keep.  Then he became a stumblingblock to others as they followed him in his defection from Christ’s righteousness.  This is clearly part of the dung[7] Paul had rejected of his past life as a Pharisee.  And the silence on the internet is deafening when compared to the outrage over the movie “End of the Spear,” when a gay Christian was hired to portray a missionary and his son.

As I have written before I didn’t see this either as I watched the movie.  We fundamentalist Christians are so accustomed to being tossed back and forth by waves of the latest spiritual fad, and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes,[8] and so dissatisfied with the lives we lead by faith alone[9] that Adam’s neo-Phariseeism seems completely right and natural to us.  We are they who maintain the outward appearance of religion buthave repudiated its power,[10] the power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead,[11] the righteousness that comes from his Spirit, his love, his joy, his peace, his patience, his kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his gentleness, and his self-control.[12]

For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,[13] Paul began to explain how the word of God had not failed, nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; ratherthrough Isaac will your descendants be counted.”[14]  This seemed like an ad hoc argument to me, since all the descendants of Israel (Jacob) were also descendents of Isaac his father.  But then Paul reiterated the point he had made over and over in Romans, This means it is not the children of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σάρξ)[15] who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise (ἐπαγγελίας, a form of ἐπαγγελία)[16] are counted (λογίζεται, a form of λογίζομαι)[17] as descendants.[18]  This is the same distinction Paul made between those born only of the flesh and those born of the flesh and of the Spirit,[19] and those who live according to the flesh and those who live according the Spirit.[20]

And look, I am sending you what my Father promised[21] (ἐπαγγελίαν, another form of ἐπαγγελία), the resurrected Jesus told the children of promise (all descended from Israel) just before He was taken up into heaven.[22]  While [Jesus] was with them, Luke reiterated in Acts, he declared, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised (ἐπαγγελίαν, another form of ἐπαγγελία), which you heard about from me.  For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”[23]  This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it, Peter declared in his first sermon on Pentecost.  So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise (ἐπαγγελίαν, another form of ἐπαγγελία) of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear.[24]

For this is what the promise (ἐπαγγελίας, a form of ἐπαγγελία) declared: Paul continued.  “About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[25]  Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac – even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling) – it was said to her, The older will serve the younger,” just as it is written:Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[26]  This kind of talk rubs those born only of the flesh of Adam, those who are content with their own works, the wrong way.  Paul knew that.

What shall we say then? Paul continued.  Is there injustice with God?[27]  In other words, by what right did God distinguish between Esau and Jacob before they were born or had done anything good or bad?  Too often, I have missed the point here, rationalizing that God knew what Esau and Jacob would do before they were born.  But Paul said, Absolutely not!  For he says to Moses:I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[28]  Even as He gave Moses the law that defined sin, God reserved for Himself the right to have mercy and compassion on any He chose to have mercy and compassion.  So then, Paul concluded, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.[29]

For the scripture says to Pharaoh: Paul continued to make his point doubly strong and doubly clear by declaring its inverse.  “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”  So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.[30]  Again, such talk infuriates one depending on his own works for glory, honor and salvation.  You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault?  For who has ever resisted his will?”[31]  But Paul didn’t back down (Romans 9:20-29 NET).

But who indeed are you – a mere human being – to talk back to God?  Does what is molded say to the molder, Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?  But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?  And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory – even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?  As he also says in Hosea: “I will call those who were not my people, My people, and I will call her who was unloved, My beloved.’”  “And in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God.’”  And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.”  Just as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of armies had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

Now if one reads the passage above, and suspects that he or she has been hardened by God into an object of wrath, and begins to fear rather than to mock, take heart.  You have begun to hear the word of the Lord.  He is calling you.  And the righteous prayer that justifies is near you, on your lips.  God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am![32]


[1] Romans 9:1, 2 (NET)

[2] Romans 9:3, 4a (NET) Table

[3] Romans 9:4b, 5 (NET)

[4] Romans 9:6a (NET)

[5] Romans 3:22 (NET)

[8] Ephesians 4:14 (NET)

[9] James 2:14-26 (NET)

[10] 2 Timothy 3:5 (NET)

[11] Ephesians 1:20 (NET)

[12] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[13] Romans 9:6b (NET)

[14] Romans 9:7 (NET)

[18] Romans 9:8 (NET)

[21] Luke 24:49a (NET) Table

[22] Luke 24:51 (NET)

[23] Acts 1:4, 5 (NET)

[24] Acts 2:32, 33 (NET) Table

[26] Romans 9:9-13 (NET)

[27] Romans 9:14a (NET)

[28] Romans 9:14b, 15 (NET)

[29] Romans 9:16 (NET)

[30] Romans 9:17, 18 (NET)

[31] Romans 9:19 (NET)

[32] Luke 18:13, 14 (NET); Religious and Righteous Prayer