The Workmanship of God

God’s Workman - the Workmanship of God - Will Never Be Ashamed

On Sunday, April 28, I was privileged to participate in a special service recognizing Pastor Chris Skeens of Ravenswood.  He had completed his studies and earned a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling from Liberty University.  I was one of two speakers. The first and most significant was his youngest daughter Hannah - the child was honoring the father.  Her tribute was totally and completely unalloyed - and what she expressed is the motivating heart of the Gospel Message. What she did incarnate I only added the exegesis - or interpretation.

When Pastor Chris’ wife, Susan, asked me to contribute the passage of Scripture that came immediately to my mind was this from the KJV: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 This letter is acknowledged as Paul’s last piece of correspondence as he lay in a Roman dungeon fully cognizant of the sword that was being prepared to bring to completion the race that was initiated on the Damascus Road - actually from his mother’s womb (Galatians 1:15). We might say that this was the apostle’s last will and testament - his bequeathment to his young disciple.  Paul had carried the flame as far as he had been ordained to do so - now it would be handed off to Timothy and then to others to carry it even further.

I once heard an Ugandan pastor exhort younger pastors to turn to the letters to Pastors Timothy and Titus when they get lost and they would find their way again. Well, before I digress too much more let’s get back to our main theme.

Instead of the word study, other more literal translations use the word diligent: Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 NASB From this basis I shared with the congregation, “Pastor Chris has been diligent not to avoid shame, but because he has been freed from shame.”  The further testimony of Scripture is that we are the work of His hands  - “For we are His workmanship (masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Freedom From Shame

Freedom from shame is the motivating factor for the Christian - for in only two verses before it is proclaimed: “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown (deny) himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13 For the Father to deny or disown the elect in His Son would be to deny or disown His very self.  “even as, in His love, He chose us as His own in Christ before the creation of the world, that we might be holy and without blemish in His presence.” Ephesians 1:4 Weymouth

For the prophet had announced concerning the days of restoration: "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.” Joel 2:27  The next verse in Joel is part of Peter’s great sermon on the day of Pentecost: "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” Acts 2:17

Before Peter begins to quote Joel he prefaces:  “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.” Acts 2:15  Peter was saying that he had some “splainin” to do. This is the function of a preacher/teacher - one whom the Father has set apart to be a herald of His Word.  The Holy Spirit inspired proclamation of the Word of God setting forth the revelation of the Son is the foundation stone of the prevailing Church.

John Gill comments: “on this foundation the saints are built by Father, Son, and Spirit, as the efficient causes, and by the ministers of the Gospel as instruments: these lie in the same common quarry with the rest of mankind, and are singled out from thence by efficacious grace; they are broken and hewn by the word and ministers of it, as means; and are ministerially laid on Christ the foundation, and are built up thereon in faith and holiness;...”

The Initiative of the Call

It is the initiative of the call of God that results in diligence.  In Paul’s dissertation on the unfathomable wisdom and mystery of election he announces: “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29  In a recent men’s study the author of the book we were using said, “But God has a ‘lost and found’ for you to visit to get back what the enemy has taken away.”  I referenced this Scripture passage to say that what the Father has given in the Son can never be lost for what He gives, He does not give away - nor does He take back. We may get off course a bit, but He is always faithful to bring correction - for we are not illegitimate children.  He will not forsake His own. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." Hebrews 12:6 ESV 

In the rest of God no one ceases to work - diligence remains a hallmark - it is the motivation behind the effort that becomes dramatically different.  “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:11 God rested on the seventh day of creation, but He did not quit. Now in the Son we also enter into this Sabbath rest - not just one day of the week, but every day. “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9

Approval is not something for which we strive - it is the basis from which we strive. “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Colossians 1:29  We are accepted before the Father in the Son of His love and there is nothing we can do to improve on that standing. “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3 NIV We are sustained by the authoritative revelation of the Son. Only a deceiving spirit could seek to add to this.

An Exhortation is Hollow

An exhortation is hollow unless the means are provided to fulfill it - indeed it is the embodiment of vain religiosity. “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”  Colossians 2:23 There is nothing much worse than a purveyor of false hope.  “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” Acts 15:10 ESV

In Reformed theology diligence and the perseverance of the saints are one and the same thing.  Perseverance is all to the glory of God - for it is the Father’s unfailing love that perseveres without the possibility of failing. “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV The Son prays to the Father on our behalf: “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." John 17:26 NIV This is the concluding statement - the seal - of His High Priestly prayer. It is the Amen - so be it, truly!  It is akin to the Swahili word for yes - ndiyo - which is much more definite - yes, it is so. The love of God can do anything but fail.

Pastor John Piper says it like this: “It follows...that the people of God WILL persevere to the end and not be lost. The foreknown are predestined, the predestined are called, the called are justified, and the justified are glorified. No one is lost from this group. To belong to this people is to be eternally secure.”

The Son’s Prayer

Looking again to the Son’s prayer on our behalf: "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.” John 17:6  Of course they were obedient! How could they be otherwise?  The Father had given them to the Son and they knew it - the only possible response is obedience.  Only those who have been chosen have the ability to choose.  They have been given the will to come: “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” John 6:37 NIV They will come - not as automatons, but as elect children. The Son came not to do His own will, but - “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” 6:38  Thus the will of the Father in the Son becomes the will of those given to the Son by the Father: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” 6:39

The great motivating factor for the Son was this: “and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’" At once the Holy Spirit also came upon Him. This is the truth baptism of which the water was only a symbol - for this declaration immersed every fiber of His being.  And at this point He had done very little - a least that we have a record of; yet he was already approved. From this point until the day He prayed, “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4 NIV - His standing of approval in the heart of His Father had not increased one iota.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." This is from Paul’s letter to the Romans (8:15 NIV).  In his letter to the Galatians he writes it like this: Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." (4:6 NIV).  It is with one voice that we ourselves empowered by the Holy Spirit cry out from our innermost being. 

So we can say to Pastor Chris, “Well done. For you are done, you are complete, you are finished - for your Eternal Father has chosen to reveal His Son in and through you.”  No greater accolade can be attributed to a man.

Thus we say again: It is right and proper that the child gives honor to the father - for she is his workmanship.

“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.”  John 17:9-10 NASB

Faith or Folly?

 "'Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Leviticus 10:3 NIV

Unlocking the Mysteries or Handling Strange Fire?

“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Matthew 16:19 KJV In the tradition that we have been a part the last 40 years this passage of scripture is often quoted.  The idea being connoted is that if we speak forth something on the earth them it will be accomplished in heaven. I believe there is an issue of sequence here that most translations miss giving rise to all sorts of folly and fiction–coming very close to conjuring. On this basis we march recklessly into battle and end up thoroughly defeated much as Israel in its first attempt to take the city of Ai - for presumption is a sin in the camp.  “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!” Psalm 19:13a ESV Yet it is not about solitary battles only - it is about a war of influence that we are losing. However, the Lord God has something else in mind that will occur before the consummation of this present age: "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14 

The Lord’s Side

“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side,” Abraham Lincoln.  I believe we often get this severely confused. I was watching Jim Wallis of Sojourners being interviewed on TV and he continued after quoting President Lincoln, “This takes true humility.”  Humility is the chief characteristic that the Father is seeking, for it is the main attribute of His Son. Through humility He accomplished all that His Father had given Him to do and was then exalted to the Right Hand: “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4 NIV  For He did nothing but in response to what He saw His Father doing: “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.’” John 5:19 NIV Humility may be the one accolade of humanity that one can never apply to oneself for in so doing whatever essence of verity that may have existed would be gone as a vapor.

“Are You for us or for our enemies??” “Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in worship and asked Him, “What does my Lord want to say to His servant??” Joshua 5:13b-14 NIV Let us not miss Joshua’s change in attitude - from whose side have you come to serve - to true worship.  True worship does not presume to have the word of the Lord, it bows in humility to receive the Word of the Lord - then and only then do the true worshipers venture forth. On the Day of the Lord, the wheat heavy laden with fruitfulness bows its head in submission all the while reflecting the amber glory of the Lord to be gathered unto everlasting life while the tares remain upright in barren defiance only to be swept up into eternal destruction.

The Sound of a going...

With the great Philistine army spread out before him King David was warned not to go forward until he heard the Word of the Lord: “And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.” 2 Samuel 5:24 KJV And this is the last instance in which the Philistines threatened the integrity of Israel–for the King did not go forth into battle until he was aware of the initiative of the Lord.

Someone once said, “God has not come to take sides, but to take over.”  I just heard this at a leadership seminar conducted by Pastor Ron Crum, “We want Your will, nothing more - nothing less!”

Teach us to pray...

Indeed this is the way that we have been taught to pray by our Lord Himself.  When He was asked by His disciples how they should pray He first exhorted them “use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”  There is nothing about this form of “prayer” that requires revelation by way of relationship.  I like the way the NIV puts it: “do not keep on babbling like pagans,...”  

In His person Christ came to restore relationship - the Fatherhood of God.  Who else but the Son could accomplish such a thing?  And that is where He told them he was going to take them, not to some ethereal abode somewhere out in time - but to a living dynamic relationship in this present age for they had a commission to fulfill. As this discourse continues that is where He takes His disciples: "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:8 The Father already knows - the activating factor is simply for His children to ask in agreement. As it has been said, “Effective prayer is telling God what He has told us to tell Him.”

That brings us to His next words of instruction acknowledging first of all His all-knowing  sovereignty and His willingness to make this wisdom known: "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”  His next words carry with them a weight that was unanticipated for He had told them not to pray as the “religious hypocrites” nor as the pagans for their prayers were self-centered and self-absorbed.  The prayers of His disciples were first toward the Father and then toward the thrust of His designs being accomplished on the earth through them–this being true worship.  This is the desire and purpose of the Father. True worship is God-ward first and then us-ward to our fellow man.  “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” Matthew 6:10 ERV  The Message says it like this: “Set the world right;
Do what’s best—as above, so below.”  I like to say it this way, “Thy will be done on earth as it is being done this very moment in heaven.”  True worshipful prayer is the intersection of heaven and earth. For the angelic messenger spoke to Cornelius thus opening the Gospel to the whole world: “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” Acts 10:4 

Call into being...

We are commissioned to call into being that which is not as though it were - not presently on earth, but already in heaven. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”  Hebrews 11:3 NIV If the Father has not spoken, faith is impossible.  If we try to call into being that which is not as though it were and God has not spoken then it is not faith at all - but presumption.  Attempts at positive confession can be nothing more than the vain babblings that we noted above.

We now come back around to our opening passage of scripture and the true key that is held therein.  But for a moment lets look at the preceding events.  Jesus has asked His disciples: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" Matthew 16:13 They make replies that are appropriate to the question and suggest secondhand information - maybe from the Jerusalem Daily Post: “Some say...”  Then he moves quickly to the point: "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Matthew 16:15NIV (His question borders closely on a reference to the Tetragrammaton [YHWH], but no translation makes this connection.)

Peter responds correctly: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is a word of faith for it came forth not as secondhand information–nor was it a product of educated guessing.  The Son was quick to acknowledge: “because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”  Let us note that up to this point and immediately thereafter the disciple is referred to as Peter - but in this instance the Son calls him Simon Barjona or Simon son of Jona.  He is reminding Peter of his earthly son-ship that He might point Him toward that which is much greater - His heavenly son-ship.  This is the blessing: "Blessed are you,...” For he was now “born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:13

John Gill comments: "the workmanship of the blessed God, and not the workmanship of flesh and blood.''  It was the heavenly Father’s choice to bring revelation to Peter. If there is any attribute here that could be ascribed to Peter it would be his impulsiveness - yet this characteristic was more often a detriment to him.  

Moving to commission...

Yet, less the tendency take root to remain right there, Jesus quickly moves to commission - or for the reason for the blessing.  What ensues brings the past into the present while looking toward the future - the great Abrahamic Covenant: “and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”  Genesis 12:2 In other words - Abraham and those of his seed - are blessed to be a blessing.  Let us be kept from the recurring error of seeing ourselves as those to whom the blessing would come - but rather through whom the blessing would come to others. This is nothing other than the product of Sovereign Choice–which if comprehended in any measure always glorifies the One who has done the choosing, not the one who has been chosen.

Christ tells Peter and all those within hearing - and now those that read - that which has just transpired is the foundational stone on which He will build His church - the rock of revelation. Peter - in his flesh - cannot be the rock for he was being drawn into the very priesthood of the Son Himself of whom it says using Melchizedek as a type: “who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.” Hebrews 7:16   And that church with such a foundation cannot be overpowered by Hades’ seat of authority - the reference being to the gate of a walled city. It is worth noting that this is an analogy of offense not one of defense.

The initiative...

There is only one in all of eternity who is creative and capable of initiative - These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,...” Genesis 2:4KJV We, as true worshipers, are called to join in the activity of our Father God.  Let us not succumb to the mistaken notion that worship is confined to certain places, at certain times and with certain modes - it is a lifestyle.

True worship makes a difference...if a difference is not being made then it is not true worship. There is nothing that catches the Father unawares (omniscience), nor anything the Son has not experienced (omnipresent), nor anything the Holy Spirit is powerless to advocate (omnipotent) - it is into that divine activity that true worshipers are called.  The Father is seeking them out and they will be found in Him: “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through the faithfulness of the Messiah,...” Philippians 3:9a ISV

Once again to the keys...

With this in mind, let us go once again to the keys: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." NASB (1995)  Let us take notice of the sequence here - first in heaven, then on earth.  That is, God is calling us to His side - we are not calling Him to our side. It is only in this sense that this declaration can fit into the narrative.

The keys are the abilities to see into the Father’s heavenly activity.  It is plural for revelation can come in many different ways - the written Word of God, the community of believers, the Holy Spirit’s gifts of grace (charisma), etc. Henry Blackaby has taught us to, “Look and see what God is doing and join Him there.”  It is all the initiative of the Godhead for the Son says, “I will give you...”  To give is to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation in return.  Therefore the giver cannot see in the recipient the ability to reciprocate, nor is the recipient encumbered with such a burden. 

The only acceptable merit...

There is no indication of warranted merit here - it is all of the unmerited favor of the Lord. As a matter of fact, it is often that which seems to be merit in the mind of man that could cause disqualification. May we say that the Son chooses those to whom He will give - "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” John 15:16 NASB Ah, the wonder of divine election the depth of which the mind of man is unable to comprehend. “so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,...”  Romans 9:11 NASB

Just in case we would still want to attribute any vestige of merit to Peter and then vicariously to ourselves as well only a few verses later Jesus has this rejoinder for Peter when his natural mind fails to grasp the fullness of the Son’s mission: But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”  Matthew 16:23 

The only acceptable merit before our Eternal Father is the imputed merit of the Son. ‘and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."’ Luke 3:22b This was the sole factor that motivated the Son to accomplish all that the Father had given Him to do.

For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."  1 Peter 2:6 

I have just heard on the radio of the passing of George Beverly Shea and these words come to mind as a fitting benediction:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

On Good Friday - His heel was struck!

On Good Friday - His heel was struck!

There is a scarlet thread that not only runs all the way through the dealings of God with man, it also binds the whole story together.  It is called the Blood Covenant.  We observe the shedding of the innocent blood of the Eternal Lamb on Good Friday, yet the events of that day harken all the way back to the Genesis account while looking forward to the final Revelation of Him who was, and is and is to come at the consummation of the ages.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."  Genesis 3:15 NIV This is what is known as the protevangelium - the first proclamation of the Gospel. Its context is the initial sentence of the Lord God’s proclamation of judgement on first the serpent and then the man and the woman–yet even here the plan of redemption is set into motion before Adam’s lifeless clay received the Eternal Spirit is revealed.  

Reversing

One would come who would reverse the curse. “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” 1 Peter 1:20 NIV  It is the blessing which will outlast the curse for blessings are eternal while curses will pass away.  Just heard this quoted on the radio: “that which is bought with blood shall last.”  And I would add that it never ceases: “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,...”  Hebrews 13:20 NASB

The serpent is the one who would strike His heel - causing the shedding of blood - although it was the Father’s good pleasure for him to do so. There is nothing that is outside the scope of our Father’s faithfulness to fully realize His original intent–that His Son would be the first of many brethren. All things were not only created by the Son - they were also created for Him: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16 NASB

Offending

Foretelling the mystery that is being revealed in these latter days the prophet announces: “Yet the LORD was pleased to crush Him severely. When You make Him a restitution offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and by His hand, the LORD's pleasure will be accomplished.” Isaiah 53:10 CSV This is a difficult saying for it offends the mind - that it could possibly be the good pleasure of the Father to crush His Only Son. Yet the mind must be offended so that the heart can be reached.  Christ Himself challenged the crowd that was pressing in upon Him: “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. John 6:55-56 And the majority turned away for they were seeking that which was temporal while what He would offer them would be eternal–instant gratification held the day.  Yet there were a few who could not turn: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68-69

The immutable hand of the Lord God in this Good Friday event is recounted in the Acts of the Apostles: "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. Acts 4:27-28 NASB The appeal of these early believers to the sovereignty of God in the midst of persecution was the great motivating factor to preach the Gospel. "And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,...” Acts 4:29 NASB  No fatalistic passivity was bred. 

Even Judas was His chosen instrument.  Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" John 6:70 NASB All of creation must yield itself to the hand of its Creator in the Son:  "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

Wounding

The wound to the heel is not one to cause ultimate defeat - while a wound to the head, especially a crushing wound, is completely fatal.  In the protevangelium the NIV which we used above makes a distinction between crush and strike although the original verb is exactly the same.  Literally there is no distinction yet when it comes to efficacy there is a wide gap.  In its dynamic equivalence approach to translation, the NIV adequately preserves this distinction.

In the Geneva Study Bible (the Bible of the Reformers) we read: Satan shall sting Christ and his members, but not overcome them. John Wesley writes: Destroyed and ruined at last by the great Redeemer, signified by the bruising of his head; his subtle politics shall be all baffled, his usurped power entirely crushed. And from the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary:  The serpent's poison is lodged in its head; and a bruise on that part is fatal. Thus, fatal shall be the stroke which Satan shall receive from Christ, though it is probable he did not at first understand the nature and extent of his doom.

Crushing

The same heel that is wounded is the heel that crushes the head.  There had to be a wounding - a flow of blood must be produced.  “and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:22b ESV The shedding of blood speaks of the ultimate identification of the Messiah with Adam’s race - the seed of the woman. Our Deliverer had to be One who was one of us–yet at the same time not under the bondage of sin. Eve fully understood this for at the birth of her firstborn she proclaimed: “I have gotten a man, the Lord.” Genesis 4:1 NASB (margin) or "I have given birth to a male child—the LORD." ISV She was only incorrect in her timing–yet the hope she expressed would not be disappointed. 

In Peter’s first letter he calls forth into present reality the hope announced years before by the Prophet Isaiah: "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24  Healing speaks of the restoration of the original intent. 

Restoring

The full intent and purpose of the Father’s good pleasure in the wounding of His Son is encapsulated by Paul: “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,...”  Ephesians 1:22   In the Messiah we have an exchange of headship.  In acquiescing to Satan’s beguilement mankind in effect allowed the tempter to become his head.  This is the essence of the curse.  In Christ the true Headship is restored to the Church–the life-light of Blessing eclipses the dark shroud of the curse.

The modern hymn “In Christ Alone” is playing on the radio at this very moment proclaiming Good Friday’s reality:

Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

We will sum this writing up with these words from Oswald Chambers:

“Beware of the pleasant view of the Fatherhood of God. God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That sentiment has no place whatever in the New Testament. The only ground on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To put forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blaspheme. The only ground on which God can forgive sin and reinstate us in His favor is through Christ and in no other way. Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony of Calvary. It is possible to take the forgiveness of sin and our sanctification with simplicity of faith and to forget at what enormous cost to God that it was all made ours. Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. It cost God the Cross of Jesus Christ before He could forgive sin and remain a Holy God. When once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in vice, constrained by the love of God.”

Bwana Asifiwe Amefufuka!  (Swahili: Praise the Lord His is Risen!)
 

It Is Finished!

It Is Finished!

“My ear is still ringing from the muzzle blast...”

The sun was beating down relentlessly on the “iron sheets” that composed the roof of the church building that we were gathered in.  It was almost like being in an oven.  We were ministering to leaders in the Jinja District of Uganda - the birthplace of the River Nile which flows north to provide life for millions of people.  The climatic conditions were so intense that they are readily brought to my remembrance years later as I write these words.

The teaching I was sharing that day was on the avoidance of  religious deception - legalism.  This could best be described by this exhortation by Paul to the church in the Galatian region: “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”  Galatians 3:2 NLT 

Suddenly an illustration came to my mind that had occurred a few years before in a very different part of the world - the fall woods of Wirt County, West Virginia.  It was deer season and I was sitting on a stand twenty feet up in a tree.  In order to make things a little more challenging the instrument of harvest I had chosen for that day was a .44 magnum revolver with a four-inch barrel.  

As if in answer to my anticipation about midmorning several deer came in close but were behind me.  Turning to line up my sights on the nearest one I could not extend my arm fully which placed the gun very near to my face.  As the bullet hurtled toward the animal I was simultaneously assaulted by the force of the muzzle blast - so much so that I actually felt it on my face.  Not only that - the volume of the report was so violent that it has left a permanent impression on my left ear.  Even now as I stop to listen I can hear the ringing that is still reverberating many years later.

“That’s it!”

Transitioning back to that bright day in Uganda I thought, “That’s it!”  Of the seven last words of Christ on the cross the sixth is: “It is finished!”  Even though John’s account says that “he said” the parallel account in Matthew recounts “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice.”  As surely as the blast of that .44 magnum still rings in my ear, so must the unquenchable force of His exclamation ring in our spirit.  It will drown out and dispel the attempts of religiosity to add to His finished work: "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galatians 2:21

This was not a cry of desperation - certainly not of defeat. It is a cry of triumphal fulfillment - the birthing forth of a new age. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” 1 Corinthians 15:57  “It is the Victor's cry.” C.I. Scofield writes.

Here is the complete verse along with Matthew’s remembrance: “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” John 19:30  (Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;...)

     Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright comments on this passage: “ending with the shout of triumph (Greek: tetelestai, ‘it is accomplished’) corresponding to the completion of creation itself. Genesis 2:1-2 Where synteleo is used twice for the completion of the original creation on the sixth day before God rests on the seventh.”

The Thousand Years

The same word is used to indicate the imagery of the completion of the thousand years in Revelation 20:5, 7. It is the summing up of all things in Christ at the consummation of the age - for they were created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). The Fathers of the Church saw in the number 1000 "the totality of the generations and the perfection of the life." Regarding the betrayal scene John recounts "Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one." This speaks immediately not only to the disciples but to those also who would believe because of their word.

The contemporary of the Wesleys Adam Clarke writes: It is finished - As if he had said: "I have executed the great designs of the Almighty - I have satisfied the demands of his justice - I have accomplished all that was written in the prophets, and suffered the utmost malice of my enemies; and now the way to the holy of holies is made manifest through my blood." An awful, yet a glorious finish. Through this tragical death God is reconciled to man, and the kingdom of heaven opened to every believing soul.

This is the beginning of the millennial reign of "the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty." Revelation 1:8  For in biblical numerology 1,000 signifies "immensity" or "fullness of quantity." “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son.” Colossians 1:19 NET Bible

The Scottish Presbyterian David Brown observes: It is finished! and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost-What is finished? The Law is fulfilled as never before, nor since, in His "obedience unto death, even the death of the cross"; Messianic prophecy is accomplished; Redemption is completed; "He hath finished the transgression, and made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness, and sealed up the vision and prophecy, and anointed a holy of holies"; He has inaugurated the kingdom of God and given birth to a new world.

The Sixth Day

It is finished - the sixth of the seven last words of Christ - corresponds to the sixth day of creation as noted before.  “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31 This speaks of completion - the finished work.

Of the sixth day the Reformed theologian John Gill comments: and the evening and the morning were the sixth day; by that time all these works on this day were finished; the sun had gone round the earth, or the earth about that, for the space of twenty four hours, which completed the sixth day, within which term of time God had determined to finish all his works, as he did.

What the Father had accomplished in creation by the initiative of His Word had to be brought full cycle so that what was lost in the first Adam might be re-inaugurated in the Last Adam - the Living Word. Christ, by His utterance, announced the end to His suffering.  He also announced the beginning of the end of the suffering of all creation - the age of Resurrection. “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” Romans 8:22

From the American Presbyterian Albert Barnes: Cried again with a loud voice - He cried, "It is finished,"  It was in the height of his agony, probably attended with deep groaning, and uttered amid sorrows which were never else experienced in our world. It finished the work of atonement, made the way of salvation possible, rolled away the curse from guilty people, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all true believers.

The veil is rent!

Matthew records that at the moment He shouted out these words the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom.  This veil was no gossamer that yielded mildly to His authority.  It was a heavily woven curtain: “the thickness of the vail is an hand's breadth,” - as much as four inches. The force of His exclamation was such that the rocks were also split open.  

The great barrier between God and man of death was defeated.  “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Acts 2:24  NIV

The prophet foretold the coming of this day. “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” Isaiah 53:10  NASB

Returning...

Returning to that day in Uganda I said to them as well as myself and the members of our team, so shall it be - when the tempter’s voice comes with his fleshly allure to add to the finished work of Christ let us turn our attention to the ringing in our spirit of His final words” “It is finished!”  There is nothing left to be accomplished - He has done it all.

Once again to Paul’s letters: “I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me, and the life that I am now living in this body I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20  ISV This has been accomplished - completed - in, through and by Christ alone.  Any aid of human agency is preposterous - “I accepted Jesus, I invited Him into my heart, I have decided, etc.”  Please notice the prominent place of “I.”  If we believe it is about us rather than about Him, the seeds of defeat and discouragement have already been sown and the tares are pushing their way to the surface.

And from the great New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce: “Jesus’ cry ‘It is accomplished!’ (tetelestai, perfect passive of teleo) confirms the Evangelist’s preceding statements in verse 28 that he knew ‘that all things had now been accomplished.”

Two hymns - one from the 19th century and the other more recent express this truth so well.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Edward Mote - 1834

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
Keith Getty and Stuart Townend - 2002

We turn again to the Apostle Paul for a consuming word on this subject. “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”  Colossians 1:19-20 NASB

Yet the enormity of this subject is such that so much more has been said, could be said and will be said - but here we take a selah. 

The Bruised Reed...

Let’s take a walk together through the Judean countryside.  The time is around 33AD.  It has been a long arduous journey and we are anxious to get home.  You know what I mean, “There is no place like home!”  We have only to pass through customs on the road ahead and we will almost be there.  Oh no!  What is this?  Look at the line backed up at the collection booth!  We will never make it home in time for dinner!  What could the problem possibly be?  Word begins to pass down the line - one of the travelers who doesn’t really seem to have much to declare has held up the whole process.  He doesn’t have anything more than the sandals on his feet and a staff in his hand.  

He must be one of those people who doesn’t have the right change!  If I strain my eyes, I can just about see the toll booth - even though the line has stretched out so far.  Oh, I can see the tax collector getting up out of his booth.  This stranger is going to be in trouble now - I bet he doesn’t have the money at all and the “revenuer” is going to turn him over to the Roman authorities.  They will know what to do with such a deadbeat!  How dare he inconvenience all of us.

No, wait a minute!?  What is this?  The agent is going with him!  He is leaving his business behind and he is following this strange man.  What can this mean - I have never seen anything like this!?  There is no one left in the booth.  The whole line is surging ahead without paying a single coin.  Well, I don’t know what I just witnessed - but at least I will be home in time for dinner.

Matthew

I am sure that by now you have figured out that the tax collector in the narrative is the Gospel writer and disciple Matthew.

As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. Matthew 9:9

Matthew stood up - meeting Christ’s gaze eye to eye - and they walked off together.

The Pharisees of His day or the religious legalist of our day (and we all have some of this in us): “Would first make him a penitent, and then bid him welcome to God; Christ first welcomes him to God, and so makes him a penitent.  The one demands, the other imparts life.”

Jesus didn’t call Matthew to repentance (9:13 KJV), but to Himself.  Repentance will follow.  Matthew arose and turned to face Christ and then walked away from his business–a true change of heart.

“But when (the call) came, and Jesus fixed on him that look of love which searched the inmost deep of the soul, and made Him the true Fisher of men, it needed not a moment’s thought or consideration.”

“That was a gain that day, not of Matthew alone, but of all the poor and needy in Israel–nay, of all sinners from among men, to whom the door of heaven was opened.”

View Point

Now let’s look at this scenario from another view point - the other end of the line. This account of Matthew’s calling is also recorded in Mark and Luke, but they refer to him as Levi - his Hebrew name.  Matthew will not call himself that - he only goes by his more common name.  He was known as other things by his fellow Jews - thief, traitor, sellout, blasphemer...

If he did not hear them say these words, he saw it in their eyes–one by one and day after day.  But he needed this job, he had no other way to make a living - no other choices. He was a slave. But when his eyes met the eyes of the Savior he saw something he had never seen before - unconditional love.  He simply records: “He saw a man called Matthew,...”  Levi-Matthew was so compelled that he could only get up and follow - the love was irresistible.   “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul - my life - my all!  Isaac Watts 1707 

And Matthew is the only Gospel writer that includes these words of Isaiah in his account - for he was a bruised reed.  He had been bruised by condemnation, accusation, self-righteousness and judgement - stones hurled against his very soul.  Yes, words can hurt - very deeply.

A bruised reed he will not break, 
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, 
till he leads justice to victory. 
In his name the nations will put their hope.” 
Matthew 12:20-21 NIV

I love the way this is expressed here: “He will not crush those who are weak, or quench the smallest hope, until he brings full justice with his final victory.” NLT

Mission

This speaks of his mission - and to those that he invited into his home to meet the Messiah. That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners.  The Pharisees were indignant. “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” they asked his disciples.  Matthew 9:10-11

‘Expecting a Messiah who would crush the sinful and support the righteous, they had little place for one who accepted and transformed the sinner and dismissed the righteous as hypocrites.’

When he heard this, Jesus replied, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.’ For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.”  Matthew 9:12-13 NLT

Matthew had become a fisher of men.  "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  Although Matthew and the rest would face many struggles in the days ahead, the call of Christ was compelling - irrevocable.  David Platt writes, “These men decidedly do not warrant Jesus’ pursuit. (They) become disciples of Jesus solely because of the initiative–and invitation–of Christ. No one has ever been saved from their sins because they have pursued Jesus. Everyone who has ever been saved from their sins knows that they have been pursued by Jesus–and their lives haven’t been the same since.”

Analogy

For this account to have even a greater grip on our being we need to appreciate the analogy that is being drawn first by the Prophet and then in the life of Matthew Levi.

The piper walked down to the edge of the stream to examine a stand of reeds.  He was in need of a new instrument as his old one was worn out and would not produce a melodious sound.  “Ah, here is a healthy looking one,” he says to himself as he plucks the stem from among the others. Yet on closer examination he sees that it is bruised–it has been injured.  With disgust he fractures it even further and discards it into the stream - being sure that no one else would have any use for it.

As the current carries the bruised reed toward the sea of death it bumps into the bare leg of another who is standing in the stream.  He is in the midst of the stream with the reed.  As a hand gently lifts it from the waters a miracle occurs - it is healed.  This One saw a worth in the reed that the piper could not.  He then draws the reed to his mouth filling it with the breath of life–a beautiful melody is produced.  This melody is a call - a call to others who are bruised - to come and be restored.

The innkeeper goes to prepare the room for his guest.  As he enters, he sees that the lamp on the table is barely flickering.  It is low on oil and as a result it is producing more black smoke than it is producing light. The innkeeper quickly moves toward it to snuff it out so that its soot will not dirty the room.

But the guest has arrived and he pushes past the innkeeper to lift up the lamp in his hands.  As he draws it toward his gaze something miraculous happens!  The well of its being is suddenly filled with fresh oil. No longer is it a smoldering wick–now it is a brilliant light filling every corner of the room with its luminescence. It beckons others to come to the light.

Harmony

 Melodious harmony bringing understanding (brings order) to their confusion and a brilliant light dispelling the darkness.  

“the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Matthew 4:16 NIV

Levi Matthew uses these analogies for he was a bruised reed and a smoldering wick. Early in 1982 as the Father began to call together a community of believers gathering in our living room, this was the message He gave to us: “The bruised reed He will not break and the smoldering wick He will not extinguish.”  It was and is a message of healing for the wounded spirit: “UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.”

Let our minds think on these objects of creation - a reed and a flax - as harbingers of the age that now is and is yet to come.  This is so well expressed in the words of this modern hymn by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend

Creation longs for His return, 
When Christ shall reign upon the earth; 
The bitter wars that rage 
Are birth pains of a coming age. 
When He renews the land and sky, 
All heav'n will sing and earth reply 
With one resplendent theme: The glories of our God and King! 

“Don’t Waste Your Sorrows!”

(The Lady in Red)

“Oh Lord, I want to trust only You.”  I cannot recall the exact words - nor even whether I said this prayer out loud or only breathed it.  Yet I vividly remember the ensuing events!  Anything that I could have been trusting in other than God was removed - it was His mercy that this particular episode was spread out over a period of six months.  My singular “I” was also changed to the plural “we” by virtue of our marriage covenant.

Duck!

I tell people that if they pray a prayer anything similar to this and they do not really mean it - then they had better duck.  This will be one of the most quickly answered prayers you have ever uttered - and you will probably not appreciate the immediate results. Although I now have the advantage of thirty years of hindsight, it did not take that long to realize what our Faithful Father was accomplishing in our lives.  While “blowing bubbles in the mud” both literally and figuratively - through a prophetic utterance God reminded us that He was Sovereign.  I like to say that at that point I became a Presbyterian - again.  Actually it was another step on the pathway of the Reformers.

If such a prayer has as its motive vain personal piety - then it is the most foolish thing possible; akin to shooting oneself in the foot.  However, if it is inspired according to the will of the Father by the Holy Spirit - then its results will be of incalculable value. This is referred to in the Scriptures as glory. There were choices made by me during this period that definitely resulted in untoward circumstances - yet they only served as part of the Father’s plan for our lives.

One of the favorite refrigerator magnet scriptures must surely be Romans 8:28 - usually only quoted in part: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,...” This misapplication of this partial passage can result in extreme injury.  For us it meant the loss of the support of a community of believers that we had helped grow. They saw the things that were happening to us as not being “good” therefore we must be out of the favor of God - certainly we were not experiencing His blessings.  The glibness by which this passage is quoted and the violation of its contextualization is tragic. Let’s end this paragraph with the rest of the verse: “to them who are the called according to his purpose.” KJV

Pray!

At the very minimum of proper exegesis we must get the eternal implications of this verse by looking at it within the paragraph of which it is a part - Romans 8:26-30. As I mentioned before I prayed a prayer - but where did that prayer originate and how did it get into me? The unequivocal answer is in the first two verses of this paragraph: “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27

Did I know how to pray correctly - do any of us know how to pray correctly?  The answer from these verses is a resounding “No!”  Thankfully we are not consigned to aimless meanderings or vain repetition for the Father has sent His Spirit to aid us in our infirmities. He intercedes on our behalf in such a majestic way it is beyond our comprehension - thus “too deep for words.” The revelation that He brings is totally in accord with the will of God.  Mike Bickle has said something like this concerning the heart of prayer: “Tell God what He has told you to tell Him.”  The Holy Spirit draws us into the eternal symphony of heaven where the Father’s will is being accomplished explicitly and works it out through us - the people of God - on the earth: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 NASB

These two verses then could be considered as the preamble to that which follows in this paragraph.  Without this divine initiative on the part of the Father through the agency of the Holy Spirit what follows would be meaningless - indeed it would ring with the hollowness of narcissism. The idolatry of the admiration of our image must totally and completely be eclipsed by the One who has brought to us the express image of God the Father - “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,...” Hebrews 1:3a NIV

Aghast!

Recently I attended a national convention of evangelicals when one the leaders expounded on Romans 8:28. As he concluded, he said these words: “To those who are called according to His purposes.”  I was aghast!  I could not believe what I had just heard from the lips of one of our main spokesmen. His purpose is not plural. Our God is singular - He is One!  "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4 NASB As He is One so also His purpose is one - to defuse His purpose into purposes is to cause it to lose the grandeur of the Son of His love. This singular purpose is the focus of the intercessory groaning of the Holy Spirit. It seems that if we do not neglect this part of the verse then we contort it to mean something that was never intended.

For those who are the elect of God in Jesus Christ - "You did not choose Me but I chose you,...” John 15:16a NASB - there is nothing that comes our way that is outside the bounds of His predetermined purpose.  And that brings us to: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;...” Romans 8:29 NASB.  We also see the reinforcement of this great truth here: “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:4b-6 NASB 

Choices?

Returning to our personal story - did God in His sovereignty allow me to make choices - yes.  Did my “bad” choices impede His purpose for my life - “No!” Was the experience pleasant - not in the least.  Nancy reminded me that at that time I was teaching in our home fellowship group from “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows” by Paul Billheimer and reading devotionally from “The Calvary Road” by Roy Hession.  I can distinctly remember taking both of those books and shoving them to the back of my desk drawer.  

Yet, all that was happening was working together for our good.  Craig Keener comments: “The ‘good’ that God seeks for those who love him, then, is above all their ultimate glory.”  And that glory is being transformed into the image of His Son. Indeed this also is part of the High Priestly prayer offered to the Father on our behalf: "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;” John 17:22 (The singularity of Christ’s prayer is inescapable.) The glory of God is at the heart of the evangel.  It is that which no man can co-opt. The Father bestowed it on the Son and he causes all things to serve this purpose in those whom He has elected - “to become conformed to the image of His Son,...”

This leads us directly to the last verse of our paragraph: “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”  Romans 8:30 NASB Once again we see this purpose in John’s Gospel: "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.”  John 17:9-10 NASB John Gill comments: “Christ is speaking not of things but of persons;...and these the elect of God,...”

Later...

Twenty years after these particular events that I have been referring to I found myself on the other side of the world - Entebbe, Uganda - speaking to a group of pastors.  I do not remember what my subject was, but I began to relate this story.  I shared of the dealings of God in our lives through difficult circumstances - but how the local community of believers was not able to comprehend.  This resulted in misunderstanding, confusion and even accusation.

I looked to the back of the congregation and saw two women that had not been there before - we were teaching a seminar for pastors over a period of days.  One of them was dressed in red - and she was beginning to cry.  I continued to explain how all of these events only served our Father’s predetermined purpose to get us where He wanted us.  The lady in red began to cry even more.  The Presence of the Holy Spirit was so real that we entered into a period of spontaneous worship.  As we came out of this I motioned to one of our team to go back and minister to her.  But when she saw me do this, she came forward.  This set the scene for a protracted period of ministry not only to her, but to others as well.

A few days later while we were at the airport preparing to return home, the other lady - who worked there - approached us with bottles of water as gifts.  “You don’t understand,” she said to us.  She told us that the lady in red was her pastor and in her desire to follow God she had encountered misunderstanding, confusion and criticism.  She had just told God that if she did not receive a word from Him, she could not go on.  God in His sovereignty - twenty years before - had prepared a West Virginia boy to be the word of God to her - the image of Christ.  My friends, this is the glory of God - not my glory, not your glory - but the glory of God.  Mankind cannot usurp this: “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:29 Webster’s Translation All we can do is worship such a One - and do it for all eternity.

Frustrated?

Is there anything that can happen to the believer - whether by our choice or not - that is outside of the bounds of Romans 8:26-30?  The anser again is No!  Are you living in the midst of difficult circumstances?  Is our Faithful Father frustrated in His ultimate purpose for you? No! He takes all of these things to fit, fashion and conform us to the image of His Son.

Recently I was speaking with a younger pastor and we were relating the wonder of the adventure of the Christian life.  I mentioned to him, “The older I get the more Reformed I become.”  He looked at me with astonishment, “You are the third person that has said that to me recently.”  One of those was his father, also a pastor. We serve a sovereign God whose purpose - that His Son would be the First among many - is beyond frustration.

From the timeless truth of the hymn writer:

O to grace how great a debtor 
daily I'm constrained to be! 
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, 
bind my wandering heart to thee. 
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 
prone to leave the God I love; 
here's my heart, O take and seal it, 
seal it for thy courts above. 

“Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”  The Revelation of Jesus Christ 19:6

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Pinocchio Paradox - Wooden or Enlivened? 

“I am no wooden dancing doll!  God has sent His Spirit into my heart and by Him I cry out ‘Abba! Father!’ I am a son!”


Manipulation or Motivation - the Outward or the Inward

My exclamation above came in response to this statement: “Well, if it is about predestination, then we are just robots or puppets.”  I hear this refrain over and over again when the mind of man tries (or tires) in vain to grasp the wisdom of God. I am reminded of the struggle so aptly portrayed by Paul in Romans 7 - do we live this life out on the basis of outward works of law or by the inward renewing of the Holy Spirit?  On the one hand is the dilemma of excruciating agony and on the other is the joyous praise of the one set free from such bondage. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24-25a NASB

Paul again confronts this issue, not only here but in nearly every one of his letters to the churches. “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees,...” Colossians 2:20 NASB The propensity to slide back into humanistic perfectionism is our constant unwanted companion as we are drawn along the path of Holy Spirit sanctification looking toward the final blessed hope.

Having our eyes transfixed...looking to the author and perfecter of faith -- Jesus,...

as "the author and finisher of faith": he is the author or efficient cause of it; all men are by nature without it; it is not in the power of man to believe of himself; it is a work of omnipotence; it is an instance of the exceeding greatness of the power of God; and it is the operation of Christ, by his Spirit; and the increase of it is from him, and he is the finisher of it; he gives himself, and the blessings of his grace, to his people, to maintain and strengthen it; he prays for it, that it fail not; he carries on the work of faith, and will perform it with power; and brings to, and gives that which is the end of it, eternal life, or the salvation of the soul. John Gill 1697-1771

Can we not also hear in the passage above the resounding affirmation:  “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”  Revelation 1:17b-18 NIV We have been set free from the bondage of fear and it is wholly and completely of Him.  It is a fait accompli - an established fact - yet there is no iota of fatalism here.  This is the divine motivation of the children of God and produces within us a spiritual sacrifice of worship that is holy and pleasing to Him - spurring us onward to love and good deeds. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 NASB

For some inexplicable reason we want to hold on to what we believe is our right to choose. I heard one Bible teacher say that if we demand our rights, the only right we have is eternal separation from God and from there we would have to confess that He is holy and right. From the first Adam to the Second Adam there is no such thing as “free moral agency.”  All are dead in their trespasses and sins until the initiative of the Father intervenes. Let us also say it this way: All are enslaved - none have the ability to choose without the prior regenerative work of the Spirit of God and what He begins He will bring to completion. If the ability to love God - and one another - is dependant on our somehow inherent ability to choose then it is fickle and subject to failure. Could it even be conceivable that the created would say to the Creator: “I demand my right to choose.”  The prophet dispels such foolish notions: "Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker-- An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, 'What are you doing?' Or the thing you are making say, 'He has no hands '”? Isaiah 45:9 NASB

If a single verse were to be set out as most clearly presenting gospel truth it must surely be John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” ESV If this be true - and we concur that the love of God cannot fail - then we are left with two options and personal choice is not one of them.  We must either embrace limited atonement via election or universalism sometimes called ultimate reconciliation. Election and universalism are incompatible - if everyone is elect, then there is no election.

At this very moment I am hearing these words on the radio: “Your boundless love unfailing...Hallelujah, Glory be to our Great God!”

One author once wrote, “Read the (words in) red and pray for the power.” May the authority inherent in these words penetrate into the very depths of our being. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:44  And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father." John 6:65

What incredible presumption it is to assume that by our own volition we accept Him. The pseudo-evangelistic mantra of: “Have you accepted Jesus into your heart?” is countered squarely by Divine Initiative. “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved (the Son of His love).” Ephesians 1:6 KJV 

And returning to my opening declaration - He is the One who has sent his Spirit into our hearts.  ‘For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."’ Romans 8:15 NIV Once again we are slaves until we are set free by a Power that is authoritatively outside of our abilities. The Father in His divine providence has chosen you as His child. You are no wooden dancing doll - you have become a son, a joint heir with Jesus Christ. ‘Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."’ Galatians 4:6 NIV Thus this confession is impossible without the prior work of the Father through the gift of the Spirit. “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” Romans 8:9 NIV

Did we invite the Spirit of God to come into our lives or was He sent rushing from the heavenly realms according to the unalterable pledge of Christ Himself? Peter unhesitatingly announces this: "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.” Acts 2:33. Continuing with the words of Paul: “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5 We are bathed - baptized - in, through, with and by this precious love; we do not take a bath. “For we also are baptized by The One Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Aramaeans or Servants or free men, and we are all made to drink The One Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 Aramaic Bible 

We are not being force fed - think of the baby bird eagerly receiving the nourishment provided by its parent - having no ability to feed itself. As the morsel comes near the latent hunger within the nestling is awakened to receive the gift descending from above. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13 ESV

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 NASB

The awareness of having been chosen elect out of the depths of God’s love and wisdom (Ephesians 1:4) engenders no passive que sera, sera.  It is the supreme motive of the euangelion - inspiring such as George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Lemuel Haynes, William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Charles Spurgeon. Spirit of sonship in Romans 8:15 is also translated: “Spirit of adoption.” One who has been adopted has been chosen - the result being unparalleled gratitude. It is hard to imagine a greater motivating factor.

It produces not puppets, robots nor automatons - but sons!  It is the manifestation of these that all creation is longing for: “For the creation shall also be freed from the bondage of destruction into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.” Romans 8:21 Aramaic Bible

The ability to choose is granted to those only who have first been chosen. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last.” John 15:16 NIV They are liberated by the agency of the Spirit of God: and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3b It is His a priori work that produces this result: If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 CSV

In awe of the continued revelation of the great mystery that is being revealed in these latter days through the church we turn again to the words of the song Our Great God:

Eternal God, unchanging
Mysterious, and unknown
Your boundless love, unfailing
In grace and mercy shown
Bright seraphim in endless flight
Around Your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night
In praise to You alone

Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah!
Glory be to our great God!

Here is the Father’s ultimate objective in creating a vast cloud of worshipers: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;...” Romans 8:29 NASB or as Weymouth translates it: “For those whom He has known beforehand He has also pre-destined to bear the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Eldest in a vast family of brothers;...”

“to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ--to Him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 16:27 CSV