Saved, Sealed, Preserved

{Hi.  My name is Tim Kincaid.  This essay is my sermon of 6/5/2022, Pentecost.  My dad added verses & Strongs numbers in the end ‘Translational Notes’ while editing it for his Bible Topic Exposition site.}

Smucker’s good!  “With a name like ‘Smucker’s’, it HAS to be good!”

Did you ever see the Smucker’s ‘Happy Birthday’ greetings on TV?  Smucker’s recently was wishing a happy 105^th birthday to some really old person.

Smucker’s, as many of you know, is a brand of preserves or jam.  A TV show is used by Smucker’s preserves to congratulate centenarians, because those folks have been well-preserved through time.  Like the Smucker’s jarred fruit.

We children of God are the same way, in a sense.  We’ve been sealed, and are being saved and preserved for a future long existence into eternity!

Today I’d like to talk a little bit about birthdays, birthday gifts, and birthday presents/Presence.  God made His own Presence available to the church!

After Jesus died and rose again, around 30 AD or so, the upcoming Pentecost marked the birthday of the church.  Act 2:1-4 “When the day of Pentecost had come…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”  At that event, Jesus’ original disciples received gifts of the Holy Spirit (HS).  Then Act 2:41 “There were added that day about 3,000 souls.”  And many more also would be added to their number.

The birthday gifts we give to others are sealed in wrappings to keep them looking new or from being damaged.  The true image is hidden from others who just see its outer package.  The gift has been concealed and sealed away inside wrappings.  This makes it more special.

Spiritual gifts from God are similar.  The new person we’re becoming isn’t immediately apparent to others.  We too are sealed.  And Rom 11:29 “God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable.”

The HS seals us until the redemption of our body (Ro.8:23), from sin’s consequences.  Eph 4:30 “Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”  Rev 7:3 “Do not harm the earth, the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”

We’re preserved for a future time.  Psa 116:6 “The Lord preserves the simple. I was brought low, and He saved me.”  Salvation involves preservation.  We’re saved from the power or consequences of sin and God’s wrath.  Also He rescues, delivers or saves us from difficulties during this life.

Salvation is past…present…future.

Past: Eph 2:8 you have been saved.   2Ti 1:9 God has saved us.  Tit 3:5 God saved us.  In the past.

Present: 1Co 1:18 us who are being saved.  2Co 2:15 those who are being saved.  1Pe 4:18 if the righteous person is saved with difficulty.  In the present.

Future: Mrk 16:16 whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.  Act 16:31 believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.  Rom 5:9-10 “We shall be saved from wrath through Him [Jesus]. We shall be saved by His life.”  In the future.

“Preserve” in Old Testament (OT) verses: Jsh 24:17 “The Lord our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and preserved us in all the way we journeyed.”  Psa 37:28 “For the Lord loves justice, and doesn’t forsake His saints. They are preserved forever.”  David supplicated to God against his enemies in Psa 86:2. “Preserve my life, for I am a godly man. You are my God.”  Psa 97:10 “The Lord preserves the souls of His saints.”  Psa 145:20 “The Lord preserves all who love Him.”  Pro 4:6 “Do not forsake wisdom, and she shall preserve you.”

“Preserve” in New Testament (NT) verses: 2Pe 2:5 “God did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah.”  1Th 5:23 Youngs Literal Translation “May your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved unblameably in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Jude 1 KJV “Jude, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.”

What is involved in sealing and preserving a jar of Smucker’s Jam?  There’s just a few simple steps: #1 Add salt & sugar to the fruit.  #2 Combine those ingredients with water; heat & bring to a boil.  #3 Transfer the fruit mixture to a new clean jar; as it cools, the lid seals; store it.

Taking a closer look at this process, we see similarities to the work God does in the Christian life.

#1 Add salt & sugar to the fruit.  Believers are seasoned with salt, a preservative.  Mrk 9:50 “Salt is good; but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you make it salty? Have salt in yourselves.”  The apostle Paul wrote in 2Co 2:15, “We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in those who are being saved and among those who are perishing”.

#2 Combine the ingredients with water; heat & bring to a boil.  The apostle Peter said in Act 2:38, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.  Believers are immersed in water at baptism.  Act 8:38 “Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he [Philip] baptized him.”

After combining with water, the fruit mixture must be heated or tried.  Mrk 9:49 “Everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.”  John the Baptist had said in Mat 3:11, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He [Jesus] who is coming after me is mightier than I. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Fire can be symbolic of personal trials.  Peter wrote to scattered Christians in 1Pe 4:11-12. “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may rejoice with exceeding joy.”  Trials can be for our ultimate good!

#3 Transfer the ingredients to a new, clean jar; let it cool & seal; then store it.  Jesus stated in Mat 9:17, “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst, the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined. Instead, store new wine in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”  We’re becoming like new.

Paul wrote in 2Co 1:22, “God, who also has sealed us and given us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts”.  And Eph 1:13 “In Him [Christ], you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

Eph 2:20 Christ’s church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone.  2Ti 2:19 “The foundation of God stands firm, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His.”  God knows His elect.

Once God sets a seal on something or someone, only God/Jesus can open or break that seal.  Rev 5:2 “I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?”  v.5 “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed.”  v.9 “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For You were slain and with Your blood did purchase for God persons from every tongue, people, and nation.”  None but the Lord can break His seal.

Eph 2:7-8 “In order that in the ages to come He [God] might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”  The faith to believe in Him is a gift from God (1Co 12:9).

So who has a preference; which jam or jelly is the best?  Do you have a favorite fruit preserve?  Grape, strawberry, peach, etc.  God has created so many varieties…all are good in their own way.

In Joh 15:1-11, Jesus said He is the vine and we are the (figurative) branches.  His Father prunes us branches so we can continue to bear fruit.  v.2 “He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.”

All converts receive the same Holy Spirit, and we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit (ref Gal 5:22-23).  1Co 12:13 “By one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, and all were made to drink that one Spirit.”

The God-given gifts of the Spirit perform a variety of different functions, as we bear fruit for the Lord.  Again, there are different varieties of fruit in Smucker’s Jam.

In his letters, Paul listed several gifts of the Spirit.  1Co 12:8-11 “To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith, to another gifts of healing, to another works of power [miracles], to another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. There is only one Spirit who does all these things by giving what God wants to give to each person.”  God, not we ourselves, determines which gifts and functions are given to whom.

Continuing in 1Co 12:28-30. “God has appointed in the church: 1^st apostles, 2^nd prophets, 3^rd teachers, then miracles, gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets…aren’t teachers, aren’t workers of miracles. All don’t have gifts of healings…all don’t speak with tongues, or interpret.”  Christians are talented, having received diversified gifts.

Paul listed more spiritual gifts in Rom 12:4-8, 13. “Just as we have many members in one body and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”  Here Paul includes serving, exhorting, giving, contributing to others’ needs, hospitality, etc.  (see my dad’s topic, “Spiritual Gifts and ‘Tongues”.)

Jesus gifted His apostles/disciples.  But earlier they’d argued about who among them was best.  Mrk 9:34-35 “On the journey they’d disputed one with another about which of them was the greatest.”  Jesus sat down with His disciples and taught them a lesson in humility; that true greatness is through service/ministering to others.

It’s not that one person is any better than another.  1Co 12:12-27 “The eye cannot say to the hand ‘I have no need of you’. Or the head say to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.”  What if the body began to argue with itself about which bodyparts are greater?  No, not that.  Rather, we’re to appreciate one another.

What’s important is that we thankfully receive God’s gift(s) for us.

And we’re sealed with His Spirit.  After that Passover when Jesus died and arose, His disciples waited and waited…for 50 days.  They waited to receive His promise of the Spirit (Luk 24:49; Act 1:4, 8).

In our life, we too wait on the Lord.  With God, gratification isn’t always instant.  Also, receiving our desires from God can be a process that takes time.  Patience too, is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22).

But what’s a few months or years when He’s sealed you and is preserving you for an eternity that lasts forever?!  That’s going to be a wonderful time, though we don’t really know yet what it will be like.

We now see through a glass (‘jar’) dimly, 1Co 13:12.  Yet we can be confidant!  We who are in Christ, who’ve been baptized, received His Holy Spirit, and sealed…for us it’s going to be really good!  Smucker’s good.

Until then, we too can take heart from 2Ti 4:18 KJV. “The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and save [preserve KJV] me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”

{{Translational Notes: The OT Greek Septúagint/LXX and NT term for “saved” is sózo Strongs g4982.  ref Psa 116:6; Eph 2:8; 2Ti 1:9, 4:18; Tit 3:5; 1Co 1:18; 2Co 2:15; 1Pe 4:18; Mrk 16:16; Act 16:31; Rom 5:9-10.  The Greek verb rendered “sealed” is sphragízo g4972.  It occurs 27 times in the NT.  ref 2Co 1:22; Eph 1:13, 4:30; Rev 7:3.  The Greek term rendered “seal” is the noun sphragís g4973.  ref 2Ti 2:19; Rev 5:2, 5, 9.  The OT Hebrew term rendered “preserve” is shamár h8104.  ref Jsh 24:17; Psa 37:28, 86:2, 97:10, 145:20; Pro 4:6.  The Greek term rendered “preserved” in 2Pe 2:5 is phulásso g5442.  The term rendered “preserved” in 1Th 5:23 & Jude 1 KJV is tereotarého g5083 (or “kept”).  The Greek term rendered “gift” is chárisma g5486.  ref Rom 11:29, 12:6; 1Co 12:4, 9, 28-31. – BTE}}

Wedding Pattern in Bible Holydays (2)

This Part 2 is the continuation and conclusion to “Wedding Pattern in Bible Holydays (1)”.  Part 1 should be read first.  Most of the symbolic material in Part 1 won’t be repeated here in Part 2.

This two-part topic is tying ancient Israel’s traditional wedding pattern for betrothal & marriage to the sequence of the Lord’s Old Testament (OT) holydays, and to New Testament (NT) writings.  We’re discussing their wedding customs, and typing them to Christ and His church.   

In the NT, Jesus portrays Himself figuratively as a Groom or bridegroom (Mk.2:20), and the church is His Bride.  In 2Co.11:2, Paul the apostle figuratively betroths the church/Bride to Christ.  (I’ll capitalize the words Groom and Bride when they refer to Christ marrying His church.)

There were seven annual God-ordained holy occasions for Israel.  Here’s a list of the Lord’s annual days and the time of year in which they occurred, from Leviticus 23:

Their sacred year began near the spring equinox of March 20.  Le.23:5 Passover was 14 days later, in early April.  v.6 Passover began the seven Days of Unleavened Bread.  v.15-16, 21 Pentecost/Shavúot occurred 50 days later, near June 1.  v.24 the Day of Trumpets/Shouting, Rosh Hashánah (“Beginning of the [civil] Year”, Ezk.40:1a), occurs near the autumnal equinox of September 21.  v.26-28 the Day of Atonement or Yom Kíppur fast is ten days later, around October 1.  v.33-36a the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles (FOT)/Sukkót/Booths began in October, five days after Yom Kippur.  v.36b the Last Great Day 8, called Shémini Atzerét, culminated the FOT.  (also see the topics “Days Israel Observed – God-Ordained” and “Feasts of the Lord and the Jews”.)

So far, in Part 1 we tied the traditional Jewish wedding pattern only to the OT sequence of Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost/Shavuot.  A shared cup of wine, to seal the betrothal or érusin, linked to Passover.  After the prospective groom went away to “prepare a place” for his betrothed at or near his father’s house (Jn.14:1-3), she would begin purifying herself.  That loosely ties to the Days of Unleavened Bread.  While the groom was away, he would send gifts to her.  That custom is reflected in Pentecost, when the gift of the Holy Spirit (HS) was given to the church/Bride, Ac.2:38 etc.  see Part 1.   

However, the betrothed groom & bride didn’t know the date of the actual wedding or nisúin.  It was for the father of the groom to decide when his son had the wedding chamber (húppah Strongs h2646, Hebrew) and house sufficiently prepared for her.  Only the father knows the time for his son/groom to come back for her!  Jesus said of His return in Mk.13:26, 32 “No one knows the day or hour, but My Father only”. 

{Sidelight: Paul said he was taught by Christ’s revelation (Ga.1:12).  Did Paul ever ask or wonder, ‘When are you coming back, Lord’?  If Paul did, he wasn’t told the date.  For that matter, none of the apostles knew the date.  Though in 2Pe.1:14, Peter knew he himself would soon die.  Mk.13:32 Jesus Himself didn’t know an exact date for His return; only Father God knows!  After Jesus’ resurrection, He told His disciples in Ac.1:5-7…it’s in His Father’s authority.  Those verses indicate that the date of Jesus’ coming was something He did not then know.  Israelites and saints, such as Peter, have kept fulfilling the number of their given days on earth, Ex.23:26b.  (However, as Jesus prophesied in Mk.13, Jerusalem & the temple were destroyed in 70 AD when Jesus ‘came’ as Judge, Ja.5:9b.)}

The betrothed Jewish bride would wait in faith that her groom will return and take her to the place he’d prepared.  He.11:1 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.”  Though he was absent, she trusted that he would come for her!  We in the church too must maintain faith.

It’s said that ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’.  She may not have known him all that well.  Peter wrote of Jesus in 1Pe.1:8. “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you don’t see Him now, you believe in Him.”  The betrothed bride believed her groom would return to take her away.

Customarily the groom came at midnight!  Mt.25:1, 5-6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Behold the groom! Come out to meet him.”  The shout would identify that her groom wasn’t a real thief stealthily intruding.  Mt.25:10-13 “Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour.”  Lk.12:40 “Be you also ready, for the Son of Man comes at an hour when you think not.”  The groom usually would return at a late night-time hour.  But leading up to his return….

As the months elapsed with the groom absent, the bride would lie awake watching for him night after night.  Then she’d fall asleep!  Paul wrote the church in 1Th.5:1-2, 10 “You know the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. That whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.”

At last…her groom would come and ‘steal’ her away!  She’d been veiled since betrothal.

At betrothal, customarily the marriage contract or ketúbah was signed by two witnesses. cf. Re.11:3.  John the Baptizer was a witness for the Groom, Jesus (Jn.1:6-7, 15, 32).  Jn.3:26-29 John called himself the “friend of the Groom [bridegroom]”.  At the groom’s return, one of the two witnesses or the groom himself would shout (Mt.25:6).  Her family then knew he’s not a real thief on her father’s property!

1Th.4:16 “The Lord Himself [Jesus] will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”  v.15 the saints who are alive shall not precede those who had “fallen asleep”.  That is, the saints who’d died precede those who will read Paul’s letter.  Jesus said in Jn.5:25, “An hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live”.  Deceased saints, “fallen asleep”, are taken away by Jesus the Groom.

This coming of the groom was typed by the Day of Trumpets/Shouting.  Le.23:24 Yom Téruah.  This holyday occurs on the 1^st day/new moon of the sacred 7^th month, 1 Tíshri.  They knew the season, but didn’t know whether the moon’s first visible crescent to mark the new month would appear on the 29^th or 30^th day of the old month.  Our Ancient Days: Yom Teruah “The day and the hour that no man knows.”  Jesus said in Mk.13:32, “But of that day and hour no one knows”.  Only the Groom’s Father.

Ancient Israel would watch…then a new moon sighting traditionally had to be confirmed by two witnesses.  The new moon is almost entirely dark.  It’s just a thin sliver.  cf. Mt.24:29-31 “…The moon will not give its light. Then they will see the Son of Man [Jesus] coming.”  The Day of Trumpets/Shouting was also known as the ‘Day of the Concealed Moon’, Yom Kéhseh, the ‘hidden day’.

Mal.4:2 “For you who fear My name, the Sun of righteousness [Christ] will arise with healing in His wings, and you will go forth.”  Jesus is here depicted by the Sun, and the moon’s first visible crescent too reflects the light of the Sun/Son!  Benson Commentary Mal.4:2 “Christ, who is fitly compared to the sun. The church is described as ‘clothed with the sun’, Re.12:1, adorned with graces communicated to her from Christ.”  Again, the groom while absent would send gifts to his betrothed bride.  (see Part 1.) 

{{Sidelight: The 1^st day of the 7^th month, Rosh HaShanah, was also known as the ‘Day of Remembrance’, Yom HaZíkaron (Le.23:24 memorial/zikarón h2146), as birthday of the world.  And as Yom HaDín, the ‘Day of Judgment’.  The sealing/execution of the judgment was then signified by Yom Kippur, ‘Day of Atonement’, occurring ten days later.  see the topic “Day of Atonement (2)”.  (Note: Also there are plural layers of meaning within the concept of Jesus’ Coming.)}}

It’s dark when the saints close their eyes in sleep or death!  A symbolic Day of Trumpets/Shouting is typed in 1Co.15:51-52. “We will not all sleep…for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible.”  Although it wasn’t known exactly when the first sliver of the moon will be visible, the very ill and those advanced in age know that death is near.  (ref 2Pe.1:14 Peter, 2Ti.4:6 Paul.)

Again, the Groom comes in the night for His Bride.  Then she will no longer reside in her father’s house.  Ps.45:10-11 Septúagint “Hear, daughter. Forget your people and your father’s house. Because the King has desired your beauty.”  When the Father of the Groom decided, He would send His Son to take the Bride from her childhood home (earth).  Paul the aged said of himself in Php.1:23, “To depart and be with Christ is much better”.  SSol.2:10 “Arise, My darling, come away with Me.”  She is veiled. 

With a procession, the bride was taken to the huppah bridal canopy, at/near his father’s house.  The ketubah marriage contract was read at a night ceremony.  Customarily included in the reading was Ps.118:26 (Mt.21:9). “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  The contract was given to the bride by the groom or by the two witnesses.  (see Joel 2:16 for more groom/bride/huppah language.) 

Is.61:10 the groom decks himself with ornaments and the bride is adorned with jewels.  Gill Exposition Is.61:10 “A bridegroom puts on the best clothes he has on his wedding day.” 

Now her veil is removed.  At the wedding nisuin…the bride and groom finally stand face-to-face! 

Ge.32:24, 29-30 “Jacob said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet I am still alive.”  Traditionally, Jacob saw the face of Christ the Messenger of YHVH on Yom Kipper.  ltradio.org “Face-to-face’ is an idiom for the Day of Atonement.”  Only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, did Israel’s High Priest dimly come face-to-face with the mercy seat of Christ (Le.16:2), amid smoke in the Most Holy Place.    

The typological Day of Atonement (At-One-ment) holyday was the 10^th day of the 7^th month, 10 Tishri.  (It follows Rosh HaShanah.)  Ge.2:24 a husband and wife become one flesh; they become figuratively as one.  Paul wrote of the espoused church/Bride in 1Co.13:12, “Now we see dimly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.”  When the Bride is face-to-face with Jesus, she then really gets to know the Groom!   

David wrote in Ps.17:15, “I shall behold Thy face in righteousness”.  Behold the face of the Lord.  The disciple John wrote in 1Jn.3:2b, “We will see Him as He really is”.  The Groom/Son of God.  SSol.6:3 “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”  v.3-9 represents a type of Christ and His gifted Bride(s).

After the wedding, the bride and groom would spend 7 days in the wedding chamber or booth.  Only then was the marriage consummated!  (They’d been apart from the betrothal date until he came for her.)  Laban spoke of his daughter to his son-in-law Jacob in Ge.29:27, “Complete the week of this one”.  Jdg.14:17 Samson was with his new bride for 7 days. 

Weddings were often held either in June or near the 7-day Feast of Booths in the 7^th month, after the Day of Atonement.  The 7 days in the canopied huppah or chamber is typed by the FOT/Booths. 

A wedding was a big celebration!  Mt.22:9-11 guests were expected to wear attire customarily suitable.  A wedding feast was held (cf. Ge.29:21-22, Jdg.14:12).    

The marriage feast for Jesus and His Bride(s) culminates at His Father’s house in heaven.  Re.19:1, 7-9 “I heard a loud voice of a multitude in heaven. The marriage of the Lamb [Jesus] has come and His Bride has made herself ready. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”  

After the celebratory wedding feast, the couple would go to their new home, usually built at/near the house of the groom’s father.  They hope to live ‘happily ever after’.

The 8th Day Shemini Atzeret was the next day (22 Tishri), immediately following the FOT.  That ends God’s sacred holydays for the year.  That day is thought to foreshadow the new heaven and the new earth.  (Note: There were some traditional variations in wedding custom details and typologies.)

After Christ’s marriage feast of Re.19…Re.21:1 “I saw a new heaven and a new earth.”  The Bride(s) will live forever with her/(their) Husband, the Lord Christ.  (see “Polygyny – Lawful in God’s Eyes?”.)

And for those presently alive on this earth, Re.22:17 “The Spirit and the Bride say come”.  All should believe in Jesus for salvation!

Few of us know in advance the total number of our days/years.  But elderly saints and the terminally ill are closer to completing their days here.  Then they, and eventually we too, will close our eyes for the last time, as have all the saints who went before. 

We anticipate then becoming part of that great cloud of witnesses who preceded us!  He.12:1, 22-24 “We have a great cloud of witnesses. The general assembly and church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and Jesus.”  cf. Ec.12:7.  (1Co.15:44 we too will have a spiritual body.  see “Life and Death – for Saints” and “Rebirth to Physical Life”.)

In OT times, the Lord was the figurative Husband of ancient Israel, Je.3:14.  (see “Jesus Was the Old Testament God”.)  His name YHVH was engraved upon the mitre plate on the high priest’s forehead, Ex.28:36-38.  Re.22:4 then we shall see His face and His name shall be in our foreheads.  A bride is given the name of her husband.    

The ancient wedding typology presents a beautiful and meaningful picture!  Only Father God knows when to say to His Son, ‘The hour has come, go get your Bride’.  At the time we take our final breath, may each of us be ready.

 

Wedding Pattern in Bible Holydays (1)

Marriage is ordained by God.  Ge.2:18 “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a suitable companion to help him.”  Adam & Eve were husband & wife.  A relationship between Christ & ancient Israel and Christ & the church is that of a figurative husband & wife(s).    

Christ the Lord, in type, had married His people Old Testament (OT) Israel.  Je.31:32 “I was a husband to them’, declares the Lord.”  In the New Testament (NT), Jesus referred to Himself as a Groom or bridegroom.  Mk.2:20 “Jesus said, ‘The days will come when the Groom will be taken away from them.”  Jn.3:29 Jesus’ cousin John the Baptizer called himself the “friend of the Groom/bridegroom [Jesus]”.  (I’ll capitalize the words Groom and Bride when they refer to Christ marrying His church.)

Christ, as spiritually joined to Christians, used marriage symbolism.  2Co.11:2 Paul the apostle said, he figuratively “betrothed you [the church] to one Husband, like a pure Bride chosen only for Christ”.  Jesus spiritually marries His church.  Paul wrote in Ep.5:31-32, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. This mystery is profound, in regards to Christ and the church.”

Ancient Israel’s wedding model for betrothal & marriage can be seen from the Lord’s OT holydays and NT writings.  This topic discusses Israel’s wedding customs, and types them to Christ and the church.

Archaeologists have found evidence of Jewish wedding customs.  My Jewish Learning: Ancient Jewish Marriage “At the beginning of the 20^th century, an actual Jewish marriage record during the period from the return of the Babylonian exile was discovered – the oldest marriage contract in Jewish history.”  The wedding pattern of Bible times adds symbolic meaning to scripture and God’s holydays.

There were seven annual God-ordained holy occasions for Israel.  Here’s a list of the Lord’s annual days and the time of year in which they occurred, from Leviticus 23:

Their sacred year began near the spring equinox of March 20.  Le.23:5 Passover was 14 days later, in early April.  v.6 Passover began the 7 Days of Unleavened Bread.  v.15-16, 21 Pentecost/Shavúot occurred 50 days later, near June 1.  v.24 the Day of Trumpets/Shouting, Rosh Hashánah (“Beginning of the [civil] Year”, Ezk.40:1a), occurs near the autumnal equinox of September 21.  v.26-28 the Day of Atonement or Yom Kíppur fast is ten days later, around October 1.  v.33-36a the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles (FOT)/Sukkót/Booths began in October, five days after Yom Kippur.  v.36b the Last Great Day 8, called Shémini Atzerét, culminated the FOT.  (also see the topics “Days Israel Observed – God-Ordained” and “Feasts of the Lord and the Jews”.)

We’ll tie the annual sequence of holydays to ancient Israel’s traditional wedding model.  In the model, the Day of Trumpets/Shouting, Yom Kippur, and the FOT are addressed in Part 2 of this topic. 

Jesus, the Son of God the Father, portrayed Himself as a Groom.  Again, the NT church is the Bride (2Co.11:2).  Ro.7:2-4 Paul showed that the church is to be “joined” or Married to the ascended Christ.            

In the ancient Near East, the father of the groom would choose or obtain a bride for his son.  The father of the groom would go to the house of the father of the bride to begin the arrangements.  Ge.24:4 father Abraham sent his servant to the old country to bring back a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac.

Ge.34:4-6 the young man Shechém wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah.  Shechem asked his father Hamór to make arrangements for their marriage.  Hamor then went to Jacob to discuss the matter.  

Jdg.14:1-7 Samson saw a young Philistine woman in Timnáth and wanted her.  He asked his father and mother to get her as a wife for him.  The three of them went to Timnath to make the arrangements.

The father of the groom (or the groom himself) and the father of the bride were often the matchmakers.  A bride didn’t do the initial choosing, but she’d give consent to the proposed match (cf. Ge.24:58).  A mutual commitment or shíddukin between the bride & groom then led to a formal betrothal or érusin.

When the groom’s father (or the groom) went to the house of the chosen bride’s father, they arranged a binding marriage contract or ketúbah. (cf. Tobit 7:14.)  It set the conditions of the marriage covenant. 

Customarily two witnesses would sign the ketubah contract (cf. Re.11:3).  Jn.1:6-7, 32 John the Baptizer (Elijah, Mt.11:13-14) was a witness for Jesus.  Jn.1:15 “John bore witness of Him.”  Jn.3:26, 29 John, as witness for Jesus, called himself the “friend of the Groom”.  A modern counterpart may be the ‘best man’.  (For Christ’s marriage to OT Israel, Moses was traditionally the ‘friend/witness of the Bride’.  Mt.17:3 the two witnesses, Moses and Elijah, were seen in the Transfiguration.)

The prospective bride was a productive member of her father’s household.  Her marriage will result in a loss of labor/income for the household.  So a bride price or móhar was determined, and then paid to her father/family.  It could be items of gold or silver money, or service.  Ge.24:53 precious things were given to Rebekah’s family to ‘purchase’ her for Isaac.  Ge.29:20 Jacob served Rachel’s father Laban for 7 years, as her bride price.  A free wife brought a dowry into the marriage, a bond wife didn’t.  Ge.29:24, 29 some Bible interpreters view the maids Zilpah & Bilháh as the dowry of Leah & Rachel.

Shared cups of wine (or bírkat érusin) confirmed that her bride price was accepted by the groom, and sealed the betrothal, the erusin.  Commonly the betrothed groom was age 16-20, the bride age 13-16.

In this imagery, Father God is both the Father of the Groom (Jesus) and the Father of the Bride (the church).  Father God is the Father of all, of everyone, including Jesus. 

Jesus the man was Jewish, from the tribe of Judah (He.7:14).  This Groom came to earth, the home of the Bride(s).  Jesus’ heavenly Father chooses us as a Bride for His Son.  Ep.1:3-4 “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…chose us.”  The elect (Brides) then consent to the future Marriage.  1Jn.4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”  Father God, as Father of the Bride, gives His elect to Jesus.

The Bride was purchased.  Ep.1:14 KJV the Bride is Jesus’ “purchased possession”.  Paul wrote of the church in 1Co.6:20, “You have been bought with a price”.  This Bride price was exceedingly costly!    

This Bride price was the Groom’s lifeblood!  1Pe.1:18-19 the price wasn’t “perishable things like silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ”.  At Jesus’ final Passover meal, His Last Supper, Jesus took a cup of wine and said to His disciples in Lk.22:20, “This is the new covenant in My blood”.

The New Covenant (marriage) agreement was made at Passover in Jerusalem.  This was the 1^st holy occasion of the sacred year.  It occurred on 14/15 Abíb, the 1^st month.  Traditionally, the groom drank from a cup of wine.  If the chosen bride accepted His offer, she then drank from the cup.  Their action sealed the marriage covenant.  Although the Lord hadn’t commanded wine at Passover, wine was added as a traditional custom in the Roman Empire.  The Talmud Pesachim tract about Passover rituals, “They should not give [a man] less than four cups of wine”.  Jesus and His chosen disciples drank the cup.    

A betrothal was thus sealed.  Betrothal was viewed as marriage, unconsummated.  It could be annulled only if he gave her a legal certificate of divorce (De.24:1), traditionally called a “get”.  Mt.1:18-20 Joseph’s betrothed Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit; initially he wanted to divorce her.

After the betrothal ceremony and the mohar or bride price paid, the groom would return to his father’s house for an indefinite time (even up to two years).  At or near his father’s house, the groom would prepare an addition or home for his bride.  Some Israelites lived in cluster homes with a courtyard.  Also the groom would build there the wedding chamber, the húppah (Strongs h2646, Hebrew).  

Jn.14:1-3 was the promise commonly spoken by Jewish grooms after betrothal, “I go to prepare a place for you”!  Jesus the (resurrected) Groom then went to His Father’s house.  Jn.20:17 “I ascend to My Father and your Father.”  God is Father of the Groom and Bride both.  Jn.14:2-3 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. I will come back and take you to be with Me.”  Jesus promised to come back for His Bride and take her to the place He’s prepared for her in the heavenlies, where His Father dwells.

The betrothed bride, now veiled, begins to purify herself.  Est.2:12 Esther’s beautification process to prepare her for the king consisted of one year of oils & fragrant spices.  Is.1:18 “Says the Lord, ‘Though your sins were as scarlet, they will be white as snow.”  SSol.4:7 “You are altogether beautiful my love, and there is no blemish in you.”  The Bride/church is portrayed as purified, clothed in pure white linen.  Re.19:7-8 the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints, those invited to the marriage.

This cleansing process of the bride is loosely typed by the Days/Feast of Unleavened Bread (which began at Passover).  Paul wrote in 1Co.5:7-8, “Cleanse out the old leaven, even as you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore keep the feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened sincerity and truth.”  Sin can spread in a person’s life.  Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary: Leaven “Here, leaven symbolizes sin that defiles the believer.”  The Bride is to put out sin and pride which puffs us up, as leaven.

While betrothed, the groom and bride lived separately.  After the groom returned to his father’s house to prepare the place for his bride, he would customarily send gifts to her.  Jesus told His disciples in Jn.16:7, “It is to your advantage that I go away”.  After Jesus paid the Bride price (His lifeblood!), He ascended to His Father in heaven.  Ep.4:8 “When He ascended on high…He gave gifts to humanity.” 

The bride’s mother would teach her the wifely responsibilities.  Mother and daughter usually would become closer during this time while the groom is absent. 

Jesus, in heaven, now sends the Holy Spirit (HS) or Comforter to His betrothed Bride.  Ac.2:1, 4 at the Pentecost following Jesus’ ascension, the gift of the HS was sent to the Bride.  Ac.2:38-39 at Pentecost Peter proclaimed, “Repent and be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.  Paul wrote of spiritual gifts to the church.  1Co.12:4 “There are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.”  1Co.12:7-11 Paul then lists several gifts of the HS which are distributed to the church/Bride(s).  Like a good mother, the indwelling HS teaches & leads Christians while our betrothed Lord is away in heaven.

This gift-giving was typified by Pentecost, which occurred near June 1^st, 50 days or so after Passover.

However, the groom and bride didn’t know the date of the actual wedding or nisúin.  It was for the father of the groom to decide when his son had the huppah wedding chamber & house sufficiently prepared for the bride.  Only the father knows the proper time for the son/groom to return to get his bride!  Jesus said of His return in Mk.13:26, 32 “No one knows the day or hour, but My Father only”.

The betrothed bride would wait in faith that her groom will return and take her to the place he’d prepared.  He.11:1 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.”  Her longing and anticipation would grow.  Though he was absent, she trusted that he would come for her!  Likewise, we in the church are to keep the faith (Col.1:2-4); we continue to trust Jesus…as we wait.

The topic is continued and concluded in “Wedding Pattern in Bible Holydays (2)”.  Part 2 links ancient Israel’s wedding model to the latter four God-ordained holy occasions of the sacred year.

Love – Godly Love

This topic takes a look at love, primarily godly love, according to Bible verses about love.

1Jn.4:16 “God is love.”  Although God is love, God is greater than love.  His character exudes love.  And He has put within the human spirit of man, made in God’s image & likeness, the capacity to love.

One reason we’re on earth is…to learn how to love!  The Christian life consists of learning the principles of love and then practicing love.  The ultimate goal is for us to live forever together with God, in love.

There are at least five types of love indicated in the Bible Greek – philáutia, stórge, éros, philéo, agápe.

Philautia (Strongs g5367 phíl-autos) is the love of self.  The term occurs only in 2Ti.3:2.  Philautia can be good or bad.  It is inward; concerned with one’s own health (cf. Da.1:8-16), happiness, avoidance of pain, self-preservation, self-esteem, etc.  Some or most aspects of self-love come naturally to us.

Storge (stór-yee) is family love.  It develops between parents & children, siblings, extending to grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.  It’s a familiar love with commitment which can increase over the years.  The Greek term doesn’t occur in scripture.  A form of storge is seen in Ro.12:10 in regards to the at-large family of sons and daughters of God. “Be devoted [g5387 philóstorgos] to one another in brotherly love [g5360 philadelphía].”  (Philadelphia is called the ‘City of Brotherly Love’.)   Family love is evident in the Bible accounts of Abraham & Isaac (Ge.22:2), Jacob & his sons (Ge.49:1, 50:14), Job & his children (Jb.1:4-5), Mary & Martha & Lazarus (Jn.11:1-ff), Jáirus & his daughter (Lk.8:41-ff), etc.  Family love grows via attachment and dependency, by living together and relatives visiting.

Eros (áir-os g2064.2 in the Old Testament (OT) Septúagint/LXX Pr.7:18, 30:16) is a sensual or sexual desire/lust, physical attraction or ‘chemistry’, romantic or passionate love.  Testosterone and estrogen (created by God) causes desire.  The next two verses contain a form (g2037.1) of eros.  Pr.4:6 LXX figuratively, “Love her [wisdom], and she will guard you”.  Est.2:17 LXX “The king loved Esther, and she found grace and favor beyond all others.”  Desire is seen in Pr.5:18-19. “Rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be ravished always with her love.”  Eros relates to self-satisfaction or self-gratification, though both partners can be gratified.

Phileo (phil-éh-o g5368) is the love in (deep) friendship.  This verb occurs 25 times in the New Testament (NT) and 27 times in the OT LXX.  The noun phílos (fée-los g5384) occurs 65 times in the LXX, and 28 times in the NT where it is translated “friend”.  Phileo is more general, present in various relationships.  It includes respect, shared goodwill, lovingkindness, fondness or affection – towards one dear, beloved, cherished, or a thing.  Ge.27:4-5 LXX Isaac loved (g5368) venison.  Father God phileo loves in Jn.5:20 & Jn.16:27.  Ge.37:4 LXX Jacob loved Joseph.  Phileo can be a powerful emotional attachment or bond.  Ge.29:11 LXX “Jacob kissed [g5368] Rachel.”  Phileo is part of being ‘in love’.  Rachel Pace writes, “Love, value, care, respect, and trust are the fundamentals around which emotional attraction is built.”  Phileo connects one with a ‘soul-mate’, and may lead to family/storge.  Phileo combined with eros can be exhilarating!  (Note: There is a degree of overlap between the types of love.)

Agape (ah-gáh-pay g26) is the Greek noun for universal love, empathy for all people.  In the NT, it is seen as godly love, transcendant, outgoing, unconditional.  It’s the highest form of love in the Bible!  Early Christianity viewed agape as the spiritual love God has for humanity, and the love man has for God.  Agape occurs 115 times in the NT and 15 times in the OT LXX.  A Greek verb meaning ‘to love’ is agapáo (ah-ga-páh-o g25).  It occurs 140 times in the NT and nearly 200 times in the LXX.  In OT times, agapao could resemble phileo.  Jesus loves with agapao in Jn.19:26, 21:7, 20, and with phileo in Jn.20:2; with agapao in He.12:6, and with phileo in Re.3:19.  The Creator too expresses various types of love!  After Peter denied Jesus 3 times (Lk.22:34, 54-62)…Peter phileo loves Jesus, he didn’t yet agapao love Jesus (Jn.21:15-16).  (But Peter as an old man agapao loved Jesus; ref 1Pe.1:8.)  Also, the adjective agapetós g27, translated as “beloved”, occurs 60 times in the NT and 15 times in the LXX.

{Sidelight: Agapao in the NT usually indicates a godly love.  His own benevolent, unselfish agape that can be present without reciprocity (Ro.5:8).  But agapao doesn’t always indicate godly love.  Sinners can agapao sinners who agapao them (Lk.6:32).  Also people can agapao darkness (Jn.3:19), the praise of men (Jn.12:43), and unrighteousness (2Pe.2:15)!  Those verses aren’t indicative of a divine love.}

Greek Bible scholar Dr. Spiros Zódiates: “Agapao is used of God’s love toward man and vice versa, but phileo is never used of the love of men toward [Father] God. Agape isn’t found in classical Greek, only in revealed religion.”  Only through godly love can man truly love God.  Such love originated with God.

Again, 1Jn.4:8, 16 “God is love [g26].”  How may we express benevolent godly love?  1Jn.5:2-3 “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.”  Godly love (g26 in v.3) includes as a priority the keeping of His commandments!  Our obedience reflects love.

What are His commandments?  We may say, they are God’s instructions, His guidelines for right living.  To begin, 1Jn.3:23 “This is His [God’s] commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He [Jesus] commanded us.”  It is crucial to believe in and honor Father God’s Son Jesus, who died for our sins!  1Jn.2:23 “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father.”  And Jesus the Son said in Jn.14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”.

As we’ll see, Jesus’ commandments reflect love to God, love to our neighbor, and love to ourselves.  It’s natural to love ourselves, our own flesh.  Who is my ‘neighbor’?  In the broad sense, my neighbor is…other humans.  Jesus’ commandments tell us how to love God, other people, and ourselves.

According to John, Peter, Paul…the pre-incarnate Christ, the primordial word of God (Jn.1:1-3, 14), was the God of ancient Israel.  He was the Lord God, the Shepherd of Israel who dwelt above the cherubim in the Most Holy Place of God’s tabernacle & temple (Ps.80:1, Jn.10:14).  see the topic “Jesus Was The Old Testament God”.  Christ gave His commandments, His instructions, His principles to Moses/Israel.

Let’s now identify Jesus’ commandments of love.  There are two main commandments.  In Mk.12:28-31 a Jewish scribe asked Jesus, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”  Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

Jesus’ many commandments are summarized into these two broad categories.  They represent enduring moral principles for mankind, and are seen in the OT.  De.6:5-7 LXX “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.”  Le.19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (We can’t love others if we don’t love ourself!)  Love (g25) God and your fellow man.

Christ’s Ten Commandments, the Decalogue or Testimony, describe how to love God and love others.

Ex.20:1-11 the first four commandments pertain to loving God.  Christ said in v.6, “Those who love Me and keep My commandments.”  Man is not to have any god beside the true God, is not to make any idols or images depicting God, is not to use God’s name for a wrong purpose.  Observing the fourth commandment, “Remember the sabbath [h7676 Hebrew] day to keep it holy”, honors God and signifies that our God is the Creator.  Ge.2:1-3 God ceased/rested (shabáth h7673 on the 7^th day of Creation.

De.5:12-15 allowing people under our charge to rest also shows love to others.  Jesus said in Mk.2:27-28, “The sabbath was made for man…the Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath.”  Jesus is Lord, of the 7^th day sabbath too.  He was the Creator who ordained the sabbath.  He made it for the benefit of mankind.  Resting on the sabbath encompasses love for ourselves too.  Our body has a circaseptan rhythm which requires rest approximately every 7 days to keep our immune system strong.  Sabbath rest even shows love to work animals.  The Lord’s creatures that work for man in agriculture and other uses need rest too.  (see the series “Sabbath 7^th Day”, and the topic “Ten Commandments in Genesis & Job”.)

Ex.20:12-17 commandments #5 through #10 describe how to love others. “Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet.”  Adultery is engaging in sexual relations with another man’s wife.  Analogous to not bearing false witness in court is Col.3:9, “Lie not one to another”.  Wrong coveting is desiring something we cannot rightfully have some day.  Christ’s Decalogue reflects enduring principles of love.

But godly love involves more than the Decalogue.  Ge.14:18-20 Abram tithed or gave a tenth to the priest-king Melchisedek, representative of church & state.  Our tithes or giving to church ministries contribute to their efforts of sharing/spreading the good news of God’s love and His Kingdom.  Paying just taxes to our government provides funds for societal benefits & entitlements for our neighbor and ourself.

Also, we show love to others by giving from our means to the poor & needy (Ja.2:15-16, 1Jn.3:17).

Paul wrote a strong admonition in 2Th.3:10-15. “If anyone does not work, neither let him eat”.  We are to work an honest job so we have money to help support the Lord’s commission of spreading the gospel.  And earning money buys food for our own family table…loving ourselves.

Ge.1:26-28 God created man in His own image and likeness.  God said, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it”.  Humanity has the God-given mandate/command to raise families, to produce offspring through the generations as caretakers to manage the earth and its resources God created.

Le.20:13 same-sex marriage violates God’s mandate for mankind to reproduce.  (It is understood that some couples are unable to have children.)  John R. Diggs MD The Health Risks of Gay Sex “Common sexual practices among gay men lead to numerous STDs, some of which are virtually unknown in the heterosexual population. Lesbians are also at higher risks for STDs.”  Disease isn’t love.

Le.18:23 beastiality, sexual relations with another kind, is vile.  Christ told Moses/Israel, “It is a perversion”.  Horrific Risks of Sex With Animals “The likelihood of disease transmission from an animal to a human is high.”  This demeaning practice harms; it doesn’t show love.

Ps.139:14 “I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  The psalmist David loved himself and understood it was the Lord who’d designed our remarkable human body.

John wrote in 3Jn.1:2, “I pray in all respects that you may prosper and be in health”.  We want to have good health.  We love ourselves (phílautos g5367).  Again, God’s instructions tell us how to rightly love ourselves.

De.14:2-21 our refraining from eating unclean creatures which are parasitic or carcinogenic reflects love to self.  Also, by refraining from feeding unclean creatures to others we show love to our neighbor.  Ge.7:2 even the antediluvian patriarch Noah (who wasn’t Jewish) understood the difference between clean and unclean!  (see the topic “Unclean versus Clean Food”.)

Abstaining from blood pertains to loving our self.  God told Noah in Ge.9:4, “You shall not eat flesh with its life [or soul], its blood”.  The life/soul is in the blood.  Blood is the carrier of both life and disease.  Le.17:10-16 “No person among you may eat blood, nor may the alien who sojourns among you eat blood.”  Nor are we to eat an animal that dies of itself, is suffocated or “strangled” (Ac.15:29), or roadkill.  Improperly bled carcasses attract harmful organisms.  (see “Acts 15 – Four Prohibitions”.)

Le.3:17 “You shall not eat any fat or any blood.”  We avoid eating animal fat, which can contain toxins.

Le.18:19 “You shall not approach a woman to have relations during her menstrual period.”  Blood is present.  We should abstain from menstrual sex.  It puts women at risk for disease.  Dr. (Ms) De Souza Dangers of Sex During Menstruation “Irritation and an introduction to infection are major risks. Any wound or bleeding is a gateway to infection.”  (see “Doctrinal Disunity Impacts Evangelism”.)

All the above are Christ’s commandments…they reflect love to God, to other people, and to ourselves.  In a broad sense…Ro.13:10 “Love is the fulfillment of the law”.

God gives believers His Holy Spirit (HS).  The HS enables us to love God, other people, and ourself in the right way.  It’s a spiritual love.  Ga.5:22 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace [etc.].”  Godly love is present now in us through the indwelling HS (1Co.3:16).  Ro.5:5 “The love of God has been poured forth into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”  The love of the Spirit should flow from us.  Christians are to be reflectors of God’s divine love.  Jesus said in Jn.13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples [adherents], if you have love for one another”.

1 Corinthians 13 is known as the ‘Love Chapter’.  In it, Paul lists some facets or reflections of love (agape g26)…loving attitudes, mindset, words, and proper restraint & self-control.  1Co.13:4-8 “Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t envious; love doesn’t boast and isn’t proud; love isn’t rude, it isn’t self-centered, isn’t quick-tempered to anger, doesn’t keep an account of wrongs suffered; love takes no pleasure in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope and endurance never fail. Love never ends.”  Godly love is eternal.  Benson Commentary 1Co.13:8 “It [love] accompanies us to, prepares us for, and adorns us in eternity…of heaven.”  Love is forever.

Godly love is pure, altruistic, wanting the best for others, self-giving, self-sacrificing.  Mk.10:45 “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Jn.15:13 “Greater love has no man than this, that a person lay down his life for his friends.”  Jesus’ sacrificial death redeems us from the consequences of sin.  Jn.3:16 “For God so loved [agapao g25] the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.”  ref 1Pe.1:18-19.  God willingly gave up Jesus to death, to die for our sins.

Divine love has a moral core.  It is dutiful, active, and obedient.  Yet godly love isn’t without right emotion.  Although godly love is compassionate, it can be ‘tough love’ too (cf. Lk.12:49, Jn.8:7).

God’s divine love is perfect.  It can be present with and enhance all types of love…agape, philautia, storge, phileo, and eros.  (God is responsible for placing sex hormones and right desire in mankind!)

The Lord has given us the capacity to love in its various forms, and to share love.  Col.3:14 “Above all, put on love [g26], which binds all things together in perfect unity.”  Godly love is as a garment which binds us in harmonious moral perfection.  Ep.3:17-19 “That you, being rooted and grounded in love [g26], may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and height and depth, and to know the love [g26] of Christ.”

Christ’s character, morality and principles of love are the same yesterday, today, and forever (He.13:8).  2Jn.1:6 “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.”  As we’ve seen…God’s commandments convey how to properly love God, other people, and ourselves, through the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit’s Identity

The identity of the Holy Spirit remains somewhat of a mystery to many Bible readers.  This topic is a composite of material excerpted from my previous topics relating to the Godhead: “Tri-unity of God”, “Godhead in Prehistory”, “Holy Spirit Personification”, “Holy Spirit versus Mariolatry”, “Names/Titles of God in the Old Testament”.

In the English language, the word “God” is customarily used for Deity.  Only the true God is Divine.

The Bible indicates there are 3 “Persons” in the Godhead, the Godkind or God Family: Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus the Son/Word.  They are identical in essence, fully divine, a tri-unity of subsistences having self-awareness.  The God Family is uni-plural, as “one” (echad, Hebrew Strongs h259) in nature.

The tripartite Godhead is revealed to us by Jesus the Son’s coming in the flesh and His words in the New Testament (NT), by other scriptures, and by the Holy Spirit (HS) indwelling us as Christians.  It’s been said in analogy that the Father is the wall outlet, the HS is the cord, Jesus is the lamp (Re.21:23).

Father God is in heaven.  God has operated through the HS and Jesus.  Ac.2:34 Jesus ascended into heaven and now sits there at Father’s right hand (and Jesus lives mystically in Christians, Jn.17:21-23 & Col.1:27).  The human Jesus wasn’t omnipresent.  The HS is on earth…omnipresent.  David wrote in Ps.139:7-10, “Where can I go from Your Spirit, where can I flee from Your Presence?”  Not anywhere.

The Father sent Jesus.  Jn.12:49 Jesus said, “The Father who sent Me has given Me commandment.”  The two are distinct.  The Father also sends the HS. Jn.14:26 “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send.”  Jesus too sends the HS (Jn.16:7).  So all three are distinct!  But neither Jesus nor the HS sends the Father!  They differ in order and subordination.  The human Jesus wasn’t omniscient.  Mt.24:36 “Of that day and hour no one knows, not the Son, the Father only.” (see “Jesus Is God…Jesus Has A God”.)

The HS belongs to and was part of Father God, has personality, but isn’t the totality of God.  God is a triad: 2Co.13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the HS be with you all.”  2Co.1:21-22 “He who establishes us in Christ and anointed us is God, who also gave us the Spirit.”  Ep.4:4-6 “There is one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of all.”  (That’s three!)  Ac.7:55 “Being full of the HS, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”  He.9:14 “Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God.”  1Co.12:4-6 “The same Spirit…the same Lord…the same God.”  (Again, that’s three.)  1Pe.1:2 “Elect according to a foreknowledge of God the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.”

The triune God is thrice holy: One Spirit…one Lord…one Father (Ep.4:4-6).  Is.6:3 “Holy, Holy, Holy is YHVH of hosts.”  A three-in-one Godhead.  The heavenly worshipers in Re.4:8 “Do not cease to say, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty”.

The terms for God as “Father” and “Holy Spirit” rarely occur as such in the Old Testament (OT).

The Holy Spirit in the OT: Is.48:16 “The Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me.”  Job.33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me.”  Pr.1:20-23 “Wisdom lifts her voice, ‘I will pour out My Spirit on you.”

Every human has a spirit within.  Jb.32:8 “There is a spirit in man.”  Our human spirit gives biological life to our body of flesh (Ge.2:7).  Ja.2:26 “The body without the spirit is dead.”  Without our human spirit, we’re just a clod.  Our spirit in God’s image imparts self-awareness and intellect to our brain.  It’s a non-physical component which differentiates human mind from animal brain instinct.  Our spirit gives us a moral sense of conscience, based mostly upon the self and cultural customs & laws.  The HS will join with our human spirit (1Co.6:17); we become linked to God, able to obey God’s morality.

The Holy Spirit, ministering spirits (angels), our human spirits…aren’t an impersonal Star Wars type force!  Our human spirit is me, is you, within our flesh ‘suit’.  (see “Spirits – Made by God in Light”.)

Ontology is the study of being.  God, angels, humans are called personal beings.  But God’s Being isn’t finite or limited, as we are limited.  Scripture doesn’t define ‘person’ (the term we use in modern English), and doesn’t apply that term to the triune God.  The Latin persona was a ‘face’ worn by Greek/Roman dramatic actors.  Church fathers applied the Greek term hypostases (entities) to God.

The HS speaks in 1^st Person as “Me” and “I” in Ac.13:2. “The Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them to.”  Also ref Ac.11:12, Jn.16:13, Mk.13:11, which indicate the HS is personal and speaks.  2Sm.23:2-3 “The Spirit of YHVH spoke by me. The God of Israel.”  The HS is God/YHVH.  But who was/is this Holy Spirit of God?

Theóphilus, the 6^th bishop of Antioch (born approximately 20 years after the apostle John died), was the first to use the term trinity/triad.  In 175 AD he wrote To Autolýcus, 2:10. “God, having His own Word internal within His own bowels, begat Him, emitting Him along with His own Wisdom before all things.”  Theophilus’ triad was “The Trinity of [Father] God, His Word, and His Wisdom.” (Autolycus 2:15)

Wikipedia: Theophilus of Antioch “Theophilus’s apology is most notable for being the earliest extant Christian work to use the word ‘Trinity’ (Greek: τριάς trias), although it does not use the common formula of ‘the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit’ to describe the Trinity. Rather, Theophilus himself puts it as ‘God, his Word (Logos) and his Wisdom (Sophía)’ [To Autolycus 2:15], perhaps following the early Christian practice of identifying the Holy Spirit as the Wisdom of God [Autolycus 1:7].”

“This is also expressed in the works of his contemporary, Irenáeus of Lyons, who writes [Ps.33:6], ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens established, and by his spirit all their power. Since then the Word establishes, gives body and grants the reality of being, and the Spirit gives order and form to the diversity of the powers; rightly and fittingly is the Word called the Son, and the Spirit the Wisdom of God’. [Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching] ‘In like manner also the 3 days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the 4^th is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man.’ [To Autolycus 2:15]”

Irenaeus is called the most important theologian of his time.  He lived from 130–200 AD, having been taught by Polycarp (in Smyrna), who was a disciple of the apostle John.  

Residing in Lyons, France, Irenaeus wrote in Against Heresies. “The Son is rightly and properly called Word, while the Spirit is called the Wisdom [Sophia] of God”.  Ibid 4.7.4 “The Son and the Holy Spirit, the Word and Wisdom [Sophia], whom all the angels serve.”  4:20:3 “God tells us through the mouth of Solomon that Sophia is the Spirit.”  Sophia (Strongs g4678) is the Greek term for Wisdom.

Christian historian Robert Grant Greek Apologists of the 2^nd Century, p.169 “Theophilus and almost every early Christian theologian agreed the Logos (like Sophia/Wisdom) was originally in God”.

Jesus referred to the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon (WSol).  cf. Mt.27:43 & WSol.2:13, 18; Lk.11:31 & WSol.8:1.  (The apostle Paul referred to WSol too.  cf. WSol.13:5, 8 & Ro.1:19-20 KJV “Godhead”.)

Jesus said the Queen of Sheba “Came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon” (Mt.12:42, 1Ki.10:1-4).  Jesus also referred to the apocryphal Wisdom of Sirach (WSir)/Ecclesiasticus.  cf. Mt.6:14 & WSir 28:2.  WSol was written ca 20 BC; WSir was written ca 180 BC in Hebrew.

WSol.7:22, 25 “In herself, wisdom is a spirit that is understanding, Holy. She is the breath of the power of God, and the emanation of the pure glory of the Almighty.”  Wisdom is the Holy Spirit, split-off or spirated or emanated through God’s breath/mouth.  WSol.8:3-4 “She glorifies her noble birth by living with God, and the Master of all loves her.”  Pr.8:30 “I [wisdom] was daily His delight.”

WSol and WSir reflect how Jews believed and interpreted Proverbs & Wisdom in latter BC times.  Wisdom is sophia (g4678) in Greek, and chokmáh (h2451) in Hebrew.  Orthodox Bible “The Holy Spirit receives eternal existence only from the Father.”  Wisdom says in Pr.8:25 LXX, “He begets [gennáo g1080] Me”.  Philo On Flight and Finding (p.325) “Wisdom, even if it be most ancient of all other things, still has only second place to that Omnipotent Being.”  Father God is the Most High God.

Solomon’s prayer of WSol.9:4, 10, 17, “Give me the wisdom that sits by Your throne…Send her forth from Your holy heavens…Send Your Holy Spirit from on high.”  Wisdom the HS sat beside God’s throne in the heavens, as a Queen beside the King’s throne.  The real ‘Queen of Heaven’ isn’t Ishtar, or other pagan goddesses (cf. Je.44:17)…rather, She’s the feminine HS.

In Lk.7:35, Jesus indicated His Mother is Wisdom, the HS.  Connecting in order the following seven verses will identify the (feminine) HS: Jl.2:28a, Pr.1:20, 23, De.34:9a, Nu.27:18, Mt.1:18b, Lk.7:35.

The Works of Philo, p.85, 331, 405 “The Word [Logos, Greek] has received wholly pure parents…God being the Father and husband of wisdom, the mother of the Word….the Divine Logos flows forth from Wisdom.”  Creation reflects/teaches that it’s impossible to have a father without having a mother!

In our various languages, we use terms which correspond to the ancient Hebrew & Greek terms chosen by the Bible writers to identify and describe the ‘Persons’ of the God Family.  Jewish and Christian theology usually refers to God in male language and images, yet agrees it doesn’t adequately express all that the Divine is.  The Godhead possesses all the masculine and feminine attributes.  God is so great!

Wisdom is a personified hypostasis (a Greek term used in early Christian writings) or entity of God’s divine essence.

God reflects masculine roles: Ps.103:13 Father.  Ho.2:16 husband.  Ps.98:6 king.  Ex.15:3 warrior.

God reflects feminine roles: Is.66:13 Mother.  Is.42:14 pregnant.  Ps.22:9 midwife.  Ps.123:2 mistress.

Again, Wisdom is the Holy Spirit.  WSol.1:4-5 “Wisdom won’t enter the soul that plots evil. For a holy spirit of discipline flees from deceit.”  Again, WSol.9:17 “Unless You have given him wisdom and sent Your Holy Spirit from on high.”  Nu.27:18 “Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit.”  De.34:9 “Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the Spirit of wisdom.”  Omnipresent, at God’s throne in heaven, and within Joshua, was the HS Wisdom.  And Wisdom is “Her”.

Jesus was conceived in the virgin Mary by the HS (Lk.1:35 the HS came upon Mary); and John the Baptizer was filled with the HS in his mother’s womb (Lk.1:15).  Speaking of Himself and John, Jesus said in Lk.7:33-35, “Wisdom is justified by her children”.  Jesus, the Child conceived by Wisdom the HS, speaks of Wisdom as “her”!  (As did Proverbs, etc.)  Jesus’ words are authoritative and truth!

The Hebrew grammatical gender of Bible nouns has significance.  But this doesn’t mean God the HS is literally a woman!  Yet the HS is grammatically and figuratively “she/her”.

In OT scripture, the ancient Hebrew (Heb) language attached gender to Spirit essence.  The Heb term for spirit (rúach h7307, and Aramaic rúach h7308) is feminine (fem).  The Heb term for wisdom (chokmah h2451) is fem.  In the OT Septúagint/LXX and NT both, the Greek (Gr) term for wisdom is sophia g4678.  Solomon wrote in Pr.7:4, “Call wisdom your sister”.  Sisters are of course feminine, not masculine (masc).  In Pr.9:1-3, wisdom is “she/her”.  WSir.4:11 “Wisdom exalts her children.”  WSir.24:18 of Wisdom, “I AM the mother of love that is beautiful. I therefore, being eternal, am given to all My children who are picked by Him.”  (Father God picks His elect: Ep.1:3-5, 17, Jn.6:44.)  And Jesus knew Himself to be a Child of Wisdom/Sophia/“her” in Lk.7:35.

Elóah h433 is a Heb term for God, occurring 55 times in the OT (mostly in Job and poetic passages).  Jb.27:3 “The spirit of God [Eloah h433] is in my nostrils.”  The –ah ending is indicative of fem singular.  The most common OT Heb term for God is Elohím h430.  Elohim is a masc plural ending –im (Father and Son), combined with the fem singular root Eloah (HS/Wisdom) or possibly El.  Three.

Also the modern Heb fem term ‘shekínah’ represents the Divine Presence, the OT fire-cloud of glory.

Heb grammar too uses masc pronouns for God.  Heb & Aramaic has no neuter (no “it”); all nouns are masc or fem.  Again, the Heb term for spirit (ruach) is fem.  But unlike Heb, the Greek term for spirit (pneúma) is neuter.  The Latin term for spirit (spirítus) is masc.  Noun gender varies in languages.  In translated languages, gender doesn’t have the significance as in the original inspired Hebrew scripture.

In English, translators render pronouns with the Gr pneuma/spirit (neuter) as he masc, e.g. Jn.14:26. (or it neuter, Ro.8:26 KJV.)  Some of this is revisionism.  This practice subconsciously makes men seem more like God than do women.  Yet in 2Co.6:18, Paul wrote that God said, “You shall be sons and daughters to Me”.  In Jn.14:26, the Gr masc term paráclete is translated Comforter/Helper, and refers to the Gr neuter term Spirit.  Here translators chose to use the pronoun He.  But since God has both masc and fem characteristics (Is.42:13-14, Ps.123:2), Heb personal noun gender is more meaningful.  Later languages such as Greek, Latin, English don’t maintain the original Heb gender in translation.

The most ancient of the rare Old Syriac copies, the Siniatic Palimpsest (300s–400s AD), was found in 1892 in the Covenant of St. Catherine by Syriac Professor R.L. Bensly (Cambridge Univ).  Jesus’ words in Jn.14:26 read: “But She—the Spirit-the Paraclete whom He will send to you-my Father in my name —She will teach you everything; She will remind you of that which I told you.”  The Spirit is feminine to the Syriac church (as the ancient Aramaic ruach/spirit was fem), unlike Greek and Latin grammar.

J.J. Hurtak: “The Spirit is not called ‘it’ despite the fact that pneuma [spirit] in Greek is a neuter noun. Church doctrine regards the Holy Spirit as a person, not a force like magnetism. In the Eastern Church, Spirit was always considered to have a feminine nature. She was the life-bearer of the faith.”

The Westminster Leningrad Codex (1008 AD) is the oldest complete Heb manuscript.  In its ultra-literal interlinear English translation online: Is.11:2 “And she rests on him, spirit of YHVH.”  Ps.143:10 “Good spirit of you Elohim, she shall guide me.”  Nu.11:26 “The spirit, she is resting on them.”  Ezk.37:1 “She becomes hand of YHVH on me in spirit of YHVH.”  Jb.33:4 “Spirit of El, she made me; breath of Who-Suffices, she is keeping me alive.”  (Ec.12:1 “Remember Ones creating you.”…“Us” in Ge.1:26.)

From our Is.11:2. “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on Him [Messiah], the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”  The LXX adds “godliness”.  Seven attributes!  And they’re all fem nouns!  Wisdom is primary (Pr.4:7).

In Pr.8:12-14, Wisdom speaks in 1^st Person. “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord. Counsel is mine. I AM understanding, strength is mine.”  These attributes are all fem!  Philo AI1 p.29…On Flight and Finding, p.325 “He called that Divine & heavenly Wisdom by many names….Indeed all the virtues bear the names of women.”  It’s not just coincidence.

Oswald Chambers’ Christian devotional, My Utmost For His Highest, is one of the most popular religious books ever written.  In it he wrote, “I am the Almighty God’ – El-Shaddaí, the Father-Mother God. The one thing for which we are all being disciplined is to know that God is real.”  God is both Father and Mother.  El Shaddai (h7706) has been described or defined as the ‘mighty breasted One’.

We may say the Father is the Source, Possessor, Director, Planner.  The Son is the Spokesman, the Executor, Mediator, Ruler.  The HS is Wisdom, the Omnipresence, the Comforter…and the Glory!

Father God is Jesus’ Father, and Jesus referred to Himself as the Child of Wisdom (Lk.7:35), His Mother.  In the NT, Jesus never called Mary, “mother”!  He referred to the surrogate Mary as “woman”.  Jn.2:4 “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what have I to do with you?”  Jn.19:26 “When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!”

Jesus was fully God in the flesh…both His Father and Mother are God!  The womb of Mary, the “woman” as Jesus lovingly called her, served to form Him in the flesh to become the God-Man.  The 300s AD Apostles Creed reads, “I believe in Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary”.  Mary birthed Jesus.  Ga.4:4 “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman.”  Lk.1:35 “The angel said, ‘The Holy Spirit will come, and the power of The Highest will overshadow you [Mary]; therefore the Holy One to be born shall be called Son of God.”  Orthodox Study Bible Lk.1:35 “Note the revelation of the Holy Trinity: The Father (The Highest), the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”  The Father overshadowed the HS upon Mary, and God’s Son Jesus was conceived.

Chinese preacher Witness Lee was part of the Christian work started by Watchman Nee.  Lee’s Living With and In the Divine Trinity”, p.39 “Lk.1:35 shows the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary…the Most High, God the Father, overshadowing Mary…and the birth of the holy thing, the Son of God. Thus the entire Divine Trinity was involved in the conception.”  The Son was conceived into Mary by His divine Parents, who are both God.

Father God didn’t somehow have sexual relations with Mary, who was engaged to the man Joseph (Mt.1:18).  It was adultery to have sex with a woman married or betrothed to another.  De.22:23-27 God’s penalty for such adultery was death.  Surely, Father God wasn’t an (figurative) adulterer!

Furthermore, Mary was of a different kind…she was the human kind, not the Godkind.  God’s principle of biogenesis reflects each creation reproducing only according to its kind (ref Ge.1:11-12, 21, 24-25, 6:19-20, Mt.7:16, 1Co.15:38-39).  Father God is Spirit, not flesh, Jn.4:23-24.  The term incubus pertains to a spirit having sex with a human woman.  Heathen gods, such as Zeus/Jupiter, supposedly had sex with mortal women and produced offspring.

Philo Judaeus (25 BC–50 AD), The Works of Philo, AI2:14:49 “The mother of all things…the wisdom of God.”  Again, Jesus indicated He was the Child of her, Wisdom/Sophia, Mt.11:19 KJV.  Pr.1:20-23 “Wisdom lifts her voice, ‘I will pour out My Spirit upon you.” (cf. Jl.2:28a)  She is the Holy Spirit.

Early church writings in various countries attest to the feminine HS.  The fragmentary Gospel to the Hebrews was written in Greek (probably at Alexandria) in the early 100s AD, for Jewish Christians.  The HS is Jesus’ Divine Mother in its Christology.  In one quotation Jesus declared, “My mother, the Holy Spirit took Me, and conveyed Me to the great mount Tabor”.  (cf. Lk.7:35 regarding Jesus’ mother.)

Áphrahat (280–345 AD) wrote in Syriac in Persia. Demonstrations VI “The Spirit, She opens the heavens and descends, and hovers over the waters; and those who are baptized put Her on.”  From Aphrahat’s Demonstration X, “As long as a man hasn’t taken a wife, he loves and reveres God his Father and the Holy Spirit his Mother.”  (Re.19:7-9 is Jesus’ metaphorical marriage to Christians.)

Éphrem the Syrian (306–373 AD) was perhaps the most significant of all the Syriac language fathers, called ‘the greatest poet of the patristic age’.  His Hymnen de Ecclesia identifies the Spirit as feminine.

Robert Murray Symbols of Church and Kingdom, p.25 “The Syriac Fathers, as is well known, attributed female gender to the Holy Spirit in the first centuries after Christ; seeing the Holy Spirit especially as ‘Mother.”  The early Eastern Church originally believed the HS was She/Her.

But after some time, the Syriac church lost or suppressed the original OT & apocryphal Jewish concept of the fem HS or shekinah.  By the 500s AD, a masc HS was becoming more the norm.  Possibly this was due to Western influence, and because some heretical groups misused the feminine imagery.

Over the centuries, the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) has made Mary a counterfeit or substitute for the scriptural person of Wisdom/Sophia/Mother.  Yet a counterfeit presumes a prior genuine!  It was Wisdom who sat beside God’s throne as Queen (WSol.9:4).  She was beside YHVH at the beginning (Pr.8:22, 30).  The original Queen of Heaven (cf. Je.7:18) wasn’t a counterfeit Astarte or Isis…or Mary!

The surrogate Mary carried and birthed Jesus the Son of God.  She’s a godly woman.  But not a co-redemptrix or mediatrix; not due near-goddess status!  The RCC believes Mary was always sinless.  However, Mary herself indicated that she too needs a Savior!  Lk.1:46-47 Mary exulted, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior”.  Mary knew she was a sinner needing a Savior, as does all of humanity.

The early Syriac writers didn’t present the HS as a literal woman.  But by the 500s AD she’d become masculine.  It seems the concept of a fem HS became dangerous to the structure of the church.  Even by the time the HS had become a confirmed member of the trinity (Council of Constantinople in 381 AD), the HS was described as masc, despite having nurturing fem qualities!  But Ge.1:2, 26-27 females too embody God’s image!  Male and female both are created in the image (masc) and likeness (fem) of God.  Martin Luther reportedly was ‘not ashamed of speaking of the HS in feminine terms’.

Count Zinzendorf (1700–1760) was leader of the Moravian church in Czechoslovakia and America.  To Zinzendorf, the HS was feminine, the Creator (Ge.1:2, 26 “Us”) and Mother.  He wrote, “She has created the world with the Savior and now is remaking every child until it is a new creation, and becomes one in the spirit with him; She nurses and watches until it is grown.”

Again, in the NT Jesus never referred to Mary as His mother (or to Joseph as His father).  By the early 300s AD, the church was embroiled in the Arian controversies.  Many didn’t want Jesus begotten before time began.  But in the 300s AD, many did want women suppressed.  A quandary existed.  So they hushed scriptures which related to Wisdom/Sophía the HS too having been “brought forth” in past eternity…though Wisdom herself says in Pr.8:25b LXX, “He begets [gennao g1080] Me”.

Over the centuries AD, Mother Wisdom/Sophia became assimilated into the cult of the virgin Mary.  It elevated Mary, the counterfeit or replacement for Wisdom the HS.  Mariolatry ensued in the RCC.

For more details relating to the divine God Family, see my other topics: “Tri-unity of God”, “Godhead in Prehistory”, “Holy Spirit Personification”, “Holy Spirit versus Mariolatry”, “Names/Titles of God in the Old Testament”, “Jesus is God…Jesus Has a God”, “Jesus Was the Old Testament God”, “Jesus Is the Messiah”, “Jesus’ Virgin Birth”, “Savior’s Name in Bible Languages”.

Spiritual Gifts and ‘Tongues’

The Lord gives gifts of the Spirit to New Testament (NT) Christians, which enable them to accomplish God’s will and purposes.  This topic surveys the various gifts of the Holy Spirit (HS).

In Christian conversion we’re introduced to godly life via the Bible, the HS, and the church.  Peter said in Ac.2:38, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.  Freely.  The HS will indwell the repentant Christian.

Christians are the allegorical branches which bear the fruit of the HS.  (Jesus is the vine, Jn.15:5.)  Jn.15:16 Jesus exhorted His disciples, “You should bear fruit, and your fruit should remain”.  Kinds of fruit of the Spirit are seen in Paul’s writings.  e.g. Ga.5:22-23 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, [etc.].”  The topic “Living Water Produces Spiritual Fruit” identifies 12 fruit of the HS in the NT.

The HS reflects God’s character.  Attributes of the HS are seen in Is.11:2 LXX. “The Spirit of God…the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge [Strongs g1108 gnósis, Greek] and godliness…the spirit of the fear of God.”  These seven attributes of the indwelling (sevenfold) HS are imparted to Christians.  JFB Commentary Is.11:2 “Compare ‘the seven Spirits’ (Re.1:4, 4:5), the Holy Ghost in perfect fullness; seven being the sacred number.”

Attributes of the HS are also reflected in Pr.8:12-14. “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord. Counsel is Mine. I AM understanding, strength is mine.”  (The identity & characteristics of the HS are addressed in the topic “Holy Spirit Personification”.)

Holy Spirit indwelling imparts boldness, power, and gifts for Christians.  (see also “Holy Spirit-Filled”.)

1Co.12 is about gifts of the Spirit.  The HS distributes various gifts to the church according to God’s choosing.  Paul wrote in 1Co.12:1, “Concerning various spiritual gifts, I don’t want you to be unaware”.  v.4-7 “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit….for the common good.”  For mutual edification.

1Co.12:8-11 “To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge [g1108] by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts [g5486 chárisma] of healing, to another workings of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits, to another kinds of tongues [g1100], to another the interpretation of tongues. There is only one Spirit who does all these things by giving what God wants to give to each person.”  God, not man, determines which gifts and functions are given to whom.  We don’t prescribe our gift(s).

Bible teachers divide the above nine gifts into three groups.  Word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits are revelatory gifts.  Faith, healings, miracles are called power gifts.  Prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues are vocal gifts.  (Miracles and healings, e.g. Ja.5:14-16, are ongoing.)

In the Old Testament (OT), the patriarch Joseph was given a lengthy word of wisdom plan for the sustenance of Egypt during seven years of famine (Ge.41:33-ff).  Samuel was given the word of knowledge that Saul’s donkeys had been lost three days ago (1Sm.9:3, 20).

Paul lists and orders other giftings of the Spirit in 1Co.12:28-30. “God has appointed in the church: 1^st apostles, 2^nd prophets, 3^rd teachers, then miracles, gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they?…not teachers, not workers of miracles? All don’t have gifts of healings…all don’t speak with tongues…all don’t interpret [tongues]? But earnestly desire the greater gifts.”  Paul asked rhetorical questions.

Ministry giftings of the HS are apostles, prophets, teachers…in that order.  Deacons/ministerial servants (g1249 diákonos) and others perform “helps”.  Shepherds, overseers, elders do “administrations” and counseling, and may prophesy.  Ep.4:11-13 “He gave some apostles, and prophets, evangelists, shepherds [poimén g4166], and teachers; for equipping the saints for service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”  Evangelists and missionaries spread the gospel.  Interestingly, Spiritual Gifts: Evangelist, Pastor and Teaching/Teacher notes, “The church office of ‘pastor’ wasn’t an official title during the 1^st century church”.  (Though shepherds ‘pasture’ the sheep.)  It is understood that the Lord Jesus is our ultimate Shepherd & Bishop/overseer (g1985 epískopos)…ref Jn.10:14, He.13:20, 1Pe.2:25.

Paul also wrote about gifts in Ro.12:4-8, 13. “Just as we have many members in one body and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”  In this passage, Paul includes serving, exhorting, giving, contributing to the needs of others, hospitality, etc.  (also see “Church Structure and Member Functions”.)  The HS provides multi-faceted gifts to build up God’s church and disseminate the gospel.

What do “prophets” (g4396) do, or what constitutes the gift of prophecy in scripture (1Co.12:10, 28)?  Prophets “prophesy” (g4395) and may foretell the future.  Ac.11:27-28 “Some prophets [g4396] came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. Ágabus began to indicate by the Spirit that there would be a great famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the reign of Claudius [41-54 AD].”

NT prophets may resemble the OT seer or ‘see-er’ who ‘saw’ God’s will and God’s acts into the future (1Sm.9:9-11, 2Sm.24:11-ff), sometimes via visions (Nu.12:6, 2Ch.9:29).  Lk.24:44 Jesus spoke of the tripartite division of the OT into “the Law and the Prophets” (g4396), and the Psalms/Writings.

But NT prophets may not foretell future events.  In Ac.15:32, two prophets exhorted and strengthened the church brethren with a lengthy message.  Paul wrote in 1Co.14:1-3, “Especially desire to prophesy. One who prophesies [g4395] speaks to people for edification, encouragement and consolation.”  Greek Bible scholar Dr. Spiros Zódiates: Prophesy “To declare truths through the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, whether by prediction or not.”  Paul stated concerning church meetings in 1Co.14:29, “Let two or three prophets speak”.  Merriam-Webster defines Prophecy (g4394) as “The inspired declaration of divine will and purpose”.  It may or may not involve predicting future events.

What are NT “tongues” and the glossolália (tongue-talking) phenomenon?  The Greek term for tongues is g1100 glossá singular, glossái plural; occurring 50 times in the NT.  The term can refer to the bodily organ of speech in the mouth, 18 times: Mk.7:33, 35; Lk.1:64, 16:24; Ac.2:3, 26; Ro.3:13, 14:11; 1Co.14:9; Php.2:11; Ja.1:26, 3:5-6 (3), 8; 1Pe.3:10; 1Jn.3:18; Re.16:10.  Also, it refers to a distinct language/dialect and ecstatic utterances, 32 times (the citations are below).

In the baptism of the HS, recipients of the gift of tongues were enabled to speak dialects/languages they hadn’t learned.  Ac.2:4 Jesus’ disciples in Jerusalem “were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues [glossai g1100] as the Spirit gave them utterance”.  These tongues were mostly unlearned ethnic dialects of other nations (not the Aramaic or Greek spoken locally).  The gift of ethnic tongues would help the apostles effectively communicate to the nations in spreading the gospel.

But not all tongues via the HS were ethnic dialects.  Some tongues were ecstatic utterances, not dialects spoken in nations.  In reading the NT “tongues” passages, how can we distinguish which was which?

Dr. Zodiates explains that the NT Greek grammar shows the distinction. “When the word glossai is used in the plural with a singular pronoun, reference is made to ethnic languages. When the word ‘tongue’ is used in the singular glossa with a singular personal pronoun, it refers to the Corinthian ecstatic utterance.”  The Greek g1100 noun form is the key!  Is it plural or singular?  Plural glossai = ethnic dialects.  Singular glossa = ecstatic utterances.  Following is the breakdown of verses:

Tongues as ethnic dialects (g1100 glossai plural) occur 24 times: Mk.16:17; Ac.2:4, 11, 10:46, 19:6; 1Co.12:10 (2), 28, 30, 13:1, 8, 1Co.14:5 (2), 6, 18, 22, 39; Re.5:9, 7:9, 10:11, 11:9, 13:7, 14:6, 17:15.

Tongues as ecstatic utterances (g1100 glossa singular) occur 7 times: 1Co.14:2, 4, 13-14, 19, 26-27.  These 7 occurrences are found only in 1Co.14…nowhere else in the NT.

To aid reader understanding, the KJV, Young’s Literal Translation, and others inserted the English word “unknown” in 6 of the 7 preceding 1Co.14 verses…to show that those tongues referred to ecstatic utterances.  (1Co.14:26 KJV “unknown” wasn’t added; yet v.26 CEV has “an unknown language”.)  Possibly the old KJV translators, Robert Young, and others understood the grammatical significance?!

Dr. Zodiates also says that the word tongue (g1100) refers to the ecstatic utterance when it’s used “in the plural with a plural pronoun [1Co.14:23]”.  1Co.14:23 CEV (the 8^th occurrence), “Suppose everyone in your worship service started speaking unknown languages [g1100], and some outsiders or unbelievers come in. Won’t they think you are crazy?”  cf. Ac.2:13 at Pentecost when the tongues miracle first occurred. “Others made fun of the Lord’s followers and said, ‘They are drunk.”  Perhaps Jesus’ disciples also uttered ecstatic syllables on that occasion?

In Ac.2, Jews and proselytes from all over the Roman world had come to Jerusalem.  Ac.2:6 they each heard Jesus’ disciples speaking in the “language” (diálektos g1258, occurs 6 times, all in Acts) of their own nation; actual languages heard & understood by the many pilgrims visiting Jerusalem at Pentecost.  Some varieties of dialektos and glossai: Aramaic was Eastern (Babylon) and Western (Judea); Greek was Attic, Doric, Aeólic, Ionic, Koiné.  (Linguists debate whether the root class is dialektos or glossai.)

Jewish meturganim were skilled language interpreters.  These would stand beside the reader of Hebrew (or Greek?) OT verses and interpret/render the teaching into the language of the listeners.  ref Ne.8:8.

Paul claimed in 1Co.14:18 KJV, “I speak with tongues [g1100] more than you all”.  Paul was well-educated and well-traveled; he could speak a variety of dialects.

1Co.13:1 “Though I speak with the tongues [g1100] of men and of angels.”  Paul also may have spoken non-human languages or ecstatic utterances.  Benson Commentary 1Co.13:1 “The apostle doubtless meant…a much more excellent language than any that is spoken by men.”  Bengel’s Gnomen “Angels excel men, and the tongue or tongues of the former excel those of the latter.”  JFB Commentary “Speaking a more exalted language.”  Expositor’s Greek Testament “Ecstatic and inarticulate forms of speech…‘tongues of angels’ describes this mystic utterance at its highest.”

Are tongues passé today?  Paul wrote in 1Co. 13:8, “Whether there are prophecies [g4394], they shall be done away; whether tongues [g1100], they shall cease; whether knowledge [g1108], it shall be done away”.  Some churchgoers think the gift of tongues is obsolete.  But McLaren Expositions 1Co.13:8 disagrees, “It is not what Paul means here”.  Benson Commentary “When God is ‘all in all’ [1Co.15:28] …tongues shall cease.”  God is not yet “all in all”; that time is still future.  Barnes Notes “In the light and glory of the world above….the future life.”  Matthew Poole Commentary “Another world…where there will be no prophesying, no speaking with diverse tongues.”

Paul wrote of the “word of knowledge” (g1108) as a spiritual gift in the prior chapter, 1Co.12:8.  Knowledge (g1108) is an attribute of the HS, Is.11:2 LXX.  (HS intuitive knowledge isn’t the arrogant carnal knowledge so-called in 1Co.8:1.)  The knowledge had by the HS isn’t done away!  For Paul to be consistent, the gifts of prophecy and tongues also aren’t obsolete in the present world.

How many dialects are there on earth?  Christian Lingua (2018) “According to Ethnologue, there are 7,097 known languages in the world. At least part of the Bible has been translated into 3,312 of the 7,097 languages.”  The Bible has been translated into only 47% of the world’s languages!  “Tongues” are still needed to spread God’s word into many remote little-known dialects.

Lastly, Paul recognized the spiritual gift of the “interpretation of tongues” (1Co.12:10, 1Co.14:26).  This gift is used in conjunction with the gift of tongues.

1Co.14:27-28 “If someone speaks in a tongue [g1100], let two, or at the most three speak in turn, and someone must interpret what was said. But if there’s no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church, and speak to himself and to God.”  Paul indicates that tongues may be spoken in church meetings only if there’s an interpretation present.

Else just speak ecstatically as a prayer language to God privately at home, and edify the self.  1Co.14:4 “One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself.”  Paul continues in 1Co.14:14-15, “For if I pray in a (unknown) tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What shall I do? I will pray/sing with the spirit and I will pray/sing with understanding also.”  Paul differentiated praying in the spirit from praying with one’s understanding mind.  Gill Exposition 1Co.14:15 “In an unknown language.”  Vincent Word Studies 1Co.14:15 “Songs improvised under the spiritual ecstasy.”

Compare Jude 1:20 “You, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”  Cambridge Bible Jude 1:20 “The ecstatic outpouring of prayer.”  (perhaps also Ro.8:26 & Ep.6:18?)  Although ecstatic tongues/groanings/intercessions were specifically addressed only in Corinth (1Co.14), it seems they were uttered in other NT church areas too.  And by Paul himself.

According to Paul, unknown tongues aren’t to be spoken in the church meeting unless they’re also interpreted into the vernacular or local language.  If there’s no interpreter, speaking in tongues could result in confusion not of God (cf. 1Co.14:33).  An interpretation isn’t necessarily a word-for-word translation.  The inspired interpretation of a tongue may itself resemble a prophecy.

Paul said in 1Co.14:5 ISV, referring to ethnic dialects, “I wish that all of you could speak in foreign languages [tongues g1100 glossai], but especially that you could prophesy”.  Assuredly Paul valued the gift of tongues…but he valued more the gift of prophecy, a greater gift (1Co.12:1, 28-31).

{Sidelight: Pastor Don Finto (b. 4/30/1930): “I got baptized in the HS by faith in December of 1969, when I was 39 years of age. I didn’t speak in tongues. You can be baptized in the HS and not speak in tongues.” [cf. 1Co.12:30] “Tongues may come; and if it does, praise God!” [His tongues-speaking began in 1971.] “In those two years when I didn’t have it, I didn’t feel like a 2^nd class citizen. I had words of knowledge, and words of wisdom, and I’d start praying for somebody and they’d fall out in the Spirit. I knew God was working in me, but I didn’t speak in tongues yet….1Co.14:1 desire gifts of the Spirit, ‘especially prophecy’.  It didn’t say, ‘especially tongues.”}

All real gifts of the Spirit are God-given, to accomplish God’s purposes.  1Co.14:1 “Pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts.”  Paul said the church is to desire spiritual gifts…earnestly!  Christ’s church should reflect both love and spiritual gifts, not love without the others.

If we’re unsure of what our spiritual gift(s) is, we can ask God to reveal it to us.  Peter wrote in 1Pe.4:10, “As each one has received a special gift [g5486], employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”.  And Paul in 1Co.7:7, “Each has his own gift from God”.

Every Christian has been given at least one spiritual gift.  May our gifts and talents be used to benefit the church and humanity as a whole…to God’s glory.

Holy Spirit-Filled (2) – Be Refilled

This topic was begun in “Holy Spirit-Filled (1) – Death to Self-Will”.  It discussed the symbolic death of the old self/old nature, using the life and writings of the apostle Paul as an example.  Part 1 should be read first.  In this Part 2, we’ll tie-in the life of the apostle Peter also.

Part 1 ended with the question…How much time do we live filled with, or aware of, the Holy Spirit?  Paul exhorted the church in Ep.5:18, “Be filled with the Spirit”.

In the Old Testament (OT), the Holy Spirit (HS) wasn’t universally available to all.  OT saints weren’t baptized into the Body of Christ.  He hadn’t yet incarnated as Jesus.  Some were (occasionally) Spirit-filled to do God’s purpose.  To name a few: Bezalel Ex.31:1-3, elders of Israel Nu.11:25, Caleb Nu.14:24, Gideón Jg.6:34, Samson Jg.15:14, David Ps.51:11, Micah Mic.3:8, other prophets.

Later, John the Baptizer was Spirit-filled; Lk.1:13-15 “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb”.

Christians are enjoined to be Spirit-filled…or refilled!  Pastor Don Finto “The Presence of God should differentiate us from all other people on earth.”  A personal awareness of the HS or God’s Presence.

Jesus was so aware!  Jn.3:34 “He [Jesus] whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives Him the Spirit without limit.”  Jesus was continually Spirit-filled!  And the spiritual believer should be Spirit-filled.  HS infilling brings boldness (for testimony) and fellowship with God.

After Jesus’ resurrection, in Ac.1:5 He promised His disciples would soon be filled with the Spirit.  This infilling occurred in Ac.2:4. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Their baptism in the HS and filling with the HS was simultaneous.  Peter was one of those (Ac.2:14).

Peter was emboldened by the HS to take his stand and speak with confidence (Ac.2:29, 36).  The now Spirit-filled Peter isn’t fearfully denying Jesus, as he’d done earlier 3 times (ref Jn.13:38, Jn.18:12-27)!  Throughout Ac.3, Peter continued to boldly proclaim Jesus the Christ publically, while exhorting Jews in Jerusalem to repent of their wicked ways.  He healed a lame man in the name of Jesus (Ac.3:6-10).

We read that Peter is still Spirit-filled the next day.  Ac.4:8 “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit….”  Then v.31 “When they prayed, the place where they’d gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”  Peter and other Jewish Christians in that meeting place were filled or refilled.  (Note: Ron Phillips Awakened by the Spirit, p.117 “This manifestation gave early American Quakers their name.”)

HS indwelling provides spiritual power and gifts for Christians.  But we can subsequently become unfilled or less filled by: sin in our life, not spending time with God, not yielding to God’s will.

Paul wrote Galatians c 50 AD.  Ga.2:11-14 “But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, for he was to be blamed. The Jewish Christians joined him in hypocrisy. Barnábas was swept along with them.”  This dispute (noted only by Paul, not Luke) indicates that the apostles Peter & Barnabas, or Paul himself, wasn’t then filled with the HS.  Being in error, someone(s) had become unfilled or less filled.

Later their falling out was mended.  cf. 2Pe.3:14-16.  Peter as an old man went on to write two epistles included in our Bibles.  And in Paul’s subsequent letters, Paul recognized Barnabas (1Co.9:6, Col.4:10).

The Spirit can be rekindled.  2Ti.1:6 “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God which is in you.”  Barnes Notes 2Ti.1:6 “What was the ‘gift of God’? Paul specifies in the next verse, 2Ti.1:7, ‘the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  Paul exhorted Timothy to stir up, or be refilled with, the HS.  When the fire gets low, stir the coals or add more coals.

If the sense of HS fullness has waned in us, we heed Paul’s exhortation to be (re)filled, Ep.5:18.

There were periods when Paul felt unfilled.  He admitted in Ro.7:19, “I don’t do the good I desire to do. Instead, I practice the very evil that I don’t want to do.”  v.24 “O wretched man that I am!”  It seems Paul wasn’t sufficiently filled at that time, to victoriously combat old wrong tendencies.  JFB Commentary Ro.7:19 “The conflict here…cannot be the conflict between passion and struggles in the unregenerate, because of this description given to ‘the desire to do good.”  Here he’s the regenerate, converted Paul.  Barnes Notes Ro.7:24 “This frequent subjection to sinful propensities.”  There were times when HS influence was neglected or unsought for Paul (and Peter) to obediently mind God.

An unfilled worldly Christian may feel wretched, miserable; he’s not yielded away from his self-will, and is controlled by his old self or ‘flesh’.  (ref Part 1.)  Having lost (close) contact with God, he may feel fruitless and defeated…depending on self-effort to try to live the Christian life, rather than living by the indwelling HS.  This can result in frustration or confusion, living by emotional feeling & self-desire, rather than by active faith and HS guidance.  We are to trust, obey, and follow the Lord via the Spirit.

Alfred H. Pohl said, “Every Christian has the HS in his life as Resident, but the Spirit-filled (controlled) Christian has Him as President!”  (The Godhead is one in essence.  Jesus is Lord!)  West Colonial Hills Baptist Church “Where the Baptism of the Spirit makes the Spirit resident of our lives, the Filling makes the Spirit president of our lives. The Filling of the Spirit happens to those who obey, submit and surrender to the Spirit.”  But we can become complacent or lackadaisical in submitting to the HS.

CBN The Filling of the Holy Spirit “D.L. Moody was asked why he continually needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He replied, ‘Because I leak’. Like Moody, we all run out of gas and need the power of the Holy Spirit to recharge our lives. Scripture says we must be continually filled, not just once or twice.”  Friends Review, vol.28 “Baptized once for all, there is need to be refilled for every service.”  The HS is likened to living water (Jn.7:38-39).  We too leak, become spiritually dry or empty.

If we feel spiritually weak or that our growth is stunted, or that the HS may have been grieved or quenched…we need refilling or renewal!  Ep.4:22-24 “Lay aside the old self…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self.”  Refilling, renewal, rekindle, stir up the Spirit…these are comparable expressions.

What may we do to be refilled or rekindle the HS?  Php.2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”  Again, Jesus was continually Spirit-filled (He was conceived by the HS, Mt.1:20)!

First, we should examine our lives.  Paul wrote in 2Co.13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are still in the Christian faith”.  Then quit any (recurring) sin that becomes evident.  Is.59:2 “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear you.”  Sin separates us from the Lord’s Presence.  (So does neglect and self-absorption.)  We’re to confess any new sin and repent of it, and then God will forgive, 1Jn.1:9.

Ja.4:7-8 “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  He.4:16 “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.”  How do we draw near?  There are spiritual tools we can implement that will bring us closer to God:

We can devote more time to God and the things of God.  Every day set aside some quiet time.  David wrote in Ps.63:1 KJV, “Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee”.  Seek His Presence in the morning to start the day right.  The HS of wisdom says in Pr.8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently shall find me”.  God knows when we’re in earnest.  The Lord promised in Je.29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”.  Heartfelt seeking.

Spend more time praying.  Paul said in1Th.5:17, “Pray without ceasing”.  As we pray, listen for God impressing or speaking to us in our spirit.  Ep.6:18 “Pray at all times in the Spirit.”  Throughout the day.

Do daily Bible reading or Bible study.  Following a program of reading the entire Bible-in-a-year will give us a broad overview of the scriptures.  Let the written words, inspired by the HS, soak in.  1Ti.4:13 Paul exhorted Timothy at Ephesus to “Give attention to the public reading of scripture”.  That was primarily the OT scriptures, the Law and the Prophets (and the Psalms/Writings).

Meditate on the Lord, on scriptures, and the wonders of God’s creation.  Ps.119:15 “I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways.”  This will help us remain mindful of God.  Ps.111:2 “Great are the works of the Lord. They are studied by all who delight in them.”  Ps.77:12 “Muse on all Thy deeds.”

Occasional fasting too is beneficial.  Jesus said, Mt.6:16-18 “When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father in secret. And your Father which sees in the hidden place will reward you openly.”  Fasting isn’t for religious show.  It’s for seeking God (and for health).  Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be blessed (Mt.5:6).

Worship/fellowship with other Christians.  We can edify each other.  Pr.27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”  Spend time praising the Lord (Ps.111:1), corporately and also privately as we go about our day.  David wrote in Ps.22:3, “You are holy, You who inhabits the praises of Israel”.  Offer-up the “sacrifice of praise” and give thanks (He.13:15)…God shows up.

Exercise your spiritual gift(s).  For example, if God has given you the gift of tongues, don’t let it lie dormant.  (also see the topic, “Spiritual Gifts and Tongues”.)  Speak in tongues privately to God in your prayer closet or secret place.  That will build you up spiritually.  Paul wrote in 1Co.14:4 KJV, “He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself”.

Also, reading Christian books about communing with God can inspire and motivate us.  God’s Presence is our best environment (regardless of our church background)!  I recommend Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God.  Living in the 1600s, Brother Lawrence experienced God’s Presence as a way of life daily, hour by hour!  Other such Christian books you may find helpful are: The Joy of Full Surrender and The Sacrament of the Present Moment, both by Jean-Pierre de Caussade; Frank C. Laubach Letters by a Modern Mystic; Gregory A. Boyd Present Perfect – Finding God in the Now.  The desire of those writers was to sense God’s Presence habitually.

A HS refilling may seem like a brand new experience to us, especially if we’ve regressed away from God.  But we’re still in the Body of Christ.  It’s now about us getting right or staying right with God, surrendering the self, personal consecration, trusting and allowing His HS to guide us.  In daily situations we encounter, ask ourself…‘What would Jesus do (WWJD) if He were in my shoes today?’

We can still be living as if in the day of Pentecost (Ac.2:1-4)…living a Spirit-led life!  God wants us to present ourselves to Him as available empty vessels or jars of clay…to be filled by the HS.  cf. 2Ki.4:1-7 the Lord caused the widow’s empty jars of clay to be miraculously filled with oil in Elisha’s day.

We should seek to be Spirit-empowered, Spirit-influenced, Spirit-guided; Spirit-controlled in a sense.  Jesus said in Jn.4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth”.

Although we won’t achieve complete perfection in this life…life is much more satisfying walking in the Spirit!  (e.g. Enoch walked with God, Ge.5:22.)

Our bodies are the temple of God.  Paul wrote in 1Co.6:19 KJV, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost [Spirit], which is in you”.  We host the Holy Ghost!  It’s a great privilege we’ve been given…God desires to actually indwell Christians!

Col.3:1 “If then you have been raised up [cf. Col.2:12] with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God.”  Strive to keep our mind & intent fixed on right things of God.  Col.3:4 “And when Christ, who gives meaning to our life, appears, then you too will appear with Him in glory.”  The glorious goal of our converted Life will then be reality.  To God be the glory!

Holy Spirit-Filled (1) – Death to Self-Will

This topic discusses a type of non-physical death, and the new birth/new life in the Spirit for Christians.  The life of the apostle Paul, as recorded in the New Testament (NT), is used as an example.

Before Paul became converted, he was known as Saul (Ac.13:9).  Saul terrorized Jewish Christians.  Ac.8:1-3 “Saul was consenting to his death [Stephen’s, Ac.7:58-60]….Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he put them in prison.”  House churches were springing up then, around 34 AD.  In Ac.22:4, Saul/Paul later said of his past, “I persecuted the Way [followers of Christ, Jn.14:6] to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons”.

But in Acts 9, Saul had a dramatic conversion experience!  Ac.9:1-2 “Saul was breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord [Jesus].”  Authorized by the high priest, he left for Damascus in search of Jewish Christians to bring them bound to Jerusalem.  v.3-9 as Saul neared Damascus, he was blinded (for 3 days) by a light from heaven…and the voice of Jesus spoke to him!  v.10-22 Ananias said, “Saul…you may be filled with the Holy Spirit”.  v.17 Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit (HS), his sight returned, all his past sins were washed away via water baptism in Jesus’ Name (Ac.22:16).

Saul/Paul was never the same after that encounter!  Paul wrote in Ga.1:12-14, “I received it [the gospel] by revelation from Jesus Christ. You have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond my peers, being very zealous for my ancestral traditions.”  Religious Pharisaism highly valued Jewish oral law traditions.  Saul was a devoted Pharisee (Ac.23:6)…and then he saw the Light that day on the Damascus road.

We understand Paul received mercy & forgiveness from Father God.  And yet God is also just; we reap what we sow, as Paul wrote (Ga.6:7).  Ac.9:16 the Lord told Ananías that Paul would suffer (for His Name’s sake).  Saul had caused many to suffer.  2Co.11:24-27 Paul’s own sufferings.  A murderer sentenced to death, who becomes converted in prison, may still die physically in the electric chair.

Subsequently Paul wrote in 2Ti.1:3, “I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience”.  Maybe it seems strange that a man who was party to the murder of Jewish Christians could claim a pure conscience?  Paul acknowledged in 1Ti.1:13, “I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.”  He mistakenly had thought the Lord Jesus was just a dead man who was worshiped as a false god.  Saul had zealously sought to eradicate that which he viewed as idolatry (as per De.13:6-9, 17:2-7. also see “Stephen’s Stoning in Acts”.)  Yet murder was murder.  Saul/Paul repented, changed, was forgiven, his conscience was cleansed.

The NT reflects a pertinent connected level of meaning.  It has to do with the symbolic death of Paul’s old man/old self (Saul), the old “body of sin” (Ro.6:6), begun through Christ’s work on the cross.

Paul wrote figuratively in Ga.2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it’s no longer I who live; but Christ lives in me”.  Christ’s HS and word indwelt the new Paul.  This enabled Paul to subdue his self-will and live a life of submission and obedience to God, as Christ did.  Ellicott Commentary Ga.2:20 “It is through the power of the cross…that the Christian is enabled to mortify the promptings of sin within him. Death upon one side of my nature does not prevent me from having life on the other side.”  Benson Commentary Ga.2:20 “The apostle proceeds in describing how he was freed from the dominion as well as the guilt of sin.”  But it’s not a pain-free process.

Crucifixion by the Romans was usually a slow, lingering, painful death!  (see “Jesus’ Death – The Physical Cause”.)

Quitting old wrong practices and beliefs can involve mental turmoil/pain, and isn’t instantaneous.  Expositor’s Greek Testament Ga.2:20 “A real crucifixion of heart and will. By this figure he [Paul] describes the intense agony of spiritual conflict.”  Saul’s old self, ways, self-desires didn’t want to ‘die’.

The first verse where Saul is called Paul is Ac.13:9. “Saul, also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit….”  He wasn’t referred to as “Paul” prior to his becoming Spirit-filled in Acts 9.  Saul was a persecutor…but Paul is the Roman name of an apostle to the nations.  The Lord Jesus told Ananias in Ac.9:15, “He [Saul/Paul] is a chosen vessel of Mine, to bear My name before the gentiles”.

The old Saul ‘died’ with Christ, as he (Paul) later put it.  The man Saul who’d persecuted the Way…himself became a follower of the Way.  Paul later said of his new way of life in Ac.24:14, “I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect do I serve the God of our fathers, believing everything written in the Law and the Prophets”.  The man Saul, regenerated, became the new Paul.

The Latin name Paul/Paulus (Strongs g3972, Greek) meant ‘small’ or ‘little’.  His physical appearance wasn’t impressive (2Co.10:10).  According to tradition, Paul stood only 5 feet tall.  John Chrýsostom (347-407 AD) Homily On Romans “The apostle Paul was short in stature, modest (?), bald on the head, bow-legged…pale colored, well-bearded, sensible…full of grace, inspired by the Holy Spirit.”  (For an exposition of Paul’s doctrine/ideology, see the series “Paul the Apostle”.)

Saul/Paul was from the Israelite tribe of Benjamin (Php.3:5).  Benjamites had assimilated with the tribe of Judah (the Jews) when God divided the united kingdom of Israel after Solomon died (1Ki.12:23-24).

Of note…ca 1050 BC Israel’s first king, Saul the son of Kish , was also from the tribe of Benjamin.  But King Saul was a very tall man (1Sm.9:1-2), who had initially been small/humble in his own eyes (1Sm.9:21, 15:17).  However, he changed for the worse.  This Old Testament Benjamite Saul became a persecutor, wanting to put David to death (1Sm.19)!  Whereas the NT Benjamite Saul/Paul the ‘little’ was a persecutor who changed for the better…the reverse of King Saul.

At his repentance and conversion, Paul became a new creature, born from above (Jn.3:3-ff).  2Co.5:17 “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away, they are become new.”  The NT Saul’s old deceitful heart (Je.17:9), his past self/old man, was figuratively crucified.

The Lord had foretold in Ezk.36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh”.  God gave the HS, and a metaphorical new heart (called “Paul”), to Saul’s physical body.  Again, Paul wrote in Ga.2:20, “It’s no longer I [Saul] who live….”

Paul’s persecutions (as Saul) became obsolete.  Saul had figuratively died!  The new Paul didn’t persecute Christians.  So Paul’s conscience was clear when he wrote to Timothy in the 60s AD – and the new changed Paul could make the claim of having a clear conscience (2Ti.1:3).

Paul wrote in Ro.6:6-7, “Knowing this, that our old man [self] was crucified with Christ, so that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin.”  Here Paul includes all Christians…our old nature to be rendered inactive.  This concept may be hard to comprehend or seem like Christian mysticism.  But Paul writes with absolute assurance – “Knowing”.

Cambridge Bible Ro.6:6 “This knowledge is to be a working motive in the new life.”  JFB Commentary Ro.6:6 “Our old selves’ – all that we were in our old unregenerate condition, before union with Christ.”

Paul to the church at Colossae in Col.3:3, “For you died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God”.  Our own way of following our selfish inclinations perishes.  Expositor’s Greek Testament Col.3:3 “For you died’, that is to their old life, at the time of their conversion.”

2Co.5:15 “He [Christ] died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for their sakes and rose again.”  Cambridge Bible 2Co.5:15 “And thus made obedience possible for us…freeing us from our bondage to sin.”  Our attitude and service should now be, “Thy will be done” (Mt.6:10)…not…my will be done.

Paul wrote further in 2Ti.2:11, “If we died with Him [Christ], we shall also live with Him”.  For some believers the realization of this self-death may begin with intellectual agreement, after reading Paul’s letters.  Others may understand this operation of death to sin and regeneration to Life through revelation from the HS.  I feel no death within my body; we can’t explain this new birth miracle by the five senses.  But we can have faith in the operation of God; and believe the above verses were inspired.

We’re not aware of an exact time of death for a Christian’s old man or old self, as he/she/we undergo the waters of baptism.  But as Jesus was dead prior to His burial, the Christian was already dead, symbolically, before his baptismal burial.  (also see the topic “Baptisms and Washings”.)

This baptismal burial isn’t what killed us – in cultures of the world people are not customarily buried alive!  It is only after a person dies that he/she is buried.  The previous verses indicate that we died to sin (on a cross, metaphorically), being crucified as was Jesus.  And then only after this death were we buried (immersed in baptism) with Him.  This burial is also a public testimony of the (prior) death of our ‘old man’, according to the faith we had in Jesus when we first believed (before baptism).

Ro.6:3-5 “We have been buried with Him through baptism unto death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”  Our baptism under water symbolizes this burial, and our surfacing the regeneration/rebirth to real Life via the Spirit.

Yet Christians still maintain in our souls most learning, abilities and muscle memory patterns that date from the years/decades of our ‘old man’.  Some sinful responses were also learned and internalized.  So we still have wrong desires, and will sin occasionally (or too often).  Paul sinned occasionally too (cf. Ro.7:23).  We have a (daily) battle against lapsing into sin.  He wrote, 1Co.15:31 “I die daily”.  Paul died daily…to keep his flesh crucified (and from enemy threats).  see “Repentance from Sin”.

Daily repentance and asking God that the blood of Jesus be applied to any recurring sins…will result in our being continually forgiven and our consciences cleansed.  He.9:14 “The blood of Christ…will cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”  Jesus’ sacrifice is fully efficacious.

As we yield to the HS, our (old) self-will should become less and less operative or dominant.  Webster’s Dictionary: Self-Will “The persistent carrying out of one’s own will or wishes.”  Collins Dictionary: Self-Will “The stubborn adherence to one’s own will, desires, etc.”  Rather…God’s will be done.

We’ve been baptized in/by the HS.  The HS leads us into doing the will of God.  1Co.12:13 “By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”  There’s no baptism into another, ref Ep.4:5.  (Note: Humans cannot baptize one another into the HS, e.g. Mk.1:8…but Jesus can.)

Few Christians undergo a name change from their former life, as Saul became known as Paul.  Yet as Christians, we too should say (Ga.2:20), “It’s no longer I who live; but Christ lives in me”.  We ‘died’ in Christ, and He has become our life too.

I keep one nail spike in my key tray on the bedroom dresser.  So in the morning when I dress and reach to the tray…I see the spike.  I’m reminded that the old me ‘died’, figuratively ‘crucified with Christ’; and that new day I am to let Jesus live inside via the HS.

But how much time do we live filled with, or aware of, the Holy Spirit?  Paul exhorted the church in Ep.5:18, “Be filled with the Spirit”.

This topic is continued and concluded in “Holy Spirit-Filled (2) – Be Refilled”.

Repentance from Sin

In Sunday sermons, churchgoers in general don’t hear much about repentance.  It’s not a popular topic.  Yet the Bible (and Jesus) has much to say about it.  This is about repenting and repentance.

What does it mean to repent?  The Greek verb translated “repent” in the LXX Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT) is met-an-o-éh-o, Strongs g3340.  It occurs 33 times in the NT.  Repent means to change one’s mind (for the better), or to turn.  Webster’s Dictionary: Repent “To turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life; to feel regret or contrition, to change one’s mind.”

What is repentance?  The Greek noun translated “repentance” is met-án-oy-ah, g3341.  It occurs 24 times in the NT.  Repentance means a change of mind by one who repents; the action of sincere regret or remorse.  Webster’s Dictionary: Repentance “The process of repenting, especially for misdeeds or moral shortcomings.”  Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary “To turn from evil and turn to the good.”

To begin, here’s two passages about repent from the OT book of Jeremiah.  The Lord said of treacherous Judah in Je.8:6 LXX. “There is no man that repents [g3340] of his wickedness.”  Wickedness is to be repented of, but the Judah of Jeremiah’s day didn’t have a change of heart for it.  The Lord declared in Je.18:7-10 LXX, “If that nation turns from their evils, then I will repent [g3340] of the evil I thought to do to them….But if they do evil things before Me, and don’t hearken to My voice, then I will repent [g3340] of the good things which I spoke to do for them.”  If they turned from their wickedness, God would change His mind (repent) and relent from doing them bad…but also vice versa.

Man is to repent of…sin.  Some verses from the NT which show we’re to repent (g3340) of sin: Lk.15:10, 17:3-4; Ac.2:38, 3:19, 8:22; 2Co.12:21; Re.2:21, 9:20-21.

Some NT verses which show that repentance (g3341) is from sin: Mt.9:13; Mk.1:4, 2:17; Lk.3:3, 5:32, 15:7.  Also, 2Ti.2:25 shows that God gives us repentance (g3341) as the ability to change our mind in regards to acknowledging His truth.  He.6:1 & Re.2:22 indicate repentance (g3341) from dead works.

Quoting several of the above verses: Jesus said in Lk.17:3-4, “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him”.  (Repentance is a prerequisite for forgiveness.)  Peter admonished Simon the Samaritan in Ac.8:22, “Repent of this your wickedness”.  In 2Co.12:21, Paul said he would “Mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented”.  Jesus spoke about the Thyatíran church in Re.2:21. “She does not want to repent of her immorality.”  Immorality is sin.  Re.9:21 “They did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their immorality, or their thefts.”  Those acts are all sins.  Mankind is to repent (g3340) of sins!

In Mk.1:4, John the Baptizer “Came into the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance [g3341] for the forgiveness of sins”.  In Lk.3:3, Jesus “Came into the district around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance [g3341] for the forgiveness of sin”.  Jesus and John both preached repentance from sin.  Jesus said in Mt.9:13 KJV, “I Am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”.  There’s no admonition for a repentance from righteousness.  Repentance (g3341) is from sin!

Again, repentance involves a change of mind or change of heart.  But 1Ki.11:1-9 shows King Solomon changed/turned for the worse.  Because he was so wise, maybe he thought he didn’t need to heed God?

2Ki.21:1-11 King Manasséh did worse than ungodly gentile nations!  But eventually he changed for the better.  And God responded favorably to even evil Manasseh’s sincere change of heart (2Ch.33:10-19)!

Jnh.3:3-10 the gentile Ninevites in Assyria repented at the preaching of Jonah (cf. Lk.11:32).  But their change for the better wasn’t lasting.  Approximately 100 years later they returned to wickedness.  (The book of Nahúm then foretells Nineveh’s coming ruin.  Nineveh fell to Babylon in 612 BC.)

How is “sin” defined?  In the Bible are found at least 5 definitions or descriptions of sin:

1) 1Jn.3:4 sin = lawlessness, or the transgression of the law (KJV).  The OT is said to contain 600 laws, and the NT 1,000 commands.  Which ones are still applicable in today’s world?  A basic rule of thumb is…all God’s written (moral) principles and precepts apply, unless He has rendered them obsolete over time.  In the words of Jesus, Mt.4:4, “It is written”.  Jesus was referring to the written OT.

2) Ja.4:17 sin = Knowing we should do a good act we’re capable of doing, but not following through and performing it.  “He that knows to do good, but does it not is sin.”  Sins of omission, that is.

3) 1Jn.5:17 sin = “All unrighteousness is sin.”  Not meeting God’s justness/justice (within the confines of one’s national laws) or moral standards.  Ps.119:172 “All Thy commandments are righteousness.”  Unrighteousness is disobedience to God’s right principles.

4) Ro.14:23b sin = “Whatever is not of faith is sin.”  The righteous or just live by faith (Ro.1:17).  Our conscience becomes educated as to what thoughts, words, actions constitute sin.  We shouldn’t defile our conscience!  (Avoiding the appearance of evil helps keep a pure conscience, 1Th.5:22.)

5) Pr.24:9 sin = The thought of foolishness/folly.  Our thoughts can be sin, before they become words or actions.  Jesus said in Mt.15:19, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts…”  Thoughts should be pure.

Those are 5 scriptural definitions, if you will, of “sin”.  To be repented of.

{Sidelight: I won’t delineate or discuss various categories of wrong: sin, trespass, transgression, crime, iniquity, wickedness, evil, etc.  John H. Walton The Lost World of Adam and Eve, p.154 “It is important to recognize that there are categories of evil, and not all of them are connected to sin (e.g. what is called ‘natural evil’). We should, for example, differentiate between experiential evil (discomfort resulting from non-order and/or disorder on all levels), personal evil (anti-social behavior that causes suffering in others), punitive consequence (discomfort resulting from actions by God or rulers designed to punish or discourage personal evil and/or the perpetuation of disorder), and sin (ritual/moral impropriety that damages relationship with deity). Most people use ‘sin’ or ‘evil’ interchangeably to refer to any or all of these….The problem of evil is a larger discussion than the problem of sin that people face.”  This topic won’t philosophically discuss the broad concept of evil, but simply refers to various wrongs as…sin.}

Sin can be any thoughts we dwell on, any words we speak, or anything we do that is contrary to God’s word/principles and His revealed will for our individual lives!  Any wrongs and anything outside of God’s will for us as individuals.

Our interpretation of laws can influence which thoughts/actions of ourselves or others we view as sin.  The Lord gave Levitical rituals and observances to ancient Israel for their culture.  Gentile peoples such as Abraham, Eskimos, Pygmies, Amazon River tribesmen, don’t know Levitical tállit fringe (Nu.15:38), or téfillin box customs (De.11:18, Mt.23:5), e.g.  Such unawareness isn’t sin.  The Levitical priesthood is obsolete.  Dress customs among peoples differ.  Most customs of dress don’t need repentance.

Churches or sects shouldn’t erect an oral law or man-made traditional fence around God’s written laws/precepts, and then pharisaically masquerade that God Himself said it.  That’s adding to His word.

{{Sidelight: In matters where your government isn’t adhering to God’s principles & justice, we aren’t to take His law/precepts into our own individual hands…no personal vengeance (Ps.94:1, Ro.12:19).  We don’t personally avenge govt neglect or ignorance.  see “Governmental Loyalty for Christians”.}}

Supposedly, the rabbis placed Jews into three moral categories: the righteous (his merits exceed his sins), the intermediates (half and half), the sinners (his sins exceed his merits).  ref Carl Schwartz The Scattered Nation and Jewish Christian Magazine, p.226.  Most Jews were considered intermediates?

Who has sinned?  Ro.3:9b, 23 “All have sinned.”  Both Jews and gentiles.  Sin separates one from God.  What is the result of sin?  Ro.6:23 “The payment of sin is death.”  Spiritual death.  (see “Life and Death – For Saints”.)  Animal lifeblood was a temporary covering for sin (ref Le.16, e.g.).

But the ultimate remedy for sin is forgiveness through Jesus’ shed blood (He only never sinned).  Ac.5:30-31 “He [Jesus] is the one God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”  Forgiveness is given by God to those whom He grants the ability to repent.  We can’t come to repentance of and by ourselves.  The Lord is so gracious!

Ro.2:4 “The goodness of God leads you to repentance.”  Even the desire to repent is initially from God, not of ourselves.  Mankind is unable to repent solely through our own initiative or human nature.

Also, confessing our sins is of prime importance.  1Jn.1:9-10 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.”  Again, sin separates us from God.  Is.59:2 “Your iniquities have separated you from your God.”  We can’t hide our sins from the Lord.  God is greater than our hearts, and He knows our conscience (1Jn.3:20).  Unconfessed sin won’t remove this separation and obtain God’s blessings.  However, upon confession and repentance, Father God will wash away those sins forever on account of Jesus’ lifeblood.  As we’ve seen, God offers forgiveness after repentance.

One must change his/her mind and conduct in regards to sin, and think differently.  Actions begin with thoughts, and words.  We are to confess our misuse of the tongue (ref Ja.3:1-ff.)

In a word…repentance means ‘change’.  Change from a life of sin and unbelief.  It may involve a gradual process of a 180° turnaround!  Spiritually it’s the turning from darkness to light.  However, we may not immediately overcome old wrong habits that are deeply ingrained.

As we began to recognize God’s hand in our lives, He caused us to see the need to repent and be baptized.  Peter proclaimed in Ac.2:38, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.  Repentance precedes baptism.

Lasting change from some sins may be difficult, but can be accomplished through the gift of God’s Holy Spirit (HS) indwelling us.  Peter proclaimed at Solomon’s porch of the temple in Ac.3:19, “Repent, and turn back [to God], that your sins may be wiped away; in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”.  Repent, and come into God’s Presence!

Again, it involves a change of mind or heart.  The Lord God promised to provide believers with a new or exchanged heart.  Ezk.36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  The HS enables us to cease continuing to live disobediently with sinful habits as a way of life.  (see “Two Covenants – Heart of the Matter”.)

John the Baptizer admonished the Jewish leaders in Mt.3:5-8. “Bring forth fruit befitting of repentance.”  In other words, start living a changed life as evidence of repentance…talk can be cheap.  Jesus proclaimed to Galileans in His first (red-letter) words of the book of Mark, Mk.1:15. “The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.”  Repentance and belief are prerequisites for salvation.

Jesus warned in Lk.13:2-5, “Repent [g3340] or you will all likewise perish”.  Jesus is serious about repentance!  Time and chance, to an extent, and God’s judgments happens to humans.  Yet the Lord gives protection and deliverance to His repentant saints (e.g. 2Th.3:3, Ps.91:7, 34:19, 1Co.10:13).

Repentance is offered to gentiles too!  Paul said in Ac.17:30, “All everywhere should repent”.  (cf. Ac.20:21.)  Ac.26:20 Paul declared to those in Damascus, Jerusalem, Judea, and to gentiles that “They should repent and turn to God, performing works appropriate for repentance”.  Prove it by good works.

Re.2:5, 16, 21, 3:3, 19 Jesus reprimanded five of the seven churches in Asia Minor to further repent (g3340)!  Repentance should be ongoing for a Christian, as we become aware of any sin in our life.

2Co.7:9-10 two kinds of sorrow are evident here.  First, sorrow we feel regarding our sin against God.  Second, sorrow we got caught.  Feeling regret over past wrong thoughts, words and conduct is part of it.  Yet we’re not always able to fully change habits immediately.  (cf. Ec.11:9 we change from wrong acts of youth.)

Ezk.18:1-20 shows that a son doesn’t bear responsibility for his father’s sin, and vice versa.  Everyone is responsible for their own actions.  v.21-32 God doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the wicked.  Yet…v.26-27 “A righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies because of it. When a wicked man turns away from his wickedness, and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.”  Their lasting decision for habitual living determined their fate.

He.6:4-6 is a fearsome concept about those who were made partakers of the HS, but later fell away to become disqualified or castaways (cf. Ezk.18:24, 1Co.9:27).  One who returns to living a life of sin with an ‘I don’t care’ attitude!  The writer to the Hebrews indicates that such a person cannot repent.

Saul/Paul had been responsible for the death of others in his past…a past murderer, in a sense!  In our struggles, weaknesses, and failures, we can take heart from his experiences.  Paul struggled against sin, Ro.7:14-25.  The sin to which he refers wasn’t habitual crime.  It was occasional sins, coveting, wrong thoughts.  Perhaps most men wrongly covet or idolize something in this material world?  We shouldn’t dwell on wrong thoughts that occur.  2Co.10:5 “Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”  We’re to strive to govern our thoughts and be obedient.  (see “Coveting – Wrong and Right Desire”.)

We’re to root-out sin, coveting, and bad habits when the HS shows us our wrongs, in the light of God’s word.  Jesus said in Re.3:19, “Those whom I love I reprove and discipline”.  The Lord lovingly chastises us for our good so we’ll repent, though His affliction is unpleasant at the time (He.12:6, Ps.119:75).

However, sincere differences of opinion, or dogmatic or ‘oral law’ disagreements between believers may not actually constitute sin.  We’re all growing in understanding and in the knowledge of Christ.  Peter wrote, 2Pe.3:18 “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.

Victorious faith can be ours! (cf. 2Ti.4:7-8).  Let’s continue to fight the good fight of faith to overcome an evil world of sin (e.g. Ro.12:21), obeying God’s righteous principles.  (see “Abraham Obeyed Which Commandments?” and “Genesis Principles Predate Moses ”.)  Also discerning and doing His will for us as individuals.  To not grow weary in well-doing (Ga.6:9).  Our diligence is necessary.

Concluding…Lk.15:11-24 is Jesus’ heartwarming parable about the prodigal son, whom his earthly father honored.  It reflects how our heavenly Father takes joy in His repentant children who change for the good!

God mercifully grants us awareness of our sins, so we can change…repent.  We examine our lives (2Co.13:5) and make any needed godly corrections.  And we are renewed (Col.3:9-10).  Jesus proclaimed in Lk.15:10, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents”.  Heaven rejoices in the repentant individual who changes for the good!

 

 

 

Church Structure and Member Functions

Many Christians try to attend church every week or two.  Others attend only occasionally or just at Easter and Christmas.  Some are so turned-off with religion and churchianity…they just stay home.

Many atheists, Jewish anti-missionaries, Muslims, and other non-believers are opposed to people becoming believers in Jesus as Savior.  The institution of church and our assembling together provides a measure of protection for our belief in God and the truths of the Bible.  This topic is about church fundamentals and believer functions, from the New Testament (NT).

The saints of the early church assembled together.  Originally the NT church was a gathering of people…not the building where they met!  The Greek term for church is ekklésia, Strongs g1577, occurring 118 times in the NT.

Lk.4:16 it was Jesus’ custom to attend the formal style of service of His day at synagogue (g4864) on the sabbath (g4521).  This custom resulted from the instruction God gave to Moses/Israel in Le.23:3. “On the 7^th day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. It is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.”  Jewish synagogues were lay institutions with unpaid elders (h2205 zaqén, Hebrew).  see the topic “Synagogue Influence on the Church”.

Mt.18:15-20 Jesus authorized His own future assemblies or messianic Beit Din (‘House of Judgment’) with zaqen/elders overseeing decisions…to “bind and loose” (forbid and permit), Mt.16:19.  Two or three local elders helped resolve internal disputes and made legal decisions for each local congregation (ref Mt.18:15-18, 1Co.6:1-5).

But Jesus said church leaders aren’t to be lords (Mt.20:25-28).  Jesus is Lord (Ro.10:9).  He is the only Head of the church (Ep.5:23)!  He died and rose again…and His church was launched in Acts 2, ca 30 AD.

In the early church of the 1^st century, a group of believers usually met in a large room or courtyard of a believer’s house.  See Ro.16:5, Col.4:15, Philemon 1:2, 2Jn.1:10 for evidence of house churches.

The apostle Paul planted churches on his missionary journeys.  The churches Paul started were structured (similar to the synagogue pattern).  As Paul departed a city on his journey, a few local elders would emerge to lead & guide that new church group.

In Ac.20:17, 28 Paul instructed the elders [g4245 presbúteros] of Ephesus, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [g1985 epískopos, bishops], to shepherd the church of God.”  Church overseers/bishops care for the figurative ‘sheep’.  Often one elder was the householder where that church met.

Ti.1:5 Paul instructed the church planter Titus to appoint elders who’d emerged in cities on the island of Crete.  After a period of time, Paul or another church planter (e.g. Peter, Timothy, Titus) would revisit the local group.  Churches grew & spread as believers shared the gospel with family, friends, associates.

Apostles/church planters had spiritual authority.  The Holy Spirit (HS) confirmed them.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in 1Co.4:21. “Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?”  Later in 2Co.7:13-16, “He [Titus] remembers your obedience, how you received him [Titus] with fear and trembling”.  Also ref Philemon 1:8-9 and 1Ti.5:19-21 regarding authority.

By the time the 1Timothy letter was written, ca 63 AD, many churches were being established throughout the Roman Empire.

Guidelines were to be observed for each local NT assembly.  Although leading men should be honorable, the NT doesn’t indicate that local elders were imbued with the same degree of spiritual authority the apostles/church planters had.

Ti.1:5-9 and 1Ti.3:1-7 distinguish the characteristics of elders & overseers.  1Ti.3:8-13 distinguishes the characteristics of deacons (g1249 diákonos).  Dr. Spiros Zódiates “Deacons in this sense were helpers or servants of the bishops or elders.”  Php.1:1 Paul addressed this letter to the saints, overseers/bishops (plural) and deacons at Phílippi.

It appears the NT church government was more like an oligarchy, not a hierarchy.  Ga.2:7-9 Paul indicated that Peter, John, James apostled mostly physically circumcised Jews; whereas Barnábas & Paul went more to uncircumcised gentiles.

There was no Pope!  The HS is the ‘vicar of Christ’, so to speak.  The apostolic church wasn’t an immoral, indolent, corrupt monopoly.

The Lord gave Jewish and gentile Christians various spiritual gifts & functions via the HS.  Ep.4:11-13 “He gave some apostles, and prophets, and evangelists, and shepherds/pastors, and teachers; for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. ‘Til we all come into the unity of the faith.”  Many of the functions indicated in Ep.4:11-13 are performed by elders.

In addition to the NT model eldership structure, the HS has also blessed and gifted the church.  Anointing with oil while praying for the sick to be healed is an example of a local function done by elders, Ja.5:14-16.

Yet, in a sense, all Christians are priests in God’s holy royal priesthood (1Pe.2:5, 9)!

Several believer functions are listed in 1Co.12:27-31.  These functions and gifts are distributed by the HS among the saints (in local areas).  1Co.12:27-31 “God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, gifts of healings, admins, tongues.”  Yes, miracles & healings are for the church (Ja.5:14-16).  see “Spiritual Gifts and ‘Tongues”.

Also Ro.12:4-8, 13 is in regards to believer functions. “Just as we have many members in one body and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”  Here Paul includes serving, exhorting, giving, contributing to the needs of others, hospitality, etc.  also see “Female Roles in the Early Church.”

1Co.12:29-30 not all Christians are apostles, or prophets, or teachers, etc.; all aren’t pastors; all don’t speak in tongues.  All haven’t been given evangelistic gifts or talk about Jesus well one-on-one.  Those who don’t speak in tongues or evangelize well, for example, shouldn’t be made to feel inadequate.

Paul’s summation in 1Co.14:1, “Pursue love, yet desire spiritual gifts”.  It’s not one or the other.  It’s spiritual gifts and love…both.  The various gifts and love from the HS enables those so gifted to spread the gospel and knit the church together in godly love.  Personal evangelism (by those who have that gift) is key to a living and growing church.  Of note, it wasn’t the apostles who evangelized in Ac.8:1-4.  also see “Evangelism in the Apostolic Church”.

Gentile peoples come from backgrounds of different cultures, customs and beliefs.  Even the Jews had their own sects.  (see “Jewish Sects of the 1^st Century”.)  As the gospel went to the nations, the result was a much diverse group coming into the church at large.  And differing customs can cause some disunity.  Also see “Doctrinal Disunity Impacts Evangelism”.

Jesus prayed there would be unity.  Jn.17:11 “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, that they may be one.”  Continuing in Jn.17:22-23, “That they may be one, just as We are one, that they may be perfected in unity”.  Jesus prayed that all Christians would become unified, as one in Spirit with God.

Paul didn’t charge money for the gospel.  Nor did he cause division for the church in regards to points of Levitical ceremonial laws or Judaism’s oral traditions from his background.  1Co.9:18-23 “When I preach the gospel I offer the gospel without charge. To the Jews I became as a Jew, though not being myself under [man-made oral?] law; to those [gentiles] without law as without [oral?] law, though not being without the [written] law of God….that I may by all means save some.”  Paul was willing to set aside Jewish oral traditions (but not the Lord’s written principles) to help grow God’s Kingdom.

Our Christian journey is a process of personal growth and learning.  There were big differences and some problems, for example, among the seven churches of western Turkey (Rev.2–3)!  Yet they were all still Christ’s churches (Rev.1:13, 20), though some desperately needed to repent more fully.

All Christian churches today lay claim to the Bible as the written word of God.  This written word, as inspired by the HS, is the universal standard and unifying instruction guide for the Body of Christ.  As Jesus & Paul affirmed when referring to the Old Testament…“It is written!” (e.g. Mt.4:4, Ro.3:10.)

But to fully obey God’s word, we must be willing to lay aside traditional (and nationalistic) differences which contradict His word.  see “Governmental Loyalty for Christians”.  Also we should be willing to de-emphasize any differences regarding non-salvation issues so-called, and speculations.

Jesus said in Jn.13:34-35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another”.  What is godly love?  1Jn.5:3 provides a definition of true godly love. “This is the love of God, that you keep His commandments.”  As we obey God while loving each other, and do our part to spread the gospel…the Kingdom of God will be expressed more and more.  The church has been called the Kingdom of God in miniature.  (see “Kingdom of God” and “Love – Godly Love”.)

Although there are apostles, elders, etc., the bottom line is…all believers are necessary parts of the Body of Christ…whether they’re an eye or a hand or a part less noticeable (1Co.12:20-25).  As our body parts come to the aid and defense of our physical body; the church provides protection from false teaching, and from those who reject Jesus as Savior.  Our local assembly is part of our spiritual immune system.

God’s people are exhorted to maintain the habit of gathering together regularly in an approved manner, based upon what we see in the NT.  Individually a believing member may be a figurative hand, or finger, foot, toe, ear, lung, etc., of the Body of Christ.  (Christ is the Head.)  But no body part can exist alone!  Each group or congregation is a local body where believers are to function in sync with each other.

The writer to the Hebrews urged believers to meet & commune together.  He.10:24-25 “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together.”

We’re to share in a unified local body.  Through the HS within us, we can be living examples of God’s written principles in our thoughts, words, actions, conduct and habits.  Then our purpose and destiny will be…we ourselves unified together with God for all eternity!  What a glorious future we have!

So let’s look to spread the gospel as the opportunity arises…and carry-on the church practice of meeting together, as did the New Testament saints who went before us.