Download West Alliance Membership Manual

Living Water Alliance Church
Membership Manual
V e r s i o n
1 . 0
Living Water Alliance Church
29W376 Butterfield Rd.
Warrenville, IL 60555
Page 1
table of contents
Introduction to Membership Class
What is Membership?
Becoming a Member
Membership Application
3
4–5
6–7
Joining God’s Story: Doctrine1
Session 1
Trinity: God Is
Scripture: God Speaks
Creation: God Makes
Man: God’s Image
8
9
15
19
25
Session 2
Sin: God Judges
Covenant: God Pursues
29
36
Session 3
Incarnation: God Comes
Cross: God Dies
Resurrection: God Saves
43
48
54
Session 4
Church: God Sends
Worship: God Transforms
Kingdom: God Reigns
61
68
74
Joining Our Story: History, Vision and Values of Living Water
Session 5:
Our Denomination: Christian and Missionary Alliance 83
Our Church’s History
89
Our Vision, Values
91
Joining Your Story:
Membership: Biblical Stewardship
Membership Covenant
1
93
101
The outline of this overview of doctrine is taken from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Other
sources that have helped the development of this manual include our denominational doctrinal
statement, Mars Hill Church Gospel Class Notes, and Harvest Community Church Membership
Manual.
Page 2
what is membership?
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is
good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12: 1-2
Every Christian is already a member of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19).
However, membership in God’s household implies that we are also members of
a local church, participating and ministering in a particular place within a
particular body of Christ. Church-hopping is a serious sickness today. Christians
hop around from church to church trying to find the church that is “best for me”
but do not commit to staying in a local body. Just as a healthy body demands
that each part does its job well, so a healthy church needs members sacrificially
committed and well-equipped for its calling (Ephesians 2:10; 4:12). God has
prepared good works for us to do as a local church. Our members are the
primary missionaries of the gospel to our culture, and God in His sovereignty
placed us in this city among these people in this century for a reason (Acts
17:26-27).
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought
to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we,
though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ
according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our
serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who
contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12: 3-8
Being a member is about more than having special privileges. A member
acknowledges he/she are a part of the body of Christ and enters into a covenant
with their local church. Consequently he/she is called to a higher degree of
responsibility. Conversely, the elders and deacons seek to assist their members
first and foremost, to provide counsel, service, and aid, as well as to pray, teach,
and guide as necessary. We pray that our church would reflect God’s heart for
his children as an organic composition of hearts and hands living out the gospel
with more than just lip service.
Page 3
becoming a member
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one
another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s
varied grace...
1 Peter 4: 8-10
To transition from a guest to a member of Living Water Alliance Church, we ask that
you attend our Membership Classes. Here, we shall look at an overview of Christian
essential core beliefs and how we live in light of these doctrines. Everyone considering
Living Water Alliance Church for their home church should attend; this class is a
requirement in order to become a member.
While certain ministries may allow anyone to serve, the spiritual responsibility of the
following ministries require membership before serving:
 Worship Team
 Leading a small group (including children, youth, college and adult)
From a practical perspective, the following items need to be completed to become a
recognized member of Living Water Alliance Church:
1. Be involved in serving and community at Living Water Alliance Church
2. Attend all Membership classes
3. Complete Membership application and covenant
4. Have a Member interview with the pastor
5. Complete Membership covenant and celebration.
There are two levels of membership. An “associate member” is a person who is a full
member of another church but is in this area for a temporary period of time (for school,
work, etc.). A “full member” is a person who is making this church their primary church
home.
Full Member:
a. Believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and is baptized.
b. Submits to the doctrinal statement and positions of the Christian and Missionary
Alliance
c. Is at least eighteen years of age
d. Has consciously made the decision to recognize and serve Living Water as their
home church and concluded the required formal membership process
e. Under normal circumstances attends Sunday services regularly.
f. Actively contributes time, talent and treasure for the life of the church.
g. Is not a member of another church.
h. Annually renews membership covenant at a membership celebration.
If a Full Member is unable to keep the commitments stated above, his/her membership
status may be changed, suspended, or terminated at the discretion of the vision team.
Associate Member - A believer who has met all of the criteria of Full Member status,
but due to circumstances involving education, occupation or other ministries, is unable
to meet the requirements of (e), (f) or (g) above needed for Full Member status.
Page 4
If an Associate Member is unable to keep the commitments stated above, his/her
membership status may be changed, suspended, or terminated at the discretion of the
vision team.
General Attendee: Any non-visiting attendee who shares the interests of the Church
and has attended numerous worship services and activities of the church. General
Attendee status is not meant to be a permanent designation. Rather, it is reserved for
those who have shown sufficient interest and participation in the Church that they can
no longer be considered “visitors.” It is the assumed that General Attendees intend to
pursue Associate or Full Member status within one (1) year. The church shall make
open and numerous invitation to all General Attendees to enroll in membership training
towards Associate or Full Member status.
Voting privileges and formal positions of leadership (e.g. deacons and elders) are
granted only to Full Members.
Page 5
membership application
Have you previously been a member of a church? If so, which church (name
and contact information). Would it be okay to contact your former pastor?
When and how did you become a Christian?
If you were to die tonight and stood before God and He asked you, “Why should
I let you into heaven?”, what would you say?
Baptism (check all that apply):
__ Not yet
__ confirmed as a believer
__ as a baby
__ baptized as a believer
How are you growing in your Christian life now? Describe a specific area where
God is working in your life now.
Page 6
In what ways have you served the church in the past? Are there any areas of
ministry/service that you feel particularly passionate about? Are there any areas
where you feel God has used you in the past (e.g. your spiritual gifts)?
Name:
Birthday:
Spouse (if applicable):
Birthday
Child/ren (if applicable):
Birthday:
Address (permanent):
Address (temporary):
Email:
Phone:
Page 7
Joining God’s Story:
Doctrine
God is already at work in the world. Becoming a Christian is about joining HisStory regarding God’s work in the world. A Christian is not just somebody who prays a
certain prayer; a Christian is a person whose world and life-view have been shaped by
what God has already accomplished for us. Doctrine reminds us what God has already
accomplished for us.
Some may think, “Doctrine? That sounds about as exciting to me as a series on
Theoretical Particle Physics. Tell me something that is relevant to my life – let’s talk
about the economy, or politics, or family. Anything but doctrine!” However, doctrine is
very relevant. If Christian doctrine is not the foundation of any practical application,
then we are not Christians but just nice people.
In fact, doctrine is so important that it saves us: Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:16,
“Keep a close watch on yourself and your teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you
will save both yourself and your hearers.” Notice the language here: Teaching can
save yourself and your hearers. It is teaching – right doctrine—that saves. But, you
say, “I thought Jesus Christ and He alone saves”? Absolutely. But, right teaching is the
line that connects us to the anchor of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we need to know how to
connect our lives rightly to Jesus Christ – and that lifeline is doctrine.
There is one other reason why doctrine is important. Paul warns in 1 Timothy
4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by
devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” I believe that we are
living in the last days.2 One of the marks of the last times is that people will be led
astray by the teachings of demons. Today, wrong teaching is everywhere – whether it
is the “spirituality” of Oprah Winfrey, or the Jehovah’s Witness knocking at your door, or
subtle teaching undermining justification by faith alone. False teaching will come. And
the best way to protect people from error is to help them know the Truth. Federal
agents learn to spot counterfeit money by familiarizing themselves with the genuine
thing. Similarly we recognize counterfeit doctrine by knowing true doctrine.
That is why we’re going to talk about Key Doctrines. We may not know what
errors may come. Nonetheless these foundational doctrines can keep us steady in
rocky times.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Trinity: God Is
Scripture: God Speaks
Creation: God Makes
Image: God Loves
Fall: God Judges
Covenant: God Pursues
7. Incarnation: God Comes
8. Cross: God Dies
9. Resurrection: God Saves
10. Church: God Sends
11. Worship: God Transforms
12. Kingdom: God Reigns
2
The last days are the period which began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and last
until He comes again. In Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, he quotes a prophecy that we
are “in the last days” (Acts 2:17). Similarly Heb 1:2 reminds us that God has spoken to us “in
these last days…by his Son.”
Page 8
Trinity:
God Is
The introduction to Augustine’s treatise on the Trinity says: “As he that
denies this fundamental article of the Christian religion may lose his soul, so he
that much strives to understand it may lose his wits.” 3
The word “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible. But, “Trinity” synthesizes
what we see in the Bible. The Bible presents one God in three persons – Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. The C&MA doctrinal statement says:
There is one God,(1) who is infinitely perfect,(2) existing eternally in three
persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(3)
[1] Deuteronomy 6:4, [2] Matthew 5:48, [3] Matthew 28:19
This statement on the Trinity is pretty simple. The Nicene Creed (325 AD)
expands more fully our understanding of the Trinity.
Some of you may say, “Whoa, I don’t want to believe in any man-made
creed, but I only want to be believe in the Bible.” However, did you know that
the Nicene Creed was written to defend the biblical vision of the Trinity against
the heresy of Arianism? Arianism taught that Jesus was not God but a creation
of God. However, when the Arians were confronted with the clear biblical
teaching about the God-ness of the Son, they would say that they believe all of
it. They would interpret it a bit differently and say that they agreed with it. To
safeguard the authority of the Bible, the Nicene Creed helped to articulate what
the Bible said in unambiguous language. This creed is believed by all branches
of the Christian church today – Protestant, Roman Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox.
Often deceivers rise up and say, “We believe only the Bible,” and lead
people astray who don’t know any better. Think of the following quote:
To arrive at truth we must dismiss religious prejudices from heart and
mind. We must let God speak for himself . . . . To let God be true means
to let God have the say as to what is the truth that sets men free. It
means to accept His Word, the Bible, as the truth. Our appeal is to the
Bible for truth. In this context creeds are spurned as “man-made
traditions,” “the precepts of men,” and “opinions.”
This statement is taken from the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Therefore, we have to know the Bible. Our fathers in the faith have gone
before us and penned things like the Nicene Creed in order to help us. This
section will begin with an article from the Creed, then show how that article
grows out of the Bible, since the Bible is our sole authority.
3
Quoted by William G. T. Shedd of a Dr. South in the introduction to Augustine’s De
Trinitate.
Page 9
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and
earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
The key word here is “Father.” As Father, God is the Almighty Provider of
all that we need and the Maker of all that is. We see this in the first verse of the
Bible, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1).
God is eternal – he was there “in the beginning.” God is Almighty: “God created
the heavens and the earth.” This is what it means that He is Father.
Also, 1 Cor 8:6 says, “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom
are all things and for whom we exist....” The one God, the Creator, is the
Father. The words “from whom” are underlined because they are key words. It
is interesting to note how often the word “Father” is connected with the word
“from…”. Many of the early theologians, studying the nature of God the Father,
said that the key word is the Greek word ek, “from,” since God, as Father, is the
source of everything. He is the Creator and life-giver since all things are an
overflow from Him.
We can see this in a limited way in our earthly fathers. Traditionally
fathers were seen as the providers for the family. Children recognize this and
find comfort in that. My children are in that wonderful age when “Daddy” = the
source of everything good. When I come in the door, I’ll hear “Daddy’s home,”
“daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy” and four small feet (from two children, not a dog)
will run to the front door and give me a hug. My children are excited because
they see “Father” as the source of good things. Fathers play, read, teach, and
discipline their children, and children take comfort in that guiding hand.
To recognize God as Father is to recognize Him as the Source and the
Provider FROM WHOM all things come. But there is a difference between
earthly fathers and our Heavenly Father. Earthly fathers are imperfect.
Sometimes they are not the source of good but of evil, bringing frustration, hurt
and abuse.
Consequently, Eph 3:15 is important: “The Father, from whom every
family (literally, “all fatherhood) in heaven and on earth is named.” Some say
that we cannot have a proper view of God the Father unless we have a healthy,
earthly fathers. While imperfections of our earthly fathers inevitably affect the
way we view our heavenly Father, the teaching here is precisely the opposite—a
proper view of God does not come from a healthy view of our fathers, but a
proper view of our fathers comes from a proper view of God as the heavenly
Father. So, you do not have to have a “perfect” earthly father to know your
heavenly Father.
God is the perfect Father – from whom all fatherhood is named. Proper
fatherhood is known from God as Father. Earthly fatherhood is simply a
derivative. It may have been a good derivation or bad, but that is not essential.
It is only a derivation. We should look to God for a proper view of Fatherhood.
By knowing our heavenly Father, our views of earthly fathers can also be
healed. He is the source and provider of healing. He is the source of
fatherhood.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally
Page 10
begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true
God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all
things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of
the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake he
was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On
the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he
ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will
come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will
have no end.
Obviously we don’t have time to talk about everything in this statement.
But what does it mean to be God’s Son? The key word here is “Son” who is
“eternally begotten from the Father.” The Greek word for “begotten” is
“monogene,” which means the only generated. The Son manifests the character
of the Father. The Son is distinct from the Father but not divided from the
Father.
As the Son, we can say that He is the spitting image of His Father
(Hebrews 1:3). 1 John 4:9 says that Jesus makes the love of God manifest
among us so that we can see it and live through Him. Similarly John 1:1 says
that Jesus is the Word. Just like a word makes a thought known, so God makes
Himself known through the Word of God, Jesus Christ. And this Word has
become flesh and dwelled among us (John 1:14).
Finally, Jesus is the image (icon) of God (Col 1:15). Just like a computer
icon is a representation of the entire program, so Jesus is a representation of
the character and person of God. That’s why the Nicene Creed says: “God from
God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being
with the Father; through him all things were made.” From God, He is the
manifestation of God. From Light, He is the manifestation of that life. From the
True God, He is true God. And he is begotten not made – not created.
So what? What’s the big deal that Jesus is the perfect manifestation of
the Father? It is clear that you cannot know the Father apart from the Son. The
Son is the manifestation, the icon, and the Word made flesh of the Father. Just
like you cannot know who I am except through my words, so you cannot know
the Father except through His Word. Sure, you can know something about me
by watching what I do. But you cannot really know me unless you listen to what
I say.
Page 11
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from
the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped
and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
If the key word for God the Father is “Provider” and the key word for the
Son is “Manifestation,” then the key word for the Spirit is “Presence.” He
proceeds from the Father and the Son, so that He is present with us. John
14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to
be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with
you and will be in you.”
In this context Jesus tells his disciples not to be troubled because of his
death. He would send another Helper, a Comforter who would dwell with you
and will be in you. No longer is Jesus outside of us but he is with us and in us.
John 15:26 says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness
about me. The Spirit bears witness about Jesus (John 16:13-15; 1 Cor 2:1011).
The Spirit is present. He is with us. If God is the thought, and Jesus is
the Word, then the Spirit is the understanding – he brings it home to us. This is
what the Holy Spirit does. He proceeds from the Father and the Son to reveal
their character and their gifts and to bring it to bear in our lives.
It is important here to remember that the Spirit is a person. He is not an
impersonal force or power but a person.
Now we have talked about the three persons of the Trinity. If we
stopped here, it would seem like we have three gods: God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We know that the Father is God. The Son also is
God (John 1:1; 20:28; Rom 9:5; 1 John 5:20). And Jesus did only what God
could do: creation (John 1:3, 10; Col 1:16), forgives sin (Matt 9:6), resurrection
and judgment (Matt 25:31-32; John 5:19-29), receives worship (John 5:23; Heb
1:6). The Holy Spirit is God (1 Cor 3:16). And each member of the Godhead
gives different blessings. The Son gives grace, God showers love, and the Holy
Spirit is in fellowship with us (2 Cor 13:14; cf. Jude 20-21).
But there is only one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The
LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (see also Isaiah 45:5). So how can there be
three persons, but one God? When we look at the Nicene Creed, we see that
the Son is of one Being (homoousian) with the Father. This is where the Nicene
Creed attacks the heresy of Arianism. They wanted to say that the Son was of
LIKE being (homoiousian) with the Father. They wanted to say that the Son was
similar but a created being. They would take words like “the firstborn from all
creation,” and say, “see he is preeminent in all creation, but he is still part of
creation.”
Now the difference between homoousian and homoiousian is just one
letter “i.” And the early church battled over this for years. Athanasius was exiled
for seventeen years because of one letter. He was ready to be executed. But if
Son is of like essence, then He is not God. Instead, the Son is God with the
Page 12
same essence and nature as God. The Spirit is God. We have distinction
without division. So each member of the Godhead has all the fullness of God
within him. Jesus is fully God. The Spirit is fully God. The Father is fully God.
They are different persons but one essence.
Finally, in application, we see that the picture of the Trinity is the perfect
picture of unity in diversity. Jesus prays for his disciples in John 17:21, “that they
may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may
be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” How is the
Father and Son one? They maintain their distinct personhood but have the
same essence. The Father is not the same as the Son. The Son is not the
same as the Father. Yet they are one.
Just as the Father and Son are one with distinction yet essential unity, so
we are to be one. Sameness is not unity. By maintaining our rich diversity,
because we each have gifts to build up the kingdom in our own unique way. But
our unity is in a shared essence and shared nature. 2 Peter 2:4 says that when
we believe on God’s promises, we become partakers of the divine nature. We
share God’s nature. And the more we believe on these promises, the more that
God’s nature becomes manifest in us. And the more that nature is manifest in
us, then the more unified we are. The key to unity is not sameness. The key to
unity is holiness. May God make us one, just as the Father, Son and Spirit are
one.
Page 13
Questions for Reflection:
1. God is Father. The key point of application is that he is the source of
everything good. What good have you found in your life by knowing God as
Father?
2. There is an old saying that there are many ways to God just like there are
many paths up a mountain. Another picture is that different world religions are
like different blind men feeling the body of an elephant. One person touches one
part and describes the trunk. Another one describes its ears. Another talks
about its tail. Each description is different, but they are all describing different
parts of the same elephant. Do you agree or disagree with this illustration?
Why? When we say that Jesus is God and the manifestation of the Father, what
difference does this make to our view of world religions?
3. “Jesus was a good man and a good teacher, but he was not God.” How
would you respond to this? Why is it important to say that Jesus was God?
4. Many Muslims say that Christians worship three gods. How would you
respond to that?
Page 14
Scripture:
God Speaks
You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love,
my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at
Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to
live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to
worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly
believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the
sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:10-17
10
Paul wrote these words as he passed his legacy on to his disciple
Timothy at the end of his life. At Lystra (Timothy’s hometown), Paul was stoned
by people for his preaching, and he was dragged out of the city like a dead man.
These are the persecutions and sufferings Paul remembered. Such
persecutions are not only for Paul, but for “all who want to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12). Suffering and persecutions are
not for some; they are for all.
In this way, suffering and persecution set the stage for the most robust
statement about Scripture we have in the Bible. Why? We need a solid
understanding of the nature of Scripture if we are to stand up in the face of
suffering and persecutions that we might face. If we are to be faithful in the face
of such challenges, we have to “continue in what [we] have learned and have
firmly believed” (2 Tim 3:14) and know the power of Scripture, which is
“breathed out by God and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training
in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).
The Inspiration of Scripture
So what does this mean? First, “all Scripture is breathed out by God.”
When God breathes, it always gives life. In Genesis 2, God formed Adam from
the dust. Then he breathed the breath of life into Adam, and he became a
“living being.” When Jesus came to his scared disciples in John 20:22, he
breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The breath of God
transformed these scared disciples into the confident and bold martyrs we see in
the book of Acts.
How do we get the breath of God into our lives? It is through Scripture,
because all Scripture is God-breathed. God imparts His life, spiritual life,
through His Word. Because the Scripture is God-breathed, it imparts life to
people. Strength and life to our spirits come through God’s Word, just like
strength and life in our bodies comes from food.
Now when we say that Scripture is inspired, people imagine God dictating
the words of the Bible to us. Indeed, the Holy Spirit fully moved the human
writers in writing the Bible and preserved them from error. However, human
processes are also involved —for example, Luke used historical sources and
Page 15
research as he compiled his gospel (Luke 1:1-3). We believe in the plenary
verbal inspiration of the Bible. “Plenary” means “full” or “complete.” This
conveys the idea that God’s inspiration covers all of Scripture, from Genesis to
Revelation. “Verbal” inspiration extends to the very words of Scripture written
down. This places an emphasis on the results of the words written down, not
just the thoughts or feelings. The plenary verbal theory differs from the dictation
theory in that God allowed the authors freedom to express His message, but the
Holy Spirit guided the process so that the words they chose accurately reflected
the meaning that God intended. Mark Shaw said it well when he wrote, “The
Inspiration of Scripture is that act of God the Holy Spirit by which he produced
all of the written Word of God through the agency of human authors.”
The Canon of Scripture
We have been focusing on 2 Timothy 3:16-17 when it says, “All Scripture
is God-breathed.” The Greek word for “Scripture” is graphe, which means “a
writing.” Paul uses this word to refer to the authoritative writings of the Old
Testament as well as words from Jesus (1 Tim 5:18; cf. Matt 10:10). Later Peter
calls the writings of Paul “Scripture” in 2 Peter 3:15-16.
So how do we know that the 66 books that we have in our Bible are
Scripture? The canon is defined as the list of books that belong to the Bible. The
word canon comes from a Hebrew and Greek word that both signify a reed or
measuring stick. The canon defines which books qualify to be part of the Bible.
The Bible contains 66 individual books. 39 books comprise the Old Testament
and 27 books comprise the New Testament. The Old Testament was written
primarily in Hebrew with some portions in Aramaic, over a span of about 1,000
years (approximately 1400-450 B.C.). The New Testament was written over a
span of roughly 50 years (approximately 50-95 A.D.) in Greek.
The 39 books of the Old Testament together are the Jewish Bible. This
collection of books was recognized by the Jews as Scripture, centuries before
the time of Christ. When the Romans invaded Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the Jewish
religious establishment was severely disrupted. Many Jews were scattered, and
the Old Testament canon was increasingly recognized around this time as a
unifying force for the Jews.
The 27 books of the New Testament were officially recognized as canon
first by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in 367 A.D in an official letter and then
adopted as so at the Council of Carthage in 397 A.D. It is important to
understand that these canonical lists only made official what generations of
believers had already recognized as being the Word of God. There were other
writings in circulation at the time that claimed to be divinely inspired, but were
clearly recognized by the Christians of that era as not being valid parts of the
canon.
Page 16
The Sufficiency of Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16-17 shows us that Scripture contains all that the man (and
woman) of God needs to be equipped for every good work: “All Scripture is
breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and
for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.” By teaching, it shows us the path that we
should walk on. In reproving, it reminds us when we are off the path. It is like a
GPS module in our car; when we make a wrong turn, it reminds us. But,
Scripture also corrects—it tells us how to get back on the right path. And it
trains us to walk on the path of God’s blessing. We can diagram this function in
the following way:
Training
Teaching
Rebuking
Correcting
The sufficiency of Scripture tells us that the Bible contains all that is
needed salvation, trusting in God, and obeying Him. Sufficiency implies that
man is not to add to the words that God has already spoken (Deuteronomy 4:2,
Proverbs 30:5-6, Revelation 22:18-19). The words that we now have in the Bible
are all that are required to believe and obey. This does not mean that the Bible
contains all that God can or will say, but that it contains all he has intended to
reveal to us for now. It is enough to lead us to salvation and nothing should be
added to or taken away from the Bible.
Page 17
Questions for Reflection
1. God breathes life into us through the Scripture. What confidence does
the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture give you? In what ways have
you seen God breathe life into you through the Scripture?
2. Some scholars today suggest that the canon of Scripture simply shows
the victory of certain groups in the church over others (e.g. Elaine
Pagels). How would you respond to such comments?
3. The sufficiency of Scripture says that the Bible contains all that we need
to be equipped for godliness. How should Scripture affect practical, nitty
gritty decisions of our lives such as who we marry, the career we choose,
the way we spend our money and time, and so on? How much
instruction can we expect from Scripture?
Page 18
Creation:
God Makes
“Where do we come from?” Children’s questions can be both simple and
profound. The way we answer this question changes the way we view the entire
world. Martin Luther reminds us that Genesis 1-3 is “certainly the foundation of
the whole of Scripture.”4 In this section we will explore the doctrine of creation
and plot out seven points that are foundational to a Christian understanding of
creation.
God Creates
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
With these ten words, we can see the difference between Christianity and
the other religions of the world. The following chart highlights these differences:
View of God
Origin of Universe
Life Purpose
Polytheism: There are
many gods (e.g. indigenous
religions, Shintoism,
ancient Babylonian, Greek,
Egyptian mythology)
Universe came from
some type of conflict
between the gods
(Enuma Elish)
Try to please the right
gods to make your life
tolerable.
Atheism: There is no God
(e.g. Richard Dawkins)
Naturalism: Only
matter is real; universe
exists by a random
series of events (e.g.
Big Bang)
Survive, enjoy life as
much as you can.
Pantheism: God is
everything (e.g. Hinduism,
Buddhism, New Age)
Universe is eternal.
Find the god-ness within
you.
Monotheism (e.g.
Christianity, Judaism)
“In the beginning God
created the heavens
and the earth.”
God has a purpose for
his creation.
Genesis 1:1 is incompatible with these other worldviews. “In the
beginning God” excludes polytheism and atheism. “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth” logically eliminates the possibility of
pantheism, because it assumes a clear distinction between creator and creation.
4
D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesammtausgabe (Weimar: Hermann Böhlaus
Nachfolger, 1900; repr. 2004), 18.
Page 19
However, if we affirm Genesis 1:1, we affirm that there is a God who
intentionally created the universe with some sort of purpose.
God Forms and Fills through His Spirit
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God
was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2
Some people say that there is a gap of thousands of years between vv. 1
and 2. For example, the Scofield Reference Bible, says that after God created
the heavens and earth in v.1, Satan rises up against God in heaven and tries to
defeat Him and is thrown down from heaven. As a result, thousands of years
later, verse 2 says, “the earth became without form and void.” One reason for
this gap between vv. 1 and 2 is to reconcile the Bible with modern science,
which says that the universe is billions of years old. Yet the Bible does not show
such a long history.
Now this attempt is understandable. As Christians we try to reconcile our
faith with the modern world. However, we must let Scripture be our authority. It
does not work to separate faith from science as if they are completely different
spheres. This can be a dangerous separation because it is only a short step
from this to separating faith from facts. Our faith rests on firm historical facts –
specifically the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gap theory in
the Scofield Reference Bible has some problems. First, the Bible does not say
“the earth became without form and void,” but “was without form and void.” To
make “was” into “become” is a grammatically impossible step. Second, the text
of Genesis does not give any hint of a long gap between vv. 1 and 2.
We need to take our cues from the text regarding creation. We see that
the earth is without form and void—empty, but the Spirit of God is hovering over
the face of the waters, ready to act. And how does God act? He forms and fills.
The earth is without form – God forms it. It is void and empty—God fills it.
These two actions summarize the first six days of creation, as seen here:
God Forms
God Fills
Day 1: Light and Darkness
Day 4: Sun, Moon and Stars
Day 2: Heavens, Waters
Day 5: Birds, Fish of the sea
Day 3: Earth, plants, trees
Day 6: Living creatures of earth, humans
Day 7: God rests
Note the literary artistry of this passage.
Now, we are going to turn to the days of creation and look at a pattern
Page 20
that affects all of them: God speaks... and it is. God sees – and it is good. God
separates. God names. And the day concludes. This pattern can be seen in
each day of creation. We will unpack each of these elements of the pattern.
The Order of Creation
And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:5
At the end of each day of creation, we see this statement, “and there was
evening, and there was morning, the _____ day.” There is a beautiful ordering
of time and God’s work. But what does this mean? Is it a literal, 24-hour day?
If so, how does it fit into modern understandings of science? Or is each day like
a thousand years (Psalm 90:4)? It is important to note that no major Christian
confession of faith demands a certain stance on the days of creation.
There are problems with both of these positions. If the thousand years
are as a day, it’s hard to believe that the writer of Genesis had this in his mind.
It’s a convenient theory to read back into the Bible to reconcile with modern
science, but it’s hard to imagine that the original writer or reader of Genesis
could see this. However for the interpretation based on literal 24 hour days, we
must remember that the sun, moon and stars were not created until the fourth
day!
Instead this passage should be read literarily and theologically. We see
a lot of literary artistry as the writer writes like a poet. The first words of Genesis
1:1 begin with alliteration: in Hebrew bereshit bera. Earlier we also observed
the literary artistry of God forming and filling the earth. The point is not so much
to tell HOW the universe came into being as much as WHY the universe came
into being. It is not so much chronology (when) as teleology (purpose). So it
may have been a literal 24 hour day, but each day may have been a longer
period. The purpose is to show that God is the one who is creating, each in its
time, each in its order.
The focus in these verses is God’s ordering of creation. We also see this
when God separates light from darkness and the waters from waters (Genesis
1:4, 7). He makes plants and animals, each according to their kind. God brings
order and restoration from chaos.
The Power of God’s Word
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:3
We clearly see the power of God’s Word here (Genesis 1:3, 9, 11, 14-15,
24). Each time God speaks, it brings things into existence. Similarly as we
meditate on the promises of God’s Word, then it actualizes them in our lives.
Isaiah 55:10-11 says that God’s word “shall not return to me empty (void), but it
shall accomplish that which I purpose.” Therefore, we should keep God’s
promises and hide them in our heart.
Page 21
However, the effects of God’s Word are not always immediate. God said
to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, but for 25 years he had
no child. And then the man who was to be the father of many nations had only
one child by his wife Sarah. Could God’s promise be fulfilled?
With Peter, Jesus said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church so that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Immediately after
this, though, Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter’s failure is then
highlighted by his three-fold denial at Jesus’ trial. Could Jesus build his church
on such an unstable foundation?
Nevertheless, God’s Word is powerful and effective. It works. Abraham
became the father of many nations. Peter became a major leader of the early
church. His confession of Christ remains the foundation of the church even to
this day. Therefore, if we want this power to be at work in our lives and through
us, we must take God’s promises and hide them in our hearts.
The Goodness of Creation
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
Genesis 1:31
In every act of creation, God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12,
18, 21 25). And God saw all that he had made—light, earth and seas,
vegetation, sun, moon and stars, birds and sea creatures, livestock— and it was
very good.
The goodness of creation must be held against two extremes. Some
people say that creation does not matter; only “spiritual” things matter. They
focus on the spiritual and neglect the physical. However if God looked at the
creation and proclaimed that it was very good, then we also can look at God’s
creation and enjoy its goodness. On the other hand, other people divinize
creation and make it God. They make their pleasures and enjoyments their
chief goal. Certain environmental movements worship the earth. However the
Bible reminds those who divinize nature that only God is God.
We need open-eyed worship. Close-eyed worship seeks God with eyes
tightly shut in passionate engagement with God. This is good. But we also
need to open our eyes, see the beauty of God’s creation and worship God.
Take a walk. Open the window and listen to the birds, seeing creation as God
saw it and joining in His declaration that it is good.
Page 22
The Purpose of Creation
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning,
the first day.
Gen. 1:5
God calls the light day, darkness night, the expanse heaven, and he
names the earth and seas. Why? Naming is a matter of assigning a function to
creation. He tells the trees to bear fruit, the sun to rule the day and moon to rule
the night, the animals to be fruitful and fill the earth.
Everything in God’s creation has a purpose, even darkness. While
creation did not have evil, later in the Bible we see that darkness represents evil.
It is interesting that God names the darkness night, because he is assigning a
function even to evil. We see that God is in sovereign and perfect control even
over evil, the evil that is about to happen with Adam’s sin. Nothing is on
accident; God assigns purpose even to evil (Gen 50:20).
The Rest of Creation
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God
finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had
done in creation.
Gen. 2:1-3
God rested on the Sabbath. Why? He rested to enjoy all that He has
created because His work was completed. This is the reason that the Sabbath
command is for the seventh day of the week, Saturday (Exodus 20:8-11).
If the Bible commands Saturday as a Sabbath day of rest, why do we
worship on Sunday and not on Saturday? This is because Jesus finished the
work on the cross. In the Old Testament, they rested because they had worked.
But because of Jesus, our work flows out of our rest in God’s finished work.
Jesus says, Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest (Matt 11:28). Hebrews 4:10-11 says, “There remains then a Sabbath
rest for the people of God, for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his
own work, just as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter
that rest so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”
Sabbath rest for God’s people is not about just not working on one day of
the week. It is a believing trust in Jesus. It is not only freedom from striving but
also resting in His incredible power in everything that we do!! The world around
us proclaims that rest comes from entertainment. But Jesus offers us the true
Sabbath rest in Himself.
Page 23
Questions for Reflection
1. What implications do a biblical view of creation have for how we see purpose
in our lives?
2. God looked at his creation and declared that it was good. What are some
ways that you have observed the goodness of God in his creation? What
implications do the goodness of God’s creation have for our view of the
environment?
3. What scientific theories for the origin of the universe do the Bible explicitly
deny? How can we wrestle with the tension between science and the Bible?
Page 24
Humanity:
God Images
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and
subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living
thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28
Recently, I took my friend’s motorcycle for a cruise in the canyons of
Southern California. He has a beautiful sport bike, a British Triumph, with 675
cc of raw power. I could put that bike in neutral and ride it like a bicycle without
pedals, or I could use that bike as a decoration in my living room. However, that
bike is made to ride. When I harnessed its power on the curves in the canyons
of California under a setting sun, I was brought to a place of sheer joy—because
its power was focused upon its created purpose.
We have an even greater power harnessed in our bodies. Our heart
circulates 2,000 gallons of blood each day. If all of our muscles pulled in the
same direction, we could pull 25 tons. Our skin is covered with thousands of
little sensors that send information to the brain, and just one of these sensors
can send one million impulses to the brain a second. Our eye can distinguish
eight million colors, and our ears can differentiate 80,000 tones. God has given
great power to our bodies.
How shall we harness and use the power that God has placed in our
bodies? The Bible answers this question by telling us that we are created “in
the image of God.” In this section we will unpack the meaning of the image of
God. When we understand that we are created in God’s image, we understand
more fully the purpose of our bodies so that we can harness these bodies for
their created purpose.
Function: The Image of God Expressed in Dominion
What does it mean to be in the image of God? In the ancient Near East,
gods would set up kings as their image and serve as the gods’ representatives
on earth. So the king’s rule is an expression of the god’s rule. Similarly, God
set up Adam in His image to rule over His creation. The function of the image of
God is expressed through dominion in creation.
But what is Adam supposed to rule over? Genesis 1 focuses on the
animals of the earth. While subduing has a sense of quieting or silencing
opposition, it is not clear what opposition Adam might face in the garden. In
Genesis 2:15, Adam is to keep (guard) the garden. Why must Adam guard
Eden? Genesis 3 answers this question. An unclean serpent creeps into Eden,
Page 25
and Adam fails to subdue this animal and guard Eden from it. Instead, Adam
and Eve are subdued by the serpent, and sin enters the world. Adam’s role,
then, was to protect Eden from destructive forces against God’s purposes at
work in the world.
Adam’s purpose in subduing forces of evil in the world is developed more
fully in Daniel 7. Daniel 7:13-14 says:
I saw in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a
son of man…and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples,
nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
This “one like a son of man” is, literally, a “one like a son of Adam.”5 It is
interesting that this “one like a son of Adam” has a role to subdue the beasts
(Daniel 7:1-8), just like the original Adam was to subdue the beasts of the earth
and the sea. This suggests that the son of man in Daniel 7 rises up to
accomplish what the original Adam had failed to accomplish.6
Similarly, we are created to subdue forces of evil in the world. Wild and
dangerous beasts in the Bible are often an image to represent forces of evil that
oppose God in the world (Daniel 7:1-8). And we who follow the Son of Man,
Jesus, ought to continue in that function and rule in the world over the beasts.
This is our calling as the image of God—to subdue the destructive forces which
surround our families, church, neighborhood and society.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples, “All authority on
heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples…”
(Matt 28:17-18). This reference to all authority in heaven and earth given to
Jesus probably points back to Daniel 7:13-14, where authority over all nations is
given to the Son of Man. It is on the basis of this authority that we are to make
disciples. In Christ we know the power that can bring peace and stillness to the
destructive forces that seek to devour people. It may be the beast of bitterness,
or anger, or addiction, or loneliness, or a sense of worthlessness. These forces
must be overcome by the Son of Man’s authority in order to make disciples. We
are created in God’s image to have dominion over these beasts, these
destructive forces in the world.
Community: Realizing the Image of God.
The Aramaic “son of man” is bar enosh, which is equivalent to the Hebrew ben Adam
(son of Adam).
5
6
The connection between the son of man and the original Adam can be further
established by noticing that Daniel 7:13-14 grows out of Psalm 8:5-8, where the LORD crowns
the “son of man . . . with glory and honor,” is given “dominion over the works of [the Lord’s]
hands,” and all things are “put…under his feet.” This expansive description of the glory and
authority of the son of man is widely recognized to be an extended commentary on Genesis
1:26-28, where Adam in the image of God is called to have dominion over the earth. In this way,
God’s call to Adam in Genesis 1:26-28 is developed in Psalm 8:5-8 and expanded on in Daniel
7:13-14.
Page 26
The image of God is realized in community. Notice how verse 26 begins:
“Let us make man in our image.” By saying “Let us,” God speaks here in
community. Who is he talking to? God may be speaking to a heavenly court of
angels (Job 38:4), but we don’t have evidence that the angels helped God in
creation. Instead it seems that God is speaking to another member of the
godhead. Genesis 1:2 shows the Spirit of God present in creation. The Son of
God, the Word, is also present there (Colossians 1:16). So, God is probably
here speaking to the other persons of the Trinity. And it is in this image of God
in community, three in one, that we are created.
Verse 27 says, “In the image of God he created him, male and female he
created them.” Man is created male and female in community. And the
command to have dominion is given not to an individual but community: “And
God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the
earth and subdue it and have dominion over it.’” The command to subdue
creation is given to humanity in community.
The image of God is not in an individual. It is realized in community. Only
in community can we express the dominion over the destructive forces of the
world that God has designed. And only in community, only together, will we
reflect the image of God that He has designed. This is why all the New
Testament references to the image of God speak of the church as community
together reflecting the image – not individuals.7 Paul says that as the
community beholds the Lord’s glory, they are transformed into his image (2
Corinthians 3:18). Transformation is a community project. It flows out of
worship and gazing and God’s glory.
Multiplication: Spreading the Image of God
We are commanded: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” When
we have children, we multiply the image of God until it fills the ends of the earth.
By multiplying images of God, we thereby extend God’s rule to the ends of the
earth. This is the purpose of families – godly offspring (Malachi 2:15). The
purpose of marriage is not the satisfaction of personal loneliness but fulfillment
of kingdom purposes.
In the church, we are to multiply images of God. The language of
Genesis 1:28 is used in the book of Acts to mark the growth of the church: “And
the word of God continued to increase (was fruitful), and the number of the
disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem” (see also Acts 12:24; 19:20). It is the
word of God that is fruitful and grows and the disciples multiply. The
multiplication of the word of God in Acts is not as much about the natural family
as the progress of the spiritual family. This growth of the spiritual family is a
task for all of us – married or not. We as a church will not reach maturity unless
we recognize our calling to multiplication. We have to care for others and see
them grow into maturity.
Questions for Reflection:
7
Probably the only exception to this rule is 1 Corinthians 11:7, where Paul says that
man “is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.”
Page 27
1. If the image of God is expressed through dominion over the evil forces in
the world, which destructive forces in the world bother you? What breaks
your heart?
2. How can you take the resources that you have as God’s representative
on earth, entrusted with all authority, to subjugate those forces? What
practical steps can you take?
3. How can we as a church reflect the image of God more clearly within our
community?
Page 28
Sin:
God Judges
G. K. Chesterton said that original sin is the only doctrine that is
empirically verifiable.8 It’s hard to prove the virgin birth or the Trinity by relying
on observation alone. But the proof of original sin is evident in history. The
twentieth century was supposed to celebrate the wonderful goodness of man,
but it has turned out to be the bloodiest century in the world’s history. After two
world wars and atomic bombs, more people have died in this century than all the
centuries before it combined. We’ve learned of the horrors of the concentration
camps in Nazi Germany and seen more attempted genocides in Rwanda
(1994), Bosnia (1995), and most recently Sudan.
We do not have to look far to see the effects of sin. But original sin
shows us more than the origins of sin; original sin is about humanity’s
disposition towards sin. As we look at Genesis 3 today, we will discuss both the
consequences of sin as well as God’s grace in the midst of that sin.
The Enticement of Sin <Genesis 3:1-6>
Gen. 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had
made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said,
‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you
die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of
it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to
make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and
he ate.
Sin’s enticement grows when God’s Word is undermined. The serpent
asks, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” By
doubting God’s Word, the serpent seeks to undermine God’s Word.
Eve’s reply to the serpent shows that the serpent succeeds in his plot.
Notice the subtle differences between God’s Word in Genesis 2:16-17 and the
woman’s reply in Genesis 3:
Genesis 2:16-17
16 And the LORD God commanded the
man, saying, “You may surely eat of
every tree of the garden, 17 but of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day that you
eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 3:2-3
2 And the woman said to the serpent,
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in
the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall
not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in
the midst of the garden, neither shall
you touch it, lest you die.’”
8
Orthodoxy (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1908), 19. See his interesting discussion of
this also in “Original Sin and the Moderns,” reprinted in The Collected Works of G. K.
Chesterton 34 (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991), 585-587.
Page 29
Notice the small changes that Eve makes. First, she changes the name of God
from “the LORD God” to “God.” While this does not sound like much in English,
“LORD God” is the personal name of God (Yahweh) that signifies intimate
relationship while “God” is the distant God of power who created all things
(Elohim). Genesis 2 presents a personal God issuing commands in relationship
to his special people, but Eve looks at this personal God from a distance in
Genesis 3. Next, Eve minimizes God’s permission. While God allows her to
“eat of every tree of the garden,” Eve says simply “eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden.” God’s command is liberal and lavish – they may eat of any of the
trees in the garden. Yet God’s permission is no big deal to Eve. Also she
maximizes God’s prohibition. God commanded that they could not eat from one
tree, but Eve adds, “neither shall you touch it.” She becomes the first legalist
and makes God’s commands a lot worse than they actually are. Finally she
minimizes the consequences of sin. God says “you shall surely die,” but Eve
only says “lest you die.”
The differences between God’s Word and Eve’s words are subtle.
However, these differences give the serpent the opportunity to undermine Eve’s
confidence in God himself. In verse 4 the serpent directly contradicts God’s
Word regarding the consequences of sin by saying, “You will not surely die.”
Eve’s confidence in God’s character is further undermined as God is portrayed
as insecure and afraid that she would become “like God, knowing good and evil”
(verse 5). Effectively, Eve replaces God at the center of the moral universe.
When our confidence in God’s Word is undermined, then our confidence
in God Himself is undermined. John Calvin rightly says:
And surely, once we hold God’s Word in contempt, we shake off all
reverence for him! . . . . For Adam would never have dared oppose God’s
authority unless he had disbelieved in God’s Word. Here, indeed, was
the best bridle to control all passions: the thought that nothing is better
than to practice righteousness by obeying God’s commandments; then,
that the ultimate goal of the happy life is to be loved by him. Therefore
Adam, carried away by the devil’s blasphemies, as far as he was able
extinguished the whole glory of God.9
The Word of God is the only protection in times of temptation. Satan also
tempted Jesus the Son of God by distorting the words of Scripture. Even Jesus
had to fight temptation with the Word of God, not his own willpower. He
responded to each temptation with “It is written” and quoted the Word of God.
The Word became flesh (Jesus) used the Word of God to protect Himself from
temptation. If Jesus needed God’s Word to have victory in temptation, so do we.
If we do not know the Word of God, if we do not hide God’s Word in our heart,
then we have no ammunition to fight temptation. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have
stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
When the protection of God’s Word is removed, the temptations of this
world grow so much stronger. In verse 6, we see Eve overwhelmed with
9
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.1.4.
Page 30
temptation as she “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight
to her eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make her wise.” Notice how
the three types of temptation to Eve correspond to the list in 1 John 3:16 and
Jesus’ temptation:
1 John 3:16
The Fall
Jesus (Matthew 4)
Desires of the flesh
“the tree was good for
food”
“command these stones to
become bread”
Desires of the eye
“delight to her eyes”
Throw yourself down from the
temple
Pride of life
“Desired to make her
wise”
Give all the nations of the world if
you worship me.
These desires are strong desires. The desires of the flesh are legitimate, but
Eve sought to satisfy them in illegitimate ways. Similarly, we have legitimate
desires for food, sex, friendship, security, and money, but they can be satisfied
in illegitimate ways. Also, the desires of the eyes can be strong and the pride of
life rages in all of us. We must not underestimate the power of our desires,
because once temptation overwhelms us, then it is hard to resist sin.
Too often we think that the place of victory over temptation is at the place
of the temptation – that when we are overwhelmed with desire, we “Just say no.”
We depend on our willpower. These desires our strong, and our willpower alone
is not enough to overcome sin consistently. Instead the key to victory over
temptation is not letting the temptation get that far! Calvin says that God’s Word
is the best bridle for our passions. We have to rein in and focus these desires.
When these desires are controlled by God’s Word, they are powerful desires
and can be harnessed for great good.
Page 31
II. The Wages of Sin <Genesis 3:7-13>
Gen 3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God
among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid
myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded
you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree,
and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman
said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
We can see the consequences and wages of sin here. First, sin destroys
relationships. Adam and Eve sew up fig leaves to cover their nakedness.
Genesis 2:25 presents a beautiful picture between Adam and Eve as naked and
without shame. This image shows perfect trust and a relationship without fear
that the other person would take advantage of them. However, sin destroys this
trust and introduces fear into the relationship, so that they cover their nakedness
with fig leaves. As sin destroys their relationship with fear, they begin to blame
each other. When God asks, “Did you eat from the tree of which I commanded
you not to eat?”, Adam says, “The woman you gave me, she gave me.”
Sin also destroys another set of relationships—that with God. In verse 8
the LORD God comes walking in the garden, but Adam and Eve hide
themselves from God. God calls to them, ‘Where are you?” God pursues after
them and still desires relationship with them, even though they have spurned
him. But fear cripples their relationship. Adam hides because he is afraid
(verse 10). Adam also blames God. When asked about eating the forbidden
fruit, he answers, “The woman you gave me” as if it is God’s fault for giving her
to him.
Now let us ask a troubling question – was God’s Word wrong? God had
said in Genesis 2:17 that if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, they would surely die. But the serpent said that they would not surely die
(Genesis 3:4). So who is right here? When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden
fruit, they did not immediately die physically. Two comments are necessary
here. First, “you shall surely die” can mean a pronouncement of judgment and
death that happens at a later time. In 1 Kings 2:37, Solomon tells Shimei, “Live
in Jerusalem. But if you cross the Kidron, on that day, you will die.” When
Shimei crosses the Kidron later, he does not die on that day, but a sentence is
pronounced that is executed later. Similarly Adam’s sentence of death is
pronounced on the day of his sin, though the sentence is not executed until
later. Second, spiritual death in terms of separation of God did happen
immediately. Eden was described as a place of life, with a river flowing from it, a
good land with many precious stones and metals (Genesis 2:10-14). Sin forces
Adam and Eve are forced out of this place of life and never allowed to return
(Genesis 3:24).
Also, this state of spiritual death is the state into which all people are
born; we all inherit the sin of Adam. Adam’s sin forever changed our nature.
Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man,
Page 32
and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Why did sin come to all men? It came because we have inherited a sinful
nature. This sinful nature is the state of original sin – a tendency in us that leads
us to sin. The fruit of that sinful nature is spelled out in Galatians 5:19-21. We
are not faulted with Adam’s sin, but we have a sinful nature that comes from
Adam.
What does this mean? Think of a screw screwed improperly into a hole.
If we screw a screw into a new piece of wood in a crooked manner, then every
other screw we try to screw into that same hole will screw in crooked. With a lot
of work, you MIGHT be able to get it a little bit straight. But by and large, every
screw after that will be crooked. This is like the sinful nature. We tend toward
sin. We may, with a lot of effort, stay away from certain sins. But we tend to be
crooked, and over a lifetime, we will never stay straight without God’s
empowering grace at work in our lives.
Another thing we see in these verses is that God judges sin. This is His
character. We see this in the Garden. But it is fully realized in Hell. Hell is a
real place –and it’s real hot. It is described in terms of fire (Matt 25:41, Jude 7),
punishment (Matt 25:46), destruction and judgment. It is a place where the
worm does not die, the fire does not burn out, and a place of eternal separation
from God. Adam and Eve did not receive the full effects of God’s wrath in their
lifetime but instead received God’s grace. However, if people do not actively
receive the gift of God’s grace in their lifetime, then this final judgment is their
end.
III. Grace of God in Sin <14-24>
Gen. 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Gen. 3:16 To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”
Gen. 3:17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
Page 33
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
Gen. 3:20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the
LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Gen. 3:22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and
evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23
therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was
taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a
flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
18
God’s grace shines brightly even in the face of sin. We already saw that God
was in the Garden calling after Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” He does not
leave us in our sin, but he pursues us. Frances Thompson knew this well. He
was an opium addict. He lived on the streets and failed God many times.
However God did not give up on him. He describes God’s pursuit of him in “The
Hound of Heaven”:
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat - and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet "All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."
God calls. He shows his grace. He shows grace even in punishment (Genesis
3:14-19). Eve becomes the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20). And God clothes
Adam with garments of skin (Genesis 3:21). This is the first time that an animal
is killed in the history of the world, and humanity’s nakedness and shame is
clothed. This sacrifice looks forward to the final and perfect sacrifice of the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Page 34
Question for Reflection
1. We see in Genesis 3 that undermining confidence in God’s Word
undermines our confidence in God himself. What are ways that your
confidence in God’s Word has been tested in the past? How has that
affected your confidence in God Himself?
2. “Our willpower alone is not enough to overcome consistently our desires .
. . [but only] when these desires are controlled by God’s Word, they are
powerful desires and can be harnessed for great good.” Think of some
specific desires – food, sex, achievement in our career, concerns for our
future, etc. What are some blessings we receive when we rein in specific
desires to the demands of God’s Word?
3. What are some ways that you have seen sin destroy relationships with
people that you care about?
4. What is one way that you have experienced God’s grace even in the
midst of your own sin?
Page 35
Covenant:
God Pursues
One summer I went to Niagara Falls for a family vacation. After coming
back from an amusement park, the kids (my two girls and their two cousins) fell
asleep in the back seat, while I slept in the front. When the kids woke up, we
made our way groggily into the house. Or so I thought. After a bit of time, I
realized that my youngest daughter Ana was missing. We looked upstairs and
downstairs. We looked on the beds and under the beds. We went outside and
searched the neighborhood and asked the neighbors. My heart panicked – and
nothing in the world mattered at that moment but finding my daughter. 10
The heart of the father is willing to give up everything to pursue a lost
child. We see this as the heart of God as Father. He pursues us even when we
keep running away. Throughout the Bible, this theme can be summed up in the
word “covenant.” This important word is used in the Bible 319 times. Another
word for covenant is “testament,” and the whole Bible is organized around the
Old Testament and New Testament.
What is a covenant? A covenant is an agreement between two parties,
usually between a superior and an inferior. God is a King who brings his people
under his authority through a covenant. In the OT we have at least seven
covenants between God and his people: Noah, Abraham, Sinai, Phineas
(priest), Aaron, David, New Covenant. This is nicely summarized by Roger
Beckwith in the chart on the following page:11
10
The story does end happily. We finally called the police, and they found her and
brought her back in a police car. Apparently she had wondered off in the wrong direction and
went to a neighbor’s front porch. This neighbor (who had a baby of her own) brought her in,
entertained her with toys while she called the police. Please don’t call the police on me for my
parental neglect!!
Roger Beckwith, “The Unity and Diversity of God’s Covenants,” Tyndale Bulletin 38
(1987): 105.
11
Page 36
Covenant
Promises
Commands
Noah
No future flood
Abraham
Seed and land
Punishment
for murder/
abstention
from blood
Circumcision
Sinai
“kingdom of
priests and a
holy nation”
Perpetual
priesthood
Priestly
prerequisites
Phinehas
Aaron
David
Throne
New
Covenant
Knowledge of
God written
upon the heart
Divine
Oaths
None
Sacrifice
(probably)
“Sign”
Parties
Rainbow
Noah and all
creation
Yes
Yes
Abraham and
his seed
Israel
Phinehas and
his family
Aaron and
family
Mosaic laws
Yes
Circumcisio
n
Sabbath
None
None
None
Laws of
cleanness/
redemption of
firstborn
Mosaic laws
None
None
None
None
Yes
Baptism,
Lord’s
Supper;
Lord’s Day
Yes
Law written
on the heart
David and his
family
“house of
Israel and the
house of
Judah”
In this section we will look at just three of these covenants. God’s covenant with
his people shows us his active and unrelenting pursuit of us.
I. Abraham: Genesis 15:17-21
Gen. 15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch
passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your
offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the
Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the
Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Abraham had done nothing to deserve God’s favor, but God promises
Abraham offspring to be as numerous as the stars on the seashore. Abraham
takes this promise and “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as
righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Then God tells Abraham to prepare four
offerings, cut them in two, and keep the birds of prey from coming down on the
carcasses (Genesis 15:7-16). Smoke and fire pass between the pieces of the
sacrifice (Genesis 15:17; we will come back to this image at the end of this
section). The LORD makes a covenant with Abraham, and promises to give his
offspring the land from the river of Egypt (Nile) in the west to the Euphrates in
the east. So the promise to Abraham is for offspring (seed) and land.
So who are Abraham’s offspring? Are they all of Abraham’s biological
children? No. Remember Abraham has two biological children at first – Ishmael
and Isaac. However, God’s blessing extends only through Isaac and not
Ishmael. Isaac then has two children: Esau and Jacob. Although both receive
the sign of the covenant, the line of God’s blessing extends only through Jacob
Page 37
and not through Esau. The children of Abraham are based not on bloodline and
circumcision but on something else.
In Genesis 15:6, Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited as
righteousness. This happened before Abraham was circumcised (Genesis 17).
Paul stresses this point in Romans 4:9-11:
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the
uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as
righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after
he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was
circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the
righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The
purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being
circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well.
Faith not circumcision marks the child of Abraham. That’s why Jesus tells the
circumcised Jews in John 8 that they are not children of Abraham but children of
the devil. Galatians 3:29 says, “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s
offspring, heirs according to promise.” Therefore, we who believe are included
among the children of Abraham—not by works but by faith.
II. Sinai: Exodus 19:3-6
Exodus 19:3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus
you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the
Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will
indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all
the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that
you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
In the opening chapters of Exodus, God rescues Israel from slavery in
Egypt. They have done nothing to rescue themselves, but God sees them with
compassion and remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
(Exod 2:24; 6:4). In continuity with that covenant he already made, he saves
them from slavery in Egypt. He rescues them.
Exodus 19:4 opens with this powerful picture: “how I bore you on eagles’
wings and brought you to myself.” Ornithologist Arthur C. Bent gives a picture of
how eagles teach their babies to fly:
Last summer while my father and I were extracting honey at the apiary
about a mile southeast of Thacher School, Ojai, California, we noticed a
golden eagle teaching its young one to fly. It was about ten o'clock. The
mother started from the nest in the crags, and roughly handling the young
one, she allowed him to drop, I should say, about ninety feet, then she
would swoop down under him, wings spread, and he would alight on her
back. She would soar to the top of the range with him and repeat the
process. One time she waited perhaps fifteen minutes between flights. I
should say the farthest she let him fall was 150 feet.
Page 38
My father and I watched this, spellbound, for over an hour. I do not know
whether the young one gained confidence by this method or not. A few
days later father and I rode to the cliff and out on Overhanging Rock. The
eagle's nest was empty.12
The eagle taught its child to fly by letting it drop, and then swooping down and
rescuing it – from a distance of 90 feet, 110 feet, and finally 150 feet. Similarly,
God let Israel fall into sin and rebellion at the Tower of Babel before he swooped
down and rescued Abraham and his family. He let Israel fall into slavery before
he rescued them at the Exodus. Time and time again we see God giving people
over to their own sin before he steps in and rescues them.
Why does he rescue His people from slavery? He rescues them so that
they would obey and “fly” on their own. Verse 5 says: “Now therefore if you
indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my treasured
possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” What a promise! They would be a
treasured possession, the crown jewel in the king’s crown. Israel is established
as the crown jewel so that through her the other nations would be drawn to God.
Consequently, she was to be “a kingdom of priests” to bring the nations to the
LORD God and “a holy nation,” set apart for this task.
But there are conditions for this holy task: “if you obey my voice and
keep my covenant.” This promise is conditional upon obedience. God had in
His grace brought His people to Himself, but they would only become his crown
jewel if they would obey his voice and keep his covenant.
How did they do? Sadly, the history of Israel is the history of failure.
Shortly after leaving Egypt, they complain about the food. When Moses
receives the Law on Mt. Sinai, the people down at the bottom make an idol.
That entire generation (besides Joshua and Caleb) complains so much that they
die in the desert. Even after the next generation is led into the Promised Land
under Joshua, they still don’t trust the Lord. The next book, the book of Judges,
is the story of ongoing rejection of God as King. Even though God provides a
king, David, the history of the kingship is the history of rebellion against God.
Finally, they are punished with exile into Babylon in 586 BC. Israel failed in
keeping the covenant.
However, did God give up on his covenant with them? No. God
establishes a new covenant.
III. The New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Jer. 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day
when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I
was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
12
Arthur Cleveland Bent, Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey, Part I
(Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum, Bulletin 167, 1937),
p. 137; cited at http://birdsbybent.netfirms.com/ch61-70/goleagle.html
Page 39
Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their
hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his
neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them
to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more.”
The book of Jeremiah was written during the time of exile, when Jews
lived in Babylon under punishment because of their rebellion against God.
Although God punishes them, he also promises to make a new covenant “with
the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” This covenant was not like the
covenant made in Egypt that they failed to keep.
How is this covenant new? “I will put my law within them and I will write it
upon their hearts.” On Mt. Sinai, the Law came on tablets of stone, but under
the New Covenant, the Law was written on the tablet of our hearts. Also, verse
34 says that no longer will one teach his neighbor, but each one will know the
Lord directly, from the least to the greatest.
The New Covenant also has continuity with the covenant at Sinai.
Jeremiah 31:33 says, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” This
statement is reflected in the Sinai Covenant in Exodus 6:7: “I will take you to be
my people, and I will be your God.” Just as God promises to “forgive their
iniquity and…remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34), so God sprinkles
blood on the people in Exodus 24:8 at the inauguration of the covenant. This
blood is for the forgiveness of sins (see Hebrews 9:18-22).
What does the New Covenant do to the older covenants? The New
Covenant has continued with many aspects of the Sinai Covenant. The Sinai
Covenant in Exodus 19 is given because God remembers his covenant to
Abraham in Exodus 2 and 6. But the reality of human failure in both the
Abrahamic and Sinaitic Covenants is glaringly obvious. Israel could not live up
to the demands of the covenant at Sinai and to Abraham. Does God just annul
the earlier covenants and cancel them out because of the New Covenant? Is
the New Covenant like a restart button?
No. Genesis 17:7 calls the covenant with Abraham eternal, and Isaiah
24:5 looks back at the covenant at Sinai as eternal. Galatians 3:15 makes it
clear that even a man-made covenant cannot be annulled once it is ratified. So,
who fulfills the demands of the old covenants?
Page 40
IV. Jesus and the Covenants
Let’s go back to Genesis 15 where we started. We see this odd image in
Genesis 15:17 of a smoking fire pot and flaming torch passing between the
pieces. What does this mean? The pieces are the carcasses of animal
sacrifices. Smoke and fire reflect the presence of God (Exodus 19:18). Why is
the presence of God passing between the pieces of the offering? This is bound
up with the concept of covenant.
We see a similar picture in Jeremiah 34:18, 20:
18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the
terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the
calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts . . . 20 And I will
give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who
seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the earth.
When a covenant is made, an animal is cut in two and the people who agree to
the covenant pass between its parts. This is a picture that if they do not hold to
their terms of the covenant, then they will be cut off. In Jeremiah 34 the people
of Israel do not keep the covenant. Consequently, they become just like the calf
that they cut in two and are cursed for their rebellion.
But notice in Genesis 15 – it is not Abraham that passes through the
parts of the sacrifice. It is God Himself. God portrays his radical commitment to
the covenant he is making with Abraham. He is willing to endure the curse so
that the blessing he promised might be realized. God would rather put the curse
upon Himself than allow His promise to fall to the ground.
Does this sound extreme? This is exactly what God does in Jesus Christ:
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a
curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a
tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to
the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Jesus, as God, suffers the curse for covenant disobedience for us in order for
the blessing of the covenant might be open to us who believe.
Someone may ask, “What do Old Testament covenants have to do with
us?” The covenant with Abraham is made with the children of Abraham. Those
who believe are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:29). The Sinai covenant and
the New Covenant are made with Israel. However, Romans 11:17 says we
Gentiles (non-Jews) are grafted into God’s promises and purposes for Israel.
So, the covenant blessings for Israel apply to us because we are grafted into the
people of God.
That’s why the New Testament applies the blessings of the covenants to
Israel to us as the church. The blessing of the Sinai covenant for Israel (Exodus
19:4-6) are applied to the church: “But you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may
Page 41
proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Hebrews 9 shows how the new covenant is
fulfilled in our midst.
Questions for Reflection
1. Think about the image of an eagle teaching its young how to fly.
Similarly, God “bore [Israel] on eagles’ wings and brought [Israel] to
himself” (Exodus 19:4 What are one or two ways that God does this with
Israel in the Bible?
How have you seen God do this in your life or in the lives of those around
you?
2. God gave a lot of different covenants before he gave the New Covenant
and promised to write the Law upon people’s hearts. What do you think
is the purpose of these other Covenants? Why didn’t God just start with
the New Covenant?
3. We saw how Genesis 15 gives a picture of how Jesus took the curse for
us. When we understand that Jesus took our curse, how should we look
at ourselves differently?
Page 42
Incarnation:
God Comes
Have you ever gotten so excited about the climax of a movie that you
wanted to watch it again? I remember watching The Matrix years ago.
The special effects impressed me. The story intrigued me. I was left brooding
over the implications of that story for weeks. After I got married, my brothers
bought me a surround sound stereo system and The Matrix on DVD. So I set
up the system and put on the movie. Instead of watching the whole thing, I
skipped over to the final action sequence to catch the sense of wonder I had
when I originally saw it. I watched it…and was deeply disappointed. Somehow
it wasn’t the same. There was no “gripped in my seat” moment. Why? I had
forgotten the larger story line. The climax lost its power when it lost its context.
In this section we will look at the Incarnation – God in flesh, when God
comes to the world. This is the climax of history. However, the power of this
climax is only understood in light of the wider story. That’s why John 1 begins
the way that it does – “in the beginning was the Word.” John 1:1-13 reviews the
history of the world. Conveniently, these first thirteen verses review the history
of God’s work in the Old Testament and summarizes our past six weeks of our
series on doctrine. This review of the story prepares us for the climax detailed in
John 1:14-18, where Jesus is presented as the “Word Become Flesh”.
Trinity: The Word Was in the Beginning
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was
in the beginning with God.
So where do we start? The best place to start is in the beginning. These words
remind us of Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth.” But here we see “in the beginning was the Word.”
What is the Word? The Word is what God speaks to accomplish his
work. In the Old Testament, the Word creates, reveals and saves people. It is
how we know about God. This Word was with God. The word translated here
as “with” is pros (literally “toward”) not meta, the usual word for “with.” This
word is used for “with” especially in terms of an intimate personal relationship:
“Every day I was with you” (Mark 14:49; cf. Philemon 13; 1 John 1:2). So, here
we see an intimate personal relationship between God and the Word. But, they
are not only two completely separate individuals. It says in v. 1 that “the Word
was God.” We have two persons who are both God. With this we are well on
our way in our understanding of the Trinity – two persons, both God.
John starts at the very beginning – and reminds us that Word was with
God.
Page 43
Creation: The Word Makes
John 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
We see the power of God’s Word in that all things were made through
him, and without him nothing was made that has been made. God spoke—all
things were created ex nihilo, from nothing.
Humanity: The Word Shines Light
John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it.
God spoke—and life came into being. Platypuses and porcupines,
seagulls and snails, mallard ducks and mammoth whales, Adam and Eve– all of
these came to life through God’s Word. However in man alone did this life also
shine light – it was the light of men. When God gave life to Adam and Eve, they
could see and walk in God’s light. The light of God’s presence shone in them
and around them in the darkness. Though darkness is a picture of evil, God’s
Word shines in the darkness – and the darkness cannot overcome it. But there
is a problem—unbelief. We see this problem in the next section.
Sin: The Word Rejected
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Who is referred to here? It is the light, which is God’s Word. The Word
was in the world, but the world did not know him. Now I’ve always read this as
referring to Jesus. What is described here can describe how people referred to
Jesus. However, notice v. 10: he was in the world. This implies that this Word
was in the world even before the true light came into the world at the
incarnation. This is the Word without flesh. This is what we see in Genesis 1-11
– that the world rejects God’s Word. This rejection starts with Adam and Eve in
Genesis 3 and culminates in all the world in Genesis 11.
God’s own people also reject this Word. This is a large part of the story
of Israel in the Old Testament. Time and time again, they reject God. For
example, the Lord speaks in Isaiah 1:2, “Children have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.” They rebel against God. Still, God pursues
them.
Covenant: The Word Accepted
John1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God
.
Here we see that those who accept God’s Word are given the right to
become children of God. They are called children even in the Old Testament
Page 44
(e.g. Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1).
In summary, John 1:1-13 shows the power of the Word. It was in the
beginning. The Word creates, gives life, shines light, and gives a new birth.
Yet this powerful Word was rejected by many but received and accepted by a
few, the remnant. We see the same thing in the New Testament. Together we
see that the way people respond to God’s Word is the way they respond to the
Word made flesh, Jesus. Our response to God’s Word is our response to God
Himself.
Incarnation: The Word Became Flesh
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the
only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This powerful Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Let’s slow down
and think about this statement: This Word became flesh. Flesh was often
looked down upon as second rate and sinful, but the powerful Word which
created the world, gives life and shines light – it became flesh.
C. S Lewis provides a good example of the Incarnation. Imagine that
your dog is in deep distress, and the whole species of dog is in deep distress.
But if it would help all the dogs in the world for you to become like a dog, would
you be willing to become a dog? Would you put down your human nature, leave
your loved ones, your job, hobbies, your art and literature and music, and
choose instead of the intimate communion with your beloved, the poor substitute
of looking into the beloved's face and wagging your tail, unable to smile or
speak? This is a great cost—to no longer be able to look in the eyes of my wife
or read Dostoyevsky or Harry Potter, watch the movie Up, listen to Miles Davis.
Would I do that to save dogs? Yet that is precisely what God does for us.
Christ by becoming man limited the thing which to Him was the most precious
thing in the world: his unhampered, unhindered communion with the Father.
This sacrifice is crystallized by his cry on the cross: “my God my God why have
you forsaken me?”
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word moved into our
neighborhood. It did not beckon us from heaven to come but came down from
heaven to live among us. This is a profound difference from other religions.
Buddha taught an eightfold path, a way of life that people had to live to achieve
a peaceful state of Nirvana. Mohammed prescribed a way to live. Jesus,
though, was different. Jesus moved into our neighborhood. He didn’t invite us
into his neighborhood, but He moved into our neighborhood. He got his
fingernails dirty with us. When Christians understand this Truth, it revolutionizes
the way that they serve people around them.
Many of you remember Erin Schultz. God broke her heart for the issues
in the city so that she wanted to work to help those issues. For her it wasn’t
enough to get a job out in the suburbs and commute into the city. She got a
place in the city and worked from within her neighborhood against its
challenges. Her neighbor next door is a single mom raising multiple children. A
number of whom are crack babies, born with mental and physical challenges
because of their mother’s addiction to crack cocaine. A few months ago her car
Page 45
was stolen, and she found it trashed a number of blocks away. However, her
commitment to the city is unwavering. She gave up her car to use public
transportation because she was committed to love the city. Why? This is what
Jesus did. He dwelt among us. He didn't minister from afar. He moved into our
neighborhood.
So what? Are we as a church not doing ministry unless we move into a
poorer urban area? No. Instead we move into the needs of the people in your
community and open our heart to the woundedness and brokenness of the
people around you. As we bear their aches and pains, then we have
opportunity to share God’s Word there.
What happened when Jesus did this? And what will happen when we do
this? John 1:14 says, “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus moved into our neighborhood so we might
see God the Father’s glory. When we know Jesus, when we know God, then
we receive grace upon grace (John 1:16). The greatest blessing comes from
knowing the Father.
The more clearly we see God, the more of the fullness of his grace do we
receive. And we see God in the face of Jesus Christ. Mercy is not found in the
depth of our repentance. Mercy is found in the face of Jesus Christ.
Witness: The Word Shared
John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness
about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about
the light.
Finally, you may have noticed that I’ve skipped over a few verses here
and there. John 1:6-8: speaks of John “sent from God… a witness to bear
witness about the light that all might believe through him.” He was not the light
but came to bear witness about the light. Also in John 1:15, John bore witness
about Jesus and cried out that he was the one of whom he had spoken earlier.
John was a witness to Jesus. This was the whole purpose of the gospel of John
– to bear witness of what Jesus has done.
Why this odd insertion in the poetic prologue of John? Why this word
about John the Baptist? This is a subtle reminder that we cannot know about
Jesus unless somebody bears witness. God has come. Jesus’ life and death
and resurrection are the focal point of all of history. But, we must bear witness
about these things. And the position of John is very clear. We do not witness of
ourselves. But, we bear witness about the light. He must increase, we must
decrease. And, we proclaim not ourselves but Christ in us, the hope of glory.
Page 46
Questions for Reflection
1. Why do you think it is so important that “the Word was God”? What if the
Word wasn’t God? What difference would it make to our understanding
of “the Word became flesh”?
2. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” What does this statement
tell you about God?
3. How should our understanding of the Incarnation affect the way that we
witness to others?
Page 47
Cross:
God Dies
Elie Wisel, survivor of the Holocaust, tells the story of the hanging of a
young boy at a concentration camp. He describes it in this way:
The SS seemed more preoccupied, more disturbed than usual. To
hang a young boy in front of thousands of spectators was no light matter.
The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He
was lividly pale, almost calm, biting his lips. The gallows threw its
shadow over him.
This time the Lagerkapo refused to act as executioner.
Three SS replaced him. The three victims were mounted together
onto the chairs.
The three necks were placed at the same moment within the
nooses.
“Long live liberty!” cried the two adults.
But the child was silent.
“Where is God, Where is He?” someone behind me asked.
At a sign from the head of the camp, the three chairs were tipped
over.
Total silence throughout the camp. On the horizon, the sun is
setting. . . .
Then the march past began. The two adults were no longer alive.
Their tongues hung swollen, blue-tinged. But the third rope was still
moving; being so light, the child was still alive…
For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life
and death, dying in slow agony in front of our eyes. and we had to look
him in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His
tongue was still red, his eyes not yet glazed.
Behind me I heard the same man asking: “Where is God now?”
And I heard a voice within me answer him: “Where is He? Here He is—
He is hanging here on this gallows. . . . “
That night the soup tasted of corpses.13
Where is God in the midst of such suffering? This is not just any tragic
suffering, but the tragic undeserved suffering of a child. So the question is clear:
if God is all-powerful and all-good, where is God in the midst of this suffering?
Where is he?
This question is asked by people of faith when faced with profound
suffering. What we see in our passage this morning is that the same question is
also asked by Jesus, the Son of God.
In Mark 15 Jesus is arrested, whipped, mocked and hung on a cross. In
v. 34 we have the question: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus the Son of God asks at the moment of his greatest and most painful
13
Elie Wiesel, Night (trans. S. Rodney; New York: Bantam, 1958), 62.
Page 48
suffering, “Why have you forsaken me?” Jesus feels forsaken by God, and
Jesus –fully God—dies for nothing that he has done. Where is God at this
moment? By looking at the wider story of the Bible, I want to answer that
question this morning
I. God Shows His Love at the Cross
Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour (noon) had come, there was darkness over the whole land until
the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it
said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a
reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
Where is God? He is right here at the cross, showing the world his love. John
3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that
whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” Romans
5:8 says, “For God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” The cross was both God-forsaken and God-saturated. In
fact, it was so God-filled that the centurion standing guard over the crucifixion
cannot help but recognize the presence of God in that place!
How does the cross demonstrate God’s love? It shows us how far God
will go to deal with the problem. In the illustration that we began with, Elie
Wiesel asks, “Where is God? He is here, hanging in the gallows.” This may
mean that God’s failure of God to intervene and prevent the murder of this
young boy shows that God is dead. Or, it may mean that God is right here, in
the gallows, present in the face of the most profound and inexplicable suffering.
Indeed, the latter is what we see at the cross.
God is not above human suffering. He enters into the most profound
human suffering possible—the cruel and excruciatingly painful execution by
crucifixion—and demonstrates his love there. The cross is both where Jesus
was most forsaken by God was where God’s love was most supremely
demonstrated.
There is a corollary in our lives – that it is often in the places where we
feel most forsaken by God that we, eventually, find God’s love most supremely
demonstrated. We see this in the Bible. Joseph, after being sold into slavery
and left for dead by his own brothers, tells them: “What you meant for evil, God
intended for good.” Job, after losing his whole family and enduring profound
suffering, finally declares: “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have
seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:56). I’ve seen it in my own life. Times when I’ve felt most forsaken by God have
become places where God’s love has most supremely demonstrated.
Why is Jesus forsaken at the cross? To demonstrate God’s love. But,
this is not the only thing God is doing at the cross.
II. God Satisfies His Wrath
Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour (noon) had come, there was darkness over the whole land until
the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it
Page 49
said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a
reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
It is not only God’s love that is demonstrated at the cross. It is also God’s
wrath over sin. We must recognize both of these elements. In Mark 10:45, “For
even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.” Why a ransom? Ransoms were usually paid during that
time to free slaves. Romans 3:24 says of Jesus: “whom God put forward as a
propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins.” “Propitiation” means a sacrifice to pacify God’s wrath.
Why was God angry? He was angry because of sin. Anger is not a sin.
God was angry at the destructive powers of sin. He was angry because sin is a
personal affront –spitting in God’s face, rejecting all of His blessing and
provision. Sin is not just doing something wrong. It is a personal offence against
a personal God. That’s why sin leads to death, that the wages of sin is death
(Rom 6:23).
However, God “in his divine forbearance…passed over former sins” (Rom
3:24). He didn’t treat us as our sins deserve. He has given mercy. Mercy is
wonderful. Grace is wonderful. But, if God did not balance his forbearance and
mercy with his justice then the structure of the universe is at stake. For
example, imagine you had a judge at an abuse trial, and the victim of that abuse
was your own child. If the judge felt merciful that day and so dismissed the
charges, you would be (rightfully) furious. What purpose is there for a justice
system if a guilty person can go free without any consequence? Justice must
be satisfied. That is the purpose of Jesus’ death. He satisfies the wrath of God
to show God’s righteousness.
We see a powerful picture of this in The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe. The witch comes to Aslan, a figure for Christ, with a claim, a right on
the traitor’s blood. She demands on the basis of the deep magic the blood of
the traitor Edmund. She declares, “Unless I have blood, as the Law says, all
Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water.” After Aslan confers with
the witch, she renounces her claim on the young boy’s life. Why? The next
scene shows the price of that freedom. Aslan himself goes to the Stone Table
to be killed. In a tragic scene – Aslan himself is killed. He gives mercy while
paying the price of justice.
This is precisely what Jesus did. He demonstrates love, but he paid the
price of justice. This is a propitiatory sacrifice. He satisfies God’s wrath
because the sin of all humanity was poured upon him. If this sacrifice was not
given to satisfy God’s wrath, then it would make God out to be a liar. God had
said, “When you eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). If God had just said, “It’s okay. I’ll forgive you,”
then it would make God out to be a liar. The demands of justice would not be
satisfied, and God’s Word would be rendered powerless and null.
The cross shows not only God’s love but also God’s wrath. But grace
and justice are revealed at the cross. It is important to maintain both.
Page 50
III. God Opens the Way to Himself <Mark 15:37-39>
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold,
he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it
to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
Have you ever noticed that Jesus gives a loud cry right before he dies?
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have this description. Usually we don’t picture a
person crying out with a loud voice right before he breathes his last breath. Why
does Jesus cry out here? The only other time Jesus cries out like this is at
Lazarus’ tomb. There he cries out, “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43). When he
cries out, it demonstrates his authority over all of his creation. He is Lord. It is
interesting that in Matthew’s description of Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus cries out –
and the earth shakes, the rocks split, and people come out of their tombs.
When he cries out, he commands creation. Jesus’ cry demonstrates his
authority over his creation.
Similarly when Jesus cries out at the cross, he demonstrates his authority
over creation. This focus on Jesus’ authority is evident by what happens
immediately after he cries out—the veil in the temple is torn in two. The veil
separated the holy place from the holy of holies, and it was torn from top to
bottom. Why is that? Because when God’s wrath is poured out on Jesus, there
is no reason to separate God and man anymore. God’s wrath is satisfied.
Jesus cries out and rends the temple curtain in two, opening a way between
God and sinful humanity. Since Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross protects us from
the wrath of God, then the way is open for you and me to come into God’s
presence.
Hebrews 10:19-22 says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence
to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way
opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a
great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere
heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a
guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
What can we do because of the blood of Jesus? We can enter into the
Most Holy Place and come into the presence of God Himself. When the temple
curtain is torn, it demonstrates that GOD IS NOT MAD AT US. God has opened
up the way for us to come and have fellowship with Him. We have no need for
fear or shame. We can be confident, because of the love of Jesus Christ for us.
Anybody, from any race, no matter what the sin, can enter in.
That’s why in Mark 15:39 we see the centurion declare, “Truly this man
was the Son of God!” A centurion usually guarded 80-100 men. This man may
even have been the leader of the soldiers who whipped and mocked Jesus in
15:16-20. He is not a Jew and not a disciple of Jesus. He is, instead, the most
unlikely person in the whole world who would recognize who Jesus is. But, the
Roman soldier in charge of Jesus’ crucifixion realizes that Jesus is the Son of
God.
Page 51
This is significant because the whole gospel of Mark is about revealing
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1 says, “The beginning of the
gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Though the gospel is about “Jesus
Christ, the Son of God,” nobody has recognized that Jesus is the “Son of God”
to this point in Mark’s gospel. Even when Peter recognizes that Jesus is the
Christ in Mark 8:29, he doesn’t say “Son of God.” But, in Mark 15:38, this
Roman centurion who presided over Jesus’ death recognizes that Jesus is the
Son of God.
What’s Mark’s point? Does he just add this little historical detail in here?
Mark 15:38 reminds us that the way to God is open. Verse 39 says the most
unlikely person in the world recognizes the identity of Jesus. If this guy can
recognize who Jesus is, if this guy who headed the soldiers to kill Jesus can
enter into God’s presence, then ANYBODY can come into God’s presence.
Even us.
Brothers and sisters, the cross is the supreme picture that God is not mad
at us. The cross is the picture that God’s wrath was poured out to Jesus. And
we – no matter what we’ve done, no matter how bad we’ve failed, no matter if
we nailed Jesus on the cross – we have an open way to come to the Father
through Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
We opened this section with Elie Wiesel’s question, “Where is God? He
is here, hanging on the gallows.” At the cross, we see God crucified. God
hanging on a cross. Why is God on that cross? He demonstrates his love,
satisfies his wrath, and opens a way to the Father. This is what Jesus has done
for you.
So what? We have three applications. First, we should know the extent
of God’s love. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave
him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
Second, we should know our own righteousness, that “there is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Rom 8:1). Since Christ took
God’s wrath and condemnation for our sin, we don’t have to carry it any longer.
Finally, we should draw near to the throne (Heb 10:22). Since God has opened
up the way for us, why should we wait outside?
Page 52
Questions for Reflection
1. At the cross, the greatest moment of God-forsakenness is actually a
moment of God-saturatedness. Have you ever felt forsaken by God? In
looking back, can you see God’s presence in that situation? If so, how?
2. Are there times in your life that you have felt like your sin keeps you from
God? How does Jesus’ work on the cross help us to have confidence to
approach God again?
3. What keeps you from drawing near to the Father?
Page 53
Resurrection:
God Saves
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour
is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will
live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And
he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for
an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done
good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
I have a friend who is a cardiologist. Doctors have a lot of power.
I took a person who had high blood pressure to him; he checked him out, gave
him some medicine and the problem was fixed. Another time someone had
Bells-Palsy, but my doctor friend told me what medicine to buy, and that person
was healed. But no matter how much a doctor can help a person, he can only
help a person who is alive. Once a person dies, there is nothing more that he
can do.
In the resurrection we see God’s power to raise the dead. The greatest
doctors in the world cannot raise the dead, but God can raise the dead. The
wonderful news is that the power that raised the dead is at work in every
believer of Jesus Christ. If you believe in Jesus Christ today, then God’s
resurrection power is at work in you. This is precisely what we see in John 5:2529—that those who hear Jesus’ Word and believe the One who sent Him have
the power of resurrection coursing through their veins. In our passage, we see
three characteristics of God’s resurrection power.
Freedom from Judgment
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
This verse says that whoever hears Jesus’ word and believes has eternal
life and “does not come into judgment” (John 5:24). What is this judgment?
Usually people associate judgment with final, end time judgment when everyone
will stand before God’s throne. However, Jesus is not talking about future
judgment but a judgment in the present. What judgment is there in the present?
How we respond to the words of Jesus is our judgment.
Verse 27 gives the reason why those who believe in Jesus are not
judged: And he [God] has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of
Man. The Son of Man comes from Daniel 7:14, “[The Son of Man] was given
authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every
language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not
pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.” The Son of Man
is one who has authority over all the earth. Those who reject Jesus and His
Word are not a part of his everlasting Kingdom, which is their judgment. They
Page 54
are on the losing team. And no matter what success they seem to enjoy, in the
end they always lose. They are under judgment.
Judgment day does not begin at the end of the world. Judgment has
already begun in our response to the words of Jesus. Maybe you say to
yourself, “I’ll believe – but I’ll believe later.” We must not harden our hearts to
Him, because our rejection of Jesus is our present judgment. We do not know
what may happen later. But the good news is that whoever hears Jesus’ word
and believes has eternal life and will not be condemned. By reading this, you
are hearing God’s Word. What, then, does it mean to believe?
An illustration may help us understand what it means to believe. A
teacher was teaching about the law of the pendulum. A pendulum is a weight
tied on a string. The law of the pendulum says that if you release the weight on
the string it will not exceed the point of its release in a system. This principle
was illustrated with a three-foot string tied to a children’s top and secured to the
top of the blackboard. He dropped the top, and every time the pendulum swung
back, the teacher made a mark on the bulletin board. The marks proved the law
of the pendulum. After the demonstration, the teacher asked how many people
in the room BELIEVED the law of the pendulum was true. Everybody raised
their hands. Then the teacher took one student, had him climb up on a table
and sit in a chair with his head against the cement wall. Hanging from the steel
ceiling beams in the middle of the room was a large, crude but functional
pendulum – 250 lbs. of metal weights tied to four strands of 500 lb. test
parachute cord. Holding the pendulum a fraction of an inch from the teacher’s
face, he said, “If the law of the pendulum is true, then when I release this mass
of metal it will swing across the room and return short of the release point. Your
nose will be in no danger.” Then he asked, “Sir, do you believe this law is true?”
There was a long pause. Huge beads of sweat formed on his upper lip
as he nodded and said, “Yes.” So the teacher let go of the pendulum. It made a
swishing sound as it swung across the room. It reached the far end of the arc,
paused a moment and begun to return. As soon as it began to return, then the
student sitting on the chair literally dived off the table, terrified that the pendulum
would hit him. Then the teacher turned to the class. “Does this student believe
in the law of the pendulum?” The students unanimously answered, “NO!”
Belief is not just head knowledge; believing is a willingness to stake our
lives on the power of the gospel. Do you believe – really believe – in the power
of the gospel? If so, two things will be true of you. First, when we stake our lives
on the power of the gospel, it is not a big deal to give up the temporary
pleasures of this world. Heb 11:25-6 says that Moses chose to be mistreated
along with the pleasures of sin for a short time because he was looking forward
to his reward. Similarly, when we have faith, giving up sin is so much easier
because the gift that God gives us by faith is so much greater. However, if we
do not really believe in the Word of God, then we will consistently find the
pleasures of sin more attractive than the glories of the gospel.
Also, when we believe in Jesus, we live each day completely by God’s
grace. Living by faith means drawing from God’s power in every situation and
circumstance that He places us in. We are not trusting in ourselves – our own
Page 55
intellect, emotions, good will, connections – but trusting in God. Jesus
promises, “Whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal
life and will not be condemned.” We must trust in our good works to save us,
but we must only in Jesus to deliver us from judgment.
Passed from Death to Life
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour
is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will
live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
The second consequence of hearing and believing Jesus’ words is to
cross over from death to life (v. 24). John gets so excited about this process
that he says it again in v. 25: “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now
come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear
will live.”
Jesus does not talk about a physical resurrection after our physical death
in John 5:25. Look at the tenses – v. 24 the one who hears and believes has
crossed over from death to life. Verse 25 says, “a time is coming AND NOW IS
when the dead will ear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”
Nobody has risen from the dead yet. So what is this life? In John, life refers to
the full, satisfying life that God has designed for us from the beginning. John
10:10 says, “I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full.” This
resurrection life begins in the present in a spiritual sense for all those who
believe in Jesus.
In John’s gospel, this abundant life has three basic characteristics. First,
it is more satisfying than food and drink.
John 4:14, Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will
become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
John 6:35, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes
in me will never be thirsty.
The problem with good meals is that no matter how good the meal is, you wake
up the next day and you have to eat again. Yet, the wonderful thing about Jesus
is that He satisfies – day after day after day after day after day after day, for
eternity.
Second, this abundant life is light shining in our darkness:
John 1:4, In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
John 8:12, [Jesus] said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.
Page 56
Many times we feel like we are walking in darkness. Sometimes, in certain
situations, we don’t know which way to turn. However, when we hear and
believe in Jesus’ words, then we have the light of life. We never walk in
darkness. Consequently, we can turn to Jesus in any and circumstance. His
Word shines light into our lives. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp unto
my feet and a light unto my path.”
A number of years ago, my wife was pregnant. She called me on the
phone because she had some bleeding. We drove her to the hospital, and at
the hospital she had the miscarriage. Since I was looking forward to this child
so much, my heart was greatly burdened. Afterwards, we drove home. I had a
lot to do. However, I had no desire to work on anything. I didn’t want to talk . I
didn’t want to work. I didn’t even want to pray. The whole house was dark and
quiet, since the kids had gone to bed. My heart was also dark. So I sat on the
couch before God in quiet. As I sat there in God’s presence, God began to
shine light in my heart, little by little. I was able to sit and just enjoy Jesus. I had
such a deep, wonderful fellowship with Jesus and felt the depth of the intimacy
of His presence with me. When you have Jesus’ life, you are never in
darkness. His light shines in the darkest of situations.
Finally, this life leads us to the Father:
John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.
John 17:3, Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.
Ultimately, every good and perfect gift comes from the Father. We are satisfied
because we enjoy fellowship with the Father. Light shines in our darkness
because we meet God. John begins by focusing the benefits of life – more
satisfying than food and drink (John 4, 6) and light shining in our darkness (John
1, 8), but these gifts only serve to lead us to the Giver of the gifts (John 14:6;
17:3). As A.B. Simpson says in his hymn: “Once it was the blessing now it is
the Lord. Once it was the feeling, now it is His Word. Once His gifts I wanted,
Now the Giver own. Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone. All in all
forever Jesus will I sing. Everything in Jesus, and Jesus everything.”
Confidence at Final Judgment
John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29
and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the
resurrection of judgment.
Verse 28 begins, “Do not marvel at this.” Marvel at what? Verses 24-25 say that
people who hear and believe in the Jesus’ words have been spiritually
resurrected. Now Jews expected resurrection to happen at the end of time, but
Jesus is saying that the end of time has already begun as resurrection life has
begun in a spiritual sense. That’s why v. 25 says, “a time is coming and now is.”
This time that is coming refers in to the blessings and judgment that will happen
Page 57
at the end of time. Although the life, death and resurrection of Jesus have
already begun this end time period, the final end still hasn’t come.
Consequently, verses 28-29 continue: “a time is coming when all who
are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good
will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” This
final judgment simply continues the judgment that has already begun in our
response to the words of Jesus.
Everyone will die. But, death is simply like the death of a seed—it dies to
bring new life because all will rise again. Sickness and death may be cold, hard,
and painful realities. However, when the resurrection comes, there will be no
more arthritis, back pain, sleepless nights, pimples, dialysis, chemotherapy,
sickness, anxiety or worry. This body of flesh will be gone. 1 Cor 15:43-44 says
of our body: “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it
is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” It
doesn’t matter if they had died ten minutes ago or thousands of years ago – all
will come to life.
There are two different kinds of resurrections: a resurrection of life and a
resurrection of judgment. Those who have done good will rise to a resurrection
of life with glory and power. Those who have done evil will rise to a resurrection
of judgment. C.S. Lewis describes well the final destination of people:
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to
remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may
one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly
tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now
meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.14
The resurrection of life will transform this body into a glorious body of great,
unimaginable beauty and glory. The resurrection of judgment will be terrifying.
John 5:29 says those who have done good will receive a resurrection of
life, while those who have done evil will receive a resurrection of judgment.
Works are the basis of their reward. Why does it focus on those who have done
good and those who have done evil? If our salvation is a gift from God, then
why are we judged by our works? Similarly, Revelation 20:12 pictures the great
white throne of judgment. And it says, “The dead were judged according to
what they had done as recorded in the books” (cf. Matthew 25). So, if we’re
judged according to our works, does that mean we are saved by our works?
No! But if we have faith, then faith will result in works.
John 14:12, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He
will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.
Faith always leads to action. Works are the evidence of faith. A.W. Tozer
says, “The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it
C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory,” The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (New York:
HarperOne, 2001), 25-46.
14
Page 58
recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith. The two are opposite
sides of the same coin.” Brothers and sisters, take a hard look at your life. Do
you see any fruit of God’s work in your life? Are the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control –
are these fruits growing in your life? Are you feeding the hungry, inviting the
stranger into your home, clothing the naked, looking after the sick, visiting those
in prison? This is the fruit of faith. When we stand before God at His judgment
seat, we will be judged according to (not based on) our works.
Conclusion
There is great power in the resurrection. When we live by its power, we have
freedom from condemnation and judgment. By its power, we pass from spiritual
death to life – satisfied, with His light shining in our darkness, and brought to the
Father. Also, the resurrection gives us confidence at the Final Judgment.
To whom are all these blessings given? To those who hear and believe
God’s Word. Hearing God’s Word is the key to unlock the power of the
resurrection in our life. John 5:24, 25, 28 speak of those who hear Jesus’ word.
God’s Word has tremendous power, and it gives us access to the power of the
resurrection. If we desire to see the power of the resurrection demonstrated in
your life, then we should fill our minds with the Word of God. We should listen,
read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Word of God every chance that we
have. The more we fill our hearts with God’s Word, the more we will experience
God’s resurrection power. May God release His resurrection power in our lives
in ever greater measure through His Word.
Page 59
Questions for Reflection
1. “When we stake our lives on the power of the gospel, it is not a big deal
to give up the temporary pleasures of this world.” How have you found
that the promises of the power of the gospel have helped you give up the
temporary pleasures of this world? What are some practical ways that
you have seen that in your own life?
2. When we believe in Jesus, then we have passed from death to life. This
state of life is more satisfying than food and drink (John 4:14; 6:35),
shines light in our darkness (John 1:4; 8:12; 14:6), and leads us to the
Father (John 17:3). What is one concrete way/time in your life that you
have experienced this type of life as a result of believing in Jesus?
3. What is the relationship between works and faith? What does Jesus
mean when it says that those who have done good will rise to live
(eternal life)?
.
Page 60
Church:
God Sends
Have you ever been bored by church? Have you every wondered what its point
is? I remember growing up at a Baptist church in jr. high school. I would sit in
the balcony with my friend Ken Terhune, and we would play tic tac toe,
hangman, and connect the squares. We would take turns playing a ski game on
my watch. I didn’t know what the point of church is. Perhaps you may have felt
the same way.
Flannery O’Connor said that she had an in-law who started attending
church because the service “was so horrible he knew there was something else
there to make people come.” Annie Dillard says of her time in a church:
Week after week I was moved by the pitiableness of the bare linoleumfloored sacristy which no flowers could cheer or soften, by the terrible
singing I so loved, by the fatigued Bible readings, the lagging emptiness
and dilution of the liturgy, the horrifying vacuity of the sermon, and by the
fog of dreary senselessness pervading the whole, which existed
alongside, and probably caused, the wonder of the fact that we came; we
returned; we showed up; week after week, we went through with it.15
Every church is decidedly imperfect. The longer you stay in a church, the more
you see those imperfections. I know – I’ve been here a long time, and I know
our imperfections. People sing off key, clap on the wrong beat, say silly things
they shouldn’t, hurt others, and hold grudges. Sermons heard vary from
fascinating to forgettable. Music can inspire . . . and annoy.
So what’s so great about the church? Apparently Jesus saw something
in the church since “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph
5:25). Christ, the perfect Son of God, loved the church and gave himself up
and died on a cross for her. So what did Jesus see in the church?
I want to talk about the doctrine of the church. It is imperfect. However,
when we see the church as Jesus sees it, we can love the church as Jesus
loves it. Our passage provides four images for the church. The church in
Ephesians 2 is seen as a new humanity, new family, new citizenship, and a new
temple. Let us unpack these images together.
The context of Ephesians 2 focuses on a contrast between the past and
present. Verses 1-11 says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but
God made us alive in Christ Jesus. As a result, we are seated with Christ in the
heavenly places, and our vertical relationship is restored so that we can move
from enmity to intimacy. In Ephesians 2:12-22 the horizontal relationship is
restored. Though the Gentiles were separated from Israel, Christ’s death on
the cross abolished the barriers between people so that they could be included
in God’s promises. They move from exclusion to embrace and from separation
to inclusion. We see four images of the church in verses 14-22, and as we
unpack these images, may we see what Christ sees in the church.
15
Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk (New York: Harper Collins, 1982), 39.
Page 61
New Humanity: vv. 14-17
Eph 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the
dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might
create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God
in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who
were far off and peace to those who were near.
It says in v. 15 that Christ created in himself one new man in place of the
two, so making peace. The language of creation with a new man reminds us of
the original creation. The probability of this allusion is strengthened by
observing how Ephesians 4:24 clearly alludes to Genesis 1:26. In the original
creation God’s purpose was to create man in his own image and likeness, but
man failed in obedience. Consequently, relationship was broken with God and
other people. Adam hid from God and blamed Eve. In this way, sin destroyed
relationships. In the Old Testament, an elaborate system of laws was provided
to protect their relationship with God. These laws, however, isolated Israel from
the Gentiles, as the Jews kept themselves pure by staying away from the
Gentiles. Consequently v. 14 speaks of the dividing wall of hostility, which is the
law of commandments and ordinances. This wall is the Mosaic law, and it can
be pictured in the temple wall that separated Jews from Gentiles in the temple
court. A dividing wall separated the court of the Gentiles from that of the Jews
which read:
NO FOREIGNER
IS TO GO BEYOND THE BALUSTRADE
AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE
WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO
WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME
FOR HIS DEATH
WHICH WILL FOLLOW
Such a sign would not be very welcoming for newcomers.
However, Christ is our peace who breaks down this dividing wall of
hostility. He broke down the wall of hostility by abolishing the law of
commandments and ordinances. Jesus fulfilled the law and broke the power of
the law for believers. We are no longer under law but grace. He has made
peace between Jew and Gentile and (v. 16) between us and God. In one fell
swoop he destroyed the hostility, both horizontally and vertically. Christ did this
that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making
peace. This is a re-creation of the human race, a new humanity, now not in
Adam but in Christ.
The key word here is “peace.” Because hostility is destroyed, peace
reigns. Verse 14 says, “he himself is our peace.” Verse 15 says, “so making
peace.” Verse 17 says, “he came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near.” The cross still has power to break down
dividing walls between races and peoples.
For over a hundred years in Rwanda, a large wall of separation has
divided the Tutsis and the Hutus. For a long time the Tutsis, a minority group,
Page 62
had power and looked with disdain at the peasant Hutus. They would not sit
together or interact with each other. In the 1930s, revival swept through the
church in Rwanda. Under the preaching of the Word, people would fall down in
conviction and cry out. The church was transformed. Tutsis and Hutus would
worship side by side in the church.
The racial divide however remained in society. A major uprising in 1994
brought the Hutus into power with decades of frustration and pain. The Hutu
government initiated a full-scale genocide of the Tutsi people. They gave out
free grenades and provided AK-47s to anybody who wanted to enlist in their
militia. The goal was to wipe out completely the Tutsi people from the earth.
Within 100 days, 1,174,00 people died: 400 people every hour, 7 every minute.
About one million Tutsis died. Only 300,000 Tutsis survived. Thousands of
widows were raped and left HIV-positive. Hundreds of thousands of children
were orphaned.
In the midst of this genocide, Tharcisse Gatwa, general secretary of the
Bible society in Rwanda, reports that Tutsi and Hutu “groups of converts refused
to separate while praying and have been killed together.”16
The cross has power to unite people –even in the midst of genocide. It
destroys the hostility. If this is true in Rwanda, is it not also true in America
between black and white? Between Korean and African-American? Does the
cross have power to heal the pains from the Rodney King riots of 1992? Does it
have power to heal the pains from within our families of abuse,
misunderstanding, and unreasonable expectations? Does it have power to heal
the divisions and bitterness still under the surface within our own church? The
cross has great power—power to heal and destroy the hostility. May God bring
peace into our midst today.
New Family <v. 18, 19b>
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer
strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Paul switches images from a new humanity to a new family. Verse 18 says that
through Christ we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. If we have the
same Father, then we are brothers and sisters in one family. So v. 19 says that
we are members of the household of God.
Now, families can be very different. Some families eat dinner together
every night. Others like to eat out. Others seem to spend time together all the
time. Other families hardly ever see each other. However, if children are close
to the parents, they find a way to get together. This was certainly true in our
family. Eventually we lived all over the world, but when my parents would come
back to the States for a vacation, we would gather from wherever we were to be
together. I may not have seen my brothers all year, but when my parents
came, we’d take the trek to see each other. As we’d draw close to our parents,
then we’d draw close to one another as well.
16
“Revivalism and Ethnicity: The Church in Rwanda,” Transformation 12.2 (1995): 6.
Page 63
It is the same way in the body of Christ as well. We grow closer together
as we draw closer to God. Verse 18 says that we both have access in one Spirit
to the Father.
New Citizenship <19>
19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of
the household of God,
In Christ, we also have a new citizenship. V. 12 says that before Christ,
we were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. But in Christ, v. 19 says
you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the
saints. Phil 3:20 says that our citizenship is in heaven.
Citizenship is a big deal. After I was married, I helped my wife get a
green card and citizenship. It’s a big deal; it costs a lot of money and takes a lot
of time. In the process she changed her name, changed her identity. A lot
changed. When you change your citizenship to U.S.A., you have to take the
following oath:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and
abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or
sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United
States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will
bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf
of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform
noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when
required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under
civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation
freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me
God.
This is a big deal! It was the same way with Rome at that time. They were in
the cradle of a movement from feudalism to democracy.
Citizenship means that you count, that you are not just a recipient but a
decision-maker. This was certainly true in that day as well as in the kingdom of
God. Whether you are a pastor or policeman, raising children or raising
chickens, fixing cars or fixing families – all such work is equally important in the
kingdom of God. Martin Luther said:
The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they be, do
not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer
in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but that all
works are measured before God by faith alone . . . . Indeed, the menial
housework of a manservant or maidservant is often more acceptable to
Page 64
God than all the fastings and other works of a monk or priest, because
the monk or priest lacks faith.”17
When I look at the Bible I see God using people from all different walks of life
making a dramatic impact on the Kingdom of God. Amos was a farmer. Peter
was a fisherman. Esther was a queen. Daniel and Nehemiah were politicians.
Ezra was a scholar. Jesus was a carpenter. David was a shepherd. Some of
them (Esther, Daniel, Nehemiah) worked very hard at their professions and rose
to the very top. They didn’t know how God would use them. But, at a critical
time of history, God used that position of influence to bring about great good.
Others never really came into a place of prominence: Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos,
others.
Similarly, we need a Kingdom mentality. Our kingdom is in heaven, so
we can be of great earthly good. God is raising up Kingdom workers in our
church to not only be pastors but also people to influence all sectors of society.
We may not know why God has placed us in a certain job, place, task, but our
task is to be faithful. We must not compromise with faithfulness because we
may not see why God has placed us where we are.
William Wilberforce was a member of Parliament, an influential politician
when he became a Christian. He wanted to become a pastor, so he asked the
counsel of John Newton. Surprisingly John Newton dissuaded him. For the next
twenty years Wilberforce worked against the abolition of slavery. God used that
position in politics to bring about the abolition of slavery in 1807.
Similarly, God is raising up Kingdom workers in our church. Some will
penetrate to the highest levels of influence in society. God will place you in that
position of leadership because there is a part that He wants you to play in His
bigger plan. Others may never rise to positions of prominent leadership –
whether in society or the church. Yet, you may be called to places of invisible
prominence. As a pastor, I enjoy a place of relative prominence within the
church, but I recognize that my visible effectiveness is only possible because of
the invisible faithfulness of those who pray.
Edward Kimball was just a Sunday school teacher burdened for a kid who
came one time to his Sunday school class. He gave him a Bible and never saw
him again. However, his concern for this boy led him to go to his workplace and
share the gospel there. That boy believed and became one of greatest revival
preachers history has ever seen: D. L. Moody. In the same way, you may not
be the next D. L. Moody, but you may be called to be an Edward Kimball. When
we know we are citizens of heaven, we have confidence that each person
contributes. Kingdom work is not an individual sport, but it is about advancing
the Kingdom. Whether we are on the stage or behind the scenes, at the wheel
or in the galley rowing the oars, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the Kingdom.
Temple <20-22>
17
Babylonian Captivity of the Church, p. 34
Page 65
Eph 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you
also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Paul abruptly shifts images again, from citizenship to family to a building.
Though the foundation is already laid, the whole structure is not yet completed.
It is still being joined together, growing into a holy temple, and this temple is still
being put together. We are the stones (1 Pet 2:4-5). God will cause his dwelling
place to be there by His Spirit.
So, how is he putting us together? We are being joined together. The
picture is of making a building. In Paul’s day, they did not use mortar but only
stones. Consequently stones would have to be grinded down so that they fit
together. A certain stone might be beautiful in and of itself, but it had to be
ground down so that it would fit in a much more beautiful wall. Similarly God
may grind down our own dreams and aspirations to mold us. We want God to
use us this way, but somehow he doesn’t open the door. We plan and pray for
things to work out this way, but they it don’t. It might have been a really good
plan, but God has an even better plan.
You will face disappointments in life. Things may not work out the way
that you expect. However, God is building and establishing you as His dwelling
place. The final result will be far more glorious your dreams.
Questions for Reflection
1. How does this reflection on the images of the church help us deal with
the imperfections of the church?
2. What barriers does the cross still need to break down in our church? We
talked about the problems in Rwanda, but do you see any barriers in our
church? How does the cross help us overcome those barriers?
3. When you think of the church as a new family, we are reminded that we
draw near to one another as we draw nearer to God. How do you draw
near to God on a daily basis?
Page 66
4. The church as a new citizenship reminds us that we each have a part to
play in the kingdom. What role do you see playing in the kingdom?
Page 67
Worship:
God Transforms
Have you ever seen a papaya tree in Chicago? Papayas are wonderful
fruit, but they don’t grow in Chicago. The climate is wrong. Cold would kill the
papaya tree. Fruit needs the right environment to grow.
The fruit of the Spirit is the same way. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
But, the acts of sinful nature are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,
sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
envy, drunkenness, and orgies.
Now, nobody wakes up one morning and says, “I want to be jealous
today. I love to have fits of anger. May envy characterize my life.” No. We all
want to live lives that are characterized by good fruit. However many people are
like those who try to grow a papaya tree in Illinois, trying to force fruit to grow in
the wrong environment.
Worship is the soil where the fruit of the Spirit grows. This is our focus for
this section. You will not grow in love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness
unless you grow in worship. So let’s focus on Romans 12:1-2. We will make
some general comments first and then we’ll examine more specifics in these
verses.
Romans 12:1-2 pictures a reversal of idolatry, as seen in Rom 1:18-32:
Rom 12:1-2: Worship
Rom 1:18-32: Idolatry
Mercy “in view of God’s mercy”
Offer your bodies “offer your bodies as living
sacrifice”
Wrath 1:18, “the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven…”
Dishonoring of bodies 1:24, “God gave
them up…to the dishonoring of their bodies”
Spiritual worship “this is your spiritual act of
worship”
Worship the creature 1:25, “worshipped and
served the creature rather than the Creator”)
Renewed mind “be transformed by the
renewing of your mind”
Debased mind 1:28, “God gave them up to a
debased mind”
Approve God’s will “then you will be able to
test and approve of what God’s will is.”
Rejecting God’s decrees 1:32, “Though they
know God’s decree that those who practice
such things deserve to die, they not only do
them but give approval…”
Worship reverses the process of idolatry. While idolatry dishonors the body,
worship offers our bodies to God. So let’s unpack Rom 12:1-2 in light of the
problem of idolatry in Rom 1.
Page 68
Glory: the Fount of Worship (11:36-12:1a)
Rom. 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Rom. 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Notice the “therefore” in Romans 12:1. Paul builds on what he has said
in the earlier verses. Romans 11:36 says, “for from him and through him and to
him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” This glory serves as the
basis of presenting our bodies to God as a spiritual act of worship. We give our
bodies to what we worship, to what we hold to be of ultimate value. This is as
true of idolatry as it is of true worship.
We can see this earlier in Romans 1:24-25:
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to
the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they
exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
When we worship the creature, it leads to a dishonoring of the bodies. The
dishonouring of our bodies is expanded by a discussion of a catalogue of many
sins: sexual sins, envy, deceit, gossip, slanderers, boastfulness (Romans 1:2930). Sin grows in the soil of idolatry. In the OT, true worship did not happen
unless the idols were first destroyed. High places had to be smashed down and
idols were destroyed before worship of the true God could happen.
Are idols present today also? How do we know when we are worshipping
an idol? Here are some questions from David Powlison that help us discern our
idols:
1. What do you love? Hate?
2. What do you desire, crave, lust and wish for? Whose desires do you
obey?
3. What do you fear? What strikes terror in your heart? What do you
worry about?
4. What do you think you need? What can you not live without.
5. Where do you find your refuge, safety, comfort, security, pleasure?
6. Who must you please? From whom do you desire approval and fear
rejection? In whose eyes are you living?
For many of us, victory over sin is not a reality because we’ve left the idols up in
the corner. When we destroy the idols, we create space for worship.
Sometimes, inordinate desires can tip us off to the presence of an idol in
our life. When I was in Hawaii in ninth grade, I went to Denny’s and was
overwhelmed by the many choices on the menu. I wanted a blueberry waffle,
but the waitress didn’t hear what I had said. She started asking me all these
questions: “Rye bread? How do you want your eggs cooked? Orange juice or
coffee?” I was terrified. I couldn’t answer any of her questions. I simply said
“Yes” to everything. Why? I didn’t want to look stupid in front of other people.
Page 69
What I ate was less important than the approval of people who were sitting
around me. It wasn't until much later that I realized that this approval of people
was an idol. I had been paralyzed by fear because my idol was approval from
people.
Your idol may not be the approval of people. It may be a relationship with
another person; without this relationship, you think that your life has no
meaning. You may be in this relationship now – or it may be an imaginary
relationship. It may be the idol of our own satisfaction. Many people talk about
how our greatest satisfaction is found in God. This is true. But we must be very
careful with this teaching because we can easily replace God as the object of
our desire and make God the means to satisfy our own desire. When we make
God a means to satisfy us and the only reason we worship God is to satisfy our
own desire, then we use God to satisfy our idolatrous desire. This is dangerous
because when we make satisfaction our own joy, we will not persevere through
the wilderness when God seems far away. There are many, many other idols,
including sex, money, porn, even family. Any good thing can be an idol when
we exalt it to be an ultimate thing.
How do you demolish the idols in your life so that God’s glory is the object
of our lives? Repentance. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We must recognize that
the wage of this sin is death, that this idol – approval of people, relationship,
success, sex –outside of God’s context leads to death. However God’s gift is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. As we demolish the idols of our hearts with
the cross, then we will see God’s glory.
Consequently, Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore brothers by
the mercies of God.” It is by God’s mercies that we see God’s glory. We see
that He is the ultimate. He is not just a means for our satisfaction. He is the
object of our hearts, lives. We worship Him. How?
Bodies: the Act of Worship (Rom 12:1b)
Rom. 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We give our bodies to what we worship. If we worship the one true God, then
we will present our bodies to him. Notice the prevalence of sacrificial words
here: “living sacrifices,” and “spiritual worship.” These things usually happened
in the temple. But, the context here is not that of the temple but of daily life. So
the work of worship moves from the temple walls into the world.
We present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. A.
W. Tozer says rightly, “If you will not worship God seven days a week, you do
not worship Him on one day a week.”18 For those who like retreats, if you will
not worship God 365 days a year, you do not worship Him four days a year. No
wonder in Isaiah 1 God says, “I have had enough of burnt offerings of
18
A. W. Tozer, The Tozer Pulpit (Camp Hill, Penn.: Christian Publications, 1994), 1:51.
Page 70
rams…your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have
become a burden to me” (Isaiah 1:11, 13). Worship had become, in Isaiah’s day,
a one day and not seven day affair.
We must present our bodies to God. This means to be present with God.
This word is used by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:19, “I am Gabriel who stands in
the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good
news.” Gabriel stood in the presence of God and was present before God, so
that he knew what God wanted to do.
Too many of us fail to present our bodies to God and be present before
God. Instead, we have a long list of good things that we want to do for God.
These may not be bad things or wrong things, but it may be the wrong time. We
need to be present with God to know what God would have us to do. That
moves us beyond orders and obedience to love and relationship.
So how do we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God? How do we
worship? Verse 2 says, “by the renewal of your mind.” We must renew our
minds. I know of no better what to renew my mind than sustained contact with
the Word of God. God’s Word helps us reorder our priorities to God’s priorities.
We soak in God’s presence and God’s Word. As we soak in God’s Word, we
know His will. When we obey His will, we see that it is good, acceptable and
perfect. Worship is the act of presenting our bodies to God. From this place of
intimacy, we can move to the place of ministry. The key to effective use of our
gifts is intimate time with our God.
Transformation: the Fruit of Worship (Rom 12:2)
Rom. 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Worship transforms us. We don’t get victory over sin by trying not to sin.
We get victory over sin through worship. V. 2 says “be transformed.” It is a
passive command. We are to renew our minds, and as we renew our minds in
worship, then we are being transformed.
What are we being transformed into? The best picture of this is in 2 Cor
3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this
comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” The same word, “transformed,” is used
here in a context of worship. As we behold the Lord’s glory, we are being
transformed into the image of Jesus.
What does it mean to be transformed into the image of God? Remember
that we were created to be in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). As images of
God, we were to rule over the earth as his representatives. The word “image”
in 2 Cor 3:18 is ikon. We know the word icon from computers. You click on the
icon and it brings up the whole program. The icon may be nothing in itself, only
2 KB of data, but when we click it then the whole presence of the elaborate
program is called up.
Page 71
Similarly we are to be images and icons of God. Though we are nothing,
we bring the whole presence of God wherever we go. I visited the hospital room
of a wonderful saint of our church recently, Susan You. If you know her, you
know that she is always joyful, bubbling over with love. Ever time I see her, she
showers me with a big hug and kiss. She serves faithfully in our nursery – at
over seventy years old!! She has such overwhelming love. I visited her in the
hospital, and her room was filled with such love. I walked into her room and
prayed with her. As I prayed I choked up, because I realized that she loved so
much because God had loved her so much. All the love that she was shining
was simply the love that God had shone in her life. Though she herself was frail
and old, she was a bright, shining icon of God’s love and presence because
God had lavished her with His love.
We are transformed into Christ’s image through worship. Worship
transforms. That’s why worship is the key to missions, because worship
transforms us to be powerful in mission. The picture below shows the process:
As we worship we are
transformed into the
image of God. As images
of God we are sent out to
mission. That’s why the
greatest preparation for
mission is worship. As
we present ourselves
daily to God and renew
our minds through His
Word, we worship.
Through this worship we
are transformed into His
image with increasing
glory. The more we are
like Christ, the more
effective we will be for His
kingdom.
Page 72
Questions for Reflection:
1. Glory is the fount of worship. What idols do you find yourself chasing
after and presenting your body to?
2. How are you presenting yourselves to God as a living sacrifice and act of
worship?
3. As we worship, we are being transformed into the image, icon and
representative of Jesus Christ. What difference could such images make
in the world that we live in?
Page 73
Kingdom:
God Reigns
In Jesus’ day, people expected the coming of the Messiah to be visible
and powerful. The OT looked forward to a time when a Davidic King would
bring forgiveness of sin, victory over enemies, blessing for Israel, and healing of
the sick. Living under occupation by Romans, they yearned for such freedom.
Daniel 7 pictures the Son of Man defeating the kingdoms of the world and
establishing His Kingdom. Psalms of Solomon 17:23-25 (63 BCE) says that
God would gird the King, the Son of David, with strength “that he may shatter
unrighteous rulers, and … purge Jerusalem from nations that trample her down
to destruction. Wisely, righteously he shall thrust out sinners from the
inheritance, He shall destroy the pride of the sinner as a potter’s vessel. With a
rod of iron he shall break in pieces all their substance.”
When Jesus came he did things the Jews expected from the Messiah. He
forgave sinners, preached good news to the poor, and healed the sick.
However, he was not the type of King that they were expecting. This is the
context of our passage. In Luke 17:11-19 we see that Jesus heals ten lepers on
his way to Galilee. This provokes a question about God’s kingdom by the
Pharisees in v. 20. They see Jesus’ healing and they think that the kingdom of
God would come. Jesus gives them five surprising characteristics of the
Kingdom.
I. Kingdom may look unexpectedly insignificant
Luke 17:20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them,
“The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or
‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
The Pharisees are looking for a visible, powerful kingdom, but Jesus
radically shakes their expectations. He says: “The kingdom of God is not
coming with signs to be observed.” The problem with the Pharisees is that they
were so convinced that they understood what the coming of the Messiah would
look like that they completely missed his first coming. They had their theories,
and their theories caused them to miss the reality of Jesus as Messiah.
Consequently, Jesus says that it is not with saying here it is or there it is, but
that the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
The kingdom, Jesus says, is already here, right in front of you, but the
Pharisees couldn’t see it. Before we get on our Christian high-horse and start
bashing the Pharisees with their failures, we should be careful. We can easily
have a similar expectations for the Kingdom, especially in America. We often
want the kingdom of God to be established with a splash. We build big church
buildings and respect “good Christians” who are successful in their careers. We
implicitly equate visible evidence of God’s blessing with the Kingdom. We think
that bigger is better. The reality is that bigger is simply bigger; it is neither
better nor worse. The important thing is Kingdom faithfulness.
Page 74
The Kingdom may not look so spectacular. This carpenter’s son with no
official “religious” training is the Messiah, with nothing about him to attract us to
him. Jesus taught that the Kingdom would advance slowly and invisibly. Luke
13:18-21 compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed and leaven. A mustard
seed is tiny and doesn’t look like much, but when it is planted in the ground, it
becomes a huge tree. Similarly, leaven doesn’t look like much, but when you
put it in bread dough, it imperceptibly causes the bread to expand.
Similarly, the advance of the Kingdom often doesn’t look like much. It is
easily despised and looked down on. We can easily take it for granted.
However, the Kingdom still advances even without us knowing.
In 1921 David and Svea Flood moved from Sweden to become
missionaries in what was then called the Belgian Congo. They stayed at the
main mission station for a while, but after much prayer they felt called to go
deep into the jungle to a remote village. They went to the villa of N’dolera. In
N’dolera, the chief did not allow them into the village, so they went half a mile up
the slope to build their own mud huts. They prayed for spiritual breakthrough
and saw absolutely nothing. The only contact with any people was a young boy,
who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood, a
tiny woman four feet, eight inches tall—decided that if this was the only Africa
she could talk to, she would try to lead him to Jesus. And she did. However,
there was no other encouragement. Malaria bothered them. The other
missionary couple that came with them decided to return to the main mission
station. Then Svea became pregnant. Svea Flood was weakened by malaria.
When it came time to give birth, the chief softened his heart just a little and
allowed a midwife to help her. She gave birth to a baby named “Aina.” The
delivery was exhausting and seventeen days later Svea Flood, the mother died.
When that happened something in David Flood snapped. He buried his
wife in a crude grave, took his children down the mountain and gave his
daughter to the other missionaries. Deeply bitter, he said, “I’m going back to
Sweden. I’ve lost my wife, and I obviously can’t take care of this baby. God has
ruined my life.” He left Africa, rejecting not only his calling but God Himself.
Let’s fast forward a number of decades. The baby Aina had grown up in
America under adopted parents and became a strong Christian. One day she
received a Swedish religious magazine in her mailbox. She couldn’t read it but
she saw a photo: a grave with a white cross that said, “SVEA FLOOD.”
She went to a friend who could translate it. The story was about missionaries
who came to N’dolera…a baby was born…the young mother died…one little
African boy was led to Christ…after all the missionaries had left the country, the
boy had grown up and persuaded the chief to build a school in the
village…gradually he won all his students to Christ…the children led their
parents to Christ and even the chief became a Christian. Today there were 600
Christian believers in one village. She could not believe it. God used that one
boy to bring an entire village, 600 people to Christ!19
19
Taken from Aggie Hurst, Aggie: The Inspiring Story of A Girl Without A
Country (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1986).
Page 75
John 12:24 says, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it
remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Svea Flood’s life looked
worthless at the end of her lives. However, the Kingdom of God is like a
mustard seed. Once the seed of that gospel is planted, it bears fruit – thirty,
sixty, one hundred fold. Consequently, we must not be disappointed if the
Kingdom does not advance with great fanfare and public recognition, because
the Kingdom advances quietly and invisibly.
Jesus laid down his life. His ending seemed anticlimactic, yet it was the
most powerful sacrifice of all of history. Svea Flood laid down her life. Will we lay
down our lives to share the message of Jesus Christ? The Kingdom may not
advance visibly and noticeably in our lifetime, but it will advance like a mustard
seed.
Kingdom may come with unexpected delay <22-25>
Luke 17:22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days
of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do
not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so
will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation
In verse 22 Jesus turns from the Kingdom present to the Kingdom that is
coming. He focuses on that Kingdom in the rest of the chapter. He says in v. 22
that the disciples will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will
not see it.
They would probably desire to see the days of the Son of Man because
of the suffering and persecution that they would endure. That’s why in v. 25 we
see Jesus speaking of his own suffering and rejection. Before he comes back
again, he would suffer and be rejected. If this is what our Lord and King
suffered, so should we (Mark 8:34). The path of following Jesus is one of
suffering. When we read the New Testament, we see that the disciples would
face much suffering and persecution. Paul said, “through many tribulations that
we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). They are beaten, stoned to
death, imprisoned, their property is taken away. In 64 AD Nero set fire to Rome
and blamed the Christians. As punishment, Roman historian Tacitus tells us
that they not only were killed but:
Page 76
Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins
of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to
crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly
illumination, when daylight had expired.20
So the temptation in the face of suffering is to yearn for Jesus to save us out of
that suffering.
However, Jesus says, “And you will not see it.” It would be delayed.
Jesus does not return so that we do not have to suffer. He saves us even as we
suffer. Therefore, we should be careful when we are tempted to run away from
the place of God’s call because of a purported coming of the Son of Man.
v. 23: “and they will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not got out and
follow them.” It is very important that we do not follow them.
Why? Jesus’ second coming would be clear and evident for all to see.
It’s not something hidden or secret. When he comes again it will be as clear as
lightning. Verse 24 says: “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky
from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” While Jesus’
first coming was secret and hidden, his second coming will be clearly public and
open. Jesus does not come again so we do not have to suffer. He comes again
to vindicate our sufferings, to show us that the suffering for His glory and
kingdom is worth it. That’s exactly what we see in Noah and Lot’s life.
So that’s where Jesus turns next.
Kingdom Brings Unexpected Vindication <26-30>
26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and
drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood
came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and
drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire
and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is
revealed.
Jesus goes on to give two examples – of Noah and Lot. Both of them
lived by faith while everybody else around them did not. Noah prepared for a
coming flood while everybody remained in sinful rebellion against God. They
were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage; this
reference to marriage is not just busyness. It is rebellion; the problem in
Noah’s day is that the sons of God were marrying the daughters of men. Even
as Noah preached righteousness and built his ark, the people ignored his
example and his words. Until the Flood came, Noah’s work seemed irrelevant
and insignificant, and his words seemed crazy. However, one day came – and
they were all swept away, and Noah was saved.
The problem in Lot’s day was not as much sinful rebellion as busy
distraction. They are eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and
building. They are going on with their lives, not thinking about anything but their
20
Tacitus, Annals, Book XV (117 AD).
Page 77
next project, the next thing that they were working on. Their busyness became
an excuse from a focus on the Kingdom of God (14:18-19; 19:45). In one day,
God’s judgment fell on that city with fire and sulfur from heaven, completely
destroying it. Everything was destroyed in one moment.
The chilling words are in v. 30: “So will it be on the day when the Son of
Man is revealed.” Before judgment was revealed, Noah and Lot seemed like
idiots. When the judgment was revealed, though, we see that they were simply
living according to a different standard. It is the same thing when the Son of
Man will be revealed. The fire at Sodom and Gomorrah and the flood point
forward to what will happen when Son of Man is revealed.
When the Son of Man is revealed, our faith becomes sight. 2
Thessalonians 1:5-12 says:
5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be
considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also
suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction
those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well
as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know
God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They
will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that
day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who
have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this
end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his
calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his
power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
There are two aspects of this judgment: destruction of those who rebel against
God and the glory of Christ to the saints. In short, faith is vindicated. What we
have believed in will become clear and visible. Similarly, 1 Pet 1:7 says that
trials and sufferings have come “so that the tested genuiness of your faith…may
be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus
Christ.” Our faith becomes sight. Why? Because this revelation is for the sake
of vindication.
What will it look like when what you are praying for, toiling for, sharing the
gospel for, becomes sight? Whose glory are you seeking? When the Son of
Man is revealed, then our faith will become sight. So, what does it look like to
live by faith and not by sight? We are not to build an ark. Three marks
characterize those who live by faith though. First, Noah was a preacher of
righteousness (2 Pet 2:5). He preached righteousness by the life he lived and
the words he spoke. Similarly we are to preach the gospel, sowing seeds of
faith. The second mark is prayer. Immediately following this passage in Luke
17, Jesus tells a parable about persevering prayer (Luke 18:1-8). Why?
Page 78
Nothing shows faith more than prayer. Finally, we are to work for God’s glory.
Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily for as for the Lord
and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive an inheritance as
your reward.” It’s easier to work for a grade and allow our effort be determined
by how hard our teacher will grade. But, what if God is our employer? How
should this change the way that we work?
Kingdom Demands Undivided Focus <31-33>
Luke 17:31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to
take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.
These verses sound odd. If the Son of Man is being clearly revealed in
the sky like lightning, who would run back to their home to get their X-Box 360?
It doesn’t seem to make sense. However, when Jesus is revealed, then the
underlying focus of our lives will become evident. That’s what happened with
Lot’s wife (v. 32). The underlying focus of her life was not the kingdom of
heaven. She loved the world and her stuff, so she could not help but look back
even when she was fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah. Consequently, she was
turned into a pillar of salt. This command is not here so that we would
discipline ourselves when Jesus is revealed. If we wait until then, it’s too late.
Instead this command is here to remind us to live with undivided focus.
That’s why v. 33 says, “Whoever wants to preserve his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life will keep it.” This is what Jesus has taught all along about
the Kingdom. This costly focus on the Kingdom is evident in Luke 9:57-62:
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow
you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his
head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first
go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to
bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of
God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say
farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts
his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Jesus calls for undivided focus—even over home and family. He says that the
one who looks back from the plow is not fit for the kingdom of God.
This is a hard call to sacrifice. Yet we must maintain a wartime lifestyle
focused on the Kingdom. We see similar sacrifice during World War II:
The entire nation . . .seemed overnight to have snapped out of its
Depression-era lethargy. Everyone scrambled to be of help. Rubber was
needed for the war effort, and gasoline, and metal. A woman’s
basketball game at Northwestern University was stopped so that the
referee and all ten players could scour the floor for a lost bobby pin.
Americans pitched in to support strict rationing programs and their boys
Page 79
turned out as volunteers in various collection “drives.” Soon butter and
milk were restricted along with canned goods and meat. Shoes became
scarce, and paper, and silk. People grew “victory gardens” and drove at
the gas-saving ‘victory speed” of thirty-five miles an hour. “Use it up,
wear it out, make it do, or do without?” became a popular slogan. Air-raid
sirens and blackouts were scrupulously obeyed. America sacrificed.”21
Sadly, sacrifice is not what describes America today. Contrast the call of our
president after the attacks at 9-11. After 9-11, we were called on to go
shopping: “Americans must get back to work, to go shopping, going to the
theatre, to help get the country back on a sounder financial footing.” 22 The
administration assured Americans that the war on terror would not entail
material sacrifice but instead used the crisis to promote economic stimulus and
tax reduction. One reporter quipped, using the language of WWI propaganda,
“Uncle Sam Wants You…to Go Shopping!”
The church is soaked in a love for the world. No wonder we are so
powerless to stop the tide of irreligion around us, and irreligion is the fastest
growing religious group. If we are to stop this tide, we must halt our uneasy
fellowship with the world.
Kingdom Brings Unexpected Selections <34-37>
Luke 17:34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35
There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they said to him,
“Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
This happens at Jesus’ Second Coming, a clearly public event (Luke
17:25). When Jesus comes again, some are taken for salvation and others are
left for judgment. Where? Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
These verses are a stark reminder that where we are does not protect us from
the judgment. Even with two people sleeping in the same bed, one may be
taken and the other left behind. Two people doing the same work grinding
together will have one taken and the other left behind. We are reminded here
that our jobs and locations do not indicate our readiness for heaven; instead it
is only faith in Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The Kingdom may look insignificant, demand suffering and undivided
focus, but it will lead to vindication. In closing, I want to share about how the
story of the Floods, missionaries to Zaire, ended up. Aina visited Sweden,
found her father, a 63 year old alcoholic living in an apartment. When her
21
James Bradley, Flags of our Fathers (New York: Bantam, 2000), 62:
See further in Robert Zieger, “‘Uncle Sam Wants You…to Go Shopping’: A Consumer
Society Responds to a National Crisis, 1957-2001,” Canadian Review of American Studies 34
(2004):83-103; accessible online at http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/canadian_review_of_american
_studies/v034/34.1zieger.htm.
22
Page 80
father saw her, he said, “Aina, I never meant to give you away.” She said, “It’s
okay Papa. God took care of me.”
He stiffened, “God forgot all of us. Our lives are like this because of Him.”
She told him, “You didn't go in vain. Mama didn’t die in vain. That boy
won the whole village to Christ. The one seed you planted just kept growing
and growing. Today there are six hundred African people serving the Lord
because you were faithful to the call of God on your life.”
He relaxed. He began to share. By the end of that day, he returned to
the Lord. Within a few weeks he died.
Around that time, Aina (called Aggie) also went to a high-level evangelism
conference in London and listened to a report from Zaire (formerly Belgian
Congo). The superintendent of national church was sharing about the gospel’s
spread in that nation. Now there were 110,000 baptized believers. She went up
to him and asked if he knew David and Svea Flood. He answered, “Yes,
madam…it was Svea Flood who led me to Jesus Christ. I was the boy who
brought food to your parents before you were born. In fact, to this day your
mother’s grave and her memory are honored by all of us.”
Page 81
Questions for Reflection:
1. In what way is the Kingdom already present?
Why do we sometimes miss the presence of the Kingdom even when it is
right in front of us?
2. In what ways is the kingdom of God still coming?
3. How should this framework of God’s Kingdom already present but not yet
fully consummated affect the way that we understand our daily battle with
sin and Satan? Explore the practical implications of this.
Page 82
C&MA:
Our Denomination
The Mission23
Everyone has a mission. It’s what gives our lives purpose and what motivates us
to roll out of bed each morning. In The Alliance, we are all about Jesus, and our
mission is to fulfill His final request on this earth—The Great Commission. We
also refer to it as the Call. We are people of action. But we know that completing
our mission successfully requires a healthy blend of “being” and “doing.”
Being.
Sitting at Jesus’ feet, devoting ourselves to prayer and immersion in His Word
radically transforms us. It also increases our hunger to go deeper in our
relationship, to know Him as our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King.
Doing.
Motivated by our love for Jesus, we are compelled to serve Him. Alliance Great
Commission Ministries are the expression of our service to Jesus, the means by
which we seek to complete the mission.
The Vision
We believe that God’s instrument to complete this mission is His Church. That’s
why we focus our efforts and resources into developing dynamic, healthy local
churches: in the United States and across the world.
To accomplish the vision, we will develop healthy people (fully devoted followers
of Christ), who will build these churches which will serve as ministry centers and
successfully win the lost.
23
See more at http://www.cmalliance.org/about/mission/. Take some time to look
around the website at www.cmalliance.org.
Page 83
When Alliance founder A. B. Simpson left a lucrative pastorate in New York City,
he had a call from God to reach the lost masses both in New York and around
the world. Prostitutes, longshoremen, and the homeless received the
reconciliation message that all people are eligible for Christ’s amazing grace. He
established the New York Gospel Tabernacle to bring like-minded people
together into an organization that could facilitate outreach ministries. And, he set
up the Missionary Training Institute (MTI) to provide training and resources for
men and women God was calling to take the gospel to the world.
During that time, Simpson’s group sent out the first team of missionaries to the
Congo in 1884. Since then, thousands of people have followed God’s call to serve
Him through the Alliance in the United States and abroad. In 1974, The Christian
and Missionary (C&MA) officially became a denomination, but it still had at its core
a heart for overseas missions. Past Alliance president Dr. L. L. King said of the
C&MA that it “was not established as a mission divorced from the normal activity
of a church, but a church which had within it the life and function of a mission….
The mission came first and the church grew out of a mission.”
Today, the C&MA focuses on planting churches in the United States and
overseas. More than 800 missionaries and workers minister in 50-plus countries
planting churches and training national church leaders, providing relief and
development assistance, medical and dental care, and microenterprise projects.
Nearly 2,000 churches in the U.S. minister Christ’s love to their communities and
cities.
Living the Call Together describes what The Alliance is and does—living out the
preeminence of Jesus, fulfilling His Great Commission, in an alliance made of up
of churches around the world.
Page 84
Our History
The Founding Years
(1887-1919)
The C&MA grew out of the vision
of Rev. A.B. Simpson, a
Presbyterian pastor from
Canada. Simpson believed that
Christ was not only his Savior,
but also his Sanctifier and Healer
through dramatic spiritual
encounters that changed the
direction of his life. Formed as a missionary society and not a denomination,
early Alliance congregations were known as “branches” and were made up of
members from most major denominations.
Sacrifice and Expansion (1919-1946)
After Simpson’s death in 1919, Dr. Paul Rader, a dynamic
evangelist and pastor, was chosen to lead the C&MA. During
this era the “tabernacle strategy” became popular. C&MA
tabernacles sprung up in many U.S. cities and in Canada. The
Great Depression and World War II had an impact on The
Christian and Missionary Alliance, though it did not deter its expansion to new
mission fields. Challenging times fueled the movement.
The Evangelical Era (1947-1974)
Following World War II, many people began moving to the cities, and the C&MA
continued to move forward. The tabernacles were exchanged
for traditional church buildings and many C&MA churches
moved to the suburbs. In 1974, the C&MA officially declared
itself to be a denomination while restructuring the organization.
During this time, Dr. A.W. Tozer and Dr. Louis L. King greatly
influenced The Alliance. Dr. King, as head of the missionary effort, began to
Page 85
implement the indigenous church policy—envisioning each national church of
the C&MA as self-supporting, self-propagating, and self-governing entity.
The Missionary Church Era (1975-present)
The C&MA in the U.S. and Canada became increasingly
multicultural with the influx of refugees from Southeast
Asia in the mid-1970s and immigrants from many parts of
the world. As ethnic churches were planted the
awareness of a need for mission-sending congregations has never
been higher.
Page 86
Doctrinal Statement
1. There is one God,(1) who is infinitely perfect,(2) existing eternally in three persons:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(3) ([1] Deuteronomy 6:4, [2] Matthew 5:48, [3] Matthew
28:19)
2. Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man.(4) He was conceived by the Holy
Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.(5) He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust,(6)
as a substitutionary sacrifice,(7) and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground
of His shed blood.(8) He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(9) He is now
at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(10) He will come again to
establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace.(11) ([4] Philippians 2:6–11, [5] Luke
1:34–38, [6] I Peter 3:18, [7] Hebrews 2:9, [8] Romans 5:9, [9] Acts 2:23–24, [10]
Hebrews 8:1, [11] Matthew 26:64)
3. The Holy Spirit is a divine person,(12) sent to dwell, guide, teach, empower the
believer,(13) and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.(14) ([12]
John 14:15–18, [13] John 16:13, Acts 1:8, [14] John 16:7–11)
4. The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by
God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute
the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(15) ([15] 2 Peter 1:20–21, 2
Timothy 3:15–16)
5. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God:(16) he fell through
disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with
a sinful nature,(17) are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through
the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(18) The portion of the unrepentant and
unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment;(19) and that of the believer, in
everlasting joy and bliss.(20) ([16] Genesis 1:27, [17] Romans 3:23, [18] 1
Corinthians15:20–23, [19] Revelation 21:8, [20] Revelation 21:1–4)
6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent
and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and
become the children of God.(21) ([21] Titus 3:4–7)
7. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be
sanctified wholly,(22) being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the
will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service.(23) This is both
a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to
conversion.24 ([22] 1 Thessalonians 5:23, [23] Acts 1:8, [24] Romans 6:1–14)
Page 87
8. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of
the mortal body.(25) Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the
Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.(26) ([25] Matthew
8:16–17, [26] James 5:13–16)
9. The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed
through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body,
the Church, (27) which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a
witness, preaching the gospel to all nations.(28) The local church is a body of believers
in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the
Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of
the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.(29) ([27] Ephesians 1:22–23, [28]
Matthew 28:19–20, [29] Acts 2:41–47)
10. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a
resurrection unto life;(30) for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(31) ([30] 1
Corinthians 15:20–23, [31] John 5:28–29)
11. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent(32) and will be personal,
visible, and premillennial.(33) This is the believer's blessed hope and is a vital truth
which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.(34) ([32] Hebrews 10:37, [33]
Luke 21:27, [34] Titus 2:11–14)
In addition, we ask that all members are willing to submit to the positions of the
denomination as spelled out in the Alliance Perspectives
(https://cmalliance.org/about/beliefs/perspectives/). These perspectives include
abortion, baptism, churches, divorce, evangelism, the fourfold gospel, homosexuality,
lostness of man, sanctification, secret societies, spiritual gifts, and women in ministry.
Page 88
Living Water Alliance Church:
Our History
English Ministry of Korean West Alliance Church:
CHILDHOOD: FORMATIVE YEARS (1974-1996)
Early years: From beginning, many intermarried couples: e.g. John and Sukhui Bohlman,
Chuck and Sue Dunkirk, Gary and Mia Gilberd. English speaking adults attend an adult
Bible study in English followed by the Korean service.
1989 – August, 1990: Rev. Saejin Koh, a doctoral student at the University of Chicago in
archaeology, began holding separate services in English for youth and adults. Average
attendance was around 30-40. Also Bruce Chong helps as a youth pastor.
1991-June, 1993: Rev. Wonkyu Park leads the educational/English ministry
July, 1993 – November, 1994: P. Daniel You takes over the youth ministry.
January 1995 – May, 1996: Mitch Kim assumes role of Youth Ministry Director, while Rev.
Howard Stein continues to preach at Sunday services.
EARLY ADOLESCENCE (1996-2000)
June, 1996 – December, 1997: Dr. Johng Ok Lee, professor of Christian education at Moody,
becomes Education Pastor. Spearheads ministry to the community and rallies
intermarried couples.
January, 1998: Mitch Kim becomes English Ministry Director
LATE ADOLESCENCE
December, 2001: Strategic five year transition plan presented to the board.
January 2004 – May, 2006: Jonny Chung serves as youth pastor
Spring, 2008: Vision for English ministry retooled.
Fall, 2008: John Jou begins as youth pastor.
Living Water Alliance Church
December, 2010: Korean West Alliance Church (KWAC) gives blessing and challenge to the
English ministry to become an independent church. The English ministry votes with a
strong majority to accept this proposal.
April 24, 2011: Living Water Alliance Church is born.
As a church, we are still in our infancy. We are officially a developing church within the Korean
district of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. When our membership and leadership structure
is fully established, then we will in the future become a fully organized church in the Korean
district of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
Page 89
Living Water Alliance Church:
Our Vision and Values
Our Mission
CLEaRing the Way for Living Water: Connecting people into God’s family, Loving them
to wholeness, Empowering them for ministry, and Reproducing families to do the same.
Our Unique Calling
Our church is in DuPage county (pop. 932,541). More than 10% of DuPage county is Asian,
and over 20% speak a language other than English at home. Although DuPage county already has
about 150 immigrant and 800 non-immigrant churches, the dominant makeup of these churches is
mono-cultural, whether ethnic or Anglo. Despite the prevalence of these churches, intermarried
couples and the grown up children of immigrants from many different cultures often fall in the crack
between the ministry foci of these churches. Many who had given up on church or never gone to
church are now looking for places to find purpose and raise their families.
Our unique calling is to reach those between cultures. This group includes but is not
limited to second generation Asian Americans and those who have grown up in other cultures. We
focus on those between cultures in our area to become powerful witnesses for the gospel in an
increasingly globalized world. Our increasingly interconnected world needs leaders who can pass
fluently between cultures to be powerful witnesses for Jesus Christ. The church must take the
leader in reaching and training up these types of people. Throughout the Bible, God powerfully used
people between cultures in his redemptive purposes (e.g., Joseph, Moses, Esther, Daniel, Jeremiah,
and Paul).
While this is our unique ministry focus, our doors and our hearts are wide open to anyone
from any background to join us and drink deeply of the Living Water of Jesus Christ. We see three
streams within the body of Christ converging in this place. First, our Korean heritage and
spirituality form our sacrificial and passionate commitment to prayer. Second, our roots in the
Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) provide a framework for world mission fueled by the
power of the gospel and the living Word of God. Third, we draw from the power of the Spirit, using
all the gifts of the Spirit (Rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor 12:4–11 ; Eph 4:11–14) to express the fruit of the Spirit
(Gal 5:22–24; 1 Pet 4:10–11) as we do His work.
Page 90
VALUES
The following values are descriptive of the kind of church that we are and aspire to be. Our programs
and activities are simply an outworking of these core values. The points underneath each value simply
describe how these values are worked out now, but they do not exhaustively explain how these values
will be worked out in the future.
Transforming by the Gospel (Rom 1:16-17; 1Cor 2:2-5; Heb 12:1-2)
All are welcome. We are a church for the sick – religious and irreligious alike.
 The religious need the gospel, because they are burnt out and tired by
their religion.
 The irreligious need the gospel, because they have been burned by the
empty promises of the world.
Doing flows out of being –a person being transformed by the gospel.
Multiplying through Relationship (Gen 1:28; John 13:34–35; 2 Tim 2:2)
Only through genuine and safe relationships does outreach and multiplication take
place (John 13:34–35).
We have a legacy of discipleship multiplication, and we desire to multiply leaders
for every sphere of influence.
Empowered by the Spirit (Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 14:1; Eph 5:18)
All the gifts of the Spirit (Rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor 12:4–11 ; Eph 4:11–14) can and should
be expressions of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–24) to love (1 Cor 14:1) and
serve others (1 Pet 4:10–11).
The Spirit works as we gather in praise and prayer, seeking the Lord (Acts 1:14;
2:1; Eph 5:18–19).
We need grace as we learn to exercise our spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14:31–32, 39–40).
Grounded in the Word (Josh 1:8; 2 Tim 3:16; Heb 4:12)
We study and wrestle with Scripture in public worship, Bible studies, and
membership classes that the Lord might give us insight (2 Tim 2:7).
We need to know how all Scripture points to Jesus Christ (Luke 24:44) in order to
be fully equipped for our ministry (2 Tim 3:16).
Dependent through Prayer (John 5:24; 14:12-14; Phil 4:6-7; 2Cor 4:7)
Prayer is the fuel and overflow of our relationship with God and other people.
Prayer is not a formality but an expression of a labor in love.
Especially in home groups and ministry teams, significant amounts of time is spent
in prayer for one another, since prayer is the work of the church.
Unity in Christ (Eph 2:14–16; Gal 3:23)
We are uniquely grounded in our Korean background and spirituality even as we
embrace all cultures in Christ.
We need the wisdom of the older generation, the resources of the middle, the
passion of the younger and the potential of the children’s generation.
Kingdom Vision
We are not only committed to building up our local church but also to serve as a
resource for other local churches.
Thus we will give 10% to the C&MA GCF and also another 15% to other programs
related to missional multiplication.
Page 91
Our History
Our beginnings can be found in the English ministry of Korean West Alliance Church, a
place where people between cultures could find a home. Intermarried couples and children of
Korean immigrants were caught between Korean and American cultures. People with western
education who grew up in other countries straddled different cultures. People from other largely
Asian backgrounds who grew up in the West also found themselves between these cultures.
However in Christ and His church, these cultural misfits found a home.
While all may not be cultural misfits, we found that on a deeper level, we all were spiritual
misfits. Brokenness from relationships, families, and our past have stunted our growth. Greed,
pride, lust and unrighteous anger often festered within our hearts. We, with all of humanity, were
spiritual misfits…sinners (Rom 3:23). Nevertheless, through faith in Christ, we have become
citizens of heaven (Phil 3:20), in the world but not of the world (John 17:16–18).
However Christ transforms. Ephesians 2:10 says “we are God’s workmanship (poiema),
created in Christ Jesus…” A poiema is an artist’s masterpiece. In Christ, misfits becoming
masterpieces. Spiritually, we find forgiveness and healing through God’s gift to us in Jesus.
Culturally, we fit into God’s new community, the church. Together we show the beauty of Christ to
the world, and we are God’s poiema, His masterpiece.
The world around us is filled with misfits. Though Facebook friends abound, loneliness
prevails. People sometimes wonder if they belong anywhere. But God has called us together “for
good works” (Eph 2:10), to help the misfits of the world become transformed by the power of Jesus
and fit into God’s masterpiece, the church. In our region, many second generation Asian-Americans
who had given up on church or never gone to church are now looking for places to find purpose and
raise their families. While many immigrant and Anglo churches surround us, intermarried couples
and the grown up children of immigrants from many different cultures often fall in the crack
between the ministry foci of these churches. We want to invite them to become a part of this
church, a place where misfits fit.
Eph. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ministry Focus Group
We will strategically focus on those between cultures. This group includes second
generation Asian Americans as well as those who have grown up in other cultures (e.g. third culture
kids). Throughout the Bible, God powerfully used people between cultures in his redemptive
purposes: Joseph, Moses, Esther, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Paul were all people between cultures.
However, the dominant makeup of the church in our area is mono-cultural – Anglo or immigrant.
The 2000 census shows 70,908 Asians in DuPage county and projects 97,000 Asians by 2010. The
growth in Asians from 1970 until 2000 is 5,800%! While immigrant churches have proliferated to
keep up with this growth, we know of only two independent Asian-American churches in the area
with a combined attendance of less than one hundred. Both were planted in the past year. God is
calling us to focus on those between cultures in our area, especially Asian-Americans, to become
powerful witnesses for the gospel in an increasingly globalized world. America’s present biracial
and multicultural president demonstrate the need for those who pass fluently between cultures to
lead in our increasingly globalized world. The church must take the lead in reaching and training
these types of people.
Our area is in Wheaton-Naperville, the west suburbs of Chicagoland. This area is strategic
for two reasons. First, the proximity to Wheaton College gives us a pool of highly motivated
Christian college students with a passion for world evangelization. For over ten years, we have
effectively been reaching and training these students for the kingdom, and presently we have 30-40
Wheaton College students attending our ministry. Our lead pastor studied there and also teaches
there on occasion. Second, the Naperville area is filled with Asian-American families looking for a
church home. These families can provide the pillars of a church that raises up and sends out
workers into the harvest. For the present, we will continue to meet as a parallel church to Korean
West Alliance Church, while we explore other possibilities in our area.
Page 92
VALUES
The following values are descriptive of the kind of church that we are and aspire to be. Our programs
and activities are simply an outworking of these core values. The points underneath each value simply
describe how these values are worked out now, but they do not exhaustively explain how these values
will be worked out in the future.
Transforming by the Gospel (Rom 1:16-17; 1Cor 2:2-5; Heb 12:1-2)
All are welcome. We are a church for the sick – religious and irreligious alike.
 The religious need the gospel, because they are burnt out and tired by
their religion.
 The irreligious need the gospel, because they have been burned by the
empty promises of the world.
Doing flows out of being –a person being transformed by the gospel.
Multiplying through Relationship (Gen 1:28; John 13:34–35; 2 Tim 2:2)
Only through genuine and safe relationships does outreach and multiplication take
place (John 13:34–35).
We have a legacy of discipleship multiplication, and we desire to multiply leaders
for every sphere of influence.
Empowered by the Spirit (Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 14:1; Eph 5:18)
All the gifts of the Spirit (Rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor 12:4–11 ; Eph 4:11–14) can and should
be expressions of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–24) to love (1 Cor 14:1) and
serve others (1 Pet 4:10–11).
The Spirit works as we gather in praise and prayer, seeking the Lord (Acts 1:14;
2:1; Eph 5:18–19).
We need grace as we learn to exercise our spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14:31–32, 39–40).
Grounded in the Word (Josh 1:8; 2 Tim 3:16; Heb 4:12)
We study and wrestle with Scripture in public worship, Bible studies, and
membership classes that the Lord might give us insight (2 Tim 2:7).
We need to know how all Scripture points to Jesus Christ (Luke 24:44) in order to
be fully equipped for our ministry (2 Tim 3:16).
Dependent through Prayer (John 5:24; 14:12-14; Phil 4:6-7; 2Cor 4:7)
Prayer is the fuel and overflow of our relationship with God and other people.
Prayer is not a formality but an expression of a labor in love.
Especially in home groups and ministry teams, significant amounts of time is spent
in prayer for one another, since prayer is the work of the church.
Unity in Christ (Eph 2:14–16; Gal 3:23)
We are uniquely grounded in our Korean background and spirituality even as we
embrace all cultures in Christ.
We need the wisdom of the older generation, the resources of the middle, the
passion of the younger and the potential of the children’s generation.
Kingdom Vision
We are not only committed to building up our local church but also to serve as a
resource for other local churches.
Thus we will give 10% to the C&MA GCF and also another 15% to other programs
related to missional multiplication.
Page 93
STRATEGY OF MINISTRY
Ministry Process: What does the church look like when it lives out
its calling as the church?
Connecting:
Goal: Relationship with God and his church. People are connected to
the life of Christ and the church through home groups and large group
gatherings. They know and are known by others and are missed when
they do not attend.
Means: In the large group, we support the ongoing ministry of connecting in the following ways.
Our Worship Team creates an atmosphere where hearts are opened to the convicting ministry of
the Holy Spirit in the power of the Word. The Communications Team uses the website, bulletin and
other social media to help the community build relationships and hear/share God’s Word during the
week. The Welcoming Team creates an environment in the corporate worship for relationship to
God and others and connects people from that worship celebration into home groups. Also, people
will also connect to the life of the church through outreach events, such as fishing pool events for
different age groups, children’s summer day camp, Fall Fest during Halloween, and/or parenting
seminars. These events will be planned by other teams, but the connecting team would facilitate the
process of following up and enfolding people who come to these events.
In Home Groups, this will happen through relationships of trust and care that have
developed over time. As people are connected in relationships of trust, then their hearts are opened
to the power of the gospel. The gospel is shared both through personal sharing and large group
proclamation.
Page 94
Loving:
Goal: Wholeness. A heart bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–24).
Means: Hurt people hurt people, but God transforms His people by the gospel working through
people loving one another. As people love one another with the love of Jesus, healing and
restoration happens in the power of the Holy Spirit. Home Groups are the primary avenue through
which this is accomplished. We envision every person plugged into loving, Christ-centered
relationships in Home Groups. We also envision 1:1 discipleship as a core plank in the training
process, where home group leaders and other growing Christians would ensure that each member
of the home group has a basic understanding of the gospel message in a personal context. Also, we
support families raising children through our Educational Ministry, cultivating the faith of children
and youth. Through Membership, we ensure that each person understands God’s story in the Bible,
our story as a church and how their individual story fits into this larger story.
Page 95
Empowering:
Goal: Ministry. Ephesians 2:10.
Means: We are God’s workmanship, created for good works that God prepared beforehand for us to
do (Eph 2:10). We want to empower people to minister. Jesus has promised the power of the Spirit
for this task of witness (Acts 1:8). We find that empowering by the Spirit happens best in the
context of praise and prayer. As a result we have Wednesday Prayer Meeting and worship in Home
Groups to soak in God’s presence, fix our eyes on Jesus and cast our burdens upon His throne. We
also empower through personal discipleship. Home group leaders and other growing Christians
will regularly disciple in a focused manner those who are ready for more, helping them learn the
practical skills of evangelism and ministry in the hands-on context of ministering to people in and
through their home groups. This personal discipleship is supplemented by regular Shepherds
Meetings, where we gather for prayer, worship and practical equipping for the ongoing work of
spiritual multiplication. Other large group training will be given as needed.
Reproducing:
Goal: multiplication of spiritual families.
Means: We believe that spiritual reproduction is the natural byproduct of a deeper relationship
with Jesus Christ. Evangelism is not a program to be added on to an already church schedule, but it
is the overflow of an intimate relationship with Christ. As we are the bride of Christ, growing in
intimacy with our Savior, then the Lord will lay on our hearts people to pray for, share love with and
speak the gospel to. As individuals reach out to their friends, then they bring them into the loving
fellowship of the home group, which functions as a spiritual family. As these families grow beyond a
reasonable size, then they reproduce more home groups.
In the context of reproducing home groups, we will also maintain a broader focus on the
needs in our world. We do not want to exist for our own survival but give sacrificially to God’s work
in various places. Some concrete ways that we envision (not exhaustive, but suggestive) God
working through us include: (1) giving 10% to the C&MA Great Commission Fund and an addition
15% to other work of reproducing workers and missions; (2) church planting; (3) adopting an
Page 96
unreached people group, sending out regular short term mission teams with the goal of eventually
developing a church plant in that area of the world.
Operations: All this ongoing work of ministry must be supported by pillars of finance and facilities.
Page 97
Questions for Reflection
1. Describe the passion and purpose of the Christian and Missionary
Alliance. What excites you when you read this background?
2. Read through the doctrinal statement. Do you have any questions about
it? Is there anything that you disagree with? If so, please write it down
here.
3. What excites you about the vision and values of our church? What
concerns do you have?
Page 98
Membership:
Biblical Stewardship
Rom. 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Rom. 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God
has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same
function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having
gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if
service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the
one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with
cheerfulness.
Romans 12:1-7
Membership in the local church means that we choose to invest our time,
talents and treasure into a local expression of the Body of Christ. When a
healthy understanding of the church is combined with a strong understanding of
stewardship, then giving is a blessing and not a burden. We have explored a
biblical view of membership earlier. In this section we will look at a biblical view
of stewardship.
God has entrusted to us time, talents and treasure. God wants us to use
what we’ve been given to bring Him glory and bless others. This is the lesson
Jesus taught us in his Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Everyone is
not given the same amount of resources, and everyone is not expected to
produce the same amount of return. The important thing is that we are faithful
with what God has entrusted to us.
The parable teaches us that several things can keep us from making the
most of God’s investment in us:
1. Fear – This could be the fear of taking risks, the fear of losing even what
little we have, the fear of failure, etc. Burying your resources in the ground
might prevent loss, but it will not produce gain.
2. Laziness – In Jesus’ parable the master called his servant wicked and
lazy. Sometimes we are more concerned about our welfare than God’s
wishes. The servant in the story worked to protect his own well-being, not
his master’s. It’s also much easier to bury the money than to take it to
market or buy and sell goods.
3. Error – The lazy servant totally underestimated how seriously his master
took his investments. Somehow he believed that his master would applaud
his conservative approach. But, he failed to ask himself why the master
had entrusted the one talent to him in the first place. Why would the master
Page 99
give him the money to bury if he could have achieved the same result by
hanging onto it himself in the first place?
So how do we invest ourselves? We see a few principles in Romans 12.
Present Yourselves to God
Stewardship means that we believe that everything we have is God’s. Psalm
24:1 (NLT) says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and
all its people belong to him.” And every blessing that we have comes because
of what Jesus has accomplished for us (Romans 1-11). Romans 12 shifts
gears to focus on how we are to respond to what God has done for us.
Paul begins, “I appeal to you brothers, by the mercies of God to present
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God “ Paul uses the
word sacrifice. Sacrifices were usually animals put on the altar to be dedicated
to God. This sacrifice is different, though; it is living. A living sacrifice presents
certain problems. When placed on a hot flame, living sacrifices will kick and
scream and try to get off the altar. So we need to climb back on that altar day
by day to present ourselves as a living sacrifice.
We present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. The reason why so
many people burn out in service is that they present themselves to people—not
God— as a living sacrifice. They serve because somebody has asked them to
serve. They give because somebody asked them to give. The reward for such
service and giving is recognition. When people fail to recognize such service,
then their hearts become bitter and resentful. Instead, Rom 12:1-2 says in view
of God’s mercy, holy and dearly loved…offer your bodies.“ Our service is a
response to God’s mercy and grace. We have already received all the
recognition we need from God, because we are holy and dearly loved. When
God’s mercy and love is primary, then there is no reason to feel resentful when
it is not recognized. Indeed, we can rejoice even when it is not seen (Matthew
6:3-4).
Steward Your Time and Talents
In Romans 12:4-5 we see the image of the body. Our body has ten
fingers, ten toes, 40 organs, 206 bones, about 140,000 hairs on your head, and
5 quarts of blood, and all of these parts work together. If you get a cut on your
knee, then the knee does not heal itself. The eye sees the problem and sends
an impulse to the brain. The brain tells the white blood cells to fight the infection
and the legs to walk to the medicine cabinet to get Neosporin and a bandaid.
The hands apply the Neosporin and bandaid, and on and on. Whatever the body
does, it has to work together. Every part is needed. If one part doesn’t do its
function, then other parts can fulfill its function but only in an impaired manner. A
person who is deaf can hear with their eyes by reading lips, but this is nothing
like having ears and being able to hear fully.
Similarly the body of Christ can only flourish when each member does its
part (Eph 4:15-16). God has a purpose for Living Water Alliance Church, but
Page 100
this purpose can only flourish when EACH MEMBER does its part. If even one
member does not do his/her part, then the health and effectiveness goes down.
Sure it may still “work,” but it is hobbling.
Therefore, each one of us must do his/her part. Romans 12:6-8 lists
different spiritual gifts, because Christians have been given certain gifts from
God upon salvation. Rom 12:6-8 lists gifts of prophesying, serving, teaching,
encouraging, giving, leadership, and mercy. 1 Cor 12:28 speaks also of gifts of
healing, miracles, administration and tongues. The important thing is that every
one of us who has received Christ as our Savior and Lord has also been given
certain spiritual gifts to serve others.
How do you know what your spiritual gift is? Serve others! If you don’t
serve people, then you will never discover your spiritual gift. As you serve, you
find certain places where God especially blesses, where God blesses other
people and blesses you with joy as you serve. As you discover those areas,
keep serving, giving, and loving. In this way, you can grow in your gifts.
Sometimes people think that if they have a spiritual gift, then they don’t
have to work on developing it. Romans 12:6, however, teaches us: “Having gifts
that differ according to the grace of God, let us use them.” We must use the
gifts that God has given us. If we do not use them they grow rusty. But, as we
practice them, they grow sharper and we grow more effective at serving others.
This is the whole point of Romans 12:6b-8. We prophecy in proportion
to our faith. We serve. We teach. We exhort. We contribute with generosity.
We lead with zeal. We do acts of mercy with cheerfulness. The body of Christ
flourishes when each member finds and uses his/her own gifts. The church is
not about how great one person or group is. The church is about how the whole
body works together to build the Kingdom.
Stewarding Your Treasure24
Another important area of stewardship not mentioned in Romans 12 is that of
our treasure.
The Real Value of Money
Jesus told two short stories in Matthew 13:44-46 (NLT) describing the kingdom
of heaven:
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a
field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get
enough money to buy the field and to get the treasure, too!
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice
pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned
24
This section is borrowed, with minor revision, from Pastor Dave Lee at
Harvest Community Church in Hoffman Estates, IL.
Page 101
and bought it!
Whenever the Bible speaks about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of
heaven, it refers to a situation in which Jesus is being acknowledged as king
and people are living in light of his Kingship.
When people get to know Jesus and see what a worthy and great king he is,
and when they catch a vision of what human lives and societies look like when
they are aligned around Jesus’ principles, they are captivated and become sold
out to it. The Kingdom of God is such a compelling concept that those who
glimpse it gladly invest all they have to see it realized. It radically changes their
sense of the relative worth or value of things.
There is a scene at the end of the film Schindler’s List where the main character
Oskar Schindler, a German who had saved many Jewish lives, weeps in regret
as he considers the few material possessions he has left and cries, “I could
have saved more.” Oskar Schindler had saved the lives of nearly 1,200 Jews at
the expense of his personal fortune, but he couldn’t help looking at his car and
other remaining luxuries in terms of the lives that could have been saved.
So it is with those who see the beauty of God’s kingdom. They are ruined for
any other vision for their lives. The real value of money is not in what it can buy
for us. In God’s hands, money is transformed into saved lives and glory for
himself.
What Is Tithing?
Tithing is the practice of giving one tenth of one’s income to God by giving it as
an offering to the church. While it was widely taught and practiced in the Old
Testament, there is no requirement in the New Testament for a mandatory tithe.
OLD TESTAMENT ORIGINS
The practice of tithing traces its origins back to an encounter Abraham had with
a priest named Melchizedek upon returning from a battle by the Dead Sea. This
encounter is recorded for us in Genesis 14:18-20:
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was
priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be
Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be
God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And
Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
In addition to the tithes, there were other taxes and mandatory offerings that,
when taken together, totaled around 23% of a Jew’s annual income.
Page 102
NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING
In contrast to the mandatory nature of the tithes and taxes in the Old Testament,
the New Testament teaches the principle of the freewill giving rather than
mandatory offering. A key verse supporting this is 2 Corinthians 9:7 – “Each one
must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver.”
When we think in terms of a percentage that is required of each person as a
minimum offering, it can easily start to feel like a tax. That is not the spirit with
which God wants us to give.
While those in the Old Testament lived with the hope of a promised Messiah, we
in the New Testament era have seen the Messiah and rejoice. We have seen
the King, and his Kingdom is that much more real to us. That vision coupled with
the real experience of our personal salvation should spur us to give generously
and cheerfully.
What Does the Bible Say About Debt?
It may be argued that in the case of very large purchases such as a home or a
business, debt is an unavoidable necessity. But we believe the Bible warns
against entering into debt casually.
Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave
of the lender.” When you owe someone money, they have a legal and powerful
hold over you. Until you repay the full amount, you are obligated to them. Such
an arrangement should not be entered into lightly.
The very nature of debt reveals a situation where we have needs or desires but
not the resources to meet them. Why do you suppose God might allow such a
situation to arise in our lives? In other words, before we enter voluntarily into
debt, what are some things we should consider about why God may have
permitted us to be in such a situation?
• He doesn’t want us to have it. – It is simply a desire that does not fit into His
plan for us.
• He wants us to learn about the consequence of sin. – Perhaps at some
point in your past you sinned (wasteful living, financial crime, gambling
addiction, etc.), and you are presently unable to pay for things. God wants the
reality of sin’s consequences to sink in before you make a full financial recovery
so you learn not to repeat your sins.
• He wants to build our faith. – Sometimes God wants us to wait for his
Page 103
provision, but the convenience of credit cards and consumer debt may allow us
to take matters into our own hands.
• He wants us to submit to His sovereignty. – In an era without consumer
credit, people had no choice but to accept their circumstances as inescapable
realities. They were much more willing to accept things as they were. There may
be reasons why God wants us where we are, but credit can lead us to borrow
against our future to artificially change our present situation.
• He wants us to learn patience and self-denial. – How many times has a
want become a need at the check-out counter? Delayed gratification is a quickly
dying concept. We are the impatient NOW generation. The thought of patiently
waiting for future provision leaves us antsy and credit helps us not to wait.
• He wants us to learn to share and depend upon others. Private ownership
is such a powerful motivator for us, isn’t it? Real community can be built up as
people share things with each other and learn to bear each other’s burdens.
Page 104
Questions for Reflection
1. Even before talking about stewarding our time, talents and treasure for
God, why is it important simply to “present ourselves to God” (Rom 12:1)?
What happens when we do not prioritize a life present before God in our
service and life?
2.
What areas has God used you in the past to build up the church?
Are there concrete ways that you would like to be used now to build up
the church?
3. In November, 2008, Americans owed $982,500,000,000 in consumer
credit-card debt.25 This means that on average, each household in
America owes about $10,000,26 not including home mortgages, car loans,
business and student loans. What values drive such enormous amounts
of debt in America? Why do you think Americans are in so much debt?
25
Federal Reserve Statistical Release on Consumer Credit for November 2008,
accessed at http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/Current/
26
This number may be seem higher than reality because it indicates how much
Americans owe at that moment in history. However a number of these people may pay
off their balance in full each month, which means that they are not necessarily carrying
this high of a balance month to month.
Page 105
How have you dealt with temptations to buy more than you can afford?
4.
As you look back at our membership process for the past six weeks, what
has been most helpful?
Do you have any suggestions for improvement?
Page 106
Membership Covenant
When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay
what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
This agreement does not imply that you will never fall short of the goals, but that the desire of
your heart is to fulfill each of the responsibilities stated to the best of your ability. We trust that
your commitment will be a personal blessing to your own journey in Christ, as well a blessing to
those around you.
When anyone enters into relationship with God by grace from, and faith in, the person and work
of Jesus Christ he or she is entering into two covenants. The first is to journey with God for the
rest of their lives and love Him fully. The second is to journey with His other children in the
community of the local church. Your membership in a church is an official recognition of this,
and the purposes of the Living Water Alliance Church Membership Covenant are as follows:
The Membership Covenant
Having, as we trust, been brought by God’s grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and to give up ourselves to Him, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious
aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other.
We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
We will walk together in brotherly love as members of a Christian Church, exercise an
affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and faithfully challenge and rebuke one
another as needed.
We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and
others.
We will seek to bring up all under our care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and by a
pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends.
We will rejoice at each other’s happiness and journey with tenderness and sympathy to bear
each other’s burdens and sorrows.
We will seek by God’s help to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
because we are his representatives and have been buried with Christ and risen to a new life.
We will work together to build the Kingdom through this church, as we sustain its worship,
ordinances, discipline, and doctrines. We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support
of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel
through all nations.
We will, when we move from this place, as soon as possible unite with some other church where
we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
Page 107
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with us all. Amen.
Full Member:
i. Believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and is baptized.
j. Submits to the doctrinal statement and positions of the Christian and Missionary Alliance
k. Is at least eighteen years of age
l. Has consciously made the decision to recognize and serve Living Water as their home
church and concluded the required formal membership process
m. Under normal circumstances attends Sunday services regularly.
n. Actively contributes time, talent and treasure for the life of the church.
o. Is not a member of another church.
p. Annually renews membership covenant at a membership celebration.
If a Full Member is unable to keep the commitments stated above, his/her membership status
may be changed, suspended, or terminated at the discretion of the vision team.
Associate Member - A believer who has met all of the criteria of Full Member status, but due to
circumstances involving education, occupation or other ministries, is unable to meet the
requirements of (e), (f) or (g) above needed for Full Member status. Those who are members of
the Korean Ministry can become associate members upon successful completion of the English
Ministry membership process.
If an Associate Member is unable to keep the commitments stated above, his/her membership
status may be changed, suspended, or terminated at the discretion of the vision team.
General Attendee: Any non-visiting attendee who shares the interests of the Church and has
attended numerous worship services and activities of the church. General Attendee status is not
meant to be a permanent designation. Rather, it is reserved for those who have shown sufficient
interest and participation in the Church that they can no longer be considered “visitors.” It is the
assumed that General Attendees intend to pursue Associate or Full Member status within one (1)
year. The church shall make open and numerous invitation to all General Attendees to enroll in
membership training towards Associate or Full Member status.
Voting privileges and formal positions of leadership (e.g. deacons and elders) are granted only to
Full Members.
Name _____________________________________________________
Signature __________________________________________________
Date _______________
Page 108