The First Epistle of Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians
Notes:
3 times the evangélion (the gospel or message of good news, that Jesus, the prophesied and promised Messiah of Israel, has come and has become the Savior of Jew and Gentile alike by His death, burial, resurrection and ascension to heaven) is noted as not having originated with men, but from the living God directly, with power, conviction and the Holy Spirit, entrusted to and to be delivered by the apostles to the world. Those in the world who place their trust in the evangélion, like the Thessalonians, are elected to partake of salvation and now are incorporated into the invisible church, and on the local level, can form into church congregations.
5 times the maturity of the Thessalonians is attested to by Apostle Paul: that they are not in need of added instruction, but that their faith is still resounding, as it was in the early days of their discipleship, which produced faith, love and hope thru work, labor and perseverance.
Twice, Apostle Paul testifies that the Thessalonians have become imitators of the apostles, imitators of the Jewish churches in Judea, and even imitators of the Lord Jesus Himself, because they have suffered similar tribution as the aforementioned three have. The result of this is that they have become a pattern for the other churches in Macedonia and Achaia to emulate.
4 times the prayers and thanksgivings of the apostles are mentioned, concerning the Thessalonians, who are the crown and joy of the apostles; a proof before the Father that the apostles labor has not been vain but has produced fruit and the proper result.
The parousía (the second coming or appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ) is made mention towards the end of each chapter, for a total of 5 times, and 8 times in all throughout the letter.
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Day of the LORD: 1st Thessalonians, Chapter 5
On the Day of the LORD:
Passages concerning The Day of the LORD:
Apostle Paul says that they will be proclaiming eirini and asfaleia, peace and stability or safety.
Who are they?
The inhabitants of the earth, whether localized in governments, kingdoms, figureheads, organizations or bodies of power -- this is who they are. As a whole, the world's mindset will be one of "superior" humanism, self-reliance and an abandoned belief in not only the God of Israel, but any ideology, philosophy or theology of a Divine Being. This will be complimented with a feeling of achievement, civilization and relative economic security. Once this is reached, at some point, sudden destruction, or punishment, will come. And those mentioned, the unrepentant, unregenerate world, the inhabitants of the earth, as they are called in Apokalypsis, will not be able to flee out of it as the Church, who is called by Christ's name, will.
Paul makes this point in the next section: The Thessalonians are not in darkness, as the world is, so this Day will not apprehend or seize them as a thief, as it will the world. On the contrary, the Church is, the Thessalonians are sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. This is an apostolic teaching throughout the teachings of all the apostles. Light is always used in reference to God, Christ, the Spirit of Truth, truth, love, faith, hope, salvation, holiness, life. Darkness is always used to refer to Satan, the fallen world, the powers and spiritual principalities of the current world order, sin, wickedness, lawlessness, destruction, corruption, death.
In light of this, Paul says, "Let us therefore..." including himself and the apostles and all the Church. They should not sleep.
What does sleep mean?
Here, sleep means spiritual obliviousness, not watching and not caring. Instead, we are to watch and be sober; viligance and discreetness. We are to watch for the Day and also make sure we are not weakened by wine, figuratively meaning shifting our focus from watching to leisure and any intoxication that will lower our resolve and spiritual senses. Be sober Spirit-men!
He says that those who do the former, do so at night, which, as he said before, we are not a part of. Also, it is the same with those who drink to get drunk; they do so at night. But since we belong to the day, again, we should be sober, just as a man is during the day. During the day, he works, he eats, and he works some more. Moreover, we are to put on our spiritual armor; a breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, our hope of salvation.
Here Paul makes another shift:
Why is our helmet a hope of salvation?
God the Father has not appointed the Church to receive the wrath which is to come on the disobedient. But we are to obtain, acquired through the purchase of Christ at the cross, salvation. Here, salvation implies redemption from the physical wrath of God that is going to come upon the world. Christ died for us, and in our place, so that whether awake or asleep, alive or dead, we might live together with Him. In response to all this, just as it is so concerning our Lord's parousia to redeem us, we must comfort and edify one another. The Thessalonians were already doing this.
On the life of the Church:
Paul now turns to conclude his letter to the beloved Thessalonians. His desire, as well as the apostles and Timothy and Silas, is that the brethren would recognize and honor the proistamenous, those who preside over them thru instruction and who literally feel fatigue because of their labor for the Thessalonian's faith.
These men, because of their work among their fellow Thessalonians, they are to regard superior in love. In recognizing those who are over them, they are able to live in peace with one another and their leaders.
Apostle Paul beseeches them in four areas: the insubordinate are to be cautioned and reproved for their disorder or unruliness, the feebleminded or literally, little spirited, are to be lifted up from their faintness and be encouraged, the weak, or strengthless are to be supported and to all, they are to be long spirited, patient.
Evil is to be abhorred. If evil is done to the Thessalonians, they are not to pay the offender back with a similar evil. This applies to fellow brothers who, either in a moment of weakness or willfully, would sin against them, as well as outsiders. They are to instead to do good for the evil done to them. This is the same commandment of the Lord, Who says, "Bless those who curse you..."
They are to be full of cheer, every where and always. They are to pray incessantly, without omission. In the same manner, give thanks concerning everything; this is the will of the Father for us in His Son Christ Jesus.
The fire of the Spirit, as it was when it was poured out originally on the apostles at the Feast of Pentikosti, must not be extinguished. Much like the holy fire in the holy temple, the aish tamid, the continual fire, it must burn constantly, day and night, hour by hour, second by second, without interruption or ceasing. Only through sin, through the willfulness of it or through willful neglect of living by the Spirit, will that fire diminish, wane, flutter and finally go out. We have the power to extinguish the Spirit; He is our life and breath, He, the energizer of our new man within, can be ignored and rejected, even on the smallest point. He is ever-teaching, ever-counseling, ever-guiding and leading, that is, if we have accepted Him, continually recognize Him in our hearts and submit to His mastering of us.
In the same way, prophecy was not to be rejected nor despised, or made of no account. This relates to the prophecies of the Jewish scriptures concerning Who Messiah is to be, what He is to do, His ministry and life, His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and His current session at the right hand of His Father. But this also relates to the role of the prophet in the Church. The prophet was second to the role of the apostle; he is said to be, like the apostle, the foundation of the church. When he spoke, by the Spirit, his mind and spirit submitting and working with the truth delivered by the Holy Spirit, even now uttering the word delivered, he was elevated in his position and speech. He thus relayed instruction, exhortation and spiritual truth based on the physical illustrations of God's creation, so that the life of the believers would be built up, that any who had strayed would be brought in, and that warning concerning persecution, famine, false teaching and current worldly attacks targeting the Church would be delivered for forewarning and preparation. And so, the Thessalonians were not to make light of these things, just as they were not to dishonor those who labored over them in the Lord.
But also the Thessalonians, who have the discernment of the Spirit, should not be as dumb sheep, but being sheep with the Spirit of Truth, be able to discern those things which may, at first glance, appear to "fall into the gray", and needing testing, be determined as good or evil; as valuable and beneficial or bad natured and objectionable. Any form of evil, like porneia, was to be rejected utterly. By the Spirit, they would be able to distinguish these things.
Paul concludes with this blessing: May the God of peace Himself agiasize you; make you holy to the end of completion. And may the triad of your being, your spirit, soul and body, be kept in a state of blamelessness at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Thessalonians are to pursue holiness, or better, by abstaining from all forms of evil, allow God to thus cultivate His holiness and His righteousness in them. By turning our eyes and hearts from evil to good and holy things, this will allow our Holy Father to constantly work on us and perfect us for the Day of our Lord's parousia. Since He is faithful, and calls you to this, it will happen. He will do it.
Paul finishes, requesting prayer for themselves. No requests are specified, for they trust the leading of the Spirit in the Thessalonians. All the brothers are to be greeted, with a holy kiss, not the kiss of Judas, who was a betrayer, nor the kiss of the Proverbial harlot, which was immoral and which led to even more sin. This salutation was to be administered as though Paul were greeting each and everyone of them personally, thereby not leaving anyone out.
Paul then puts them on oath, making them swear: Everyone in the congregation at Thessaloniki were to hear this letter. It was not for the leaders solely, nor for a select few who were gifted. It was for all the brothers, because everything contained in the letter applied to everyone in the body of Christ. Holiness, agiasmos, was for everyone. Brotherly love, philadelphia, was for everyone. The commandments of Christ, these were for everyone. Every truth concerning the parousia of Christ Jesus was for everyone. The resurrection, for everyone. Instruction, for everyone. Abstaining from evil; everyone. And blamelessness of the whole being; everyone. All things in the letter; everyone. And all the brothers are to be considered holy and be holy, and all of them are to hear and know this letter.
And by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ being with us, it will be so. Amen.
Passages concerning The Day of the LORD:
- Isaiah 2:10-22
- Isaiah 13:6-13
- Isaiah 24
- Isaiah 34:1-8
- Jeremiah 30:4-9
- Ezekiel 30:1-4
- Ezekiel 39:7-9
- Joel 1:15
- Joel 2:1-11
- Joel 2:30-32
- Joel 3:9-17
- Amos 5:18-20
- Zephaniah 1:14-18
- Zephaniah 2:1-3
- Zephaniah 3:8
- Zechariah 14:1-21
- Malachi 3:2-4
- Malachi 4:1-5
- Revelation 6:12-17
Apostle Paul says that they will be proclaiming eirini and asfaleia, peace and stability or safety.
Who are they?
The inhabitants of the earth, whether localized in governments, kingdoms, figureheads, organizations or bodies of power -- this is who they are. As a whole, the world's mindset will be one of "superior" humanism, self-reliance and an abandoned belief in not only the God of Israel, but any ideology, philosophy or theology of a Divine Being. This will be complimented with a feeling of achievement, civilization and relative economic security. Once this is reached, at some point, sudden destruction, or punishment, will come. And those mentioned, the unrepentant, unregenerate world, the inhabitants of the earth, as they are called in Apokalypsis, will not be able to flee out of it as the Church, who is called by Christ's name, will.
Paul makes this point in the next section: The Thessalonians are not in darkness, as the world is, so this Day will not apprehend or seize them as a thief, as it will the world. On the contrary, the Church is, the Thessalonians are sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. This is an apostolic teaching throughout the teachings of all the apostles. Light is always used in reference to God, Christ, the Spirit of Truth, truth, love, faith, hope, salvation, holiness, life. Darkness is always used to refer to Satan, the fallen world, the powers and spiritual principalities of the current world order, sin, wickedness, lawlessness, destruction, corruption, death.
In light of this, Paul says, "Let us therefore..." including himself and the apostles and all the Church. They should not sleep.
What does sleep mean?
Here, sleep means spiritual obliviousness, not watching and not caring. Instead, we are to watch and be sober; viligance and discreetness. We are to watch for the Day and also make sure we are not weakened by wine, figuratively meaning shifting our focus from watching to leisure and any intoxication that will lower our resolve and spiritual senses. Be sober Spirit-men!
He says that those who do the former, do so at night, which, as he said before, we are not a part of. Also, it is the same with those who drink to get drunk; they do so at night. But since we belong to the day, again, we should be sober, just as a man is during the day. During the day, he works, he eats, and he works some more. Moreover, we are to put on our spiritual armor; a breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, our hope of salvation.
Here Paul makes another shift:
Why is our helmet a hope of salvation?
God the Father has not appointed the Church to receive the wrath which is to come on the disobedient. But we are to obtain, acquired through the purchase of Christ at the cross, salvation. Here, salvation implies redemption from the physical wrath of God that is going to come upon the world. Christ died for us, and in our place, so that whether awake or asleep, alive or dead, we might live together with Him. In response to all this, just as it is so concerning our Lord's parousia to redeem us, we must comfort and edify one another. The Thessalonians were already doing this.
On the life of the Church:
Paul now turns to conclude his letter to the beloved Thessalonians. His desire, as well as the apostles and Timothy and Silas, is that the brethren would recognize and honor the proistamenous, those who preside over them thru instruction and who literally feel fatigue because of their labor for the Thessalonian's faith.
These men, because of their work among their fellow Thessalonians, they are to regard superior in love. In recognizing those who are over them, they are able to live in peace with one another and their leaders.
Apostle Paul beseeches them in four areas: the insubordinate are to be cautioned and reproved for their disorder or unruliness, the feebleminded or literally, little spirited, are to be lifted up from their faintness and be encouraged, the weak, or strengthless are to be supported and to all, they are to be long spirited, patient.
Evil is to be abhorred. If evil is done to the Thessalonians, they are not to pay the offender back with a similar evil. This applies to fellow brothers who, either in a moment of weakness or willfully, would sin against them, as well as outsiders. They are to instead to do good for the evil done to them. This is the same commandment of the Lord, Who says, "Bless those who curse you..."
They are to be full of cheer, every where and always. They are to pray incessantly, without omission. In the same manner, give thanks concerning everything; this is the will of the Father for us in His Son Christ Jesus.
The fire of the Spirit, as it was when it was poured out originally on the apostles at the Feast of Pentikosti, must not be extinguished. Much like the holy fire in the holy temple, the aish tamid, the continual fire, it must burn constantly, day and night, hour by hour, second by second, without interruption or ceasing. Only through sin, through the willfulness of it or through willful neglect of living by the Spirit, will that fire diminish, wane, flutter and finally go out. We have the power to extinguish the Spirit; He is our life and breath, He, the energizer of our new man within, can be ignored and rejected, even on the smallest point. He is ever-teaching, ever-counseling, ever-guiding and leading, that is, if we have accepted Him, continually recognize Him in our hearts and submit to His mastering of us.
In the same way, prophecy was not to be rejected nor despised, or made of no account. This relates to the prophecies of the Jewish scriptures concerning Who Messiah is to be, what He is to do, His ministry and life, His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and His current session at the right hand of His Father. But this also relates to the role of the prophet in the Church. The prophet was second to the role of the apostle; he is said to be, like the apostle, the foundation of the church. When he spoke, by the Spirit, his mind and spirit submitting and working with the truth delivered by the Holy Spirit, even now uttering the word delivered, he was elevated in his position and speech. He thus relayed instruction, exhortation and spiritual truth based on the physical illustrations of God's creation, so that the life of the believers would be built up, that any who had strayed would be brought in, and that warning concerning persecution, famine, false teaching and current worldly attacks targeting the Church would be delivered for forewarning and preparation. And so, the Thessalonians were not to make light of these things, just as they were not to dishonor those who labored over them in the Lord.
But also the Thessalonians, who have the discernment of the Spirit, should not be as dumb sheep, but being sheep with the Spirit of Truth, be able to discern those things which may, at first glance, appear to "fall into the gray", and needing testing, be determined as good or evil; as valuable and beneficial or bad natured and objectionable. Any form of evil, like porneia, was to be rejected utterly. By the Spirit, they would be able to distinguish these things.
Paul concludes with this blessing: May the God of peace Himself agiasize you; make you holy to the end of completion. And may the triad of your being, your spirit, soul and body, be kept in a state of blamelessness at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Thessalonians are to pursue holiness, or better, by abstaining from all forms of evil, allow God to thus cultivate His holiness and His righteousness in them. By turning our eyes and hearts from evil to good and holy things, this will allow our Holy Father to constantly work on us and perfect us for the Day of our Lord's parousia. Since He is faithful, and calls you to this, it will happen. He will do it.
Paul finishes, requesting prayer for themselves. No requests are specified, for they trust the leading of the Spirit in the Thessalonians. All the brothers are to be greeted, with a holy kiss, not the kiss of Judas, who was a betrayer, nor the kiss of the Proverbial harlot, which was immoral and which led to even more sin. This salutation was to be administered as though Paul were greeting each and everyone of them personally, thereby not leaving anyone out.
Paul then puts them on oath, making them swear: Everyone in the congregation at Thessaloniki were to hear this letter. It was not for the leaders solely, nor for a select few who were gifted. It was for all the brothers, because everything contained in the letter applied to everyone in the body of Christ. Holiness, agiasmos, was for everyone. Brotherly love, philadelphia, was for everyone. The commandments of Christ, these were for everyone. Every truth concerning the parousia of Christ Jesus was for everyone. The resurrection, for everyone. Instruction, for everyone. Abstaining from evil; everyone. And blamelessness of the whole being; everyone. All things in the letter; everyone. And all the brothers are to be considered holy and be holy, and all of them are to hear and know this letter.
And by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ being with us, it will be so. Amen.
Agiasmos: 1st Thessalonians, Chapter 4
On walking to please God:
Just as the apostles have requested of them to abound and superabound in love, so finally, just as they received instruction on how to please God, they should abound in this as well, doing this even more.
The word is a Hebraism (from הלך, halach), in Greek, peripatein, and means literally to walk, but figuratively, to regulate and conduct one's life and self. This is how the disciples are to live. The Jews call the rabbinic teaching on the Law of Moses, which is binding law for a Jew; halacha.
By comparison, the Christian 'halacha', or way of walking, is through the commandments given by the apostles through the Lord Christ. The Thessalonians had been instructed in this previously .
What is the will of God for the Christian?
Christians often say, 'I am trying to discover God's will for my life.' This implies that God's will is, first, unclear, and second, that it completely varies concerning each individual; that His will for one may be different from another. 'His will for him may be holiness, but for me it is different! He has a gift, and the intensity of his faith is a special charisma from the Lord!' They then say, 'God has called me to this: ..."
But this is not the case. Apostle Paul says this, 'For this is the will of God, your agiasmos!' The will of God for the Thessalonians, for us all, is our purification; holiness of heart and life. Christians are to undergo agiasmosis; the gradual imbuing of the mind and Spirit of Christ into the believer. This is automatic from Christ once the person believes. But they further the process by obedience to His commandments. It is like the sun shining on a plant. If the plant is inside, it has yet to feel the nourishing heat of the sun. The plant must first be cultivated in a good position (being in the sun's presence or believing, having faith) but also in good soil (nutrient-rich foundation or the commandments of Christ) otherwise the plant will languish and die. This is agiasmos.
What then allows agiasmos to happen?
To put off, abstain and be distant from porneias, illicit sexual intercourse. This includes all things listed in Leviticus, chapter 18 and is summed up in the New Testament as adultery, intercourse with a divorced man or woman, and intercourse involving unnatural relations (a man with an animal, a woman with an animal, a man with a man, or a woman with another woman). Metaphorically, it means the worship of false gods or idols.
This in turn teaches us how to control our bodies in dignity and holiness, instead of living in lustful passion. Paul then says that the non-Jews have been doing this from the beginning, and that they do not have knowledge of God. This goes completely against what the modern world promotes as "faith-traditions", that the Divine was revealed in different ways, to different people, at different times throughout history. Paul says elsewhere: Israel was given the oracles and correct knowledge of God. Hence, this is why the Law of Moses was given to the nation of Israel. Not that they would simply be different and stand-out, but because they had to be a holy people.
Why was Israel commanded to be holy?
Because Messiah, the Prince, the Redeemer and Savior of the whole world, was to spring from them. Because He is sinless, He had to be born among a people who lived righteously, thereby expecting Him as their king, teacher and savior and also allowing Him to live in an environment where He could fulfill the commandments of His Father.
In the same way, Christ now, through the Holy Spirit, lives in us, therefore, we must make sure our temple, His temple, is holy and not 'turned into a marketplace' for sin.
The Lord, it is stated, is the ekdikos, the one who sends out justice, to exact penalty from one. The apostles have solemnly testified to this once before.
Just as God's will for us is agiasmos, sanctification, he now says that this is also our calling. There is no Purpose-Driven Life, this is as simple as it gets. We are not called to impurity, but purity. Any who reject this have made a decision to reject God, who imparts the Holy Spirit. These are not instructions of men, but attributes of the evangelion itself. These must not be rejected.
Now, concerning philadelphia, brotherly love, the Thessalonians were excelling. They have been taught by the living God how to love one another. They have been doing this towards one another and to all the brothers in Macedonia. But there is an exhortation: do this all the more and more. Again, Paul says that this too must superabound.
On how to live while we wait for the Lord from heaven:
Next, he relates three commands that they had given them before: to refrain from meddling in affairs, to practice habitually things pertaining to themselves, and to toil and work with their own hands. This should be done so that they may have no need of outside help or influence and that their walk, their halacha, their peripatein, may be honorable and proper towards those outside the Church.
On the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Now, in verse 13, things switch focus. Timothy must have brought news that many of the Thessalonians were afraid and soon to be grieving or had thought ahead concerning the death of brothers (whether by martyrdom, accidents, natural causes, or sin) and how would their falling asleep be resolved since Christ had not appeared a second time. Christ was to come again! But what of the brethren, who, in their steadfast waiting, though immortal in soul and spirit now, still tasted the sting of physical death? They would not be present when Christ was manifested from the heavens!
Paul turns to comfort them. They were not to be ill-informed. Christians are not to be ignorant on this matter! Contrary to the kosmos, which lives in a constant state of hopeless dread, and so must busy itself with tasks and systems, programs and networks, thereby some how trying to alleviate or block the sure penetrating and impregnable stare of old man death, the Christians must not grieve. The death that they face is simply temporary. This is why Apostle Paul calls it 'falling asleep'.
Why is death for the Christian temporary?
Because Christ Jesus died and rose again, and therefore when He comes, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in him. The word for 'bring', in Greek, means to lead or take hold of to bring to the point of destination, axei.
Paul declares next the word of the Lord, making known to the Thessalonians and all of us that this is the final authority and ultimate truth on the matter. Either Paul was given this revelation from the Lord directly, or it was a teaching passed on orally among the apostles and brothers. Here is the teaching:
At the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ, those who are alive physically, witnessing this awesome day will by no means (a double negative, meaning absolutely not) come before those who have died physically. The dead in Christ will get the first privilege; they will be resurrected first! The Lord Himself will descend thru the heavens, stopping some point in the atmosphere, manifesting His presence, and at His command, which will be accompanied by the voice of the archangel (which is Michael, the great prince of the host of Israel) and the trumpet call of the God of Israel, those who have died with faith in Christ--from Stephen, the first martyr, to the very last saint who is to die mintues or hours before on that Day--these will be resurrected in power. Just think what a throng, what a mighty and huge host of people this will be!! Thousands times thousands! Ten-thousands times ten-thousands!! 2000 years plus of lives lived in Jesus Christ!! These bodies will burst forth from the earth and be snatched up to the Lord. And we who are alive, who are witnessing this and who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus, we will be translated, becoming resurrected men, and then we will be caught up, arpagisometha, to the cloudiness, as it says, to meet our Lord and our resurrected brothers and sisters, the Church of the first-born, for the first time. And so this starts our eternal presence with our Shepherd, our Master, our Lord and our Savior.
What are we then to do with this great truth?
Apostle Paul says we are to constantly remind each other and encourage one another with these words. Amen! So be it! Be encouraged brothers and sisters, for the Day approaches.
Just as the apostles have requested of them to abound and superabound in love, so finally, just as they received instruction on how to please God, they should abound in this as well, doing this even more.
The word is a Hebraism (from הלך, halach), in Greek, peripatein, and means literally to walk, but figuratively, to regulate and conduct one's life and self. This is how the disciples are to live. The Jews call the rabbinic teaching on the Law of Moses, which is binding law for a Jew; halacha.
By comparison, the Christian 'halacha', or way of walking, is through the commandments given by the apostles through the Lord Christ. The Thessalonians had been instructed in this previously .
What is the will of God for the Christian?
Christians often say, 'I am trying to discover God's will for my life.' This implies that God's will is, first, unclear, and second, that it completely varies concerning each individual; that His will for one may be different from another. 'His will for him may be holiness, but for me it is different! He has a gift, and the intensity of his faith is a special charisma from the Lord!' They then say, 'God has called me to this: ..."
But this is not the case. Apostle Paul says this, 'For this is the will of God, your agiasmos!' The will of God for the Thessalonians, for us all, is our purification; holiness of heart and life. Christians are to undergo agiasmosis; the gradual imbuing of the mind and Spirit of Christ into the believer. This is automatic from Christ once the person believes. But they further the process by obedience to His commandments. It is like the sun shining on a plant. If the plant is inside, it has yet to feel the nourishing heat of the sun. The plant must first be cultivated in a good position (being in the sun's presence or believing, having faith) but also in good soil (nutrient-rich foundation or the commandments of Christ) otherwise the plant will languish and die. This is agiasmos.
What then allows agiasmos to happen?
To put off, abstain and be distant from porneias, illicit sexual intercourse. This includes all things listed in Leviticus, chapter 18 and is summed up in the New Testament as adultery, intercourse with a divorced man or woman, and intercourse involving unnatural relations (a man with an animal, a woman with an animal, a man with a man, or a woman with another woman). Metaphorically, it means the worship of false gods or idols.
This in turn teaches us how to control our bodies in dignity and holiness, instead of living in lustful passion. Paul then says that the non-Jews have been doing this from the beginning, and that they do not have knowledge of God. This goes completely against what the modern world promotes as "faith-traditions", that the Divine was revealed in different ways, to different people, at different times throughout history. Paul says elsewhere: Israel was given the oracles and correct knowledge of God. Hence, this is why the Law of Moses was given to the nation of Israel. Not that they would simply be different and stand-out, but because they had to be a holy people.
Why was Israel commanded to be holy?
Because Messiah, the Prince, the Redeemer and Savior of the whole world, was to spring from them. Because He is sinless, He had to be born among a people who lived righteously, thereby expecting Him as their king, teacher and savior and also allowing Him to live in an environment where He could fulfill the commandments of His Father.
In the same way, Christ now, through the Holy Spirit, lives in us, therefore, we must make sure our temple, His temple, is holy and not 'turned into a marketplace' for sin.
The Lord, it is stated, is the ekdikos, the one who sends out justice, to exact penalty from one. The apostles have solemnly testified to this once before.
Just as God's will for us is agiasmos, sanctification, he now says that this is also our calling. There is no Purpose-Driven Life, this is as simple as it gets. We are not called to impurity, but purity. Any who reject this have made a decision to reject God, who imparts the Holy Spirit. These are not instructions of men, but attributes of the evangelion itself. These must not be rejected.
Now, concerning philadelphia, brotherly love, the Thessalonians were excelling. They have been taught by the living God how to love one another. They have been doing this towards one another and to all the brothers in Macedonia. But there is an exhortation: do this all the more and more. Again, Paul says that this too must superabound.
On how to live while we wait for the Lord from heaven:
Next, he relates three commands that they had given them before: to refrain from meddling in affairs, to practice habitually things pertaining to themselves, and to toil and work with their own hands. This should be done so that they may have no need of outside help or influence and that their walk, their halacha, their peripatein, may be honorable and proper towards those outside the Church.
On the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Now, in verse 13, things switch focus. Timothy must have brought news that many of the Thessalonians were afraid and soon to be grieving or had thought ahead concerning the death of brothers (whether by martyrdom, accidents, natural causes, or sin) and how would their falling asleep be resolved since Christ had not appeared a second time. Christ was to come again! But what of the brethren, who, in their steadfast waiting, though immortal in soul and spirit now, still tasted the sting of physical death? They would not be present when Christ was manifested from the heavens!
Paul turns to comfort them. They were not to be ill-informed. Christians are not to be ignorant on this matter! Contrary to the kosmos, which lives in a constant state of hopeless dread, and so must busy itself with tasks and systems, programs and networks, thereby some how trying to alleviate or block the sure penetrating and impregnable stare of old man death, the Christians must not grieve. The death that they face is simply temporary. This is why Apostle Paul calls it 'falling asleep'.
Why is death for the Christian temporary?
Because Christ Jesus died and rose again, and therefore when He comes, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in him. The word for 'bring', in Greek, means to lead or take hold of to bring to the point of destination, axei.
Paul declares next the word of the Lord, making known to the Thessalonians and all of us that this is the final authority and ultimate truth on the matter. Either Paul was given this revelation from the Lord directly, or it was a teaching passed on orally among the apostles and brothers. Here is the teaching:
At the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ, those who are alive physically, witnessing this awesome day will by no means (a double negative, meaning absolutely not) come before those who have died physically. The dead in Christ will get the first privilege; they will be resurrected first! The Lord Himself will descend thru the heavens, stopping some point in the atmosphere, manifesting His presence, and at His command, which will be accompanied by the voice of the archangel (which is Michael, the great prince of the host of Israel) and the trumpet call of the God of Israel, those who have died with faith in Christ--from Stephen, the first martyr, to the very last saint who is to die mintues or hours before on that Day--these will be resurrected in power. Just think what a throng, what a mighty and huge host of people this will be!! Thousands times thousands! Ten-thousands times ten-thousands!! 2000 years plus of lives lived in Jesus Christ!! These bodies will burst forth from the earth and be snatched up to the Lord. And we who are alive, who are witnessing this and who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus, we will be translated, becoming resurrected men, and then we will be caught up, arpagisometha, to the cloudiness, as it says, to meet our Lord and our resurrected brothers and sisters, the Church of the first-born, for the first time. And so this starts our eternal presence with our Shepherd, our Master, our Lord and our Savior.
What are we then to do with this great truth?
Apostle Paul says we are to constantly remind each other and encourage one another with these words. Amen! So be it! Be encouraged brothers and sisters, for the Day approaches.
In defense of the Apostles of Christ: 1st Thessalonians, Chapter 3
On the separation of Apostle Paul and the Thessalonians:
Apostle Paul and Silas, with Timothy, escaped to Berea in the night. Once there, they reasoned with the Berean Jews and Greeks who ended up being even more noble than the Thessalonians. Because of their readiness to receive the word, a greater amount became believers in Christ Jesus than did in Thessaloniki; so much so, that the unbelieving Jews of the latter, who heard of this change, came to Berea to cause more trouble for the apostles.
Paul, who was labeled the chief opponent of the unbelieving Jews, was sent south, to the coast, to Athens, which is just over 3 miles from the sea. Silas and Timothy remained with the Bereans. Some point after this, Timothy was sent back to Thessaloniki to round out and solidify the foundation laid by Paul.
On Timothy, the brother, minister, and fellow worker in the evangélion of God and Christ:
Timothy, who was Jew/Greek (a type of the Church and body of Christ), became the spiritual son of Apostle Paul, was a fellow minister (diákonon, a menial attendent, likened to a waiter or servant at a table; probably from dióko, meaning to run to catch someone or to run in a race, only to win), co-laborer (synergós, a companion in labor) in the evangélion concerning Christ Jesus. He was sent back to Thessaloniki, to the brethren there, to make sure that they were resolute in the direction they had turned -- turning to the living God, through Christ Jesus, in steadfast devotion. He made sure of this by reiterating and setting up the foundation laid by Paul, who was most likely present there for only a month. He encouraged and admonished them in their faith, comforting them by what they had been suffering by the unbelievers in the city. Paul wanted to make sure, through Timothy, that they understood that suffering persecution was a chief appointment of being not only an apostle, but even a fellow Christian. This will happen if we are Christians; this is a sign to us that our faith is genuine.
Through prophetic utterance, the apostles foretold the coming persecution that they would face by the Thessalonian unbelievers. As they said, so it happened. Finally, Paul, being unable to bear not knowing the outcome of the persecution, and how it effected their faith, sent Timothy to learn what transpired. Paul feared that the tempter had stolen the seed planted and that their labor had been to no avail.
But Timothy, on returning, preached evangelisaménou (good news concerning the enduring faith of the Thessalonians and their love for the apostles, one another and Christ Jesus). The believers there not only preserved a good report and memory of the apostles, but they longed to see them again, just as the apostles also longed. And so, the fear and possibility of a false start for the Thessalonians is passed, as well as the death blow, had the Thessalonians turned back as apostates ("For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.") -- the evidence has reached the ears of Paul, and now in thanksgiving, they rejoice in what was suffered, because the distress was well worth what has resulted in a harvest among the people of Thessaloniki.
Now, Paul asks a rhetorical question: What thanksgiving would be sufficient to the Father in light of all this? He has done a great thing in giving the increase to what was sown. So, the apostles pray constantly that they might be reunited with the brothers, so they might complete the faith of the Thessalonians by adding to them a surplus of apostolic power.
With this, he speaks a blessing! May it happen! By the hand of the Father and His Son, Christ Jesus, may the apostles be lead back to the Thessalonians!
The moves into the bigger and greater blessing:
On the goal of the Christian:
The goal of the apostles, even the goal of the Holy Spirit Himself: that the love shared among the Thessalonians would abound, and then, superabound, to a point of excessive overflow, and that this overflow would reach all people. The apostles have exactly done this, in coming to the Thessalonians, who, at first, were unbelievers, but are now, because of their faith, fellow heirs and believers with the apostles. Just as the apostles treated those receptive, so the Thessalonians should exactly treat one another and all.
In doing this, the Spirit of Truth is able to turn their hearts -- the same Greek word used of Timothy's ministering among the Thessalonians, meaning a resolute turning -- to holy blamelessness, before the face of the Heavenly Father at Christ Jesus' parousía. If this is the goal of the apostles labor, which has proceeded from the Holy Spirit Who is at work in them all, then is must also be the goal of the Thessalonians, and that means that it is the goal of all Christians everywhere, at every time, in every place, until this great and awesome Day compenses.
Apostle Paul and Silas, with Timothy, escaped to Berea in the night. Once there, they reasoned with the Berean Jews and Greeks who ended up being even more noble than the Thessalonians. Because of their readiness to receive the word, a greater amount became believers in Christ Jesus than did in Thessaloniki; so much so, that the unbelieving Jews of the latter, who heard of this change, came to Berea to cause more trouble for the apostles.
Paul, who was labeled the chief opponent of the unbelieving Jews, was sent south, to the coast, to Athens, which is just over 3 miles from the sea. Silas and Timothy remained with the Bereans. Some point after this, Timothy was sent back to Thessaloniki to round out and solidify the foundation laid by Paul.
On Timothy, the brother, minister, and fellow worker in the evangélion of God and Christ:
Timothy, who was Jew/Greek (a type of the Church and body of Christ), became the spiritual son of Apostle Paul, was a fellow minister (diákonon, a menial attendent, likened to a waiter or servant at a table; probably from dióko, meaning to run to catch someone or to run in a race, only to win), co-laborer (synergós, a companion in labor) in the evangélion concerning Christ Jesus. He was sent back to Thessaloniki, to the brethren there, to make sure that they were resolute in the direction they had turned -- turning to the living God, through Christ Jesus, in steadfast devotion. He made sure of this by reiterating and setting up the foundation laid by Paul, who was most likely present there for only a month. He encouraged and admonished them in their faith, comforting them by what they had been suffering by the unbelievers in the city. Paul wanted to make sure, through Timothy, that they understood that suffering persecution was a chief appointment of being not only an apostle, but even a fellow Christian. This will happen if we are Christians; this is a sign to us that our faith is genuine.
Through prophetic utterance, the apostles foretold the coming persecution that they would face by the Thessalonian unbelievers. As they said, so it happened. Finally, Paul, being unable to bear not knowing the outcome of the persecution, and how it effected their faith, sent Timothy to learn what transpired. Paul feared that the tempter had stolen the seed planted and that their labor had been to no avail.
But Timothy, on returning, preached evangelisaménou (good news concerning the enduring faith of the Thessalonians and their love for the apostles, one another and Christ Jesus). The believers there not only preserved a good report and memory of the apostles, but they longed to see them again, just as the apostles also longed. And so, the fear and possibility of a false start for the Thessalonians is passed, as well as the death blow, had the Thessalonians turned back as apostates ("For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.") -- the evidence has reached the ears of Paul, and now in thanksgiving, they rejoice in what was suffered, because the distress was well worth what has resulted in a harvest among the people of Thessaloniki.
Now, Paul asks a rhetorical question: What thanksgiving would be sufficient to the Father in light of all this? He has done a great thing in giving the increase to what was sown. So, the apostles pray constantly that they might be reunited with the brothers, so they might complete the faith of the Thessalonians by adding to them a surplus of apostolic power.
With this, he speaks a blessing! May it happen! By the hand of the Father and His Son, Christ Jesus, may the apostles be lead back to the Thessalonians!
The moves into the bigger and greater blessing:
On the goal of the Christian:
The goal of the apostles, even the goal of the Holy Spirit Himself: that the love shared among the Thessalonians would abound, and then, superabound, to a point of excessive overflow, and that this overflow would reach all people. The apostles have exactly done this, in coming to the Thessalonians, who, at first, were unbelievers, but are now, because of their faith, fellow heirs and believers with the apostles. Just as the apostles treated those receptive, so the Thessalonians should exactly treat one another and all.
In doing this, the Spirit of Truth is able to turn their hearts -- the same Greek word used of Timothy's ministering among the Thessalonians, meaning a resolute turning -- to holy blamelessness, before the face of the Heavenly Father at Christ Jesus' parousía. If this is the goal of the apostles labor, which has proceeded from the Holy Spirit Who is at work in them all, then is must also be the goal of the Thessalonians, and that means that it is the goal of all Christians everywhere, at every time, in every place, until this great and awesome Day compenses.
In defense of the Apostles of Christ: 1st Thessalonians, Chapter 2
On being an apostle:
What is an apostle?
The word means "one sent out". A messenger sent by another; an emissary.
What is an apostle?
The word means "one sent out". A messenger sent by another; an emissary.
Requirements of being an apostle:
- They had to be called by Christ personally.
- They had to have seen the Lord Jesus Christ and been able to testify about Him personally.
- They were given the Holy Spirit in the fullest measure, being able to write, speak and preach inerrantly so that the churches' foundation was free of error. Before the revelation of scripture was completed, they relied on the word of God in them.
- They were given the power to work signs, wonders and miracles.
- Their instruction, as well as the prophets of Israel, are the foundation of the Church.
- They were the first to found the local churches of Jesus Christ throughout the Roman world.
In spite of conflict and the previous imprisonment in Philipi, the apostles were bold in preaching the gospel of God. See Acts 16:12-20.
The gospel they preached did not contain error, it did not spring from immoral motives, nor was it used as bait for underhanded reasons.
The very things that Apostle Paul was defending against in his day is the same accusations used by the world enemies of Christ and the Church today.
Why are the apostles approved by God and entrusted with the evangelion? Why did Christ Jesus need the apostles to fulfill this comission?
They were eyewitnesses of His earthly ministry. Since the commonwealth of Israel rejected her Christ, the favor of God now went out to the Gentiles. Christ, Who is at the right hand of the Father, is waiting to commence the kingdom until, as Paul says, the full number of Gentiles who are to believe is achieved. The apostles therefore are sent into all the nations, preaching what Christ accomplished, which is the evangelion. All who believe in the preaching of the cross are saved, promised a resurrection like Christ Jesus and guaranteed a position in the kingdom of glory which is coming.
In this preaching, God is also testing the hearts of the apostles, and this test is showing that they are approved because they are obedient to God through preaching the evangelion truthfully & blamelessly.
They did not withhold the truth, so as to not try and not offend, nor did they withhold the truth to please men. But they spoke earnestly. Speaking this way eliminates flattery, because flattery is used as a cover up. Flattery is the technique of the "salesman". The apostles were not this. Speaking this way, they showed that they were not out for material gain or wealth, as the former would reveal greedy motives. They are so confident that they know that the Father will testify to this truth.
They preached truthfully, not seeking glory, meaning worship, from men. Why should they worry whether man approved of them and their ways? The living God had already chosen them and anointed them and prepared them for this work. His approval is all that matters. Even though as apostles of Christ, which was an appointment specifically initiated at this time, being the men of Christ's generation who walked with Him and lived with Him and who were chosen to deliver the message, they could very well force their way on men because of this advantage, instead like a mother or father, they lowered themselves to the position of servant and were gentle and humble.
Their concern then was not for devotees or for worshippers that would make them rich. This is what they were most likely being accused of by their opponents. They sought not "celebrity". The Thessalonians and other believers were their spiritual children. They were the generation that the evangelion was being handed over to, since Israel as a commonwealth rejected Christ as the Son of the Most High God, therefore forfeiting the right to have Him reign over them. The apostles where handing over what they had received from Christ God as saving knowledge; faith in Christ who overcame His death. So much were the Thessalonians cherished that the apostles opened their own lives up to them.
They preached the evangelion free of charge and they worked the rest of the time doing manual labor to support themselves and their ministry. Though they had the right to receive support from the churches they started, Paul never sought to take advantage of this right. They were not like most modern Christian ministers who rely constantly on the contributions of others to maintain their ministries. The apostles were blameless because they were not a burden to anyone, not even their hearers who were receiving the fruit of their labor.
The apostles always did eveything they could to make sure the Thessalonians made their walk of faith worthy of God's call of entrance into the kingdom of heaven and the glory of God.
On the Word of God:
This work, result, fruit that is manifesting in the Thessalonians is the reason for the limitless thanksgiving of the apostles to God. They received the word of God from the apostles. Again, this was not the word of men, or something that the apostles engineered; the evangelion is truly the word of God. And just as it is at work in the the preaching of the apostles, so it was also at work in the believing Thessalonians.
On the rejection of the unbelieving Jews of the commonwealth of Israel:
The unbelievers of Israel swayed the nation to bring about the death of Christ. They lived by the same spirit as their forefathers who slew the prophets. In like manner, they persecuted the Jerusalem church and the apostles, because they were jealous of their acceptance by God and, in denial of their rejection by Him, they at the same time, in their hearts, knew it to be true by their attempts at trying to prevent the evangelion from reaching the ears of the nations. This is the fulfillment of their national sins and crimes against the LORD, His messengers (the apostles and prophets) and His Son, Jesus. Judgment on their rejection of Christ was meted out by the Romans who sacked Jerusalem and which has caused the longest exile of the nation of Israel, the Diaspora or Galut.
In like manner, the Thessalonians suffered from their own Greek countrymen, and at the instigation of the Jews of Thessaloniki, these men forced the early departure of the apostles from the brethren there.
On the apostles desire to see the brethren:
This separation was not the apostles goal, thus the reason for this letter. And Paul desired all the more to be back in their presence. But because of the security put up by Jason, Paul and his companions, though able to leave safely, were also prevented from returning at this point. This is clearly shown to be an attack by the enemy. Satan often uses human agents to hinder the spreading of the evangelion. The evangelion is the death nail to that old serpent and its power renders him powerless.
On the hope and crown of the apostles:
The apostles were not simply fellow Christian brothers. Though this is true, because they are redeemed men themselves, their call is unique. Because of their acceptance of this call and their sacrifice, they imparted the evangelion to a receiving generation. Their responsibility was greater; to go and make disciples of all nations and to be blameless examples of Christ Jesus. As His ambassadors, they could not just preach and then go on their way, but they had to make sure that the seed planted remained, bore fruit and spread. The responsibility of the apostles is this: They must make sure that they have something to present to the Lord at His coming. The Thessalonians are this responsibility and reward.
Why are the Thessalonians, and the Church as a whole, the crown of the apostles?
The Church, having undergone agiasmos, is a living evidence that the work of the apostles was not in vain, that it resulted in a harvest and a people purified and ready to serve Christ in His kingdom. When Christ comes, the apostles are going to see the result of their work, which is redeemed lives, turned to the truth, and present this work to Christ as their sacrifice to Him. This is why our salvation is partly owed to the apostles faithfullness. They finished their race and overcame. We have yet to finish the race, and so, how can we dare say anything against these men, these saints, these sent ones from the Lord Jesus Christ, the chief Apostle of the Heavenly Father?
Monday, June 28, 2010
B(ack)log
It's been a while. I feel like blogging, but not putting much effort into it. Perhaps that will turn out for the best.
Louis and I were talking tonight and it got to the point in the conversation where we fell back to the root issue of our young Christian lives of needing to let Christ take charge and be living for Him. It's something that's been on my mind a lot of late - whether or not I'm going forward with my life in Christ and taking courage in that or if I'm going forward with my life simply because I want to prove to myself that I can do it and that I don't need to rely on anyone else, be it man or God.
I am still fairly unScriptured, but ever since an odd night in 2008 I've flown under the flag of the 23rd Psalm.
Then on Sunday down at BV the conversation at the table I was sitting at wandered to the subject of journaling - something I've been doing infrequently for a long time. So I popped an entry in last night and in the process flipped back over some past entries at how often the theme for me seems to be that I am not exalting the fact that the Lord is my shepherd. That I am very much taking center stage of my life and not wanting to give anyone else the floor even though I have no real story to tell and no part devised - simply the desire to be seen and admired and beloved. And one entry, likely written shortly after flipping through a certain section of Mere Christianity, shows me starting to state that "even though I haven't given Him center stage, at least He's in the theatre" and then sharply disagreeing with myself. There's always a point where we can no longer dilude ourselves and if I felt that Christ had walked out of my metaphorical theatre it would be much more dramatic and I would certainly go rushing after Him shouting, "Okay, fine, you can have the stage, just come back in!" But as long as He's sitting near the back and I know that He's there and waiting for me to invite Him to take the stage so that He can tell me His story it's so easy to just keep delaying it for want of those things that are not good for me and those things that I cannot obtain. I scream as a child for the food I want but haven't the teeth to chew.
"The Lord is my shepherd." Heavens be praised. It's so much easier that way. Didn't proof read. Deal with it.
Louis and I were talking tonight and it got to the point in the conversation where we fell back to the root issue of our young Christian lives of needing to let Christ take charge and be living for Him. It's something that's been on my mind a lot of late - whether or not I'm going forward with my life in Christ and taking courage in that or if I'm going forward with my life simply because I want to prove to myself that I can do it and that I don't need to rely on anyone else, be it man or God.
I am still fairly unScriptured, but ever since an odd night in 2008 I've flown under the flag of the 23rd Psalm.
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.
Then on Sunday down at BV the conversation at the table I was sitting at wandered to the subject of journaling - something I've been doing infrequently for a long time. So I popped an entry in last night and in the process flipped back over some past entries at how often the theme for me seems to be that I am not exalting the fact that the Lord is my shepherd. That I am very much taking center stage of my life and not wanting to give anyone else the floor even though I have no real story to tell and no part devised - simply the desire to be seen and admired and beloved. And one entry, likely written shortly after flipping through a certain section of Mere Christianity, shows me starting to state that "even though I haven't given Him center stage, at least He's in the theatre" and then sharply disagreeing with myself. There's always a point where we can no longer dilude ourselves and if I felt that Christ had walked out of my metaphorical theatre it would be much more dramatic and I would certainly go rushing after Him shouting, "Okay, fine, you can have the stage, just come back in!" But as long as He's sitting near the back and I know that He's there and waiting for me to invite Him to take the stage so that He can tell me His story it's so easy to just keep delaying it for want of those things that are not good for me and those things that I cannot obtain. I scream as a child for the food I want but haven't the teeth to chew.
"The Lord is my shepherd." Heavens be praised. It's so much easier that way. Didn't proof read. Deal with it.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
update - last Wednesday's meeting
Hey, everybody!
I was charged with sharing the topics and fruits of our directional meeting for Epic last Wednesday, so here goes... (Sorry to be posting this so late!)
Mark Adams, Louis, Jamie, Lynette and I were there.
We all spent a little bit of time sharing and asking questions, but three questions really stood out to me:
1. Is Epic a priority?
2. Are we a priority to each other?
And the question Louis sent out:
3. Do you come to get something out of Epic, or to give?
Louis brought some great scripture references to the discussion, specifically Hebrews 10:24-25, Ephesians 5:1, and Matthew 20:25-28, and felt that God was pointing us in the direction of those verses. He pointed out the leadership and partnership in the verse from Matthew, and hopes that we can become that kind of community with each other.
Louis also called out three issues he felt as a leader of Epic:
- He'd like us to consider appointing a co-lead for him to work with
- He wants to try to work on his communication with the group (and we should also freely communicate our needs to him)
- He doesn't want to make "executive decisions"; he wants to find consensus among the group.
Louis said he felt like he had dropped the ball as a leader, and asked us to forgive him and also consider letting him continue as a co-leader going forward. This was something he wanted the whole group to hear & think about.
We tossed around a lot of thoughts & ideas about Sunday mornings. It felt like we had similar aspirations for, and complaints about, our times together:
- We want continuity / we feel like our overall plan lacks...a plan
- We want everyone to be able to use their gifts for the group...and we want to grow our gifts
- We want to be committed to using our gifts for the group / the church / people as a whole -- to be service-oriented & to contribute
- We want to make sure that other people in the church or in the area know we're here and feel welcome
Some ideas we tossed around for Sunday mornings were:
- for future Sunday mornings: alternate short video series or book with deeper, exploratory bible studies. Jamie would bring in commentaries/research (or we'd borrow from the library), and we'd break into small groups to explore the material together. Jamie would lead us the first few times.
- assign a person as facilitator/teacher for every four to six weeks, plus assign a gap-filler who could be ready to replace if something came up
- find out what Mark's sermon series(es) will cover ahead of time and base a study around one of those
- leave the church one Sunday a month and do "alternative" sessions - service projects, going and meeting people, etc -- shouldn't feel confined to the room
- break into small groups for prayer more often
- use an entire session for prayer sometime
We also talked about how to make people feel more welcome & how to connect w/ people who might want to join Epic. We thought we could/should...
- talk to new people more! be engaged; don't chicken out and start just talking to Epic regulars
- use the blog more :)
- create a page on the Hillcrest site, and link it to Facebook or our blog
- connect with newcomers via Facebook, rather than requesting their email.
- put Epic email/contact list someplace central, like on our Google calendar or secure place on Facebook page
Finally, we talked about how to use our Sunday mornings & Thursday evenings for the next month.
Today, 4/8, the girls can meet & catch up if they want. Can use today and/or next Thurs, 4/15, to discuss what to do next.
Guys seemed to have plans for today & next Thurs. (?)
Thurs 4/22 and 4/29 will both be all-Epic Thursdays, with some continued conversation around these topics on the 22nd and general fun-time on the 29th.
I think that's about everything -- please add anything I forgot or leave comments about what you're thinking!
Yaaaay Epic!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Epiclogue - 03/07/2010
Today Jamie lead us in an inductive study of Acts 8:26-40. It's the story of Phillip and his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. I'll do a quick re-cap & comment some of my thoughts. If you have any thoughts, comment your own. Quick links:
>> ACTS 8:26-40 <<
>> ISAIAH 53 << (the passage the eunuch was reading)
So first off there was a lot of "What??" going on about this Ethiopian dude. He was on his way back to Ethiopia from Jerusalem, sittin' in his chariot, reading Isaiah. So there's a lot of odd stuff there. He was in Jerusalem to worship, so he's Jewish...?...but he's from Ethiopia...and an eunuch (shaky Mohel?)...and the accountant to the queen of Ethiopia....and he's reading Isaiah-which means he apparently has a scroll. These are a lot of weird things to read these days, but it's not unrealistic.
Ethiopia was a huge powerhouse around the turn of the age, up there with Rome, Persia, and China, so if he was the accountant to the queen, he's up there. The passage reads that he was traveling in a chariot, but that's gotta be a poor translation. He's not just standing there on an little platform being pulled by two horses. First off, he's traveling to Ethiopia from Jerusalem. That' a long way to stand. Second off "v38 - and he gave orders to stop the chariot." If it was just him, he's just stop the chariot. If it were a fancy coach, he's order it stopped. If it were a caravan, which we suspected it to be, he would have to give orders to servants to go tell all the different wagons and coaches to stop. But it's not like Phillip was standing on the side of the desert road and happened upon this lone Ethiopian traveler.
"How can I unless someone explains it to me." After looking it over more closely, I'm fairly convinced that his man was a Jewish convert - or at least a would-be Jewish convert. Obviously with all the possible translation issues it's possible I'm reading into this instead of reading it (I'll have to bug Brock about this), but the passage says that the man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, not that he had been worshiping in Jerusalem. This man was the treasurer for the queen of a powerful state, which means he dealt in commerce, which means there were merchants, which means there would naturally be an exchange of customs and beliefs along side those physical commodities. Perhaps at some point he met a Jewish man or learned about Judaism and felt a glimmer of the truth and beauty of the Lord, perhaps even fully converted. It would be easy for him to arrange to travel to Jerusalem so that he could worship the Lord. And after reading all the rebuking that Jesus had to do towards the leaders of the temples, I can very easily see the Rabbi's, Pharisees, and Sadducees of the time taking one look at him and dismissing him. How could he make his convenant with the Lord if the Ethiopian king had already removed his member. How could he perform the rights if he couldn't read the Hebrew passages?
So I kinda read an un-fulfilled longing into that statement. And as always when talking about the Jewish leaders of Jesus's time, a parallel can be drawn to Christianity today where the Church focuses legalistically on a list of check-boxed "Do's" and "Don't's" and thereby turn people away from God when we should simply offer our love to them. I'm incredibly grateful that I can say that EPIC has not problem with that. But the Church as a whole does.
Anyways, that's me on "the Ethiopian dude."
The parts we focused on most were Phillip and his interactions and relationship with the Holy Spirit. We thought it was odd that at the first part of the passage it was an angel that told Phillip to go the the road, and then it was the Spirit that told him to go stay near the chariot. We've been reading through different passages about the Holy Spirit. Two weeks ago we read and discussed Pentecost (Acts 2). Last week we discussed Acts 4 where, after being on trial before the Jewish leaders, the disciples many followers prayed for boldness and then their place was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and went forth and shared Christ boldly.
This week, we read about Phillip. Phillip was a man who had a relationship with the Holy Spirit. He was a man who was able to discern what the Lord wanted him to do. We all have things we'd like to do and we all have ways that's we'd like to serve the Lord, but until we want what God want's we're not going to want to do what God wants us to do. We're just going to want God to want us to do what we want to do. And we are sinful - corrupt. We inherently desire that which isn't good for our souls.
We can't go from being a seed to producing fruit in a Snap. We have to grow in the Spirit. And once we're no longer seeds, we'll be BURSTING! to produce fruit, but even then if we try to produce fruit when we're just a sappling we can do ourselves damage. If we just seek the Lord, if we dig deep roots in the Holy Spirit, we will naturally grow strong branches and pour forth fruit. But the fruit is a byproduct of deep roots. If we just try to produce fruit (which is the sexier, cooler sounding thing to do) without growing in the spirit, we're not actually trying to be a plant, and we will fail to produce fruit, and we will not deceive the Lord (you know, 'cause He's God).
Once we love the Lord, we will be able to hear Him and we'll want to obey. But until then we'll just be like children saying "I want to help by testing the cookies!" and the Lord will just laugh and ruffle our hair and make us childishly angry at Him. Until we actually want to help we won't be told how we can help. I know some of you disagree, but that's what I believe, and I'm the one writing the post. : p
>> ACTS 8:26-40 <<
>> ISAIAH 53 << (the passage the eunuch was reading)
So first off there was a lot of "What??" going on about this Ethiopian dude. He was on his way back to Ethiopia from Jerusalem, sittin' in his chariot, reading Isaiah. So there's a lot of odd stuff there. He was in Jerusalem to worship, so he's Jewish...?...but he's from Ethiopia...and an eunuch (shaky Mohel?)...and the accountant to the queen of Ethiopia....and he's reading Isaiah-which means he apparently has a scroll. These are a lot of weird things to read these days, but it's not unrealistic.
Ethiopia was a huge powerhouse around the turn of the age, up there with Rome, Persia, and China, so if he was the accountant to the queen, he's up there. The passage reads that he was traveling in a chariot, but that's gotta be a poor translation. He's not just standing there on an little platform being pulled by two horses. First off, he's traveling to Ethiopia from Jerusalem. That' a long way to stand. Second off "v38 - and he gave orders to stop the chariot." If it was just him, he's just stop the chariot. If it were a fancy coach, he's order it stopped. If it were a caravan, which we suspected it to be, he would have to give orders to servants to go tell all the different wagons and coaches to stop. But it's not like Phillip was standing on the side of the desert road and happened upon this lone Ethiopian traveler."How can I unless someone explains it to me." After looking it over more closely, I'm fairly convinced that his man was a Jewish convert - or at least a would-be Jewish convert. Obviously with all the possible translation issues it's possible I'm reading into this instead of reading it (I'll have to bug Brock about this), but the passage says that the man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, not that he had been worshiping in Jerusalem. This man was the treasurer for the queen of a powerful state, which means he dealt in commerce, which means there were merchants, which means there would naturally be an exchange of customs and beliefs along side those physical commodities. Perhaps at some point he met a Jewish man or learned about Judaism and felt a glimmer of the truth and beauty of the Lord, perhaps even fully converted. It would be easy for him to arrange to travel to Jerusalem so that he could worship the Lord. And after reading all the rebuking that Jesus had to do towards the leaders of the temples, I can very easily see the Rabbi's, Pharisees, and Sadducees of the time taking one look at him and dismissing him. How could he make his convenant with the Lord if the Ethiopian king had already removed his member. How could he perform the rights if he couldn't read the Hebrew passages?
So I kinda read an un-fulfilled longing into that statement. And as always when talking about the Jewish leaders of Jesus's time, a parallel can be drawn to Christianity today where the Church focuses legalistically on a list of check-boxed "Do's" and "Don't's" and thereby turn people away from God when we should simply offer our love to them. I'm incredibly grateful that I can say that EPIC has not problem with that. But the Church as a whole does.
Anyways, that's me on "the Ethiopian dude."
The parts we focused on most were Phillip and his interactions and relationship with the Holy Spirit. We thought it was odd that at the first part of the passage it was an angel that told Phillip to go the the road, and then it was the Spirit that told him to go stay near the chariot. We've been reading through different passages about the Holy Spirit. Two weeks ago we read and discussed Pentecost (Acts 2). Last week we discussed Acts 4 where, after being on trial before the Jewish leaders, the disciples many followers prayed for boldness and then their place was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and went forth and shared Christ boldly.
This week, we read about Phillip. Phillip was a man who had a relationship with the Holy Spirit. He was a man who was able to discern what the Lord wanted him to do. We all have things we'd like to do and we all have ways that's we'd like to serve the Lord, but until we want what God want's we're not going to want to do what God wants us to do. We're just going to want God to want us to do what we want to do. And we are sinful - corrupt. We inherently desire that which isn't good for our souls.
We can't go from being a seed to producing fruit in a Snap. We have to grow in the Spirit. And once we're no longer seeds, we'll be BURSTING! to produce fruit, but even then if we try to produce fruit when we're just a sappling we can do ourselves damage. If we just seek the Lord, if we dig deep roots in the Holy Spirit, we will naturally grow strong branches and pour forth fruit. But the fruit is a byproduct of deep roots. If we just try to produce fruit (which is the sexier, cooler sounding thing to do) without growing in the spirit, we're not actually trying to be a plant, and we will fail to produce fruit, and we will not deceive the Lord (you know, 'cause He's God).
Once we love the Lord, we will be able to hear Him and we'll want to obey. But until then we'll just be like children saying "I want to help by testing the cookies!" and the Lord will just laugh and ruffle our hair and make us childishly angry at Him. Until we actually want to help we won't be told how we can help. I know some of you disagree, but that's what I believe, and I'm the one writing the post. : p
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Little Self-Evaluation
Yesterday, (01/24) we got a bit more personal about our spiritual lives and the varying degrees of progress that we each feel we made throughout the 12 months of the Year of Our Lord 2009. It was good. It was fueled by a self-evaluation that Louis had put together, and I've included a link to it below. I'd really encourage you to take a bit of time and read through it and try to come up with some answers. We'll be going over it again next Sunday. But you don't have to come for the evaluation to be worth your while.
May peace and grace of an absurdly mature nature abound around you this week.
self evaluation-epic.doc
May peace and grace of an absurdly mature nature abound around you this week.
self evaluation-epic.doc
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Managing Wealth - Week Two
On Sunday, January 10th, Shannon and Mark led us in another week of discussions about personal finances and how we, as Christians, are called to interact with the green. During the first week (1/3/09) we had talked about the finances, wealth, and poverty in terms of the global perspective. While it's easy to forget it in moments of want or frustration, I hope that each of us is aware that even those who have it bad in the U.S. still have it pretty good compared to much of the world. Our nation is ridiculously wealthy. Therefore even if we don't feel burdened with large sums of money, we should all feel a responsibility to use what the Lord has given us wisely.
Biblical Insight on Finances
What does the Bible say about getting into debt?
What about investing and saving money?
Taxes are required, but are they Biblical?
What exactly is tithing?
Tithing was introduced in the Old Testament as a law that required all Israelites to give 10% of earnings (money, crops, animals) to the temple.
Old Testament believers gave from the firstfruits of their crops, not the leftovers!
The New Testament instructs us to give cheerfully, to give generously and to give regularly. The specifics are up to us.
As a group, we seemed to have a lot to say on the topic of tithing. A lot of folks had really good comments. First off was the disparity between the OT "you must" and the NT "do, ya know, whatever, if ya want". I guess we mainly talked about how, if taxes weren't mandates, very few people would willingly give to the government. Having it written as law simply takes our human tendency of avoidance out of the equation. It simply is. It's simplified. But that's only at the surface level. A lot of what the NT talks about is giving as you feel led to cheerfully give. If you feel led to not tithe, then don't tithe against your will. But don't use the "as you feel led" to tithe less than you feel led to simply because you know you've got this vacation coming up and it'd be really nice to be able to spend another day out there. Tithing should, like all thing, be prayerfully done. God wants our hearts, not our money, and the idea is that once God has our hearts it will bring us joy to give to Him. And a C. S. Lewis point was brought up: he wrote in some writing that you should feel it when you tithe. If it doesn't affect your lifestyle at all, your not giving enough because tithing is a way for us to learn that all things come from the Lord and for us to remove our psychological dependence on a padded pocketbook.
These were the things I took away. As always, if you disagree or agree differently pop up a comment. But I'm through for now.
Biblical Insight on Finances
What does the Bible say about getting into debt?
- Psalms 37:21 - The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;
- Proverbs 22:7 - The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
- Romans 13:8 - Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law
What about investing and saving money?
- Proverbs 21:20 - In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.
- Matthew 25:14-30 - [FOLLOW LINK: Parable of the servants sewing the masters talents.]
Taxes are required, but are they Biblical?
- Matthew 22:15-22 - [FOLLOW LINK: 'Paying Taxes to Ceasar']
- Romans 13:2-7 - 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
What exactly is tithing?
Tithing was introduced in the Old Testament as a law that required all Israelites to give 10% of earnings (money, crops, animals) to the temple.
Old Testament believers gave from the firstfruits of their crops, not the leftovers!
The New Testament instructs us to give cheerfully, to give generously and to give regularly. The specifics are up to us.
As a group, we seemed to have a lot to say on the topic of tithing. A lot of folks had really good comments. First off was the disparity between the OT "you must" and the NT "do, ya know, whatever, if ya want". I guess we mainly talked about how, if taxes weren't mandates, very few people would willingly give to the government. Having it written as law simply takes our human tendency of avoidance out of the equation. It simply is. It's simplified. But that's only at the surface level. A lot of what the NT talks about is giving as you feel led to cheerfully give. If you feel led to not tithe, then don't tithe against your will. But don't use the "as you feel led" to tithe less than you feel led to simply because you know you've got this vacation coming up and it'd be really nice to be able to spend another day out there. Tithing should, like all thing, be prayerfully done. God wants our hearts, not our money, and the idea is that once God has our hearts it will bring us joy to give to Him. And a C. S. Lewis point was brought up: he wrote in some writing that you should feel it when you tithe. If it doesn't affect your lifestyle at all, your not giving enough because tithing is a way for us to learn that all things come from the Lord and for us to remove our psychological dependence on a padded pocketbook.
These were the things I took away. As always, if you disagree or agree differently pop up a comment. But I'm through for now.
"That's SO 2009"
Howdy folks, Chris Cook here with another exciting Epic blog post! Over the last four months of 2009 Louis led us through a ton of great topics during our Sunday mornings together. Obviously it's been a bit and I can't even hope to begin to reiterate any worthwhile portion of the discussions we had, but I can post links to the Powerpoints that Louis made for some of the different discussions. See below.
God.pptx
OT violence.pptx
The Bible 3.pptx
What Christians Believe.pptx
humanity.pptx
predestination.pptx
God.pptx
OT violence.pptx
The Bible 3.pptx
What Christians Believe.pptx
humanity.pptx
predestination.pptx
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Managing Wealth - Week One
We are tackling the issue of wealth and finances for the next couple of Sundays in Epic. I pray that we will all have an open mind and heart as we look at what God as to say about money, generosity and the heart of the matter.
This week we looked a global perspective of the wealth, discussed the importance of attitude when giving and spending and introduced the idea of managing, not owning, the money God has given us.
We spent some time this week studying 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 which reminds us that it is not the amount we give but the attitude and purpose that matters most. Since we are simply managers of God's riches, we must use the money he has provided us to advance his kingdom and bring him glory.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."
his righteousness endures forever."
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
During his message at Hillcrest this morning, Darrin Plant said that surrendering was the "Ultimate New Year's Resolution". Is money the part of your life that needs to be surrendered to God?
We will take a deeper dive into tithing, loans, debt, savings and more in the weeks to come... Stay tuned!
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