All The Saints (part 20)

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul references these covenant markers as “those things… once destroyed” (Galatians 2:18), insisting that the taking up of these works of the law, by a Gentile, as the means by which he or she enters into the Creator God’s covenant people, or as the response to entrance upon the covenant, becomes the equivalent of breaking God’s law (2:18).  A profound and potentially startling conclusion!  Indeed (though this is not an attempt to join text to text, but merely a reference to others of Paul’s letters as a means to adequately grasp the thinking of the Apostle), he goes on to insist that if covenant inclusion comes from adherence to covenant markers (if righteousness could come through the law – 2:21), “then Christ died for nothing!” (2:21b) 

Following from the mention of food, drink, feasts and the like, Paul tells his Colossian hearers that “these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ!” (2:17)  While the covenant markers pointed to the kingdom of the Creator God, and while they served to delineate those that were participating, those that were supposed to be participating, or those that were thought to be in a position to participate in that kingdom, it is the confession of Jesus as “the Christ,” or as “the Messiah,” that has enabled the reality of that kingdom and demonstrates its world-encompassing (people, creation, and cosmos) scope. 

Moving along to the third chapter, Paul takes up a popular theme from the early church and in his own letters (to Corinth as the most prominent example), which was the idea that the church represented a new humanity---the way of being truly human.  As Paul has championed the fusion of Jew and Gentile into one people, one must hear the words to come with a state of mind shaped by that thought as Paul says “Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices” (3:9).  This is far more than a simple juxtaposition of the “carnal,” “unsaved,” or unregenerate” man, against the “spiritual,” “saved,” or “regenerate” man.  The ideal that stands behind this statement is the new creation and the new humanity that is shaped by the mysterious activity of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. 

The “old man” is the old way of being human, prior to the example provided by the Creator God in Christ, which climaxed with the cross and the Resurrection.  That understood, one must allow Paul to add to that the insistence that those that confess Jesus as Lord, and who allow their lives and their interaction in, with, and for this world to be shaped by His cross and all that it implies, “have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it” (3:10).  The new humanity, most importantly, will finally be able to rightly bear the divine image, to steward His creation (now the creation that is being renewed and will be completely renewed), and to reflect His glory into the world (good stewardship as His divine image-bearers), which had been the purpose of the Creator God in His act of creation. 

In this new humanity of divine image-bearers that have been given the physical and historical example of Jesus to imitate in their quest to bear that image, “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free” (3:11a).  Accordingly then, “Christ is all and in all” (3:11b).  The Messiah is a Messiah for all peoples, He is the manifestation of the Creator God, and He dwells within His people (reverting back to thoughts of the Temple as the place where the Creator God dwells and as the place where heaven and earth overlap). 

All The Saints (part 11)

Notice the focus on the matter of Gentiles and the effectiveness of the Gospel’s message.  This, of course, makes perfect sense, as Paul is primarily known as the Apostle to the Gentiles.  At the same time however, he addresses himself to Jews as well, as his congregations (household meal gatherings in honor of Jesus) are a mixed bag, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles.  This is well demonstrated not only by the content of his letters, but by the fact that he spends a great deal of time addressing Jews in the synagogues in the various Gentile-dominated cities to which he travels. 

However, Luke, as the author of Acts, is free to pick and choose that upon which he focuses his attention and that which he relays to the readers/hearers of his work.  Interestingly, he consistently chooses to impart information concerning Gentiles, with this information provided its contextual setting by the Jew/Gentile issue that consumed the energy of the nascent church and so much of Paul’s attention.  This lends substantial weight to the idea that the means by which Gentiles are included in the covenant people and share in their promises (the means by which they are justified) was a (if not the) fundamental point of contention in the early church. 

Verse twenty provides the response: “When they heard this, they praised God.  Then they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law” (Acts 21:20).  That is, they are believers in Jesus who continue to adhere to the covenant markers of circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, and dietary laws.  Going on, “They have been informed about you---that you teach all the Jews now living among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs” (21:21).  This, as can be gleaned from Paul’s letters, is highly debatable, and probably something of a distortion or half-truth (at best). 

Paul’s primary concern was the covenant marker of Gentiles, that being confession of Jesus as Lord (their confession of the Gospel) that made them people of the covenant, and not the submission to the ongoing covenant markers of Israel as that which made them people of the covenant.  Paul was not concerned with whether or not the Jews continued to hold to these customs, being far more concerned with not forcing Gentiles to submit to them, as doing so would contribute, in his mind, to erecting barriers to the spread of the kingdom of the Creator God to all peoples.  Paul clearly demonstrates his belief that it would create unnecessary and probably unhelpful divisions among people, with these divisions based solely on identifying practices that had nothing to do with the proclamation of the Lordship of Jesus. 

If anything, Paul’s preaching probably encouraged Judaizing Gentiles (Gentiles who had adopted the covenant markers of Israel so as to come under the auspices and provisions of the covenant, so becoming Jews) to discontinue Sabbath-keeping and adherence to dietary laws (reversing circumcision, though possible, would probably not be encouraged, especially considering that Jews were not the only people to practice circumcision---it was really the combination of covenant related activities, though these changed over the years to reach the form that they had taken by the time of Jesus and Paul, that served to set Israel apart from other peoples).  This could form the basis for the mild accusation heard in the twenty-first verse, as, in order to make a point, they would not make an effort to distinguish between a Jew of national and ethnic Israel, and someone who had become a Jew through the required processes.  Though this study will not dwell on it, this chapter and its recorded exchange provides an indication that there may have been something of a struggle for honor within the church, with what has already come and what follows serving as an attempt to shame Paul.   

All The Saints (part 5)

One can feel the warmth of the bright shining light of this entrenched interest when sitting alongside the gathered Colossian congregation, joining together in their customary meal gathering in honor of their Lord as the letter from the Apostle is read aloud and hearing “We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (Colossians 1:3-4).  With the background provided, one should not skim quickly over this “all.”  It should be heard with all of the world-altering potential contained therein. 

After a quick bit of praise from Paul, while making mention of the Gospel that he says “has come to you” (1:6a), he adds an “all” emphasis with “Just as in the entire world this Gospel is bearing fruit and growing” (1:6b).  As with the “all” of verse four, one must not take lightly this talk of the “entire world,” given the backdrop of the exclusiveness that limited entrance upon the covenant.  Contrary to this, and contrary to his former way of life, Paul’s words, along with the sentiments expressed by Peter (as recorded in Acts), represent the realization of the flinging open of the doors of the Creator God’s covenant to all people---the entire world. 

It is in this mindset that one then goes on to hear the words of verse twelve, where Paul writes of their “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light” (1:12).  This qualification speaks to the issue of inclusion.  Prior to Jesus, and prior to the announcement of His Gospel (acknowledging Him as Lord of all) as the means (identification) by which one enters into the covenant (is justified), it was the works of the law (the accepted covenant markers and practices that identified and separated the people of Israel from all other people) that provided qualification to be a “saint” and to share in the promised inheritance that stretched all the way back to Abraham.  To that, reinforcing the “all,” “entire world,” and “qualified” language, Paul adds “He delivered us,” a word of unity, “from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (1:13-14). 

“Redemption” is a loaded term with a strong history, rooted in the history of Israel and firmly connected to the exodus, which was an incredibly important component of the story by which Israel identified itself.  Redemption is, in effect, exodus.  Throughout the Scriptures, the symbol of the Creator God’s redemption of His people was their exoduses, which were many.  Exodus, be it exodus from Egypt or exodus from Babylon (or from any other oppressor, whether inside or outside of the land of promise), was crucial to the story of Israel, and was a unifying theme for a people that took an “us against the world” stance. 

Redemption, or exodus, which implied a deliverance from exile (which was the result of Israel’s “sins”), was by and large (it’s not really the case for the Egyptian exodus) the evidence that Israel had been forgiven of its sins of covenant violations.  Therefore, Paul’s use of this language, as it is encompasses both Jew and Gentile, draws the Gentiles into the story of his God’s redemptive actions on behalf of Israel and the world through Israel, providing them with an exodus of their own, thus folding them into the people of Israel’s God. 

Timothy & Countering The Culture (part 32 of 32)

The cultural engagement part of the universal penetration of the kingdom of the Creator God (as the realm of this God’s existence overlaps with the realm of human existence whenever Jesus is proclaimed as Lord in both word, and equally importantly in deed), and as was seen earlier in this study, must be considered as a counter-imperialism.  To this end, the apostle could he heard taking up the language reserved for and applied to the Caesar, and appropriating it to the true Emperor of the eternal empire of the Creator God. 

That said, and as one nears the end of the letter, there is a necessary circling back to this counter-imperialism which is foundational to a counter-cultural movement, as governments, through their deity-aspirant brokers of power almost invariably attempt to shape the culture around themselves, desiring to orient the lives of their citizens towards the needs of the state (creating a patron/client system in which the government, or a single entity, becomes all in all as the locus of power). 

In the first chapter, Paul refers to Christ Jesus as the one who strengthens and saves, while exulting in Him as “the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God,” who was deserving of honor and glory forever.  This was how the worshipers of Caesar (and of Rome) then spoke of the one that say they saw as the savior of the world.  Paul does not let Timothy forget that the first and foremost claim of the church is the universal Lordship of Jesus as the crucified and resurrected Messiah, whose sovereign rule encompasses all kings and all kingdoms; and that this rule is demonstrated by the compassionate, kingdom of the covenant God affirming activities of those that acknowledge themselves to be the body of the Christ (His hands and feet). 

To accomplish this reminder, Paul builds on his directive of keeping away, pursuing, competing, and confessing, inching towards the close of his letter (though the instructions concerning the rich will intervene between these words and the final close) in much the same way that he basically began, with a Caesar parodying doxology. 

He writes, and the words echo in solemn contemplation of the believer’s charge to be counter-cultural change agents: “I charge you before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession before Pontius Pilate, to obey this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ---whose appearing the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time” (6:13-14).  Paul makes it clear just who it is that truly rules the world, contrary to the claim of the stewards of Rome’s far-flung but ultimately miniscule empire, adding “He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see.  To Him be honor and eternal power!  Amen” (6:16).        

Timothy & Countering The Culture (part 19)

In the fourth chapter, Paul states that “every creation of God is good” (1 Timothy 4:4a).  With such words, the Apostle reaches back to the opening words of the Scriptural narrative, affirming the words that close out the first chapter of Genesis, which are “God saw all that He had made---and it was very good!” (1:31a)  One may think that such a statement is hardly revolutionary or counter-cultural, but in the Greco-Roman world, it was. 

Now, before ascertaining the counter-cultural character of this particular statement, which can be heard alongside the declaration of the covenant God’s creation being very good, it is necessary to recognize that this is not an assertion made in isolation.  Paul has written “Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will depart from the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.  They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.  For every creation of God is good and no food is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.  For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer” (4:1-5). 

What Paul has in mind as these things are written, and the issues to which he addresses himself by these words, are not relevant to this study.  Even though the statement about every creation of the covenant God being good does not stand alone and asks to be heard in context, it is also possible to hear Paul operating on multiple levels of communication.  Though he may be directly addressing a known issue within the church community, it is not preposterous to suggest that Timothy, along with those that will hear this letter, will pick up on statements that may be directed to wider cultural forces that could have a deleterious effect on the church of the Christ. 

The Hebrew mindset, which affirmed their God’s good creation, and by and large looked forward to their God’s redemption of His people and His creation---expecting that which defaced His good creation (death) to be defeated and removed and anticipating a resurrection of the righteous dead (especially Israel) into a restored world that will once again be pronounced as very good (a hope that was rightly carried over into Christianity)---stood in opposition to two major, highly influential, and when it comes to the Greco-Roman world, nearly universally adhered to religious/philosophical “schools” of the day, which were “Stoicism” and "Epicureanism.”  Regardless of which god(s) one worshiped in that day, be it the Caesar or any other deity, one’s religious tendencies could be colored by one of the two philosophical bents.  Naturally, those who worshiped Jesus as Lord and God could fall into the same patterns.  Undoubtedly, as shall be seen, this is something against which Paul wanted to be on guard.    

Plato, with his teaching about “forms,” in which (though this is much simplified) all earthly things were merely imperfect forms of that which existed in the heavenly realms, greatly influenced both the stoic and the epicurean approaches to life.  Essentially, the influential Platonic philosophy reduced all of life to the physical, which was bad, and to the spiritual, which was good.  Regardless of one’s particular philosophy, this would largely be the basis for one’s religious approach to life.  With this as a very shallow foundation, it is now possible to proceed to learn about these ideologies. 

Corinth's Communion (part 11)

Though Paul does write that “A person should examine himself first, and in this way let him eat the bread and drink of the cup” (11:28), the thrust of the letter, when considered within a diligently teased out knowledge about the context of meal practice and what it communicated about the church and the presentation of the kingdom of heaven that is the responsibility of the church, forces one to consider the “person” in the context of the community in an attempt to fully and rightly discern what it is that is taking place and what has the Apostle so exercised at this congregation. 

This is hardly a nonsensical deduction, as Paul began this section of the letter with a general address to the whole of the church that he would have intended to hear his words together as a community at the same time and same place.  He wrote “I do not praise you” (11:17).  This is clearly directed to the group.  When he writes “you come together not for the better but for the worse” (11:17), and then reinforces this with “when you come together as a church” (11:18), this is clearly group-speak and should be heard as such.  Hearing it in this way serves as a reminder that it is the actions of the believing community, composed of individual actors (but not necessarily the actions of individuals in isolation) that are the concern of the Apostle.  

The addition of “I hear there are divisions among you” (11:18) reveals Paul’s desire for unity as a group, while also serving as a lament that there are divisions.  Such a lament would militate against any type of practice that served to elevate the individual aspect when concerning oneself with the meal which identified one as a loyalist to Jesus and as a willing participant in the kingdom program of the Creator God for the world that was being enacted through the actions of the church.  It would seem that, owing to the attention that he is providing to this issue, the ongoing actions of the church of the Christ will be reflected in the meal table and then, as an outgrowth of their meal practice, enacted by the church community 

This is not to say that the Creator God does not work through individuals, but such a thought does serve as a reminder that no man (or woman) is an island unto himself.  So there is no need to devalue the importance of individual pursuit within the kingdom.  However, maintaining consideration of the context, which is that of a meal that is communal through and through, individualistic concerns, especially as Paul addresses this church, fall by the wayside.  Realizing this makes it possible to get at the root of the problem.   

It has become clear that an approach to that which serves to identify the church of the Christ, that being the communion table, that puts a premium on the individual heart or soul condition of the one that comes to the table, is almost counter-intuitive to what Paul believes is necessary and appropriate (and has no place in a reading of the first Corinthian letter).  Indeed, if the example provided by Jesus is considered again, as the meals of the Jesus tradition have come to devolve upon the communion table, one could, if hung up on individualism and anachronistic determinations of worthiness and examination, say that Jesus was Himself prompting violations that would bring judgments of weakness, sickness, and death, as He was consistently coming to the table and welcoming to the table (and thus breaking bread with) those identified as tax collectors and sinners, who were therefore most certainly examined and considered to be individuals of the unworthy variety.  This is quite the conundrum, and one is only forced to it if one continues to miss the main concern of the Apostle as he addressed what he had learned was happening in this church.        

Suppression Of Truth (part 6 of 6)

Here again, one simply finds passion misdirected to that which dishonors, springing from self-idolatry, rather than to that which acknowledges and honors the Creator God.  In a sharp and revealing contrast to the shame that was said to have been experienced by Adam and Eve when their eyes were opened and they realized what they had done and that they were naked, Paul insists that mankind’s course of dishonor and idolatry would quickly reach the point at which “Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Romans 1:27b). 

Indeed, it would appear to be the general argument of Scripture that, because of the corruption that occurred at what is recognized as the fall of man, which is pointed to as the time at which the truth of the covenant God and of man’s purpose in this world to honor the Creator rather than self began to be suppressed, that death began its long reign.  Borrowing the language of the Apostle, this was a due penalty indeed.  With this in mind, Paul goes on to describe the lot of all of humanity, writing “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done” (1:28). 

Thusly, from time immemorial mankind has been “filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice… rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility” (1:28a).  It goes beyond that, as Paul goes on to write, “They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless” (1:29-31).  This would certainly seem to run amiss of that which the Creator intended for His specially created image-bearers.  Paul continues, writing that even though all this be the case “they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them” (1:32).  

So yes, because man had been imprinted with/as the divine image, he retains, even in the midst of his self-worship and petulant refusal to acknowledge a god beyond himself.  Here Paul implies that there is still a basic, residual knowledge and understanding of the Creator God’s decree of death for violation of His covenant, though the fallen image-bearers impotently rage against and attempt to deny that decree, along with the just Creator that stands behind it.  In spite of this damning indictment, the reader of the letter to the Romans eventually come to find that, because of the love of God, the Christ died (5:8) for that same humanity just described, which is most definitely a truth that should not, cannot, and will not be suppressed.   

Set Free (part 1)

For the law of life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8:2  (NET)

The Apostle Paul pens this statement as a follow up to the statement of the first verse of the chapter, where it is read that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (8:1).  In these two verses, he twice uses the extraordinarily important phrase “in Christ Jesus.”  It is in Christ Jesus, that is, in union with Christ Jesus, which can be summed up as a believing allegiance in Jesus the Christ as Lord of all, which has come about through the preaching of the Gospel (Jesus is Lord of all) that strangely transmits the power of God unto salvation.  That salvation (in its many facets and implications), indeed, is the setting free from the law of sin and death. 

In union with Christ, and therefore being made to share in the restorative, re-creating power of the Resurrection (the in-breaking of the kingdom of heaven), the believer, like Israel from Egypt, is dragged out of his exile from God.  The one who believes in Jesus as Lord is converted, if you will, from being outside of His covenant family, to being inside His covenant family.  This conversion and new covenant status is based on allegiance to Him that is demonstrated through the confession of Jesus the Christ as Lord and Savior.  Outside of the covenant family, one is unable to rightly bear God’s image.  Inside the covenant family, because one is in union with Christ, as demonstrated by calling Him Lord, which is the mark of the renewed covenant people of God, the believer has ultimately overcome the final exilic curse of death, because Christ overcame death. 

In the next verse, Paul goes on to write “For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh” (8:3a).  Of course, it is understood it was God’s people, Israel, that were given the law.  Why were they given the law?  Ultimately, it was to bring the Creator God glory by rightly bearing His image into the world, which, according to the Scriptural narrative, was the charge laid upon Adam.  This would reflect the glory of the Creator God into the world, gathering up His praises from the whole of the creation.  Israel was given the law as a way to approach that which the Creator God had intended for humanity, but which had been rejected and lost in the fall. 

Unfortunately, at the fall, not only was mankind ejected from off of the path of God’s purpose for the beings that He created in His image, but the power necessary to adequately bear that image and properly steward the creation and shine the light of God’s glory into the world was lost as well.  Owing to their exodus and what accompanied it, Israel was in a better position to fully trust their God than was the rest of humanity, because of what they had seen and experienced at God’s hand owing to the covenant promises that had been made to Abraham, but their story is largely one of a failure to trust.  The covenant people (like Adam in a sense) failed to perform at the level of minimum expectation (no idolatry, reverence the sanctuary, keep the Sabbaths), and thus they failed to bear God’s image in the world. 

The Creator God had intended for His people to be a light to the nations, to illumine the world through the knowledge of the blessings that their God would pour out upon them simply for being people that were faithful to the their covenant responsibilities.  Owing largely to their idolatry (which resulted in their inhumane treatment of one another, according to the prophets) however, and the curses and exile that God brought upon His people---as promised if they succumbed to idolatry---Israel became a people that profaned the name of God.  The nations looked upon Israel’s experience and responded with mocking and ridicule.  Israel was to lead people to the knowledge of the providential, creative, and covenant God, and was to be a source of blessing not just for themselves, but for all the peoples of the world.  The law was to be a tool in their hands for this purpose. 

Regarded As Nothing (part 2 of 2)

There were those in the synagogue in Ephesus who, as usual, rejected Paul’s preaching of “the Way” (19:9), so eventually Paul left the synagogue and took up his teaching “every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.  This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the Word of the Lord” (19:9b-10).  Again, this Word of the Lord, as can be construed from the record of Paul’s preaching (as provided by Acts) and from his writing, would have been that Jesus is Lord.  That was the message of the Gospel, and that alone, as it seems according to Paul’s thinking, represents the message that would grow in power and prevail.  If one desires consistency with the text of the New Testament, there would need to be some level of agreement that there is no other message that could be described in such a way.    

Due to the apparent effectiveness of the preaching of the message of the Gospel, as it grew in power and prevailed, the previously mentioned Demetrius’ business was most likely suffering.  So he called a meeting of the craftsmen, “along with the workmen in similar trades, and said, ‘Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this business.  And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all” (19:25b-26).  This is where one comes upon his statement that “There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing” (19:27a).  He concludes his statement with “and she whom all the province of Asia and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness” (19:27b).

In that day, this temple, which was considered to be one of the wonders of the ancient world, had been in place for over five-hundred years.  As a significant place of worship, it drew thousands of pilgrims from all over the world.  It seems that the devotees of Artemis, as the goddess of Ephesus (whose temple was the source of much wealth and influence), could quickly fill a fifty-thousand seat theater, and when prodded, gladly shout “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (19:34b) for two solid hours.  Nevertheless, the tireless preaching of the Gospel, of the foolish and confounding message of a crucified man that had been raised from the dead by the Creator God of Israel, was believed to be a threat to the temple and its goddess, with that threat thought to be able to reach the point that both would be “regarded as nothing,” and that the world would suffer the loss of her (Artemis) greatness. 

Surely, that speaks directly to the inherent, transformative, and world-shaping power of the preaching of the message of Jesus.  There is no message besides the message of Jesus Christ crucified and raised that has such power.  It is this message that goes forth by the Holy Spirit and transforms hearts and minds.  It is the message that Paul preached.  It was the message that Jesus’ disciples took into the world.  It is the message, supreme above anything else that could ever be preached or taught, that the devotees of the Jesus cult should be carrying into this world on a daily basis.  All other messages are secondary, and if the secondary message is not rooted in the Gospel proclamation (Jesus is Lord of all) and appended with the message of the cross and an empty tomb, then, at least according to the example of the Apostle, it may be considered to be rather frivolous.        

Subject To Rulers & Authorities (part 3 of 4)

In what is perhaps yet another hearkening back to considerations of the covenant and the responsibility of God’s chosen people within God’s covenant plan (as Paul was a member of Israel who would see himself as defined by the history of his people and its most important and defining events, the previously referenced washings and renewal and new birth could certainly be heard as an allusion to the exodus, as Israel symbolically passes through the waters of the Red Sea, reborn as a renewed people in a single day---baptism, of course, plays on this tradition), Paul notes that “He saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of His mercy” (3:5a). 

Throughout his writings, when Paul uses the term “righteousness,” he is not doing so in a broad-based way or in a nod to performance of what might be considered to be “good works” in the moral sphere.  Almost without fail, when Paul writes “righteousness,” he is making a direct reference to God’s covenant faithfulness.  Because it is almost always valuable to bring in historical reference to provide appropriate grounding for statements made in Paul’s writing, here again it is worth considering that the single greatest example (outside of the Christ-event) of the covenant faithfulness and mercy of the Creator God, as salvation is provided apart from His people’s ability to do anything about their situation, is the example of the exodus.  This event is almost always going to be at play in the mind of the Apostle.   

Here, in light of what comes immediately before it, as he is both encouraging believers to be submissive to authorities while at the same time remembering his own people’s failure to be properly submissive to those authorities, it is reasonable to hear Paul extolling God’s covenant faithfulness yet again, by reminding his readers that neither God’s people Israel, who had been given the knowledge of God’s covenant, nor God’s people of renewed Israel in Christ, had entered into righteousness (faithfulness to the covenant such that right standing in God’s kingdom was evident, as demonstrated by deeds of love, mercy, and sacrifice).  That is, none had been faithful to God’s covenant requirements to be a light to the nations so as to bring Him glory, especially if they are now bringing their God into disrepute in the eyes of the peoples of the world by becoming belligerent citizens. 

In spite of that, the Creator God proffered and continues to proffer His salvation, dragging His people out of their long exile in the realm of death and separation from Him, and gifting them with His eternal life through belief in the Lordship of His Christ.  This was done entirely through His mercy.  Of course, this talk of mercy would also have a cultural grounding in the context of honor and shame and the court of public reputation, with this speaking quite highly of the God of Israel as a/the most generous patron (beyond Caesar himself, though the people of Christ will still submit to Caesar’s rule).    

Looking again to the fifth and sixth verses, and the all-important Resurrection power that is shared with believers through their union with Christ by the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by faith’s confession of Jesus as Lord (here we remember talk of washing and renewing), we are propelled forward to verse seven, and find that “since we have been justified by His grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life” (3:7).  Here, with talk of justification (entrance upon the covenant), believers experience the grace of the Creator God, thereby entering into His circle of grace (another component of the honor and shame culture), receiving the benefits (heirs) of their great patron, and now orienting their life in such a way that they participate in that circle of grace by living and acting in such a way, especially towards their fellow man as good citizens, that they become the place where the life of the age to come (eternal life) breaks into this world.

Groaning (part 2 of 2)

Continuing his train of thought, the apostle goes on to write, “For the creation was subjected to futility---not willingly but because of God Who subjected it” (8:20).  Again, it seems that what we have here is an echo of Israel’s subjection by the Egyptians.  Just as the story of Israel has the people being subjected against their will, owing to the king that did not know Joseph (with the story indicating his having apparently forgotten what Joseph did for Egypt), so too was the creation subjected to futility against its will, with this presumably owing to Adam’s forgetting of the commands and covenant of the Creator God.  However, in both cases, there is a reminder that the same Creator God remains in control, cognizant of the situation and His continuing purposes.

In Romans, this subjection comes with a hope “that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children” (8:21).  Here, the analogy to Israel in Egypt grows increasingly clear.  Just as Israel was going to be set free from its bondage and returned to their long-looked-for land of promise, so also will the creation be set free from its bondage to death and decay, and from its thorns and thistles, being returned to that state for which its Creator intended it, and which He had originally declared to be good. 

The creation then functions much like Israel in Egypt, and we can grasp that as Paul writes “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now” (8:23).  Just as the Creator God heard His people and remembered His covenant with Israel’s forefathers, so He also hears the groans of His creation, as it reacts to its futile subjection and oppression and rigorous servitude.  Not only does Paul set forth creation’s groaning like Israel, he also connects the groaning to the people of God in Christ, who have come to be the renewed Israel with a renewed covenant based on its new forefather (Jesus), writing “Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies” (8:23).

As the Passover narrative of Exodus culminates in the redemption and rescue of Israel, together with the destruction of its enemies, so too does the use of exodus language as it is applied to both the creation and the renewed Israel in union with Christ (those that confess Jesus as Lord).  Paul and others have come to understand that through the Resurrection death was defeated; and though all living things still die, death has no ultimate power, as fear has been replaced by hope.  Because of the Christ’s Resurrection, those that believe in Him, join His movement, and share in the kingdom of the Creator God (its means and its purposes) have the sure and steadfast hope and promise of a resurrection to come, when the kingdom of heaven, already inaugurated through the ruling Lordship of Christ, is fully consummated upon His return. 

Though there is an ongoing groaning, because of Christ’s Resurrection, death can no longer oppress.  Through that same power for resurrection, the creation also eventually escapes oppression, expecting renewal.  Just as redeemed humanity regains the image of Himself that had been God’s intention, so too will the creation experience the benefits of God’s covenant faithfulness.  As the Creator God reverses the curses pronounced against man upon his fall, so too does that same covenanting God reverse the curse pronounced upon His good creation.  As God’s work for His people in Egypt began with groaning and progressed through God’s miraculous intervention on behalf of His people, so too can we contemplate and comprehend God’s work for His people---for though we groan, and though the creation groans, we experience His eternal life (the life of the age to come) in the midst of hope because of the miraculous intervention that God performed through His Christ, and when He miraculously intervenes in His world through His image-bearers that bear the name of the crucified One. 

Transgressions & Sins (part 4 of 5)

It was in spite of all of this that the love of the Creator God broke on and in to the scene of history, was demonstrated through the Christ’s self-sacrificial crucifixion, and unleashed into a fallen world as part of the power that raised up Christ from the dead.  The Apostle seems to insist that Resurrection power, which includes the love of God that makes one alive together with Christ, is contained in the message of the Gospel, and is made manifest in the Gospel proclamation that Jesus is Lord. 

Those who adhere to this grand statement, holding to this confession as the covenant marker of faith, have been exodus-ed from out of the realm of death, delivered from the exile attendant upon their transgressions, and now share in the eternal life (the life of the age to come) embodied in the resurrected Christ in the inaugurated kingdom of God, in full expectation of a coming consummation of that kingdom, along with the renewed physicality of a bodily resurrection (just like Jesus) in a renewed and restored creation (just like the one that God pronounced very good) upon Christ’s return. 

Because of that hopeful expectation which exists because, as Paul says, “by grace you are saved” (2:5b), meaning that his readers/hearers have been redeemed from exile and delivered from death into eternal life (here and now and in the age to come) as God’s gracious gift, there is an obligation to continue in demonstration of the same type of love revealed in and through Jesus, to bless all peoples through sharing the message of the Gospel, continuing the powerful, onward, life-altering march of the kingdom of the Creator God through the simple affirmation that yes, Jesus is Lord.   

Though all of God’s people had been dead in transgressions and sins, in exile from God’s promises because of that fact, that exile is ended, life is gifted, and death is overcome through the power that was set forth in the Resurrection.  This salvation, this being saved, which is a sharing in the gift of eternal life in union with Christ (confessing Jesus as King and living accordingly) because of the Gospel, while in the hopeful expectation of the Resurrection to come, is a gracious gift of God.

Paul makes a further elaboration on this idea of being “saved,” writing that “He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).  Not only would this be taken as a statement of honor within the culture, as being seated with a king would have significant implications, this raising, being made alive together (2:5) as Paul says, is the exile-ending resurrection from death into Christ’s kingdom, as the people of God in Christ.  Does this mean that the point of the salvation is a dis-embodied existence in a far-away place, having escaped the evil world and the chains of mortal flesh?  If we want to be consistent with all of the Apostle Paul’s writings, we must understand the “heavenly realms” as yet another way in which he makes reference to the kingdom of God on earth that was inaugurated by Christ’s Resurrection (not to mention that heavenly realms can also be thought of as temple-related talk, which fits well with Paul’s broad insistence that believers are the temple of God---the place where heaven and earth overlap, which was also the way upon which the Temple itself was looked). 

Being raised and seated with Jesus, with its component of elevation to honor from a lower place or a place of shame (though the Christian, like his or her Lord, willingly embraces shame and takes the lowest spot---in this case, Paul seems to be speaking metaphorically), would appear to include the idea of being delivered from the exile of death that is an existence apart from the kingdom (and service to the kingdom) of the Creator God, and delivered into the kingdom of heaven that has been established on earth, enjoying a measure of eternal life as the Gospel is believed and proclaimed, and experience its power for salvation (eternal life).  

Commanded By The Lord

So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come.  Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. – Acts 10:33  (ESV)

It is likely that we have read these words dozens of times, yet have never taken their full measure or grasped the significance and importance of what it is that is being said here.  What is significant is not only what is said, but by whom it is being said.  These are the words of a man named Cornelius, a Roman centurion and commander of the Italian Cohort.  Cornelius speaks these words to the Apostle Peter, who has been brought to his house from Joppa, having just received a vision from the Lord in regards to things clean and unclean.

Earlier in this chapter of Acts, we read that Cornelius “saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, ‘Cornelius.’  And he stared at Him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’”  (10:3-4a)  That statement is worth noting because of the consistent, underlying message that we find in the New Testament, which sets Jesus in contrast to Caesar.  In that day, “Lord” (kurios) was a title that was reserved for Caesar.  Yet here we find this title on the lips of one of Caesar’s soldiers, as it is directed to the “angel of God.”  Then we see him using the title again in our text above. 

Now Cornelius was in Caesarea.  As a ranking military official in the land in which the events of the life and death of Christ had taken place, it would be unreasonable to think that he was unaware of the things that were being said about Jesus, or that he was unaware of the activities of the main proponents of that message.  He would have known the claims that the followers of Jesus were making for Him.  Indeed, the speech that he made in welcoming Peter to his house indicates his awareness of the message of Jesus that Peter carried, and perhaps of his growing understanding of the significance of the claim, as he says, using official, military language, that “we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”  Clearly, Cornelius, the Roman centurion and subject of Caesar, with his use of both “God” and “Lord” and “commanded,” makes a distinction that shows us that he himself had come to think of Jesus as “Lord.”  Coming from him, as the commander of up to one thousand soldiers of Lord Caesar, this would be no light matter.

Having been encouraged by Cornelius to speak of the Lord Jesus, “Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him’.” (10:34-35)  With that as a preface, Peter continues and says, “As for the word that He sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)” (10:36).  Here, before a Roman military commander, and likely, before a group of Roman government officials and probably some soldiers as well, Peter uses some startling language.  He speaks of the “good news of peace.”  This is the Gospel of peace.  For the Roman hearer, this would be the good news of the Caesar and of the peace (pax Romana) that he brings.  Peter applies it to Jesus.  Then, in the same breath, while a number of his hearers are contemplating the depth of this statement and its inherent challenge to the Lordship of their emperor, Peter extends his claim and says frankly that it is Jesus that is “Lord of all.”  A bit later, Peter adds that Jesus “is the One appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead” (10:42b).  This claim is made in stark contrast to the well-known fact that it is Caesar, the all-powerful ruler of the world, that has the power to judge, and who has the power of life and death. 

While it is said of Cornelius that he was “a devout man who feared God” (10:2a), and that he used the language of “Lord” in reference to Jesus, this would not necessarily apply to all those that were around him, so Peter is being quite bold.  Cornelius himself is being quite bold, revealing his revolutionary beliefs to the people closest to him, inviting certain scrutiny, possible persecution, and probable removal from his position.  This should tell us something about the revolutionary and resolute faith that is demonstrated by those that confess their belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Just as “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (10:38a), He does the same for all those that choose to testify of His Son.  

Advancing The Gospel

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel – Philippians 1:12  (ESV)

This is what defined the Apostle Paul.  His mission, wherever that mission took him, was to advance the Gospel of Jesus the Christ.  His mission was to tell the world, to tell all who would hear him even if they did not want to hear him, that Jesus the Christ was Lord.  Paul’s mission was to inform all men everywhere, whether they would come to believe it or not, that there was no greater principality or power or ruler than the resurrected Christ, Jesus the Messiah of Israel, the One to Whom “was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him” (Daniel 7:14a).  Paul’s message was that the realm in and over which this King Jesus ruled, was an “everlasting dominion which shall not pass away,” and a Kingdom “that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14b).  All, regardless of status or rank or privilege or supposed power, were to hear this message.    

So what was it that had happened to Paul, as we read in our text, that had really served to advance the Gospel?  He was in some form of imprisonment.  This is what was serving to advance the Gospel.  How so?  Well, it has to do with his mission, which, as said above, was to inform all people, without exception, that there was a true Lord and King Whose name was Jesus.  Being in prison, Paul said, had served to make this message “known throughout the whole imperial guard” (Philippians 1:13b). 

Effectively and for all practical purposes, Paul was in prison for claiming that there was another King, and that this King possessed a greater power, both here on earth and in the heavens, than did Caesar.  Paul was in prison for saying that Jesus was truly the Son of God, and not a mythical, play-acting son of god as was pretended by Caesar.  Paul had declared that Caesar’s instrument of power over the people, that being the cross, had been taken by a true King and been turned from an instrument of subjection and forced submission to imperial power, into an instrument of eternal life (the life of the age to come) which served to convey the message of Resurrection power.  Paul was declaring that Jesus had stripped Caesar of his power by His actions on the cross.  Paul said that when Jesus came out of the tomb, in a bodily Resurrection, that He was declared by that to be the true Son of God, with real power (Romans 1:4).  This flew directly in the face of the claims of Caesar and the cult of worship that was associated with his rule. 

With that established, Paul echoed what he may have known to be the words of Jesus, putting Caesar in his rightful place, by saying, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:7).  Regardless of what is here being communicated, Paul seems to make it clear that one thing that was not owed to Caesar was worship.  That belonged to Christ alone. 

We must bear in mind that this message was being made known to the whole imperial guard.  This was being made known to those who were most likely immersed in emperor worship, or forced to participate at some level, as part of the Caesar cult.  Paul was not being sensitive to their culture and religion, nor was he changing his message in the least little bit.  Though some were obviously being changed by this message of power, it is reasonable to presume that not all came to belief, so we can imagine this was not making his time in prison any easier.  Nevertheless, he did not back down, saying that not only was it being made known to the imperial guard, but that it was being made known “to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ” (1:13b).  Who these “all the rest” were is unknown, but we can surmise that some were people of influence, because the message of the Gospel appeared to be having an effect, especially as it relates to the governing authorities (Caesar’s household, as we shall shortly see).  We can make that connection because Paul says that “most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear” (1:14).  It was the very fact of Paul’s imprisonment, and his continuing to proclaim and prove the message of Jesus as Lord of all without change or alteration, that created an environment in which there need be less fear of persecution by the authorities (though the persecution would come, Caesar and his authorities could merely kill the body). 

The very proclamation of the Gospel message (Jesus is Lord of all), without addition or insistence upon any type of sanctifying performance, was what was changing hearts and minds, and creating fallow ground for the continued propagation of the Gospel, the growth of the ministry, and the extension of God’s covenant to the people that were desired to be a part of His Kingdom.  The Gospel itself, as Paul would write to the Roman church, was and is “the power of God unto salvation” (1:16), which aped the claims of Rome and Caesar, who was also looked to as a bringer of “salvation” to the world.  When Paul looks at his imprisonment and can say that what was happening to him was really serving to advance the Gospel, it can truly be said that the preaching of Jesus as Lord was indeed turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6).  This was so much the case, that Paul comes to the close of this letter to the Philippian church, writing “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household” (4:22).  Yes, the Gospel was being advanced.       

Life & Immortality & Light

…and which has now been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel – 2 Timothy 1:10  (ESV

Our Savior.  Our Christ.  Jesus the Messiah.  This is the One Who had taken the Apostle Paul into His grip and set him upon the mission which would consume the totality of his being until he breathed out his very last breath.  As we read those titles, especially that of Savior, let us always bear in mind that these were risky claims that Paul and his fellow Apostles and saints were making on behalf of Jesus.  There was insurrection and revolution in these words, as it was Caesar that also bore the title of “Savior” (soteros here in the Greek) in that day.  It was Caesar, through the power of Rome, that was recognized and roundly worshiped as the man responsible for bringing the world out of the crushing darkness of barbarism, into the marvelous light of the glory of Rome, bringing life to all through its “Pax Romana” (Roman peace), and through the immortal empire that was never to fail or fall. 

Paul made such claims about Jesus, saying that it was through the Gospel---that message that Jesus was Lord of all (rather than Caesar), with at least partial evidence of this being that He was raised from the dead (and the judgment of the world’s powers)---that Jesus brought life and immortality.  It was through the appearance of Jesus that eternal life (the life of the age to come) was manifested, and not merely as something to be expected after death, but as something that is present in the world through all who are brought to believe in these factual claims about Him.  Rome expanded its empire and extended its power in the same way that all empires before it had done, which was through the bringing of death.  For Rome, the cross was the symbol of its power over all who dared stand in opposition to its claims.  By undergoing death upon this dreaded symbol and then rising to new life, Jesus asserted His mastery over death and informed all principalities that all power belonged to Him.  In the Resurrection that followed His dying upon Rome’s symbol of death and power, Jesus abolished death and brought new life to those that were going to be His people.      

It was because Jesus was raised from the dead as the firstfruits of those who would also be raised from the dead, that Paul could speak of immortality; and indeed, in his great passage about the Resurrection in the fifteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of that which is mortal putting on immortality (15:53) because Jesus also put on immortality.  This was not merely a spiritual immortality, but a literal, physical immortality, sharing in that same type of imperishable and immortal body in which Christ walked His very creation after His Resurrection, before ascending to heaven to symbolize (among other things) the overlapping of heaven and earth in Him.  Together with that, though the Roman empire was spoken of as an empire without end, with Rome itself fancied as the eternal city, Jesus Himself spoke of a Kingdom, the one over which He sat as King, which was an everlasting Kingdom that would indeed never come to an end.  This would be a truly immortal Kingdom, and it would be inhabited by those who had been thrust into immortality by their allegiance to Jesus.

Paul informs Timothy that it was for the proclamation of this message that he had been “appointed,” by the Christ Himself no less, as “a preacher and apostle and teacher” (1:11).  He goes on to tell Timothy that the telling of this message, in the face of all threats, intimidations, persecutions, and indications to the contrary (the message of the cross being foolish and weak, conveyed in a foolish way by foolish men), “is why I suffer as I do” (1:12a).  Why did he suffer?  He suffered because he challenged the entrenched power structures of his day with this message of a King above all other kings, Whom all must acknowledge as supreme, and to Whom all must bow the knee. 

This gained the Apostle beatings, rejections, stonings, dismissal by his own people, mocking from those that were not his people, and imprisonment.  Nevertheless, Paul says “I am not ashamed” (1:12b).  Why was he not ashamed in spite of all these things?  He says “for I know Whom I have believed” (1:12c).  He knew the One He served.  He knew that He had died and then came out of that tomb.  He knew that He had been shown forth to be the true Son of God in power.  He knew that He was King of kings and Lord of lords, with all principalities and powers in ultimate and final subjection to Him.  Paul knew that eternal life and Resurrection power had been shared with him, and that he was empowered by the same power, at the hands of the same Spirit that rose up Christ from the dead.

Paul knew that he had been entrusted with a message to proclaim to all the world---to all who had been appointed to eternal life as manifested by their belief in Jesus as King.  Paul knew that He had a King that would never fail, would never pass away, and Who would always guarantee and remain faithful to His Word.  Paul told Timothy that he was “convinced that He (Jesus) is able to guard until that Day what had been entrusted to me” (1:12d).  Paul was convinced that Jesus would always maintain His claim as Ruler and Master and Savior and Lord, so that Paul would not have run the race in vain, nor, having been entrusted with this message of the Gospel, would he ever have a reason to be ashamed of the claims that he had made on behalf of the risen Messiah.         

My Criminal Gospel (part 3 of 3)

Paul was preaching revolutionary, criminal ideas, and the worst thing was that those who opposed him did not know how to stop this revolution because there was no violent uprising associated with it that could be warred against and put down.  This revolutionary war was being waged with the weapons of peace and love and faith and hope, so the best that its opponents could do was put its proponents in prison or simply kill them off by the hundreds.  However, this never seemed to work, as the more they were bound, the more the message spread; and killing them publicly merely gave them a platform to preach the message of the Christ to more people, as they went to death with no fear of death, for they believed that their Lord had conquered death, and in that conquering, because they believed themselves to be in union with Him in death as well as life, they believed that death had no power over them either.  In the face of persecution and death, they truly believed and proclaimed that “If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2:11b-12a).  This had the effect of causing the movement to grow, which was contrary to all expectations, much like the Resurrection itself.

Moving on to the fourth and final chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, who is presented as his son in the faith, Paul writes, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word” (4:1-2a).  Paul’s charge to Timothy was the same that he himself had received when commissioned to the role of Christ’s Apostle.  He was to preach the Word of the living presence of Christ Jesus the Lord and of His reign.  He was to preach that Jesus the Christ was the final authority and the only One Who would ultimately be the Judge of life and death.  In that day, Caesar and empire were looked to as the ones that held that right, but this was not truly the case. 

He was to preach that Jesus had not only appeared to hundreds of eye-witnesses who could offer proof of His physical Resurrection, but that He would one day appear again.  He was to preach that Jesus was the King of a kingdom, and that kingdom was an everlasting kingdom which would not be destroyed, a kingdom that held dominion over all the kings and kingdoms of the earth.  This was largely the Word that Timothy was charged to preach.  This is the Word that we are charged to preach, never forgetting that the preaching is in both word and deed, looking to the New Testament examples offered by Jesus and His church, so that deeds of love would be the hallmark of those living godly in Christ Jesus.

With this charge in mind, Paul writes, “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (4:5).  When Paul told Timothy to be sober-minded, was he telling him not to drink too much alcohol?  Let’s not be silly.  The imploring to sober-mindedness was in light of the nature of the message that Timothy had been and would be preaching, as it was fraught with danger.  Remember, Paul is in prison, enduring sufferings and persecutions for the message.  Paul wanted to be sure that Timothy never lost sight of that.  He wanted him to always keep in mind that suffering for the message was always going to be near at hand, and that if and when it was experienced, Timothy need not think that he was somehow outside of the will of God or was somehow not fulfilling his ministry.  In fact, it would be a great indication that he was sending forth the message properly. 

He was to do the work of an evangelist.  What was an evangelist?  An evangelist was one who sounded forth an “evangel.”  That is, somebody who boldly pronounced the “good news,” or “gospel.”  In the day in which Paul wrote, the evangelist was a person, generally a slave, that went out proclaiming that Caesar was coming to visit a town or city, or that a son had been born to Caesar, or that it was Caesar’s birthday, or that Caesar had won another victory, and in that victory Caesar had extended his salvation and his peace, in his self-estimated role as the savior of the world.  That was what was treated as “good news.”  That was “gospel,” and making these things known was the role of an evangelist.  So Paul tells Timothy to think of himself in this role, as did Paul, as a slave, proclaiming the good news of the true King. 

Yes, the King had visited, a truly Divine Son had been born, a King had won a great victory, true salvation and peace had come, and yes, all of this was through and about a Man Whom Caesar had condemned to a cross, but Who rose from a grave.  Declared to be the true Son of God in power, this Jesus was a King unlike the world had ever seen or known.  This was not only a criminal Gospel, but the Gospel of a criminal.  To this King, crucified as nothing more than one more traitor to the glory of Rome, but resurrected as Master and Lord and Savior, was due all glory, all allegiance, and all honor.       

Jew, Gentile & Justification (part 3 of 3)

Having grasped this, being conscientious of the Jew/Gentile issue that is in view, and being cognizant that there is no distinction in the eyes of God between Jew and Gentile, we are now more well-equipped than ever to hear the famous words of verse twenty-three, which are “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23).  It is helpful, of course, to bear in mind that sin, as Paul has essentially defined it in this letter (allowing the narrative and its context to dictate the way that words are heard and concepts are treated), is the failure to rightly bear the divine image, and consequently to fail to reflect God’s glory into the world (emphasized in the latter half of chapter one).  This had been the original charge given to Adam (commonly conceived of as the son of God), which had subsequently been passed along to Israel (also referred to as the son of God).  Both had failed.  Jesus, unlike Adam and Israel, had not failed in this regard. 

As we consider the import of this verse, generally focusing on sin, falling short, and glory, we need to, once again, cast our attention on an equally important word for the Apostle, which is “all.”  Because Paul is consistently concerned with bridging the gap and eliminating the wall that has been created by adherence to and insistence upon the outward covenant markers of Israel, we must be consistently aware of that which receives Paul’s attention. 

Also, lest we lose sight of where we began and where we are going, this ongoing awareness of what Paul is doing will very much come into play when it comes to comprehending our title text, which is “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame” (10:11).  Quite simply, it is impossible to understand that at which Paul is driving in this letter, and especially these words from the third chapter that are definitive and that have been generally and unfortunately lifted from their context as the means of creating an artificial and unrecognizable (for Jesus and Paul) juxtaposition and dichotomy between “salvation by works” and “salvation by faith through grace.” 

Living in a post-Reformation world, we are trained to focus our attention on this particular aspect of Romans and of Pauline doctrine.  However, once we understand what is meant by “works of the law,” as denoting the covenant markers that identified one as a member of God’s elect and covenant people (as an acknowledging response to God’s grace towards Israel), and then place that alongside a proper understanding of the grace of God as relating to the fact that covenant membership (and its associated promises, blessings, and responsibilities) is being freely extended to Gentiles, with their covenant marker (the new covenant marker for all peoples) being a trusting loyalty in Jesus and to the Gospel claim that He is Lord of all, then we can take in the wider view of that which is being addressed. 

That wider view allows us to take notice of that which seems to be just as important, to Paul, as what is generally looked upon as the stand-alone issue of justification and how one is justified (usually defined as “saved” and therefore able to go to heaven when one dies), which is that of the inclusion of Gentiles as part of God’s elect people.  This explains Paul’s repeated emphasis on the “all.”  Briefly backtracking then, we see this in verse nine of the chapter, and “for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are ALL under sin” (3:9b).  This “all” leads into the “no one” of verses ten, eleven, twelve, and twenty, the “all” that is also to be found in verses twelve and twenty-three, the “every mouth” and “whole world” of verse nineteen, and the “all who believe” of verse twenty-two (with its attendant “no distinction”). 

As we can see, justification is completely, one hundred percent inseparable from covenant and from Gentile inclusion.  Paul was obviously consumed by what God was doing for the world, and was not terribly concerned with creating, adopting, or propagating an “us versus them” mentality.  On the contrary, recognizing the grand scope of what God had done, was doing, and would be doing through the message of the Christ, the cross, and the Resurrection, Paul advocates a “them becoming us” frame of mind, desiring that all people everywhere experience, in this life, adoption into God’s covenant family, without hindrance, so that they might participate in His kingdom on earth both now and forever.        

Jew, Gentile & Justification (part 1 of 3)

Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? – Romans 3:1  (NET)

This questions flows from the presentation of the first two chapters of Romans (there wouldn’t be any chapter divisions in the letter).  Paul builds from his question of “what advantage does the Jew have…?” (3:1a), which leads to his declaration that “Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin” (3:9b).  With this, Paul accelerates the process, important to him, of leveling out all people before God, thus contributing to his efforts towards Gentile inclusion under the covenant through the declaration of faith in Jesus rather than the works of the law (current covenant markers), as he pieces together disparate statements from the Psalms and from Isaiah, writing “There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God” (3:10-11).  This would certainly be more than a bit deflationary to his Jewish listeners. 

He continues with “All have turned away,” as we note the importance of “all” to Paul both in Romans and in the remainder of the Pauline corpus (always remembering, in all that he writes, that he is the Apostle to the Gentiles), “together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one” (3:12).  This is quite the accusation, and it probably deserves to be heard together with the ringing accusations of the first chapter, which can be applied to Jew and Gentile alike. 

Because these verses are prefaced by reference to “Jews and Greeks,” we also hear Paul co-opting words from the Psalms that were originally penned as polemics against the enemies of the king of Israel, so also enemies against Israel and Israel’s God, and re-deploying them as polemics against all peoples, both Jews and Greeks.  All are placed under God’s judgment.  Even in judgment, the equality of all peoples before God is paramount, regardless of the sources of equality.  So, regardless of what Israel may say or think about itself, Paul, by utilizing the language used by members of Israel and reserved for their enemies or the enemies of their covenant God, groups Jews and Greeks together and universally insists that “Their throats are open graves, they deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips.  Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness” (3:13-14). 

Borrowing from Isaiah, and from words directed to an Israel that was failing to live up to its covenant responsibilities, Paul adds: “Their feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known” (3:16-17).  He rounds out his rhetorical flourish with a return to the Psalms and finishes with “There is no fear of God before they eyes” (3:18).  So yes, even though Israel has their covenant markers, and by those covenant markers can be identified as members of the covenant, they are not truly participating with God under that covenant and are therefore truly indistinguishable, in God’s eyes, from Gentiles that bear no covenant markers.  Consequently, a new covenant mark is needed and it is one that is going to apply to all people. 

Having said what he has said, and having utilized the words from the Psalms and from Isaiah, Paul wastes no words, continuing on to write “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (3:19).  Generally, our focus when we look upon that verse is the law and the silencing of mouths, with this presumably directed to those who, because of the source of their righteousness (the covenant markers that indicates their status as “justified”), believe themselves to have some type of claim on God that is owing to the “good works” by which they believe themselves to have attained unto righteousness.  Of course, we know that this idea of “good works” as a means to attain righteousness, set in juxtaposition to a position of “grace alone,” is a foreign concept that really has no place in consideration of the messages of Jesus and of Paul.