What Would God Have Me Do? (part 3 of 3)

Now, as one lives within the kingdom of heaven that was inaugurated at Jesus’ Resurrection and is ruled by Him so as to serve as lights to all peoples for the glory of the Creator God, the Gospel of Jesus is preached.  It is the very preaching and proclamation of that Gospel, which has power in itself according to the Apostle Paul in Romans (1:16), that gives a Father to the Fatherless, bringing men and women into the covenant through belief in Jesus as the Christ (Messiah).  At the same time, as the Gospel takes root and inspires a trusting allegiance to its claims, the Creator God’s people are inspired to meet the physical needs of literal orphans.  It is the power of the Gospel that brings His image-bearers close to the heart of their God, for preaching and for serving, carrying them into a devotion to what it is that God desires for His people if they truly seek to serve Him.    

The Psalmist goes on to write, as He presents God’s plea to His people, saying “Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!  Rescue the poor and needy!  Deliver them from the power of the wicked!” (82:3b-4)  With the inclusion of “the wicked” in this verse, one can make a return to the favoritism towards the wicked of the second verse and realize that, more than anything, man needs to be delivered from his idolatry.  That idolatry, among a range of possibilities, is the idolatry of self, as man worships a harsh and cruel taskmaster that keeps him in subservience to a stream of desires that was brought into being when man, in Adam, renounced his purposes and his dominion and his bearing of the divine image, choosing to trust and serve the creation rather than His Creator. 

According to the Scriptural narrative on which the Psalmist and presumably Jesus as a member of the covenant people operated and based their interaction in and for the world, because of the fall, all that are under the curse that had been wrought by Adam can be said to be oppressed by the stalking specter of death, while suffering under the corruption and violence that is in this world.  It is only in becoming people of the covenant, now through belief in Jesus as the One through Whom God has sufficiently dealt with these things, that the oppressed and suffering can be vindicated. 

This vindication, as indicated by the New Testament, only comes through sharing in Christ’s conquering of death---by being crucified with Him and being raised up with Him (an unthinkable thing)---and sharing in His Resurrection (His vindication) and eternal life through faith that shines through as belief in Him.  Through a belief in the Gospel of Jesus as Christ and Lord of all, and through that alone, is a man delivered from the power of the wicked, by being given a faithful King to Whom he can render submission.  Along with that, a man is also given a God to serve that exists and that took human flesh upon Himself in order to suffer, that sympathizes with man as His brother.  That does not change.

There is a Gospel, and an empowerment to belief in the Gospel, somehow by the Gospel message itself, so that the covenant God’s people can carry out His purposes in this world, to be what He would have them to be, and to do what He would have them do.  It is only through that Gospel and its power to grip and to change and to conform a person into the divine image that had been previously forfeited, that a believer can truly make just decisions, defend the poor, support the orphan, vindicate the oppressed and suffering, rescue the poor and needy, and deliver them from the power of the wicked.  If oneis found engaged in this battle, motivated by their allegiance to the Gospel proclamation, then that same one can trust that he or she is quite close to the heart of the God revealed in Christ, and serving according to His will.    

What Would God Have Me Do? (part 1 of 3)

God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods He renders judgment. – Psalms 82:1  (NET)

What is it that God would have me to do?  It is one of the most important questions that a believer can ask of himself.  So often, individuals speak of putting things in God’s hands, searching out the will of God for their lives, attempting to live within God’s plan for their lives, trusting in Divine providence, and so on.  Each person that considers himself or herself a member of the Creator God’s covenant family, through belief in Jesus as Lord, must wrestle with such things.  Too often, the response is to make a determination about things that they are going to do, or things that they are going to avoid, so that they can feel comfortable, in an inducement towards behaving in a certain way, that generally has far more to do with the perception of those around them than with an honest reflection on their God’s true plans and purposes and intentions for His redeemed people.

This Psalm presents some significant answers for the questions and concerns by which so many are dogged in their attempts to live a “Christian life.”  The Psalmist begins by writing that “God stands in the assembly of God.”  Here, “El” is the high god of the Canaanites.  Effectively, the Psalmist presents Israel’s God as supreme to all other supposed deities, and speaks of His power to enter into the assembly of the gods of other nations and render judgment.  So not only is this applicable to the Canaanites that surround Israel, but it can be applied to any and all nations that look to an assembly of gods, whether Egypt, Greece, Persia, or Rome. 

The Psalmist insists that Israel’s God is supreme, so whether He is rendering judgment on the gods of the Canaanites, or on those who look to their gods in order to justify their actions, judgment is justly rendered.  Of course, because there are actually no other true gods on which to pronounce judgment, and no other true gods which Israel’s Creator God can approach in order to prove His superiority, it can be known that the Creator God is speaking directly to the people who have created their gods in their own images (as opposed to the God that created man in/as His image). 

Therefore, here, when Israel’s God speaks, though He is said to be in the assembly of “El,” it can be confidently asserted that He is speaking to the men behind the idols and false gods.  The Creator God pronounces His judgment on all that men wrongly worship, whatever that may be.  Not only is He then speaking to the people that looked to these gods, but without a doubt, Israel’s God is pointedly speaking to His people as well. 

With these things said, it is then possible to return to the issue with which this study began, so as to determine what it is that the Creator God would have his covenant people do.  In answering that question, the covenant God starts with a question, presented in a negative manner.  He speaks and says, “How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked?” (82:2)  Here, because the question is posed as to why favoritism is shown to the wicked, and because what is wicked can only be understood in juxtaposition to that which is not wicked, it can be asserted that the Creator God is speaking to the people to whom He has provided a revelation of Himself.