Unsearchable riches
March 19, 2010 | Comments Off
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Two friends, Fred and Cheryl, went to Haiti twenty-five years ago to pick up a child they had adopted. Addie was five years old. Her parents had been killed in a traffic accident that left her without a family. As she walked across the tarmac to board the plane, the tiny orphan reached up and slipped her hands into the hands of her new parents whom she had just met. Later they told us of this “birth” moment, how the innocent, fearless trust expressed in that physical act of grasping their hands seemed almost as miraculous as the times their two sons slipped out of the birth canal 15 and 13 years earlier.
That evening, back home in Arizona, they sat down to their first supper together with their new daughter. There was a platter of pork chops and a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table. After the first serving, the two teenage boys kept refilling their plates. Soon the pork chops had disappeared and the potatoes were gone. Addie had never seen so much food on one table in her whole life. Her eyes were big as she watched her new brothers, Thatcher and Graham, satisfy their ravenous teenage appetites.
Fred and Cheryl noticed that Addie had become very quiet and realized that something was wrong—agitation…bewilderment…insecurity? Cheryl guessed that it was the disappearing food. She suspected that because Addie had grown up hungry, when food was gone from the table she might be thinking would be a day or more before there was more to eat. Cheryl had guessed right. She took Addie’s hand and led her to the bread drawer and pulled it out, showing her a back-up of three loaves. She took her to the refrigerator, opened the door, and showed her the bottles of milk and orange juice, the fresh vegetables, jars of jelly and jam and peanut butter, a carton of eggs, and a package of bacon. She took her to the pantry with its bins of potatoes, onions, and squash, and the shelves of canned goods—tomatoes and peaches and pickles. She opened the freezer and showed Addie three or four chickens, a few packages of fish, and two cartons of ice cream. All the time she was reassuring Addie that there was lots of food in the house, that no matter how much Thatcher and Graham ate and how fast they ate it, there was a lot more where that came from, she would never go hungry again.
Cheryl didn’t just tell her that she would never go hungry again. She showed her what was in those drawers and behind those doors, named the meats and vegetables, placed them in her hands. It was enough. Food was there, whether she could see it or not. Her brothers were no longer rivals at the table. She was home. She would never go hungry again.
My wife and I were told that story twenty-five years ago. Ever since, whenever I read and pray this prayer of Paul’s, I think of Cheryl gently leading Addie by the hand through a food tour of the kitchen and pantry, reassuring her of the “boundless riches” (Eph 3:8) and “all the fullness” (Eph 3:19) inherent in the household in which she now lives.
Eugene Peterson, Practice Resurrection, 159-160
(HT: Chaplain Mike @ iMonk)
Christian community part 3: a couple of dangers
March 16, 2010 | Comments Off
We have said so far that Christian community is not something we create; rather it is created by God, and it is a reality of which every believer partakes. Christian community is not something to be merited any more than salvation; it is a gracious gift of God just as our salvation is.
Here we meet with danger. It is the same danger that befalls those who say that, since salvation is all of grace, it does not matter what the believer does after receiving Christ by faith. Grace means I don’t have to do anything, right? And if we understand sanctification correctly, we will argue back: “May it never be!” Grace is not opposed to works; rather, grace changes the kind of works we do. If we are under grace, we no longer work in hopes of earning salvation; rather, we work out the salvation we have already been given.
I’ll say it again: grace does not mean we stop working. Grace instead provides us a basis on which to work freely, without fear of failing. The grace of being united with Christ means that we are forgiven and perfected in Him, freeing us from having to work to earn forgiveness or perfect ourselves. Thus we can work out our salvation—we can begin to live out, to become like, what God has already made us in Christ. And the grace of the Holy Spirit’s presence in us provides us with power to work without fear of exhaustion, without having to rely on our own strength to see us through.
Sanctification is about living in the reality of what God has done for us in Christ, of who God is for us in Christ, and of who we are in Christ. It is a battle to live this way; our flesh wants to go back to the old way of living, the old way of relating to God on the basis of works. So it is hard work. But it is a decidedly different kind of work from the kind we do apart from Christ.
And here is how that relates to our practice of Christian community: If Christian community, like salvation, is a gracious reality created and given to us by God in Christ, then the practice of Christian community, like working out our salvation, is a matter of living in the light of what God has done for us. Realizing the grace of Christian community does not allow us to be lazy in practicing community, any more than understanding salvation by grace alone allows us to be lazy in practicing holiness. Rather, it provides us with the proper basis on which to found our practice of Christian community.
So we can avoid the danger of failing to live out the realities of Christian community by applying the same truths we apply to our sanctification: living in the reality of what God has done in Christ. But there is another danger that the truths I’ve been addressing help us avoid, which is the danger of thinking that our ideals of community constitute what Christian community should be.
What do I mean by this? Let’s continue the comparison to the Christian life: we acknowledge that salvation is not about meeting our felt needs, nor is it about realizing our ideals for this life. Rather, the Christian life is about greater, eternal realities, and how we live in light of them now. In the same way, Christian community is not about meeting our felt needs or realizing our ideals for this life.
We get tripped up very often here: just as we often enter the Christian life with unrealistic expectations (living on a continual spiritual high, winning every battle with sin, having our “best life now”), we even more often enter the Christian community with unrealistic expectations (having a continual sense of relational fulfillment, meeting all our felt emotional needs, gaining some deep experience of community). We treat the Christian community as if it should conform to our own personal vision for it, and when it fails to measure up, we find it unsatisfactory, and we complain against others in the community and ultimately against God, who has failed to give us what we think we should have.
Just as the key to combating the “best life now” view of the Christian life is to gain an eternal perspective on God’s plan for His people, so the key to combating the idealistic view of Christian community is to gain God’s perspective on community—namely, that it is a spiritual reality, not an emotional or relational one. It is to be received and practiced by faith, not by sight (or feelings).
The key in all of this is, as I have been saying, understanding that Christian community is a gracious gift of God. As we receive this gracious gift—on God’s terms, not our own, and realizing its (huge!) implications for how we live together as God’s people—we should give thanks for God’s gracious gift, and we should strive to live out the reality of what He has created for His glory and for our good.
Next time we will look briefly at what it means to be thankful for Christian community, and then begin to see its implications for how we live with each other.
Christian community part 2: community by works?
March 9, 2010 | Comments Off
Last week we saw that Christian community is an entity of which we are all a part; it is not an option but rather a reality for us. If we are in Christ, we are a part of his body. No room for debate.
A key to understanding and practicing the reality of Christian community is to understand how this community comes about. How did we become a part of the body of Christ?
The answer to that question is the same as the answer to how we became Christians. In fact, the two questions are basically one, since to be a Christian is to be a part of Christ’s body. So remember how we were saved: “For by grace have you been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Just as we were saved by grace, through faith, so we are part of Christ’s body by grace, through faith.
Don’t believe me? Read the rest of Ephesians 2; Paul moves directly from his great declaration of sola fide, sola gratia to a discussion of—wait for it—Christian community! Paul directly connects the work of Christ in reconciling men to God with the work of Christ in reconciling men to each other. Christ makes “one new man” at the cross, reconciling us “to God in one body through the cross.” (verses 15 & 16) The glorious work of reconciliation happens both upward—between God and man—and outward—between man and man. And thus we are made one.
Paul makes the point here to demonstrate the new unity between Jews and Gentiles; Christ has become the way of salvation for both groups, making both groups into one group. So there is a definite point of theology to grasp with regard to Israel and the universal church. But there is also a much, much larger point to grasp with regard to what it means to be in Christ, for as Gentiles become one with Jews in Christ, so every Christian becomes one with all other Christians in Christ, and “the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (verse 21)
And here comes the kicker: not a bit of this work is ours. Just as not a bit of the work of salvation is ours, so not a bit of the work of becoming part of the body of Christ is ours. Look back over 2:11-22; do you see one single thing done by us? Do you not rather see that everything stated here is done by God in Christ?
So why am I making such a point of this?
Well, for starters, it emphasizes and strengthens the point I made last week, which was that being a Christian automatically means being part of Christ’s body; the work of Christ accomplished both things.
But more than this, it means that we relate to one another on the same basis on which we relate to God, namely, the finished work of Christ on our behalf.
In other words, just as we approach God by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ, so we approach each other by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ. Just as we can experience grace and love and full acceptance from God to us because of Jesus, so we can experience grace and love and full acceptance from one to the other of those who are in Jesus.
Do we approach God by works? Well, then we don’t approach each other by works either. Do we need to earn God’s favor? Well, then we don’t need to earn each other’s favor. Does God accept us fully, seeing us through the perfect blood and righteousness of Christ? Well, we should accept each other fully, seeing others through the perfect blood and righteousness of Christ. Does our standing with God change based on our performance? Well, then our standing with each other should not change based on anyone’s performance.
Here is how Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it in Life Together: “What persons are in themselves as Christians, in their inwardness and piety [read: their performance as a Christian], cannot constitute the basis of our community, which is determined by what those persons are in terms of Christ. Our community consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us.” (emphasis mine)
So, just as being a part of Christian community is not an option, since being a Christian is the same thing as being a member of Christ’s body, so also extending the hand of fellowship to other Christians is not an option, any more than God can refuse the presence of the Holy Spirit to anyone who is in Christ.
Next week I hope to flesh this out more. In addition, stay tuned to the Sunday School series that started this past Sunday, which will go a long way toward helping us to live out the Gospel in the specific relational context of conflict. (You can listen to the first session here.)
For the men
March 9, 2010 | Comments Off
The men’s retreat is coming up (April 30-May 1; sign up in the hallway and/or see Matt Greco if you’re interested), and it has us thinking about ministry to the men in the body.
This video is a very helpful conversation between two very godly men discussing what it means to be a man of God. They cover training up young men into godliness, growing in leadership and service in the home, and developing deeper fellowship with other men, including how to invite and receive criticism.
Watch with a view to how you can change and grow in your role as a man, no matter what that role may be.
Q&A on Biblical Masculinity from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.
HT: Justin Taylor
Are you sowing sparingly?
March 4, 2010 | Comments Off
“I fear there are some Christians among you to whom Christ cannot say ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.’ Your haughty dwelling arises in the midst of thousands who have scarce a fire to warm themselves at and have but little clothing to keep out the biting frost, and yet you never darkened their door. You heave a sigh perhaps at a distance, but you do not visit them. Ah my dear friends, I am concerned for the poor, but more for you. I know not what Christ will say to you on the great day. You seem to be Christians, and yet you care not for his poor. Oh, what a change will pass upon you as you enter the gates of heaven! You will be saved, but that will be all. There will be no abundant entrance for you. ‘He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly.’
And I fear that there may be many hearing me who may know well that they are not Christians, because they do not love to give. To give largely and liberally, not grudging at all, requires a new heart. An old heart would rather part with its life-blood than its money. Oh my friends, enjoy your money. Make the most of it. Give none of it away. Enjoy it quickly, for I can tell you, you will be beggars throughout eternity.”
Robert Murray McCheyne, Works (New York, 1847), II:482.
HT: David McLemore via Ray Ortlund
Things mean stuff
March 3, 2010 | Comments Off
This is an interview with Ken Myers, who is a great thinker and cultural critic. His book, All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture, has influenced a generation of Christians in our dealings with popular culture. He podcasts at Mars Hill Audio.
This interview covers such wide-ranging topics as movies, hymnals versus projection screens, and the meaning of technology, and I hope it will give you a taste of the kind of thinking that behooves us as followers of Christ. The central point of the interview, and I think the central point of all of Myers’ thinking, is that there is meaning in all cultural products. In other words, everything means something. This is a very counter-cultural idea, and I hope you can begin to see how Myers fleshes it out. (You might want to watch it in small portions, or else carve out an hour to see the whole thing, because it deserves your full attention. I’m about to watch it again.)
Interview with Ken Myers from Southeastern Seminary on Vimeo.
(via Justin Taylor)
Christian community, part 1: stay out of my space?
March 2, 2010 | Comments Off
Who owns your life? To whom should your life be submitted?
I think we would all readily answer that God owns us (1 Corinthians 6:20), and our lives should be submitted in loving obedience to Him (James 4:7). But is there more to it than this?
What do you make of the passages that say we are members of one another? There are a few:
Romans 12:4-5
1 Corinthians 12:12, 27 (read in between too)
Ephesians 4:25 (but really, read the whole chapter)
Do you catch my drift? The Christian life is not just about me and Jesus doin’ our thing. I not only belong to Him; I belong to His body.
Note that none of these passages say we should be members of the body; they say we are members of the body. Being members of one another in Christ is not something to strive toward; it is something that is. Belonging to the Christian community is not an option, because it is the reality for all who are in Christ.
Let me say that again.
Belonging to the Christian community is not an option, because it is the reality for all who are in Christ.
If we are in Christ, we are in His body, which means we are members of one another. Period. This is the reality of Christian community: no one is exempt from the community except those who are outside Christ altogether.
This flips upside down our American sense of independence and individualism. Upside down, inside out, blown to bits—the reality of the body of Christ, the Christian community, totally subverts the American idol of personal space and time.
My space is not my own, my time is not my own, my life is not my own; it belongs not only to Christ but to His body, my fellow believers.
I hope this rocks your world today. And tomorrow. And next week. And next year.
I will continue writing about this idea, and how it is fleshed out, over the next several weeks.