Tag Archives: Jesus

Oh, To Be Like Thee

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15790_adam-and-god 

Oh, to Be Like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer
Pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness,
Come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image
Deep on my heart. 

The beautiful words of this beloved hymn remind us of the Christian’s goal: to be like Christ. Jesus taught his disciples that the well-trained disciple would be like his teacher (Luke 6:40). Paul encouraged the Corinthians to imitate him as he tried to imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

The old covenant, the one that God established with His people on Mount Sinai, the old covenant was based on a strict set of laws. “Do this and you will live” was the idea that was set forth. When God established His new covenant with His people, we might have expected a whole new set of laws. Instead, we received God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He came and showed us how to live life the way God wants us to.

(I should comment, of course, that Jesus was much more than an example. He came and gave His life to earn our salvation. We are saved because of what He has done, not because of what we do. He was the atonement for our sin.)

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about how they should live, he frequently pointed to himself. When he taught them about service and humility, he gave himself as an example (Mark 10:43-45; John 13:13-15). He told them that His love was the new standard for how they should love (John 13:34). He did not just bring God’s message; He lived it.

Paul considered that the Christian life was about becoming like Christ. He spoke of the body growing up into the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15) and taught that God’s Holy Spirit is continually molding us into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). He wrote that we were predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29), speaking of our having a new self that was meant to be like God (Ephesians 4:24), meant to be shaped in the image of its Creator (Colossians 3:10). When he wrote to the Thessalonians, he said that he knew that their conversion was real because they had become imitators of him and of Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

Because of this, Paul could appeal to Jesus as the standard for how to bear with one another (Romans 15:3-7). We give not because of law but because of the example of Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9); those who want to be like Christ will do what Christ did. Paul says that we should live a life of love because of the sacrificial love of Christ (Ephesians 5:2). He tells masters to treat their slaves fairly because of the way our Lord treats us (Ephesians 6:9). Basically, what Paul tells us to do is live out Jesus’ life (2 Corinthians 4:10).

The other New Testament writers did the same, calling us to be like the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2-4), to follow His example of suffering (1 Peter 2:21-24) and to follow His example of love (1 John 3:16). We are consistently called to look to Christ as the perfect example for our lives.

There is a famous story about the artist Michelangelo. One version goes like this:  When Michelangelo sculpted the great statue of David in Florence and brought it into the square, people were just awed. It is one of the most marvelous pieces of sculpture in the world’s history — fourteen feet of white marble. Someone walked up to Michelangelo and said, “How in the world did you do it?” He said, “Oh, it really wasn’t that much. I was in the quarry and I saw David in this marble block. I took it home and I very carefully chipped away everything that wasn’t David.” That’s a good description for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. His goal is to make us like Jesus.

Let me use the words of another great hymn to close these thoughts:

Sweet is the tender love Jesus hath shown,
Sweeter far than any love that mortals have known;
Kind to the erring one, Faithful is He;
He the great example is, and pattern for me.

Where He leads I’ll follow. May Jesus himself be the pattern for our lives and for our church.

The gates of Hades

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Jesus“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, KJV)

This passage is one of those that a poor word choice by the translators of the King James has led to much confusion. The word for hell does not appear in this passage; the word in Greek is hades, which should be translated, well, Hades. Hades, for the Greeks, was the unknown, the place of the dead.

Some people get the image of Christ’s church weathering the assault by the forces of hell (although the word “gates” should clue them in that that interpretation is misguided). Others speak of the church assaulting the forces of evil and overcoming them. That’s a little better (it takes the word “gates” seriously), but the Bible never talks about the forces of evil as the “hosts of hell” or any such thing. This passage makes a lot more sense if we start with the correct translation: “the gates of Hades.”

Jesus says that his church will be able to overcome the entryway of the realm of the dead. In other words, we need not fear death. Yes, we may die, we may find ourselves in Hades, but our stay will only be temporary. The door can’t hold us; the gates aren’t strong enough to hold us in.

In Revelation chapter 1, the triumphant Jesus says, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:18) He entered Hades and came out with the keys. We can enter death with confidence, knowing that our Lord has the power to free us from its power.

It’s a powerful message. Let’s not let it get lost in translation

What would Jesus do at a wedding?

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We went to a wedding on Saturday. “How should I dress?” I asked my wise and beautiful wife. “I’m not sure,” she said, “but I’m going to dress up.” So I went with the mock turtleneck (it was cool in the morning) and the sports coat.
We knew that the wedding was, how should I say it, not a model of planning. The bilingual group at church was going to help out with the meal that was to be served at the reception. They were expecting a crowd somewhere between 100 and 500. Did I mention that planning was not the strong point of this occasion?
We arrived early and went to the reception hall to see if any help was needed. No one was there. We walked over to the main building, then a few minutes later saw someone we know go into the reception hall. We decided to go back and check on preparations. Now things were in full swing, although there were basically only 3 ladies working there. My wife and I pitched in, along with our teenage daughter. Carolina, my wife, worked in the kitchen, while Andrea, my daughter, and I helped set up tables and decorate them. I also did some troubleshooting on a Dell computer. (Ha! Did I mention I’m a Mac guy? It’s a bit like me raising the hood on my car and trying to find something wrong)
It soon became clear that we weren’t going to make the ceremony. There was way too much to be done and not nearly enough people to do it. We were setting up for 300 people. I quickly realized that: (1) the wool sports coat was too much with the sweater; (2) a white sweater was a really bad idea. But I hadn’t known I was going to be working; I thought we were just attending.
I was a bit frustrated. I’ve done weddings and would have loved to be up in front, with everybody looking at me. (as I’ve mentioned before) Didn’t we have people who could set up tables, serve drinks, take out trash, etc.? Yes, I was feeling quite put upon, especially since much of this was due to a lack of planning on the family’s part.
Then I remembered another wedding, a wedding in John 2. A couple hadn’t planned well and was at risk of being embarrassed. Jesus quietly did a miracle, noticed by his followers but not by the crowd. He stepped up, resolved the crisis, yet never called attention to himself.
My situation was much different of course. For one thing, many people did much more than I to make sure this went well; if I had volunteered earlier to help out, I would have dressed for the occasion and known what to expect. Also, I did no miracle; I just moved some tables and poured some tea.
But I also realized that all of us who helped this young couple have a smooth reception (and the crowd was only 150, so things were well under control) did the same sort of thing that Jesus did on that day. It’s the quiet acts of service that mark the lives of believers, not the sermons preached nor the money given. It’s when we take up a towel that people can see our Lord in us.

They Call Me Trinity

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Discussions about the divine, as we’ve seen can be problematic. To be honest, I’m not fond of non-biblical terms like “trinity” nor am I fully up to date about all the different opinions out there. I’ve already shown that I believe Jesus to be God, but I don’t believe Jesus to be the Father. Passages like Romans 8:9-11 help me see this:

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” (Romans 8:9-11)

Who lives in us? Is it the Spirit? Christ? The Spirit of Christ? The Spirit of God? The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead? The answer, of course, is YES. Jesus is God and lives in us. He’s not the Father; Paul seems to avoid such language. Yet, they are both God.

Romans 8 shows us that the Spirit is also in the equation. We also see that in other passages, like the letters to the 7 churches in Revelation. The letters are clearly from Jesus, yet each letter ends with an urge for the readers to hear what the Spirit had to say to the churches. Again, no New Testament writer would say that the Spirit had been crucified nor that the Spirit was the Father. Yet the Spirit is shown to be divine.

No, I can’t explain it. Not fully. I can’t explain God’s eternal nature either. I can’t explain how He can hear thousands of people praying to Him in dozens of different languages. I can’t explain lots of things about God. As I’ve said before, I like it that way. I want a God who is bigger than I. One I can’t completely wrap my thoughts around. That’s my God.

The identity of Jesus, Pt. 3

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“I have often seen with what pleasure the Arian dwells upon the words “first born of every creature;” “the beginning of the creation of God.” And how seldom, and with what reluctance, he quotes “I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last;” “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” Again, the Socinian emphasizes with great force upon the words “the man Christ Jesus;” but never dwells with delight upon this sentence, “Who being in the form of God, did not think it robbery to be like God.” The Trinitarian rejoices that “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and that these three are one;” that Jesus said, “I and my Father are one,” &c. But seldom does he quote on this subject the texts on which the Arian and Socinian dwell with pleasure. Not one of them will quote with equal pleasure, or readiness every thing said on this subject; and had they the liberty they would trim and improve the apostles’ style to suit their respective theories. (Alexander Campbell, The Christian Baptist, March 1827)

Guess what: the subject of Jesus’ identity is not an easy one. Devout, godly, scholarly men have arrived at very different conclusions on the subject. It’s a mistake to claim that the conclusions are obvious.

It’s my belief that it should be hard to fully understand God. I talked about that in my post “My God Can Beat Up Your God.” It doesn’t bother me that I can’t fully understand the relationship between Jesus and the Father.

There are passages that directly say that Jesus is God. We have to deal with that on some level. I have heard people try to claim that “Jesus is divine” or “Jesus is a deity,” while maintaining that He isn’t God. Folks, that’s called polytheism, and we definitely don’t want to go there. There is one God and one Lord.

I think that Philippians 2 sheds some light on the subject. Look at verses 5-12:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)

Jesus was equal with God before His incarnation. He was willing to take on the form of a servant, taking human form. That’s why Jesus can be described as God’s servant, as being submissive to God. That’s why He was able to be tempted, why He experienced all the limitations of being human. That’s why He could pray to His Father. The Word became flesh.

Still, Jesus isn’t the Father. They are not exactly the same, yet they are one. How do we fully explain that? We don’t. Not now, not in our present, finite state. We, as humans, are incapable of fully understanding God. We can speculate and theorize, but the only things we can say with complete confidence are the things directly stated in Scripture.

I’ve been quoting Stone and Campbell, mostly out of curiosity. They had very different views on the subject, but both agreed that the answer was to limit ourselves to what the Bible says.

What would happen if we did that?