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Category: pastoral theology

Published on Leave a comment on Our Friend in High Places

Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD.  (Ex 28:29)

We have such a High Priest, One who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a Minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.  (Heb 8:1-2)

It would be interesting to do a poll regarding which 'moment' of gospel activity shapes our theology/spirituality the most.  Is it incarnation, or life, or death, or resurrection, or ascension, or pentecost or return?  I know they all belong together but if I had to tick only one box I might well identify 'ascension' as the moment that most shapes my Christian outlook.  Either cross or ascension anyway.  Thankfully we don't have to choose and in Hebrews (which we're preaching through at the moment) the sacrifice and the priest are kept very much together.  But ascension is so close to my heart because it blows my mind to think of the One on the throne as my Brother!

A Man occupies the true seat of power.  Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh rules heaven and earth.  The very One who was down here - teaching and healing, washing our feet, cleansing the temple, gathering the children, denouncing His enemies, silent on trial, dying in agony, forgiving His executors, risen with those same wounds, walking and cooking and eating and drinking with His friends and speaking of the kingdom - He's the One who is up there.  We have a Friend in High Places.  The greatest Friend in the highest place.

And if we're in Him we've arrived.  We are already safe, already secure, already sat down, already blessed in the heavenly realms, already beloved, already honoured, already in the circle of God's triune love. The Anchor of our souls is secure in the very safest place (Hebrews 6:19f).  In the meantime we'll be blown about here and there but "My Anchor holds within the veil."

Chin up - He's ascended.  And we in Him.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  (Rev 3:21)

Some Ascension Day resources here.

And here's the audio of Dev's ascension sermon.  Text below...

...continue reading "Our Friend in High Places"

Published on Leave a comment on We did it all for the glory of love – part six

Part one - God does all things for the sake of love

Part two - Glory according to John Piper

Part three - God's glory is His love

Part four - Isaiah 42 and Ezekiel 36

Part five - Ephesians 1

Let me conclude with a few points of application.

My basic contention has been this - God's glory is His grace.  The Trinity's overflowing life of other-centred love is the glory that shines out of all He is and does.  It therefore makes no sense to think of His glory in self-centred terms.

But having said that, let me affirm something vitally important from Scripture.  Once we're clear that God's glory is His grace, we should also say that there's a significant sense in which God acts for the sake of this glory and not for our sake.

Huh?

Didn't I just say that God's glory is His other-centredness?  Indeed.

And therefore if God acts gloriously won't that mean acting other-centredly?  That's right.

Then how can I say that the triune God acts for this glory and not for our own sake?  Well think of John 10:17-18.  Jesus says "I lay down my life."  And then He says "No-one takes it from me."  It's really important to hold onto both.  It is His eternal glory to lay down His life (v17 is amazing!).  And yet all this happens at His initiative.  He really and truly becomes a Victim - the Victim.  But no-one makes Him a Victim but He Himself.  This is truly an offering not a wage.  Truly a gift and not a pay-off.  It's the Saviour's push not the sinner's pull that's driving things.

And that's so important because one of the things John Piper is so keen to fight is our natural self-centredness.  And it's absolutely right that we resist human narcicism.  We'd love to think that Christ's an old softy who can't help himself when he sees a damsel in distress like us.  We'd love heaven to confirm our own assessment of worth and be as besotted with us as we are.  But the God of Scripture reminds us that His lavish other-centredness is not because we've twisted His arm (see my post on Ezekiel 36:16-32).

Let me put it in these two sentences - the first resists Piper's definition of glory, the second upholds his desire to fight narcisism:

The triune God acts for the sake of His gracious glory - not the glory of His self-centred, self-regard.

BUT ALSO

The triune God acts for the sake of His gracious glory - not for the sake of our self-centred, self-regard.

Essentially I'm saying it's right to oppose our human narcicism.  But we don't do that by positing heavenly narcisism.  Instead we proclaim the heavenly other-centredness of God which is not a confirmation of our self-obsession but liberation from it.

As an illustration I can't do better than Craig's story of modern day chivalry (thanks Craig).  He was once walking down a corridor and as he neared the door he noticed a woman behind him.  So - being the benevolent, other-centred guy he is - he opened the door and let her through.  Apparently she scowled and said "I hope you're not opening the door for me because I'm a lady."  Craig replied "No, I'm opening the door because I'm a gentleman."

That's what I'm talking about.

This act of grace was not motivated first and foremost by what was in the recipient.  It was motivated by what was in the giver.  The giver desired to be this kind of giver, in many ways regardless of the recipient. But he still determined to be giver.

In the same way the triune God acts in creation and redemption first and foremost "because he's a gentleman" not "because we're a damsel in distress."  And so, at bottom, the Father loves us not because of anything in us but because He is Father.

So we see that all of this glory talk is just another way of upholding sola gratia (grace alone).  But that's only natural because God's grace is His glory.

I am finding more and more ways of applying this kind of thinking pastorally.

Think of the parent faced with a manipulative child.  On the one hand they might go soft and cave into the child.  On the other they might harden themselves to the childs demands.  But motivated by the glory of grace another way is opened for them.  There is a way of loving the child in an even more costly way that counters their self-absorption.

Think of the nagging wife of Proverbs.  A dead-eyed husband might say "Yes dear" and confirm her in her manipulative ways.  On the other hand he might cut her down to size and fail to be her lover.  Or, motivated by the glory of grace, he can seek ways of leading in love that resist her manipulation but that actually call on more love from him, not less.

Think of the "pull" someone exerts in a pastoral counselling situation (see here for Larry Crabb's thoughts on "pull").  How do we resist manipulative demands people put on us (which won't ultimately help them) without retreating from them?  How do we love without loving being 'caving'?

I don't have all the answers but I do believe that as we meditate more on the LORD Christ's fierce determination to be Lover we will be able to pass on such love.

So in conclusion, Piper is right to oppose human self-centredness.  But we mustn't do that by proclaiming a divine self-centredness.  We will be truly released from self in the glorious other-centred love of our God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

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7

Published on 7 Comments on CBT Luther style

Luther has said:

“The Holy Spirit knows that a thing has only such meaning and value for a man as he assigns to it in his thoughts.”

The lens through which we view our experiences of the world are all important.  Suffering could either be a catastrophic blow or the opportunity to know Christ and fellowship more deeply in His sufferings.  My sins could cause a ‘spiritual sulk’ and extended dry-ness or a deeper appreciation of the blood of Christ and His cleansing.  It all depends on the meaning I assign to these things in my thoughts.

CBT is not so good at showing how these thoughts flow from our hearts (Mark 7:21).  But Luther knows how to preach to the heart such that our perspective is shaped by the gospel word.  And in his Galatians commentary, Luther puts this idea into practice.  Not only is the truth of the gospel proclaimed but the Christian is exhorted to speak this truth again and again into the deepest recesses of the heart.   When the truth of the gospel shapes our thinking more fully, then we will be able to stand up against the devil’s accusations.

Click here for extracts from Luther’s Galatians where he shows us how to preach to ourselves.

Here's just one example from Galatians 1:4:

You will readily grant that Christ gave Himself for the sins of Peter, Paul, and others who were worthy of such grace. But feeling low, you find it hard to believe that Christ gave Himself for your sins. Our feelings shy at a personal application of the pronoun “our,” and we refuse to have anything to do with God until we have made ourselves worthy by good deeds.

This attitude springs from a false conception of sin, the conception that sin is a small matter, easily taken care of by good works; that we must present ourselves unto God with a good conscience; that we must feel no sin before we may feel that Christ was given for our sins. This attitude is universal and particularly developed in those who consider themselves better than others. Such readily confess that they are frequent sinners, but they regard their sins as of no such importance that they cannot easily be dissolved by some good action, or that they may not appear before the tribunal of Christ and demand the reward of eternal life for their righteousness. Meantime they pretend great humility and acknowledge a certain degree of sinfulness for which they soulfully join in the publican’s prayer, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” But the real significance and comfort of the words “for our sins” is lost upon them. The genius of Christianity takes the words of Paul “who gave himself for our sins” as true and efficacious. We are not to look upon our sins as insignificant trifles. On the other hand, we are not to regard them as so terrible that we must despair. Learn to believe that Christ was given, not for picayune and imaginary transgressions, but for  mountainous sins; not for one or two, but for all; not for sins that can be discarded, but for sins that are stubbornly ingrained. Practice this knowledge and fortify yourself against despair, particularly in the last hour, when the memory of past sins assails the conscience. Say with confidence: “Christ, the Son of God, was given not for the righteous, but for sinners. If I had no sin I should not need Christ. No, Satan, you cannot delude me into thinking I am holy. The truth is, I am all sin. My sins are not imaginary transgressions, but sins against the first table, unbelief, doubt, despair, contempt, hatred, ignorance of God, ingratitude towards Him, misuse of His name, neglect of His Word, etc.; and sins against the second table, dishonor of parents, disobedience of government, coveting of another’s possessions, etc. Granted that I have not committed murder, adultery, theft, and similar sins in deed, nevertheless I have committed them in the heart, and therefore I am a transgressor of all the commandments of God.

“Because my transgressions are multiplied and my own efforts at self-justification rather a hindrance than a furtherance, therefore Christ the Son of God gave Himself into death for my sins.” To believe this is to have eternal life.

Let us equip ourselves against the accusations of Satan with this and similar passages of Holy Scripture. If he says, “Thou shalt be damned,” you tell him: “No, for I fly to Christ who gave Himself for my sins. In accusing me of being a damnable sinner, you are cutting your own throat, Satan. You are reminding me of God’s fatherly goodness toward me, that He so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In calling me a sinner, Satan, you really comfort me above measure.” With such heavenly cunning we are to meet the devil’s craft and put from us the memory of sin.

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13

Published on 13 Comments on CBT from a Christian perspective

Here's excerpts from a longer paper on my website appraising Cognitive Behavioural Therapy:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a

  • short-term,
  • practical,
  • client-based,
  • collaborative,
  • problem-solving,
  • life-skill learning

‘talking therapy’ which has had excellent and well documented success in alleviating certain emotional problems.

...

CBT represents a small number of different counselling schools which understand the process of change to involve the re-habituation of thoughts and (secondarily) behaviours.  The underlying assumption is that faulty emotions and behaviours flow from faulty thinking.

Thoughts =>  Feelings => Behaviours

These thoughts are themselves the result of faulty beliefs which underlie them and need to be confronted and changed.

...

The chief benefit of CBT for the church  is perhaps the myriad tools that have been developed to uncover faulty thought patterns and beliefs.

Christians have always known that beliefs and thought-patterns are life-altering, but three or four decades of clinical practice at ‘digging down’ into the beliefs of counsellees has produced very useful tools which can also be used by the Christian.

Identifying Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs)

  • Ask directly – What are you telling yourself when you feel X…
  • Guided discovery (ask around the issues, get them to unearth)
  • Note emotional change as they speak – these are ‘hot cognitions’
  • Worst consequence scenarios – What would be so bad if…?
  • Imagery (some NATs are images) – Do you have a picture of yourself or of your environment when this is happening?
  • Exposure exercises – go to uncomfortable situations either physically or in your mind. How are you now thinking?
  • Offer multiple suggestions of what the NATs may be
  • Offer suggestions opposite to client’s expected response. They will usually say ‘No, no, I’m telling myself X’

Question the assumptions underlying the NATs:

  • What would be so terrible about X?
  • What would it be like for you not to do or feel X?
  • What does it say about you that you have done or felt X?
  • Are there verdicts being passed on you from God, the world and yourself associated with X?  What are they? Could you put them in words?
  • On what basis are these verdicts being passed?
  • On what basis are you believing them?

At this stage, CBT identifies the faultiness of such thinking as certain cognitive errors:

  • Arbitrary inference: e.g. ‘I was much happier when I happened to be X, therefore I must regain X’
  • Selective abstraction: e.g. ‘X (and nothing else) is what makes me special.’
  • Over-generalisation: e.g. ‘Everyone who has X is happier and more successful.’
  • Magnification (of the bad) and minimisation (of the good): e.g. ‘I may have Y and Z, but that’s nothing.  X is everything.’
  • Personalisation: e.g. ‘My performance of X wasn’t bad, I was bad. Everyone must hate me.’
  • Absolutist, dichotomous thinking: e.g. ‘It’s black and white, all or nothing.  Either I’m X or I’m nothing.’
  • Mind reading: e.g. ‘I know what they’re all thinking…’
  • Crystal ball: e.g. ‘I know what’s going to happen now…’
  • Catastrophizing: e.g. ‘It’s all over now. X is out of the bag, all hell will break loose.’
  • Emotional reasoning: e.g. ‘I feel X so strongly, therefore it must be a fact.’
  • Self-labelling / blame: e.g. ‘X makes me an idiot!’ ‘X makes me ugly!’

Beneath these faulty cognitions are the schemas or core beliefs that feed such thinking. CBT also offers helpful techniques in bringing these to the surface.

To identify core beliefs, look for…

  • ‘If…, then…’ statements: ‘If I’m X, then I’m a failure.’
  • ‘Shoulds’ and ‘Musts’
  • Themes in the NATs
  • Family sayings, mottoes, memories

The CBT practitioner should then get the counsellee to put this core belief into words.  Make them identify it as a rule: e.g. “I need everyone in my environment to be ok with me or else I will be destroyed.”  Simply the process of articulating this rule – exposing it as the dominating force in a person’s every decision, act and feeling – is incredibly powerful.  In Christian contexts it should lead to heart-felt and deep confession.

...

[Summary of intervening points]  In John 16:9 Jesus identified the criterion by which the Spirit would condemn the world for its sin - "in that people do not believe in Me."  Through loving Christian community, the tools listed above can be a means of the Spirit uncovering those false faiths.

A key verse in Christian counselling is Proverbs 20:5: "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters but a man of understanding draws them out."  When I encounter a Spirit-filled 'man of understanding' in these circumstances I am exposed for my sinful beliefs and purposes - not simply my behaviours - and therefore may be brought to a broken and contrite heart.

I say may because it is always the Spirit's work to convict me of sin - never simply the work of logic.  More on this below...

...

Perhaps the chief criticism that could be levelled at CBT from a Christian perspective is this: It is not wise and persuasive words that are required but a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.

At the core of CBT is the challenging of irrational beliefs with logical standards.  However the deceitful and unfathomable heart will take more than good reasoning to shake it from its madness.  The truth of God’s gospel must be driven home to the counsellee with living power by the Spirit.  Faith does not come by reasoning but by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.  Therefore there ought to be a healthy dose of proclamation to pastoral counselling, a worshipping community to surround it and the regular table fellowship of the Lord’s Supper. All the means of grace ought to be employed by the Christian counsellor.  This goes far beyond pointing out faulty cognitions!

It is not our intellects that need changing but our hearts.  The heart is the centre of a person according to Jesus and the source of our thoughts and actions.  Our true hope is in the change of hearts.  This means:

a) we will not look for non-rational means (the heart is not an anti-intellectual concept in the Bible)

b) we will employ emotional, artistic, sensory means also

c) true change is ultimately the work of God

...

The whole article, including a potted history of the development of CBT, can be found here.

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18

Published on 18 Comments on Genesis 27 – Rich Owen's full text sermon

The audio is here.  This is the transcript.  Great sermon from Rich!

Genesis 27.

The story so far:

In the beginning was God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Father sent out his Word in the power of the Spirit to bring order out of chaos, light over darkness. The world was made in and through that person called the Word of God, the earth and all that is in it, climaxing in the making of Man in God’s image.

The man was placed in God’s garden and given a bride. Together, in beautiful loving harmony, they were to work and cultivate this wondrous garden and extend it into a global garden where man and God would dwell together.

But that man made a pact with the Deceiver and decided to overthrow God, to take hold of what God had given him and make it as his own, to rule over the earth but … not under God.

And so Adam is kicked out of the garden, separated from God in body, dead in spirit and subject to decay and despair.

But he is given a promise.

A seed of the woman will come and defeat the Deceiver and his evil ways at great cost to himself, his heal will be bruised as he crushes the Deceiver’s head, but those wounds, would make it possible to bring them back to the garden, back to life, back to fellowship with the Living God. The promised seed will come.

So after Eve gives birth to her first child, she says, behold, with the help of the Lord I have brought forth The Man. She thought her first son was the seed, but he was murdered by his brother, defeated by evil. He was not the seed. The seed is still to come.

They waited for the seed, they hoped in the seed. When will this One Man be born, our hope our salvation? When will he come, the one who will bring us back into the land of the Lord and restore to us the joy of fellowship with the Living God? When will he come?

As each child was born, hope it seems had faded. The work of the serpent grew, evil spread.

But again, from within the darkness and chaos of the fallen world, The Word of the Lord, the second person of God is again sent forth, appearing this time to Abram and He promises that from Abram will come a seed, not seeds Galatians 3:16 but the One Seed who is Christ.

The scattered nations will be rescued, gathered together and restored to the Father in and through the seed, Christ Jesus, the son of Abraham. From Abraham’s seed will come great blessing, he will become a great nation. The seed will come, and he will be from Abraham.

And so the Word of the Lord instructs Abraham to go to a new land, a place of hope, a place of abundance… a garden where God will live with his people.

The gospel promise is renewed.

Abraham rejoiced in this, and he placed his hope and trust in Him, God’s One Word. And so because of his faith in Christ, he is given the righteousness of God.

Abraham then travels to this promised land, the place which would be the venue for all God’s dealings with humanity for generations to come. And there he started to bear children.

Like Eve, Abraham had high hopes for his son. A promised child is brought forth, Isaac. His beloved son. From this one, the seed will come.

But the Word of the Lord is sent again to Abraham and says that this promised son must be offered to death. The one from whom the seed will come, his beloved son must be offered to the dark and ravenous jaws of death.

Abraham obeys, but at the last moment, the Divine Lord, the Word who is eternally sent by the Father, the Angel of the Lord, intervenes and provides a substitute, death for life.

And that place, the place where the temple would one day stand in Jerusalem, where lambs would be repeatedly scarified, and where the Lamb of God, the eternal Word of the Father, the Angel of the Lord himself, the One Seed Jesus Christ would eventually die  - the very same place - so that we might live - this place was called “the Lord will provide”, because at that place it will be provided.

Isaac is restored to Abraham. From the jaws of death Isaac is now alive. He is resurrected, figuratively speaking, but he is not the seed. The gospel is once again renewed – from you and your descendants will come the seed, the hope of nations.

So this Isaac had the weight of the promise on his shoulders. From him the seed would come, the one who would be the sin substitute, whose heal would be bruised as he stamped on Satan’s ugly head as he dies at that place of the Lord’s provision.

So who does he marry? The beautiful Rebekah. But Rebekah was barren. She couldn’t have children. What did you go and do that for Isaac? The seed is supposed to come from you.

Isaac didn’t make the same mistake as his father Abraham did, who tried to get round that kind of biological issue by his own sinful methods. Isaac had learned that particular lesson from his dad and so he prays Genesis 25 and the Lord answers his prayer. Rebekah’s womb is opened and she became pregnant with twin boys.

And this is what sets things up for us tonight. You see, the seed can only come from one of the twins. The promised Messiah can’t come from both lines. God’s choice will be with one of the boys.

Genesis 25:22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

Esau who came out first would have to serve Jacob. Now there is an interesting little detail at the birth of Esau and Jacob. Jacob reached out and grabbed Esau’s heal.

The two babies were born and it is amazing just how different they were. Esau was a mighty hunter, a man of the open country, red blooded, hairy, brutish type, but Jacob preferred a desk job, back at the tent and he liked to plot and scheme and use people.

Now Isaac, their dad, had a taste for wild game and so unsurprisingly he loved Esau the huntsman more than Jacob the schemer.

Well Esau did indeed end up having to serve Jacob. He returned home after a long time hunting and he was famished. Scheming Jacob decided to use this to his advantage and said, I’ll give you some stew if you give me your birthright.

And so Esau sold his birthright as firstborn to Jacob for a bowl of hot game stew.

And so we come now to Genesis chapter 27. Verse 1

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son."   "Here I am," he answered.

Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."

So the fact that Esau had sold his birthright and the fact that the Lord prophesied that Esau would serve Jacob seems to have been long forgotten, or possibly just blatantly ignored, as Isaac dictates that the blessing would be conveyed to Esau.

But Rebekah overheard the plan verse 5 and went to Jacob to report on what was happening and to propose a scheme in order to win the blessing for him. Her plan verses 9 and 10 was to take advantage of the old man’s love of a good goat curry and have Jacob take it to him so that he would bless him instead.

Now at this point its not actually possible to see what Rebekah’s motives are. Is she wanting the Word of the Lord to be fulfilled, and so sets about trying to help God out on his way, through her own works?

Well it is a good motive, but her sincerity is sincerely wrong. God’s work is his own.

The other possibility is that she just preferred Jacob and wanted him to get the blessing. Either way, its not good. But Jacob the schemer runs with the plan and because verse 12 he is worried about getting caught, they set about creating this elaborate deception.

They took advantage of Isaac’s weak eyes that we read about in verse 1 and set about deceiving his other senses too. This is the pair of sunglasses and a false moustache moment to eclipse all others.

Jacob would wear some of Esau’s clothes so that he would smell like Esau, he would have some goatskins on his neck and hands so that he felt as hairy as his brother Esau and then he would take the carefully prepared food in, so that his sense of taste told him that it was Esau too.

Jacob was ready now and so he went in vs 19 and said – Hi its me Esau I’ve done as you told me.

That was quick. Isaac was obviously a little suspicious. Ah… yeh, errr… the Lord your God gave me success.

Still slightly suspicious verse 22, sounds more like Jacob than Esau, he beckoned him forward for the hairy hand test, which he passes. He then passes the taste test and, the clothing, the smell test worked too. Isaac was deceived and so he passed on the blessing to Jacob verse 28.

May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness, an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."

Its done the blessing is passed on to Jacob. What God had promised before they were born is now confirmed. Esau will bow to Jacob, the older will serve the younger, he will have to submit to the one God has chosen.

However Esau arrived with his freshly prepared meat. Jacob’s scheme has now been rumbled.

Jacob truly was the deceiver verse 36. Jacob means deceiver, the one who grasps the heal. So, right from the womb, he bore the mark of the prince of deceivers, the serpent himself, the one who strikes out at the heal of the promised seed.

But from this devil of a man, Jacob, the promised seed would come. Jesus would take on the fullness of humanity’s wickedness by being born from a wretched line.

Well when Isaac realised what was going on he trembled violently.

Imagine the moment Isaac realises what’s happened. He begins to pale, those weak old eyes widen and his stare is unbroken. His hands grip the ends of the arms of his chair, he is struck with fear. His teeth come together and that old frame begins to shake as he remembers the word of the lord – “the older will serve the younger”.

There is no going back now. Verse 33. I blessed him and indeed he will be blessed! The Lord’s choice cannot be changed or resisted. His election of Jacob as the one who will bear the seed cannot be overcome. What foolishness to think we could thwart the purposes of the Word of God.

Esau begged for a blessing too, but Isaac was committed – Jacob will be blessed. Verse 37 I have made him lord over you and I have blessed him with grain and wine, what can I possibly do for you? What blessing is left?

There really was nothing Isaac could give, he had given it all to Jacob, and so in verse 40 he reminds Esau of what the Lord could give him. He reminds him what the Lord had said about the two boys before even they were born. You will serve your younger brother.

Look back at Jacob’s blessing in verses 28 and 29. All this abundance is Jacob’s but look at the end of verse 29. Those who curse Jacob will be cursed…. those who bless him …will be blessed.

There is your answer Esau – if you want a blessing, serve your brother, bless him and you will get blessing from God.

The Lord’s election of Jacob did not rule Esau out. Esau could have received divine blessing. He could have had a share in the abundance. No he wouldn’t be the father of the promised seed, he wouldn’t be of that line, but he could still share in the blessing that would come from him if he listened to and submitted to the Lord’s election of Jacob.

But Esau wasn’t having any of it. He raged against Jacob verse 41 and sought to kill him. He hardened his heart to the warning about cursing Jacob. All he could think about was his own happiness, his material happiness.

So it was just as Isaac had said – he would live far away from the earths richness verse 39, away from the goodness of heaven above.

He forsook the blessing by refusing to bow to Jacob and so bore the curse. He would throw off Jacob’s yoke – he wasn’t serving his little brother.

What a fearful and cursed thing it is to reject the yoke of the one chosen by the father! It is to chose curse over blessing. It is to chose hell over heaven.

Rebekah got wind of Esau’s plan to kill Jacob and so urged him to flee to her brother Laban until Esau cooled off. And as every good mother does gives him a bit of advice about what kind of woman to avoid while he is away.

So it’s a cracking tale isn’t it. Deception, disguises, family squabbles, honour and goat stew.

But how does it apply to me and to you?

Is the lesson here about family unity? Do what you can to keep everyone together.

Is the lesson here about anger? Don’t make hasty decisions in your anger.

Is the lesson here about going after worldly pleasures – filling your belly and your life with the things you want at the expense of God’s people?

Is the lesson here about lying? Don’t lie and deceive.

Is the lesson here about breaking one law to fulfil another – taking shortcuts? You think your motive is good, serving the church perhaps… but are you methods right? Are you seeking the best for city evangelical church, but going about it in a disruptive and divisive way? Is that the lesson here?

Well there is instruction and wisdom there, and it kinda speaks for itself doesn’t it. But it isn’t the overall message of this story.

I believe that the message of this chapter within its context is God’s election. God’s election.

Now this is a topic I know people don’t really like. It’s like talking about death or politics at the dinner table. It’s a sure fire way to start a bun fight. So what I need here is a cake proof screen in front of the pulpit cause we are going to have a stab at it anyway cause it is a central truth in scripture and it is central to this passage.

The fact that God the Father has promised that his Son would be born of a woman, to bring salvation and blessing to a lost world, means that he has to chose a family line for him. That is the very simple reason why Jacob is chosen. He will bear the seed, the seed will be descended from Jacob and not Esau.

Did you get that? If you get nothing else from the next five minutes, get that at least.

The Lord elects Jacob simply because the seed, the messiah has already been chosen and promised – that is why he is elect – because Christ has first been elected. Remember that at least.

As the apostle Paul says in Romans 9 verse 11, God chose Jacob so that his purpose in election might stand. Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh.

Now there are a load of issue that could come up and are related to this and I’d be a fool to think I could knock this issue on the head in five minutes. But I am convinced that to unravel this we need to start and finish in our thinking with Christ.

Ok Rich, that is what this is about – I’m with you on that, but what does it have to do with me, sitting here in this chair, in this church in 2010?

Well firstly, if you are Jewish, then rejoice, you have royal status. Jesus is literally your flesh and blood relative, but as the passage suggest in verse 29, you must bow to God’s election of Christ Jesus. Jacob who was later called Israel, is lord over all nations, but he is also lord over his flesh and blood relatives - you. You must bow too. Only then are you truly of Israel, only in Christ The offspring, can you be Abraham’s offspring.

For the majority of us here though, there are two responses.

Firstly, if you are not yet a believer, then can I urge you… look at the world outside. It’s descending into deeper chaos, more violence, more greed, and more evil.

Jesus Christ came to put right, what for thousands of years we’ve failed to do, and he did it. It is done – Christ did it, he put it right with God because he was chosen to do the work of reconciliation, not you or me.

And this evening he makes you an offer. Trust him, walk with him and he will include you into his kingdom where there is hope, where there this reconciliation, where there is change, where there is life.

Be joined to Christ Jesus – receive the truth here, that He is the One elected and sent, to save you from your sin and bring you into that wonderful relationship with the living God to restore paradise lost. Turn to Christ.

Well, if you have trusted in Christ, then what? What does it matter to me that God chose Jacob and not Esau?

Two things. Fear and assurance. Fear and assurance.

Most Christians I know fear God’s election. It sews doubt in people’s hearts, or resentment. Am I elect? Is my husband elect? Are my children elect?

Is that you tonight?

Now don’t worry if you don’t get that, if you don’t follow me – ignore the next few minutes.

But there will be some here asking that question – wondering if the Father has chosen them to be his.

I want to gently and respectfully suggest that our fear comes because we are coming at this from the wrong end.

We tend to think that election is all about us, am I elect? I don’t know. And that is where the fear comes from. But its not about us, it is about Christ. Scripture wants you to know that Christ has been chosen, Christ is has been elected to be the champion of salvation.

When we start answering the question “why aren’t more people saved”, by talking about the Father’s election, then of course we are going to end up in a place of fear.

If the reason for a person’s unbelief, is the election of the Father, then we are right to be scared. But I don’t think that is the right answer, or even the right question.

Being elect is not like having a winning lottery ticket. The Father has only made one choice, and that is in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh, not Rich Owen – thank God, and not you.

We are chosen because Christ is chosen, we are elected because Christ is the Elect One of the Father, chosen before the foundation of the world to be it’s Lord.

So run to Jesus, become one of his children, stand in his election – then you know you are elect. You don’t need to be scared by this.

So if you find yourself asking that question – am I elect – then ask yourself – why am I asking that question?

Assurance? Yeh? Is that why?

If I ask that question for assurance, then I’m looking for assurance outside of Christ - in my own flesh. Its not all about me! It’s the wrong question because assurance is not found within me, but in Christ. Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh.

I should ask the question – is Christ elect? And I go to scripture and see that all the purposes and promises of the Father find their yes and Amen in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 1:20).

Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh - trust him and see full assurance. Run to Jesus, become one of his children, stand in his election – then you know you are elect

The Father has desired that fallen humanity should be rescued. He loves this broken world, de desires to have that fellowship with us and to restore paradise on Earth.

He is moved in his heart so much that he sends forth his one and only Son, the eternal Word that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life, and be restored. Jesus is the promised seed.

I’ll end with a quote from Spurgeon.

So you ask if you are …elect, you ask what you do not know. Go to Jesus, just as you are in all your guilt.  Go straight to Christ and hide in His wounds, and you shall know your election.  The assurance of the Holy Spirit shall be given to you, so that you shall be able to say I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

AMEN.

Published on Leave a comment on Genesis 27 – Rich Owen’s full text sermon

The audio is here.  This is the transcript.  Great sermon from Rich!

Genesis 27.

The story so far:

In the beginning was God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Father sent out his Word in the power of the Spirit to bring order out of chaos, light over darkness. The world was made in and through that person called the Word of God, the earth and all that is in it, climaxing in the making of Man in God’s image.

The man was placed in God’s garden and given a bride. Together, in beautiful loving harmony, they were to work and cultivate this wondrous garden and extend it into a global garden where man and God would dwell together.

But that man made a pact with the Deceiver and decided to overthrow God, to take hold of what God had given him and make it as his own, to rule over the earth but … not under God.

And so Adam is kicked out of the garden, separated from God in body, dead in spirit and subject to decay and despair.

But he is given a promise.

A seed of the woman will come and defeat the Deceiver and his evil ways at great cost to himself, his heal will be bruised as he crushes the Deceiver’s head, but those wounds, would make it possible to bring them back to the garden, back to life, back to fellowship with the Living God. The promised seed will come.

So after Eve gives birth to her first child, she says, behold, with the help of the Lord I have brought forth The Man. She thought her first son was the seed, but he was murdered by his brother, defeated by evil. He was not the seed. The seed is still to come.

They waited for the seed, they hoped in the seed. When will this One Man be born, our hope our salvation? When will he come, the one who will bring us back into the land of the Lord and restore to us the joy of fellowship with the Living God? When will he come?

As each child was born, hope it seems had faded. The work of the serpent grew, evil spread.

But again, from within the darkness and chaos of the fallen world, The Word of the Lord, the second person of God is again sent forth, appearing this time to Abram and He promises that from Abram will come a seed, not seeds Galatians 3:16 but the One Seed who is Christ.

The scattered nations will be rescued, gathered together and restored to the Father in and through the seed, Christ Jesus, the son of Abraham. From Abraham’s seed will come great blessing, he will become a great nation. The seed will come, and he will be from Abraham.

And so the Word of the Lord instructs Abraham to go to a new land, a place of hope, a place of abundance… a garden where God will live with his people.

The gospel promise is renewed.

Abraham rejoiced in this, and he placed his hope and trust in Him, God’s One Word. And so because of his faith in Christ, he is given the righteousness of God.

Abraham then travels to this promised land, the place which would be the venue for all God’s dealings with humanity for generations to come. And there he started to bear children.

Like Eve, Abraham had high hopes for his son. A promised child is brought forth, Isaac. His beloved son. From this one, the seed will come.

But the Word of the Lord is sent again to Abraham and says that this promised son must be offered to death. The one from whom the seed will come, his beloved son must be offered to the dark and ravenous jaws of death.

Abraham obeys, but at the last moment, the Divine Lord, the Word who is eternally sent by the Father, the Angel of the Lord, intervenes and provides a substitute, death for life.

And that place, the place where the temple would one day stand in Jerusalem, where lambs would be repeatedly scarified, and where the Lamb of God, the eternal Word of the Father, the Angel of the Lord himself, the One Seed Jesus Christ would eventually die  - the very same place - so that we might live - this place was called “the Lord will provide”, because at that place it will be provided.

Isaac is restored to Abraham. From the jaws of death Isaac is now alive. He is resurrected, figuratively speaking, but he is not the seed. The gospel is once again renewed – from you and your descendants will come the seed, the hope of nations.

So this Isaac had the weight of the promise on his shoulders. From him the seed would come, the one who would be the sin substitute, whose heal would be bruised as he stamped on Satan’s ugly head as he dies at that place of the Lord’s provision.

So who does he marry? The beautiful Rebekah. But Rebekah was barren. She couldn’t have children. What did you go and do that for Isaac? The seed is supposed to come from you.

Isaac didn’t make the same mistake as his father Abraham did, who tried to get round that kind of biological issue by his own sinful methods. Isaac had learned that particular lesson from his dad and so he prays Genesis 25 and the Lord answers his prayer. Rebekah’s womb is opened and she became pregnant with twin boys.

And this is what sets things up for us tonight. You see, the seed can only come from one of the twins. The promised Messiah can’t come from both lines. God’s choice will be with one of the boys.

Genesis 25:22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

Esau who came out first would have to serve Jacob. Now there is an interesting little detail at the birth of Esau and Jacob. Jacob reached out and grabbed Esau’s heal.

The two babies were born and it is amazing just how different they were. Esau was a mighty hunter, a man of the open country, red blooded, hairy, brutish type, but Jacob preferred a desk job, back at the tent and he liked to plot and scheme and use people.

Now Isaac, their dad, had a taste for wild game and so unsurprisingly he loved Esau the huntsman more than Jacob the schemer.

Well Esau did indeed end up having to serve Jacob. He returned home after a long time hunting and he was famished. Scheming Jacob decided to use this to his advantage and said, I’ll give you some stew if you give me your birthright.

And so Esau sold his birthright as firstborn to Jacob for a bowl of hot game stew.

And so we come now to Genesis chapter 27. Verse 1

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son."   "Here I am," he answered.

Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."

So the fact that Esau had sold his birthright and the fact that the Lord prophesied that Esau would serve Jacob seems to have been long forgotten, or possibly just blatantly ignored, as Isaac dictates that the blessing would be conveyed to Esau.

But Rebekah overheard the plan verse 5 and went to Jacob to report on what was happening and to propose a scheme in order to win the blessing for him. Her plan verses 9 and 10 was to take advantage of the old man’s love of a good goat curry and have Jacob take it to him so that he would bless him instead.

Now at this point its not actually possible to see what Rebekah’s motives are. Is she wanting the Word of the Lord to be fulfilled, and so sets about trying to help God out on his way, through her own works?

Well it is a good motive, but her sincerity is sincerely wrong. God’s work is his own.

The other possibility is that she just preferred Jacob and wanted him to get the blessing. Either way, its not good. But Jacob the schemer runs with the plan and because verse 12 he is worried about getting caught, they set about creating this elaborate deception.

They took advantage of Isaac’s weak eyes that we read about in verse 1 and set about deceiving his other senses too. This is the pair of sunglasses and a false moustache moment to eclipse all others.

Jacob would wear some of Esau’s clothes so that he would smell like Esau, he would have some goatskins on his neck and hands so that he felt as hairy as his brother Esau and then he would take the carefully prepared food in, so that his sense of taste told him that it was Esau too.

Jacob was ready now and so he went in vs 19 and said – Hi its me Esau I’ve done as you told me.

That was quick. Isaac was obviously a little suspicious. Ah… yeh, errr… the Lord your God gave me success.

Still slightly suspicious verse 22, sounds more like Jacob than Esau, he beckoned him forward for the hairy hand test, which he passes. He then passes the taste test and, the clothing, the smell test worked too. Isaac was deceived and so he passed on the blessing to Jacob verse 28.

May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness, an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."

Its done the blessing is passed on to Jacob. What God had promised before they were born is now confirmed. Esau will bow to Jacob, the older will serve the younger, he will have to submit to the one God has chosen.

However Esau arrived with his freshly prepared meat. Jacob’s scheme has now been rumbled.

Jacob truly was the deceiver verse 36. Jacob means deceiver, the one who grasps the heal. So, right from the womb, he bore the mark of the prince of deceivers, the serpent himself, the one who strikes out at the heal of the promised seed.

But from this devil of a man, Jacob, the promised seed would come. Jesus would take on the fullness of humanity’s wickedness by being born from a wretched line.

Well when Isaac realised what was going on he trembled violently.

Imagine the moment Isaac realises what’s happened. He begins to pale, those weak old eyes widen and his stare is unbroken. His hands grip the ends of the arms of his chair, he is struck with fear. His teeth come together and that old frame begins to shake as he remembers the word of the lord – “the older will serve the younger”.

There is no going back now. Verse 33. I blessed him and indeed he will be blessed! The Lord’s choice cannot be changed or resisted. His election of Jacob as the one who will bear the seed cannot be overcome. What foolishness to think we could thwart the purposes of the Word of God.

Esau begged for a blessing too, but Isaac was committed – Jacob will be blessed. Verse 37 I have made him lord over you and I have blessed him with grain and wine, what can I possibly do for you? What blessing is left?

There really was nothing Isaac could give, he had given it all to Jacob, and so in verse 40 he reminds Esau of what the Lord could give him. He reminds him what the Lord had said about the two boys before even they were born. You will serve your younger brother.

Look back at Jacob’s blessing in verses 28 and 29. All this abundance is Jacob’s but look at the end of verse 29. Those who curse Jacob will be cursed…. those who bless him …will be blessed.

There is your answer Esau – if you want a blessing, serve your brother, bless him and you will get blessing from God.

The Lord’s election of Jacob did not rule Esau out. Esau could have received divine blessing. He could have had a share in the abundance. No he wouldn’t be the father of the promised seed, he wouldn’t be of that line, but he could still share in the blessing that would come from him if he listened to and submitted to the Lord’s election of Jacob.

But Esau wasn’t having any of it. He raged against Jacob verse 41 and sought to kill him. He hardened his heart to the warning about cursing Jacob. All he could think about was his own happiness, his material happiness.

So it was just as Isaac had said – he would live far away from the earths richness verse 39, away from the goodness of heaven above.

He forsook the blessing by refusing to bow to Jacob and so bore the curse. He would throw off Jacob’s yoke – he wasn’t serving his little brother.

What a fearful and cursed thing it is to reject the yoke of the one chosen by the father! It is to chose curse over blessing. It is to chose hell over heaven.

Rebekah got wind of Esau’s plan to kill Jacob and so urged him to flee to her brother Laban until Esau cooled off. And as every good mother does gives him a bit of advice about what kind of woman to avoid while he is away.

So it’s a cracking tale isn’t it. Deception, disguises, family squabbles, honour and goat stew.

But how does it apply to me and to you?

Is the lesson here about family unity? Do what you can to keep everyone together.

Is the lesson here about anger? Don’t make hasty decisions in your anger.

Is the lesson here about going after worldly pleasures – filling your belly and your life with the things you want at the expense of God’s people?

Is the lesson here about lying? Don’t lie and deceive.

Is the lesson here about breaking one law to fulfil another – taking shortcuts? You think your motive is good, serving the church perhaps… but are you methods right? Are you seeking the best for city evangelical church, but going about it in a disruptive and divisive way? Is that the lesson here?

Well there is instruction and wisdom there, and it kinda speaks for itself doesn’t it. But it isn’t the overall message of this story.

I believe that the message of this chapter within its context is God’s election. God’s election.

Now this is a topic I know people don’t really like. It’s like talking about death or politics at the dinner table. It’s a sure fire way to start a bun fight. So what I need here is a cake proof screen in front of the pulpit cause we are going to have a stab at it anyway cause it is a central truth in scripture and it is central to this passage.

The fact that God the Father has promised that his Son would be born of a woman, to bring salvation and blessing to a lost world, means that he has to chose a family line for him. That is the very simple reason why Jacob is chosen. He will bear the seed, the seed will be descended from Jacob and not Esau.

Did you get that? If you get nothing else from the next five minutes, get that at least.

The Lord elects Jacob simply because the seed, the messiah has already been chosen and promised – that is why he is elect – because Christ has first been elected. Remember that at least.

As the apostle Paul says in Romans 9 verse 11, God chose Jacob so that his purpose in election might stand. Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh.

Now there are a load of issue that could come up and are related to this and I’d be a fool to think I could knock this issue on the head in five minutes. But I am convinced that to unravel this we need to start and finish in our thinking with Christ.

Ok Rich, that is what this is about – I’m with you on that, but what does it have to do with me, sitting here in this chair, in this church in 2010?

Well firstly, if you are Jewish, then rejoice, you have royal status. Jesus is literally your flesh and blood relative, but as the passage suggest in verse 29, you must bow to God’s election of Christ Jesus. Jacob who was later called Israel, is lord over all nations, but he is also lord over his flesh and blood relatives - you. You must bow too. Only then are you truly of Israel, only in Christ The offspring, can you be Abraham’s offspring.

For the majority of us here though, there are two responses.

Firstly, if you are not yet a believer, then can I urge you… look at the world outside. It’s descending into deeper chaos, more violence, more greed, and more evil.

Jesus Christ came to put right, what for thousands of years we’ve failed to do, and he did it. It is done – Christ did it, he put it right with God because he was chosen to do the work of reconciliation, not you or me.

And this evening he makes you an offer. Trust him, walk with him and he will include you into his kingdom where there is hope, where there this reconciliation, where there is change, where there is life.

Be joined to Christ Jesus – receive the truth here, that He is the One elected and sent, to save you from your sin and bring you into that wonderful relationship with the living God to restore paradise lost. Turn to Christ.

Well, if you have trusted in Christ, then what? What does it matter to me that God chose Jacob and not Esau?

Two things. Fear and assurance. Fear and assurance.

Most Christians I know fear God’s election. It sews doubt in people’s hearts, or resentment. Am I elect? Is my husband elect? Are my children elect?

Is that you tonight?

Now don’t worry if you don’t get that, if you don’t follow me – ignore the next few minutes.

But there will be some here asking that question – wondering if the Father has chosen them to be his.

I want to gently and respectfully suggest that our fear comes because we are coming at this from the wrong end.

We tend to think that election is all about us, am I elect? I don’t know. And that is where the fear comes from. But its not about us, it is about Christ. Scripture wants you to know that Christ has been chosen, Christ is has been elected to be the champion of salvation.

When we start answering the question “why aren’t more people saved”, by talking about the Father’s election, then of course we are going to end up in a place of fear.

If the reason for a person’s unbelief, is the election of the Father, then we are right to be scared. But I don’t think that is the right answer, or even the right question.

Being elect is not like having a winning lottery ticket. The Father has only made one choice, and that is in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh, not Rich Owen – thank God, and not you.

We are chosen because Christ is chosen, we are elected because Christ is the Elect One of the Father, chosen before the foundation of the world to be it’s Lord.

So run to Jesus, become one of his children, stand in his election – then you know you are elect. You don’t need to be scared by this.

So if you find yourself asking that question – am I elect – then ask yourself – why am I asking that question?

Assurance? Yeh? Is that why?

If I ask that question for assurance, then I’m looking for assurance outside of Christ - in my own flesh. Its not all about me! It’s the wrong question because assurance is not found within me, but in Christ. Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh.

I should ask the question – is Christ elect? And I go to scripture and see that all the purposes and promises of the Father find their yes and Amen in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 1:20).

Christ Jesus is God’s choice in human flesh - trust him and see full assurance. Run to Jesus, become one of his children, stand in his election – then you know you are elect

The Father has desired that fallen humanity should be rescued. He loves this broken world, de desires to have that fellowship with us and to restore paradise on Earth.

He is moved in his heart so much that he sends forth his one and only Son, the eternal Word that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life, and be restored. Jesus is the promised seed.

I’ll end with a quote from Spurgeon.

So you ask if you are …elect, you ask what you do not know. Go to Jesus, just as you are in all your guilt.  Go straight to Christ and hide in His wounds, and you shall know your election.  The assurance of the Holy Spirit shall be given to you, so that you shall be able to say I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

AMEN.

9

Published on 9 Comments on We did it all for the glory of love – part 4

We've thought a little bit about how glory language is introduced in Exodus.  Of course John's Gospel makes for a fascinating study in 'glory'.  But it would be too easy to camp out in John and refuse to engage the other 'glory' Scriptures.  So let's think about three other key texts in the glory debates: Isaiah 42; Ezekiel 36 and (in the next post) Ephesians 1.  If you've got others on your mind, raise them in comments:

Isaiah 42:1-8

"Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One in Whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, and a smouldering wick He will not snuff out. In faithfulness He will bring forth justice; 4 He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth. In His law the islands will put their hope." 5 This is what God the LORD says--He who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, Who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness; I will take hold of Your hand. I will keep You and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8 "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.

Usually it's only verse 8 that's quoted in the glory discussions.  But the context is crucial.  Here is the Beloved, Spirit-filled Servant of the LORD.  And He Himself is a covenant for the people.  The love of Father for Son spills over to the whole world and this is all a part of the integrity of the Creator.  The Maker of the ends of the earth will bring reconciliation through His Servant.  Therefore - verse 8 - He will not accomplish His creation-reconciliation project through anyone other than His Beloved, Anointed Son.  And this very commitment is the commitment to be the over-flowing, self-giving God of redemption.

So, no self-centred glory here.

What about, Ezekiel 36:16-32

16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 "Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.... 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

You will notice here that the issue is the 'name of the LORD's holiness' which is not exactly the same as 'glory' - but they're pretty connected I think everyone will agree.

The "name" of the LORD has always been the gracious, saving character of the Gospel God (Exodus 34:6-7; see also Num 6:23-27).  It's the name that is in His Divine Angel and, again, is expressed through His deliverance of the people (Exodus 23:20-23).  This name dwells in the temple (Ex 20:24; Deut 12:5) and just as the priests are to put the name on the people (Num 6:23-27), the people are meant to reflect the name out to the nations.

In Ezekiel, the LORD's Glory (Christ) has departed from the physical temple (ch8-10) because the Israelites have profaned it (5:11).  Yet He Himself has been a sanctuary for the people (11:16) - in exile with His people!  And He promises that He will return as the LORD's Servant - the True King David - to make His sanctuary with His people forever (Ezek 37:21-28).

But here in chapter 36, the Israelites have not 'sanctified' but rather 'profaned' the name of the LORD's holiness.  God's people - as the priests He has made them to be - ought to be reflecting out to the world that same out-going goodness of God which they themselves have received.  Instead they do the very opposite.  And the thing that really profanes the name is that the saved people of God have become the wicked and exiled people of God (v20).  The LORD has tied His name so closely to His people that when they are profaned - He is profaned.  He has chosen to be so at one with His people that His destiny and reputation is bound up in their destiny and reputation.

And so He makes them know that this salvation He is about to work is His gracious initiative and not something they've provoked either by their goodness or their badness.  It's certainly not that the Israelites have cleaned up their act enough for God to save.  And it's not even that they are now so pitiable that God goes soft on them.  What moves Him to act is His fierce determination to be this kind of saving and forgiving God.  His gospel name will be vindicated because that is simply who He is.

And in fact verse 23 says the LORD will vindicate His holiness by saving a wretched people!  What kind of holiness is this that is expressed when renowned offenders are treated with extravagant grace?  This holiness is not the holiness of 'splendid isolation' but of gospel grace.

So again, these verses are not proof that God is, after all, self-centered.  The very opposite.  All that He does is motivated by a gospel character that will not be thwarted even by the worst opposition of His own people.  His name, His glory and His holiness are not considerations that would keep Him from engaging His wrath-deserving people.  They move Him out into costly, shame-bearing, sacrificial redemption.  Because His grace is His glory.

UPDATE:  Dave Bish has some great thoughts on Ezekiel 36 just posted.


Published on Leave a comment on Joy comes in the morning

4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name. 5 For His anger is but for a moment, and His favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:4-5)

What is night time?  Verse 5 tells us: Judgement for sins and sorrow for suffering.

What is morning?  Verse 5 proclaims it: Grace for sinners and joy for sufferers.

When you're really going through the mill, morning can seem oppressive.  Not another day to face.  All you want to do is put your pillow over your head, pull the blankets up around your shoulders and snooze your way through the encroaching burdens.

But what is sunrise telling you?  Every morning it's proclaiming the gospel to you.  This darkness is only a passing shadow (as Samwise Gamgee would say).  The Light of the world triumphs.  And He chases away the gloom like the sun in all its brilliance.  Darkness cannot stand up to Him.  It must depart forever.

Every day He pledges cleansing from sin and the defeat of evil.  Far above and beyond you and your circumstances, the LORD God declares to the world that sin and suffering will be conquered by the Sun of righteousness.  Which means your sin and suffering will be conquered.  Grace and cleansing, joy and new life is more certain than the sunrise.

And if you can't feel the truth of that, that's ok.  Allow the sun simply to rise once more.  Allow it to pledge to you what you cannot imagine right now - all gloom and shadow and darkness will be swallowed up by the Light.

Joy comes in the morning.

When One rules over men in righteousness, when He rules in the fear of God, 4 He is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.'   (2 Sam 23:3-4)

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Published on 13 Comments on We did it all for the glory of love – part 1

Yes I want that song infecting your brain.

We'll live forever, knowing together that we did it all for the glory of love

Now there's a line fit for the triune God!  As I'll try to show below, it's a pretty good summary of God's motives in creation and redemption.  God's life and work is an other-centred, outward-focussed, spreading goodness.  The Father, Son and Spirit do all things for the glory of love.  This is starkly different from 'the love of glory' - especially where 'glory' is defined apart from love!

So in this post I want to show that "the glory of love" is God's motivation in all things.  Later I'll show why "the love of glory" is not God's motivation according to the bible - at least not how it's popularly framed.  Our God does not sing: "I did it all for the glory of me!"

But first, here's just a little survey of love as the centre of God's life and action in Scripture (notice number four!):

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God's being is love

1 John 4:8,16

The Father loves the Son

Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 12:6; John 3:35; 15:9; 17:24; Ephesians 1:6; Colossians 1:13

The Father hands everything to the Son because of love

Psalm 2:7f; Isaiah 42:1; John 3:35; 5:20

The Father glorifies the Son because He loves Him

John 17:24

The Father predestines and elects us in Christ because of love

Ephesians 1:4f; Isaiah 55:3

The Father creates out of love

Colossians 1:16

He chooses the patriarchs out of love

Deuteronomy 10:15

He makes and keeps covenant with His people because of love

Ezekiel 16:8; Isaiah 54:10

He redeems Israel out of love

Deuteronomy 7:8; Isaiah 63:9; Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 11:1

He leads Israel because He loves her

Exodus 15:13

He plants them in the land because He loves them

Psalm 44:3

He relents from judging time and again because of love

Numbers 14:19; Ps 51:1; 106:45; Hosea 11:1-9; Jonah 4:2

He will provide future redemption from all sins because of love

Psalm 130:7f

He saves because He loves

John 3:16; Titus 3:4f

The Son is given to us because of love

John 3:16; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2,25; 1 John 4:8-10

We're adopted because of love

Ephesians 1:5f; 1 John 3:1

We're regenerated because of love

Ephesians 2:4f

We're forgiven because of love

Revelation 1:5

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Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

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Published on Leave a comment on Generous, Joyful and Joint

Some friends preparing for marriage asked for advice on money and giving as a couple.  Looking at the Scriptures together - e.g. Exodus 35-36; 2 Cor 8-9; Ephesians 5 - we came up with three principles.  A couple's giving should be generous, joyful and joint.

All giving should be generous and joyful (God loves a cheerful giver, He does not want your grudging sacrifice!).  But there's an added dimension in marriage.  If she's joyful and he's grudging it's not joint.  You need to be jointly generous and jointly joyful in it.

For the partner who wants to give more, this calls for a patient trust in the grace of Jesus.  Trust that He is your justification (not your level of sacrifice), and trust that only His grace can motivate the joyful generosity you long to see.  The more generous spouse will be tempted to lay down the law in this situation.  But on the contrary, this is a great opportunity to model the grace of Jesus and to see a real gospel motivation grow in their partner.

After discussing these three principles I wonder whether they can apply to many different areas of married life. Sex life, use of time, moving for gospel service...

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