Some Thoughts on the Purpose – Part 4

The following is an excerpt from my book: The Community Life of God
You can order this book here: Order Now

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” Genesis 1:26

Here we see a corporate God creating a corporate man in His corporate image.

Who exactly was God referring to when He spoke in these plural pronouns? Who is “Us”? Some have theorized that God was speaking to the angels when He said, “Let Us make man in Our image.” However, there are two major problems with this theory. First of all, angels do not create. If God was speaking to the angels when He said, “Let Us make (create) man,” He would have been asking the angels to join in and help Him create man. Only God has the power to create life, so this just doesn’t make any sense. The second problem with this theory is that the angels do not have an “image.” God has an image, but angels do not. We must always remember to interpret the Bible with the Bible. No where in the scripture does it say that angels have an image. Only God has an image and we will take a look at that in just a moment.

The Communal God Seen in Creation

It is obvious that plural pronouns are used in this passage in reference to the Triune God. We could say that the Trinity – The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, took counsel together and decided to make a communal man (mankind). In the thought of God, when He created Adam, He was creating a whole race. Inside of this one man was the whole race of men. This is why when Adam fell (sinned), the whole race fell. The account here in Genesis 1 says, “let them rule over the fish of the sea . . .” God created a “them.” Even though within the “them” were individuals, He still considered this creation to be one man.

This is in keeping with His nature. Remember, our God is not an individual. He does not think or act as an individual. He always thinks and acts communally. When He created man, He created a corporate entity that would express His communal nature and life. This is why plural terms such as “Us” and “Our” are used in the act of this creation. This was the motion of a communal God acting communally! He created a communal man. He created a “them.” His whole plan would revolve around this communal man called “Adam.”

This whole passage of scripture is completely bathed in corporate terminology. The word for “God” in Genesis 1:26 is Elohim. This is a plural-singular noun in the original language. The closest word to it in English would be the word “community.” The One who is speaking in this passage is the plural-in-one God – the God who is Community. It is this God who is Community that creates a community of humans who are to live in His image.

Created in His Image

Many have come up with “ideas” and “theories” about this image thing. In what way is man created in the image of God? Is it because man is a tripartite being just like God? Is it because man has a spirit just like God? Actually, I believe that we have missed the whole point in this area of the image of God.

The passage does not say that man was created as the image of God. It says that man was created in the image of God. One little word can make all the difference. We read this verse as if it says that man was created as the image of God. But nowhere in scripture is man ever called “the image of God.” Yet I have heard many people say that man is the image of God. This is a huge misconception and one that has kept us from seeing God’s true eternal purpose for man.

Is there anyone who is called “the image of God” in the scriptures? You know there is. He is called the Christ, the Son of the living God! (II Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15) Christ is the image of the invisible God. There is no other image of God. Man is only a “derived” image. This means that man derives his likeness of God from Christ who is the image. This is why the scripture tells us that man was created in the image and likeness of God. Christ, the Son, is the image of God. Man was created in Him! Man only has the image of God because He was created in Christ who is the exact expression of His being (John 1:18).

The Image Must Be Community

Also notice with me that here in Genesis 1:26, it tells us that man was created in the image of God. It does not say that a man called Adam was created in God’s image. This is not one sole individual that is referred to here. The image of God is a communal matter. When God speaks of “man” He is referring to the whole race of men and women referred to by Paul as “the first Adam.” This is the Adamic race. This is a corporate entity.

It only makes sense that a corporate God would create a corporate image. But to be community means much more than just quantity. Just creating a race of many people is not in itself a communal act. In order for man to be “like God” he would not only need to have the many, he would also need to have the “one.”

As the doctrine of the Trinity indicates, the one God is the social Trinity, the community or fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Because God is a plurality – in – unity, the ideal for humankind does not focus on solitary persons, but on persons – in – community. God intends that we reflect the divine nature in our lives. This is only possible as we move out of our isolation and into godly relationships with others.
Stanley J. Grenz
Created for Community
Baker Book House, 1998, p. 51

As I have shown in the last chapter, God is a fellowship (or community) of three Persons who are one. They are not separated, isolated, individuals, but are distinct personalities who live, think, and act as one. No one Person acts independently of the others. They each coinhere or indwell one another. They also coexist with one another which means that they all exist at the same time. The scriptures tell us that all of the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ (Col. 2:9). This means that God has invested all that He is into His Son. Christ is the very embodiment of the Triune God.

When God created this race called “man,” His intention was to place this “man” into Christ and place Christ into this man. Christ is the image of God, but by placing man into Christ and making him one with Christ, man would take on the communal nature of the Godhead. The corporateness of man would be the same corporateness of God (in Christ) and therefore man would truly be the image of God on the earth. The communal God would have His communal man. But this could only happen “in Christ.” It has always been God’s intention that man only exist in and through His Son. But how would this take place practically?

God’s plan was for Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life. This tree represents the life of the Divine Trinity in Christ. Jesus told us that He was the true Vine. But before He became the Vine to us, the Father was a Vine to Him. Christ was even called a Branch in the Old Testament (Jer. 23:5). In other words, the Lord’s relationship to us is based upon His relationship with His Father (John 6:57). So, in the tree of life, we can see the life and relationship of the Godhead being made available to man as food. If man would eat the fruit, he would assimilate and participate in the life and fellowship of the Triune God.

This is why God put a human spirit into Adam. God’s life (Christ) would find His home in the spirit of man as he ate of the tree of life. Then man would have the same life as God, that is, community life. Then man could live by that Life and be the visible expression of the invisible, communal God! This would fulfill God’s purpose to have an image.

You can order this book here: Order Now

Some Thoughts on the Purpose – Part 2

A friend recently told me that the eternal purpose of God was so vast that it was difficult to grasp and even more difficult to explain.  I told him that I agreed.  He also said that it’s very difficult to put into one sentence.  I also agreed with that, however, after thinking about this later, I decided to take on the challenge.  So here is my contribution of consolidating the eternal purpose into one sentence:

“God’s eternal purpose is that the fullness of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, would be displayed and expressed visibly through a vessel that would be a Family/House for the Father, a Bride/Body for the Son, and a Temple for the Holy Spirit.”

In my last post I shared that God has a purpose that we can clearly see in chapter one of Genesis.

If you didn’t read the last post, you can do so here.

The purpose was to create a Man (actually, a race of man) that would both express His nature and character and represent His authority over the earth, especially to His enemy.

Genesis two tells us the way, or plan that God is going to use to accomplish this purpose.  He offers man to ingest His very own life.  He places man before the tree of life.  The obvious implication here is that man would eat of that tree and thereby take the life of God into his being so that he would be able to live by that life and thus accomplish God’s eternal purpose.

God’s purpose could never be accomplished by human life.  It takes a much higher life than that.  It takes God’s very own life.  Divine life, eternal life, uncreated life!  Human life is a lower life form that could never fulfill God’s purpose or satisfy His heart.  That’s like asking a dog to behave like a human.  It won’t work because the dog has the wrong life form.  Preachers will stand up in front of people every Sunday morning telling them that they need to do more and to do better to be good Christians.  The problem is that all of those people have the wrong life form to live that way!  They are being asked to please God with their human life.  Impossible!

But in the garden, God placed man in front of a Tree, THE TREE, full of His life!  Wow!  What an opportunity.  Just think… a creature who lives by the life of God!  What a concept.  Only God could think of such a thing.

Some Thoughts on the Purpose – Part 1

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Gen. 1:26

It’s very clear from Genesis chapter one that God has an eternal purpose (as Paul calls it in Ephesians).  He created man with a definite purpose to fulfill.  We can see from this one verse 26 that God wanted an image and He also wanted that image to have dominion over the earth.  Let’s take a closer look at each one of these aspects of the purpose:

An Image of God

This image would be a reflection, a likeness, and an expression of the living God.  But how would man be an image of God?  He would express God and he would reflect God.  But this would be more than a mere copy or clone of God.  This image would not just be the type of an image that we see in a mirror or in a photograph.  Those are just two-dimensional representations that do not adequately express the fullness of His glorious splendor.  How would the very fullness of God be expressed in such a limited creature?  How would the infinite God be expressed adequately by a finite creation?  How would an uncreated God be expressed by a created man?  We shall find the secret to God’s way to fulfill the Purpose in Genesis chapter 2.  But let’s first fully understand the Purpose itself.

Dominion

The second part of the Purpose was for man to have dominion over the earth.  This has to do with God’s enemy, satan.  The reason we know this is that the scripture specifically mentions “the creeping things” at the end of verse 26.  And we see in chapter 3 that the enemy comes to Eve as a serpent.  So, man is to have authority (dominion) over all the earth and especially the creeping things.

So we can say that God created man for two reasons; to express and represent.  The image speaks of His expression.  The dominion speaks of His representation.  God wanted man to express His nature and character.  And He also wanted man to represent His authority on the earth, especially over the creeping things (God’s enemy).

But how would man do this?  Again, the question begs to be answered.  How would man (a lower life form) express and represent the almighty God?  That’s like asking my dog to fully express and represent me!  It’s impossible!  But why?  Because my dog is a lower life form.  She cannot express a human, only a dog.  She has the wrong life form.

Genesis Chapter 2

Thank God for Genesis chapter two!

Have you ever noticed how chapter two is almost like a replay of the creation account?  Was God repeating Himself?  Did He forget that He already wrote chapter one or something?  Hardly.  The purpose of chapter two is to explain the way that God would accomplish His eternal purpose.  Chapter one tells us the what of His purpose.  Chapter two tells us the how of His purpose.  You could say that chapter one lays out the purpose, but chapter two lays out the way to fulfill that purpose – or the plan.

The Plan is Carried Out by Life

“And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”          Gen. 2:8,9

There it is!  God was going to carry out His purpose by giving man His very own life!  So what does He do?  He presents Himself as a tree in the garden!  God makes Himself  edible (or eatable!) to man.  This is both tremendous and unthinkable.  God, actually dispensing His very own life into man?  Can you think of a better way for man to express and represent God?  Man has a lower life form that can only inadequately express God.  So God offers him His very own life form!

All man had to do was eat.  And then God would come into man and begin to permeate his entire being.  Just like physical food becomes part of you after you ingest it.  What a wonderful plan!  Please notice with me here that there are no rules or regulations.  God did not ask man to follow some code of ethics.  He did not ask man to follow some kind of moral code. He did not even ask man to bow down to worship Him.  He only presents Himself to man in the form of food and asks him to eat!

You see God knew that if man partook of His life and that life grew inside of him that he would be able to express Him and represent Him because it would actually be God Himself doing it in and through man!

Stay tuned for part 2

The Intentionality of God – Part 3

Tags

Church of Jesus Christ, Eternal Purpose, intentional God, network of friends, non church, random church

This is my third and final installment for this series on the “Intentionality of God”.  In this post I am going to get much more practical and to the point for the edification of the saints and the churches.  If you have not already read parts 1 and 2 please do so by clicking here.

So first of all, let me share my initial motivation for writing this series.

There is an erroneous teaching that is currently circulating throughout the following expressions of the church: house church, simple church, missional church, organic church.  All of these forms of church life share one thing in common; they have rejected the so called “institutional” forms of church.  This means the most prevalent church structure that has dominated the western world for the last 17 centuries or so.  I think it will become very clear to you why this erroneous teaching is becoming popular in some of these home churches who have rejected the traditional, institutional systems.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”  (2 Peter 2:1)

I really don’t know what to call this current wave of false teachings.  For the purpose of this blog post I am going to call it: “non-church” or perhaps “random-church”.  Though, of course, the proponents of this teaching would not like that name at all!

From what I can gather, this idea has come from folks who have left the institutional church system and now have rejected ALL structure, ALL planning, ALL leadership, and ALL order altogether.  It is definitely an over reaction to the religious system.  To these folks, church is something that just happens.  You happen to meet a friend at Starbucks who is a believer, you have some fellowship, that is “church”!  You have a “network” of friends in this city and in that other area, and in another part of town, or perhaps at work.  When you happen to be in that section of town you may visit with them … and that’s “church” as well!    It’s a willy-nilly, random, meet-by-chance situation.  There are no scheduled meetings.  Everything is left “up in the air”, or they would say, “by the Spirit”.  I have heard it said: “Well, if we all love Jesus then why do we have to plan, schedule meetings, and so on?”  They will also say things such as: “Why do we need church planters when the church already exists?”  “I’m the church, you’re the church, just be the church!”

Hopefully, this series of blog posts will irrevocably answer these questions.

The statements made above (and the like) reveal a mindset that is completely foreign to the New Testament.  As you read the story of the New Testament (if you are open and honest about it) you will see local churches or bodies of believers that were committed to one another and completely attendable.  In many instances Paul names people in the churches (see Romans 16; Philippians 4:2,22; Colossians 4:4-18; 1 Corinthians 16:15-19).

Now, let’s take a quick look at some clear and concise statements made in the scriptures about the Church of Jesus Christ.  And then, we will test those “images” or types used by God himself.

• The Church is a Building (temple, house)

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”  (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”  (Ephesians 2:19-22)

So, let’s approach these concepts with “if… then” statements:

If the church is a building… then it would require structure.

It’s very clear from Paul’s statement here (especially in Ephesians 2) that the church is built together as in a physical structure (temple).  Everyone knows that without a purpose, plan (design), and an administration for that plan, you will never be able to build any kind of solid structure!  Notice with me that Paul gets very explicit in using words like “fitted together” and “being built together” to show us God’s intentionality for the church.  He actually “fits” the living stones together and into each other.  This is not some vague “cosmic” idea of church, but rather a very practical building and setting of people together by God!  He actually places the stones into the positions that He wants them.  In another place Paul uses the phrase: “being knit together in love” (Col. 2:2)  Now, I don’t know much about knitting, but I do know that in order to knit a sweater you need to have a pattern (design/plan) and some training on how to execute the pattern so that you end up with something that is both pleasing to the eye and functional (the expression).

How does the idea of “random church” fit into this?

• The Church is the Body of Christ

“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”  (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)

“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”  (1 Corinthians 12:18)

“Which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted (mingled, harmonized, and subtly proportioned the parts of) the whole body, giving the greater honor and richer endowment to the inferior parts which lack [apparent importance], so that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the parts [share] the suffering; if one member is honored, all the members [share in] the enjoyment of it. Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body and [individually] you are members of it, each part severally and distinct [each with his own place and function].”
(1 Corinthians 12:24-27)

If the church is a body, then it would require structure.

The human body is made up of eleven major organ systems.  These include: circulatory, respiratory, digestive, excretory, nervous, endocrine, immune, integumentary, skeletal, muscle, and reproductive.  And this doesn’t even include microbiology!  What about our 30 billion cells?  What about our DNA?  All of these systems work to do a very specific function and yet all work together to express the person who lives inside.  What an incredible testimony to our intentional God!  And Paul called the Church the Body of Christ!

How does the idea of “random church” fit into this?

• The Church is the Family of God

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”  (Ephesians 5:25-32)

If the church is a family, then it would require structure.

Obviously in any functional family there are certain requirements for it to meet in order for the family “life” to be expressed.  There needs to be a father and a mother.  They need to produce children.  The parents need to manage the household so that the children are protected, taught, and raised to be decent adults.

“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”   (Ephesians 1:9-10)

Did you know that your God has an administration?  He also has a purpose and a plan!  Actually, the administration (or economy) is the working out of His plan or purpose.  The purpose is to sum up all things in Christ!  He is going to do this in and through His Church, His Building, His Body, His Bride, and His Family.

“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,”
(Ephesians 3:8-11)

The Greek word for “administration” here literally means the economy of a household.

How does the idea of “random church” fit into this?

• The Church is the Community of God

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”  (Genesis 1:26-27)

If the church is a community, then it would require structure.

Mankind was originally created to be a corporate entity.  That is, the image of the community life of God.  God is a community of three Persons who are one.  Each Person is distinct with their own characteristics and roles, but there is only ONE God.  God spoke in the plural when he created man because he wanted man to be, live, and function as many persons who are one.  Of course, we see this exemplified in John chapter 17.  Is there relationship in this community?  Is there structure in this community?  Is there mutual submission and love in this community?  Do the Father, Son, and Spirit meet randomly and without purpose?

Can you image if the community of the Godhead was run like a “random-church”?  Wow!  We would all be in a heap of trouble!

How does the idea of “random church” fit into this?

What About Meetings?

Should we have regularly scheduled meetings of the church?  Is God concerned about the content and expression of our gatherings?  Should we take the time and effort to actually plan before hand for the assembly?  Should we spiritually prepare to bring our portion of Christ? Interestingly enough the word “church” (ekklesia) means the called out assembly.  It was a secular word used for town meetings or assemblies.  In a sense, Jesus told us that he would build his own “town meetings”!  These town meetings happened on a regular basis in the first century and always had a plan and purpose.  They were not random!  Besides that, it absolutely amazes me when I read the amount of detail that Paul goes into when he describes a meeting of the whole church.  Why not read it for yourself right now in 1 Corinthians 14?  He gets into incredible detail about what should happen and what should not happen in a meeting of the saints.  And then there is the clincher line at the end:

“let all things be done decently and in order.”  (1 Corinthians 14:40)

There is an order for every meeting!  Did you know that?  

Yes, God has a purpose, a plan, and an order for every single meeting of the church!

Now here is the BIG question:

How do we find out what His plan is for the church meetings, community life, work, seasons, and so on?

There is only one way…  by seeking Him together!

The Headship of Christ can only be executed by the Body as we find His Mind together!

So we can see that God definitely does have a purpose, plan, design, and detailed execution of that plan for every local church.  However, this requires the members of the Body to all seek God’s will (mind) together and then gather to make decisions according to His mind.

In Conclusion

There are some definite conclusions we can arrive at about “random church” after considering all of the overwhelming evidence in Scripture and in God’s creation.  Our God is definitely a purposeful planning God and the idea of a random church just doesn’t measure up at all to His nature or to His revelation found in the Bible.

In fact, this whole concept that is currently floating around  those who have left the institutional church system is playing right into the hand of God’s enemy!  It actually reeks of the “spirit of the age”.  I would call this spirit and culture the “whatever” culture.  There is no commitment, no responsibility, and no mutual submission.  Just do whatever!  Everyone is just too busy to actually spend the time required to be built together into a close knit community, house, body, bride, and family.  After all, social networks of friends don’t interfere with your busy lifestyle.  You don’t need to invest your life into others, just text them or Facebook them!

In other words:

The random church is a cross-less church!

The work of the cross in the life of believers is circumvented because they never have the opportunity and responsibility of laying down their lives for one another.  And yet it is this very life of the cross that transforms us into spiritual people!  (see the first letter to the carnal Corinthians)  The idea of the random church is actually and totally of the flesh and from the evil one!

Brothers and sisters, can I make it any clearer?

How can our precious Lord ever get His expression with such a loosely-knit and cross-less people?  Where are the believers who are totally sold out to Christ and his eternal purpose?  Where are the “reckless” ones who will throw all caution to the wind and believe God and totally live for Him and His Kingdom?

The Bottom Line

It seems to me that most Christians want to jump from one extreme to another.  First, we adopt hierarchical leadership forms and oppressive structures.  Then, we jump to the other extreme of absolutely no structure, no planning, and then jump onto the random church bandwagon.  When really the answer lies in the truth that our God is an intentional God who has an eternal purpose, and He has a plan and and administrative order to fulfill that plan.  The Church is to be His expression (image) so shouldn’t we also be very purposeful?

But Here is the Key to it All:

That purpose, plan, and administration must all come from His very own Life!!!

The institution is a result of human life.  The random church is a result of human life.

The true Church of Jesus Christ plans and functions only according to His Life.  She executes decisions only by the Life of the Head according to His will.  That only comes as we lose our own lives and come together to find His mind for the Church!

 

And I leave you with an excellent quote from T. Austin-Sparks:

From observation of the maladies which come upon the people of God and bring arrest to His work through them, we have been much impressed with the fact that the violation of a Divine order is the cause of much trouble. If it is true that what God is doing in this age is not just saving individuals as such but in constituting a “Body” and building a “House” by the addition of each saved one, then the right position in each is vital to its perfect functioning and its heavenly order. There is an order, and there is a position for each member. It is not given to us – let us say it with emphasis – it is not given to us to appoint the place or to manipulate into position. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. What we do say is that each member has his or her place and God knows what it is. Under the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit each member should come into that place. If they fail to do so or get into a wrong place, they fail in their essential ministry and upset the effectiveness of the Body.

“God hath set.” Articulation is essential to life. “Unto each is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Eph. 4:7).

“Having therefore, gifts differing according to grace” (Rom. 12:6).

There are not a few illustrations of dislocation and irregularity in the Scriptures:-

Dathan and Abiram and their company (Numbers 6).
Aaron and Miriam (Numbers 12).
Saul going over the head of Samuel (1 Sam. 13:9).
Uzziah presuming into the priest’s office (2 Chron. 26).

Paul has very much to say on matters of order in the Church, and it is not merely the individual position which is of importance, but the relative factor and element. Independent action is as dangerous as dislocation, it robs of covering and protection and exposes to enemy forces. There is a heavenly order, a spiritual system, and the relationships and ministries of believers are to be upon those spiritual principles and a reflection of that heavenly order.

taken from:  Chapter 4 – The Paralysis of a Spiritual Irregularity

 

 

The Intentionality of God – Part 1

Tags

economy of God, Eternal Purpose, plan of God, ultimate intention

“May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be eulogized, the One who conferred benefactions upon us in the sphere of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as He selected us out for himself in Him before the foundations of the universe were laid, to be holy ones and without blemish before His searching, penetrating gaze; in love having previously marked us out to be placed as adult sons through the intermediate agency of Jesus Christ for himself according to that which seemed good in His heart’s desire, resulting in praise of the glory of His grace which He freely bestowed upon us in the Beloved, in whom we are having our redemption through His blood, the putting away of our trespasses according to the wealth of His grace which He caused to superabound to us in the sphere of every wisdom and understanding, having made known to us the mystery of His will according to that which seemed good to Him, which good thing He purposed in himself, with respect to an administration of the completion of the epochs of time to bring back again to their original state all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him, in whom also we were made an inheritance, having been previously marked out according to the purpose of the One who operates all things according to the counsel of His will, with a view to our being to the praise of His glory who had previously placed our hope in the Christ, in whom also, as for you, having heard the word of the truth, the good news of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Spirit of the promise, the Holy Spirit, who is the token payment of our inheritance guaranteeing the full payment of all, looking forward to the redemption of the possession which is being preserved with a view to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:3-14 Wuest Translation)

This blog post and the next will cover two aspects of the intentional nature of God. This first part will cover the intentionality of God’s nature and character. The second part will cover the intentionality of God’s eternal purpose in Christ. In essence, the way that I am going to show these two aspects is by referring to the two creations; the old creation (the physical universe), and the new creation (Christ and God’s purpose in Christ).

Our God has an intention. He has a purpose. You could say that he has a goal in mind. The above passage in Ephesian chapter one is absolutely mind boggling in both it’s fullness and it’s scope. It gives us an incredible insight into the very nature of our God. Everything God does is absolutely pregnant with purpose and intentionality. To make it easier to understand let’s map it out this way:

This basic map shows the process of having a purpose, designing and planning toward that purpose, taking practical steps towards the fulfillment of that purpose. And then the actual realization or consummation of that purpose. This is how we approach every project that we tackle. But where did we get this from? Did we just make it up? Of course not! Since we are made in the image of God we approach the completion of a project in a similar way. Now let’s take a look at how our endlessly creative God approached the creation of the physical universe. But before we do, it’s very important that you realize that God had a purpose before the physical universe. In fact, it was that purpose that motivated God to create the physical creation. We will call it the first creation for that is exactly what it is in the mind and heart of God. He created the second creation, that is the physical universe, in order to facilitate and create an environment for the first creation. This first creation is called the New Creation in the New Testament. However, it’s actually older than the Old Creation. Is that confusing or what? Let me put it this way: since the first(new) creation is eternal, that means that it actually existed inside of God before the Old Creation (the physical universe). This will make more sense in the next part of this blog post! For now, let’s just say that the physical universe that you see around you was created for this new creation.

Now, let’s take a very brief look at the degree of intensity of God’s intention, design, planning, and structure inherent in this created physical universe.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Our Atmosphere and Outer Space

Did you know that during a lightning storm two gases are combined? The lightning bolt produces nitrogen and then combines it with the hydrogen in the water to produce fertilizer. The fertilizer falls to the earth to cause plants to grow!

“Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26)

Our sun produces more energy in one second than all of mankind has produced since Adam and Eve. The sun also drives all weather on the earth.

The visible universe contains more than one hundred billion galaxies. Each of these galaxies has a diameter of millions of trillions of miles wide. Each galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars. And yet the scripture says that God has given them all names and calls them by their names! Just think, our God not only created all those stars, he also named them all and keeps them all in their places to function properly.

In the twentieth century it was discovered that the universe is expanding all the time. Scripture tells us that God stretches out the heavens like a garment. Isaiah 40:22

Inner Space

Look at the structure and intention behind a single atom! Or further yet, the properties of water. This one element supports all life upon the earth. It makes an excellent solvent, coolant, and transporter.

How about the complexity of a snow flake crystal? They are complex, symmetrical, and beautiful. And each one of them is unique! What an amazing and creative God! They are structured and patterned. Just like we humans are each unique and different.

DNA – the blueprint for all life

It is by far the most dense information system known to man. For example, the amount of information contained within one pinhead of DNA would fill a stack of books five hundred times higher than from here to the moon! The program code and design of such a system shows us a God who is an extremely intelligent and a structured designer.

All human life begins with one single cell. How does that tiny cell know how to reproduce itself and grow into a body of one hundred trillion cells? It is by the genetic code. This DNA is the manufacturer’s manual. Not only that, but there are also “editorial” enzymes that travel up and down the DNA strands checking for damage and repairing it.

Seeds

The seed is the reproductive structure that God made for all of life. All seeds (whether plant, animal, or human) are complex systems to reproduce life. Everything needed for the future life is contained within the tiny seed.

How does the seed know how or when to grow? How does it know which way the root is to grow and which way the stem is to grow? How does it know that it needs the soil, water and warmth in order to grow? Obviously, God purposed, planned, and designed these tiny “embryos” to do what was needed.

Animals

How does a school of fish know when to turn or to dart into another direction? How does a flock of starlings fly so close together and change direction so quickly? (These movements are called murmurations and you can view them on youtube.com). Actually, there is no one leader who controls the flock. Instead, they move together instinctively. It’s usually initiated by a predator nearby and each bird communicates (very quickly!) to the seven birds immediately around him. Then those seven birds communicate to the seven birds around each of them. This is how they can make a decision to move so quickly. It’s corporate communication!

Conclusion

Obviously, I could go on for pages and pages about seeing the nature of our God in his creation. But I think you get the point! Our God is extremely intentional and purposeful. He is an incredible planner and designer. He planned and planned and even micro-planned! This was all according to his divine intention. His Ultimate Intention which we will explore in part two of this post. Look for it soon. I am building toward something here folks so please stay with me!

Resources:

“God of Wonders” video:
Watch on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/God-of-Wonders-291921489991/

The Ultimate Intention
book by DeVern Fromke

Read Part 2

Is Christ Enough? Changes

Tags

Christ, Eternal Purpose, god in christ, Jesus

A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”
(Acts 10:13-15)
“As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”
(Acts 9:3-6)

The Lord has been dealing with us lately with such things as flexibility as opposed to rigidity.  Especially in the midst of change.  Now we have said for many years that the Lord deals with us (both individually and corporately) in “seasons”.  Just like in nature there are seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter; so there are seasons in God’s dealings with us and also in his work.  However, these “seasons” aren’t nearly as predictable as the natural ones!  At least not for us.  Obviously, God knows what is going on and planned these things from before time.  But the problem is that our vision just isn’t that eternal yet!  Our flesh, our natural man likes things that are predictable, revealed way in advance, and things that we are already comfortable with.  But God just doesn’t operate that way when he is dealing with us.  He operates in this completely “other”, eternal realm called faith.

Endless Variety

We must remember that our God is a God of endless variety and beauty. Just a look at the natural world will show you that! Just take a look at all of the varieties of plants, animals, and people. And that’s just the visible creation on this planet alone! Even within the seasons there is variety and changes. What about the “unseasonable” weather we have all experienced?  Even within the seasons that God takes us through there is variety.

Timing

Then there is the whole area of the timing of the Lord.  We know that his timing is not our timing and his ways are not our ways.  He does things his way and in his time!  Most of us reading this post right now agree with and understand these things.  But there is a huge problem.

We so quickly get settled, and even cemented, into the ways that we have been in or are in right now!

God is moving on and we are now stuck in the last movement or enlargement of God.  You see, I am not here even referring to missing the Lord in his timing or ways.  I am referring to getting “stuck” in the past (or current) situation that he himself took us through.

Comfort Zones

I find that the older I get the quicker I am to settle down into a comfort zone.  It’s really quite remarkable.  God is always moving us ahead in him.  But many times (especially if we like the season) we will want to stay where we’re at.

This reminds me of the children of Israel wandering in the desert.  God wanted them to take the promised Canaan land but they wandered around in a wilderness for forty years that only takes two weeks to cross!  Of course, the manna is a classic example.  God (for a season) fed them with the manna from heaven.  It would daily come down to provide their food.  However, they could not store it up for the future or even the next day!  They needed to trust God for their daily bread every single day.  Then, the time came when the manna was no longer being provided and now God was sending quail.  But they were used to manna!

Outside the Box

Then there was our friend Peter.  God wanted to include the Gentiles in his eternal purpose to have an expression of his Son on the earth (the Church).  Actually, he always had included the gentiles, but most of the Jews could not see the true spiritual Israel that Paul writes about in the letter to the Galatians.  Peter had to receive a dramatic rooftop vision to get the picture.  Even then, he was refusing to rise up and eat those “unclean” animals.  You see God was doing a new thing.  At least it was new in the eyes of Peter.  The apostle had always only thought within a very limited Jewish “box” and anything outside of that box was unthinkable.

But then there was our friend Paul! Now this guy was much more ingrained into the Jewish religion than Peter.  He was a real Pharisee, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the righteousness found in the Law, completely blameless (Philippians 3).  So you can see why God needed to knock him down and strike him with physical blindness in order that he would receive a vision!  He had to see that the church he was persecuting was the actual Christ Himself! (see Acts 9)  Saul was transformed into Paul and changed from a persecutor of the church to a master builder of the church.

In both of these examples (Peter and Paul) God had to break them out of their comfort zones in order for him to do something new.  It wasn’t something either of them expected or ever considered.

The Main Point

The main takeaway of this post is simply this:

God doesn’t want us to follow “ways”, he wants us to follow the Way!  Jesus Christ IS the Way.  Brothers and sisters, don’t get stuck in ways of knowing Him or doing things for Him.  Those “ways” will change and what worked today may not work tomorrow.  That’s because the way of the Lord is Christ, Himself, the Person!  Knowing Him and following Him and abiding Him is the key to every day and every work.  The true Foundation is only Christ and He is to be everything in our lives.  Not only individually but also corporately.  That’s why seeking him is so important for every step along the way.  Waiting upon him and not moving ahead of him is equally important.

Don’t be afraid of change

Don’t get stuck in a rut

Don’t get comfortable in past ways of doing things or systems of thought and procedure

Be flexible, be open

God’s change always brings about enlargement!

God’s new thing always brings in an abundance of Life!

 

Is Christ Enough? Your Life

Tags

body life, Church Life, community, God's eternal purpose, living by Christ, losing your life, the cross

Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’

(Matthew 16:24-25)

Here is the problem with the quote from Jesus above:

1.) We over-spiritualize it

2.) We disregard it

3.) We disdain it and avoid it at all costs

4.) We take it to mean that we must be willing to sacrifice for Jesus.

Matt 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.

CAUTION! Hang on to your bloomers… this blog post is going to be as blunt as I can possibly get in order to attempt getting through to you, my readers (all ten of you!).

I honestly believe that when we read passages (like those above) about the Lord’s call for us to follow Him that we really don’t get it.  That’s also true when we hear these things preached or written about.  That’s why my prayer for this blog post is that your eyes (spiritual) and ears (spiritual) would be opened to truly hear what our Lord is saying.  Are these statements important?  Yes! In fact they are everything!

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So Lord Jesus, I ask that those who will read this post will be touched by your Spirit to see and hear these things as perhaps for the first time.  Lord, may they not think: “oh yeah, I know that!” but instead humbly (like a child) receive what you have said as if they had never heard (or read) it before.  And Lord, may it cause a complete revolution to take place in their hearts and within your Body throughout the world.  Amen

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You might think I’m crazy, but I honestly believe that I can boil down the problems within Christianity and among most Christians today in one simple statement.

We don’t really believe what Jesus and the New Testament writers said!

That’s because if we did, then our lives would be very different than a typical Christian of today.  We would be radical, even revolutionary people.  Instead, what we see around us today is this insipid, anemic, lukewarm version of so-called Christianity.  For the most part, a people who are not willing to lose anything, let alone their very lives!

I can speak this way because I have been a believer for over 43 years and have seen a lot of Christians in that time.  My wife and I have been working for 25 years of that time to help start and plant something we call “organic” churches.  And in that time I can honestly say that I believe I have the main problem with believers who are attempting to return to a genuine, authentic, New Testament expression of the church.

They are just not willing to lose their lives!

And yet Jesus said that you could not even be a follower of his unless you were willing to lose your own life.  But I ask you dear brothers and sisters: IF WE ARE NOT EVEN FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST YET HOW CAN WE BE HIS CHURCH?

Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone is desiring to come after me, let him” forget self and lose sight of his own interests, and let him pick up his cross and carry it, and let him be taking the same road with me that I travel, for whoever is desiring to save his soul-life shall ruin it, but whoever will pass a sentence of death upon his soul-life for my sake, shall find it. For what will a man be profited if he gain the whole world but forfeit his soul-life. Or, what shall a man give as an exchange for his soul-life? For the Son of Man is about to be coming in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He shall recompense to each one according to his manner of acting.” (Matthew 16:24) (Wuest)

But whatever things were to me a gainful asset, these things I have considered a loss when it comes to my acquisition of Christ, and still so consider them. Yes, indeed, therefore, at least, even I am still setting all things down to be a loss for the sake of that which excels all others, my knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord which I have gained through experience, for whose sake I have been caused to forfeit all things, and I am still counting them dung, in order that Christ I might gain, yes, in order that I might in the observation of others be discovered by them to be in Him, not having as my righteousness that righteousness which is of the law, but that righteousness which is through faith in Christ, that righteousness which is from God on the basis of faith. Yes, for His sake I have been caused to forfeit all things, and I count them but dung, in order that I might come to know Him in an experiential way, and to come to know experientially the power of His resurrection and a joint-participation in His sufferings, being brought to the place where my life will radiate a likeness to His death, if by any means I might arrive at the goal, namely, the out-resurrection from among those who are dead. (Philippians 3:7) (Wuest)

As I hope that you can clearly see, all of these statements hinge upon one thing: A LIFE LAID DOWN!

If our individual relationship with God is hinging upon us laying down our lives then how could we ever think that His Church would operate by any other principal?

People all over are asking for “organic church” life but they haven’t even totally given their lives to the Lord yet! I ask you, how can this work? It can’t, it can’t, it most absolutely cannot!

The Great Contradiction

As I stated earlier in this post, my wife and I have been working in the area of helping and planting organic churches. We have noticed a very strange phenomenon concerning this. Many of the people who are helped by us in the churches we plant and others who hear or read about our work make statements such as those below:

• “I really appreciate all that you have done to help us”
• “You folks have sacrificed a lot to help us”
• “We really honor and look up to you because of your sacrificial service”
• “You have given up so much to do this work, thank you!”

Now, please don’t misunderstand me, we really appreciate these statements made by precious believers where we have worked.  We take their love and encouragements to heart in every way.  There is a special and strong bond between us.  We thank the Lord for that every day!

However, there is also something very strange about all this …

We are not special Christians!  We are just “normal” Christians.

Yes, we have laid down our lives for the Lord and His House.  But that is just what a normal believer does!  Now, not everyone is called to his work of planting churches, traveling, preaching, etc.

• But we are ALL called to follow Him completely by giving up our lives and living His life.
• We are ALL called to forsake all to follow Him.
• We are ALL called to take up His interests and His purpose and lay down all of our ideas, dreams, hopes, agendas, programs, wants, and even needs.
• We are ALL called to take up His all-encompassing interest which is His Church!
• We are ALL called to go wherever and do whatever He needs for His eternal purpose (the expression of Christ in His Body).

In other words: A true follower of Christ is someone who has given up all rights to himself and his/her own desires, wishes, dreams, and goals.  That’s just a normal Christian.

But we are so used to living a sub-standard Christian life that we actually believe that those who are “sold out” for Christ are either fanatics or called to the ministry!

But wait!  Our Lord Jesus even went beyond that!

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s. (Matt 16:23)

 

Do you “see” it? Do you “get” that? Here our Lord makes such a terrible and frightening statement that our minds tend to either blot it out or minimize the statement.

Let me put it in other words.

Jesus is telling Peter here that because he is setting his mind on man’s interests (his own) and not on God’s, he is not only a stumbling block to Christ, but he is also functioning by the life of Satan, the enemy of God!

Folks, I really don’t know how it could be stated any clearer:  When we put our own interests above that of Christ and His Church we are a satanically inspired stumbling block to Him!

You see, it’s either going to be your life or His!  Both will never work and will actually work against God’s purpose.  That’s why the Lord told us to leave all to follow Him.  That’s why He told us to deny (literally: to disown) our lives.  Organic church won’t work if you try to retain your own life!  It will end up being some watered-down version of the true expression of Christ.  It may be better than institutional church in some ways but it will not be what the Lord wants or live up to His own vision and passion.

The Foundation

When we come to plant a new organic church we always tell the believers that they will need to clear their schedules and simplify their lives.  We also tell them that the Church cannot be just a adjunct (add-on) to their lives.  THE CHURCH MUST NOW BE THEIR LIVES!  The biggest hindrance to organic church life is not the devil, the religious system, or even your background.

The biggest hindrance to true organic church life is your own life!

I get people coming to me all the time wanting to join an existing organic church in their town.  They tell me that they have earnestly wanted this life for many years and are willing to do whatever it takes to find it. When I tell them that I don’t know of any such churches in their town but that I do know of churches in other cities then they begin to make excuses why they could never relocate to another town or state.  I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t have much compassion for believers in this condition.  They say one thing with their mouths but their hearts are far from the Lord and His purpose.

I can honestly say that most people don’t experience organic church life simply because they are willing to live without it!  You MUST be desperate for this life!  I mean REALLY desperate!  My wife and I were not willing to live without it.  We were willing to go anywhere and do anything to find it!

The Bottom Line

One of my favorite movies is The Untouchables with Kevin Costner and Sean Connery.  It’s about the taking down by law enforcement officers of one of the most notorious criminals of all time; Al Capone of Chicago.  Costner (Elliot Ness) works for the Treasury department and has been commissioned to put Capone out of business.  Connery is an older Irish cop on the beat in Chicago.  He has obviously been around the block several times and knows what is really going on with crime in the city.  Costner recruits Connery to help him put Capone down.  However, Connery’s character makes one thing clear to Ness by asking him one simple question: “what are you prepared to do?” He then goes on to tell him that this is an “all or nothing” endeavor.  That if he goes after Capone it will cost him everything.  Then he tells Ness, “here endeth the lesson.”

Brothers and sisters, what are you prepared to do?  Are you willing to go wherever and do whatever your Lord wants?  Don’t answer too quickly!  It’s so easy to say “Yes” to such a proposition without having counted the cost.  So… what is the cost?  The cost is simply everything!  Your Life!  Living organic church life means that you no longer hold any claims to your own personal life and now He IS your life.  And believe me, this rabbit hole goes much deeper than you ever imagined!

Is Christ REALLY enough?

“Here endeth the lesson.”

 

Special Note:  If this message (and the Lord’s dealings with you) have been tugging at your heart and you are willing to lay it all down for His calling and His purpose then you may be ready to engage in the most glorious adventure ever – true body life!  If this sounds like you then please email me at: milt@therebuilders.org and I will give you information on some possible new organic church plants that you can get involved in.

 

 

Is Christ Enough? Sexuality

Tags

Bride of Christ, Church, Church Life, Eternal Purpose, Jesus Christ

Seeing What’s Really Going On Behind the Scenes

There is no doubt whatsoever that things are radically changing in our world.  One area that is definitely changing is the whole arena of sexuality.  Wow, has this changed in the last 60 years!  Now this post will be very controversial just like the others in this “Is Christ Enough?” series.  But I ask my readers to bear with me until the end of the post.  I am going to make some majorly important points at the end.  So please hang in there with me.

The Current Situation

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that sexuality is changing around us.  Especially if you have been around for fifty years or more!  There have definitely been some major changes within the last three or four decades.  Please let me give you what I have observed in my 63 years.  Note- this is merely an observation and not a judgement or assessment of the morality or correctness of our current situation.

Crossing the Line of Male and Female Distinctions

What we have seen in the last thirty years is an attempt at doing away with all sexual distinctions and so-called prejudices.  The act of sex between male and female is no longer exclusive to that combination and now includes male with male and female with female.  The homosexual (gays and lesbians) world is vying for equality, acceptance, civil rights, and equal “air time” in the media and the government.  The arts are now opening up to this so called “movement”.  For example, more and more movies are being made with and about homosexual (and now transgender) relationships.

No longer is it just gay and lesbians, but now we have the LGBT movement which includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender/transsexuals.

 … attitudes toward gays and lesbians have changed so much in just the last 10 years that, as Gallup reported last week, “half or more now agree that being gay is morally acceptable, that gay relations ought to be legal and that gay or lesbian couples should have the right to legally marry.” (In 1996, when Gallup first asked about legalizing same-sex marriage, 68% of Americans were opposed.)  By Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times  May 20, 2012

So what we are seeing around us is the fastest growing movement in history.  The majority opinion has gone from general opposition to acceptance in a decade!  And since now our whole nation (U.S.) has legalized same-sex marriages (see this article on Wikipedia) opposition has apparently become a moot point.

But that’s not all…

Now We Also Have the “Gender Blender”

Recently, fashion designers like Gucci and hip boutiques have begun selling what’s being called gender-neutral or gender-free clothing: clothes that can be worn by either men or women. (Both The New York Times style section and The Guardian have recently covered this trend.)
Then there was Target’s announcement in August that the retail giant would be eliminating gendered language in its children’s toys and bedding, transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover and singer Miley Cyrus’ self-identification as gender-fluid.  (taken from CNN Style.com By Mary Rizzo, The Conversation)

 

Recently I was shopping for a coat at a “stylish” clothing store. I have to say that I was confused as to whether I was in the men’s section or the women’s. The coats looked very feminine to me. And my wife agreed! But it’s not just in clothing, it’s also in hair styles. Have you noticed recently that more and more “hip” and “trendy” hair styles among young people are unisex? What about the shaved head with a bun on the top? What about a bushy Mohawk on top with a shaved head? These hair styles are usually accompanied by tats all over the arms.  Now, please keep in mind that I am not making any judgement calls about any of these things.  I am merely reporting what I am observing.  My point of all this will be at the end of this post.

Uni What?

There is also the whole unisex movement around the world.  Did you know that the idea and implementation of unisex restrooms has become a huge debate around the world?  As I write this post cities around the world are actually voting on measures known as “bathroom ordinances” which would prohibit discrimination based upon gender identity.  This is coming about mostly because of the transgender issue.  If, for example, someone decided to change their sex, then which restroom can they now use?  Because the transgender community is growing, now many people and institutions are feeling forced to redefine sexuality and gender altogether.  No doubt, the next step will be bi-gender movement.  These people are both male AND female either physically, psychologically, or both.  Now society will have to not only accept this but re-frame all social structures to fit into this new lifestyle.

What About Sexual Intercourse and the Marriage Relationship?

Moving on from the “Gender Blender” stuff let’s now take a look at marriage (between a man and a woman) as a life choice and institution.  Wow!  Have things changed in this area or what?  First let’s take a look at the stats on marriage:

Professor Stanley at the University of Denver suggests that people consider the following statements:

• About 31 percent of a person’s friends, aged 35 to 54, who are married, engaged or cohabiting have already previously been married.
• People who have been married many years (say, 35-plus) and have never been divorced have almost no chance of the marriage ending in divorce.
• The rate of divorce per year per 1,000 people has been declining since 1980.
• A young couple marrying for the first time today has a lifetime divorce risk of 40 percent, “unless current trends change significantly.”

However…

What these stats don’t tell you is that less and less people are even getting married at all!

The marriage rate in America has hit a record low and is expected to drop even further next year, according to a company that specializes in wedding and fertility trend forecasts. But some experts speculate that the headline-grabbing recent retreat from marriage may be bottoming out.

Others have made similar findings. A Pew Research Center report recently said that one-fourth of millennials are likely to eschew marriage entirely.

And of course these stats are for marriages that are men and women.

What’s in a Word?

Now there is something else that has become more and more pervading throughout our society.  That is the use of the “F” word.

Recently I was getting some work done on my laptop in a McDonald’s restaurant.  All of a sudden about 50 junior high school kids overtook the place with a very loud and tumultuous roar.  At that point it was extremely difficult to hear or think!  I was sitting at a bar (for people with laptops) that seated six people.  Well, it didn’t take long before five young teenage boys sat down at the bar.  Obviously, there must have been a junior high school real close by.

At first, I wasn’t really listening to them because I was trying desperately to block out all the noise so I could continue working.  Unfortunately, I had forgotten my earbuds but I instinctively knew that they wouldn’t have helped much anyway.  Soon my mind began to wander and I found myself listening to these boys.  The first thing I noticed is that just about every fifth word was the “F” word!  It flowed out of them like a sewer hose!  It was obvious that they really didn’t realize what they were saying and that word was just like saying any other word like “a” or “the”.  Then, I started hearing them discussing their sexual conquests and those of people they knew around them in the restaurant.  It was nothing for them to say things like. “yeah, I F—- Suzie” and “I heard that Joey has also already F—- her”.   It was like nothing I had ever heard before.  Treating sex like a sport or something.  It was absolutely frightening! Now whether these sexual “conquests” were based in reality or not is not really my point.  The fact that they were thinking and talking like that is my point!

About two weeks later I was driving near that same spot and was waiting at a traffic light.  As I was sitting there a crowd of young teenagers walked across the street in the crosswalk right in front of me.  Guess what?  They were all using the “F’ word loud and clear!

Of course, we have all noticed that language has changed in our culture all around us.  We can see and hear it in movies, music, art, the internet, etc.  For many, true marriage with one person (for all your life) is looked down upon and is outdated in this sexually “enlightened” culture.  Sex, is now something separate from true marriage (with one male and one female) and is considered to be as a “sport”.

NOW FOR MY PROMISED POINT!

First of all, before we can discover what is truly going on here, we need to ask the all pervading question: “WHY?”

WHY has sexuality changed radically in our culture in the last 50 years?

WHY are gender roles and definitions being changed and blended into one big pot?

WHY are we now moving to a unisex format?

WHY? is traditional marriage becoming a thing of the past?

WHY are our children now seeing sex as a sport for any age and using the “F” word?

The answer might actually shock you!  It’s something far deeper than the breakout of our society or world system.  Yes, of course, it is tied into the world system.

The apostle John told us something very revealing about the system(s) of this world.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.(1 John 5:19)

Okay, so understanding that, what do you think the enemy of God is up to in this area of sexuality?

He is attempting to assault, mock, and destroy the testimony of God’s eternal purpose in this world!

Considering the fact that most Christians don’t even know (let alone understand) the eternal purpose of God, this should not come as a shock to us.  Dear believer, I implore you, if you do not know what I am writing about please read other posts on this blog that have to do with the “eternal purpose”.  Do so in a spirit of prayer asking God for his revelation in this all important matter.

Now, you may be asking: “Milt, how does attacking sexuality and marriage in our world attack the testimony of God’s eternal purpose?”

Well, I am really glad you asked that!  🙂

Paul does a wonderful job of summing it up for us in this passage:

Ephesians 5:22 (22-33) The wives, be putting yourselves in subjection with implicit obedience to your own husbands as to the Lord, because a husband is head of the wife as the Christ is Head of the Church, He himself being the Saviour of the Body. Nevertheless, as the Church subjects itself in obedience to the Christ, in this manner also the wives should subject themselves in obedience to their husbands in all things. The husbands, be loving your wives with a love self-sacrificial in its nature, in the manner in which Christ also loved the Church and gave himself on behalf of it, in order that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the bath of water in the sphere of the Word, in order that He might himself present to himself the Church glorious, not having spot nor wrinkle nor any of such things, but in order that it might be holy and unblamable. In this manner ought also the husbands to love their wives as their own bodies. The one who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Christ, the Church, because members are we of His Body. Because of this a man shall leave behind his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great. However, I am speaking with regard to Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, also as for you, let each one in this manner be loving his own wife as himself, and the wife, let her be continually treating her husband with deference and reverential obedience. (Wuest’s Expanded Translation)

There it is! There you have it! In case you didn’t get it, I will spell it out for you. Paul tells us that the physical marriage union is a picture, an image, a shadow of something much deeper and higher. It is a reflection of the spiritual marriage between Jesus Christ and His lovely Bride, the Church! And this is all about him getting what he has wanted since before creation. That is, an image, an expression, a family, a body, a bride, a city, a tree (vine and branches), a new kingdom, a new humanity, and a new creation! This is so that the fullness of Christ would be expressed and displayed to all creation (visible and invisible) through this “woman” “wife” if you will.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
(Ephesians 1:18-23)

So… of course the enemy of God will do whatever he can to stain and tarnish the picture of His eternal purpose.

Is Christ Enough? Power and Wisdom

For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

(1 Corinthians 1:22-25)

Here, in this passage, Paul sums up the gospel that he preached in the face of insurmountable odds and extreme opposition.  It is a gospel that is so radical and so extreme that it called down unbelievable persecution upon his head everywhere he went.  This persecution was not only dished out by the heathen but more so by the religious folks, namely the Jewish nation.  It is a gospel that is so different and so outrageous that you can really only tag it “radical” and “revolutionary“.

The definition of the word: “radical” means going to the root of a matter, even to the point of being immoderate in thoroughness and completeness.  I can only say that the gospel that Paul preached was indeed both radical and extreme.  He definitely went straight for the root or the heart of the matter!  In other words, he went straight to the point!

The Content of the Gospel

But what exactly IS the gospel?  What was it exactly that Paul preached?  Let’s start out by going over what his gospel was not.

His gospel was not:

The end times
Spiritual gifts (miracles, healing, etc)
Speaking in tongues
Ministry and leadership
Evangelizing the nations
Hebraic roots
Biblical knowledge and teaching
Theology
Philosophy and psychology
Politics and believers changing the world system
How the Jewish nation could back into power
A woman’s place in the church
And on and on we could go…

No, no, a thousand times NO!

So now, the question that is just begging to be answered:

SO WHY THEN DO WE CHRISTIANS SPEND ALL OF OUR TIME, EFFORT, AND MINISTRIES FOCUSING ON THOSE THINGS?

The answer is so radical and so extreme that it baffles the most learned scholar.

The answer is so simple and yet so profound that Paul calls it a “mystery”.

I will let Paul himself tell you the content of his gospel:

Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

(Colossians 1:25-29)

Did you get that?  “We proclaim HIM!”  Not an “it” and not a “thing”, but a HIM!

Wow!  Talk about a radical and revolutionary idea!  The fact is that the gospel is not about ideas at all, but only about a Person!  THE Person of Jesus Christ.  Only God could come up with this.  A message that his sent-ones would promote, proclaim, and announce; a Person who would (and indeed has) changed everything.  Not a set of ideas or doctrines.  Not a philosophy, and definitely not a new religion.  Not an activity or ministry. simply a new Person.  Yes, something totally new has happened in the universe because of this Person.

In this Person of Christ:

• we have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of God
• we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins
• he fulfills God’s goal to have an image of himself on the earth
• all things were created in heaven and earth
• he is before all things, and in him all things hold together
• he is the head of a new creation (body) called the church
• he is the firstborn from the dead so he will have the first place in everything
• all of the fullness of the universe was pleased to dwell in him
• and he is now reconciling all things to himself
• so that he himself would come to have the first place in all things

Wow!  What a Christ!  He deserves to be all that we proclaim!

But there is a problem.  It’s called:  The Fall of Man

Our Natural Tendencies

Paul tells us that the “natural man” cannot accept the things of God:

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

So the problem is that our natural man cannot accept the fact that Christ Himself (the Person) is not only the gospel but also everything else related to God’s eternal purpose. The natural man says: “No! it has to be some thing, an it, a doctrine, a teaching, a set of principles or rules, an activity, a gift, a miracle, or something else. It just can’t be that simple!”  But then, as we know, God’s ways are not our ways and his ways will always confound the wise of this world.  He has chosen to make his Son the Center of everything!  Yet we, in our natural man, are always working real hard at making it about something else… anything else!

Now, perhaps with this backdrop, we can understand what Paul was saying in the quote at the top of this post (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).

Jews Ask for Signs and Greeks Search for Wisdom

Sad to say but most Christians today are either like the Jews or the Greeks.

The Jews were the ones who were always asking for signs.  They wanted to see miracles.  They wanted to “feel” or experience something.  They were like the modern-day pentecostals!  They could not believe unless they saw supernatural manifestations.

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.'” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. (John 6:28-36)

The Jews would not believe even when the Lord did perform miracles!  Why? Because they were looking at the “signs” not the Person to whom the signs pointed!  The bread they ate wasn’t the point.  The One who came from heaven (the Real Bread) was the point!

So what does Paul have to say to the sign-seeking Jews?

CHRIST IS THE POWER OF GOD!

The Greeks were the ones who were always seeking after “wisdom” or “knowledge”.  They wanted to know things.  That’s why so many philosophers came out of the Greek culture.  They wanted to know the secrets of the universe.  They are like the modern-day fundamentalists!  They want to “know” the Bible.  They believe that having an intellectual understanding of the scriptures will bring them the truth.

 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.  (John 14:5-6)

The Greeks wanted to discover truth through teaching and philosophy.  They wanted to study hard and wrack their brains to know God.  That way, the natural man could be glorified.  But God loves to confound the wise!  He places all truth and wisdom inside of a Person so that the only way to know God’s truth is by getting to know that Person.

So what does Paul have to say to the wisdom-seeking Greeks?

CHRIST IS THE WISDOM OF GOD!

Brothers and Sisters, let this all-glorious, all-inclusive, all-encompassing, all-pervading, all-encircling Christ be truly our All in All!  Everything from God is found inside of his Christ.  Nothing that is for us has been left out.  Let’s not miss the forest for the trees!  This one and only Christ is both the forest (the church) AND the Tree  (God in the flesh).

This Christ truly is MORE than enough!

Foundations

Yo, Look!  Another podcast!

We are breaking records here on this blog…

This particular message was given in Sonoma County at an Infusion event in Northern California.  This is where I introduce the idea that we desperately need to tear down all our religious history and begin from “ground zero”, that is the beginning.  When we speak of the beginning we are speaking of the Ground and the Foundation that is laid upon that ground.

One of the main problems we encounter as we travel planting organic churches is the idea that we can just tack on something (organic church) to what we already have.  This never works!  It’s the wrong foundation!  If you build upon the wrong foundation then the building is doomed to be the wrong building.

What is required in order for us to begin again?  We must become those who are poor in spirit.  If we are not willing to empty ourselves and embrace the humble Christ, then we will not see God’s eternal purpose in His Son.

Enjoy!