New Thoughts (7/11/06-7/16/06)
I have noted three points of doctrine that are brought forth in these verses, which I shall consider each in its turn. The first of these points is concerned with choice. It is a point that needs to be held in mind whenever we are involved in matters of the kingdom. The point is simply this: We serve at His choice, not our own. It is not for us to call the shots, to decide what we shall do or when we shall do it. We are, after all, spoken of as servants of the Lord. Yes, we are brothers. Yes, we are co-laborers. But, with all that, we are still servants, bond-servants. A bond-servant has the unique qualification of having chosen to bind himself in service to the one who chose him. This is as true of the apostles as of us. Look at their writings. Every one of them makes a point of declaring their status as bond-servants of the Lord.
Consider how these men became apostles. Not a one of them chose to be in that position. Not a one of them. Indeed, the whole thrust of the message in these verses is that Jesus chose them. More to the point, the Father chose them. Three words, I find, are applied to this event. First, Luke tells us that He called His disciples to Him. Here is the first thing to know about our status. We who have believed on His name were called by Him. The great fallacy of the seeker-friendly concept is that anybody is seeking. Not at all! We each come to Him because He has summoned us, and the summons of the Lord of all Creation is not something we are at liberty to ignore!
One thing I would note about this calling: It is something that applies to all believers. When He called, He called all of His disciples, not just those He was going to appoint to specific duty. We are all to be counted amongst those whom He summons to Himself. We are all, then, to be counted amongst His disciples. Of course, we are well aware of that verse which says that many are called but few are chosen (Mt 22:14). In its place, that message comes as part of a discussion of the wedding feast and of the ones who rejected the invitation. I think we can apply the same message here, though. The only difference I can see is that the opportunity to reject the offer is long past.
So, Jesus calls all of His disciples to Him, Luke says, but out of them He then chooses twelve for a particular service. They were chosen from among many, being the ones He had picked out for Himself. Notice that He did not ask for volunteers. Neither did He ask them if they wished to accept the position He was putting them in. He chose them, and that was the end of it. When God chooses, how can there be any further discussion on the topic? Granted, it happens. We need look no further than Moses to see that. He was chosen to rescue Israel and his immediate reaction was to point out that God surely must have him confused with somebody else. However, I would point out that even there, the option of refusing the choosing was never on the table. Moses had been chosen. That was the end of it. It might take some time to come to grips with that choice, but it wasn’t his choice to make. The choice had already been made.
One other thing I would bring to our attention with regard to this choosing. As I noted, all of His disciples had been summoned to Him for this occasion of picking out the ones He had particular purpose in mind for. The whole crowd was there to see these twelve honored by His choosing. What I find rather significant about this is that there is nothing said about any jealousy or complaint amongst those whom he did not choose.
Here is a key factor in avoiding jealousy in the kingdom: As my worship leader was saying last night, none of us are in position because of our qualifications. Those called to be His apostles were not called because they had shown themselves particularly astute in the things He was teaching them. None of them had displayed a particularly strong characteristic of righteousness that would commend themselves to His attention. No, their only qualification was that He chose them.
So, I see that Jesus chooses to honor those He chooses, to make all of His people aware of His purpose for these particular servants. Why would this be? Is it not so that those of us who are not assigned to the task directly can support those who are by our prayers and by our means? God does not elevate this man or that woman so that they can enjoy the accolades of the little people. He elevates them so that all can see them, see what He is doing in and through them, and join with them in support. Notice the record of the early church: They were all together and in one accord. They weren’t busy jockeying for position. They weren’t so distracted by their politicking that they couldn’t pursue their own assignments. They were united and fully behind those who had been chosen as leaders.
I would also offer this word of comfort to the un-chosen. It is only for this specific assignment that you have not been chosen. Dare I say that all who are called of Christ are chosen? We are simply chosen for different assignments. I have been chosen for study and for worship. These are the peculiar assignments I have been given to pursue. My wife, on the other hand, is chosen for prayer. Does this mean that I don’t pray, or that she doesn’t study? Of course not! It comes back to that whole point of many called, few chosen. We are all called to pray. Some, however, are chosen to pray with a particular dedication and fervor that eludes the rest of us. We are all called to worship, but some few of us are chosen to create the instruments, the sounds and the songs; to create the atmosphere in which all can worship. We are all called to study that we may show ourselves approved. However, we are also taught by those studies that only the few who have been chosen should become teachers.
The word of God is that He chose each one of us before we were even born. Before ever egg met sperm, He was well aware of you. Not only was He aware of you, He already had in mind the particular things He had for you to accomplish for His kingdom. That is point Paul is making when he writes to the church in Ephesus that, “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, works God prepared beforehand so that we could do them” (Eph 2:10). Notice a few things about that verse. First, we were created in Christ Jesus. In spite of what our life experiences may have convinced us, we were His from conception! We may have wandered pretty far afield in our younger days, but we were always in Him. Second, we were created with purpose! God had specific things in mind for us. We were not brought to life for no reason. We are not a mindless accident of cosmology. We have specific things to accomplish for Him in Whom we live and breathe and have being. We are all chosen to do those things that He has prepared for us to do, so that we can come to Him with some good works under our belt, not wholely and utterly wanting.
Come to that third word, now. I said that those He chose were not chosen for some pre-existent qualifying character or ability. The apostles were not ‘apostolic material’ before Jesus made His selection. Rather, there was something that came with the choosing. Mark says that He appointed those twelve He had chosen. That word ‘appointed’ is an interesting thing. It shares with the Greek word for making things. It shares not only the grammatical root, but somewhat of the concept as well. See, when God chose these men to be apostles, He not only declared them to be so, He made them so. He endowed them with the necessary abilities and capacities. From a bunch of men that religion had cast aside as worthless – tax-collectors and fishermen, of all things – men unlettered and in some cases unclean; from such as these He made His choice, and then He formed them into something completely different. He imparted to them qualities that they had not in themselves. He made them apostles.
In those things for which we are chosen, we should recognize that we share this aspect of being appointed, made and endowed with the necessary ingredients to accomplish the work for which we were created. We should also recognize the purpose of our appointment and pursue it. But, in pursuing our purpose, we must never fall into the trap of thinking we shall do it in our own strength. We shall accomplish great things, but it shall be because of Him Who fills us, Who equips us, Who appoints us.
The apostles, in particular, were appointed to be just that: apostles. They were appointed to be ambassadors, men sent out to bear the message of the kingdom. As ambassadors, it should be clear that the office was not something they just took upon themselves. Ambassadors do not volunteer, they are appointed. They serve by the choice of the kingdom they represent. That, too, is key to remember. They serve as representatives of a kingdom. Corporations and social organizations do not have ambassadors. They may have representatives, but they have no ambassadors. Kingdoms and nations have ambassadors. The apostles were, then, not merely representatives of Jesus or His ministry. They were representatives of the kingdom over which He is Lord.
As ambassadors, they also bear the authority of the kingdom they represent. They speak as on behalf of that nation. They are empowered, as Pastor Najem has taught us, to draw upon the resources of that kingdom to support their efforts on behalf of the kingdom. They are also empowered, within certain bounds, to negotiate treaties with other nations on behalf of their kingdom. These treaties must, of course, be ratified by the Lord of the kingdom, but they are empowered to form the nature of the treaty. They hold this authority because they can be trusted to put forth only such things as are truly in the interest of the nation they represent. There is another point regarding the apostle: With their authority and their assignment comes responsibility.
An ambassador is responsible to represent the interests of his kingdom accurately. He cannot afford to have his own agenda, because the moment his agenda deviates from that of his nation, his authority to act is at an end. It is the greatest embarrassment to an ambassador to negotiate a treaty his nation refuses to sign. That is the mark of failure for his career.
As an ambassador of Christ’s kingdom, how can we even think to promote our own agenda over His? How can we even think to negotiate, really? Ours is not to negotiate with the kingdoms of the earth, but to bring them into submission to Him Who rules over all. It is not a matter of violence, as some false religions might represent the case. Not at all. It’s a matter of rescuing the prisoners, rescuing those who have been caught up in the web of deceit spun by the ruler of this dark age.
Now, let me turn back to the apostles once again. Notice this about them: They were appointed to be sent out, and they were sent out primarily to preach. This is interesting. It was not even so much to teach, but to preach; to proclaim the news of the kingdom which was no longer coming, but was now come. In the course of that pursuit, they also had authority to cast out the servants of the usurping devil, and to heal the effects of having been held captive in his slave camps.
There is something in all this that we must bear in mind, though. These twelve were specifically appointed; chosen by Christ and made to be what they were appointed to be. We share in many aspects of their calling, but not in that same office. We are all called to be apostles with a little ‘a,’ but those who were appointed to the office of Apostle with the big ‘A’ were a specific group. When the time came to replace Judas, the qualifications for office were clarified. There is one simple portion of that qualification that we must surely recognize makes it impossible that any should hold that same office today: They had to have been eye-witnesses to the entire course of Jesus’ ministry. By Peter’s words, the one who would be an Apostle must have been there from the time John was baptizing right through the time of the Ascension (Ac 1:21-22). Now, he also says that the one who would assume office must have been one who went with them, was known to them, a companion through that time. Since Paul was later included in their ranks, we must understand that some portion of the qualifications Peter puts forth were specific to that particular replacement. This is a large part of why Paul stresses his office and his call to office so often. He did not fully fit the mold that these twelve understood. However, we cannot, I think, set aside the whole of these qualifications, else we have made the office nothing.
Paul understood the personal call of Christ, His personally putting the man in office as being the fundamental, unchangeable requirement. In some sense, were this the only qualification, we could all lay claim to the office today. Anybody who felt they had heard Jesus say, “You are an apostle,” could make this claim without further ado. Some do. I’m not so sure that the eye-witness part was ever set aside, though. Paul may not have gone in and out with the others, may have been on the side-lines, watching skeptically, but he was certainly around to have known about this Jesus.
So, can there be an Apostle in our day? I really don’t think so. Who is there on this earth today who can lay claim to having been eye-witness to the events of Jesus’ lifetime? Not one. Who is there who truly functions in the full realization of that office? To do so, they must surely be accompanied by miraculous confirmations. Yes, there are those who can claim healings. I would note, though, that the apostles served more as missionaries than as pastors. If they pastored a church, it was but for a season, to establish the work in a new region. They were concerned with the faith as a whole, not so much with a specific congregation. Of course, their care for those in the places they had planted would be greater than for those they knew only by reputation or rumor. That’s natural. But, fundamentally, the concern was more for seeing the kingdom grow.
Finally, I would have to say that their exercise of the authority Jesus had vested in them showed them faithful to the kingdom they represented. No place was found for personal agenda in any one of them. Every moment and every aspect of their lives was given over to the service of the kingdom. Every action they undertook was to promote the interests of the King. Everything they did was submitted to the authority of Him who delegated authority to them. Find me one who fulfills all these aspects, the requirements and the evidence, and I will accept an Apostle in my day. Until then, the claims to such an office are no more than that: claims.
Authority is given by God. This was as true for Jesus the Man as it is for us. He had authority because it was given to Him by the Father. In the same fashion, those He appointed as Apostles had authority because He gave it to them in turn. I notice, though, that in delegating His authority to them, He did not lose sight of whose authority it really was. He did not simply choose as He pleased, though the twelve were the ones He Himself wanted, as Mark says. Luke informs us that Jesus had spent the whole of the previous night in prayer before making this decision.
So it must always be with authority in this kingdom: ever submissive to the One from whom all authority flows. Authority is not ours to take, nor, when given, is it ours to presume upon. To the extent that we have authority, we have it with that same responsibility that belongs to any ambassador: to use that authority in pursuit of the Lord’s purposes. The Apostles learned this lesson well. They saw the example of their Teacher, who prayed so long and fervently for God’s will in His own choice of them. When the time came for them to delegate a portion of their authority, they likewise besought the Father in prayer, that they might delegate only to those He would have them delegate to.
It is not just in matters of setting up the chain of command, though, that prayer is important. Prayer must be the precursor to every decision we make. And I’m not talking of that sort of prayer which just begs for God to bless what we’ve already made up our minds to do. I’m talking about that sort of prayer that will not make a move until God reveals His own plans in the matter. At the very least, any start we might make on a particular move must be subject to His approval or rejection, and something we willingly and gladly set aside should He express disapproval.
There are times that at least seem to us to require some action on our part whether we have heard God’s word on the matter or not. I have been in such positions myself often enough. In those times, it is no sin to take steps as seems wisest to us. However, with each step, pray that He will direct your footfall. Pray that He will so move as to prevent you from pursuing something outside of His will, and that He will make the path straight and easy when your steps are pursuing His will. Then, remain aware of how things are proceeding. If every attempt is being stymied, understand that your prayer has been answered and stop. Pray all the more fervently for clarity of direction.
It was this way with us when first we thought to move. We did everything we could think of to find a new place in the area it seemed to me we were to relocate, and with everything we tried, we followed it up with prayer. Always, those prayers included the request that He would shut any door we were not meant to go through and open the one He wanted opened. Well, a week or so of doors slammed shut got His point across. This wasn’t the way. A bit more prayer and seeking and lo! The idea of moving had been correct, it was just the location that had been wrong – for that time. The door He had for us opened with seemingly no effort from us. The place we were to move to was just there. Years later, when the location I had thought right then really was right, the effort required to find a place in that location was just as simple, just as free of every problem. Every decision is to be made with prayer; preferably before acting, but most certainly while acting.
Jesus, as the ultimate Teacher, sets the example for us. We see it not only here, but often throughout the record of His ministry. Matthew records another time when He sent everybody away and then went up into the mountains to pray by Himself (Mt 14:23). Luke tells us that this was something He did often (Lk 5:16). The lesson of this is twofold. First, as I said, everything – particularly as it applies to ministry – needs to be awash in prayer. It is no more than seeking the command of our Commander, after all! Second, He sets the example of refusing to presume upon His own authority. All authority is given to Him, yet He still seeks out the Giver of that authority before taking action. We see it here, in His choosing of the Apostles. He chose the ones God gave to Him to choose, having sought long and hard to make certain He heard the list correctly from His Father.
Surely, if it was necessary for Him to pray so fervently about His actions, we need to pray harder still! Surely, if He could not simply act as He saw fit, having the authority, we who receive our authority from Him cannot simply do as we please. Even in those things which we have been authorized to do in the past, I think we must recognize a necessity of praying to confirm a continued authorization. We must pray for a clear understanding of the bounds of our authority as well as the purposes. How else shall we pray in His name if we are not checking in with Him to confirm His plans?
I am in one of those places of decision and action even now. There are matters which I have been bringing before my Lord in prayer, and have even thought I heard my answers. Yet, in some ways the answers I was hearing seemed inconsistent. This is a time for persistent prayer, prayer that continues to seek direction of my God until He has made direction clear, to seek clarification until the picture can be seen plainly. As I continued in prayer, I did not receive contradicting information, nor would I expect to. If God has said this thing must be done, I would hardly trust my senses should He then turn around and say it didn’t need to be done after all. What came of continued prayer was better understanding of some parts of the answer which I had not recognized as answers at all. Parts of my answer were coming from different sources and in different ways, and I hadn’t recognized that they were meant to fit together so as to form the whole picture. In truth, I was to some degree too frustrated by the first part of the answer to really grasp that there was more to be heard.
Now, as I see His complete answer, I am in a way awed at how He has worked all these things together. Yet, I will not, at this point, cease from praying. As I take steps to comply with the things I have come to understand as His plan, I will continue to seek Him out, to confirm the path I think He has set me on, and do my utmost to remain open to any course correction He sees fit to make.
There is something recorded in the story of the early church that really struck me. It is something that could easily be overlooked, coming almost as an aside to the story of Ananias and Sophira. But, following on the conclusion of that episode, there is this brief mention of the progress of the Church. It is said that they were gathered together as one in Solomon’s porch. Then, the point is made that nobody else dared to be with them, though they were held in high esteem by the people, and more believers were coming daily (Ac 5:12-14).
There is a sense of isolation that can come upon us as we stand for Christ. Yes, thank God, we have the fellowship of our fellow believers, but we seem such a small group in the midst of such a crowd of unbelief. There will be times when it seems that all our efforts are fruitless, that we stand together but make no visible impact. Well, in those times we must remind ourselves of this record of that first church. They were together, united in one purpose. That is key! As Jesus taught, a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mt 12:25). They were all there for one reason, and where were they? They were right their among the people, out in the midst of the lost. They hadn’t hidden away in the upper room. They didn’t compartmentalize their lives, making sure to keep their religion for private moments. They were having church right there in the midst of public life.
Now, notice what is said of the public reaction. In spite of their respect for this group, they would not dare to be seen with them. This comes back to that whole echoing message of ‘walk worthy.’ Their public practice confirmed their faith in God, and God publicly confirmed His pleasure in them. “Signs and wonders were taking place.” God was pleased to acknowledge these children who acknowledged Him not only in words, but in actions. So, the people could do no other than to honor these who clearly had God’s attention. Yet, they feared to be associated with them. Why? Because the official stance of the world was enmity to this group – enmity with God. The Temple was determined to squash this new belief. They had already shown themselves willing to put under the ban anybody who believed, although it had not yet taken to stoning the believers. That would come in time. But, the risk of the ban was more than most folks could bear. It meant exclusion from just about every aspect of Jewish life, perhaps the worst thing being exclusion from the sacrifices which were the only redemption they knew. Then there was the social cost, as nobody would associate with one under the ban. Even making a living, getting one’s foodstuffs could become a problem in this circumstance. So, it is perhaps no surprise that there was this public avoidance. However, that’s not the whole story. In spite of this public reticence, we find out that more and more were believing, and multitudes were ‘constantly added’ to the Church.
So, here’s my point. First, it is incumbent upon us to get out of our cloistered places of worship once again. We may have rejected the idea of monastic life, but in many ways we still live it in practice. We have been trained by the world to keep our religion to ourselves. Faith is fine in your home, or amongst like-minded people, but is somehow inappropriate as a matter to be expressed, say, at the restaurant, or in the parks. This becomes particularly true as faith requires an exclusive hold on Truth. The world doesn’t like exclusive claims. It fails the multicultural test. It becomes embarrassing, if not risky, to be seen as a man of faith. There is this initial hurdle for the would-be believer to overcome. That being the case, they may not be willing to associate with us in public display for a time. It may be years before they can bring themselves to this point.
Seeing this may lead us to despair a bit. We feel as though our efforts are bearing no fruit. But, here in the message of Acts, I find encouragement. Be faithful! Be open and public about your faith. Though they may not join you in this activity, men and women are believing in the Lord because of your willingness to stand out as a child of God. In spite of the message we hear regarding the shrinking demographic of professing Christians, we know the battle goes to us in the end. Multitudes are constantly added to our number, though we may fail to see them at present. God still has His remnant.
One last thing I shall comment on, which is not directly related to this section of Scripture, but the juxtaposition of these two passages caught my eye. First, there is Peter’s response when Jesus’ words had become too hard for most to bear and the number of His disciples was being diminished. He turned to the twelve He had appointed and asked them if they were going to toss it in as well. Peter, in his typical fashion, took it upon himself to answer for them all. “Where would we go?” He asked. “You have the words of eternal life. We believe this. We believe You. And, we have understood, over time, that You truly are God’s chosen Messiah” (Jn 6:68-69). Later, when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus gave this response. “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. Don’t you believe?” (Jn 14:8-10a).
So, what is it I see connecting these two things? It is this: Words of Life. Let me offer up a third quote to make clear the connection. “This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent” (Jn 17:3). Words of Life. Peter was not quite accurate in his confession. Jesus does not have words of life, He is the Word of Life! He is the expression of the Father, made manifest and comprehensible to man. Hear that statement He makes. “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” If we know Him, we know the Father. To know the Father is eternal life.
Then comes that question which has come so often of late. “Do you believe this?” See how the question plays out in the two cases. Peter: We have believed this: that You have the words of life. Jesus: You have known the Father in knowing Me, and that knowledge is eternal life. Do you believe this? See, it is knowing this that will empower us to leave everything else behind. It is knowing this that will give us the fortitude to invest everything we think we have in gaining this one thing, this one pearl of great price.
When we first meet Peter, Andrew and the brothers Zebedee, we are told how they left their boats, just dropped their nets at the shore, and then went off with Jesus. Our immediate reaction is, wow! They just threw away their whole livelihood to go with Jesus. No visible means of support for them. Recognizing that Peter was a married man, with not only a wife but a mother-in-law as well to care fore makes this all the more shocking to consider. But, it’s not really the case. It’s our own addition to the story. Consider that between the time Jesus was crucified and the time He ascended to heaven, Peter had pretty much given up on this whole ministry thing. He and the others returned to what they knew, what they had ‘left behind’, and went fishing. They went in the same boats they had seemingly abandoned those long years ago. I would say this: If Peter had truly abandoned his responsibility to family, he would not have found a place with Jesus. In the same way, had Abraham really gone through with the sacrifice of his son, I sincerely doubt he would have found a place reserved for him in God’s kingdom. His faith and obedience, his willingness to sacrifice his dreams were key to establishing the rightness of the covenant God had made with him, but to have carried through would have gone too far. So, too, with the demands Jesus puts upon His disciples. Yes, He says that those who display an unwillingness to set aside everything else for the pursuit of the kingdom are not fit to enter in. Yet, He is also the one who condemns the abuse that was the practice of corban. God does not condone the neglecting of our responsibilities in the name of serving Him. He is honored by our honoring our commitments.
Marriage is a covenant vow. How can we think that serving the covenant God would permit us to neglect the terms of the marriage covenant? Peter did not. He was able to leave the boats because he knew that the family business could be run without him. His wife and his mother-in-law would be taken care of as he pursued this ministry. Yet, in a very real sense, he could say that he had left it all. He was married, yet had not the benefits of marriage. He was a homeowner, yet rarely if ever had the comforts of being home. He had shown himself willing to leave everything to pursue the kingdom, and yet, he maintained his responsibilities through it all. Recall that Paul later makes mention of others among the Apostles coming with their wives in tow. I am quite sure Peter was in view with this comment. He never abandoned his responsibilities, only submitted them to the demands of being an ambassador of Christ.
He was able to do these things – which were on a whole new scale after Jesus ascended – because he knew he had eternal life. He knew the Father and the Christ, and he knew They knew him. Here is the power to leave behind the things of this world. It lies in knowing that this is not all there is. Life goes on when this body has faded. In the scales of eternity, what are the trials of this brief life on earth? If time heals all wounds, just imagine what eternity does for them!
This is life: knowing the Father. Do you believe this?
