New Thoughts (03/10/09-03/12/09)
Here we have what may be one of the most abused verses in all of Christendom. This is to say that what was spoken with a specific application has been taken up by the vast majority of believers as if it were a generalized, all-purpose promise. Wow! What power is ours! All we have to do is get two of us together in agreement on the matter, and world peace is accomplished! All we have to do is get two of us together and never mind the cure for cancer, it’s already eradicated! Of course, our senses tell us this isn’t so. Of course, if this were the message (and the message is, of course, True) then we wouldn’t be in a body of believers still dealing with sin. We wouldn’t be dwelling in a world plagued by terrorists, disease, hunger or any number of other evils. If this were a correct understanding of the message, there would not be a single unbeliever left on this here globe! Rationally, then, we ought to recognize that, since God is True though every man be a liar, we must be misunderstanding this text.
The fact that things do not work the way this is generally taken is not in itself a sufficient reason to reject the interpretation, tempting though it is to let it rest right there. Part of our problem is that we allow the limited evidence of our senses and our experience to determine doctrine for us. Doctrine isn’t settled by our experiences. One who has experienced nothing but deception will be perfectly satisfied that the deception is the truth. This was exactly our condition before the Christ came to rescue us from our slavery! No, while experience may reinforce our doctrine, doctrine must rest upon the revealed Word of God to find firm foundation.
Given, then, that Jesus has introduced this by saying, “Again I say…”, shouldn’t we be looking at what was just said to determine what point it is that He’s reiterating now? It’s like the ‘for’ of Paul’s writings. Paul writes, “For,” and we all know he’s providing the conclusion of a point he’s been making for some number of preceding paragraphs. To start at the ‘for’ is to miss the reason that there is a ‘for’. To start here, with Jesus saying, “again I say,” is to risk completely misappropriating what it is He is saying again.
Looking backward to the previous part of His message, then, brings us to Matthew 18:15-18, the critical message on discipline amongst the faithful. This, in turn, has come as part of that whole disciplinary message that speaks to not only disciplining the lost within, but seeking and restoring the lost without. Well, if we are dealing with discipline, we are clearly in what might be seen as a legal setting – not a legalistic one, but a legal one. This is, after all, the Judge of the whole earth teaching us. That shift to a particularly legal, judicial point of reference began with verse 18. When Jesus spoke of binding and loosing, He spoke of legal judgments as to whether a particular action was to be deemed legal or sinful.
As I studied that passage – another which we tend to give far to wide an application – it struck me that Jesus was doing far more than informing the Apostles of the power He was delegating to them. He was making them mindful of the responsibility. If what I declare legal here is made legal in heaven, what have I done? Alternately understood, we might hear it as a stiff admonition to judge rightly. What I declare legal here must reflect what is truly proclaimed legal in heaven. It is, after all His authority I am exercising, and that as His ambassador. If I represent Him, I had best do so accurately.
That is the setup for this present passage. Let me stitch it back together with verse 18 and maybe we can begin to see it. “Seriously: What you declare prohibited here on earth will have been likewise declared prohibited in heaven, and what you declare righteous and acceptable here will have been declared the same in heaven. I’ll say it again: Whatever accord two or more of you reach in regard to any case at law, My Father (and yours) who is in heaven shall do it for you. You see, when you are gathered on My authority, in pursuit of My purposes, I am right there with you!” The Judge of the Whole Earth is auditing your court proceedings. You might want to be certain of your judgments before you go pronouncing them. It is no light matter to serve in His district offices.
Some might take issue with my interpretation of this part of the message, but I don’t think I’m far off at all. What is farther off is the loose interpretation given to the whole thing by so many. That it defies the clear evidence of a few thousand years worth of lives ought to count for something in our thinking, even if it is not in itself a fit determinant for doctrine. At any rate, I shall proceed to lay out some of the case for my understanding of this, above and beyond the connection to the preceding message, since that, too, might be questioned, as to whether it is intended strictly in this sense of the courtroom.
As far as this present passage goes, I find that several of the words in the original Greek are fascinating in their own right. Take that word ‘agree,’ for instance. What does it mean to agree? Well, we understand, certainly, that those who agree are harmonious in their viewpoints. Some would say that agreement isn’t established until we are united in viewpoint, but that may push the matter too hard. Here is the striking thing. Look at the Greek word we have translated as agree: sumphoneo. Does that look sort of familiar? Sound it out. Soom-foe-knee; Symphony. Yes! That’s exactly right! Symphony.
What is a symphony? Is it a number of instruments following the same score note for note, precisely in time, so that every instrument involved is playing exactly what every other instrument involved is playing? No! That would present unison. It is the difference between four-part harmony and four altos singing the same part. The altos are in unison. The four-part group is in harmony. They are united in purpose. They are of one accord. But they are not identical quadruplets. So it is with agreement such as we have it here. It doesn’t mean that we are precisely aligned in viewpoint in every least degree. It does mean that we are in harmony on this matter. What differences may remain do not impact the outcome of the decision.
Look, my pastor and I disagree on some points of theology. I suspect that if you put any pair of believers together and let them explore the depths and breadths of their respective theologies, they will inevitably find points of disagreement. Does this mean they are not in agreement? Well, yes, on those particular points, I suppose it does. But, does this prevent them from playing their assigned part in the symphony of faith? No way! We each have those particular aspects of the faith that particularly ignite our passions. We each have our part to play. So long as we are following the score provided by our Master and Conductor, it is all to the good, and the results, even though we differ, will be a sweet sound in His ears.
Agreement, then, does not require drone-like indoctrination. Agreement doesn’t require capitulation from either party. There are the fundamentals, and on these we must certainly agree completely or there can be no accord whatsoever. But, there are far more matters that fall under Paul’s category of inconsequential things. How you choose to perceive the matter has no bearing on your salvation, so long as you remain true to your conscience, and don’t make your perception a cause for your fellow-believer’s temptation to sin.
Next, look at this word ‘anything’. The meaning’s obvious, right? It’s anything; any thing. And, yes, for the curious, any means any – each and every. It’s the thing that’s the thing. Here, the way we choose to understand the word must be determined by the setting, and again, I will maintain that verse 18 has already placed us in that legal setting. Listen: we’re hearing from a rabbi, here, from the Rabbi. We are hearing from the greatest expert on the Law ever to come among mankind, for He is the only lawyer who ever lived that actually obeyed the Law He proclaimed. He is speaking to a group of Jewish men, men familiar with the particular patois of the Jews, the particular meanings they had given to these foreign Greek words they found it necessary to use. In the case of binding and loosing, these had taken on a particular legal sense, especially in matters of the ecclesiastical courts. They were representative of prohibition and legalization. That theme, whose continuation is evident in the, “again I say,” explains the specific sense of ‘thing’ that ought to be recognized, the particularly Jewish usage in reference to a case at law.
That word ‘thing’, as it lies in the Greek, is also a term that will look familiar to the American eye: pragmatos. Therein we have the roots of our uniquely American philosophy of pragmatism, a concern for practicality: the thing is the thing. Just the facts, don’t worry about the morality. We must go where science leads, even if it be to destruction. Things. Things matter, not principles. But, God says otherwise. Holiness is not a thing, it’s a principle, and to our God, this is what is of supreme concern. Truth, being a larger concept than facts, must interpret facts, not the facts interpret the truth. Facts can only have a supporting role, not a defining role. Truth supersedes.
In this context, though, we must retain the legal sense of the thing. It’s the case at law. It’s the legal decision that needs to be rendered. In that sense, then, Jesus is clearly clarifying what He had just finished saying. Your judgments must carefully reflect the true heavenly order. What you say shall be, as we put it, gospel. Granted, that’s a misuse of the term, but we know what we mean. As you declare it here, it shall be. So be careful. Be certain that your judgments reflect My judgments, for your authority is My authority, or it is no authority at all.
Which brings us to the name: When you are gathered together in My name. What does that mean? Does it include when we hold hands to bless the meal? Does it include worship practice? Does it include our little home studies? What about the Sunday service? Well, I dare say He is with us in all these things. Of course, He is with us when we’re less immediately cognizant of His presence, like on the highway and at work. He’s even present when we’re rather hoping He isn’t. Again, we need to consider the application. We’re in that legal setting. Why, then, are we gathered? We are gathered to hear the case and render the verdict. We are a jury impaneled in the district court of the Lord God Almighty. We are here to serve in the authority of that position He has delegated to us. We are here, then, to represent His rule of law, and His interests. We are here to judge on His behalf, and as such, we had best judge according to His own standards.
It is the common view that when we read in Scripture about the name of Jesus it is that word ‘Jesus’ that is being declared as important. Yet, that name is but a translation of the name He had at birth, Yeshua, and the name He had at birth is in no way unique to His person. If it were something in that word, then I know several folks who ought to be equally powerful, equally useful in terms of combating evil. But, rather like the experience of two or three agreed in prayer, denouncing some spirit of evil in the name of my neighbor Joshua, or in the name of Jesus who works down in shipping, isn’t going to get me very far.
It is not the word. To put such stock in the word itself is the stuff of the magician whom we are told to have no truck with. To vest such power in a mere word is the stuff of witchery, it is the sort of thing that the Gentiles were told to put behind them. When you pray, don’t go on and on with your special key phrases and formulas. Pray. Pray like David prayed, with earnestness from an open and honest heart. No, the power is in what that name represents. There is a reason that when we read of Jesus in the Scriptures it is almost always in close proximity to the word Christ. Whether we are being reminded of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, or Jesus who is the Christ, it’s there. Even if it were not, our thoughts would be inclined to provide the missing part, and that is as it should be, for His name, that relatively common name He shares with so many, brings to mind all that He is.
That gets us closer to the point, closer to the real meaning of what is being said. Any name, yours, mine or His, represents to the user of that name all that we know of and have shared with the owner of that name. Even to think about that one’s name is to begin to recall times spent in his company, particular habits and qualities that endeared him to us, his interests and pleasures, the things he accomplished, and so on. When that name is indicative of an official position, which is exactly what we have in ‘Christ’, then even more comes to mind. The dignity of the office indicated, the authority vested in that office, the power wielded by that office, and the commands issued from that office are also associated with the name.
I know I have used the example before, but it bears repeating. Back in the eighties, the company I was working for would gather its employees every quarter for a big tent meeting to discuss how and where things were going. The company’s founder, being politically connected, invited either a Senator or the Governor (time blurs the details) to speak at one of these functions. He was wise enough to recognize that the one he had invited to speak was not necessarily a popular figure with everybody in that tent. But, he said something that has stuck with me, as he prepared us to receive this visitor properly. In effect, he said, you may not respect the man, but you will show respect for the office. Respect requires that you stand when this man enters, and, whether you like the job he’s doing or not, you will stand, because the dignity of the office remains.
That is a concept greatly lost on society in our day, but it is so true! The dignity of the office survives the worst occupant of that office, and the dignity of the office requires and deserves our respect even when the current holder of office is abusing it. In the case of the Christ, there is but one holder of that office, and He is worthy! In the case of the Christ, we are given to know that all power and authority has been given unto the One who fills the office. Therefore, when we think upon the name of the Christ, and of Him who IS the Christ, all power and authority come before our consideration as well, and the knowledge that He has delegated from that limitless store of power and authority into the hands of we who serve Him.
We are put in mind of not only the magnificence and awesomeness of the office of the Christ, but also of the particularly apt and able way in which our Jesus has fulfilled and continues to fulfill every least duty of that office. This, in turn, ought to put us in mind of the fact that He is our Commander, not ours to command. We are the servants, not He. We may ask of Him, for He is the merciful Christ, and He is our Brother by His own choice. But, we may not demand, as if we were the ranking officer on the scene.
We have to come to recognize that when we are told about things done in the name of Jesus, when we hear Him speak of things done ‘in My name’, it is not simply the addition of “in Jesus’ name” to whatever was said. It is a much more specific thing being spoken of. When we do ‘in the name of’ Jesus, the point should be that we are acting upon His authority at His command to promote His cause. Anything else is just trying to dress up our own whims with His cloak of power.
We need to recognize this when we see the promise that whatever we ask in His name, it shall be done. It’s not that we can add ‘Jesus’ to any old prayer request and expect that He will magically be forced to comply. God forbid! The promise is that those prayers that fit with His commands, prayed upon His authority, and promoting His purposes are those He will answer. He may answer others, but He will assuredly answer as befits His character and His will, not yours.
God is not some spirit power that we can control if we make the appropriate gesticulations and mutter the right incantations. Nor, I dare say, are any of the other powers of that realm. Even in our day, there are plenty who try, if not with God, then with darker powers. They may even be allowed to fool themselves into thinking that they are in control for a time, but the truth is that they are not. Sadly, that mindset is so deeply ingrained into the human psyche that we are inclined to approach God in pretty much the same way. We don’t seek, we demand. We don’t ask, we command. We don’t knock, we just barge in like we own the place. We make our little gestures, and make certain of our critically important little phrases, and I dare say that God, upon receiving such treatment from His children – from those who claim to love Him! – at the least shakes His head in wonder at our foolishness, waiting patiently for the day we grow up. At worst, were He like man in the weakness of emotions, He would be irate to be insulted so by those He has done so much for.
In the end, though, the key point to carry forward is that the entire authority of the believer rests wholly and completely upon the Authority of the Christ. If it was true for Pilate, and for the Caesars of Rome, it is certainly true for us. This is, after all, the One Who declares that He decrees the heads of empire, and He decrees the durations of empire. He appoints to office and He removes from office, all as He finds best suits His purpose, for He reigns over all. Even Satan, that enemy of old, has no authority to act except as God allows. That’s hard for us to wrestle with, but the evidence is there in Scripture. He may not act with motives that accord with God’s own. He may seek radically different outcomes from his actions than God will bring about, but he acts under God’s command or he acts not at all. As with His enemies, so it must certainly be with His friends!
As a concluding point, I find in verse 20 something that is very much of a spirit with what I had found in Matthew 18:18. We take it as promise, but I think we would be better served to take it as reminder. What you declare sinful here will be treated so in heaven. What you declare righteous here will be treated so in heaven. Be careful, then, in the judgment you render. If you are proclaiming it sinful in another, are you ready to stand before the Judge on that same charge? If you are proclaiming it righteous, is that really a habit you are willing to live with for all eternity? In short, when you speak on these matters, you speak on His Authority. Take care that what you speak reflects His view.
Jesus said on several occasions that He spoke only what He had heard His Father say. He did only such things as He had observed His Father doing. He never took it upon Himself to come up with his own answers. He never sought to do the pragmatic thing in a situation. Only such things as He was certain of by direct observation of His Authority would He say or do. Can we do less?
When we come to verse 20, then, we are very used to hearing the assurance of the promise. Where two or more of us are, He is with us! How wonderful, how heartwarming! But, let us recall our setting and situation. He is speaking of the judicial. He is speaking of Christian Authority. We would do well, then, to hear the powerful reminder in these closing words. Remember, whenever you are gathered to render judgments in My name, in accord with My authority, I am there with you. Make certain, then, that the judgment you give is the one I would give. Make certain that the sins you denounce are sins in My judgment. Make certain that the things you say are ok are the things I consider holy and acceptable. Frankly, if we do otherwise, we are no longer authorized. Authority ends when it breaks with the One Who authorizes.
Let me take it one step further, though. We are His representatives, even when we are not gathered together for the specific purpose of rendering judgment on His behalf, we render judgment by our very presence. We are the light shining in the darkness, the salt purifying and preserving the earth. Our very presence on the scene is confrontational to the powers of darkness and to those under its sway. As such, the things we do and say, the things we fail to do or say, are as judgments rendered. I have heard it said that even when the Christian is alone, he is two or three gathered together, for the Holy Spirit has taken up His abode in us, as has the Father. Here, then, the Son proclaims that He, too, will be present. I ask you, then, are these three Witnesses pleased with the judgments our lives manifest?
I know that if I ask this of myself, I cannot say I am pleased to hear my own answer. Nor a I that surprised to see that this is the case. I am, like every other, a man of sinful nature. It is only the grace of God in me that has made any inroads into this natural condition of mine, and for His accomplishments in me I am thankful indeed. Yet, I would that it were not this way. I would that His work were as complete from my vantage point as it is from His. I would that I could leave this house in the morning, charged by these times of study and fellowship with my Savior, and come home of an evening knowing that at least for that one day I had held to the things the morning had shown. I would, for instance, that I could have walked through yesterday and come to the end of it feeling I had manifested the character of my Father, my Brother, my Teacher consistently. I would like that, but I know it is not entirely the case. And yet, was it perhaps better than it would have been, say a year ago? Is there evidence of growth?
After all, a baby does not become an adult overnight. Nor does a teen achieve maturity in one swift leap. It takes time. We who parent these children don’t have the benefit that God has in parenting us. We cannot see the end from the beginning. We can hope for a fit ending, we can work to ensure, so much as it lies with us, that this is the end our children reach, but we cannot see it. We can only imagine. Our Father in heaven, though: He sees our end from the beginning. It is all one to Him, this flow of time that so amazes us. It is this, as finally came clear to me earlier this week, that allows the purity of the Godhead to abide in the sinfulness of my present. He is not, as it were, abiding in my present. He is abiding in my future, in that end when His work in me has been completed, and from that vantage point, He sees me clean, washed fully and finally by the Word. It is from that vantage point that He directs the necessary training of my present to guide me to that goal.
So, Lord, I thank You. How could I not! I thank You for that understanding You imparted to me during the course of this week’s men’s meeting, this finally grasping how it is that You can abide me, can abide in me. I thank You, as well, that in spite of the failings of yesterday, I do indeed find evidence that there has been improvement. Frustration still comes, but not so swiftly nor for such a long visit. The news of the day may be hard to swallow, but I am mindful of Who I truly work for. I am mindful of my Provider, that He has never failed me yet, nor ever will. I seek, my King, to be faithful even to the point of those saints who have preceded me, who have faced worse than I face, and said, “Nevertheless will I trust Him.” God, I do trust You. You have given me more than enough reason to do so, and You have faithfully steered me away from those distortions of Your truth which might leave me shaken by circumstance. My hope is not in circumstance, but in certainty! My hope is in You, Lord, and the rest of this is just a test; just a momentary trial along the road to home.
So, for this present time, Father, I know You know my concerns. I know You are witness to my priorities. Let me pray, then, first and foremost, that these priorities of mine would be aligned to Your own. If, in any way, they do not meet Your approval, then give me the grace to accept change with the peaceful knowledge of Your intervention for my good. Let me pray, secondly, that whatever comes of present circumstance, my hope will remain firm, my confidence in Your perfect provision remain solid, and my witness and testimony to Your goodness only grow more complete, more consistent.
Lord, I know it’s been a bit of a lengthy stretch since these studies have come to a time of prayer, and I must ask Your forgiveness for that. It is, of course, my failure entirely. But, as I have seen the things You have been bringing to light from these times, particularly as I have gone through these most recent messages, I am so blessed by You! I find myself amazed. I find myself hungry to impart what has been shown to me. That, my God, I leave to Your hand and Your timing, that all might be done according to Your will. But, in the meantime, I thank You once more for shedding this marvelous light on the topics that come up. You bless me so, my Teacher, and I can only say Thank You, once more. Thank You for this place You have brought me to in life. Thank You that, though some joys are stripped away, others arise. Thank You for challenging me to grow, and for empowering me to meet the challenge. May I be faithful to Your cause.
