New Thoughts (07/06/09-07/11/09)
One thing that has been clear to me from the first reading of this passage: There is a refining of sorts that is present in the terminology used as things proceed. Four words suffice to show the progression. We begin with descendents, then proceed through slaves to children, and finally to sons. Admittedly, the order that have the terms presented to us is not exactly as listed. The actual sequence is descendent, slave, son, child. As we shall see, in that actual order, the presentation of child ought to be perceived as a demotion.
The first reaction of these to whom Jesus has just proclaimed freedom is to proudly declare themselves descendents of Abraham. That’s all well and good, but the listing of Abraham’s descendents is a list of a most decidedly mixed nature. Ishmael could also lay claim to being a descendent of Abraham, and does so through his own descendents. Esau, likewise, could make that claim. Yet, their relative honor in God’s sight is radically different than that of Abraham’s son Isaac and his grandson, Jacob. Lines were drawn, and these, by God Himself. “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” That wasn’t Isaac’s call, nor did it reflect his opinion. Yet, all of these could lay claim to being descendents of Abraham. Indeed, measured as part of his posterity, even the slaves of his household could lay claim to that honor at least to some degree.
However, as Jesus notes, the slave does not remain a member of the household forever, only for a season. It remains to the children of the household alone to have the status made permanent. Here, I must note as an aside that with the statement Jesus has made regarding the permanent status of the son, it is an evil that must surely be on par with that of divorce when a child is disowned by his parents. If God has said it’s a permanent relationship, how dare we set it asunder? What cause can be great enough to justify such open rebellion against His order!
Let me return to the progression, though. You see, there is every reason why Jesus, upon hearing them make much of their membership in the posterity of Abraham turns immediately to the matter of slavery. That’s great, guys! Of course, the slaves could say that just as truly, couldn’t they? Only, they didn’t stay members forever. That’s reserved to the true sons.
But, listen, if you have ears to hear it! The same can be said of your current relationship to sin. You are slaves to your sin. It’s shown in the constant practice you make of it. It rules you, and you willingly submit to that rule. For now, you are really members of sin’s household, mastered by the master of sin, the devil. But, slaves are not of the household forever! That’s the great good news here. You don’t have to stay there. The day of jubilee will come, is come. This is the day of the Lord, and I AM here, proclaiming liberty to the captives of sin. Lay hold of this! Even though you willingly submitted to the will of sin’s master, don’t make it permanent! Don’t take that mark upon yourself. Take My mark. I AM come to take captivity captive. I AM the Son, and if I proclaim your freedom from that cruel master, you are most assuredly free. There is no question. There is no authority that can countermand My order, for I speak as My Father gives Me word.
What remains in this progression is the paired terms of child and son, teknon and huios. Of these, understand that teknon rests on the technicalities, the legal and physical matter of legitimacy. It is all outward in nature. Yes, the teknon is born of the indicated father, or otherwise legally adopted into that status. Yes, according to the birth certificate, that one has claimed you as his legal child, with whatever responsibilities that may entail for him. You have whatever rights may accrue to you as a legitimate child in his household. But, that’s the extent of it.
This is where we begin in the life of faith. We are made children of God, adopted into His household by His choosing. We have a legal claim, but that is all. All! That alone should be more than enough to lay us out before Him in wonder! That alone is most assuredly enough to open the doors of heaven to us. But, that is not anywhere near enough for the one who loves God. No child of a beloved parent could settle for the legal rights and be satisfied. Love requires more of us.
We have that saying that the apple does not fall far from the tree. What does this mean? It means that children will have a tendency to take on the characteristics of their parents, for better or for worse. Children will tend to become sons. Sons, you see, are those who have become rather more like their father. They have taken on his character. They display his habits. “He is surely his father’s son.” We’ve all heard that said somewhere along the course of life. It may be said as a matter of praise, or it may be said with a clucking of the tongue and deep sorrow. Indeed, it is this same sentiment that arises in the popular belief in generational curses. The curse is exactly that this child has chosen to make himself the true son of a poor example of a father.
This is where huios comes in. Huios is indicative of the inward relationship. A man is the son of that which he resembles by habit, character and deportment. He may be spoken of as a son of that which his passions tend towards. He may be spoken of as a son of that region which is so clearly reflected by his speech patterns and other mannerisms. To those familiar with the family, though, if he is spoken of as a true son of his father, it is because he receives his share in the father’s reputation.
A true son of a true father will have a manifest likeness to his father. He will magnify the dignity of his father’s character in that he seeks to model his own character on that example. In short, those who know him will note the clear and apparent kinship he has with his father. It won’t be the shape of the nose, or the color of his eyes and hair that mark him out. It will be no such superficial matter of physical appearance. It will be the fact that he is honorable as his father was honorable, that he is honest as his father is honest, that he is trustworthy as his father is trustworthy.
Now, clearly, we are not all given the best of role models for this in our own fathers. For those of us who are fathers, we may very well not be the best of role models ourselves. That is to our shame if it is so, but it is no insurmountable obstacle in the pursuit of true righteousness. See, for all that we may get caught up in the handicap of our upbringing and for all that we would like to blame our failures on some generational curse that we could hardly be expected to break free from on our own, that’s not our story. That’s not our heritage. We have been reborn! We have become children of a different father, a perfect Father, whose love for us is without blemish, whose disciplining of us is neither too lenient nor too harsh, but is always measured perfectly according to our need. It is from Him and from Him alone that we are given to measure our descent. It is among His posterity that we are to count ourselves.
However good or however bad our earthly lineage may be, that is not what matters any longer. No, we are not given permission to cut those earthly ties completely asunder. But, we are not held in bondage by them. If they have been to our good, then praise God! Be glad for the advantage you were given, but raise not your parents on a pedestal of any sort. It is yet by God’s grace alone you have been saved. If they were miserable, then praise God! He has set you free! He has given you a new model, a true model to follow. He has given you a fresh start, and a heritage beyond all compare. In light of this, He calls you to forgive those who knew not what they did even as He forgave – every bit as fully. That is part of what it takes for the child to grow into a son.
Now, we need to hear the good news contained in the things Jesus says to this crowd, because they apply to us just as surely as they applied to them. Going back to verse 34, I was particularly affected by the translation provided in God’s Word, which reads, “I can guarantee this truth: Whoever lives a sinful life is a slave to sin.” So, we are given pause to recognize immediately that yes, indeed, we have had our term of slavery. We may not have been enslaved to any person, just as those talking to Jesus could claim, yet slaves we were to those sinful habits that had dominated us and turned us from living a holy life.
But, here’s the good news: Slaves don’t remain in the house forever. That’s you and me He’s talking about! And, He’s talking about our status in the house of sin. We are not sons of sin, but only slaves. There is release from that household, and this Son of another house, whose status as a son in that house shall never change, has effected that release. If He moves to free you from the bondage you have known, you shall be thoroughly freed from that bondage. If, on the other hand, you remain determined to continue in your bondage, understand this as well: The son of the slave will be driven out with the slave herself (Ge 21:10), God is not going to accept that the slave to sin should inherit alongside His Son.
This is not to say that you have no inheritance in Him. What is shown is that there are preconditions to inheriting, which is hardly an unusual occurrence even in earthly wills. But, again, the good news goes beyond all reasonable expectations. There are preconditions, but He has met them on your behalf. Those preconditions involved your adoption into His family. Now, I cannot speak with any great authority on the adoption process, but it strikes me that the one with the very least legal say in the matter is the one being adopted, at least while that one is below the age of legal majority. The natural parent has some say in the matter, I should suppose, and certainly the adopting parent has right of refusal. The state has its say in the matter. But, the child? He may have an opinion, but I’m not sure it translates to any binding input, any more than your minor child has any legally binding input onto matters of his or her own upbringing. This is rather as it should be, for the child needs the guiding input of the adult. The opposite does not hold true, and is even marked down for a curse. To be led by children is to be led into foolishness. Oh, indeed, wisdom may come from the mouths of babes, but this is not sufficient cause to entrust them with leadership for which they are ill suited and ill prepared.
All this to make plain that as adopted children of the Father, the entire impetus is with the Father. You did not adopt Him, He adopted you. You did not, in spite of your willing participation, choose to be adopted by Him. He chose you to adopt. You had absolutely no reason to look upon His household with any expectation that one day, it would be yours as well. But, that has turned out to be the case. You have been adopted into that household. You, who were a slave and the son of a slave in that household of sin, have been liberated from that enslavement. The chains have been cast off and the price of your redemption from the slaver paid in full. In this, you have not found yourself exchanged into a life of indentured service. You have found yourself at the state offices, and this One who obtained your liberation signing the adoption papers before your very eyes. Having signed, He turns to you to say, “Child you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Lk 15:31).
Now, I have to say that it surprised me greatly to find a reference to the father’s comment to the prodigal son’s brother among the references for this passage. Generally, because we are looking at the full scope of that parable, we hear a gentle and loving rebuke of the brother in what the father says on that occasion, and rightly so. After all, this brother has demonstrated nothing but jealous anger and resentment at the return of his straying brother, and surely there is a lesson for the church in that, just as there was for those who first heard the parable given. But, that is for another time, when I actually come to the parable in the course of these studies.
For now, though, I think it serves to hear that message from the Father, all out of context though it may be. Because, we all come to Him as prodigal sons, and we all will, at some point or another, find ourselves a bit offended by His generous love towards some other prodigal son when once we have settled in. We enter into His household, knowing those adoption papers in place and irrevocable. Yet, we are not instantly shed of all our past ways. Those will take effort to conquer. It will take time and effort for us to come to the place of feeling secure in our new digs. For a long while, we may walk as if on eggshells, fearful that our newfound fortunes may be ripped away if we misstep. We may find ourselves less than pleased to discover one who was once our worst enemy has now been adopted right alongside ourselves! It may please Father, but we are not quite so sanguine about the whole thing.
Think about how the brethren felt when first Saul showed up on their doorstep under his new name of Paul. Him, Jesus? With all he has done to Your flock, you expect us to welcome him? Thanks, but no thanks, Lord. Of course, they eventually reach the, “nevertheless, Thy will be done.” But, sometimes that’s harder than at other times. But, come back to the parable. Whether you be the prodigal returning or the obedient child of the household, I think we must recognize that this truth applies equally to your case. “My child.” Yes, I know, there is some question around the inclusion of that ‘My’, but I think it’s important for us to hear, most especially because of our adoption. It’s critical that we know Father accepts us as His children just as fully as if we had been born into His household.
“My child, you have always been with Me.” Oh! Have you ever had cause to come to the realization, even as you were running hard as you could in the wrong direction? See, God can say that of you and I because He can say, “I have always been with you.” Even when we wanted nothing to do with Him, yet He stayed close beside us. Even when we, doing our best impression of mindless sheep, were marching straight for the cliff’s edge, He, the Great Shepherd, had not lost sight of us. Neither did He leave us to drop off that cliff in our stupidity. No, He has been and is always with you. Therefore, He can say with equal truth that you have always been with Him. You haven’t always felt it. You haven’t always wanted it. Yet, it has always been true.
“My child, you have always been with Me, and all that is Mine is yours.” Now, know the assurance of that final clause. Truly, you are His child, for He has made it so. Truly, even in your worst wanderings He remained with you. Hard as you tried, you could do nothing so vile that He would rescind that adoption and throw you out of His house. You have always been with Him even when you thought yourself lost for good. He has made certain of that, just as He made certain of your legal status as His child. Now, with that same certainty, founded fully upon His doing, He tells you that all that is His is yours. The full wealth, power and authority of the kingdom, His kingdom, is put at your disposal.
You know, we dare not press the parable too far, but it occurs to me to notice that the same was true of the prodigal even as he threw it all away in debauchery. That’s shocking. God allowing His power and His authority to be thrown away in such vile pursuits; it’s unthinkable to me. Yet, isn’t that pretty much how we treat our inheritance the greater part of the time? We have all this given into our hands, and what are we doing with it? How cognizant are we of that inheritance in the average moment of our average day? Not terribly so, I suspect. Faced with the challenges of the workplace, is my first inclination to call upon the power of heaven to come to my aid? Not really, at least not so often as it ought to be. Far more likely, I wait until I’m at my wits end before it dawns on me to do the obvious and seek His wits.
Likewise in the home. When there are issues of discipline or direction, how instant am I to call upon the Wisdom from on high that is my rightful inheritance? Not nearly so instant as I would do well to be. No, no. I’m a man. I must try and fathom my own way through the tangle. I must test myself against the knot of this situation and see if I can’t prove my virility by cutting through to my own answer. This, of course, is helpful neither to me nor to those in my family. Eventually, the tangle will entangle me. Eventually, the knot will bind me tight. Even then, I may revert to my baser animal instincts and struggle against the entangling network of events, only to find myself that much more tightly bound. Only when all freedom of motion has been utterly restricted do I snap out of this stupidity, and call upon the Lord. Only when I have reached the end of the very last shred of my strength does the foolishness per force flood away from me and leave me to beg His mercy upon the mess I’ve made.
The saddest part is that I can fool myself into believing that I’ve been seeking Him out every step of the way. Indeed, I may flare into anger if one should be so bold as to question whether I have done so. Have you prayed about this? What? How dare you suggest I wouldn’t! But, of course, as often as not, I have just been pursuing what seemed wise to me. Oh, and how many times must I see my vaunted wisdom shown worthless, foolish, and even dangerous before I learn?
Father, I thank You for this word You have set before Me today, the assurance that indeed, I have always been with You and ever shall be, and the promise that you have granted me access to all that is Yours. Oh, may I then gain even the least share of that wisdom You granted to Solomon. May I then have at least the wisdom to seek Your wisdom in all things, before I’ve made shipwreck of events by my own willful pursuits. May I, Holy God in heaven, come to that place of humility that You have required of Your own. May I come to the end of myself and remain there at the end of myself, allowing You to be as You truly are: all and in all.
Even in the challenges that have been seemingly ever before me in this painful year, Lord, let me for once and all cast off the foolishness I think wise and wrap myself in the wisdom that comes from You. Let me come to the place of seeking You constantly for guidance, for direction. You, oh Lord, are my Shepherd. Let me cease, then, from trying to lead You. Truly, I have been as a child seeking to instruct my parent. I come, therefore, in repentance, fearful only that I shall not find it as easy to stop as I should like. Yet, I come to You truly sorrowful for my conduct, and I seek earnestly for the forgiveness I know lies with You. And, yes, Lord, I thank You heartily, for I know that forgiveness is mine, even this my portion and my inheritance in You. Yes, and I know that You shall certainly aid me in overcoming even in these situations, so I set them before You, and I rest, awaiting Your answer. Help me, Holy Spirit, to be patient. Help me to abide until that answer is made clear. And then, my King, help me to be instant in doing as You instruct.
[07/08/09] Thinking on the question of whether Jesus is dealing with the believers or the deniers here, my first reaction is to think it must be the deniers. It may not be so at the outset, but it seems like there must be a shift of focus at some point early on. But, then, my thoughts go back to my own moment of conversion. It might better be called my process of conversion, for that moment at which belief finally won through was really the culmination of a period of preparation. I do not say I was preparing myself, looking to become a convert. I say He was preparing me to respond. He was tending the soil in which He had already sown the seed of faith, that faith might send forth its first tender shoots and be nourished in the Light of the Son.
But, as with these folks listening to Jesus speak of liberation, the first reaction in my own case was a fleshly uprising. I’m not talking about the reaction to finding faith real. I’m talking about the reaction to finding faith presented. Even as belief takes root, the flesh rises up. This should hardly surprise us, though it does. For faith is a foreign body as far as the flesh is concerned. It ought not to be. It was not intended to be. But, the development, or really, the degradation of man has made it to be the case. This body, designed and fashioned as a temple for the glory of God, intended to give evidence to His glory, has been so poorly maintained, so badly used, so debased that the very idea of coming into contact with His glory is all but anathema to it.
Think about the state of Adam as we find him at first in the Garden. Now, contrast that with the state of the Israelites gathered at the base of Mount Sinai. Adam enjoyed the immediate presence of God, the deepest fellowship with his Creator. But, by the time we arrive at the exodus from Egypt, Adam’s descendents, though informed that God has chosen them as His own special people, are scared witless by having God even so near as the top of that mountain. Moses! Don’t you let Him come down here! Don’t make us go up! We know full well that to see Him is to die, and we don’t want to die.
That’s what happened when the flesh gained primacy in us. The purity and righteousness that was our birthright became so foreign a concept to us that it feels utterly wrong to us now. It’s interesting that in visiting a blog that I enjoy following, one of yesterday’s entries concerned a comic cover depicting the arrival of beauty amidst a colony of disfigurement. Deformity marked the majority case, all but universal. So, when somebody shows up with no deformity, nothing to mar the intended perfection of body, it is frightful to one and all. This, though I doubt it was the original intention of the artist, is a marvelous depiction of the arrival of the seed of faith amongst mankind. This is what it’s like for us when God, or His true representative, comes to visit. The very idea of something so pure and good has become not just inconceivable to us, but actually abhorrent. It disgusts us, repels us, scares us.
So, yes, even as that seed of faith is granted us, the flesh is doing its utmost to expel the intruding seed. This is true in us, if we will examine the case. It only makes it the more evident that our own salvation is truly sola gratia, by God’s grace alone, and nothing in which to find bragging rights. This is also what we’re witnessing here: You’ll free us from bonds? What bonds? We’ve never been slaves! Oh! How swift is the mind of flesh to hide the truth out of sight!
You know and I know that such a defense on their part is absurd. If they speak from a place of national heritage, then the statement is purest nonsense. After all, the Israelites as a nation have their roots in escaping the enslavement of the Egyptians. As a nation, they had experienced the subjugating boot of the overlord more often than not. What was the Assyrian captivity? The Babylonian captivity? For all that, what was the current state of affairs under Rome? No, they may not be marched around in chains, they may not be strapped to the oars of some galley, but their freedom was no less constrained for all that. They were free exactly so far as their masters gave them freedom. And, they knew it. They just didn’t want to know it. They preferred their illusions, just as we do in our own day.
If they speak from a more personal perspective, then perhaps they are correct within the narrowest, most literal extent of their statement. “We have never yet been enslaved to anyone.” Perhaps. Again, given the reference to Abrahamic lineage, the historical inaccuracy is stunning. But, on the personal level, sure. They are not currently mastered by any one man. They could even argue on strict legal terms that the Roman occupation does not equate to slavery for them. They might even be able to honestly claim that of those standing around Jesus, not one had ever found themselves in such straits as to enter into a willing period of servitude to a fellow Jew. Maybe. But, as Jesus swiftly demonstrates, the lack of a human acting the role of master to their slave does not change the reality of the slavery.
If you are in this mode of sinful life, pursuing sin, practicing sin, then you are mastered by sin. That makes you the slave of sin. Sin tells you what to do and you do it. Sin tells you to jump and you ask, “how high?” Sin tells you to wallow in the mud, and you are in and wallowing without so much as a thought.
I recall at some prior point of study, looking at the significance of a slave’s perspective. The slave, if he were a valued slave, had learned to anticipate the wants of his master. He could read the least visible of signs from his master and move to satisfy the demand before it had even been put to full word or gesture. He had trained himself to so enter into the will and the ways of his master as to practically be thinking the master’s thoughts. Now, tell me sin doesn’t develop exactly that sort of hold on you! If it makes it easier, think of it in terms of a habit. You know, on the positive side of habit, we actively train ourselves to that sort of response. The goal of an athlete or a musician or any other professional requiring physical coordination is to so train the body that it will respond to stimuli without need for mental intervention. On the darker side of habit, the response is just as devoid of thought.
I shall take smoking as an example, because it is most familiar to me, and most insidious in nature. I am not considering what it is that causes one to take up the habit. I am considering what becomes of that habit. Pretty soon, it’s not even a thought. It’s a reaction. I’m driving? Have a smoke. I just finished eating? Perfect time for a smoke. I’m tense? Oh, absolutely! Best thing for it. Have a smoke. The reality is, though, that this isn’t a discussion we’re having with ourselves. It’s automation. The thought, the discussion, probably doesn’t begin until you try to change course. In our culture, we are forced into an awareness of the unhealthy nature of this habit. Indeed, we are encouraged to feel guilty about our little pleasures. Whether or not this is something the government should have been involved in, the outcome may eventually turn out to have been a good thing.
That being as it may, we are forced to think about this decision to smoke. We are no longer free to just light up wherever and whenever. If we have family, we are now conscious of the example this may set for our kids, and we are aware that – even as we enjoy our own habit – it’s nothing we want them picking up. We want better for them. Yet, we seemingly want worse for ourselves. Odd, isn’t it? But, if the efforts of government intervention haven’t done the trick, God has. He Who sits the throne of our heart begins to nudge our conscience. We are suddenly aware of how fully mastered we have become by this habit. In younger years, we were certain we could give it up any time we wanted, but now that the time has come: well, we don’t really want to do we? OK. Honesty forces us to admit that, yes, we really do. The damaging effects of the habit are becoming hard to ignore. Yet, we continue. Why? There can be only one answer, in the end: We have been mastered. We are enslaved.
That’s exactly the point Jesus is driving home here. And, it’s a point that can easily apply to any man, woman or child. You have your idols. You have your masters. Who was it that said that we are, for all intents and purposes, idol factories? That’s the reality of it. Look at what’s happening even in this passage! Confronted with the truth of sin, what happens? They raise up the idol of Abraham. Talk about sin taking advantage of the opportunity presented by holiness! Abraham would surely disown them for such an act! Imperfect as he was, he was not a fool. He would look at these descendents of his and declare most plainly, “my faith cannot save you. My righteousness, had I any of note, is no credit to your account.”
It’s the same mistake made over and over again. God declares a place of worship. Man raises the place to be more significant than the God who sanctifies the place. God appoints a man for a season. Man raises that one up on a pedestal higher than God. But, God will not share His glory with another. If we are blinded by idolization of place, that place must be destroyed, that we might come back to our senses. If we are blinded by idolization of person, we set that person up for a fall, because God must turn our eyes back upon that which truly matters. Places will fall, men will fail. God remains. But, we are forever looking for something else to trust in.
Here, it is heritage. I wrote that to refer to those who are talking about being Abraham’s offspring. But, we might as well say the same for the Church in America. We are in grave danger of raising America’s heritage to the status of an idol. Why! We were founded on the concept of religious freedom. Of course God will preserve us. Look! God Himself approved the building of His temple. God Himself made the call to proclaim Jerusalem the place of His abode. But, when His people began to take that as an insurance policy, when they fell into the habit of thinking they were safe because of that and could therefore do as they pleased, He was perfectly willing to depart and abandon the Temple and the city. God will not be mocked.
What we are seeing, then, is nothing but our own story. We, too, have our security blankets of false faith. We, too, are ever ready to put our trust in the wrong things. We, too, when we hear of our need for a Savior, are inclined to respond with incredulity. What? I’m a good man. What evils have I ever done? My, how quickly we make ourselves forget! Save me? From what? I’m doing fine.
Sadly, this delusion isn’t even limited to those earliest moments of conversion. We are still inclined to kick against the goads of faith as we progress. We are in perennial danger of following in the footsteps of the Pharisees, more concerned with our pride than with God. We are more than happy to follow our delusions rather than hear the Truth. Our greatest reaction to the Pharisees is to point at them and say, “Phew! At least I’m not like them!” And, in doing so, we immediately prove ourselves false. Pride! Pride is a greater evil in us than ever the pursuit of money could be. Pride drives that pursuit, just as it drives every other activity that draws us away from God. Even in our pursuit of godliness, or at least the appearance of godliness, it is pride that drives us more than reverence. We want to look good. We want to excel in this holiness game. We still think we’re in some sort of competition, truth be told. But, God’s message and instruction for us never changes: “Walk humbly before Me” (Mic 6:8). That’s all He asks of us, and seemingly, it’s the last thing we would ever consider doing.
Don’t you dare look at these foolish people as if you’re all superior to them! You are them! You are every bit as convinced of your security based on false grounds as they. It’s so much a part of us that however hard we try to escape it, we find ourselves back at it the moment our guard is down. No wonder we are admonished to be alert in prayer! No wonder we are called to pray without ceasing! The devil indeed roams about like a roaring lion waiting to destroy. But, you know what? We’re doing our best to help him along. Our own fallen nature – blame it on him if you must, but really it’s our own responsibility – also keeps wary eyes on the main chance, biding its time until opportunity comes to make shipwreck of our faith. Diligence, persistence, a conscious exercise of devotion to God: these are the weapons for our defense. A constant awareness of the lies our heart is inclined to speak, and the inclination of our ears to hear those lies as truth: that’s the safeguard. The realization of our abject failure may turn out to be our salvation, for only when we come to the acceptance of that reality of ours can we begin to walk humbly before the God who saved us anyway.
Do I think, for instance, that I am free of this tendency to raise up the man higher than he ought to be raised? Oh, I may not be inclined to think much of the popular preaching personalities of our day, nor of the various folks enriching themselves in pursuit of paraministerial activities. But, what of the major figures in Church history? What of Calvin, or Augustine? These are two names I respect greatly in matters of faith. Yet, it is clear that Augustine had his failings, and I do not speak of his life before conversion. His insight into the ways of God is great, yet it remains clouded in certain regards.
Can I say the same for Calvin? Surely I must. I would still maintain that his definitions of Christian doctrine are the most sound that I have seen. Yet, even with the understanding that he combats the official state church of his day as it was in his day, I may still note that his concern with that church’s failures borders on an obsession. Whether this is in itself a bad thing I cannot honestly say. But it does in some ways do damage to the testimony of his writings, in that it renders the offense too great in some quarters for the good to be seen. That said, I have to note that Jesus took no such concern with His defense of Truth. We see that in the passage before us. If His Truth offends, so be it. He’s not interested in comfortable disciples, only earnest ones.
I do, however, need to take this opportunity to check myself as I have noted. Yes, my regard for the proven giants of the faith is great. I would say, however, that I have been willing to entertain the possibility that these giants may be wrong on one point or another. I hope and trust that I have not simply been lifting myself up as the ultimate authority in those cases.
At present, I must take greater care, as I have been apart from the corrective benefit of the commentaries during the entire course of this study of the Gospels. With previous studies, I have always had input from several commentaries, representing several perspectives and theological systems, to serve as guardrails to my own thinking. I know that when I have availed myself of such input I have been open to hearing the arguments presented on all sides, even those sides that I may not agree with at the moment. It was exactly such openness to hearing the best defense each viewpoint could present that brought to an acceptance of the doctrines of predestination. Indeed, I could argue that it is exactly that pursuit of so many divergent commentaries as part of my studies that has given me such great respect for Calvin’s theological stance. It holds together as no other I have seen. It is well founded and need not change or waver on one point to sustain its argument on another.
The question I may need to consider is whether I have allowed my perspectives to so harden over the course of these years of study that I am no longer open to the Spirit’s correction in those places where my conclusions are incorrect. If I have done so, then I have indeed raised my self to idol status in my own thinking. It’s certainly easy to do. It’s so terrifyingly easy to come to the point of making my opinion final. It is particularly dangerous, I think, in the realm of Charismatic belief systems. We are, after all, a people who are entirely convinced that we hear from God in pretty direct terms. We accept that He speaks to us. We often, and to our shame, manage to take these more direct communications as revelatory in nature. Now, I know that as often as not, we are inclined to use the term revelation in ways that are not theologically precise. Most often what we call revelation is more properly illumination. But, we are entirely too ready to accept this spiritual communication without recourse to checking against the revealed – the Truly revealed – Word of God.
We are entirely too ready to stamp our utterances with the imprimatur of “Thus sayeth the Lord.” We may not use the phrase itself, recognizing the prophetic significance of such a claim. Yet, we claim no less when we indicate that we heard the Lord telling us thus and so. We claim no less when we insist that we prayed and this is the answer we received. We claim no less – indeed, I think our claims draw fearfully close to occult practice – when we proclaim how we either feel peace or feel no peace on a particular issue. Where is the Scriptural foundation for such a practice? It’s like dowsing for God’s answer. It’s like playing with the Ouija board, and we don’t even notice the problem.
The truth is that more often than not, when we make these sorts of claims, we are advertising nothing more than our own opinions and feelings. If we feel no peace about a decision, it’s because we don’t personally agree with it. It has nothing to do with God intervening in our thought process, or at least it is not necessarily so. Neither, in most cases, should our decisions require such a heavenly stamp. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Of course we should undertake all of our undertakings with prayerful consideration. Of course we should consider as of primary interest what God would have us to do in each and every moment. But, if we are godly people, led by the Spirit, then surely as we mature in faith we are expected to be capable of thinking as He would have us to think without having to ask at every moment?
As our children grow, do we really expect them to be so unwise still that we require them to hold our hands when crossing the street? Do we expect and maintain that however old they may be, we shall continue to remind them to shower and otherwise care for their personal hygiene? Of course not! We are preparing them for life on their own, not life in permanent dependency on ourselves. Heaven forbid! So, why do we think God is different? Look, even to this day there are times when I want my father’s input on one matter or another, and even to this day I know he’s there and willing to provide that input. I also know that as I have grown and matured, I am able to enjoy an expanded relationship with him. Advice can now flow in both directions. I certainly don’t find it necessary to obtain his permission for every decision I make. Frankly, I don’t find it necessary to obtain his permission for any decision I make. Those days are gone. But, I am happy to avail myself of his advice.
Clearly, there are limits to how well this relationship echoes my relationship with my Father in heaven. His authority over my activities never ceases, at least until my wedding to the Son is complete, and then, it shall be that the Son’s authority is set in the place the Father’s previously held. But, that authority is not wielded as by a micro-manager. It is an authority held by One whose trust in His subordinates reflects their own past performance. As they have shown themselves wise in representing Him and wise in seeking His counsel when uncertain in themselves, He has shown Himself willing to trust their decisions. Oh, yes, He can and will most certainly step in if affairs are not handled in accord with His principles and purposes. We may be maturing, but we shall never match His own maturity. Not in this lifetime!
The point is simply this, and it is a point that brings us back around to the text at hand: If God is our Father, truly our Father, then our own behavior is necessarily going to come to reflect His own. We have, after all, the best of Teachers both in Jesus the Christ of God, and in the Holy Spirit, our Tutor and Advocate. If any lacks wisdom, in any situation, he has but to ask, and our Advocate is there to render the best of legal advice as well as to educate on the intricacies of the issue at hand.
This is exactly the point Jesus makes when these men about Him lay claim to Abraham as their father. “Oh, yes, I know you are descendents of Abraham, but sons?” Here, I rather like the translation the Wuest has made: “If you were, according to your assumption, children of Abraham, the works of Abraham you would be doing” (v37). Abraham, you see, would not have struck out upon hearing a word of correction. Abraham, informed of his sins, repented. He may have been slow on the uptake at times. He may have repeated some of those same sins later. But, he repented, and he repented in earnest. He sought to change course. When God instructed him to listen to his wife on the matter of Hagar and her son, do you suppose that was an easy thing for this patriarch to do? Whatever Sarah’s feelings about that boy, he was still Abraham’s boy. Do you suppose, then, that it was an easy thing for him to accept the demand that his own child and the child’s mother be booted out of his camp to fend for themselves in the wilderness? If so, then I dare say you have made Abraham less than human in your thinking.
It was in no wise an easy thing for Abraham to do. But, he did it. Abraham’s entire life was a series of commands from God that would test him in the extreme. Leave the life you know. Utterly reject the most critical aspects of the very society you grew up in. Indeed, Abram, strike out at those idols of society, and let them know that a real God has made Himself known to you. Oh, that should go over well. Go stake your claim in occupied lands. Go childless for a few decades, but really, I’ll give you a son to inherit. Cast that other boy out of here at your wife’s behest. Yes, you are in charge, but in this, let her have her say. Ah, now that you have a true son of your own, kill him. OK, spot the easy command in that list. I don’t find one. But, in all of this, he never sought to discredit the messengers by which the commandments came. He would never consider heaping abuse upon the man of God, let alone seek to destroy that man.
So, of course, claiming to be Abraham’s offspring, as much as the Jewish mind made of it, really didn’t mean much. The Arabs next door could make the same claim with equal force. The Edomites, the Idumeans, they could say the same thing. If they but stopped to think about it, they would realize the worthlessness of such a declaration. The only proper reaction is, “so what?” So, you’re among his descendents. So is Akbar over there, but that isn’t doing him much good in the sight of God is it? If you want to stake your future on Abraham being in your past, then start here: Do like he did. Take him as your role model. You could do worse. You have done worse. But, until you make his ways your ways, you may be descendents, but you’ll never be sons.
Of course, the message is only going to grow harsher as Jesus continues, but that is for the next study. For now, what we must recognize in this is that where the seed of faith has been implanted, the recipient of the seed is able to hear correction. That held true for Abraham. That holds true in this scene before us. Whether Jesus is speaking to those who have just come to believe in Him or not, those who believe in Him, however freshly arrived at that faith, will hear the correction and, though offense may rise up in them, faith will conquer the offense.
That is, after all, the lesson of Abraham. Abraham made as many mistakes as the next man. But, he had one thing going for him. He remained faithful. It is that faith, that God-implanted faith, that allowed mistakes to be corrected in him. It is that same, God-implanted faith, that will allow my mistakes to be corrected by Him. That’s the model we are given. That’s the evidence that we are indeed sons of Abraham, even if our earthly lineage does not trace back to him. That is what separates the sons of the household from the slaves.
It is thus that Paul arrives at the conclusion, “You can be certain that those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham” (Gal 3:7). It must be clear by now that the reverse can by no means be held as certain. Those who have a physical claim of descent, though children of Abraham so far as that goes, cannot be marked out as certain as regards faith in the God of Abraham. Earthly heritage is no guarantee. Godly parents are indeed a blessing in every way, and a huge advantage to the child. But, all of that advantage will come to naught if the child refuses to lay hold of their example.
The same may be said, of course, in the reverse. Having ungodly parents is a huge disadvantage. We might even go so far as to call it a curse, except that we put entirely too much freight on that term. It is a terrible disadvantage to grow up with such detrimental role models. But, it is hardly insurmountable. God is able. If He can raise up true sons to Abraham from rocks, He can certainly manage it from the disadvantaged child. Such earthly heritage is no obstacle to faith. He who renews the mind, who causes us to be reborn into His family, is certainly able to undo those vile habits we have learned and replace them with the habits of godliness.
[07/10/09] Paul’s writings give us a good idea of just how great a change God has worked in us in this business of rebirth. Most striking, among the passages that come up as parallels to this present section, Romans 6:20 says, “When you were slaves to sin, you were free as regards righteousness.” The continuation of that thought makes plain that we were not freed so as to enter into the anarchy of life without rules. No, having been freed from the slavery of sin, we are made willing slaves of righteousness.
In light of that reversal, there is something Paul leaves unsaid which is yet wholly implied in that verse I quoted. Let’s first be certain we understand his point. If being a slave to sin left me free as regards righteousness, the point is that the thing to which I was enslaved ruled me utterly, and I could not but heed its demands. But, righteousness had no such claim on my obedience. On one level, this could mean that I could make accord with righteousness or not as I saw fit, so long as sin’s demands were not crossed in so doing. The reality is, though, that sin and righteousness cannot have anything to do with one another. As such, to make any accord with righteousness is already to have defied the demands of sin. Thus, what is really being said here is that righteousness had absolutely no claim on our thoughts or behavior so long as we remained in that slavery to sin.
Now, the situation is reversed. We have become bondservants to righteousness, having been freed from sin’s mastery. By corollary, then, now that I am a slave to righteousness, I am free as regards sin. This must hold. And, it must hold with precisely the same strength. It is not, then, that I need not worry myself over sin any longer, being a righteous man. It is rather that however loudly sin may proclaim its demands upon me, I am actually required by Master Righteousness to pay those demands no mind whatsoever. To give them the least influence over my actions is to refuse the legitimate commands of my True Master.
I do not know that I have ever heard this point made in such terms before. I will say, though, that if we would begin to grab the powerful truth of it, will this not serve us well as a deterrent to sin’s call? This is right up there with Paul’s admonition to be as dead men to the sensual beckoning of sin. The only problem is that we have such difficulty empathizing with the thoughts of a dead man. Logically, we conclude that dead men have no thoughts, so how shall we think like them? Emotionally, the idea of walking about like a dead person is repulsive, a scene out of a horror movie, so we tend to recoil from any resemblance to that image.
For us, as well, recognizing the mindset of the slave is made difficult, because we have no frame of reference for it in our experience of life. Oh, we know well enough that the institution existed, that in some places it still does, but we have experienced neither the role of slave nor the role of master, at least not as it applies between men. Yes, like the Pharisees we have been enslaved to any number of things, if not people. But, again, the lack of inter-personal experience of the effect leaves us ill equipped to recognize the symptoms in other areas of life.
As applied to sin, this has left us at severe disadvantage, although those who knew well what slavery felt like were shown no less susceptible to sin’s mastery. But, as applies to our newfound status as the bondservants of Christ, the disadvantage is somewhat worse. We do not know the mindset of the true bondservant. We can be slaves, because we cannot really help our servitude. But, we cannot be that sort of bondservant that is commendable, because our thinking doesn’t operate along those lines. We have never had a good bondservant by which to learn his ways, nor have we ever been in real servitude to another that we might be trained of necessity.
So, when Paul reminds us that we are now bondservants of righteousness, we have some fuzzy concepts of what it should mean, but we really don’t have anything concrete to go on. It’s a nice word and little more. Even looking into what it meant to be a bondservant of good repute doesn’t really do the job. Yes, it’s all well and good to know that such a servant had labored to tune himself to the master’s ways, could read the least gesture of his master to perfection, and know exactly how he ought to respond, what he ought to do. That’s great, but physically, our life and livelihood has never really depended on behaving in such fashion. For the bondservant of old, this really was a matter of life and death.
Serve well, and you shall live and live well. Serve poorly, and the best you can hope for is that your service will be terminated. You’ll be out on the street to fend for yourself. You’ll have no means, and you’ll have worse than no reference by which to gain employ in another household. You’re odds for survival are grown very bad. For, you bear the marks of the slave. You cannot just wander free, take a job with the baker down the street or some such thing. You are a slave, and you will have a master. The more likely outcome for your lousy service would be painful death. A slave that does not serve is not worth the price of his upkeep, and it’s a rare master who would waste his wealth keeping your worthless carcass alive.
The truth of the matter is, this slavery to righteousness into which we’ve entered is every bit as much a matter of life and death for us. More so! We are not dealing in the lesser terms of this lifespan. We are now concerned with matters of eternity. The grave is not going to rescue you from the results of your obedience or disobedience to the demands of this master. There is no surcease. You have been made a bondservant for life, and life has no end for you or for your Master. That’s the reality of it. You chose this willingly enough, for you saw that this Master is a Good man. The Best! Why, He’s even taken the legal steps of making you part of His family. Yet, you are still a bondservant.
Your purpose, then, is to be so intimately familiar with His ways as to be on the move to satisfy His command before it’s even given. Your purpose is to be so attentive to Him that His least gesture, the merest lift of an eyebrow, is sufficient to set you on your mission. Listen! First of all, if our attention were as wholly upon Him as a bondservant’s attention ought to be, we would have no attention left to give to sin winking at us from the corner over there. Further, we would be painfully aware that to give the least way to sin is to balk at obeying His orders. It is to risk His rightful and Righteous wrath upon us for failing to do as He was pleased to command us. It’s to risk expulsion from this house that has so richly blessed and rewarded us.
Let me quickly aver that I do not suggest by this that your salvation, if it is real, is in any way at risk of being lost to you. No! If it is real, then it is by His will, His strength and His faithfulness. He does not fail of His purpose. The point is that even knowing this to be the case, yet our concern over disappointing this most loving and marvelous Master should be just that great. Even though we know there is forgiveness that is ours for the asking, yet we ought to know a holy fear of doing such as would require us to ask. We are free as regards sin. We have absolutely no reason to even listen to its requests, and we have every reason not to. How, then, can we listen and even render service to sin, and yet hope to hear that final commendation of, “well done, good and faithful servant”? Can we not see that these two things are utterly contradictory?
Holy God in heaven, I know that I have not stood up to this test. I have not given You service such as You deserve and demand of me. I cannot but be thankful that I know as I come to You seeking forgiveness, that You are faithful to forgive me. I know that I have been entirely too willing to listen to the call of sin, even as I have sought to be a servant in Your employ. This ought not to be, and I do indeed ask that You would forgive me, and strengthen me to avoid any repeat of such behavior.
Dearest Lord and Master, grant me the great boon of having a mindset truly reflective of this bond of service that I have entered into with You. If I have become one devoted to You, (and I know that You have made me so,) then bless me the more by granting me a conscious and consistent understanding of what that means for me. Grant me, Lord, the power and the will to serve You as truly as I ought. Grant me, Jesus, my King, the mindset to focus so wholly upon You and upon Your will that sin has no way to gain my attention any longer.
Yes, Lord, I do desire to hear you say that I have done well as your faithful servant, and I know, too, that to date, I have done little to give me cause to hope for such commendation. I do not suppose that I shall somehow earn my way into Your favor, for I already dwell in Your favor. But, I do long to be a true son to you. I do long to be faithful in this service I have entered into. And, I do cry out in my inability to do for You as I would. But, I cry out not in despair, rather in hope. I cry out to the One, the only One, who can lift me from this failed effort and render me able to excel in this slavery to righteousness. Come, then, and wholly occupy Your throne in me, that I may wholly satisfy Your Lordship over me.
[07/11/09] When Jesus says that His word has no place in those listening, it is a truly dire statement. I do not think He is speaking to one and all, at this point, but only to those who are ardently opposed to Him. For them, though, this message is as final as His previous message that they would die in their sins. Yet, take note of the cause and effect in this verdict Jesus delivers. In spite of the potential in your lineage, you seek My death, because My word has no place in you. It is important to note that the order is not the other way round. It is not that His word has no place in them because they have sought His death. The absence of the Word is the cause, the opposition to His mission is the effect.
Thus it continues today. Those who oppose the Christ of the Church, and who oppose the Church that is His, do so because He has no place in them. Now, to feel the full impact of this, we must bear in mind the condition of the believer, that he is become the temple of the Living God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Further, Son and Spirit are One, even as Son and Father are One. Father is the Word. Son is the Word made manifest to man. Spirit is the Word implanted and abiding in man. Well, then, if a man has no place for the Word, it is because there is no temple within, or worse, because that temple has been occupied by one who has no right to its throne. In lifting Abraham too high in their esteem, these men had not only set his memory upon that throne, but they had welcomed other powers to take the place that God designed for Himself. There is no place for Him.
Surely, though, God is all powerful! If it were to His design, He could easily sweep that throne clear of every false lord, just as He has proven able to break the bonds of sin’s power over us. If it had been to His purpose, He could as easily have swept these men into the number of those who believed as He had done for those who did believe. That God can so change the hearts of some is evidence that He could, were He so inclined, change the hearts of all. There is nothing in man to prevent God from what He wills. There is nothing, quite frankly, in Satan to prevent God from what He wills; not even with all the hordes of hell at his back. God remains in control. God makes the call. In the case of these to whom Jesus speaks (and in speaking, only says what the Father has given Him cause to say) the call has gone against their better hopes. Their cases have been closed, and the verdict delivered: You will know Who I AM, but you will die in your sins. My Word has no place in you. I have no place in you. You are not mine. This is why you are so vehemently opposed to Me and Mine.
It was true in that day and it is true in our own day. However, unlike Jesus, we are not given the insight to know the final state of the man. We are called to pray that all might be saved even though we can clearly see that not all will be saved. It is thus that we are admonished to pray with a constant recognition of, ‘nevertheless, Lord, Thy will, not mine.’ We are not now, nor ever shall be, in a place to demand that God do as we please. Though sons of His household, yet we are also sworn bondservants to whom He is truly our Liege. Servant or son, it really makes no difference in this regard. We are not authorized to demand. We are permitted to seek. We are given promise that we shall find, yes, but the promise of God’s answer is always hinged upon the request being in accord with His will. Always, His will be done. Only thus does His kingdom come.
If we would earnestly seek that the whole of creation come to obey Him as He is obeyed in heaven, then surely we can start with ourselves! If we would have the unbelievers come to a place of acknowledging His rule, we need to do so ourselves. Not just on Sundays. Not just when we’re among our fellow believers, but constantly and consistently. If He is on the throne of our hearts, then surely it must be this way for us!
But, the reality is that we wax and wane in our ardor for our Bridegroom. We wax and wane by the hour in our willingness to submit to His authority. We are forever coming to Him with an attitude of, “yes, but.” Can’t we have it our way for awhile? Couldn’t You just take Your hands off the reins for a time and give us our head? So we might do injury to ourselves in that period? So what? You can fix us. We just need to feel the wind. We just need to taste our freedom. We just need to feel like we’re in control, masters of our own destiny. So what if it’s a lie and we know it? Can’t we enjoy the delusion for awhile?
This, of course, is the prodigal son speaking in our spirit. Let’s have our inheritance now, and we’ll go on a binge like you’ve never seen! Let’s have those lottery winnings now, and I’ll show you just how fast that much cash can be squandered! The amazing thing is that Father waits so patiently for us to get over ourselves. That He entrusts what is His into our hands even knowing the course we have set for ourselves: who could have expected that? That He is patiently waiting, lovingly waiting for our return when we come to our senses! Well, this at least is something that I suppose most parents come to understand in part.
I have come to realize of late that you will never know the full depth of heartache until you’ve raised a child to maturity, or at least done your best to see them arrive in that place. You will never know heartbreak until that child you have loved shows a shocking determination to become everything you hoped they’d turn away from. Then, and only then, do you begin to feel a certain kinship with this God Who waited for you when you were just as pig-headed and determined to oppose His desire for you. Yet, when the time came, when the seed of promise had begun to mature in you and you came back, even though you feared you’d blown your only chance with Him, there He was: arms open and weeping tears of joy to see you coming. And, isn’t it the desire to find ourselves doing the same for our own children that keeps us praying ardently for them when they seem so determined to join the lost?
Listen! That parable is so powerful for the very reason that it so vividly describes our own situation. We are every last one of us prodigal sons. We have every last one of us been in that place of rejecting our true lineage. It’s here in the way the Pharisees defend themselves: We are Abraham’s offspring. Abraham is our father. We’ve settled for less. Yes, we had this marvelous heritage in being the chosen ones of the Almighty God. But, we traded that in for what was behind door number two. We had a ticket to eternity in hand, but we swapped it for the glittering box of earthly delights.
In spite of that – in spite of our willful spoilage of our heritage – He is not ashamed to remind us that we remain His children. That adoption He has arranged on our behalf is not subject to our continuing approval. It is a permanent and binding legal status. It has not been dissolved by our stupidity. In spite of the fact that we have chosen to identify with this other father, in spite of the fact that we choose to flaunt our physical father in His very face, as if this could ever be superior to Him; still, He only reminds us of the Truth. You bear the mark of My household upon you. And though you took that mark upon yourself to become My servant, your name is duly recorded as a child of My household. No longer just a servant, but more! Yes, all that I have, all that I AM, is legally ceded to you as your inheritance. And nothing you have done has changed all that.
It’s not a question of having lost your inheritance by the choices made in your foolish youth. It’s a question of when you will stop settling for less. Oh, there are those who do settle for less, but these were never in the records to begin with. They liked to think they were of My household, but they were not. They went out from amongst My children because they were never of My children. Whatever proofs they may try to offer as showing them to be Mine, they are forgeries. You, on the other hand, though possessed of the true status and heritage, why do you settle for less? Why do you seemingly take such pleasure in opposing Me when all I have for you is love, and the love I have for you gives all?
Originally, I had thought this was but a question I needed to ask myself: Have I settled for less than my heritage? But, really, there’s no need to ask, is there? The answer is plain enough. The places in which I struggle yet are proof enough. That He is bringing victory even there, I do not doubt at all, but so long as the battle continues to weigh so upon me, then I must accept that I have indeed settled for less.
No more! No, I must not accept that this should continue to be the case. You, oh God, are my God. You are, by Your own say so, my Father. You are not just the Father of my Lord, but my Father as well. You, oh God, have declared me your child with full right and full inheritance. You, oh God, have so provided for me that I am possessed of Yourself indwelling, that I may ask of Your wisdom and receive it. So, I come. I ask. Lord, it seems like everything I face requires wisdom beyond my ken. The challenges overwhelm me, but they do not overwhelm You. So, I come. I ask once more for Your forgiveness, knowing that I have not held your heritage dear, as I ought. I come asking that You so move upon my heart and my spirit that this no longer hold true. I ask that You open my eyes to the tools of victory You have placed at my disposal, and grant to me the wisdom to know how best to use those tools in Your eternal purpose. Let this be a day of sea change for me and my household. Let this stand as the day that the tides of war receded from our doorsteps as we carried the battle to the enemy in Your strength and Your power, for victory is Yours, and truly, it is only by Your own right arm that it shall be brought about.
