A People for His Name

Verses Concerning Comprehensive Prosperity

April 18, 2011

The following passages concern the prosperity of God’s servants in various ways. Two (Num. 6:22-27; Ps. 35:27) use the Hebrew word shalom, which signifies comprehensive prosperity, including physical health. One stresses prospering in everything one does (Ps. 1:1-3). Four point to comprehensive prosperity through teaching that pertains to the prosperity of our entire being in various respects, including physical health (Prov. 4:20-22; Eccl. 11:9-12:1; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 3 John 2).

By meditating on these passages, our minds will be renewed to have God’s perspectives about the comprehensive prosperity of His servants.

22And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying,
On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
(Numbers 6:22-27)

1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:1-3)

Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause:
yea, let them say continually,
Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
(Psalm 35:27)

20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
(Proverbs 4:20-22)

9Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth;
and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,
and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes:
but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
10Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh:
for childhood and youth are vanity.
1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
(Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1)

23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;
and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24)

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
(3 John 2)

In Discipleship, Health

Scholarly Comments on the One Who Forgives

April 17, 2011

This post compiles some scholarly comments about Jesus as the One who forgives our sins:

The Pharisees’ attitude is probably like that expressed in [Luke] 5:21: ‘Who can forgive sins but God?’ In Luke-Acts, the right of Jesus to judge and thus forgive sins is one of Luke’s major claims, which shows one must deal with Jesus in order to be accepted by God (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:42; 17:31; on the Son of Man’s authority, see Luke 22:69; Acts 7:55-56). Here is raw eschatological authority, and the Pharisees know it. It is not the claim of a mere prophet. —Comments on Luke 7:49 by Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50 in BECNT, 707; bold added.

The term [Son of Man] is eschatological in Daniel; Jesus uses it in the same way in Matt. 24:30 and 26:64, and this is done also in the Revelation passages. But this Judge at the great consummation cannot be the judge only then, his work must reach back through the entire process of redemption, the consummation of which is the final judgment. [In Luke 5:24,] Jesus very properly thus expands the title and applies it to his person in the days of his humiliation. . . . Authority . . . to remit sins ‘on the earth’ during the era of grace comports with ‘the Son of man.’ To bring to us and to make our own this remission Jesus had to come on his great mission as ‘the Son of man.’ —Comments on Luke 5:24 by R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel, 303; bold added.

The resurrected Jesus is announced to be the Judge-designate. . . . Without this point, we might be tempted to think of the resurrection as something tremendous that happened to him but which has no relation to us at all. Without this statement that the resurrected Lord is the Judge-designate, we might believe the story of Easter and comment, ‘Terrific! But after all, that was Jesus. What has that got to do with us?’ Verse 42 [of Acts 10] answers this question by linking our destiny to that of Jesus, for it tells us that Jesus is every man’s Judge. This statement says that the man whom God designated to judge us is the man executed on Golgotha and raised on Easter. If, then, our destiny depends on the verdict of this Judge, we must recognize that the story of Jesus is the story of the one who will be the arbiter of our status before God. Suddenly for each individual, the story of Jesus is transformed from a piece of interesting ancient history to the disclosure of ‘where my destiny hangs.’ This change makes the story of Jesus real news. But it still does not show why this is good news; it could just as well be bad news. . . . These words [v. 43] transform the information about Jesus into the good news for all mankind. According to this early sketch of the gospel, the good news consists of the headline that the Judge forgives those who believe on his name. That is, he forgives those who believe he is really the Judge. Here is the heart of the good news in this sermon: The Judge forgives. —Leander E. Keck, Mandate to Witness: Studies in the Book of Acts, 68-69; bold added.

Here [Acts 10:43] Peter underscores that it is faith in the Jesus he has just described that brings the forgiveness. So the way of salvation is through the judge of the living and the dead, by appealing to him to forgive sin, which leads into the way of peace through the gospel (v. 35). —Comments on Acts 10:42-43 by Darrell L. Bock, Acts, 400; bold added.

In agreement with Keck and Bock, Schnabel regards Acts 10:43 as an ”exhortation to turn in faith to this judge in order to receive [the] forgiveness of sins.” Eckhard J. Schnabel, Jesus and the Twelve, vol. 1 of Early Christian Mission, 713; bold added.

What do you think about these scholarly comments? Do you agree with their saying that Jesus is the Judge who forgives sin?

In Gospel, Interpretation, Quotes

"Play Skillfully with a Loud Noise"!

April 16, 2011

The book of Psalms is the only collection of songs that God has inspired. It therefore has divine authority that we must heed in understanding what God wants us to do in our music. Those who would be disciples in their music must pay attention especially to the commands that God gives concerning the music of His people. In that respect, Psalm 33 is an especially important passage for understanding God’s mind about music because it records multiple commands and explains the basis for them.

Psalm 33:1-5 presents five commands from God concerning our music. The righteous are to “rejoice in the LORD” because praise is fitting for the upright (33:1). Those who would fulfill all their obligations to God and man must continually delight themselves in God in their music because He deserves such praise because of all that He has done, especially for them (cf. 33:18-22), and because such activity befits those who are upright before Him.

The righteous must also praise Him and sing to Him with various string instruments (33:2). Both of these commands make clear that God wants us to use string instruments in our worshiping Him.

Moreover, we are to sing to Him a “new song” (33:3a), which is a mandate for freshness of quality in the music that we sing to Him: “Praise should be spontaneous and fresh—new mercies demand new songs” (BKC: OT, 819). Repeated commands and statements about such songs (Ps. 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3) show that this is a vital element of godly music.

These four commands teach that God calls for joyfully worshiping Him with quality music that consists of the singing of words accompanied by string instruments. Repeated references to the LORD (“in the LORD” [33:1a]; “the LORD” [33:2a]; “unto Him” [33:2b; 3a]) emphasize that He is to be the object of such worship.

Finally, we must “play skillfully with a loud noise” (33:3b). This command conveys God’s mandate that believers be skillful in playing stringed instruments, which calls for diligent preparation for such worship of God. It also mandates playing energetically so that the instruments will produce “a loud noise.” To meet this demand, we must worship God with all our might (cf. 2 Sam. 6:14; Eccl 9:10) and do the best we can in playing skillfully.

This command receives considerable expansion in the passage, with the next two verses serving as the explanation of the basis for the command (33:4-5). Four statements comprise the basis for the mandate to worship God skillfully with instrumental music:

“The word of the LORD is right”
“All His works are done in truth”
“He loves righteousness and judgment”
“The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD”

These statements highlight the perfections of His word and His works. They also set forth His excellent character, especially as it is bountifully manifested in the earth.

Alternatively, this teaching (33:4-5) may be the basis not just for this command, but also for all the preceding commands as well. Either way, the great elaboration of the basis for His authoritative direction concerning our music shows that we must excel in our music because He demands that it be in keeping with the excellence of His word, His works, and His person!

Based on this teaching, believers must continually be involved in activities to become skillful at playing string instruments for the glory of God. Renewing our minds with these truths, our homes, churches, and schools should provide suitable opportunities for the continual discipling of top-notch Christian musicians by those who are already highly skillful and dedicated Christian musicians.

In Music

"Who Will Go For Us?"

April 15, 2011

Isaiah 6 presents the Lord’s commissioning of Isaiah. He saw a vision of the Lord on His throne (6:1-4). His response to the vision (6:5) led to a seraphim’s acting to consecrate him for his commission by dealing with his iniquity and sin (6:6-7).

Isaiah then heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (6:8a). He responded by volunteering himself to be sent by the Lord (6:8b). The remaining verses in the chapter relate the details of his commissioning (6:9-13).

Preachers have used Isaiah 6:1-8 to challenge believers to be involved in evangelism and missions. Based on what I can recall from my experience, they have not treated his actual commission (6:9-13) much at all in those messages. Treating the passage in that manner may have resulted in obscuring important understanding for many believers because of what the rest of the passage teaches Isaiah’s commission actually was.

The Lord accepted Isaiah’s volunteering himself and directed him to go communicate His message to His people (6:9a). He was to tell them, “Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not” (6:9b). His mission also included that he was to “make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” (6:10).

These statements show that Isaiah’s mission was hardly an evangelistic one in the traditional sense. Rather, Isaiah was being sent as an agent of God who would not bring about their turning to the Lord—he would actually serve to harden them so that they would not see, hear, understand, convert, and be healed.

The ensuing dialogue between Isaiah and the Lord confirms this interpretation (6:11-13). Isaiah asked, “Lord, how long?” (6:11a). The Lord responded, “Until cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land (6:11b-12). Isaiah was thus informed that the hardening would continue until there would come about a great destruction among His people. God, however, did provide him with some hope by telling him that there would be a tenth who would be a remnant, who would yet suffer judgment themselves, but from whom also there would yet be “the holy seed” (6:13).

This analysis suggests that preachers should not use Isaiah 6 to challenge believers about evangelism and missions without at least some explanation of what Isaiah’s actual commission was. By at least briefly explaining the original sense of the passage, the preacher who chooses to use Isaiah 6 to challenge contemporary believers will be less likely to promote his audience’s having a superficial understanding of or even a total lack of awareness of the original significance of the passage as a whole.

In Interpretation, Ministry, Preaching

The Personality of the Holy Spirit

April 14, 2011

In addition to the texts typically presented in the discussion concerning the proofs of the personality of the Holy Spirit, three other texts that have not at times been considered also deserve attention as well: Acts 10:20; 13:2; 1 John 4:4.

Acts 10:20
Luke records the Spirit’s speaking directly to Peter following his vision (10:19-20). The Spirit informed him that three men were seeking him and that Peter should go meet them and accompany them, doubting nothing because He had sent them. The Greek text shows that the Spirit used an emphatic first-person personal pronoun (ἐγὼ) to speak of His sending them, which points directly to His personality:

BGT Act 10:20 ἀλλὰ ἀναστὰς κατάβηθι καὶ πορεύου σὺν αὐτοῖς μηδὲν διακρινόμενος ὅτι ἐγὼ ἀπέσταλκα αὐτούς.

NAU Act 10:20 “But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”

SCR Act 10:20 ἀλλὰ ἀναστὰς κατάβηθι, καὶ πορεύου σὺν αὐτοῖς, μηδὲν διακρινόμενος• διότι ἐγὼ ἀπέσταλκα αὐτούς.

KJV Act 10:20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

Acts 13:2
Luke’s record of the church at Antioch includes a report of their ministering and fasting to the Lord. While they were doing so, the Spirit spoke to them to set apart to Him Barnabas and Saul for the work to which He had called them. The Greek text shows that the Spirit again used a first-person personal pronoun (μοι) to refer to Himself, which points directly to His personality.

BGT Act 13:2 Λειτουργούντων δὲ αὐτῶν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ νηστευόντων εἶπεν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον• ἀφορίσατε δή μοι τὸν Βαρναβᾶν καὶ Σαῦλον εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς.

NAU Act 13:2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

SCR Act 13:2 λειτουργούντων δὲ αὐτῶν τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ νηστευόντων, εἶπε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, Ἀφορίσατε δή μοι τόν τε Βαρνάβαν καὶ τὸν Σαῦλον εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς.

KJV Act 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

1 John 4:4
Contextually, the discussion here is about testing the spirits that are indwelling people and leading to their confession either that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh or that He has not come in the flesh. Those who confess the former have the Holy Spirit in them, while those who confess the latter have the spirit of the antichrist in them. Thus, verse 4 should be understood as referring to the Holy Spirit (cf. 4:6):

BGT 1Jo 4:4 ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.

NAU 1Jo 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

SCR 1Jo 4:4 ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς• ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.

KJV 1Jo 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

John’s use of the masculine article in ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν to refer to the Holy Spirit when he could have phrased it as τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν shows that he viewed the Holy Spirit as a Person. Explaining the masculine article as a reference to Christ or God as the One whom John has in view in verse 4 does not fit the context and doing so is not demanded by any other consideration.

Thus, Acts 10:20, 13:2, and 1 John 4:4 all teach the personality of the Holy Spirit!

In Interpretation

Parallels between Abigail's Actions and Christ's

April 13, 2011

First Samuel 25 records the wonderful story of how David was greatly blessed by the actions of Abigail, “a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance” (25:3). When her evil husband abused servants sent by David to him, David purposed to kill him and all the men in his household (25:4-13; 21-22). Abigail intervened in behalf of her husband at this crucial time, and because of her intervention, David spared her husband and all his men (25:18-20; 23-35).

A closer look at Abigail’s intervention reveals striking parallels between her actions on behalf of her husband and his men and Christ’s actions on behalf of us as sinners. Abigail learned of the death sentence that had been passed by David upon her husband and his men (25:14-17). She went to David, the one who was preparing to judge them (25:13; 22-23) for their wickedness (25:21), and beseeched him to let their iniquity be upon her (25:24). Addressing David 14 times with the words, “my lord” (25:24; 25 [2x]; 26 [2x]; 27 [2x]; 28 [2x]; 29; 30; 31 [3x]), she pled her case before the one who had judicial authority over her and her household (25:34). She thus abundantly manifested that she regarded David as her lord, the judge.

Although she herself does not seem to have done anything wrong, she pled with her judge to forgive her trespass (25:28). She also provided “the blessing” to her judge that her husband had wickedly withheld from him (25:27; 35). With her actions and words, she propitiated David’s wrath. Because of her intervention, David accepted her person and did not judge her husband and his men (25:35).

Interestingly, although Abigail to some extent “paid” the penalty for her husband’s sins, at least in the sense of providing what he had sinfully withheld from David, God still subsequently judged her husband (25:38). David’s response to His doing so was to recognize that God had judged him for the reproach that he had brought upon David (25:39).

While the parallels between Abigail’s and Christ’s actions are, of course, far from exact, it seems that there are some significant similarities between their works in their respective contexts. If this interpretation is valid, 1 Samuel 25 would then be another way that the Scripture provides teaching about Christ (cf. Lk. 24:27), albeit in an indirect way.

I would love to hear what you think about my interpretation of this aspect of 1 Samuel 25.

In Interpretation

Ultimate Blessedness for Mankind!

April 12, 2011

After God created man, He blessed Him (Gen. 1:28). When man sinned against God (3:6), He judged him by denying him access to the tree of life and banishing him from the Garden of Eden (3:22-24).

After the initial statements about how God blessed man, the word blessed occurs 300 times in 285 verses in Scripture. An analysis of these abundant occurrences of this important word reveals some key facts, including the following:

God continued to bless man in spite of his sinfulness
The word occurs in 41 books of Scripture
Five books have 10 or more occurrences of the word (Gen. [43]; Deut. [14]; Ps. [47]; Matt. [18]; Lk. [26])
Psalms is the only book that begins with the word

Psalms, the book with the most occurrences of the word blessed, reveals how people are blessed:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (1:1-3).

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (2:12).

In the latter text, David (cf. Acts 4:25-26; 13:33) specifies that blessedness comes to all who put their trust in the Son (2:12), the LORD’s anointed King (cf. 2:6-9), who in context is described as the Judge (2:9, 12).

The final occurrence of the word blessed reveals the same wondrous truth of blessedness coming from the Judge:

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right [ἐξουσία] to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Rev. 22:12-14).

This passage specifies that the ultimate blessedness that God intends for mankind includes their being authorized to have access to the tree of life—the very access that had been forfeited in the Garden! Praise God for so great a salvation!

In Interpretation

Standing Desk

April 12, 2011

After reading a post from a friend on Facebook that linked to an article that emphasized the serious health risks of sitting at a desk all day, I decided to come up with my own standing desk.

: My Standing Desk

I’m thankful for how well this is working for me to be able to stand and work on my computer for hours at a time.

In Health

Living Worthily While Waiting for the Return of God's Son

April 11, 2011

In light of the soon return of His Son, God wants you to live worthily as an exemplary disciple of Jesus Christ while you wait for that glorious day:

By becoming a follower of Paul and of Christ (1 Thess. 1:6)
By being thoroughly evangelistic (1:7-8)
By slaving for God the Father and waiting for His Son (1:9-10)
By having your glory and joy in the disciples that God enables you to make for His glory (2:19-20)
By praying intensely and persistently for opportunities to make disciples for His glory (3:10-13)
By having the comfort of the hope of the return of His Son as you go on making disciples for His glory who have the comfort of the hope of the return of His Son (4:14-18)
By being alert and sober in your waiting – 17 commands (5:11-22)
By being sanctified totally for His glory (5:23)

Every chapter ends with a reference to the Second Coming (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-17; 5:23)! Let us therefore walk worthy of God, who has called us unto His kingdom and glory (2:12).

In Discipleship

"The Temple of the Body"

April 10, 2011

Jowett’s remarks on Romans 12:1-9:

The Lord wants my body. He needs its members as ministers of righteousness. He would work in the world through my brain, and eyes, and ears, and lips, and hands, and feet.

And the Lord wants my body as “a living sacrifice.” He asks for it when it is thoroughly alive! We so often deny the Lord our bodies until they are infirm and sickly, and sometimes we do not offer them to Him until they are quite “worn out.” It is infinitely better to offer them even then than never to offer them at all. But it is best of all to offer our bodies to our Lord when they are strong, and vigorous, and serviceable, and when they can be used in the strenuous places of the field.

And so let me appoint a daily consecration service, and let me every morning present my body “a living sacrifice” unto God. Let me regard it as a most holy possession, and let me keep it clean. Let me recoil from all abuse of it – from all gluttony, and intemperance, and “riotous living.” Let me look upon my body as a church, and let the service of consecration continue all day long. “Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit?”

John Henry Jowett, My Daily Meditation, November 5

In Discipleship, Quotes

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