"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory"

In the older English translation of the Lord's Prayer, the prayer typically closes, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory." Those words are not in the version recorded in the gospels as coming from Jesus, as is well-known to Roman Catholics who do not include it when praying the Lord's Prayer. I'd never looked into its origins, on the view that as far as closing words to a prayer go, I don't see a problem with it, though it's helpful to know this part of the prayer is an addition to the original prayer. 

Then this week I stumbled across a prayer that is strikingly close: 

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all." (1 Chronicles 29:11) This was recorded as David's prayer at Solomon's coronation. 

A search turns up another similar phrase: "You, O King, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory ..." (Daniel 2:37). Though this latter is not addressed to God but to Nebuchadnezzar. 

So the extended version of the Lord's Prayer seems to have taken its additional materials from ancient Jewish prayers, possibly dating as far back as the time of King David. 

Tolkien's lever

"Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world." - Archimedes

Many people have wanted to move the world, and lacked that place to stand outside of it. J.R.R. Tolkien solved the problem with Middle Earth: a place outside this world but still near enough to touch it. And through that he moved our imaginations, where we can see civilizations that are beautiful and kind instead of merely efficient, civilizations that grow from compatibility with the natural surroundings. He built a world in which the forest-dwellers write with scripts shaped in the flowing lines of trees and leaves, where mountain-dwelling miners chisel writing with the crystalline angle of minerals, and where to all of them the beauty and integrity matter. Living among these peoples, even simply in our imaginations, gives us the place to stand to see our own world more clearly. 

Memory eternal to Professor Tolkien! 

d. 2 Sept 1973

Controversies in the Church: Different views on the authority of Scripture

The church in this world has a number of divisions, and one of the underlying causes is that there are different views on the authority of Scripture. The extremes can range from thinking vast parts are mythology or self-serving histories (and therefore without authority) to thinking every word is quite literally verbatim from God and therefore inerrant. 

How are we to navigate this field with respect for the Scriptures, respect for the facts, and respect for people who hold different places on that spectrum of views? Is there room for gentleness and reconciliation? (If not, it's our job to create those if we can.) 

"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not valid." (John 5:31)

Some of the most commonly-advanced proofs for the authority of Scripture are quotes taken from Scripture itself. But that leads to a circular argument in which something is used as its own proof. It might reinforce the beliefs of those who already believe it, but it cannot move someone who does not already believe it. 

"Every charge should be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses." (Matthew 18:16 among others)

There is also some basic disagreement about which side bears the burden of proof. Does the received faith get the benefit of the doubt, or the burden of proof? The answer to that question frames the entire discussion differently: Which side is the accuser, which is the accused? Is Scripture presumed innocent in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, or presumed faulty and must re-establish itself one point at a time? What about accusations against various parts of Scripture: Do they require any burden of proof, or is any accusation presumed to be legitimate? The secular view, which seeks the de-legitimization of the faithful view, it seems that any accusation is presumed to be legitimate. Does that hold within the church as well? 

"Test everything; hold on to that which is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

I think the reason the different Christian camps are still able to have some dialog is because of the amount of historical or corroborating evidence for various things in Scripture, the number of things that are in fact verifiable or testable. 

In everyday life, we test information against other information, test one belief against another belief, in our human quest for the best and the truest. Scripture encourages this; reason encourages this; experience encourages this. 

How exactly do we test things? 

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other side comes and questions him. (Proverbs 18:17)

Here we come to a bigger obstacle: that people of different views rarely speak to each other. Even more rarely do they seek to understand each other. It is perhaps human nature that we are eager for others to understand us, and less eager to understand why someone might disagree with us. Regardless of where the presumption of innocence lies between worldviews, always to each person their own view seems the one that bears the presumption of innocence and reasonableness. 

Before we can reconcile with each other, we must first desire to understand each other. 

Prayer for our enemies

Some years ago I included a prayer for enemies as part of a longer liturgical service. I'd like to have a stand-alone version of that. It's currently formatted as if a responsive congregational prayer, but can work for private prayers as well. 

Prayer for our enemies

P: The Lord has also taught us to pray for our enemies. Being thankful for his forgiveness, let us pray: (Matt 5:44)

P: Lord, we praise you and give thanks to you, for you are good. (Ps 106:1)
C: Your mercy endures forever. (Ps 106:1)

P: While we were yet your enemies (Romans 5:8-10)
C: You died for us (Romans 5:8-10)

P: The righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18)
C: To bring us back to you. (1 Peter 3:18)

P: Lord, have mercy on us. (Luke 18:3)
C: Have mercy on us sinners. (Luke 18:3)

P: Lord, if you kept record of our sins (Psalm 130:3)
C: Who could stand before you? (Psalm 130:3)

P: Do not bring your servant into judgment, (Ps 143:2)
C: For no one living is righteous before you. (Ps 143:2)

P: When I hid my faults (Psalm 32:3)
C: I wasted away. (Psalm 32:3)

P: When I confessed my transgression (Psalm 32:5)
C: You forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

P: You oppose the proud (1 Peter 5:5)
C: But give grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5)

P. You, O Christ, came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15)
C: Of whom I am the chief. (1 Tim 1:15)

P: You have taught us to pray: Forgive us our sins (Matt 6:12)
C: As we forgive those who sin against us. (Matt 6:12)

P: Let mercy be the measure we use for others; (Matt 5:7, 7:2)
C: May their cups overflow with blessing. (Ps 23:5)

P: We remember before you all our enemies: (Matt 5:44)
C: May knowing you bring peace. (2 Peter 1:2)

P: We remember before you all who have wronged others. (Matt 5:44)
C: May your mercy turn hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. (Ezekiel 11:19)

P: We remember before you all who hide secret guilt: (Ps 19:12)
C: Create clean hearts, O Lord, and renew a right spirit. (Ps 51:10)

P: Let the sinners turn back to you: (Ps 51:13)
C: No one will be condemned who takes refuge in you. (Ps 34:22)

P: Let us proclaim your righteousness in the great assembly (Ps 40:9)
C: Let us not seal our lips or hide your righteousness (Ps 40:9-10)

P: Let us speak of your faithfulness and salvation (Ps 40:10)
C: Let us not conceal your love and your truth. (Ps 40:10)

P: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven. (Psalm 32:1)
C: Whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1)

P: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; (Psalm 106:1)
C: His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

The parable of the shrewd manager, and the license to forgive

Jesus spoke many parables which people praise, from the prodigal son and the lost sheep to baking bread and planting fields. And then there is the parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-9). Godly commentators may hesitate over the parable of the shrewd manager because the hero is something of a crook. When the manager in the parable finds out he is about to be fired, he calls in his master's debtors and forgives parts of their debts at the master's expense, making friends for himself along the way to secure his own future. 

What makes the man's actions dishonest? He's not authorized to forgive those debts. The master was counting on collecting those debts. 

I suspect that part of Jesus' point for us is that we are authorized to forgive those debts. The master is hoping to forgive the debts rather than collect on them. So why is it we're not out forgiving them? Why is it we're so determined to collect, rather than forgive? 

I expect there is more to be learned from the parable, and that commentators have covered those things. But it's not a bad thing to remember when we read that parable: the master wants those debts forgiven, and we're authorized to forgive them. We might gain friends for God, and secure their futures. 

Update 30 Aug 2026: 

In the parable, the manager is supposed to be collecting debts for his master but forgives them -- taking them off the books, against his master's wishes. In real life, we're supposed to be forgiving debts for our master but insist on keeping those debts on the books, against our master's wishes. So if we are worried that we'll fall out of God's favor and get fired (like the manager in the parable), this could be an encouragement to go on a forgiveness spree. And that would also be in keeping with the rest of Jesus' teachings. 

Essential verses on payment of earned wages, as a topic of justice

I have seen a situation recently in which payment of wages was delayed long after the work was complete. Here are some Bible verses discussing the obligation to pay work-for-hire, and the injustice of improper delay. 

1. The worker is worthy of his hire / The worker deserves his wages. (Luke 10:7, 1 Timothy 5:18)
2. When a worker works, the wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. (Romans 4:4)
3. The wages of the workers who mowed your fields, which you kept back, are crying out against you. (James 5:4)
4. Do not withhold the wages of a hired man overnight. (Leviticus 19:13)
5. You shall give [the worker] his wages on the same day. (Deuteronomy 24:15)
6. The hard-working farmer deserves the first share of the crops. (2 Timothy 2:6) 
7. ... let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:28)

I wanted to wrap up on a verse that included generosity, and a benevolent use of the wages. 

Take care & God bless

The narrow way -- what won't fit?

Jesus' most famous teaching is possibly the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12). Odd, then, that this is followed immediately by a teaching that can be viewed unfavorably: "Enter at the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and easy is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter there. But narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Jesus spoke again of a too-narrow entrance when he said that a camel going through the eye of a needle would be easier than for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:24). (We can set aside the various interpretations of the eye of the needle, and stick to the point that, in any case, it was too narrow.) 

A "narrow" way is not impossible to pass, but it might require me to carry nothing beyond what is necessary. That was the problem with the rich man who brought on the "eye of the needle" comment: he had much, and loved his worldly things much, and would be sorry to leave them behind. Was he more sorry to leave them behind than to leave Jesus behind? The answer is implied in his actions. The rich man may have been held back by "love" -- specifically, love of things of this world. Sure, there's a lot that comes with that, whether it's safety or comfort or respectability. But a full life does crowd out other things. 

And, possibly, this "way" can be made ready. When John the Baptist speaks of preparing the way, he speaks of repentance: turning away from sins and toward God. And Jesus explains to us some paths we cannot afford to take, such as being unforgiving, or judging others. 

So when I hear that uncomfortable teaching about the narrow way, I hope to turn my mind to things I can let go, whether it's possessions or pride. 

Over a dozen directions for love in the New Testament

The New Testament has many passages about love, everything from love of God (good) to love of money (not). As a current research project has led me to review the New Testament in the original Greek, I was touched to find that there were special words underlying those translations, such as a special word that means "love of God" or that means "loving your children." (I expect Greek is more fluid in making compound words than we are in English.) Below are notes on those special New Testament words describing not just love, but what is loved: 

Good

• philotheos - love of God: 2 Timothy 3:4
• philandros - love of husband: Titus 2:4
• philanthropos, philanthropia - love of mankind (kindness, acting courteously): Acts 28:2, Acts 27:3
• philoxenia, philoxenos - fond of guests: hospitable, hospitality: Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2, 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:8, 1 Peter 4:9
• philosophos - fond of wise things / philosophers: Acts 17:18
• philostorgos - fond of (one's own) relatives: Romans 12:10
• philoteknos - fond of (one's own) children: Titus 2:4
• philotimeomai - fond of honor (eager/dedicated/persevering): Romans 15:20, 2 Corinthians 5:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:11
• philophronos, philophron - fond of understanding or sympathy (kindly, courteous): Acts 28:7, 1 Peter 3:8

Not

• philarguria, philarguros - love of money (covetousness): 1 Timothy 6:10, Luke 16:14, 2 Timothy 3:2
• philautos - self-love (self-absorption): 2 Timothy 3:2
• philhedonos - love of pleasure: 2 Timothy 3:4
• philoneikiea / philoneikos - love of strife or argument: Luke 22:24, 1 Corinthians 11:16
• philoproteuo - fond of being first: 3 John 1:9

We tend to think in the most basic way that "love" is good, and it's usually shown that way. But in the New Testament, whether "love" is good seems to depend on what we're loving. 

"Is Jesus the only way?" conversation openers

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -- Jesus (John 14:6)

Jesus' bold saying is a challenge to modern and post-modern minds. There is a tension between the ideal of truth and policy of tolerating all. Below are some notes on the more common objections I've heard to Jesus' claim, and ways to move the conversation forward. 

Objection: There are lots of great teachers

There may be a lot of great teachers from a human point of view, but God raised only one of them from the dead. God made clear which of the great teachers is the way to resurrection and life. We aren't left guessing about it or trying to see who has a better argument (or arguer). Once God has weighed in on the question, human arguments are pointless. 

Objection: There are good atheists too; they should go to heaven

Heaven is God's home. If someone hates God but thinks God owes them admission to his home, God may not think the same way about that. (This is in the context of the "atheists" who are intentionally spiteful about God and believers, the atheists of the "it's cool to be cruel" school.) 

Objection: It's not fair to have eternal fate depend on some obscure belief

God raised Jesus from the dead, and probably every adult in the world has heard that by now. There's no barrier to hearing it: anyone who knows even the barest basics about the major religions knows that. God loves everyone, and desires to save everyone, and sent a savior for everyone. 

After the initial round of discussion, the next move is explaining more about the good news: it means we can trust God. It means God loves us. It means he hasn't abandoned us to pointless lives that are nasty, brutish, and short. Or wherever the good news intersects the listener's felt needs.

The viral memories and the hidden vices

If my memories had view-counters like a video on the web, some memories would hardly have any views and others would be well-worn, their view-counters easily spinning up to double digits or more. As relentless as an ad algorithm, my mind can replay some of these memories when at rest. 

After some work trying to root out pockets of sin, it's clear that the worst parts of me tend to hide behind the best, or camouflage themselves that way: 

• If I want to be the MVP, I am likely to undervalue the contributions of others, or not make space for them. 
• If I am being helpful and kind, are my motives always pure, or is there some hope of being noticed and valued? 
• If I am being funny, have I done it at someone else's expense? 
• If I am noticing faults in others, am I doing it to think better of myself? 
• Am I a peacemaker, or am I avoiding conflict? 
• Am I patient, or am I undecided on the next step? 
• Am I overworked in one area of life, or am I avoiding unpleasant tasks in another area? 
• Am I focused on justice, or am I having trouble forgiving? 

When I look for my own vices, I might do well to see what's hiding behind my virtues. "Simultaneously saints and sinners," as they say in some circles. 

The commandment to be holy: How?

The Old Testament often repeated the command to Be holy as the Lord God is holy. The New Testament is clear that this applies to us also (1 Peter 1:16). But how do we become holy in that way? 

Of course we stay back from sin. I'm here considering times when we have done that, but still do not find ourselves having become a fountain of God-pleasing graceful thoughts, words, and actions. 

When the New Testament repeats the Levitical command to be holy, we do get some guidance, both in resisting our sinful tendencies, and in devoting ourselves to the brotherly love of fellowship (see 1 Peter 1). 

I'd also consider the Sabbath as a help for holiness. The Sabbath is a holy day, not because work is bad, not because work is illegitimate, but because the blessings of God deserve a time of focus. The Sabbath is especially useful for gratitude and for rest. Busy-ness can be opposed to holiness. So can tiredness and stress. And I'll speak for myself here that rest can be an act of faith: a recognition that my busy-ness is not always the solution, an act of trust that God is, after all, God. 

In the Bible we see that some "most holy" things can convey some holiness from God, as a bridge between God's ultimate holiness and this world. (Deeper dive here.) In the current Christian culture it's probably useful to add that book study is not the only means of time with God. Prayer and meditation, gratitude, and fellowship are worthy pursuits. For any who would hesitate about fellowship, consider  the apostle Paul's blessing of "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit." I read that to mean both the fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and with each other through the Holy Spirit. It is a help to holiness when we listen to another person's cares, or otherwise arrange to be present in a way that encourages and uplifts. 

"Leadership and Self-Deception" - Christian repentance in a secular management book

My pastor recently recommended the book Leadership and Self-Deception (The Arbinger Institute (c) 2000, 3d ed 2018), which I read this past week. While the book does not acknowledge Christianity anywhere in the text, many teachings of Christianity are strong and plain, and I can see why the book would receive a pastoral recommendation*. It is a book that takes one premise and runs with it: "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins ..." (That quotation from the New Testament forms the invitation to an honest and humble self-examination, confession, and repentance in many a Christian order of worship, for anyone unfamiliar with the words. While that Biblical quote does not appear in the book, it would be difficult to find a more accurate summary of the book.) It is fascinating that a book with such a thoroughly Christian premise should make its way onto a business best-sellers list. 

Without ever using the word "sin," the book describes our human tendency to fail at kindness, but then justify our lack of mercy by dwelling on the faults of those we resisted the urge to help. We easily become entrenched in the habit -- and justification -- of indifference toward others. It reviews the compulsive fault-finding that come from a decision to count ourselves as better than others, or others as less virtuous than ourselves, even if the decision was not consciously made. It walks the reader through the relentless slide from self-justification to provocation and mutual distrust, and the too common, too human end result of people considering their ill-treatment of others to be a proof of virtue. It exposes the self-deception at the heart of our self-justification and fault-finding. 

Without ever using the word "confession," the book describes the profound and positive changes that come from questioning our own virtue. It identifies that self-questioning humility as the key step in freeing ourselves from the distorted thinking that spring from our self-justification. 

Without ever using the word "repentance," it speaks extensively of the need for a new mindset that honestly acknowledges our own faults, and recognizes the equal humanity of those whose faults we so eagerly seek. 

The strongest point of the book may be the examples (less-than-deftly-written, but very relatable examples) of how we talk ourselves into thinking the worst of others and the best of ourselves. It also follows through with convincing instances of the havoc that self-justification wreaks on human relationships whenever it is left unchecked. It includes a worthwhile study on how often 2 people (or groups) can be locked into a mutually-reinforcing cycle in which each provokes the other, yet can only see their own wounds and the others' faults. And it describes ways to extract ourselves from the mess in order to lead clean and honest lives, not locked into the need to justify ourselves or find fault with others, but again free to act in kindness towards all. 

Much to my surprise, that business book may be the best modern study of confession and repentance that I have read. As a Christian I may wish for an acknowledgement of God, or forgiveness. But for a business book, it makes a remarkable start. 

---

* Based on some cursory research, it looks like the key person at The Arbinger Institute spent some time teaching at Brigham Young, so I would hazard a guess he might be Mormon. It would explain the yes-and-no fit to Christianity as I know it. 

In gratitude for fathers: Happy Father's Day!

Though my own father passed away many years ago, I am still grateful for the kindness and support he provided over the years. 

To all fathers who have stepped up, great and small: Happy Father's Day! 

God's love in action: "Family Promise" (addressing family homelessness)

Many humanitarian organizations have good intentions. Good intentions do not always translate into good results. The God's Love In Action series focuses on people or organizations that seem to be able to translate those good intentions into results. 

Family Promise is an organization that tackles a particular type of homelessness: when families with minor children become unable to maintain a home. Sometimes Family Promise manages to prevent evictions. Sometimes a family is placed with a church. (My own congregation participates in Family Promise, where any families currently in service literally stay in our building for a week before transferring to the next congregation, while members of the congregation arrange meals, help meet basic needs, and even spend the night in the facility with them. Families on the verge of homelessness can then have their food and shelter provided for free while they stabilize. 

Family Promise also has other services to make families more financially stable. There are expectations for the family to begin saving and to build enough of a financial cushion to weather a financial surprise. There is training in financial literacy. 

And there is a reasonable amount of success in stabilizing families who then return to self-sufficiency. Family Promise seems to have hit that workable blend of supporting people while equipping them for a responsible and dignified life. 

God's love in action: finding the approaches that work

Previously in the "God's love in action" series, I'd looked at how Habitat for Humanity works. Specifically, we focused on why their approach seems to be more successful than other approaches to the same problem. This post continues in the vein of looking at largescale solutions not only for good intentions, but for measurable success in tackling the problem. 

I have heard it said that, as Christians, we are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful. But if "success" is measured in actually helping the people we intend to help, then part of being faithful includes being successful in actually helping people. If we get bad results, then good intentions will require us to try other approaches. 

We don't often think of 12-step groups as a Christian outreach program. But 100 years ago they were exactly that. The leaders in outreach to alcoholics were Christian ministries. And one particular program called "The Oxford Group" was the direct forerunner of Alcoholics Anonymous. 

There's still a lot of spiritual work to be done in addiction recovery. But it has resisted mass solutions, and so far people recover one person at a time. For those who recover successfully, there are several things vital to recovery: a wide support system constructed to provide regular face-to-face contact with people who will listen and care, a dedicated contact person who is more experienced and on call to offer guidance; a roadmap of how to lose the dysfunctional coping skills and gain experience with healthier ones; and the concept of individual responsibility as each person takes ownership for their own life. There is also an expectation that people will "pass it on" and be there for the next person who needs help. All that is woven into a framework where spirituality is welcome and religion is, for many, necessary. 

It surprised me at first to see some things in common between Habitat for Humanity and AA (and other 12-step programs). They both focus on re-attaching people to a community, re-attaching people to a support system. They both focus on learning individual responsibility, but not learning it alone or without help. They both take seriously the need for practice and experience with new skills, for guidance with expectations of growing responsibility. 

We live in a world where there is no shortage of good intentions, but few programs have good results. The approach of building a community with structured responsibility seems to have promise, and it might be worth applying it to other large-scale problems. We have plenty of them. 

Pursuing a knowledge of God, and pursuing godliness

Today, on Trinity Sunday, I am reminded of how eagerly we can pursue a knowledge of God, how thirsty we are for a deeper understanding of God. But the pictures we draw of God often pursue the lines of our curiosity, not the lines of his gifts and his self-disclosure. I am as prone to curiosity as the next person. But if I were to try to draw God based on Scripture taken as God's self-revelation, I might get something more like this: 

Let me be the first to say: It's incomplete, and could also use some editing for more appropriate parallels. With that out of the way, here is what it's trying to convey: 

The general form is ripples going out from the center, and the center is God. The rippling outward indicates God's reach throughout creation and specifically to the creatures who are made in God's image. Streaming out from God, we see water representing God's actions to cleanse us and renew us, foremost of which is the work of Christ; and flames representing the Spirit's presence with us. 

The center, God as the origin of all things, contains three attributes that come up as key in Scripture. At the center is "holy," as Scripture repeatedly says "Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." While it is God's attribute first, it is something that he means for us to share. At one side is "mercy," where Scripture tells us to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful (again, a key attribute that God means for us to share with him). On the other side is "wisdom," where Scripture tells us that the wisdom of God is communicated to us by the Spirit of God: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord (reverence), joy in his presence. Once again, this is an attribute God means for us to share. 

At the top are the well-known gifts of the Spirit: faith, hope, and love. At the bottom we see the fruits of the Spirit. 

The graphic has some significant shortcomings (beyond the amateur art): though it is already crowded enough, still "Jesus" and "the Holy Spirit" are not explicitly named anywhere. That is not a small shortcoming, and so I can consider this to be a not-quite-beta version of the drawing, since it requires reading the accompanying text to get to material that is so vital. 

For all that it lacks, there are many passages of Scripture that could be explained with reference to this visual, where the authors are saying: God is this way, he is transforming us to be like him. 

If on Trinity Sunday I find myself drawing three circles to describe the person and work of God, these  particular three circles show how God's character has ripple-effects in our lives. The traits I would most focus on today are the ones he wants to share with us. The work of the Word and Spirit are to bring exactly that fellowship -- and transformation -- into our lives. 

Thank you for your patience with this series, now concluded. Several of my other series over the years have been driving at the same point. Related series include On being like God, and Rethinking the Shape of the Trinity, of which the most closely-related post in the series is part 4, which originally appeared in the Trinity Blogging Summit in 2009. 

The power of God's nature

(Next-to-last post in the current series)

So far we have looked at various passages in which the "Spirit of God" and "Word of God" are used in ways that can test our assumptions about them. 

First, the New Testament authors really do speak as if they mean it literally that God's Spirit is the spirit that comes to live in us, giving us new life. Consider St Paul here, speaking while the literal Temple in Jerusalem still stood, where the presence of God was expected to dwell: 

"Don't you know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Again, consider the New Testament authors speaking as if the spiritual life is new in a way that leaves us immature, where three different letters, generally understood to be by three different authors, all pick up "milk" as a metaphor to point out immaturity or tender new life: 

"I fed you with milk, not solid food" (Paul, 1 Corinthians 3:2)

"You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child." (Hebrews 5:12-13)

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk (1 Peter 2:2)

The New Testament authors speak as if our Christian walk is not so much a matter of needing more information, and more a matter of living according to the character and spirit of God. In the New Testament epistles, Sts. John, Peter, and Paul all address our character coming to be like God's character not because we studied or tried hard enough, but because we have a fundamental connection to God who is like that: 

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)

"as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16 )

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

And of course the apostles' teaching in this matter follows Jesus' own teaching. We often read Jesus' teaching as if he is saying to try really hard to be perfect. But again we see Jesus basing his teaching on children being like their father: 

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:44-48)

Only one entry left in the current series. Thank you for your patience! 

The power of God's word, and how the messenger may need to get out of the way

Because the Word of God affects us in different ways, I want to be sure to make my point without detracting from other ones that could be made. 

For example, the word of God can be strikingly beautiful. We can feel the way certain words fill our soul with a longing for holiness, or an awe and reverence for the majesty of God's creative power. When the word of God is beautiful, that beauty goes beyond shallow appearance, instead fulfilling the promise of beauty as the marker of its deeper source, like a tree in a desert that signals the presence of water. And again, the word of God can be wise with a wisdom that makes us pause, requires us to expand our thinking and return to it with humility. 

That needs saying before I move onto how Paul communicated about the power of the Word of God. There are times when words of beauty and eloquence are a distraction. There are times when we hear wisdom and power that come from the art of rhetoric, pointing (at best) to human wisdom. While we love and pursue wisdom, the highest form of it is not man-made. 

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Paul focuses on "Jesus Christ and him crucified" as the message of God's power. Paul was concerned that any eloquence or artistry could leave people doubting. That is, they might not doubt whether they believed but why they believed. Is Paul just a persuasive speaker, or is the message itself powerful? Paul got out of the way of the message: Christ crucified is the message of the power of God. 

Paul continues the message of the power of God by describing the work of the Spirit, too: 

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-12)

This is not often how we speak of the Spirit of God, as simply the spirit within God that knows the inner thoughts of God in the same way our spirit within us knows our thoughts. Paul explains that spirit within God, knowing the mind of God, is the same Spirit we receive so "that we might understand the things freely given us by God." 

Here Paul comes very close to the point that Jesus made when speaking to Nicodemus of the importance the Spirit of God as a living and active force in our own lives and our own understanding. 

(Two more posts are planned to wrap up the current series: a post on the Holy Spirit planned for next week on Pentecost, and the ultimate point of the series planned for the following week on Trinity Sunday.)

Jesus' teaching on new life in the Gospel of John

(Continuing the current series ...)

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all repeat at least some of Jesus' parables of the seed, but the entire Gospel of John has no seed parables at all. There is majority agreement that the Gospel of John was the last written of the four gospels in the canon of Scripture. In some ways it skips (or assumes) material covered by the earlier gospels. And so rather than telling us about the disciples hearing parables and later asking questions in private, the fourth gospel tells us about one of the Jewish leaders visiting Jesus at night to ask questions in private. Here the Gospel of John recounts Jesus' teaching about the new life: 

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  (John 3:3-7)

I know some televangelists gave the phrase "born again" a bad taste by using it in a way that seemed fairly far from Jesus' original spirituality. But Jesus' point remains -- as does his choice of description. We are not in need of an information transfer from God. Instead we are in need of a life transfusion, a spirit transfusion. We are born of flesh, and flesh is perishable. To be children of God, we need a spiritual life -- not in the sense of an emotional life, not as a euphemism for an intellectual life, but the particular type of spiritual life that brings the Spirit of God to us as a living force in our own lives. 

The power of the Word of God: Jesus' parables of the seeds

When Peter described us as being born of imperishable seed from the Word of God, that was not an innovation on his part. Jesus often equated the word of God with seeds. 

Probably the best-known instance is the parable of the sower, recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Mark and Luke's retellings make the point plainly: 

Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. (Jesus, Luke 8:11)

The sower sows the word. (Jesus, Mark 4:14)

Matthew's retelling does not introduce a single central saying that what is sown is the word, instead including that in the explanation of each of the four types of the soil, as someone who "hears the word and ...", each time equating what is sown with the word. 

Jesus tells other parables in which the the point of the parable is carried by focusing on a seed. Matthew has an entire collection of parables of either seed or small living things that grow or multiply (the sower, the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, the yeast) to describe how the kingdom of God takes root and grows. 

For anyone reading, I appreciate the patience with the slow build here. There are too many individual parts to cover them all at the same time without the individual points being lost in the list of points.