Digging Deep

July 26, 2010

Be Filled With The Spirit

Filed under: Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Craig Smith, Holy Spirit, Theology — Tags: , , , , , , — Craig Smith @ 6:15 AM

(this one’s a little tiny bit technical for a just bit…but the practical payoff is totally worth it!  :)   )

I spent most of July in Guatemala, lecturing on the book of Ephesians to pastors and ministers from all over Central and South America.  Preparing and delivering those lectures was a very enriching time for me and I will probably just go ahead, bite the bullet and write a full-length commentary.  In the meantime, though, I wanted to jot down one or two thoughts that have been particularly impactful.  Today, I want to focus on Eph. 5:18:  …and do not get drunk on wine, in which is dissapation, but instead be filled with the Spirit.

For many Christians, this is a familiar command, yet one which is not easily put into practice.  It’s hard not to read this verse and wonder, “How exactly can I do that?”  The not-getting-drunk part is easy to apply, but the be-filled-with-the-Spirit part is a little less concrete, isn’t it?  I remember when I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ back in Kent, Ohio in the early 90’s, the staff used to talk about something called “spiritual breathing” in which we were to breathe out sin (i.e. confess our sin to God) and breathe in the power of the Holy Spirit (i.e. appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit for Christian living).  This was an attempt to make Paul’s command in Eph. 5:18 practical on a daily basis, an attempt which I fully endorse.  However, as well-intentioned as the attempt was, it fell a bit short in terms of actual practicality.  “Breathe in/appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit” is really no less abstract than Paul’s original command.

However, in my recent work on Ephesians I realized that Paul’s command is not abstract at all.  In fact, Paul gave us very explicit, practical instruction on how to go about being filled with the Spirit.  This instruction immediately follows the command in question:

…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and being subject to one another in the fear of Christ. (Eph. 5:19-21)

Here, Paul uses five verbs, each of which gives us practical instruction on how to be filled by the Spirit.   Actually, to be technically accurate, it might be better to say that Paul instructs us how to position ourselves to be filled by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is God, of course, and therefore is not subject to our will.  We cannot “make” the Holy Spirit do anything, but we can do things which make us ready to take advantage of the Holy Spirit’s preferred mode of operation.  When Paul says “be filled with the Holy Spirit”, the form of the verb “be filled” reflects this reality.  In the Greek, this verb is a present, passive imperative which is slightly odd.  See, the passive form suggests something that is done to us, rather than something that is done be us…hence “be filled” rather than “fill yourselves”.  Yet the fact that this is an imperative means that there is something which we must actively do in order for this to happen.  So while we cannot “fill ourselves” with the Spirit, we can put ourselves in a position to “be filled” by the Spirit and the five verbs in vv.19-21 outline what it is that we are to do.

Now I should probably point out that not all commentators agree with me on this.  In fact, it appears to me that most commentators take the five verbs in vv.19-21 as the results of being filled by the Spirit rather than the means to being filled by the Spirit.  Thus, most commentators think that being filled by the Spirit will result in speaking to one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing, making music, giving thanks and being subject to one another.  This interpretation is quite possible, because the five verbs in question here are actually participles which are usually translated in English with an “ing” ending:  speaking, singing, thanking, etc.  And participles may sometimes denote the results of an earlier verb, so I understand how commentators can come to this conclusion. 

However, I disagree with taking these participles as the result of being filled with the Spirit for basically four reasons.  First, if these verbs denote the result of being filled with the Spirit, then we have no practical instruction on how to go about doing what we are commanded to do.  Second, while participles can denote result of an earlier verb, they do not usually do so and probably shouldn’t be understood this way unless there is a clear indication of this in the text, such as the presence of a purpose-word (“so that…”, “in order that…”, etc.).  No such clear indication is present in Eph. 5.  Third, if these five actions are the result of being filled with the Spirit, then no further instruction regarding them would be required.  What I mean is that if being filled with the Spirit results in singing, then this singing is essentially out of our control.  No further instruction on how to sing would be necessary.  And yet these five participles have accompanying instruction, some of which are even in the form of imperatives (direct commands).  We are told what kinds of songs to sing, when to be thankful and given extensive instruction on how to “be subject to one another.”  This instruction goes on well into chapter 6.  But all of this instruction makes little sense if the verbs in question are themselves results.  That would be like saying “jump out of the window with the result that you are falling and I command you to hit the ground at a speed of 60 m.p.h.!”

The fourth reason I differ from many/most commentators in my interpretation of this passage is simply that understanding these verbs as means rather than results fits perfectly with other clear biblical teaching.  Why should singing praise and songs of adoration lead to being filled by the Spirit?  Because as Psalm 22:3 states, “[God] you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel”.[1]  This theme is echoed in other places as well, including Mat. 18:20.  Why should thankfulness lead to being filled by the Spirit?  Because in gratitude we focus on what God has done and thus align ourselves with His purposes rather than being fixated on our circumstances.  Why should ”being subject to one another” lead to being filled with the Spirit?  Because being subject to one another leads to unity and unity within the body of Christ grants us access to the Holy Spirit’s power.  This is a significant theme in Ephesians and is emphasized in many other parts of the New Testament as well. 

On the whole, then, I think it’s pretty clear that Paul is giving us solid, practical instruction on how to go about fulfilling the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit:  we are to worship God in song, we are to be thankful to him in all things and we are to be subject to one another, fostering unity within the body.

One final issue which some of you more observant readers may have already  noted:  understood this way, the command to “be filled with the Holy Spirit” is a command to the church rather than to individuals.  In other words, Paul is giving instruction here on how the church is to operate so that the church will be filled with the Holy Spirit.  This is not a command or instructions for individual believers.  Again, this goes against the grain of most popular teaching on the subject, but two things should be noted.  First, in the original Greek, the command is clearly plural, stressing the communal nature of the instruction.  The lack of a second person plural in English makes this difficult to bring out in translation but it is clear in the original.  Second, saying that the command to “be filled with the Spirit” is intended for the church as a whole does not mean that it does not also apply to individuals.  In fact, this command will only be fulfilled in the church as a whole to the extent that it is fulfilled in the lives of the individuals who make up that church.

So…if we want to experience the power of God in our churches, the answer’s probably not the newest church-growth technique or the latest preaching fad.  If we want to see God move in power among us, maybe we should be concentrating on what God has already told us to do in order to get ready for precisely that!

[1] There is some question about the translation of this line.  In addition to the normal translation given above it could also be rendered as “yet you are enthroned as the Holy one, You are the praise of Israel.”  However, this translation, while possible, seems awkward given the original Hebrew word-order.  Moreover, the LXX Greek translation of this line favors the more common translation given above.

May 20, 2010

The Bible in an Age of Skepticism

Filed under: Apologetics, Biblical Studies, Craig Smith, Theology — Tags: , , , , , , — Craig Smith @ 7:54 AM

Christian speaker and author Craig Smith speaks about the Bible in an age of skepticism on Daystar TV.


Buy the book here.

May 3, 2010

The Word: Understanding & Trusting the Bible in an Age of Skepticism

Filed under: Apologetics, Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Christian speakers, Craig Smith, Faith & Culture — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 12:45 PM

Video interview with Dr. Craig Smith, Christian speaker and author of the new book, The Word:  Understanding & Trusting the Bible in an Age of Skepticism.


You can buy a copy of the book at any of the following locations:

Shepherd Project Resource Store

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

April 21, 2010

Cultic Prostitution?

Filed under: Biblical Studies, Craig Smith, Theology — Tags: , , , — Craig Smith @ 7:10 AM

How’s that for a provocotive post title? 

One of my favorite things about being a Christian speaker and teacher is that I get asked all kinds of interesting questions.  Today I was asked about whether God forbids prostitution or merely forbids temple prostitution (also called cultic prostitution; the act of engaging in prostitution as part of a religious observance).  The reason for the question is that the Bible seems to speak most directly against temple prostitution but has less direct prohibitions against prostitution more generally. 

In reality, however, the Bible prohibits all forms of prostitution fairly clearly, although there’s a translation difficulty that can make this issue seem less clear than it actually is.

For instance, Deu. 23:17-18 uses the two Hebrew words for prostitution, qadesh and zanah:  None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute (qadesh), nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute (qadesh).  18 “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot (zanah) or the wages of a dog into the house of the LORD your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.

Within Semitic language groups generally, qadesh meant a cultic prostitute whereas zanah was more typically used of a common prostitute.  However, Deu 23:17-18 connects them as being essentially the same by speaking of cultic prostitutes and then immediately stating that the wages earned by a common prostitute (zanah) could not be brought into the temple.  While this does not explicitly forbid common prostitution in the same way that it forbids cultic prostitution, it is is clearly a prohibition against any woman or man being either kind of prostitute (i.e. if the money earned by prostitution was unacceptable to the Lord, then even more so is the means by which it was earned).

Every occurrence of qadesh in the Hebrew Bible appears to be paired with zanah, strongly suggesting that the Hebrews saw no distinction between cultic and common prostitution.  That being the case, the prohibition of Deu 23:17 should probably be translated as “none of the daughters of Israel shall be a prostitute” instead of  “…none…shall be a cult prostitute.”  Again, while some Semitic languages used the two words distinctly, the Hebrew usage of qadesh and zanah appear to be essentially synonymous.

Support for this translation is found in the LXX which renders both qadesh and zanah as pornē (There shall not be a harlot (pornē ) of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be a fornicator (pornē ) of the sons of Israel; there shall not be an idolatress of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be an initiated person of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot (pornē ), nor the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God, for any vow; because even both are an abomination to the Lord thy God).  This clearly means that the first translators of the Hebrew Bible understand the two Hebrew terms to be synonymous. 

Consequently, although some English translations distinguish between the two Hebrew terms, translating one as a cultic prostitute and the other as a common prostitute, this distinction is probably not intended in the majority of the Old Testament passage which use the two words (although there are certainly some places where the distinction may still be meaningful).  Thus, prohibitions against “temple prostitution” are almost always prohibitions against “common prostitution as well.”

February 15, 2010

Jesus & Joy

Filed under: Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Craig Smith, Encouragement, Theology — Tags: , , , , — Craig Smith @ 11:19 AM

I’ve been thinking about joy a lot lately.  I have not been thinking about all the technical distinctions we try to make between “joy” and “happiness”, though I suppose there is some validity in those distinctions.  No, my thoughts have been more about whether or not joy is  really evident in the Christian community.  “Christian community” is probably too broad.  As a Christian speaker and teacher, I get to go to a lot of different churches and Christian events where the presence of authentic joy is kind of hit-or-miss.  Some places seem to bristle with joy.  Others are as joyless as a funeral parlor.

It seems to me that there are two types of joyless Christians:  those who realize something is missing and those who wear their joylessness like a badge of honor.  I don’t really mind the first type.  In fact, I love being able to share things that God has taught me about joy and passion and purpose in the hope that God will use that ministry to awaken something in my stuggling brothers and sisters. But that second type of joylessless I have very little patience for.  And at least part of my lack of patience with those who seem to think that following Jesus – at least in this life – is supposed to be a somber, bleak affair comes from Jesus’ description of his own ministry:

A   We played the flute for you and you did not dance

          B   We sang a dirge for you and you did not mourn

          B’   John came neither eating nor drinking and they say “He has a demon.”

A’   The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard…”

Here, in Luke 7:32-34, Jesus contrasts his own ministry with John the Baptist’s by the use of a chiasm (where the first half of the passage corresponds in reverse order to the second).  Joh played a dirge by not eating or drinking (i.e. he didn’t celebrate) but Jesus came playing a flute and inviting people to dance by eating and drinking (i.e. he celebrated).  Of course, Jesus spoke this to a hostile audience who rejected both John and Jesus, but the way Jesus characterized his own ministry is fascinating, isn’t it?  Jesus came playing a flute, eating and drinking…in other words, Jesus’ ministry is a celebration of God’s involvement in our world. 

How can we possibly respond to that kind of ministry with anything less than authentic joy?

February 10, 2010

Being Friends

Filed under: Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Craig Smith — Tags: — Craig Smith @ 12:01 PM

There’s an old bit of proverbial wisdom that says that the best way to have a good friend is to be a good friend.  I think there’s a great deal of truth to that. Certainly it’s an idea that has a central place in the Bible, beginning in Leviticus:

Leviticus 19:18   18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

The importance of this commandment probably can’t be overemphasized because this command is repeated over and over again throughout the Bible.  In fact, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he said this: 

Matthew 22:37-40   37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  38 This is the first and greatest commandment.  39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Mark 12:33   33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Romans 13:9  9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:14  14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

James 2:8   If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

Obviously, this commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves is a big deal.  But what does it mean?  Well, the best place to turn to find and answer to that question is to Jesus himself.  Jesus had a couple of very interesting things to say about friendship. 

1.  The Circle of Confidence

One of the most interesting is found in John 15:15:

John 15:15  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

This is a verse that we quote a lot without necessarily always knowing what it means.  It’s interesting that this verse is immediately preceded by John 15:14:  you are my friends if you do what I command you.  How can we be friends with someone we have to obey?  Obviously, Jesus has a different view of what constitutes friendship, and he’s laid that out clearly:  he calls us his friends because a servant does not know his master’s business.  I have called you friends for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

 

In other words, we are friends of Jesus because he has brought us into his circle of confidence.  In a master-servant relationship, the master commands and the servant obeys, which on the surface sounds like exactly what we have to do in our relationship with Jesus.  But the difference is that a servant doesn’t need to understand why the command has been issued.  He just has to do it.  You know, it’s the old, “If I say jump, your only question should be how high.”  But God has opened his heart to us and brought us into his circle of confidence.  He’s revealed to us his plans and our part in them.  And it’s that opening of his heart to us that makes us his friends. 

The implication of this is that being a genuine friend means opening up to people.

2.  Serving Others

 

But there’s another aspect to genuine friendship that Jesus both taught and demonstrated.  For this one we need to back up a couple of verses

John 15:12-13  12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

To love our neighbors, to love our friends, is to serve them, to look first at what they need from us rather than what we can get from them.  That’s what Jesus did on the cross for us and that is what he calls us to do in our relationships with others.

The problem is that we too often go into relationships with a glass that is half full, looking for someone who can fill it the rest of the way up, rather than thinking “I may not have much here, but I think you’re thirstier than I am.  Here you go.”  Now, of course it might look like this will leave you empty, but you need to remember that while God has made us to find fulfillment in our relationships with others, he has also made us to find fulfillment in our relationship with him and what we pour out into others he can replenish from an infinite supply. 

And you know what’s really cool?  What we’ve poured into others can come back to us when we most need it, only now in a way that causes our cup to runneth over.

 

And so we find the balance that God intended for our lives when we understand and live in light of God’s commands about having, choosing and being friends to one another.

Our relationship with God is meant to be personal, but it is not meant to be private.

February 9, 2010

Friendship #2

Filed under: Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Craig Smith — Craig Smith @ 10:36 AM

The Bible has a great deal to say about the importance of the kind of friends we choose.  I think the primary reason for that is that the company we keep affects us:

 Proverbs 13:20  20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

  1 Corinthians 15:33   33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 

            Clearly, while it is not-good for us to lack relationships, it is also not-good for us to settle for the wrong kinds of relationships.  God doesn’t just want us to have friends.  He wants us to have particular kinds of friends.  What kinds?  Well, this passage from 1 Corinthians goes on to give us a pretty good clue:

 1 Corinthians 15:34   34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God– I say this to your shame.   

 This is actually a difficult verse to translate.  It literally says something like “righteously awaken” or we might say “awaken to righteousness, and stop sinning, for some don’t have the knowledge of God.”  What Paul is saying is that too many people in Corinth were attracted to friendships with people who did not genuinely know God and therefore did not encourage godly living.  Instead of encouraging, those relationships corrupted. And so Paul says, you need to wake up:  stop being attracted to the kind of friends who drag you down and start seeking the kind of friends who build you up.

 What kind of people should we be seeking as our friends?

            1.  People who genuinely know God.

            2.  People who honor God

            3.  People who seek God.

            4.  People who serve God.  

So God not only wants us to have friends but also to choose those friends wisely.

February 8, 2010

God’s Design for Friendship (Part 1)

Filed under: Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Craig Smith, Encouragement — Tags: , , — Craig Smith @ 11:02 AM

I’ve been thinking a lot this past week about balance.  As a Christian speaker, I often find myself in periods of life that are kind of crazy, getting ready for a youth conference or trying to complete a book deadline and in these times, balance may be hard to achieve.  The more I think about balance in general, the more convinced I am that balance is always tricky.  It’s hard enough when you know what goes on both sides.  Even then you have to constantly make little adjustments to keep things on an even keel.  But when it gets really hard is when you know what goes on one side but you don’t know what’s supposed to balance it out.

For instance, there is a temptation in modern Christianity to think of our faith in almost exclusively personal terms:

 1.  We define the gospel in personal terms:  it’s the good news that I can be forgiven of my sins and I can go to heaven.

2.  We think of our relationship with God in personal terms:  I need to have my time alone with God.  This is what God has been teaching me.

3.  We think of church in personal terms:  did I like the music this morning?  Did I get something out of the preaching this week? Was I able to worship God today?

 Now don’t get me wrong.  One of the most exciting things about authentic Christianity is that it is personal.  We’re not God’s people because we were born into a particular family or nation.  We’re God’s people because we have personally responded to Christ’s invitation which was extended to us as individuals.  In fact, Acts 2:38 makes a big deal out of this:

 Acts 2:38  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 Here, the phrase “every one of you” is placed in a position of emphasis.  In Greek, this phrase typically belongs at the beginning of a sentence, but here it’s in an awkward position.  Why?  Because in Greek, the emphasis of a sentence is often in the center, as is the case here.  Peter is giving emphasis to the importance of making a personal decision to follow Jesus.  So there’s no question that Christianity is personal.  But the question is, is Christianity only personal?  Or is there a helpful, maybe even an absolutely necessary balance to the way that we approach our relationship with God?  And, if so, what is it?

 The first clue that it’s not supposed to be just me & God comes in Genesis 2, but to understand its significance, we should probably start in Genesis 1.  And the thing to notice is that after each act of creation, God declares what he has created…good. (Hebrew: tov, as is mazel tov)

 Genesis 1:4  4 God saw that the light was good;

Genesis 1:10  10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12  2 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:17-18   17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,  18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21   21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25   25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:31   31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. (meod tov)

 Interestingly, the only thing that God creates that doesn’t get an individual declaration of “good” is humankind.  Did you notice that?  Now, don’t get me wrong, God saw all that he had made and declared it very good, and that obviously includes humans.  But it is interesting that everything else get’s called good twice:  when it’s first mentioned and then in the summary statement at the end of the chapter.  Light is called good and then it’s very good as part of the whole package.  The earth and the seas are good and then they’re part of the very good package. 

 But human beings are only called good once, as part of the package.  When they’re first made, they’re not declared good like all the other things.  Now why would that be?  Well, it’s a story-telling thing.  It’s a way of peaking our interest, making us want more.  “Wait a minute,” we’re supposed to ask. “Everything else God made got called good twice.  Why did humans only get called good in the summary statement?”  Obviously they’re good or they wouldn’t be part of the very good package, but why don’t they get the same initial declaration of good that everything else God made does?  And the answer to that question is:  because you haven’t heard the whole story yet.  Genesis 1 only gives us an overview of the creation of human beings.  But Genesis 2 zooms in on that day and gives us all the details. But one of the details is startling:

 Genesis 2:8  Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

 Now it goes on and gives some details about the garden and then we come to verse 18:

 Genesis 2:18-24  18 The LORD God said, “It is not good…

 Now this is jarring.  So far, it’s been good, good good / tov, tov, tov, but now something is lo tov, not-good!  But what is not-good?  He says:

 It is not-good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”  19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.  21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.  22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’, for she was taken out of man.”  24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

 Now, what’s interesting about this business is the context in which God says that it is not good that Adam be alone.  Has sin entered the world yet?  Not, it hasn’t, which means that Adam’s relationship with God is perfect.  And yet in spite of that, God says that it is not good that Adam be alone.

 This is our first clue that, while we were made to be in relationship with God, we were also made to be in relationship with other human beings. Think about it this way:  you’ve heard that we all have a God-shaped hole in our hearts that only God can fill?  Well, there’s also a human-shaped hole that only other humans can fill.  That’s the way God made us, this was His intention for us from the beginning and it is only when we are in relationships with Him and with others that it good.

 Now, for Adam, God made a wife to fill that human-shaped hole that He created us with, and I believe that this is often how God meets this need still today.  I’m not kidding or over-spiritualizing or anything like that when I say that Coletta is my best friend.  I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be and if you and your spouse look at each other and say, you know, I don’t think we’re best friends…well, I think you should explore ways to shore up that part of your marriage. 

 However, the Bible is also clear that there are other relationships that God can and does use to fill up our human-shaped hole.

 Some of those relationships we find in our family, but some of them we find outside of our families with people that we call friends:

 Ecclesiastes 4:10  10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

 Proverbs 27:10  10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother’s house when disaster strikes you– better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

 Luke 16:9   9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

 Each of these verses speaks of the value and the importance of having friends.  We are meant to be in a personal relationship with God, but we’re also meant to be in relationships with each other.

(End Part 1:  tune in tomorrow for part 2)

February 3, 2010

A Clarifying Contrast

Filed under: Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Craig Smith, Encouragement, Theology, Uncategorized — Craig Smith @ 11:14 AM

Ephesians 2:1-10 contains one of the most interesting contrasts between the way we were before Jesus and the way we are now.  The entire passage is chiastic (the first half of the passage has a series of units that correspond in inverse order to the units of the second half), but the one the two corresponding units that most grab my attention are 2:1 and 2:10:

2:1  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live…

2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The NIV translated quoted here doesn’t quite capture the essence of the thought.  In both 2:1 and 2:10, Paul uses a particular Greek verb:  peripateo (peri = around, pateo = to walk) which means something like “to walk around in” or, more meaningfully, “to be characterized by”.  This is the verb translated in 2:1 as “used to live” and in 2:10 as “to do”.  Literally, though, these verses speak of “walking around in” sin before Christ and “walking around in” good deeds since we trusted in Christ.

What a powerful and motivating contrast!  Whereas before we knew Jesus our whole lives were characterized by sin and transgression, since we came to faith in Jesus, our lives are meant to be characterized by good deeds which God has prepared in advance for us to do! 

I look forward to discovering those good deeds today, and doing them for Jesus’ sake!  Happy hunting!

February 2, 2010

Spiritual Warfare

Filed under: Angels & Demons, Apologetics, Biblical Studies, Christian Living, Craig Smith, Spiritual Warfare — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Craig Smith @ 10:21 AM

Tagging on to what I wrote yesterday and the thoughts it spurs related to spirits, I found myself surprised yet again this morning as I read through the book of Ephesians.  Spiritual warfare is one of the most central – if not the most central – themes of the book.

This isn’t a shock, given the fact that Ephesus was a center of occult interest in the Greco-Roman world, yet I’m always surprised by exactly how central this issue is in the book.  We tend to focus on the “our struggle is not against flesh and blood” passage in the last chapter of Ephesians, but the spiritual warfare theme runs all through the book.  Here are a few of often-overlooked references.  Each involves a term or phrase that is typically associated with spiritual warfare:

1:19 …his incomparably great power for us who believe (typical Ephesian notion of power over spirits probably in view here.  However, note that it is granted not because of spells or rituals but because of belief in Jesus)

1:20 …seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms (“heavenly realms” is a typical phrase meaning “the realm of spiritual activity” where God, angels and demons operate.  This need not be taken to me a reference to a “place” but rather a reference to a not-place; i.e. the place that is not the physical world)

1:21 …far above all rule and authority (probably references to demonic entitites.  Almost certainly not a ref. to human rulers)

2:2 …ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in/among those who are disobedient  (“kingdom of the air” is probably an Ephesian circumlocution for Satan)

2:6 …raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms (Christ has been seated in a position of authority over the “heavenly realms”, i.e. over the realm inhabited by spirits, both angels and demons…and so have we!)

3:10 …the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (again, reference to demonic spirits probably.  Paul uses this same language in Romans as a clear ref. to powerful demonic spirits)

4:9 …he also descended to the lower earthly regions (probably a contrast to the ‘heavenly realms’ that Christ dwelt in before his incarnation and now resides over)

4:27 …do  not give the devil a foothold

6:10-18  the “put on the full armor of God” passage which is so well known.

It’s not a common topic in evangelical circles or among evangelical Christian speakers these days, but the New Testament is clear that the Kingdom of God enters into a world which is ruled by another kingdom, that of Satan.  This is why Jesus and his followers were so frequently challenged by evil spirits.  The great news, though, is that while we should be aware of this spirtual reality, there’s nothing to fear.  We have been seated in a position of authority with Christ “in the heavenlies” which means that we have his delegated authority over evil spirits.  No rituals necessary.  We simply command them in the name of Jesus (meaning as representatives of Jesus) to get out of our way and they have no choice in the matter.

I wonder if we don’t miss opportunities to glorify Christ by using this authority delegated to us, though, simply because we don’t take the reality of the spiritual realm seriously in our daily lives?

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