True Hope

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

13 Ὁ δὲ θεὸς τῆς ἐλπίδος πληρώσαι ὑμᾶς πάσης χαρᾶς καὶ εἰρήνης ἐν τῷ πιστεύειν, εἰς τὸ περισσεύειν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἐλπίδι ἐν δυνάμει πνεύματος ἁγίου.

This is part of Paul's closing. I tend to gloss over verses like this because they don't seem to pack a whole lot in them. They are just part of how he ends his letters, so why bother reading them closely? But as I looked for a verse to write on this morning this one kind of stood out. There is no exegetical nuance to draw out as far as I can tell at first glance, but there is some great stuff in here for the Christian life.


The most important question we must ask is about the nature of God. Tozer says that what a man thinks of God is the most important thing about the man. What does Paul think of God? This verse does not encapsulate all of Paul's theology, but we can learn something here. Paul refers to God as "the God of hope." He also finishes this verse with a mention of hope that we can have through the power of the Holy Spirit.


I am not going to get into all of Paul's argument, though one could preach a sermon on this and get into soteriology. The point is that God is the God of hope. The Holy Spirit has the power to fill us with hope. What is this hope all about? It comes from Christ. Because of Christ we have hope in this age and in the age to come. We have the promise of His provision in our lives. That does not mean we will be healthy or wealthy, but it does mean that God will provide what we need.  We must accept that it is possible that we need to physically die as part of God's plan.


How do we come to grips with that? We have hope in the age to come. We know that because of Christ we will ultimately spend eternity in fellowship with God. Frankly, that is all the reward we need. 


What does the Holy Spirit have to do with this? The Holy Spirit is the one who transforms us from being dead in our sins to alive in Christ. He also sustains us as we live as followers of Christ. The Holy Spirit is vital in our pursuit of God.


So as I look at this "throwaway verse" I join Paul in this prayer for both myself and for anyone who may be reading this. May we have true hope that only comes from God.

The Most Holy Place

Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

11 Χριστὸς δὲ παραγενόμενος ἀρχιερεὺς τῶν γενομένων ἀγαθῶν διὰ τῆς μείζονος καὶ τελειοτέρας σκηνῆς οὐ χειροποιήτου, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν οὐ ταύτης τῆς κτίσεως, 12  οὐδὲ δι᾽ αἵματος τράγων καὶ μόσχων διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος εἰσῆλθεν ἐφάπαξ εἰς τὰ ἅγια αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν εὑράμενος.

This is one of those passages that it is difficult to wrap our Gentile minds around.  This chapter contrasts the old sacrificial system with Jesus' perfect sacrifice for sins.  The Jews spent centuries with the ritual of a day of atonement where the high priest gave a sacrifice for his own sins and the sins of the people.  Then he could enter the Most Holy Place where they kept the Ark of the Covenant.  This was also the same day when the scapegoat was sent out into the wilderness for the shame of the people.

But when Jesus died on the cross the curtain in the temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom.  God gave a clear sign to the people that everything had changed.  Now it was no longer to keep up the sacrificial system.  Through Christ's shed blood we have access to the Most Holy Place.  We can meet with God.

Lately I have been moved by how little I consider this privilege.  It's amazing how as people we tend to ignore really great gifts for a while.  I take time to periodically thank God for the fact that I live in a country where I can live pretty much however I want, that my family and I enjoy good health, that I have a good job, food on the table, etc.  But how often do I thank God for God?  Not nearly often enough.  This struck me yesterday morning as I was walking and praying.  Then again, I've been chatting with a friend who claims to be an atheist, so contrasting our worlds brought this to mind.

If you are in Christ this passage is an incredible promise of blessing.  Not in the sense of cars with rims falling from the sky, but in the sense that we get to come near to God.  Think on that for a while.

Doxology

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

20 Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν, 21  αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.

This is arguably the end of the doctrinal half of Ephesians.  I might argue that it continues until 4:16, but the point is that this kind of a doxology typically marks a break.  Paul is again emphasizing the majesty and glory of God.  This glory is manifested in the church and in Christ Jesus.  Note that I write church with a small c.  The church is τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ (dative form).  It is not that body that has its headquarters in a small country inside Rome.  It is the body of believers throughout the world.

What I want to emphasize is the phrase Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ.  The gloss I have for ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ is "exceedingly abundantly."  Whenever I come across one of these phrases in Paul I tend to think of Luke Skywalker convincing Han Solo to go into the detention area to rescue Princess Leia.  he tells him that "the reward will be...well, much more wealth than you can imagine."  Han Solo replies, "I can imagine quite a bit."

God can deliver more than we can imagine.  It is more than αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν.  I take that in two directions.  One is that we cannot ever out-imagine God.  He has blessings in store that we cannot comprehend. However, the second direction modifies the first.  When I think of blessings I tend to think of material things.  I think that goes with being an American.  It's really very short-sighted as well.  God's blessings go beyond what we ask our think.  We know from Romans that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us because we do not pray as we ought.  I think this is similar.  God will give us more than we ask or think because we do not ask or think rightly.

You may recall that Han Solo ended up getting tremendous blessings, but not what he signed up for.  He was in it for the money, but he ended up getting dear friends and a wife.  Plus, he got to be part of something much bigger than himself.  The metaphor falls short because the gospel is so much more than that and the church is even more glorious than the Rebel Alliance.  But I think that you get the idea.

Are you in awe of how much God has in store for you as a believer?  Are you satisfied when your best life now does not involve material things?

Truly Blessed

Matthew 5:3-12

(3) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(4) "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

(5) "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

(6) "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

(7) "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

(8) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

(9) "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

(10) "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(11) "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

(12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

What does it take for you to feel blessed? Does it take money? Sex? Approval of others, including your spouse or children? What do you do to feel blessed? Do you take care of yourself? Do you look out for number one?

This passage is known as the "beatitudes." This is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. There is so much in here that a quick blog entry can only scratch the surface. What I think demands emphasis for the whole passage is how backwards all of this seems to our ears.

I don't think people have fundamentally changed since Jesus preached this. After all, we can see just how timely it is for today. However, I do think that our highly psychologized culture makes this seem even more counter-cultural than it was in Jesus' day. Jesus was speaking to the natural inclinations of our hearts. He pronounces blessing for things that we naturally avoid. Now thanks to Oprah and others we are basically told that Jesus was wrong.

We then come to a choice. Are we going to trust Jesus or Oprah? Are we going to do what we think is best for ourselves or are we going to trust what God says is best for us? How we answer that question determines how we live our lives. It also shows just how sincere our devotion is to our Lord.

The Value of History

Psalms 107:43
(43) Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

This Psalm and the few preceding it remind the reader about all the ways that the Lord has acted in faithfulness toward His people. This verse shows us the value in that. Remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. With that understanding it just makes sense that there should be a record of the faithfulness of the Lord. The people had much reason to praise Him and remember His steadfast love. This led to wisdom and encouragement.

When I think about His steadfast love toward me I can think of a litany of things. Just off the top of my head:

• He saved me from my sin and redeemed me
• He regenerated my heart and gave me a desire to live for Him
• He brought Amanda into my life
• He has met my physical needs
• He blessed me with two beautiful children

I have no real wants. And what's more, all my true desires are fulfilled in Him. What an incredible love this is that I surely did not deserve!