Tag Archives: faithfulness

What 1 Corinthians 1:7–9 Says

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1 Corinthians 1:7–9,

as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who will sustain you to the end,

guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful,

by whom you were called into

the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do you know what Paul is saying here?

Waiting

“As you wait.” We’re waiting for something. So that’s what this is called. Waiting. More specifically, we’re waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is not here right now, not in his person. I can’t see him or touch him or hear his voice. Jesus, the Messiah (to be clear), the Lord (to be clearer). Our Lord Jesus Christ (to say it best). He will be revealed. He will appear. Cue John: we shall “see him like he is” (1 John 3:2).

This is what we’re waiting for.

To the End

And Jesus will sustain you to the end. So this waiting is a sustained waiting and it’s not sustained by ourselves. Jesus, the one for whom we’re waiting is the one who is sustaining our waiting. He knows we’re waiting. He’s not out to lunch. He sees us. He knows. He knows it’s not easy. He knows that some waiting are starving because of famine, that others are persecuted because of their government, that others are tempted because of riches, that others don’t have the Old Testament in their language. He knows and he will sustain us.

And that’s to the end. The end, oh that’s explained in the next line: “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (there’s that best title again, “our Lord Jesus Christ”). The end is the “day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s the day when he will be revealed. Bring the OT in here, the great day of YHWH, the day of judgment and salvation. The wicked are put down and the righteous are saved. That’s the end. And it’s to this end that the Jesus of whom we’re waiting to be revealed will sustain us.

Guiltless

And this sustaining to the end will mean that he keeps us guiltless. We will be guiltless. Innocent. But we’re not. We’re sinners. We sin. We’ve got lots of guilt.

But he died for us. He bore our guilt. He took it upon himself. He suffered in our place. He went to the cross and absorbed the wrath of God that should have been blasted against us, forever. Our sins are forgiven. Removed. His rightousness, all the benefits of being in him are now ours. And he speaks our faith in this great work. He prays for our faith in this great work so that it won’t fail. And as guiltless as we are in him is as guiltless as we’ll be on that day.

God Is Faithful

Let me explain why. God is faithful.

This is the ground. God is faithful. That’s why it’s going to go this way. God the Father who elected us, the one by whom we have been effectually called, he is faithful. He doesn’t say things he doesn’t do. All his works, well, work. No mistakes. No hiccup. He called us and he meant it.

And this calling, this is into the fellowship of his Son. His Son, the one with whom he is well-pleased. The one of whom is also “Jesus Christ our Lord” (there it is again). The Father has called us into fellowship with him. Fellowship. You mean, like, communion? Participation? Union? Yes, yes. That’s it. Fellowship. The Father has called us into fellowship with his beloved Son. See, I told you we’d be guiltless. We’re in Christ. In him. Fellowshiping with him, sharing in his inheritance, delighted in by the Father as his own workmanship, created in Jesus. In Jesus the Messiah who is our Lord.

Jesus Christ Our Lord

We’re waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain us to the end, who will make us guiltless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom we’ve been called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, the one for whom we’re waiting. The one who is sustaining the wait.

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Life: The Path Promised

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Psalm 16:11,

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” David begins Psalm 16.

Immediately, we see the language of faith (cf. Psalm 2:11). David trusts in the Lord. He doesn’t merely acknowledge that God exists, but he understands his entire existence in relation to God’s supremacy.

“I have no good apart from you” (verse 2). “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot” (verse 5). “I have set the Lord always before me” (verse 8).

It’s this life of faith that leads up to verse 11. David shows us what it means to trust in the Lord. And the life of trusting the Lord makes David’s heart glad, indeed his whole being rejoices and his flesh also dwells secure (verse 9). Why does his flesh dwell secure? It’s because the Lord will not abandon his soul to Sheol. The Lord won’t let his holy one see corruption. In short, here is resurrection.

Jesus Was Raised

This is the theme of Psalm 16 that continues into Psalm 17 (cf. Psalm 17:15). And it has Messianic overtones. In fact, the apostles tell us that this is about Jesus (Acts 2:19–36). David is speaking here, but as Peter proclaimed, “he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31).

It’s better for us that this is about Jesus. If it’s about Jesus then it’s about us, too. For just as Christ was raised, we’ll be raised (1 Corinthians 15:17–20). More than a promise, we have an actual demonstration. There’s an empty tomb out there to remind us.

The Path of Life

So it’s about resurrection. And when David starts in verse 11, “You make known to me the path of life,” that’s what he’s talking about. The path of life is not mainly about the here and now. Calvin writes, “It is to form a very low estimate, indeed, of the grace of God to speak of him as a guide to his people in the path of life only for a very few years in this world” (Commentaries, 233). There are tons of things in Holy Scripture about life in this world, but this isn’t one. The path of life isn’t about balancing your checkbook (though that’s a good thing), neither about the way of wisdom (not in this psalm, anyway), nor about the how-tos of faith (even when we need them).

The path of life is being united to God such that we’ll never be without him.

The path of life is what God makes known to us — not as a trail to follow, but as a promise to embrace.

That’s the glorious shift in Psalm 16. It begins with our faith in God and ends with God’s faithfulness to us. He will not abandon us. No he won’t! He won’t. He makes known to us the path of life. Life beyond the grave. Life that ushers us into his presence where there is fullness of joy, at this right hand where there are pleasures forevermore.

So We Rejoice

So we dwell secure here. Our being rejoices. We are glad. We can go forth today and tomorrow and next knowing that not even death can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus. We know how this thing will turn out.

We will be with him.

Read the original post at Fighterverses.com.

The Gospel Will Not Fail

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Isaiah 40:8,

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

The passage is not about grass.

We need to take a step back to capture the real comparison in these verses. Isaiah tells us in verse 6, “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.”

Flesh is a metonymy for humans. All people, creatures, you and me — we’re like grass. That’s the point. More specifically, we’re like grass in how fragile we are compared to the Lord. The very breath of God against us makes us to wither and fade. Isaiah doesn’t want us to miss this: “surely the people are grass.”

With his point established, Isaiah gives us verse 8:

the grass [that's you and me] withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

So the contrast is not between grass and the word of our God. It’s between us and the word of our God. We wither and fade. We are but little sprigs of turf compared to the word of our God.

The Whole Gospel Here

But this passage is for our comfort, not our rebuke. Isaiah has said a lot about putting down the haughty and prideful. Judgment has been issued. But here, the word is “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). We should be comforted that we’re like grass but the word of God is forever.

Calvin writes, “This passage comprehends the whole Gospel in a few words.”

These two things: our nature and the Lord‘s word. And there is good news to be heard.

We know we’re like grass. Mankind can only flex in front of the mirror for so long. We live in a world of Grand Canyons and deep oceans. There are high mountains and tsunamis. It’s hard to stay haughty when you look around.

But moreoever, we’re fallen. We’re sinners. This means that for all the grasslikeness we are, we’re too blind to really understand it. We are unreliable. We are a needy race, entirely dependent.

But the word of our God.

This word is a resolve. It is his promise to save, to end our warfare and pardon our iniquity. It is his whole action of revealing his glory, of making himself known in salvation. It is the great antithesis to our grassyness. He will do what he says. He will save.

We are grass but Jesus has come. He suffered in our place, bearing the wrath we deserved. He was buried and then raised on the third day. He ascended to heaven and is now reiging over his coming kingdom. We can trust him. The word of our God will stand forever.

[Read the original post at FighterVerses.com.]

Non-cuckooness: Chan, Driscoll, and Love for the Church

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I like Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, and Joshua Harris.

Via Justin Taylor, it is a neat thing to watch the three interact in a recent video by The Gospel Coalition. Driscoll diverts the conversation to questioning Chan for this recent resignation from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA–the local church where he has served as the founding pastor/primary preacher for the past 16 years. Driscoll doesn’t get why he left.

Chan’s response is gracious. To say what he said more bluntly: Chan would comeback at Driscoll’s question “Why did you leave your church?” with a simple “because I don’t want to be like you.”

Chan is uncomfortable with being a celebrity pastor. He doesn’t like it. Driscoll really shows how different his perspective on the subject is when he comments about three minutes in, “go multi-site.” He is implying that Cornerstone have a multiplicity of campuses with Chan as the preaching pastor, one being in LA. No way—that would undermine exactly what Chan is avoiding.

Chan leaving Cornerstone is because he loves her. I think that he realizes he has set Cornerstone up in such a way that the life of the church is becoming inseparably woven with his own preaching ministry. His decision to step down is a pivotal move to resist having a church built after his own personality. His move is an endeavor to have Cornerstone be characterized by gospel faithfulness and not merely have the legacy of hosting a dynamic pastor with growing international influence.

The move is courageous and humble. I appreciate the trail he is blazing and I desire its character in my life and in the brethen’s.  Amen.

“You Are the God Who Works Wonders”

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“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.”(Psalms 77:11-14)

Over the past few days my family and I had the joy of a good friend’s company. Joel Lind is back in the states after two years of gospel labor in Asia. Over the course of that time my family has anticipated the reunion we all just experienced. Elizabeth has drawn pictures of Joel and has heard us pray for him regularly when we tuck her into bed. She was seven months old the last time we were all together. She is getting closer to three years old now and over the past week she treated him like a hero–just like I hoped she would do. I could go on about that and about how Hannah greeted Joel with a lovely smile the first time they met… but I want to highlight something from Psalm 77:14, “You are the God who works wonders.”

The psalmist is battling doubt here. He questions the faithfulness of God. He is surrounded by uncertainty in regards to his present and his future. But then he “remembers the deeds of the LORD” (v. 11). He recounts God’s salvation of Israel. God has worked. He has expressed his power. He is the God who works wonders.

So at the brink of a new semester, a mile-marker in my graduate studies—nonetheless where my family is in seeking clarity for where to be in future ministry—grace is poured out on me to remember the wonders that he has worked. The wonder is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And flowing from that are the numerous shimmers of wonder that have been lavished upon me in Christ.

The connection to Joel’s visit: he is a monument to me of God’s wondrous grace worked in my life. What began as a group of guys who lived together and decided to do a Bible study is today what I look back on as one of the single most important things that has ever happened to me. I cannot quantify the grace that was poured out upon me during that season of my life, along with the other brothers.  Joel’s visit is a means of grace to me in that I am reminded of that wonder in the past and given hope for wonder now and tomorrow.

In Jesus Christ alone, amen.

The Morning Can Be Devastating…

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“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” (Psalms 143:8)

The morning can be devastating. Reality sets in. We need good news. We need to hear of the LORD’s steadfast love. The guilt of our faithless hearts must give way to the faithfulness of Christ who still keeps us and upholds the universe by his word.

Jesus Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree. He has set us free from guilt, shame, and fear, and from the cracked up fabrications of our own righteousness. By his death and resurrection, he has unleashed the covenant love of the triune God upon us. He has united us to himself by faith. He has reconciled us to Father and sealed us with his Spirit.

The holy Three and One has called us his own– the Father through the Son by the Spirit. This is good news.

Some Thoughts on International Resources and the Path Ahead

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Recently I was skyping with a close friend who is entering the final stint of two years’ UPG work in Asia. We talked about gospel resources and the growing accessibility for “every tongue” to read books written by Western authors. I sent him some translated books as if I were launching a missile of love to the other side of the world. However, after flipping through the pages he noticed the Western conceptual framework that is assumed of the reader. There are certain things that he has reiterated to ad nauseum that the book just figured the reader easily understood (and rightly so).

Now I think that we should translate, translate, translate. I think that we should pump out as many Christ-exalting resources as possible in the world. But at the same time we should remember that translations of Western books do not necessarily constitute international resources. To be clear, this does not mean that guilt-based books are no good in a shame-based world. Call it guilt, shame, or fear–they are really just various expressions of the same problem. A robust grasp of the universal human condition helps us while at the same time we recognize the divergence of social identities.

In light of all this and in blog post style, I offer a few points:

  1. Why it matters:  The arena of panta ta ethne constitutes a multiplicity of cultures and communicative symbols. Andrew Walls writes, “… national distinctives, the things that mark out each nation, the shared consciousness and shared traditions, and shared mental processes and patterns of relationship, are within the scope of discipleship.”[1]
  2. Books can’t be dropped from the sky: Resources always come upon “someone else’s foundation,” as Paul called it (Rom. 15:20). The aerial strategy of resources must complement the ground combat of relationships and good old-fashioned evangelism. Resources are tools, not machines. Tools help jobs be completed, they don’t complete the job itself.
  3. This means that Western Christians still go to the unreached peoples of the world and incarnate themselves to preach the gospel. The Christian movement in the Global South absolutely thrills me. But it does not mean that Westerners sit back! We will roll up our sleeves. We will get our hands dirty. Alongside the fellow saints from among the nations, we will do frontier work.
  4. Leaders are important: resources are probably most effective when they are spread by an indigenous leader who knows something more about the readers and can expound when it is necessary. There are boys in the world right now who will come to Christ and change their country for God’s glory. Amen. We must pray God raise them up. We must invest in them.
  5. Global partnerships are imperative: We will rub shoulders with those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. We will help them and they will help us and the world will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

[1] Andrew Walls, The Translation Principle in Christian History, “The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith,” (New York: Orbis, 1996), 27.

The Intercession of Abraham and the Mercy of God, Part 2

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The intercessory work of Abraham is a follow up on God’s promise to him in 12:1-3. We see it with Sodom and with Abimelech. The LORD told him that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed (12:3; 18:18). Gentiles would be blessed by Abraham. Abraham prays for Abimelech in 20:17 and the “God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and females slaves so that they bore children.” Aside from the fact that the ailment that Abraham prayed to heal was caused because of Abraham’s own dishonesty, he is a clear picture of Abraham being a blessing to Abimelech.