網上牧師雜誌 – 中文版（繁體）, TCh Ed, Issue 15 2015 年春季

2015年春季

作者: 羅傑．帕斯科博士（Dr. Roger Pascoe）

聖言宣講學院院長

(President, The Institute for Biblical Preaching)

加拿大安大略省劍橋市

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「增強在教會裡的 講道與 領導能力」

第一部分：講道的兩個根基

講道要成為一個穩定和持久的事工，第一個根基是傳道者對事工有正確的和足夠的動力。在過去兩期，我們都研究這個課題。現在，我們來到講道的第二個根基…

傳道者道成肉身的信息

如果你欠缺事工的四個基本動力，你的事工不單欠缺穩定性，可能還不能持久。假如你沒有親身應用你傳講的信息，你的信息將不會被別人相信和沒有能力。

所有真正的宣講都是道成肉身的宣講 ，那在傳道人生命中體現和活出來的真理。這是傳道的基礎，你不能從你所傳的道抽離。

鍾馬田（Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones）相信傳道包含「透過個人品格傳遞信息」。歐福德博士（Dr. Stephen Olford）寫道：「如要信息能有效地傳遞，它必須要讓人感到裡外一致」，那就是要道成肉身。¹

這就是當耶穌說：「聽從你們的，就是聽從我」（路加福音10:16）。這就是道成肉身的宣講 – 神的道成了肉身。我們不能從我們所傳的道抽離，我們必須活在神的道和神的旨意中，直至我們能夠權威地「見證神」（哥林多前書2:1），就如那被神的道吸收了、住在神的道中和為神之道而活的人。

道成肉身的宣講是透過個人的氣質與特性，把真理表達出來。² 作為福音的執事，神的道必須在我們裡面成為肉身，我們亦必須把神的道活出來。我們和我們所傳的道必須一致，就如耶穌（道）和祂所傳的父一樣：「道成了肉身」（約翰福音1:14）。耶穌成了肉身，體現了父，神在人中。祂成了人的形像把父彰顯出來，祂在肉體中與父聯合。耶穌在父裡，透過這方法，耶穌把父顯明（詮釋）– 「將神表明出來」（約翰福音1:18）以致我們能夠認識和「看見」父。

歐福德博士說：耶穌是「道成肉身的啟示……（那是）宣講救恩的精髓。若道沒有成了肉身，就沒有救贖，沒有救贖就沒有生命轉化。」³

如同耶穌的降生是神成了肉身，故此我們必須活出我們所傳的道，以致別人能看見道在我們裡 – 他們「看見」基督是怎樣的，以致「認識」祂。

道成肉身的宣講是屬神的奧秘，就如道成肉身和基督被釘十字架「在外邦人為愚笨」（哥林多前書1:23）。為了讓這奧秘能活生生和可觸摸，傳道者必須和所傳的道聯合成為一體。

使徒保羅在哥林多前書2:1-5描述了道成肉身的宣講，我們從這段經文學到了道成肉身的宣講的三個特點。

首先，當你宣講時，信息有說服力，這並不是因你的言詞或智慧，而是因為基督和祂的工作。「弟兄姐妹們，從前我到你們那裏去，並沒有用高言大智對你們見證神。因為我曾定了主意，在你們中間不關心別的，只關心耶穌基督，並他被釘十字架。」（第1-2節）。保羅的意思是傳揚福音能說服人，並不是靠我們的口才，也不是靠人類的智慧，而是因為基督的本質，和祂所成就的工作。我們只有傳「基督和祂的十字架」，我們的信息才有影響力，只有聖靈能夠勸服人相信有關基督的真理；只有福音能夠打開人的心，使人明白和改變他們的態度，能夠接受神話語的真理。

第二、當你宣講時，信息應該有權威，這並不是因為你個人和你所說的話，而是聖靈的行動和工作。「我在你們那裏時又軟弱，又懼怕，又甚戰兢。我說的話和講的道，不是用智慧勸服的言語，卻是引證了聖靈和大能」（第3-4節）。只有聖靈能把真理與人結合，必須有神聖的融合，那是由聖靈透過宣講者把真理傳遞給會眾。改變人的生命和給他們新生，並不是出於我們個人的感染力，而是聖靈的行動與工作。當福音被準確地、清晰地和恰當地宣講，人們會作出正面的回應，這便證明是聖靈的大能，而不是我們個人的感染力、能力或說服力。這是怎樣發生的，仍是奧秘。這是聖靈神聖而奧秘的工作，只有祂能把新生命注入失喪的靈魂中。

第三、當你宣講時，信息有效力，並不是因為對人的智慧有信心，而是相信神的能力。「叫你們的信不在乎人的智慧，只在乎神的大能」（第5節）。當我們講道時，我們並不是使用人類的聰明智慧去感動他人，仿似這些能說服人信褔音。我們並不是要人對我們或我們的知識有信心，而是如福音書所說是「神的大能」。只有這樣，我們的宣講才結果子。

讓我們不站起來宣講直至我們能夠說：「神的道在我裡面成了肉身。」

第二部分：宣講的準備

「研讀經文的資源」

為了要準確地詮釋經文，我們必須盡量使用我們所有的資源。我們從主要來源開始。準確地使用「釋經講道」這詞，需要信息源於主要來源 – 聖經。你也可以使用其他工具，但那是輔助材料（例如：作澄清、應用例子或辯證），聖經才是主要來源，是你所傳的信息中不能或缺的。雖然有很多其他資料來源，唯有聖經是主要來源，是我們信心的基石。

有很多不同的宗教都自稱是屬基督的，但只有一個來源真正屬基督 – 聖經。只有一個來源把基督信仰和其他的分辨開來，那就是神的道。所以，聖經必然是宣講時唯一的、主要的來源。

「宣講者」這詞的意思是「傳令官」。傳令官是將王的信息原原本本地宣布。按此，進行釋經講道的傳道者有責任將我們的主的信息絲毫無誤地宣講。因此，聖經的經文是講員的主要來源。

當你預備講章時，你怎樣確保聖經的經文得到優先權？其中一個方法是檢閱你的草稿，若有欠缺經文支持的地方，就把它們標示出來，並確保那是支持的材料而非詮釋的材料。

接著是輔助資源。我們的信息重點只從那唯一的主要來源建構，但我們亦有很多輔助資源協助我們宣講。你可以在宣講時使用多種輔助資源來增加你的準確性、有效性和清晰度，而仍然致力忠於聖經是宣講的唯一主要來源的承諾。

這些輔助資源是你的軍火庫裡的工具，它們協助你達至釋經這主要目標。這些資源包括：

1. 字典。使用字典來弄清任何你不懂或不知道它們意思的字。

2. 詞彙索引 (Concordances)。詞彙索引是互參手冊。詞彙索引提供某個特定的字或詞在整本聖經中那兒曾經使用。大部分詞彙索引是按聖經英文譯本的字來編撰，故此你需要你所使用的譯本（例如NIV, NKJV）的詞彙索引。

除了英語單詞的詞彙索引外，還有《史特朗經文彙編》，原文（希伯來文或希臘文）的每個字都加上編碼，讓你能夠知道原文的字在聖經怎樣被使用和它們被怎樣翻譯。

你必須要學習怎樣使用詞彙索引，並非單單查閱字的意思，也要了解一個詞在不同的情況下，怎樣被翻譯；或看看一些不同的詞語，它們並非同義詞，但又作了相同的翻譯；亦可看看同一個字怎樣因應上下文和不同的氣氛時的使用方法。

3. 希臘語、希伯來語辭典（Lexicons）：我們可使用它查考聖經原文的字，它按字所在的經文，提供字的基本意思，引伸意思和深層意義，並基於上下文和氣氛，顯示其意義上的差異。使用這字典，必須懂原文。

4. 聖經辭彙學習書籍 (Word Study Books)：它是混合了對照和辭典的工具。它以英文字排列，提供該英文字是從原文那些字翻譯過來和提供經文的出處。對於未掌握原文的人，這是極好的工具。

5. 聖經地圖：聖經地圖提供歷史事件和地點的關連，並提供文化和氣候等資料。

6. 聖經字典∕聖經百科全書：這些參考書有短文關於聖經不同的主題（地方、人物、風土人情等）。聖經百科全書在某些主題上，還有長篇幅的文章。這些資源給你提供學者研究心得的濃縮版。

7. 聖經註釋：使用註釋書前，你必須嘗試透過閱讀經文找出經文的主題和主旨。接著選擇四至五本你所研讀的書卷的有素質的註釋書，當你閱讀註釋書時，按以下重點：

˙ 記下註釋的建議–例如：翻譯上有困難和具爭議性的地方，不熟悉的字、詞或表述。
˙ 記下釋經的建議–例如：作者的意思是甚麼、今天的意義又是甚麼。
˙ 記下訓誨的建議–例如：處理經文結構，以及今天的會眾應如何應用。
˙ 記下引言的建議–例如：歷史、文化和經文的問題。
˙ 記下神學的建議–例如：教義上困難和具爭議的地方，題材複雜和具爭議性的地方。

我們必須小心不可被註釋書所處理的事項把你引離了你的講章的主題。緊記，這些是註釋書，而講章並不是註釋。講章是在特定的時間，神給祂的子民的信息，其根源必須源於神的話語。

你最好在看註釋書前，決定你信息的主題。註釋書的主要功能是澄清詮釋上的問題，不要從註釋書得出你的信息，因它們並非為此而寫。它們的範疇很闊：解釋、文本、脈絡、語境、規條等。它們並不是為特定的講章而寫，它們和你的信息主題無關，它們很容易便把你引離你閱讀經文時所得的主題。

我建議你只把註釋書作為支援，豐富神在你閱讀經文時給你的信息。註釋書的功用是：（1）協助你理解經文；（2）作為你對經文解釋和怎樣使用該經文的「第二意見」（即保護你避免說愚蠢或錯誤的東西）；（3）應付難解的經文篇章。

緊記要使用多本註釋以確保你能正確地詮釋經文，因為任何一本註釋都不能給你正確或列舉所有解釋的可能性。註釋的最大益處是它們包含學者多年研究的成果，你並沒有那麼多的時間來預備你的講章。明顯地，我們希望從學者的研究得益處，也應這樣做。

我的告誡很簡單，你必須閱讀經文，先從中發現你的信息；假如你無法理解經文的內容、時序、相連的思想、甚或不明白它的意思，那麼，你應在你預備講章較早期參考註釋書。

8. 系統神學教科書。雖然它們可能含有學者個人對教義的偏見，但它們容讓你有組織、有系統地學習聖經的教義。

9. 聖經電腦軟件。聖經電腦軟件使很多傳統的參考資料變得冗餘，因為很多聖經軟件包含多個參考資源；當中亦有些包含多套參考書籍，你只須付額外費用，就能使用。

10. 基督教網站。很多基督教網站現已包含預備講章非常有用的資源和例子，例如這網上牧師雜誌（https://bible.org/net-pastors-journal）便是其中之一。

結論。這十個輔助資源給你足夠的材料，透徹地研究你所選的經文。除了這些工具以外，你應使用多個可靠的聖經譯本，看看不同的譯者詮釋經文的方法。

第三部份：領導 – 作一個屬靈榜樣

「你個人對聖靈的降服」第五點

在過去四期的網上牧師雜誌（2014 春、夏、秋季和2015冬季），我們按以弗所書5:18-6:20的教導研讀了作為一位向聖靈降服的屬靈領袖。我們檢視了被聖靈充滿的生命的意義、被聖靈充滿的生活的必須性、被聖靈充滿的生活的實況，我們現在正研讀被聖靈充滿的生活的活動。

一個順服聖靈的人，日常生活各方面的活動都會受到影響：（1）與教會的合一（5:19-21）；（2）家庭和諧（5:22-6:4）；（3）工作間的合作（6:5-9）；和（4）勝過世界（6:10-20）。

在家中因聖靈充滿而達至的和諧包括夫妻之間的和諧，與及父母與子女之間的和諧。上期，我們已經完成了因聖靈充滿而達至夫妻之間的和諧（以弗所書5:22-33）。這期，我們將會看看因聖靈充滿而達至父母與子女之間的和諧（以弗所書6:1-4）和因聖靈充滿而達至工作間的和諧（以弗所書6:5-9）

因聖靈充滿而達至父母與子女之間的和諧（以弗所書6:1-4）

家庭和諧不單關乎夫妻之間的關係，還包括父母與子女的關係。家庭和諧來自被聖靈充滿的子女與父母之間有正確的關係。

順服父母是子女的恰當行為。「你們作兒女的，要在主裏聽從父母，這是理所當然的。『要孝敬父母。』這是第一條帶應許的誡命： 使你得福，在世長壽。」（6:1-3）「順服」按字義是讓自己服在父母的權威和父母的話之下。這是彼此順服的另一面（以弗所書5:21）– 兒女對父母的自願服從。他們因「在主裡」而順服 – 這是基督徒的表現。兒女透過服從父母表達他們對神的敬畏。兒女順服父母因為他們在主裡、因為這是正確的。這是神的命令和神所期盼的。

孝敬父母也是兒女應有的態度。如果順服是正確的行為表現，那麼孝敬就是正確的態度。這裡有兩個重點來自十誡中的第五誡：

1. 人與人之間關係的鑰匙是你和父母之間的關係 – 孝敬父母。因他們的身份尊敬他們。

2. 這是第一個帶應許的誡命 – 使你得福，在世長壽。有些猶太律法，當你遵守時，是有賞賜的。遵守這誡命的賞賜就是使你得福，在世長壽。基督徒並不在律法之下，我們也沒有得福和長壽的應許。那麼，為何把這應許放在這裡？

(a) 因它鞏固那重要和意義重大的誡命，如果這誡命在舊約是那麼重要，在今天，它應該對我們同樣重要。

(b) 孝敬父母確實帶來一定的賞賜 – 不是物質上的豐盛或長壽，而是靈裡的豐盛、關係上的豐盛（家中和諧的關係）、對權威的正確態度等。

第二：家庭的和諧來自被聖靈充滿的父親盡責教養兒女。

若從反面來說，是不惹他們生氣。「你們作父親的，不要惹兒女的氣」（6:4上）不要誤用你的權威與權柄，不要像希羅文化的父親，他們可以把兒女賣給別人作奴隸、或把他們殺掉。父親是最有可能使兒女生氣的人，給兒女留下刻骨銘心的憤怒和怨恨，因而積存敵意，最終爆發。

子女被怎樣對待能產生這樣的反應？偏心、批評（導致泄氣）、不把孩童當作孩童看待，按成年人的準則要求孩童，身體和語言上嚴酷無情的對待。

從正面來說，給他們正確的培養。「只要照着主的教導和警戒，養育他們。」（6:4下）管教兒女是父親的責任。管教包含為兒童和給兒童做了甚麼。要教養孩童懂規矩、節制、秩序和正直。若有需要，管教也包括懲罰。

教導兒童是父親的責任。這裡的意思包含對兒女所說的話 – 即所作的口頭教導。這包括口頭的糾正和指導：警告他們甚麼是錯誤的，但不要傷害他們的心靈；從個人經驗給他們輔導，而不是專橫使他們屈服；給他們指示，但不成為重擔；鼓勵他們、責備他們、勸勉他們，但不是時時刻刻緊盯著他們。

這是主的管教和指示。管教必須在靈裡進行，基督教的教育是言教，也是身教。

假如你家中欠缺和諧，你怎能領導教會團結？你的家反映出真正的你，如果你的家欠缺和諧、愛、互相尊敬、互相扶持，你沒有資格領導教會。

被聖靈充滿家裡的和諧已說了很多了，讓我們來看看...

被聖靈充滿，在工作間的互相合作（以弗所書6:5-9）

在第一世紀，主人和僕人的關係，不單在家中，還在工作間裡。事實上，我們可以爭辯對於僕人來說，家就是工作間；確實，商業和貿易在家中進行。但對於我們來說，家和工作間是截然不同的。

我們不應被十九世紀美國南部的奴隸情況轉移了我們對奴隸和僕人的看法。希羅時代的奴隸，很多是得到很好的對待，並且有優良的工作，有些奴隸甚至是專業人士，例如醫生。

按這研讀的目的，我把這段經文看作是工作間關係，而不是家庭關係。基督徒工作間的關係特點是互相尊重、合作、共同努力，這是基督徒僱員和基督徒僱主被聖靈充滿的互相對待的態度。

首先、工作間的和諧來自聖靈充滿的僕人，真心誠意地服從他們的主人（6:5-8）。「你們作奴僕的，…，用誠實的心聽從你們地上的主人，」（5b）這並不是基於得到僱主的公平對待。相反，基督徒僱員不管面對怎樣的情況，都保持順服（參彼得前書2:18）。

基督徒的順服從你的態度表現出來。這是尊敬的態度 – 要懼怕戰兢（5a）。這裡並不意味如小狗般畏縮，而是尊重與尊敬，因為你承認他們的權柄是源於神。態度要誠懇 –用誠實的心（5b）。你完全忠心，沒有心懷二意、沒有虛假、沒有異心、真誠沒有被玷污。這是基督徒服務時的態度 – 好像聽從基督一般（5c）。從這角度，就能順服。這是基督徒順服的基本動力。

這態度能使你的見證可信和有力。假如你的職業道德和別人不一樣（你說話、思想和回應的方式），你能作有力的見證。假若你經常遲到早退，工作差勁，吃午飯時又偷懶等，那你的見證就不可信。

我們還須留意基督徒的順服也從你的勤奮中表現出來（6-8）。一名勤奮的基督徒並不是透過工作來討好他人。 「…不要只在眼前事奉，像是討人喜歡的人」（6a）。一名勤奮的基督徒並不試圖討好上司的青睞，不是單單在上司察看時才工作，並非為了留下一個良好印象才好好工作。

相反，一個勤奮的基督徒為主而作工。「…要像基督的奴僕」（6b）。基督的僕人「從心裏遵行神的旨意」（6c）。你不只是機械式地工作，你從你的內心深處通過工作，全神貫注地遵行神的旨意。遵行神的旨意是你日常生活的一部分。在你的內心和靈魂生出遵行神的旨意的意願，外在的表達，就是你的工作態度勤奮盡責、全心全意地做事。這和唇徒 – 光是說說卻不去做 – 的人成了直接的對比。基督的僕人熱心事奉，好像服事主，不像服事人。（7）那些遵行神旨意的人，就是作神的工。你的熱心來自新的角度 – 不把自己看為人的奴僕，而是基督的僕役。

此外，一個勤奮的基督徒為得神的獎賞而工作 – 「…因為曉得各人所作的善工，不論是為奴的，是自主的，都必按所作的得主的賞賜。」（8） 你勤奮工作因為你知道主才是你的老闆，你的終極審判者。從末世角度來看，讓這變得有價值，你知道你遵行神的旨意，為神的榮耀而作工，神必注意到。

第二、工作間的和諧來自被聖靈充滿的老闆按理對待僱員（6:9）。基督徒僱主需要展示三個原則。第一個是：你們願意人怎樣待你們，你們也要怎樣待人 - 「你們作主人的，待奴僕也是一理」（9a）對待你的僱員，如你希望他們怎樣對待你的方式對待他們。任何組織的工作環境都是源於上層，假如你希望他們對你有良好的態度，你也以同樣的態度對待他們；假如你希望他們服從你，你自己就向他們展示一顆交託順服的靈；假如你希望他們能夠真誠、真心地對待你，那你就要確保你對待他們時誠實正直；假如你希望他們勤力工作，你也就勤於為他們提供好的工作環境和薪酬；如你希望他們工作充滿熱誠，給他們值得熱心的理由和動力。不要因為自己是老闆或上司，便把自己看為高於所當看的。按你期望員工對待你的方式，對待他們。

第二個原則是：「不要威嚇他們」（9b）。不要透過威嚇來達到你的目的；不要不合法地使用你的地位和權柄；不要像一些父親惹兒女的氣。

第三個原則是：緊記你要為自己負責 – 「…因為知道他們和你們有同一位主在天上」（9c）。你也有一位主人 – 那天上終極的主人。祂手握終極的權柄，祂的決定是最終的決定，你要向祂負責。因此，你也是基督的僕人 – 基督徒僱員和僱主同樣要向基督負責。你並不比他們重要，因為「神並不偏待人」（9d）。你天上的主人並不會因你在地上的地位、階級或權柄而受影響。故此，不要被騙，以致你認為祂總會在某些地方給你優待。

第四部份：講道大綱

耶穌與末大拉的馬利亞的談話

可按以下連結收聽這幾篇講道：約翰福音 20:1-2；約翰福音 20:3-10；約翰福音 20:11-18

標題：復活的真實與震撼，第一、二、三部份

第一點：空墓使旁觀者轉變為信徒（1-10）

1. 空墓使旁觀者轉變成追隨者

(a) 十字架旁，有旁觀者（路加福音23:55-56）

(b) 在空墓旁，有追隨者（1-2）

2. 空墓使追隨者轉變成信徒（3-10）

(a) 有些人，空墓令他們懷疑（6-7）

(b) 有些人，空墓給他們啟示，使他們相信（5, 8-9）

第二點：基督的復活使哀傷變作喜樂（11-18）

1. 對復活欠缺了解，產生憂傷（11-13）

(a) 儘管有證據，仍產生憂傷（11）

(b) 儘管有見證，仍產生憂傷（12-13）

2. 認識復活，產生喜樂（14-18）

(a) 認出是祂，得到喜樂（14-16）

(b) 服從祂，得到喜樂（17-18）

¹ Olford, Anointed Expository Preaching (Broadman & Holman), 233.

² Philips Brooks, The Joy of Preaching (Kregel, 1989), 25ff.

³ Olford, Anointed, 233.

Lesson 106: Loving and Serving Jesus (John 21:15-17)

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October 11, 2015

Having served as a pastor for over 38 years, I’ve seen many people who serve the Lord for reasons that are sometimes noble, but yet inadequate to sustain them over the long haul. Some are so-called “laymen” (although I hate that term), while others are full-time pastors, church workers, or missionaries. But they serve the Lord for inadequate reasons.

Sometimes people serve because they want to help advance Christ’s kingdom. That’s a noble, but inadequate reason for serving Christ. Some pastors serve the Lord because they love studying theology and teaching the Bible accurately. While that is a vital task (Titus 1:9), by itself it’s an inadequate reason for serving Christ. Sometimes pastors and others in the church serve because they genuinely want to help people with their problems. Again, that’s a noble, but inadequate reason for serving the Lord. Sometimes people serve because they get a sense of satisfaction from serving. While it’s legitimate to be pleased when God uses you, that’s also an inadequate reason for serving.

On a carnal level, some serve the Lord because it makes them feel important when they help people and those people sing their praises. But these people often get wounded and quit serving when they don’t receive the applause that they think they deserve. Some pastors serve because they like being the center of attention. Some enjoy the power or the feeling of importance that comes from being in leadership. The worst pastors are in the ministry to get rich at the expense of the people they are supposedly serving or to prey on the women who look to them for spiritual leadership. The Bible strongly condemns such evil men (2 Pet. 2:14-15).

In our last study, I asked the question, “In whose life are you having a spiritual impact?” I pointed out that every member of Christ’s body should be serving Him by helping make disciples. But beneath the question, “Are you serving Christ?” is the more fundamental question, “Why do you serve Him?” What is your motivation for serving? In our text the Lord Jesus drills home to Peter and to us the foundational motive for serving Him:

Loving Jesus because He has graciously forgiven all your sins is the foundational motive for serving Him.

Behind that statement are the two great commandments: to love God and to love others. If we love God because of His love and grace toward us, we will serve Him by loving others. So loving Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who gave Himself on the cross to rescue us from God’s judgment, is the essential motive for serving Him. If that motive is not central in your heart, you will burn out or blow out in your service for the Lord.

This short exchange between the risen Lord Jesus and Peter represents Peter’s public restoration to his apostolic ministry. On the day Jesus arose, the angel at the empty tomb told the women (Mark 16:7), “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” Those words, “and Peter,” would have rang in Peter’s ears and lifted his depressed spirit after his miserable denials of his Lord. I think that Peter would have asked the women, “Did the angel say, ‘and Peter’?” It assured him that the Lord had not rejected him because of his failure. That same day, Jesus met privately with Peter to reassure him and restore him personally (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5). But now the risen Lord restores Peter to his apostolic office in front of these other six disciples.

Peter had denied the Lord three times and so three times Jesus repeats the essential question, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” These three questions hit Peter like repeated hammer blows to drive the point home. Three times, the third time with grief because it reminded him of his threefold denials, Peter affirmed, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” And, three times the Lord responded to Peter’s affirmation of love, “Tend My lambs. … Shepherd My sheep. … Tend My sheep.” The point is, loving Jesus because He has forgiven all your sins is essential for serving Him.

To paraphrase Paul (1 Cor. 13:1-3), you may be the world’s most eloquent speaker, but if you don’t love Jesus you’re just a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. You may have impressive spiritual gifts and great theological knowledge and faith that can remove mountains, but if you don’t love Jesus, it’s all worth nothing. You may give away all your possessions and even suffer martyrdom, but if you do it without love for Jesus, it profits you nothing. Love for Jesus is the essential motive for all you do for Him.

1. Loving Jesus is at the heart of a relationship with Him.

When Christ saves you, it’s always on a personal basis. The good shepherd “calls His own sheep by name” (John 10:3). If Jesus has saved you, it’s not because of anything in you, but rather because your name was written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8; 17:8; 20:15; 21:27). Jesus died on the cross for you because He loved you (Gal. 2:20). He desires your love in response to His great love for you. Thus…

A. Loving Jesus from the heart is the main thing to focus on in your relationship with Him.

Jesus’ repeated question to Peter hits each one of us: “Do you love Me? Do you love Me? Do you love Me?” It reminds me of the Lord’s rebuke to the church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:2-4):

“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

They were doing well in many areas. They were working hard for the Lord. They would have protested, “Lord, look at how we’re serving You!” But He said to them, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” They were holding to sound doctrine and putting false teachers out of the church. That’s essential, because without sound doctrine, we may be following a false gospel which is no gospel at all, or a false Christ of our own making (Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Cor. 11:4). But sound doctrine alone is hollow if it does not rest on genuine love for Jesus. The Ephesians were persevering and enduring hardship for Jesus’ sake, which is commendable; but only if it is done out of love for Jesus. The Lord said, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

The Ephesians probably could have added, “But Lord, we’re faithful in church attendance, we celebrate communion often, and we give generously to Your cause!” But Jesus said to them, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

At this point, I need to comment on the familiar point that John uses two different Greek words for “love” in this dialogue. The first two times that Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love Me?” He uses the Greek verb agapao. Peter replies using the Greek verb phileo. But the third time, Jesus uses phileo and Peter replies again with phileo. Based on this, some argue that Peter’s love doesn’t come up to the higher word that Jesus uses, so finally the Lord comes down to Peter’s lower word. But the problem is, sometimes the two words are used synonymously (John 3:35; 5:20; 11:5, 36; 16:27) and some scholars argue for opposite nuances of the two words. And Paul elevates phileo to a very high plane when he says (1 Cor. 16:22) that if we don’t phileo the Lord, we are accursed.

Generally (but not always) agapao refers to God’s love for people or our love for Him, whereas phileo is used of love between people. Agapao has the notion of committed love that sacrifices itself for others: Christ’s love for us; a husband’s love for his wife; the church’s love for one another (Eph. 5:2, 25; 1 Cor. 13). But John often uses synonyms for stylistic variation. In our text, he uses two different words for “know,” two for “feed,” and two for “sheep” (Colin Brown, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology [Zondervan], 2:542-543). For these and many other reasons, hardly any scholars see any practical difference in John’s use of these two words in our text (see D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], pp. 676-678).

Our love for the Lord must encompass both aspects of agapao and phileo. It’s like my love for Marla. Over 41 years ago, I committed myself to love her exclusively until death parts us. That agape commitment is the basis for the phileo relationship that we have built over the years. And while our relationship is not built on feelings, but rather commitment, I do have strong feelings of love for her. If the feelings were never there, something serious would be wrong with our relationship. The same should be true of your love for the Lord. It’s based on commitment, it consists of a growing relationship, and it often involves strong feelings.

But don’t wrangle about words and miss the main point: loving Jesus from the heart is the main thing to focus on in your relationship with Him. Peter’s comment (John 21:17), “Lord You know all things; You know that I love You,” shows that it’s not enough to say or sing that we love Jesus. Anybody can do that. Rather, love for Jesus must come from the heart, which only God knows. So the question arises, “How do I develop and maintain genuine love for Jesus from the heart?”

B. Loving Jesus from the heart is the result of experiencing His abundant grace.

When Peter first encountered Jesus’ power in the miraculous catch of fish, his immediate response was to cry out (Luke 5:8), “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” When you encounter Jesus’ purity and power, you instantly recognize your own sinfulness. But Jesus graciously responded to Peter on that occasion (Luke 5:10), “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” John 1:42 records that when Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, “Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).” (Cephas and Peter both mean “rock.”) By God’s grace, Simon the sinful man became Peter the rock.

So Peter experienced the Lord’s grace when he first met Him, but here he experiences it again. Jesus underscores His grace by calling Peter by his original name, “Simon, son of John.” It reminded Peter of who he had been when Jesus first met him. In the upper room, Peter had boasted that even if the other disciples denied Jesus, he wouldn’t (John 13:37; Matt. 26:33). But although all the disciples fled in fear when Jesus was arrested, Peter had failed worse than the others by denying three times that he even knew Jesus. When Jesus asks (John 21:15), “Do you love Me more than these?” He was probably referring to Peter’s earlier boast. But then, rather than removing Peter from his apostolic office, the Lord graciously restores him and entrusts the care of His sheep to him. So Peter painfully knew his own sinfulness and failure, but he also knew God’s forgiveness and grace.

Coming to Jesus as a guilty sinner and receiving not judgment and rejection, but forgiveness and grace, is the source of loving Him. When the sinful woman anointed Jesus’ feet with her tears and anointed Him with perfume as He dined with Simon the Pharisee, Jesus said that she loved much because she had been forgiven much, but the one who is forgiven little, loves little (Luke 7:47). It’s not that anyone is forgiven “little,” in that we all have sinned repeatedly and flagrantly. But not all realize how much they’ve been forgiven. Like Simon the Pharisee, many think that they’re basically good people who don’t need much forgiveness. Such people love Jesus little. But when God opens your eyes to the depths of your sin, but then says, “Your sins are forgiven,” you love Jesus much. So to keep fervent in your love for Jesus, remember how much you’ve been forgiven. His grace fuels the fire of love for Him.

C. Loving Jesus requires that we be restored when we have sinned against Him.

Peter denied Jesus by a charcoal fire; here the Lord restores him to ministry by a charcoal fire (John 18:18; 21:9; the only two times this noun is used in the NT). Peter had denied Jesus before others three times; so three times Jesus asks Peter to confess his love for Him before others. Peter had boasted that he was a notch above the other disciples in his commitment to the Lord. But now he is humbled, so that he doesn’t say, “Yes, I love You more than these,” but simply (John 21:15), “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” Looking back on your sin is always humbling, but necessary.

Although the Lord knew that His questions would cause Peter to be grieved, the Lord also knew that grieving over our sins is a necessary part of being restored from those sins to a place of useful service for Him. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). No one can properly serve the Lord who shrugs off sin as no big deal. And no one can have the deep love for Jesus that sustains ministry who doesn’t appreciate the awful price that He paid to redeem us from our sins. So when we do sin, we need to confess it to the Lord and feel the grief that our sin causes Him.

But the Lord doesn’t restore us just so we can enjoy our relationship with Him, although that is primary. The result of our love for Jesus is that we will serve Him:

2. If you love Jesus, serve Him by feeding His sheep.

In other words, if your cup is full to the brim with His love and grace, slop it over on those around you. Three times the Lord drives home to Peter that if he loves Him, he is to tend or shepherd His sheep. We learn:

A. Jesus has a flock and He wants those who love Him to feed and shepherd His flock.

“Tend” means to feed a flock (Matt. 8:30; Luke 15:15). To “shepherd” refers to all of the activities of that job, including feeding, guarding, guiding, and caring for the well-being of the flock. The word “pastor” means “shepherd” and is used interchangeably with “elder” and “overseer.” Later Peter reflects the Lord’s charge to him when he writes (1 Pet. 5:1-3),

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

Shepherding the Lord’s flock is primarily the job of the elders in each local church. Paul exhorted the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28), “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Some of you men in the church should desire the office of elder or overseer (1 Tim. 3:1) because you love Jesus and therefore you love His sheep. A man should not be appointed as an elder before he begins to shepherd the flock. Rather, he should be engaged already in shepherding the flock, and then the church recognizes that the Holy Spirit has appointed him as an elder.

The main job of a pastor should be to feed God’s flock from His Word. Paul stipulates that some elders are to be supported financially so that they can labor hard at preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17). He says that the elders must “be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9). The sheep are vulnerable to attacks from deceptive false teachers, who try to lead them astray from the truth (Matt. 7:15; 2 Cor. 11:13-15). A pastor who doesn’t feed the flock on sound doctrine is not doing his job!

B. Jesus’ sheep belong to Him and are precious to Him because He gave His life for them.

Three times Jesus refers to the church as His: “My lambs, My sheep, My sheep.” They don’t belong to any pastor, but to the Lord. And since they belong to the Lord, who bought them with His own blood, pastors should be diligent to care for each one and love each one because each one is precious to Jesus.

It always bothers me when I see Christians despise or put down other Christians. Granted, some of the sheep can be obnoxious! Yes, they can be self-centered, stubborn, and difficult to be around. But if Jesus loved them enough to die for them, then we all have to love them, too. They’re His sheep!

But you may be thinking, “Thankfully, that’s your job, not mine! I’m not called to be a pastor.” But not so fast!

C. Jesus wants to use every believer to help feed and shepherd His sheep.

Granted, shepherding the sheep is primarily the job of the elders. But the elders can’t possibly do it alone. The “one another” passages in the New Testament show that shepherding the Lord’s flock is the responsibility of every maturing member of the church. Older believers should shepherd those who are younger in the Lord. Husbands must shepherd their families and feed them from God’s Word. Mothers should teach their children the ways of the Lord. If you’re further along than another believer, then you have something to contribute to him or her. You can teach the newer believer how to feed himself from God’s Word. You can warn him of spiritual dangers that he may not be alert to. Even if you’re both at the same place spiritually, you can help each other grow in following Christ.

After the Lord delivered the Gerasene demoniac, he wanted to accompany Jesus. But even though he was a brand new believer, the Lord told him (Luke 8:39), “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” Luke adds, “So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” So if you love Jesus because He has changed your life, you have something to contribute to others.

D. Love for Jesus is the foundation for serving His sheep.

Yes, you should love the sheep because Jesus loves them and gave His life for them. But sometimes the sheep aren’t all that lovable. Your love for Jesus has to undergird your service to His sheep or you’ll get hurt or disgusted and quit serving. Love for Jesus is what keeps you going when the sheep are ornery or stubborn or disagreeable. I’m not serving the sheep for what they can give me. I’m just a sheep dog, and sheep dogs don’t get much from the sheep, except hassles and manure! In our case, we serve as sheep dogs because we were in the dog pound, headed for extermination, when the Shepherd rescued us and put us into service. While we want to help the sheep, we serve them because we love the Shepherd and want to please Him. He asks you, “Do you love Me?” If you answer, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You,” He replies, “Tend My lambs.”

Conclusion

One of the main reasons that I felt called to be a pastor was that I couldn’t shake the implications of Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” I thought, “If Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, and I love Christ, then I need to love His church and give myself up for her.” Love for Jesus who first loved me has kept me serving His flock, even though every week I feel overwhelmed by my inadequacy for the task.

Not everyone is called to be a pastor. But Jesus asks everyone who has experienced His love at the cross, “Do you love Me?” If you answer, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” His reply is, “Tend My sheep.”

Application Questions

How can someone whose love for the Lord has grown cold renew it (see Rev. 2:1-7)?
Should a pastor who has fallen into gross immorality ever be restored to ministry? If so, when? Cite biblical support.
While sound doctrine is absolutely essential, it can be abused. How? How can loving Jesus and His flock prevent this abuse?
Agree/disagree: While shepherding God’s flock is primarily the job of the elders, all believers should be involved in the task. Practically, how does this take place?

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Christian Life, Forgiveness, Leadership, Pastors

Lesson 107: Trusting the Sovereign Lord (John 21:18-25)

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October 18, 2015

It’s not news that we live in troubled times. The atrocities committed by ISIS in the Middle East, the resulting refugee crisis, and the ongoing terrorism in Africa and around the world are enough to spawn anxiety in even the calmest people. Closer to home, the recent shooting death on the NAU campus showed how quickly and unexpectedly life can end, even for the young. And even if we never encounter terrorists or gun violence, we aren’t exempt from accidents, cancer, or other deadly diseases! As has often been said, “The statistics on death are quite impressive: one out of one people die.”

The only way that I know how to live calmly in such an anxiety-producing world is to trust in the Sovereign Lord, who even uses the wicked for His own righteous purposes before He judges them. It gives great peace to know that He has numbered all our days, even before we were born (Ps. 139:16). There are only two choices: either God is sovereign over everything, including Satan and his evil forces, or He is not. If He is not, then the alternatives are atheism, where impersonal random chance rules the world; or dualism, where Satan and God are fighting for control, but we don’t know for sure which side will win. Either one would be a scary world in which to live!

But if God is sovereign, even over all the evil in this world, then we have a basis for peace, comfort, and hope when we face difficult trials. We can affirm with Paul (Rom. 8:28), “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

As John brings his “Gospel of Belief” (as Merrill Tenney calls it, John: The Gospel of Belief [Eerdmans]) to a close, he mentions several things which seem thematically unconnected: In verses 18 & 19, Jesus predicts Peter’s future, including how he will die. Then (John 21:20-22), Peter asks Jesus about John’s future and receives a polite, “It’s none of your business!” reply. In verse 23, John corrects a misunderstanding that was circulating regarding Jesus’ reply to Peter. And in the final two verses, there is a testimony to John’s trustworthiness as a witness and an acknowledgement that John has left out of his Gospel many things that Jesus did.

I puzzled over how to tie all of these seemingly disparate strands together. It seems to me that the theme of trusting the sovereign Lord unites this final section. Twice (John 21:19, 22) Jesus repeats to Peter the command that He gave Him when He first called him as a disciple, “Follow Me!” (Matt. 4:19; see, also, Jesus’ initial command to Philip in John 1:43). But to follow Jesus, we have to trust in Him as the sovereign Lord, who both knows what is best for us and controls the events of our lives in line with His good purpose. So we can sum up our text:

We can trust the sovereign Lord and follow Him in everything, even when we don’t understand it all.

Jesus has just asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” Peter has replied three times, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You,” to which Jesus replied three times by commanding Peter to feed or shepherd His sheep. But here the Lord lets Peter know that his professed love for Him will be tested. As Peter grows old, rather than playing golf or driving around to all the National Parks in his RV, Peter will face martyrdom. Thus we learn first …

1. We can trust and follow the Lord for our future, including trials and the time and manner of our death.

John 21:18-19: “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.’ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’”

Here, Jesus proves true what Peter has just said (John 21:17), “Lord, You know all things.” Jesus knew Peter’s future, including when and how he would die, and He sovereignly determined that future. He tells Peter this, introducing it with the solemn, “Truly, truly,” so that Peter will be ready by counting the cost of following Jesus. Peter had to live the rest of his life, probably at least 30 years, with this prediction hanging over him! I’m not sure that I would want to know in advance, “You’re going to die by having your head cut off by ISIS”!

We don’t know whether Peter instantly understood Jesus’ words as a reference to his future death, but John (21:19) explains that that is what Jesus meant. The phrase, “stretch out your hands,” was commonly understood in the ancient world to refer to crucifixion (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 679). It referred to the prisoner stretching out his hands to be bound with ropes to the crossbeam before he was forcibly marched away to execution. Clement of Rome (AD 96) reports Peter’s martyrdom, although he doesn’t mention how he was executed. Later less reliable sources claim that he was crucified upside down, because he felt unworthy to die as his Lord did (Carson, p. 680). But whether Peter understood specifically how he would die, he couldn’t have missed the point of contrast that while his youth was relatively “footloose and fancy free,” his old age would be difficult and unpleasant.

We can learn four practical lessons: (1) While we are commanded to give thanks always and to count our trials as joy, we shouldn’t pretend that trials are pleasant at the time. Jesus tells Peter that others would gird him and bring him where he did not wish to go. In other words, Peter wasn’t seeking martyrdom and gladly marching to it thinking that it would be pleasant. He didn’t want to go there.

Some of the early Christians sought martyrdom as their goal in the Christian life. Eusebius (Church History [8:9]), describes how when one believer was condemned, many others would rush forward and declare themselves as Christians, so that they, too, would be condemned to torture and death. They would receive their death sentence with joy, laughter, and cheerfulness, going to their deaths singing praises to God.

As I’ll point out in a moment, we should seek to glorify God by our death. But that doesn’t mean that we should seek torture and death as a better way to die. God’s will for Peter was martyrdom, but His will for John was to live a long life and die a natural death. Hebrews 12:11 acknowledges, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” So by faith we can and should give thanks even in trials as we trust in our sovereign, loving Father. But we don’t need to seek trials and we should be honest in admitting that the trial itself is not pleasant. We can count it as joy, knowing that God is using it to produce maturity in us (James 1:3-4), but that doesn’t mean putting on a happy face through it all.

(2) Following Jesus does not guarantee an easy life or a peaceful death. The Bible has many examples of faithful saints who suffered short, difficult lives, terrible persecution, and painful deaths. Hebrews 11:36-37 testifies that by faith some were mocked, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, and put to death by the sword after a life of being destitute, afflicted, and ill-treated. But, they received eternal rewards in heaven. I’ve told you before about the Coast Guard recruiter who told a guy that boot camp was on an island and that you could fish and water ski there. Technically, true, if they let you, you could do those things! But they wouldn’t let you! Well, the Lord is an honest recruiter: He tells you up front to count the cost of following Him.

(3) Our aim should be to glorify God by our death. We all have to die (unless Jesus returns before then), so we need to determine in advance to glorify God. Paul’s aim was (Phil. 1:20) “that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” John Wesley said with reference to his Methodist disciples, “Our people die well.” John Calvin’s friend and successor, Theodore Beza, who was with Calvin as he painfully died, wrote, “We can truly say that in this one man God has been pleased to demonstrate to us in our day the way to live well and to die well” (Theodore Beza, The Life of John Calvin [Evangelical Press], p. 118).

(4) The way to glorify God in our death is to follow Him while we live. Twice (John 21:19, 22), Jesus commands Peter, “Follow Me!” To follow Jesus means bowing before Him as the rightful Lord of all that you are and have. It means seeking His will for the direction of your life and submitting to that will even before you know what it will be. And it means prompt obedience to His commands. If we yield our lives to Jesus as Lord, seek His will for how we spend our lives, and develop the habit of daily obedience to His Word, we’ll be prepared for death when and however it comes.

2. We can trust and follow the Lord for how and where we serve Him, without being concerned about how He uses others (21:20-22).

John 21:20-22: “Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’”

We don’t know whether Peter asked out of curiosity or concern for John or the need to compare himself with John. But whatever his reason, Jesus in effect replies, “It’s none of your business what I do with John. Your business is to follow Me!” We can learn three practical lessons from these verses:

(1) Jesus is the rightful Lord of every person and He has the authority to determine how each one serves Him and how and when each one dies. Jesus bluntly tells Peter (John 21:22), “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” He determined how Peter would serve Him and when and how Peter would die. He did the same for John; and, He does that for all who follow Him. And so one of the most important lessons to learn in the Christian life is what Paul states (Rom. 12:1), “to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual [or, rational] service of worship.” You can’t know God’s will for your life until you first yield yourself totally to Him, being willing to do whatever He wants you to do with your life.

(2) The Lord uses the different personalities of each person for His purpose and glory. Peter and John had very different personalities, but God used them both. Peter was the natural leader of the twelve. He often spoke when he should have held his tongue and thought more carefully before he opened his mouth. On the Mount of Transfiguration, he felt the need to say something, so he suggested building three tabernacles, only to have God say (Luke 9:35), “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, Peter was the one to protest. He was a man of action, again, often without thinking carefully first. He whacked off Malchus’ ear without considering that the Roman cohort there easily could have taken off his head. But that was Peter.

John, on the other hand, was more contemplative and introverted. Granted, at first Jesus called him and his brother James the sons of thunder (Mark 3:17), but he often referred to himself, as he does in our text, as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He was close to Jesus in a more quiet manner than Peter was. We see these two men’s personalities when they went to the empty tomb. John stood outside, peering in, but Peter brushed by him and went inside. John saw the grave clothes laying there and believed, whereas Peter went away wondering about what he had seen. Then, when the risen Jesus provided the miraculous catch of fish, John was the first to recognize Him, but Peter impetuously jumped in the water to get to shore first. So they were very different men, but God was pleased to use both men in His service.

While God sanctifies our personalities, knocking off the rough edges as we mature in Christ, He doesn’t change our basic bent. Introverts grow into godly introverts, extroverts grow into godly extroverts, and both are okay. Before Paul met Christ, he was a zealous man of purpose, persecuting the church. After he met Christ, he was a zealous man of purpose, boldly preaching the gospel, even after he had been stoned or imprisoned. Paul’s dedicated zeal caused him to reject Barnabas’ desire of giving Mark a second chance. But later, Paul mellowed and said that Mark was useful to him for service (2 Tim. 4:11). So you don’t have to deny your personality to serve the Lord, but you do have to allow Him to build the fruit of the Spirit into your personality as you grow in Him.

(3) While it’s helpful to learn from those who are different than we are, it’s not profitable to compare our ministries to theirs. After the Lord told Peter that he would die a martyr’s death, Peter asked about John, “What about this man?” The Lord basically says, “That’s My business, not yours. You follow Me!”

As a pastor, it’s easy to compare myself to other pastors and wonder, “Why does God bless their ministries as He does, but not mine?” I’d love to have a tenth of the impact that men like John MacArthur and John Piper have! While I’ve learned much and can learn much more from these men and others, including the great pastors of past centuries, the bottom line is: I’m not who they are. They have unique gifts and abilities that I lack. While I rejoice at how God has used these men and I pray that He would use me, He is sovereign over whom He uses and how He uses them.

Over 30 years ago, I had been reading the autobiography of the famous British preacher Charles Spurgeon. As I was out jogging, I prayed, “Lord, bless my ministry like You blessed Spurgeon’s!” Since Spurgeon is often held to be the greatest preacher of the 19th century, that was a “hail Mary” kind of throw-for-the-goal line prayer! But as soon as I prayed that, the Lord put into my mind, “Which Spurgeon? Charles, or John?” The thought hit me so forcefully that I stopped jogging to let it sink in.

John Spurgeon was Charles’ father. He was a godly, faithful pastor, but he would have lived and died in obscurity, except that he had a famous son. In God’s purposes, the famous son was plagued with health problems and only lived to be 57, whereas the obscure father outlived his son and died at 90. But God used both men. The Lord was saying to me, “Your job is to be as faithful as John Spurgeon. My prerogative is to use you as I see fit. Learn all you can from Charles Spurgeon, but if I want to use you as I used John Spurgeon, that’s My business!”

3. We can trust the Lord concerning His promise to return, even when we don’t understand the details of it.

John 21:22-23: “Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’ Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?’”

John wrote this to correct a mistaken rumor circulating among the early church, namely that he wouldn’t die before the Lord returned. John clarifies, “That isn’t what Jesus said. He only said, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?’” Some scholars argue that John didn’t write this, but it was a postscript added, perhaps by the Ephesian elders (where John spent his last days) to clear up confusion among those who thought that Jesus should have returned before John died. I think it’s more likely that John knew about this rumor before he died and wrote this to correct it before the faith of some would be shaken after he died, because they thought that Jesus had to return before John’s death.

Even so today, people get carried away with mistaken claims that Jesus will return by a certain date. The late Harold Camping made several such wrong predictions. Back in the mid-80’s, I received a booklet titled, “88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1988.” Obviously, the author was mistaken! Peter predicted that in the last days, scoffers would mock believers, saying (2 Pet. 3:4), “Where is the promise of His coming?” But twice in our text (John 21:22, 23), John assures us, Jesus is coming!

I’m sometimes asked why I don’t preach through the Book of Revelation, and my honest answer is, “Because I don’t understand the details well enough to preach it.” I’ve read many books from many different perspectives, but none of them answer all my questions. But even though I don’t understand the details, I don’t doubt for a minute that Jesus will return! He must, or else He is a liar!

4. We can trust the Lord concerning the reliability of His Word, including what it contains and what it omits.

John 21:24-25: “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”

Some conservative scholars think that the plural pronoun we indicates that this was added after John’s death, perhaps by the Ephesian elders, as their testimony to John’s trustworthiness. Or, it could be John himself using an editorial we, as he often does in 1 John (e.g. 1:4-9). In John 19:35, the apostle assured us of his eyewitness account of blood and water coming out of Jesus’ side after the soldier thrust in his spear. Here, John is testifying to the truthfulness of all that he has written in his Gospel concerning Jesus. He wants us to believe his testimony and put our faith in Jesus Christ.

John concludes by repeating his selectivity in what he has written. In John 20:30-31, he stated, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Here, he says that if he had written all that Jesus did, even the world would not contain the books. He’s using hyperbole, of course. But as Dr. Carson points out (p. 686), if Jesus truly is the incarnate Son of God, as John claims in the prologue, then John 21:25 is not really an exaggeration.

And, while we may wish at times that Scripture had given us more details about some things (as in Luke 24:27!), we have to trust that the Lord gave us all that we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3-4). His Word is sufficient for us to come to salvation and to grow in holiness. We need to work at applying the Scripture that we have, not wish for Scripture that we don’t have!

Conclusion

So John leaves us with the crucial question: Have you believed in Jesus as your Savior and Lord? If so, are you trusting Him for your future, including the trials you’re now facing and the ones you will face? Are you faithfully serving Him? Are you living in light of His promise to return? And, are you trusting the reliability of His inspired Word? John wrote these things so that we would trust in Jesus, the sovereign Lord.

Application Questions

How can a believer who is fearful about the future get over it?
When is it helpful and when is it harmful to compare yourself with other believers? What are the limits?
Discuss: If you put on a conference on prophecy, a thousand will come; if you put on a conference on prayer, a dozen will come. Why is this? What does it reveal about us?
Are there areas where you struggle with what Scripture contains or doesn’t contain? How can you work through these issues?

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Lesson 108: John: A Final Flyover (John, Various Texts)

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October 25, 2015

When Marla and I have flown from Flagstaff to Phoenix, we have enjoyed looking down on all the trails in Sedona where we have hiked. When you’re hiking on a trail, you see details that you can’t see from the air. But when you fly over a trail, you see the big picture in a way that you can’t see from the ground.

We been “hiking” through John for the past two years, enjoying the details along the trail. But before we move on, I thought that it would be helpful to do a final flyover, getting the big picture of the whole, especially for those of you who were not here when I did an introductory flyover back in February, 2013.

John begins his Gospel by speaking of Jesus, the eternal Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John ends his Gospel describing the encounter between the risen Lord Jesus and seven of His disciples, calling Peter (and through him, all disciples) to follow Him.

John’s Gospel is a testimony or witness to Jesus Christ. It begins with the testimony of John the Baptist to Jesus as the Light (John 1:6-8). John ends with an affirmation of the trustworthiness of his own testimony to Jesus (John 21:24): “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.”

The crucial question that John answers is, “Who is Jesus?” John’s answer (John 20:31): “He is the Christ, the Son of God.” But John also wants us to know who we are and what we should do in light of who Jesus is. John clearly states his purpose for writing (John 20:30-31): “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” To sum up:

The Gospel of John is a selective, reliable testimony that shows us who Jesus is, who we are, and how we must respond.

I’m going to divide this into John’s method and his message:

John’s Method:

1. The Gospel of John is a selective, historical, symbolic, and purposeful testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

A. John is a deliberately selective testimony.

We’ve already seen this in John’s purpose statement for writing, where he acknowledges that Jesus performed many other signs which His disciples witnessed. John repeats this in the final verse of his gospel (John 21:25): “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” In other words, John did not intend to write a comprehensive biography of Jesus, but rather a selective account for the purpose of leading his readers to the personal faith in Jesus that brings eternal life.

John omits any mention of Jesus’ birth. He does not cover Jesus’ baptism, His temptation by Satan, the transfiguration, the Lord’s Supper, Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, or His ascension. Writing toward the end of the first century, John probably assumed that his readers had access to the other gospels, as well as to the Book of Acts. Here is a broad outline that we have followed, centered on the idea of “belief”:

1. John 1:1-18: Prologue: The Son of God, the object of belief: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

2. John 1:19-12:50: Testimony for belief in the Son of God: “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41).

A. John 1:19-4:54: Initial belief in the Son of God.

B. John 5:1-12:50: Subsequent unbelief in the Son of God.

3. John 13:1-17:26: The Son of God’s teaching for His followers, that they might believe: “Believe in Me” (John 14:1).

4. John 18:1-19:42: The tragedy of unbelief in the Son of God: “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

5. John 20:1-31: The triumph of belief in the Son of God: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

6. John 21:1-25: Epilogue: The consequence of belief in the Son of God: “Tend My sheep” (John 21:17).

B. John is a historically factual testimony.

Although as I will mention, John is symbolic, it is not a myth or fable. John emphasizes that he and the other disciples were eyewitnesses of the events that he reports. Other than having an a priori bias against miracles, there is no reason to doubt John’s testimony. Skeptics sometimes say, “If I saw a miracle, then I’d believe.” But that’s not true. John makes it clear that being present as a witness of some spectacular miracles does not automatically result in faith in Jesus. Those who saw the lame man whom Jesus healed did not believe in Jesus, but sought to kill Him (John 5:1-18). The religious leaders who talked with the man born blind, whom Jesus healed, did not believe in Jesus as a result (John 9). After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some reported it to the Jewish leaders. Instead of repenting and believing in Jesus, the leaders plotted how they could kill Him (John 11:46-53).

We’ll look in a moment at why otherwise rational people reject these factual accounts of Jesus’ miracles. But the point here is that John wasn’t making up fabulous stories. He was reporting what he and many other witnesses saw happen. These historically verifiable accounts testify to who Jesus is.

C. John is an obviously symbolic testimony.

John is full of symbolic words and events that cause you to think about the deeper meaning of what he is saying. This does not negate the factuality of what John reports. Rather, John wants us to look beyond the words or events themselves to discern their true significance with relation to Jesus. John uses the word “signs” to refer to Jesus’ miracles: they point us to something deeper. Out of hundreds of miracles that he could have chosen, John picked seven signs, not counting Jesus’ resurrection and the miraculous post-resurrection catch of fish (John 21:1-14): (1) Changing the water into wine (John 2:1-11); (2) healing the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54); (3) healing the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9); (4) feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-14); (5) walking on the water (John 6:16-21); (6) healing the man born blind (John 9:1-12); and, (7) raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46).

In at least three of these miracles, their significance is obvious, because Jesus tells us. After He feeds the 5,000, Jesus proclaims (John 6:35), “I am the bread of life ….” Before opening the eyes of the man born blind, Jesus asserts (John 8:12), “I am the Light of the world ….” Before He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus told Martha (John 11:25), “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.”

These are three of seven “I am” claims that Jesus makes in John. The others are, “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14); “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6); and, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5). Obviously, Jesus is not literally bread or a door or a vine. Rather, these symbols tell us something important about who Jesus truly is.

John uses many other words that are loaded with symbolic significance: “life” (e.g. John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; 20:31); “the new birth” (John 3:3-7); “light” and “darkness” (e.g. John 1:4, 9, 3:19; 8:12; 12:46); “the world” (78 times, e.g. John 1:10; 3:16; 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 17:15, 16); “witness” or “testify” (14 times as a noun, 33 times as a verb, e.g. John 1:7, 8, 15, 19, 32, 34; 3:26; 5:31-34, 36, 37, 39); “truth” (25 times, e.g. John 1:14, 17; 5:33; 8:31-32, 40, 45-46; 14:6); “sent” (33 times, e.g. John 4:34); and “hour” (e.g. John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23).

D. John is a profoundly simple testimony.

On one level, John is simple enough for a child to understand, yet on another level, John is so deep that you can study it all your life and never get to the bottom of its riches. Children can understand the simple message of John 3:16 so as to believe and be saved: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” And yet the theological concepts which that verse raises are deep enough for scholars to debate: Does God love everyone in the world equally? If so, why didn’t He devise a way of getting the gospel to everyone? What does it mean that Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son”? What does it mean to believe in Jesus? What does it mean to perish or to have eternal life? The same could be said of many texts in John that on one level are fairly simple, but on another level are deeply profound.

E. John is a deliberately purposeful testimony.

We have already seen that John’s purpose is that his readers may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that we may have life in His name (John 20:31). In other words, John didn’t write so that you could say, “How interesting!” and go on with your life as usual. He didn’t write so that scholars could write volumes debating his meaning or theology. He wrote so that everyone who reads his testimony about Jesus would personally believe, receive eternal life, and spend eternity in heaven, not in hell. So his purpose is the most serious purpose that you could imagine! Don’t leave John’s Gospel without applying it!

Thus, the Gospel of John is a selective, historical, symbolic, and purposeful testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

John’s Message:

2. The Gospel of John reveals who Jesus is, who we are, and how we must respond.

A. The Gospel of John reveals who Jesus is: God in human flesh, the Christ, the only Savior of the world.

There are three parts of this:

1) Jesus is God.

John opens with this essential truth (John 1:1): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He quickly adds that Jesus is the Creator of everything (John 1:3), “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” This means, of course, that contrary to the Arian (or Jehovah’s Witness) heresy, Jesus Himself could not be the first created being. Three lines of evidence establish the deity of Jesus: His words, His works, and the witness of others to Him.

*Jesus’ words show that He is God. He told Nicodemus that He had come down out of heaven and that whoever believes in Him has eternal life (John 3:13, 15). No mere man or created being could make such a claim. When the Jews accused Him of making Himself equal with God, Jesus didn’t correct them, but rather went on to make a string of claims that only God could make (John 5:18-29). He said that all will honor Him, even as they honor the Father (John 5:23). All who believe in Him have passed out of death into life (John 5:24). He claimed to have life within Himself and to be able to give it to whomever He wishes (John 5:21, 26). He claimed to have the authority to judge all people (John 5:22, 27). He claimed that someday He will speak the word and all who have died will come forth, either to eternal life or to judgment (John 5:28-29).

He also claimed (John 10:30), “I and the Father are one.” He said (John 14:9), “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Many other claims, such as to be the bread of life, the light of the world, and the resurrection and the life, are clear claims to deity.

*Jesus’ works reveal that He is God. As already mentioned, John selects seven signs (or miracles), plus Jesus’ resurrection and the miraculous catch of fish (John 21:1-14), to show that He is God. As Paul later contended (1 Cor. 15:1-19), if Jesus is not risen from the dead, the entire Christian faith is worthless. As I said, it’s not just the miracles themselves—other men of God performed some amazing miracles—but also the significance behind the miracles, that testify to Jesus’ deity. He not only fed the 5,000, but He also claimed to be the bread of life who gives eternal life to all who eat His flesh (John 6:35, 54). He not only opened the eyes of the man born blind, but He also claimed to be the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:1-41). He not only raised Lazarus from the dead, but He also claimed to be the resurrection and the life, able to give life to all who believe in Him (John 11:25).

*The witness of others to Jesus shows that He is God. It is remarkable that John, a Jewish monotheist, a man who knew Jesus intimately as a man during His three-year ministry, would begin his Gospel by affirming that Jesus is God! He also reports the witness of John the Baptist to Jesus as the Light (John 1:7-9; see, also, John 5:33-35). Nathaniel testifies (John 1:49), “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Peter confesses (John 6:69), “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” At the climax of John, the formerly doubting but now believing Thomas exclaims (John 20:28), “My Lord and my God!”

2) Jesus is human.

As John 1:14 declares, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us….” Jesus often refers to Himself as “the Son of Man,” a phrase from Daniel 7:13-14 that emphasizes both His humanity and His deity (John 1:51; 3:13; 6:62). John shows that Jesus was weary (John 4:6), hungry (John 4:8, 31, 33), and thirsty (John 19:28). He had genuine human emotions (John 11:35; 12:27). And He was subject to death (John 19:30). As God in human flesh, Jesus is the only one who could bear our sins. Thus …

3) Jesus is the Christ, the only Savior.

“Christ” refers to God’s Anointed One, the one promised in the Old Testament as the Son of David who would bear our sins and eventually reign over all the world (Psalms 2, 110; Isaiah 53). John the Baptist announces (John 1:29), “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The jubilant Samaritans proclaim (John 4:42), “This One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

But why do we need a Savior? Why not just someone to be our moral example? John’s Gospel not only reveals who Jesus is, but also who we are:

B. The Gospel of John reveals who we are: sinners in need of a Savior.

The reason that the Jews needed a sacrificial lamb was to atone for their sins. Jesus is that lamb, not just for the Jews, but for the whole world. John begins by testifying, however, that the world did not know Jesus (John 1:10). Even His own Jewish people rejected Him (John 1:11). The reason is plainly stated (John 3:19-20), “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

As I have often mentioned, “Savior” is a radical word. You don’t need a savior if you’re doing okay by yourself or if you just need a little help. You only need a savior if you’re helplessly lost and unable to do anything about your desperate condition. Nicodemus was a good religious man, “the teacher” in Israel. Yet Jesus told him (John 3:3), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In John 5:24, Jesus talks about those who believe in Him as having passed “out of death into life.” Those who are dead in sin cannot do anything to save themselves. They need a God-sent Savior, and Jesus is that Savior.

So John tells us that Jesus is God in human flesh, the Christ, the only Savior. He shows that we are sinners who love darkness rather than light; dead in our sins, needing new life from God.

C. The Gospel of John reveals how we must respond to this testimony about Jesus: Believe in Him, grow in Him, and serve Him.

1) We must believe in Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 does not say that God so loved the world that He saved everyone. Rather, it clearly limits salvation to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Those who do not believe will perish. John’s purpose in writing (John 20:31) is “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” The verb “believe” occurs 11 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark, 9 times in Luke, and 98 times in John. Clearly, John wants you to believe in Jesus so that you may have life in His name!

Such saving faith is not generic; it has specific content: You must believe the truth about Jesus: that He is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior who died to pay the penalty for your sins. Saving faith also involves personal commitment to Jesus Christ. It’s not enough to believe intellectually (John 6:64, 66; 8:31-58). You must personally trust in Christ as your only hope for eternal life.

For example, you probably believe that airplanes can fly. You’ve seen them fly and you know that they’re very safe. But that sort of belief won’t get you anywhere. To get to a destination, you have to commit by getting on board. To get to heaven, you must commit your eternal destiny to Jesus. You trust in His shed blood to pay the penalty that your sins have incurred. You don’t trust in your good deeds or anything else, but only in Jesus Christ.

2) We must grow in Jesus Christ.

John shows that belief in Jesus Christ is both initial and ongoing (John 1:50; 2:11; 11:15; 14:1; 20:8, 27). Our faith in Him grows stronger as we abide in Him and obey His commandments (John 15:1-11). Just as knowing another person is a process, so knowing Christ requires time spent in His Word, learning to obey His commandments, and deepening your love for Him (John 14:21, 23). Growing in Christ is a lifelong process that begins when you trust in Him as your Savior and Lord.

3) We must serve Jesus Christ out of love for Him.

This is obvious in the analogy of the vine and the branches, where Jesus says that we are to abide in Him and bear much fruit (John 15:2, 5, 8). It is also the point of John 21:15-17, where Jesus restores Peter by asking three times, “Do you love Me?” and by responding to Peter’s affirmation of love by commanding, “Tend My sheep.” Jesus didn’t save us to live for ourselves, but to glorify the Father by bearing much fruit.

Conclusion

John’s Gospel gives us the wonderful news that God loved us and sent His Son to die for our sins. But it also warns us that some who saw God’s Son, heard His teaching, and witnessed His miracles, still did not believe in Him. Some of Jesus’ disciples turned away from Him because they could not accept His hard sayings (John 6:66). Some of the Jews seemingly believed in Jesus, yet they were still of their father, the devil (John 8:31-58). Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, was a devil who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (John 6:70-71; 12:4-6; 13:21-30; 18:2-3). John gives us these negative examples so that we will not make the same eternally fatal mistake! John draws the line in the sand: Believe in Jesus Christ so that you will not perish, but have eternal life!

Application Questions

What are some of the lessons that you’ve learned from our study of John? How will you use John in ministering to others?
Why is the matter of Jesus’ identity crucial for saving faith? Can a person who denies His deity be saved?
Some argue that if you say that saving faith involves commitment, you’re adding works to faith. Why are they dead wrong?
Why is Jesus’ bodily resurrection essential to the Christian faith?

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Christian Life, Soteriology (Salvation)

Lesson 1: Truth as the Foundation for Love (2 John 1-3)

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For as much as the Apostle John was known for his use of the word “love,” a case could be made that he was equally concerned with the substance of truth. In fact, a close look at his letters reveals that John never intends for love and truth to exist separate from one another. Such is reflected in the message of this second recorded correspondence from him. But Pastor Daniel shows how we must be specific in the way we speak of how truth and love relate to each other. Examining John’s words given through the Spirit, he states, “Love is not the foundation for truth; truth is the foundation for love.” This sentence is fleshed out by recognizing, 1) We are chosen by a sovereign God who loves us in truth, 2) We are united by our common confession of truth, 3) We are bound to one another and God for eternity by truth, and 4) We are encouraged by God through truth.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Lesson 1: In Christ, In Flagstaff (Colossians 1:1-2)

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November 1, 2015

Garrison Keillor has made a career out of his monologues about the fictitious Minnesota town, Lake Wobegon, “the little town that time forgot and the decades can’t improve.” It’s the town “where all of the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are above average.” He says that in Lake Wobegon, people lock their cars in the summer, not because they’re afraid of theft, but because they’re afraid that someone will throw a lot of unwanted zucchini from their garden into the car.

Over the years, I’ve read a few other characteristics of small towns: “It’s a small town when you don’t have to use your turn signal, because everyone knows where you’re going.” “It’s a small town when you can’t walk for exercise because every driver offers you a ride.” “It’s a small town when people know the news before the paper comes out, but they take the paper anyway to see whether the editor got the stories right.” Well, we can’t rightly call Flagstaff a small town any more, since we’ve grown to about 75,000. But we’re surrounded by small towns, such as Seligman, Ash Fork, Winslow, and Tuba City.

I mention small towns because Colossae was a small town, about 100 miles east of Ephesus in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey). It was about 10 miles from Laodicea and 13 miles from Hieropolis. Colossae had once been a fairly important town, but the trade route had shifted to go through Laodicea so that by Paul’s day, its importance had dwindled. The population was mostly Gentile, but a sizeable Jewish population had settled there several centuries before (Douglas Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and Philemon [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 27). Bishop Lightfoot (Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon [Zondervan], p. 16) wrote, “Without doubt Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St. Paul was addressed.” It would be as if in our day Paul wrote an inspired letter to the church in Seligman.

So you have to ask, “Why would Paul write to this relatively insignificant church?” The answer is that this small town church had some big time doctrinal threats to its well-being. We can be thankful for this problem, because it prompted Paul to write this wonderful little letter that sets forth the supremacy and all-sufficiency of Christ more forcefully than in any of his other letters.

Paul had not yet visited Colossae personally (Col. 2:1). The church there had been planted by Epaphras, a native (Col. 1:7; 4:12), who was probably converted and discipled during Paul’s extended stay in Ephesus (Acts. 19:10). Epaphras also probably planted churches in Laodicea and Hieropolis (Col. 4:13). The church in Colossae met in the home of Philemon (Philem. 2), whose runaway slave, Onesimus, had met Paul and Christ during Paul’s Roman imprisonment. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, urging him to forgive and welcome back his runaway slave as a brother in Christ.

But the church in Colossae was being plagued by false teaching, and Epaphras was not sure how to deal with it. So he went to Rome and found Paul, who was under house arrest in his own quarters (Acts. 28:30-31). In response, Paul wrote Colossians and then probably expanded it into the letter to the Ephesians. Both epistles are similar in structure and content, but in Colossians the emphasis is on Christ as the head of the church, whereas in Ephesians it’s on the church as the body of Christ, the head. Colossians is much more focused in attacking the false doctrine that was infiltrating that church, whereas Ephesians is more general.

Some scholars think that Ephesians may have been a circular letter, intended for several churches in Asia Minor. If so, it could be the letter coming from Laodicea that Paul mentions in Colossians 4:16. If not, then the letter to Laodicea is a lost letter, which in God’s sovereignty was not intended to be included in the New Testament. At the same time, Paul also wrote the short letter to Philemon and probably sent all three letters back with Tychicus (Eph. 6:21; Col. 4:7), while Epaphras stayed with him in Rome.

It’s not easy to figure out the exact nature of the false teaching in Colossae. In the past two centuries commentators have suggested at least 44 different views (Peter O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians-Philemon [Zondervan], p. xxxi)! We have to piece together the elements of the false teaching by looking at various emphases in the letter, much like listening to one side of a phone conversation. Probably, like most false teaching, it was a blend of several errors.

There was a strong Jewish ascetic element (asceticism is the belief that holiness comes by denying yourself certain basic needs and comforts), which emphasized circumcision, dietary and ceremonial laws, and the observance of holy days as the way to victory over the flesh (Col. 2:11, 14, 16, 18, 20-23). So it was legalistic, emphasizing rule-keeping as the way to be holy.

Also, the false teachers promised their followers deeper wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:8). Paul counters this by saying that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). The false teachers may have promised that people would experience “fullness” through their insights. Paul counters this by asserting that all the fullness of deity dwells in Christ in bodily form (Col. 1:19; 2:9) and that “in Him, you have been made complete” (Col. 2:10). You don’t need to add anything else.

The false teachers also over-emphasized the role of angels. The Bible teaches the existence and importance of angels (Heb. 1:14), but the false teachers were teaching that we should worship angels, based on visions that they claimed to have seen (Col. 2:18). Paul counters this by showing that Jesus Christ created all angelic beings for His purpose and glory (Col. 1:16) and He is over them all, including the fallen angels (Col. 2:10, 15). Thus we should worship Him, not angels.

Thus, like most false teaching, the Colossian heretics mixed a number of false teachings that they had taken from different religious, philosophical, and cultural views. Douglas Moo concludes (ibid., p. 59):

The false teachers were probably people from within the Colossian Christian community who were bragging about their ability to find ultimate spiritual “fulfillment” via their own program of visions and asceticism. This program was drawn partly from Judaism, particularly in its focus on rules about eating and observing certain days. They were preoccupied with spiritual beings, probably because they viewed them as powerful figures capable of having a significant influence on their lives.

He adds (p. 60), “The false teachers were appealing to spiritual beings, visions, and rules to find security in this very uncertain universe. In doing so, they were questioning the sufficiency of Christ.” So Paul’s corrective was to proclaim the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all (Col. 1:18) and His sufficiency for all (Col. 3:11).

We can divide the book into two broad sections, the polemical (chapters 1 & 2), where Paul argues against the false teaching by exalting Christ alone as preeminent; and, the practical (chapters 3 & 4), where he shows how Christ’s preeminence should affect us and our relationships. Chapter 4 contains a relatively lengthy personal section, probably because Paul didn’t know most of the people receiving this letter and he wanted to couch his corrective teaching in this personal framework.

With that as an overview, I want to make three observations before we look at the first two verses. First, Paul did not write Colossians as a theological treatise to be analyzed by scholars, but as a pastoral letter to be read and understood by common, small town people who were relatively young in their Christian faith. The most mature of these people were probably no more than five years old in the Lord! Since they were mostly Gentile (Col. 1:21, 27; 2:13; 3:5-7), they weren’t coming from a biblical background.

If the Holy Spirit directed Paul to write these profound truths about Jesus Christ to these original readers, many of whom probably couldn’t even read, but had to listen to the letter as it was read, then it’s not too deep for us to grasp if we depend on the Spirit to teach us. Many modern American Christians, if they read at all, stick to pretty shallow self-help books or sensational testimonies, but avoid wrestling with meaty theological books. I encourage you to go deeper! You can do it!

Second, right theology is the basis for right living. We tend to avoid theology because we find it either too difficult or just plain boring. If a preacher starts talking about theology, our eyes glaze over and we tune out. We want him to skip the theology and get to the practical stuff. We prefer amusing anecdotes and heart-warming stories. But Paul wanted these small town folks to know that what we believe about Jesus Christ is not irrelevant to life. Rather, it’s absolutely crucial. It affects our morals (Col. 3:5-9) and our relationships in the church, in our homes, in our jobs, and with those in the world (Col. 3:12-4:6). False teaching never leads to true godliness (Col. 2:23).

Third, the test of solid theology can be summed up by answering the question, “Where does it put Jesus Christ?” Does He merely have a place in it, or does He occupy the central and supreme place? Is He presented as fully God and fully man in one person, or has either side of that truth been slighted? Is His sacrificial death on the cross presented as sufficient for life and godliness, or do we need to add the latest insights from the world to deal with our problems?

Years ago, I was wrestling with whether to allow some small groups in our church in California to use some books that blended psychology and Christianity. These books, The Twelve Steps for Christians, which claims on the cover to be “based on biblical teachings,” and When Your World Makes No Sense [Oliver Nelson], by Dr. Henry Cloud (republished as Changes That Heal), purport to help emotionally hurting people with insights that traditional biblical teaching lacks (Cloud, pp. 16-17).

I had a nagging uneasiness with these books that I couldn’t identify until I read the chapter in J. C. Ryle’s Holiness [James Clarke & Co.], “Christ is All,” and, about the same time, John MacArthur’s Our Sufficiency in Christ [Word]. Both of these sources helped me see that the flood of books that blend psychology and Christianity assume that Christ is not sufficient for our emotional and relational problems. They do not direct us to His supremacy and sufficiency for life and godliness. Rather, much like the Colossian false teaching, they blend worldly philosophies with Bible verses often taken out of context, to give the appearance of wisdom (Col. 2:23), but they don’t exalt Christ as Lord. They don’t lead the readers to exclaim with the psalmist (Ps. 73:25-26):

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

So, the test of solid theology is that it exalts Christ as supreme and sufficient for all who believe in Him. Now I want to focus on Colossians 1:1-2, where Paul shows us that …

God has equipped His church in Christ so that we might be His church in Flagstaff.

My two points come from two parallel phrases in the Greek text of verse 2, “in Colossae” and “in Christ.” I’m taking the liberty of replacing “in Colossae” with “in Flagstaff.” When we see how God has equipped us in Christ, then we can be what He wants us to be as His church in Flagstaff.

1. God has equipped His church in Christ.

We see three ways God has equipped His church in Christ:

A. God has given apostles to His church.

Colossians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God ….” Apostle means “sent one,” and is used in two ways in the New Testament. Sometimes it refers to a messenger sent out by the church for a special task (2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25; Rom. 16:7). But it is mainly used of the twelve plus Paul, probably James, the Lord’s brother, and perhaps Barnabas (1 Cor. 9:5-6; 15:7; Acts 14:4, 14; Gal. 1:19). These men had seen the risen Lord (Acts 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 9:1); they had unique authority to perform miracles (2 Cor. 12:12); and they were directly appointed by Christ (Mark 3:14; Acts 9:15; Gal. 1:1), who gave them authority to found the New Testament church (Eph. 2:20; 1 Thess. 2:6; 1 Cor. 12:28-29).

As such, the office passed away with John’s death at the end of the first century. There is no biblical warrant for the Roman Catholic doctrine of apostolic succession. We have the foundational, authoritative apostolic teaching in the New Testament.

Paul was not an apostle because he took an aptitude test and decided that this would be a good career fit. Rather, He was an apostle “by the will of God.” God had sovereignly laid His hand on Paul to save him and to conscript this formerly zealous Jew as His apostle to the Gentiles. Although there are no true apostles today, if you know Christ it’s by the will of God. And the Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes various spiritual gifts to all whom He saves (1 Cor. 12:11). The point is, serving Him is not optional for believers. It’s mandatory. You’re a conscript, not a volunteer!

B. God has set apart believers into a family in Christ.

Note the family terms that Paul uses here. Timothy was not an apostle because he had not seen the risen Lord. But he was “the brother.” Paul refers to the church as brethren and God is our common Father. (After “Father,” the KJV adds, “and the Lord Jesus Christ,” but the earliest and best manuscripts lack the phrase.)

God becomes your Father through the new birth, when He gives you new life and you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You share this new life in Christ in common with all who have been born again. You begin a relationship with God as your Heavenly Father and with all of your brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s always wonderful when you meet a fellow believer who may be from a different country, but there’s an instant bond in Christ that makes you feel closer to this brother in Christ than you feel to natural family members who don’t know Christ.

Families, by their very nature, are set off from the rest of the world. You can crash a party, but you can’t crash a family. You join a family only by birth, adoption, or marriage. If you haven’t come in through one of those ways, you’re an outsider and don’t belong. In the same way, God’s family, the church, is set apart from the world. We are to be distinct from the world because we share new life in Jesus Christ.

Paul underscores our distinction from the world by calling us “saints.” Some versions translate it as “holy,” which is the meaning of “saints.” The Roman Catholic Church sets apart some especially noteworthy Christians as saints, but the Bible refers to all believers as saints or holy ones. It means that we are set apart from the world for the Lord. We are a people for His possession (1 Pet. 2:9).

Paul also refers to the Colossians as “faithful brethren.” Some commentators say that it should be translated “believing brethren,” but that’s a tautology. All true believers are brethren and vice versa. Since this is the only place in Paul’s letter greetings that he uses this phrase, he may be referring to those who had remained true to the faith and had not been carried away by the false teachers. The enemy continually stirs up false teaching to try to deceive the saints (Eph. 4:14). That’s why you need to be doctrinally grounded so that you can remain faithful when the winds of false doctrine try to blow you off course.

But also, our distinctiveness as God’s family is seen in Paul’s favorite phrase, “in Christ.” Formerly, born into this world as sinners, we were “in Adam.” Now, born into God’s family we are “in Christ,” the new man. This refers to our secure position before God where He views us just as He views His Son. In Him, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14). In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). In Christ, we have been made complete (Col. 2:10). As Paul sums it up in Ephesians 1:3, in Christ God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We inherit everything we need for life and godliness in Christ, and you’re in Christ if you’re a member of God’s family through faith in Christ.

If you put a message into a bottle and secure it with a cork, that message will be protected because it’s in the bottle. It may get battered around by the waves, but it won’t sink and be destroyed because it’s in the bottle. In the same way, if you’re in Christ, you are protected from the evil forces of this world that seek to destroy you. You are secure in Him, because He is at the right hand of the Father, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (Eph. 1:21). That’s ultimate security!

Thus God has equipped us by giving us His Word through the apostles and by setting us apart in His family in Christ. Also,

C. God relates to us in grace and in peace.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father” is a form of greeting, but it is more than just an empty phrase. It’s a prayer that we as God’s people would experience the riches of His grace and peace. God’s grace is His unmerited favor toward us in Christ. It means that He does not deal with us according to our sins. We are accepted in His presence, not because of our performance, but because “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). God’s grace is a motivating, liberating power that gives victory over sin and the desire to draw near to our loving Father.

God’s peace comes from the Hebrew “shalom,” and refers to total well-being, both inward and outward. Through Christ, we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). He Himself is the basis of our peace with one another (Eph. 2:14). Because our God is both sovereign and loving, we can have inward peace even in trials, knowing that He is working them together for our good (Rom. 8:28).

So this short opening greeting shows us how God has equipped us to be His church in Christ. But He hasn’t saved us to live for ourselves. Thus …

2. God has equipped us to be His church in Flagstaff.

These saints were in Christ, but they were also in the pagan city of Colossae, just as we are in pagan Flagstaff. God puts us in Christ, but He doesn’t want us to join monasteries to live apart from this world. As Jesus prays (John 17:15-18),

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

Even though Colossae was a small, insignificant town, God placed His people there to proclaim the good news of Christ to all who would hear. And He has placed us in this city to be both “in Christ,” but also “in Flagstaff.” Flagstaff claims to be the world’s first “dark sky” city, which is great for looking at the stars. But it’s also a just plain dark city! We His people are His light in this dark city to point lost people to the Light of the world.

Conclusion

Sadly, thirty years after Paul wrote to Colossae and to Laodicea, the apostle John wrote to the church of Laodicea, warning them that the Lord was about to spew them out of His mouth because of their spiritual lukewarmness (Rev. 3:14-22). The testimony for Christ there was flickering dimly. Now (in modern Turkey) it is almost totally extinguished.

Jesus said (Matt. 5:14, 16), “You are the light of the world…. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” That’s our mandate in Christ and in Flagstaff!

Application Questions

Someone has observed that every person is a theologian, but some are better theologians than others. How can you grow more solid as a theologian?
Discuss: Can those who hold seriously wrong doctrine about Christ be saved?
What are the practical benefits of seeing yourself “in Christ”?
How can we be more intentional about being Christ’s church in Flagstaff? Be specific.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Lesson 99: Pursuing Holiness in the Community of Faith (Luke 17:1-6)

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There are a number of sweet moments in the gospels where you hear the disciples of Jesus really yearning for the right things, even when they might not know how/what exactly they are to pursue. As they listened to Him speak about sin, the dangers of causing others to sin, and offering forgiveness to those who do sin (even sin repeatedly!), they saw how far they were from where they needed to be and called out for an increase of faith. They had much to learn about what it meant to live in community with one another and found many of the teachings from their Lord a great challenge to obey. Pastor Daniel helps us, as fellow disciples today, understand the way forward in this through emphasizing the fact that the believer pursues holiness within the context of community; he then provides multiple ways for how to go about that pursuit.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff

Introduction: The Walk From Fear To Faith

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Many women today have very little knowledge of the Old Testament. You might not have much. I look at that half of my Bible, and I can easily think, “What’s written in it happened sooo long ago—anywhere from 2-4 thousand years ago. What do those women have in common with me? They didn’t live in my world.” Do you tend to think that way, as though they are just names on a page?

Maybe you like to read biographies. Doesn’t reading someone’s biography make that person come alive for you? Or, you may have done genealogy work on your family tree? It can be great to find something to brag about. But, you can also find out some of your ancestors’ dark secrets and hardships. I don’t know about you, but I feel a connection to that great-great grandmother when I learn a little bit about her life.

Connecting With Old Testament Everyday Women

This study covers the lives of some Old Testament women and the time periods in which they lived. Some you may have heard about—Sarah, Hannah, Abigail and Bathsheba. Everyone of Jewish birth can consider Sarah to be a great-grandmother. Others are strangers to you—Jael, Mrs. Manoah, the Shunammite woman.

Maybe these Old Testament women lived years ago, but they were still women just like us. They cooked meals, did laundry, and raised children. They had responsibilities inside and outside of their homes. Some even had home businesses. A couple of them could put together a banquet in a short time. They experienced hormone fluctuations, PMS, and menopause. They laughed with their friends, differed with their mates, and cried when a loved one died. They wrote songs and played musical instruments. I bet they all found ways to use their 20,000 words per day!

At one time, they were 20-somethings, then 40-somethings, then 60-somethings and more. They wore beads, earrings, and anklet bracelets. Their hair needed to be combed and fixed, and it turned grey as they aged. No doubt, some of them, if not all, had something on their bodies that sagged!

These women also experienced fear at various times in their lives just like we do. They faced invading enemies, sick family members, and empty pantries. They faced creditors and surprise houseguests. They even had “bad” days when things didn’t go right, sometimes due to their own choices. These were EVERYDAY WOMEN, just like us. Their stories—snippets of their biographies—are preserved for us to get to know them, and to know their God who is also our God.

Trusting In Our Ever Faithful God

As we study their lives, we’ll see an EVER FAITHFUL GOD in action. They knew Him by the personal name Yhwh. In our English translations, it is usually written as LORD in capital letters. In the Old Testament, you’ll find the phrase “the LORD your God” or “the LORD our God” at least 500 times. Every time, that phrase is emphasizing, “We have a personal God. His name is Yhwh.” It’s the name by which God wished to be known and worshiped in Israel and by Israel. Yhwh means, “I am.” This name expressed His character as constant, dependable and faithful.

Jesus applied God’s name “I am” to Himself, when He says in John 8:59, “before Abraham came into existence, I am.” Those listening knew He was declaring Himself to be God. So, the EVER FAITHFUL, promise-keeping God of the Old Testament is embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament and forever. We still have a personal God.

He’s our faithful God whose character never changes. He’s as faithful now in our everyday circumstances of life as He was years ago to those women, and as He was years ago to my great-grandmother. We can feel confidence in His presence and active involvement, even when we can’t see it. And, knowing this, we can trust in Him whenever we are afraid.

Fear is an ever-present emotion with us. Real fears and imagined fears. Is it realistic to think we can live without fear? I don’t think so.

Psalm 56:3-4 says, “When I am afraid, I trust in you. In God – I boast in his promise – in God I trust, I am not afraid. What can mere men do to me?”

Notice the psalmist doesn’t say, “If I am afraid.” He says, “When I am afraid.” Fear is a normal human emotion designed by God to alert us to danger so that we will take action against it. Yet, sudden fear can cause us to be terrified. That can lead to panic and hysteria. God knows this. When we are afraid, God wants us to trust Him and not give way to fear. Learning to do so is our walk from fear to faith.

As we join these Old Testament “everyday” women on their walk from fear to faith, we will see consistent truths that we can apply to our lives today in our faith walk.

1: God Loves Me

John 3:16 says, “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

I am part of that world that God loves. So are you. So was my great-grandmother. So was every one of those women whose biographies are preserved in the Old Testament Scriptures. God loved her. That love applies to every human being who ever lived or does live today, whether or not she believes in Jesus Christ who is our God. But, those who do believe in Jesus have extra assurance…

Romans 5:5 says, “And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

We can count on Truth #1 — God loves me.

2: God Knows What Is Going On In My Life

God is everywhere and knows everything. That’s part of His character.

Matthew 6:31-32 — “So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

God knows what is going on in my life. If He doesn’t, then He isn’t really God. God knew what was going on in Miriam’s life, in Rahab’s life, and in Ruth’s life whether or not those women could tell. He knew their needs and how best to meet those needs. It’s a given.

We can count on Truth #2 — God knows what is going on in my life.

3: God Can Do Something About It

The angel of the Lord declares to Sarah in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything impossible for the LORD?” The answer is, NO! Remember the part of the Christmas story where the angel Gabriel tells Mary in Luke 1:37, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Since the angel lives in heaven with God, he should know. Did you notice that both of these often-quoted statements are made to women! Jesus Himself said in Mark 10:27, “All things are possible for God.”

Our God is all-powerful. He is capable of doing anything He chooses to do that is in agreement with His character and His will. He cannot lie, though; and, He cannot go back on His promises.

We can count on Truth #3 — God can do something about it. Whatever it is.

4: I Can Trust His Goodness In Whatever He Chooses To Do

This is the sticky part, isn’t it? Is God good? Do I believe that He is good all the time?

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.”

The day before my dear friend died of breast cancer, she softly spoke to me these words, “God is good.” I finished her sentence with “all the time” because I had heard her say that repeatedly. She replied, “I don’t understand all of this.” And, most of the time, we just don’t understand. But, we’ve got to bank on God’s goodness.

As you study each of these women, you’ll see that during her faith walk, a loving God said “no” to some things. Yet, she chose to trust Him rather than submit to fear. And, God rewarded her faith with an outpouring of His blessing in other ways. God may not choose to rescue you from everything that is threatening you. But, in any and all situations, you can count on these truths… God loves me, God knows what is going on in my life, God can do something about it, and…

Truth #4 — I can trust His goodness in whatever He chooses to do!

Your Faith Walk Is Your Story

This is your faith walk. Your faith walk is your story, your biography of God’s faithfulness to you and your response back to Him. Each one of these women had a story, and that story has been shared over and over and over to millions of eager listeners. You might be surprised how many times the scriptures refer to them actually telling their story in one form or another. You’re going to get to know it as you get to know them. It’s a connection with real women, everyday women.

And, each one of you has a story. There will be opportunity throughout the study for you to recall parts of your story, write about it, and share it with others. If you are in a group doing this study together, you will have a greater connection with each other in 3 months than exists today. And, you’ll have more reason to praise our ever faithful God as you see and hear how He has been faithful to each of you through the years. And, what about that woman who will one day call us “great-grandmother”? She’ll know more about you, just an EveryDay Woman, and she’ll know more about the Ever Faithful God you love and serve. She’ll know that you chose to trust God on your walk from fear to faith.

It’s going to be a great journey. And, I’m so glad to be walking beside you!

Melanie Newton

1. Sarah: A Woman Like Us

Related Media

Time Period: the Patriarchs ~2100-1800 B.C.

“Let your beauty not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes – but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.” 1 PETER 3:3-6

Background

The term patriarch denotes the father or male leader of a family or tribe. In the Bible, “patriarchs” usually refers to the three main characters in Genesis 12-50—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Great civilizations dotted the Ancient Near East. Ur was a thriving city with efficient government and impressive buildings. Under God’s direction, Abraham abandoned Ur, with its culture and conveniences, for the land of Canaan (today’s Israel). Patriarchal life was semi-nomadic as they wandered from place to place, searching for grazing land and water for their animals. They measured their wealth in livestock and movable goods such as silver, gold, and tents.

Archeology has given rich insights into patriarchal times. In the early 1900’s, Sir Leonard Woolley excavated Ur. He discovered the glory of the city, but he also recognized the sin. Idol worship characterized the city. It is little wonder that God called Abraham away.

The patriarchal era is important to us. Through Abraham and his descendants, God began to develop a people of His own. The Abrahamic Covenant (God’s unconditional pledge to Abraham) contains many precious promises: Abraham would have numerous offspring; his descendants would possess the land of Canaan, and the Messiah would come forth one day from his line. These promises passed on to Isaac and Jacob. Jacob’s sons formed the nucleus of the twelve tribes of Israel. Through one son’s kindness (Joseph), the infant “Israel” (72 people) entered Egypt and grew into a great nation.

Day One Study

Sarah is mentioned more times in Scripture than any other woman, even Mary the mother of Jesus. She is the first woman mentioned in Hebrews 11, what is often called “The Faith Hall of Fame”, and God uses her as an example for us to follow in 1 Peter 3:3-6. We should, therefore, want to find out what Sarah was like. Was she perfect? Did she ever make a poor decision? How was she like us? How can we be like her?

1. Read 1 Peter 3:3-6. What words or phrases jump out at you?

Although the focus of this passage is a marriage relationship, the principles relate to any woman’s character (“inner self”), especially the qualities of a gentle and quiet spirit that are precious in God’s sight. These enable a woman to “do what is right and not give way to fear.” But, you may be thinking, “What does that mean?” Let’s find out.

2. Read the definitions for “gentle” and “quiet” in the “Focus on the Meaning” section below. Why would these qualities in a woman be precious to God?

Focus on the Meaning: “GENTLE” does not mean passive, weak, or someone who cannot help herself. Rather, it means “controlled strength.” Picture a mother cradling a newborn. She has the physical strength to harm that child but doesn’t because her strength is under control. A gentle woman has a humble heart that bows itself before God, recognizes God’s dealings with her as good, and chooses not to be contentious or resistant against Him. “QUIET” does not mean whisper, silent, or bland. Rather, it means “tranquility arising from within” and includes the idea of causing no disturbance to others. It is an inner peace and calmness in the midst of any circumstances. Gentleness and peace are fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5: 22-23) in a believer’s life and, thus, available to every Christian woman who desires them.

3. Read Psalm 56:3-4. Notice the psalmist says “when I am afraid” not “if I am afraid.” “GIVE WAY TO FEAR” does not mean never get afraid. It means, “not being terrified by any terror.” Fear is a normal human emotion designed by God to alert us to danger so that we will take action against it. Yet, sudden fear can cause us to be terrified. Women are vulnerable to panic and hysteria. God knows this. What does the psalmist say we should do when we are afraid?

4. Back to 1 Peter 3:3-6, the phrase “the holy women of old” includes women we’ll be studying this semester. From this passage, how did they keep from “giving way to fear”?

Moving from home (at 65 years old)…

5. Read Genesis 11:27-12:9. Describe Sarah and her circumstances in life at this time. [NOTE: Although they are called Abram and Sarai in the early passages, for consistency’s sake, we’ll use “Abraham” and “Sarah” (names later given to them by God) throughout this lesson.]

6. Deeper Discoveries (optional): Research the city of Ur to find out what Sarah willingly left.

7. Barrenness for a woman in Sarah’s time was very painful, not unlike for a woman in our time. Sons, in particular, were needed to carry on the family name and livelihood. How do you think Sarah’s barrenness would have affected her feelings of security (particularly with Abraham) and significance (her status in society)?

8. Read Genesis 12:10-13:2. Why do you think Sarah went along with Abraham’s “Tell them you’re my sister” plan?

Historical Insight: Why did Abram use the “Tell them you’re my sister” plan? One historian said that if a married man of Abram’s day found himself in enemy territory, he could be killed for his wife. But, if Abram were known as her brother, someone wanting her would have to make marriage arrangements with Abram because in that society, a woman’s brother gave his sister in marriage. So Abram would have been the negotiator thus giving him the chance to act in his own interest.

9. What might have been Sarah’s emotions during this time? Would you have done the same to save the life of someone you love? Explain.

10. God honored Sarah for not giving way to fear (1 Peter 3:5-6). When Abraham failed to protect Sarah in this incident, what did God do for her?

11. Your Life’s Journey:

· Abraham was able to share his personal fears with Sarah. Is your husband or closest friend able to share personal fears with you? Why or why not?

· Abraham had not given over the safety of his own life to the Lord yet because his faith did not extend to this area. Like Abraham, what area of your life have you never really given over to the Lord, and how does this affect those around you?

· Sarah was ~65 when she left Haran, moving to who-knows-where. Sarah was willing to cooperate with God’s plan for Abraham even when it was tough for her. How are you at encouraging your husband or your closest friend to follow God’s leading? Ask someone in your small group to pray with you this next week.

Day Two Study

10 years later (Sarah is now ~75)…

12. Read Genesis 15:1-6. What was Abraham’s concern? What was still God’s plan? How many times had He told Abraham this already?

Historical Insight: In ancient times, a man who had no son could adopt a favored servant as heir to his possessions. Or, a man who had no son could take a second wife to produce an heir. Some marriage contracts even spelled out this provision. A wife was obligated to have children. If she could not, she was required to find her husband another wife who could.

13. Read Genesis 16. This is Sarah’s “Plan B” to fix Abraham’s need for an heir. Discuss her idea and the emotions she might have experienced. Notice that Abraham had not already sought a second wife.

14. Sarah’s “Plan B” becomes a nightmare! Our example was no perfect woman. She was just like we are. Look at her behavior!! How did Sarah react?

15. What was threatened in Sarah’s life, and what confirmation did she need from her husband?

Scriptural Insight: Sin now drives a wedge between Hagar and Sarah. Hostility and mutual recrimination loom large, resulting in Hagar’s fleeing her mistress’s home precipitously, and pregnant at that. But in fleeing Sarah, several things happen to Hagar. She is the first person in the Bible to whom “the angel of the Lord” appears (16:11a). She is the first woman in the Bible to whom God directly makes a promise (16:11b-12). She is the only person in the Old Testament to give God a new name (16:13). And lastly, her meeting with the angel “is the only encounter between God and a woman that results in a commemorative place name (16:14)” (Adapted from Handbook on the Pentateuch, page 91)

13 years later (Sarah is now ~89)…

16. Read Genesis 17:1-6, 15-22. God once again told Abraham His plan to provide descendants for Abraham and a faithful people for Himself. How did Abraham respond this time? What additional information is given in Romans 4:18-21?

17. Read Genesis 18:1-15. Why do you think the visitors came by Abraham’s tent? What did the Lord give Sarah for the first time?

18. What was Sarah’s initial response? Why? [NOTE: The Hebrew word translated “pleasure” in verse 12 is “eden” which is synonymous with sensual pleasure.]

19. Read Genesis 20. This happened shortly after the “tent” visit. Abraham nearly jeopardized the whole situation by again placing Sarah in another man’s harem. He fails in the same area of faith in which he failed 25 years earlier (see Day One Study). At 89 years of age she was taken into a harem of the reigning king. (This gives further information regarding Sarah’s beauty. God must have turned on her hormones again in a big way—super estrogen!!) Did Sarah try to protect herself this time or argue with Abraham? What does this tell you about her trust in both her husband and her God?

20. Your Life’s Journey: Sarah loved Abraham for many years. She followed him in some very tough situations. Their life was definitely not static or boring. Just like ours. If you have been married for several years, in what areas have you learned greater love and trust of your husband? If you aren’t married, can you think of a married couple who have exhibited growth in their love and trust for one another?

21. Tell Your Story: In what areas of your life have you learned greater trust of your God? Describe one area more fully in the space below. Please consider sharing this with your small group.

22. Think About It (optional): Someone once said, “God’s plan is completely different from what you could ever imagine and much more glorious than you would ever expect.” Have you noticed this in your life? Is anything really too hard for the Lord?

Day Three Study

23. Read Genesis 21:1-7. Describe Sarah’s experience and the story she had to tell (vs. 6).

24. The name Isaac means “he laughs.” In what ways is Isaac an appropriate name for this baby?

25. Through this whole experience, how do we know that God loved Sarah as much as Abraham?

3 years later (Sarah is now ~92)…

26. Read Genesis 21:8-13. What situation existed between Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael?

27. Contrast the response of Sarah with that of Abraham to the situation.

28. From our study, write down at least 7 descriptive characteristics of Sarah, positive or negative, that will help you to remember her.

Day Four Study — The Walk From Fear To Faith

God loved Sarah. He knew what was going on in her life. He was able to do something about it. But, God did not give Sarah a child early in her marriage nor did He prevent her from making a bad decision or spending time in a king’s harem. During her walk, a loving God said “no” to some things. Yet, she chose to trust Him rather than submit to fear. And, God rewarded her faith with an outpouring of His blessing in other ways. Likewise, God may not choose to rescue you from poor decisions made by you or someone close to you. But, in any and all situations, you can count on these truths…

§ God loves me.

§ God knows what is going on in my life.

§ God can do something about it.

§ I can trust His goodness in whatever He chooses to do!

29. List all the situations in Sarah’s life that could have “terrified” her.

30. Considering those “opportunities” for being terrified, in which ones did Sarah, by faith, do what was right and not give way to fear?

31. Your Life’s Journey:

· Is there a problem right now in your life where you must make a choice to do right, but the possible consequences fill you with fear?

· From our study of 1 Peter 3:3-6 (see Day One Study), what heart attitude will best help you face this problem with courage rather than terror?

· Are you willing to trust God and live by faith in this area? Ask someone in your small group to pray for you.

3. Rahab: A Past and a Future

Related Media

Time: Into the Land ~1400 B.C.

“By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.” HEBREWS 11:31

Background

After 40 years of struggle, Israel stood poised to enter the Promised Land. But she would enter without Moses for he was dead. Much work remained. This beautiful new land was dangerous. Numerous city-states dotted the landscape, each a well-fortified, walled fortress with a battle-tested army. Conquest would be a difficult, time-consuming task.

But, God remained faithful to His people. He equipped a new leader, Joshua, who had been trained under Moses’ leadership for 40 years for this job. Joshua knew that the 2.5 million Israelites plus their flocks and herds needed to cross a flooded river and begin their conquest of the land. So, he sent 2 spies to secretly scout the area of imminent war, particularly Jericho—the strategic point to reach the three passes through the wilderness to the rest of Canaan. God took care of the river crossing for the Israelites, miraculously providing dry ground for them to move through and onto Jericho—a walled city on ~9.5 acres—once around would have taken ~1/2 hour!!

Day One Study

1. Read Deuteronomy 4:32-40. Why did God bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, especially accompanied by so many miraculous events?

Getting To Know Rahab…

2. Read Deuteronomy 2:24-25; Joshua 2:1-24; and Joshua 9:9-11,24. What did Rahab, the people of Jericho, and the surrounding nations know about Israel and her history?

3. As a result, what was the state of morale in Jericho?

Historical Insight: The citizens of Jericho were well prepared for a siege since a spring lay inside the city walls and the harvest had just been gathered (Joshua 3:15), providing an abundant supply of food, seen in the large jars of grain found in the houses. So, the inhabitants of Jericho could have held out for perhaps several years. The full grain jars show that the siege was short since the people inside the walls consumed very little of the grain, another historical verification of biblical accuracy.

4. Use adjectives to describe Rahab in your own words.

5. What conclusion did Rahab make about the God of Israel? Could anyone else in Jericho have come to the same conclusion? Explain.

6. Deeper Discoveries (Optional): Research the ancient city of Jericho. What was it like for Rahab to live there?

7. Rahab was given an opportunity to make a conscious choice for God based upon the facts she knew about Him, and she responded with FAITH! Faith resulted in action.

· What did she do that day?

· What risk was she taking?

8. Discuss how you would reconcile Rahab’s disobeying and lying to her king when compared to the principle studied in the last lesson from Romans 13:1-5. See also Exodus 1:15-20; Acts 4:19, 5:29.

Day Two Study

9. Read Joshua 2:12-21. The spies made a covenant with Rahab.

· What part of the oath was Rahab’s responsibility?

· What part of the oath was the responsibility of the spies?

10. After the spies’ return, God parted the Jordan River for the people to cross. All of those men who had been born in the wilderness were circumcised. The Passover was celebrated. And, the people ate produce from the land. The manna stopped the next day. Read Joshua 6:1-25. What was God’s plan for defeating Jericho?

11. How did Joshua and the people respond?

Historical Insight: Surrounding Jericho was a great earthen rampart, or embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base 12–15 feet high. Above that stood a mud brick wall 6 feet thick, 20 feet high. At the crest of the embankment was a similar 20-foot high mud brick wall reaching to ~46 feet above the ground level below. This loomed high above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for seven days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for them to penetrate the impregnable fortress of Jericho. Archeological evidence reveals that the mud brick city wall collapsed at the time the city met its end (~1400 B.C.) except for a short stretch of the north city wall that did not fall as everywhere else. Also, there were houses built against the wall as in Joshua 2:15. Excavations showed that the bricks from the collapsed walls formed a ramp against the retaining wall so that the Israelites could climb up over the top as is described in Joshua 6:20. The city was thoroughly burned. (Taken from “The Walls of Jericho” by Bryant Wood, Creation magazine, March 1999, pages 36-40)

12. Rahab had to wait those seven days also. Based on her responsibility in the oath, who else was waiting with her?

13. What might have been Rahab’s emotions during this time of waiting? (See also Joshua 5:1 for the emotions of those around her.)

14. Someone once said, “Responsibility is my response to His (God’s) ability.” Rahab responded to God’s ability. What did God do for her and her family? Be specific. [NOTE: The early church viewed the blood-colored cord as a symbol of Christ’s atonement like the blood of the Passover lamb.]

15. Deeper Discoveries (Optional): Research others in scripture who experienced a time of waiting for God to act upon a promise (for example, David, Paul). What did they do while waiting?

16. Your Life’s Journey: Rahab had to wait patiently for God to act. Remember that she did not know the “marching” orders. We also must wait for God’s “always perfect” timing in answer to our prayers. Is this a problem for you? Have you become discouraged (or been discouraged in the past) from having to wait? Read Psalm 27:14. How does this scripture and the story of Rahab encourage you?

17. Think About It (Optional): Read the words to the song below. Have you considered that God was in the waiting, too?

“You are in the waiting in that moment of my life, when my faith and hope collide. My heart’s anticipating just how and when You’ll move. Oh, that’s when You prove You are in the waiting too” (“In the Waiting” by Shannon Wexelberg)

Day Three Study

18. Read Matthew 1:5, Hebrews 11:30-31, and James 2:25. This is Rahab’s report card. What does it say? [NOTE: Rahab and Salmon had a son, Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed; Obed, the father of Jesse; Jesse, the father of King David. And from the line of King David of the tribe of Judah came the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.]

19. “Disobedient”—the word used to describe the rest of the people of Jericho in Hebrews 11:31—means, “to refuse to be persuaded.” See your answers to the questions in Day One Study. Did God give them an opportunity to be “persuaded”? Explain.

20. What does the mention of Rahab three times in the New Testament tell us about the grace of God?

21. Rahab was likely a prostitute just as it is written. In what ways did God forgive her past and give her a new future?

Scriptural Insight: For centuries, Christians have tried to soften Rahab’s reputation by arguing that she was only an innkeeper, but the New Testament references to her indicate that she was an immoral woman. The Greek word used to describe Rahab is “porne” the word from which we get “pornography.” “Porne” is only used for immorality. This in no way mars the righteousness of God who used such a person in the fulfillment of His purposes. Instead this incident serves to bring His mercy and grace into bold relief. (Taken from The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, page 330)

22. Your Life’s Journey: Do you feel that some sins in your past or present are so terrible that they can’t be forgiven or that you are unworthy to serve God? What have you learned from Rahab’s story that confirms to you God can forgive your past and give you a new future?

Day Four Study — The Walk From Fear To Faith

God loved Rahab. He knew what was going on in her life. He was able to do something about it. But, God did not keep Rahab from losing the security of her home nor did He prevent her from having to go through the agony of watching the Israelites march around the city for 7 days. Remember, she didn’t know that plan. When she stepped out in faith, He met her there. She trusted Him to rescue her, and He did. God judged her by her heart—the inward woman, not by her lifestyle—the outward appearance. He not only saved her life, but He forgave her past and gave her a new future. She chose to trust Him rather than submit to fear. Likewise, God forgives your past and gives you a new future. And, in any and all situations, you can count on these truths…

§ God loves me.

§ God knows what is going on in my life.

§ God can do something about it.

§ I can trust His goodness in whatever He chooses to do!

23. List all the opportunities for fear in Rahab’s life.

24. How did she demonstrate faith at those times?

25. Tell Your Story: We will probably never be faced with the dramatic circumstances of Rahab, but we do have our own distressing situations in life. Read Psalm 40:1-3 and 46:1-3. What problems are you facing now, and what choices are available to you? How will you respond? Journal this. This is part of your story.

You are here

From the series: 網上牧師雜誌 – 中文版（繁體） PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

網上牧師雜誌 – 中文版（繁體）, TCh Ed, Issue 15 2015 年 春季

第一部分：講道的兩個根基

傳道者道成肉身的信息

第二部分：宣講的準備

第三部份：領導 – 作一個屬靈榜樣

「你個人對聖靈的降服」第五點

因聖靈充滿而達至父母與子女之間的和諧（以弗所書6:1-4）

被聖靈充滿，在工作間的互相合作（以弗所書6:5-9）

第四部份：講道大綱

耶穌與末大拉的馬利亞的談話

From the series: 網上牧師雜誌 – 中文版（繁體） PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

From the series: John PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Lesson 106: Loving and Serving Jesus (John 21:15-17)

1. Loving Jesus is at the heart of a relationship with Him.

A. Loving Jesus from the heart is the main thing to focus on in your relationship with Him.

B. Loving Jesus from the heart is the result of experiencing His abundant grace.

C. Loving Jesus requires that we be restored when we have sinned against Him.

2. If you love Jesus, serve Him by feeding His sheep.

A. Jesus has a flock and He wants those who love Him to feed and shepherd His flock.

B. Jesus’ sheep belong to Him and are precious to Him because He gave His life for them.

C. Jesus wants to use every believer to help feed and shepherd His sheep.

D. Love for Jesus is the foundation for serving His sheep.

Conclusion

Application Questions

From the series: John PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

From the series: John PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Lesson 107: Trusting the Sovereign Lord (John 21:18-25)

1. We can trust and follow the Lord for our future, including trials and the time and manner of our death.

2. We can trust and follow the Lord for how and where we serve Him, without being concerned about how He uses others (21:20-22).

3. We can trust the Lord concerning His promise to return, even when we don’t understand the details of it.

4. We can trust the Lord concerning the reliability of His Word, including what it contains and what it omits.

Conclusion

Application Questions

From the series: John PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

From the series: John PREVIOUS PAGE

Lesson 108: John: A Final Flyover (John, Various Texts)

John’s Method:

1. The Gospel of John is a selective, historical, symbolic, and purposeful testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

A. John is a deliberately selective testimony.

B. John is a historically factual testimony.

C. John is an obviously symbolic testimony.

D. John is a profoundly simple testimony.

E. John is a deliberately purposeful testimony.

John’s Message:

2. The Gospel of John reveals who Jesus is, who we are, and how we must respond.

A. The Gospel of John reveals who Jesus is: God in human flesh, the Christ, the only Savior of the world.

1) Jesus is God.

2) Jesus is human.

3) Jesus is the Christ, the only Savior.

B. The Gospel of John reveals who we are: sinners in need of a Savior.

C. The Gospel of John reveals how we must respond to this testimony about Jesus: Believe in Him, grow in Him, and serve Him.

1) We must believe in Jesus Christ.

2) We must grow in Jesus Christ.

3) We must serve Jesus Christ out of love for Him.

Conclusion

Application Questions

From the series: John PREVIOUS PAGE

From the series: 2 John: Bound By Truth And Love PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Lesson 1: Truth as the Foundation for Love (2 John 1-3)

From the series: 2 John: Bound By Truth And Love PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

From the series: Colossians PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Lesson 1: In Christ, In Flagstaff (Colossians 1:1-2)

1. God has equipped His church in Christ.

A. God has given apostles to His church.

B. God has set apart believers into a family in Christ.

C. God relates to us in grace and in peace.

2. God has equipped us to be His church in Flagstaff.

Conclusion

Application Questions

From the series: Colossians PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

From the series: Luke: Savior of the Outcast PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Lesson 99: Pursuing Holiness in the Community of Faith (Luke 17:1-6)

From the series: Luke: Savior of the Outcast PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

From the series: Everyday Women, Ever Faithful God PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Introduction: The Walk From Fear To Faith

Connecting With Old Testament Everyday Women

Trusting In Our Ever Faithful God

1: God Loves Me

網上牧師雜誌 – 中文版（繁體）, TCh Ed, Issue 15 2015 年春季