Thursday, April 29, 2004
A provocative book review from a pagan. Is this saying more about the framework of mainstream Christianity in America than about the book itself?
—Lou
Ugly as Sin
by Sacha Zimmerman
Post date: 04.29.04
Glorious Appearing: The End of Days
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
(Tyndale House Publishers, 400 pp., $24.99)
I opened Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's Glorious Appearing with my usual cluster of enlightened liberal assumptions. I was certain that this Evangelical book would further alienate me from Christianity by repeating the fire-and-brimstone analyses of contemporary moral issues that I have grown to associate with this kind of religion: sex before marriage, abortion, alcohol, divorce--all the "taboos" that ordinary and decent Americans are "violating" all the time. But this repulsive book, which now rides the top of the best-seller list the way The Passion of the Christ rode the top of the movie-grosses list a few weeks ago, did something completely different: It made me want to defend Christianity vigorously. Did I "see the light," or find Jesus, or otherwise metamorphose as a result of this book? Of course not. It's just that Glorious Appearing is such an ugly expression of Christianity that I could not help but think of all the beauty of Christianity that is missing from it.
In Glorious Appearing, we find ourselves on the edge of time as a people. The Rapture has come and gone, years of Tribulation have been waged, and now the day has come: Jesus Christ, with white robes and a white stallion, will ride to Earth on the clouds and once and for all embrace those who have come to see the light of God--and also smite his enemies to hell in the most monstrous ways imaginable. There have been many great pulps that wage wars of good versus evil, pulps that even have overt biblical overtones. Stephen King's The Stand is a post-apocalyptic battle between good and evil that occurs after the majority of the Earth's population is wiped out by a particularly virulent flu. I read an interview with King a few years back in which he said that the reason people find his novel so compelling is that everyone imagines himself as one of the survivors--or, in the vernacular of the Rapture, one left behind. I think King is right: What is an abandoned world like? How do we recreate ourselves once we are back (at least materially) to the state of nature? Glorious Appearing handles these issues with biblical literalism. There are no allegories, no metaphors, no parables. There is nothing figurative or conceptual at all. Armageddon literally comprises lakes of fire, rivers of blood, men that melt in the face of Jesus, and other excruciating deaths that are part of the Divine Justice. The state of nature is the playground for the war between Jesus and Satan. Forget how you've lived your life; forget your questions, thoughts, opinions; forget reality. Accept Christ or die. I mean, really die.
This is the populist variety of Evangelicalism at its coarsest: a total faith based on total fear. There is no discussion of how Christianity as a religion has improved the characters' lives or filled them with love; rather, belief in Jesus is based on the proof of the Rapture and the years of Tribulation. Anyone who has lived through this time and not accepted Christ is downright stupid, downright evil. And that is as delicate as it gets in Glorious Appearing: You believe in Christ or you don't, and therefore you are rewarded or you go to hell. That is why the novel reduces religion to the basest eschatological expedience: Millions of people shrewdly convert on the last day of the world in a final recognition that the Messiah is coming, which seems to immediately absolve them of lives otherwise spent in "aberrant" religions or plain-old sin. Glorious Appearing is a fine document of present-day anti-intellectualism in America. Those who question the word of God as it is understood by the Evangelicals are just being influenced by the devil. Thinking people are renounced: Lucifer is just whispering in their ears. Spiritual indecision is considered narcissistic, and, as one believer in the novel puts it, "vain, proud. In a word evil." The possibility that some are thoughtful or otherwise intellectually engaged in understanding this new world order is either not considered or it is pathologized:
No one who lived through the Tribulation had it easy. That she had to live through it at all was her own fault--for having heard the message and ignored it for so long. She had not considered herself a rejecter. Leah had seen herself as an intellectual, a thinker, a ponderer.
Evangelists and evangelistic-minded friends had told her and told her that a nondecision was a "no" decision. She had argued. She wasn't saying no, she said; she was still thinking. Well, one of her well-meaning friends had said, don't think yourself into hell. Or into being left behind.
Which, of course, is exactly what happened. There is no nuance: Not to decide is to decide against. There are only two ontological possibilities in this Evangelicalism. The simplicity of this book is impossible to exaggerate. Page after page of the novel (it is really just a lurid sermon) is cribbed from the Bible to instruct the people to praise Jesus, for he is the one and true God; for otherwise they must face his wrath; for to love Christ is to reap eternal reward; for, again, he is the one and true God--and on and on and on, until what feels like the end of time.
And, yet, aside from being much more powerful than Satan, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the Jesus of this novel and the prince of darkness. Christ is not compassionate any longer, he has lost his patience with forgiveness, and he is happy to slaughter anyone who doesn't bow down before him, call him "Lord," and mean it. Meanwhile, all the believing heroes of the novel look on, practically cheering, "I told you so!" as millions are disemboweled, burned alive, or trampled to death. They banally regard millions of people as they are being butchered around them. Their notion of compassion in the midst of this sacred genocide is to wonder if perhaps they should shield their children's eyes. There is no mercy; the light of God is wrath, vengeance, and reward to those who worship Christ. All this traduces the most beautiful dimension of Christian thought. As I read this thing, I kept wondering whether somebody will finally defy Christ by speaking for Jesus.
But we are not exactly a thinking nation, and good versus evil is just a whole lot easier than the kind of thought that really goes into a consideration of the genuine complexity of Scripture. And so a lowest-common-denominator Evangelicalism is the fastest-growing religious movement in the United States right now, and Glorious Appearing tops the charts. The Evangelicalism of LaHaye and Jenkins is just the kid at school whose answer to the question "Why?" is "Because." Since this kind of faith is unquestionable, it leaves you mainly with an impression of arrogance. In this universe of definitions, believers can define themselves into a position of superiority--which is as American as apple pie. America is Christian, America is right, God is on our side. It is a theology of national egoism. A last judgment--I mean a Last Judgment--is the best way to prove how right one is without having to work up any sympathy for those who are wrong. In Glorious Appearing, judgment has come and gone, wrapping up the Left Behind series, but, as any good thriller writers might, LaHaye and Jenkins have left room for the possibility of still another sequel. It seems, after a millennium of Heaven on Earth following the Glorious Appearing, Lucifer is released from Hell to test the people once more. With any luck they will pass the test. One way they could do so is by leaving the Left Behind series way behind.
Sacha Zimmerman is the assistant managing editor at TNR.
Copyright 2003, The New Republic
—Lou
Ugly as Sin
by Sacha Zimmerman
Post date: 04.29.04
Glorious Appearing: The End of Days
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
(Tyndale House Publishers, 400 pp., $24.99)
I opened Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's Glorious Appearing with my usual cluster of enlightened liberal assumptions. I was certain that this Evangelical book would further alienate me from Christianity by repeating the fire-and-brimstone analyses of contemporary moral issues that I have grown to associate with this kind of religion: sex before marriage, abortion, alcohol, divorce--all the "taboos" that ordinary and decent Americans are "violating" all the time. But this repulsive book, which now rides the top of the best-seller list the way The Passion of the Christ rode the top of the movie-grosses list a few weeks ago, did something completely different: It made me want to defend Christianity vigorously. Did I "see the light," or find Jesus, or otherwise metamorphose as a result of this book? Of course not. It's just that Glorious Appearing is such an ugly expression of Christianity that I could not help but think of all the beauty of Christianity that is missing from it.
In Glorious Appearing, we find ourselves on the edge of time as a people. The Rapture has come and gone, years of Tribulation have been waged, and now the day has come: Jesus Christ, with white robes and a white stallion, will ride to Earth on the clouds and once and for all embrace those who have come to see the light of God--and also smite his enemies to hell in the most monstrous ways imaginable. There have been many great pulps that wage wars of good versus evil, pulps that even have overt biblical overtones. Stephen King's The Stand is a post-apocalyptic battle between good and evil that occurs after the majority of the Earth's population is wiped out by a particularly virulent flu. I read an interview with King a few years back in which he said that the reason people find his novel so compelling is that everyone imagines himself as one of the survivors--or, in the vernacular of the Rapture, one left behind. I think King is right: What is an abandoned world like? How do we recreate ourselves once we are back (at least materially) to the state of nature? Glorious Appearing handles these issues with biblical literalism. There are no allegories, no metaphors, no parables. There is nothing figurative or conceptual at all. Armageddon literally comprises lakes of fire, rivers of blood, men that melt in the face of Jesus, and other excruciating deaths that are part of the Divine Justice. The state of nature is the playground for the war between Jesus and Satan. Forget how you've lived your life; forget your questions, thoughts, opinions; forget reality. Accept Christ or die. I mean, really die.
This is the populist variety of Evangelicalism at its coarsest: a total faith based on total fear. There is no discussion of how Christianity as a religion has improved the characters' lives or filled them with love; rather, belief in Jesus is based on the proof of the Rapture and the years of Tribulation. Anyone who has lived through this time and not accepted Christ is downright stupid, downright evil. And that is as delicate as it gets in Glorious Appearing: You believe in Christ or you don't, and therefore you are rewarded or you go to hell. That is why the novel reduces religion to the basest eschatological expedience: Millions of people shrewdly convert on the last day of the world in a final recognition that the Messiah is coming, which seems to immediately absolve them of lives otherwise spent in "aberrant" religions or plain-old sin. Glorious Appearing is a fine document of present-day anti-intellectualism in America. Those who question the word of God as it is understood by the Evangelicals are just being influenced by the devil. Thinking people are renounced: Lucifer is just whispering in their ears. Spiritual indecision is considered narcissistic, and, as one believer in the novel puts it, "vain, proud. In a word evil." The possibility that some are thoughtful or otherwise intellectually engaged in understanding this new world order is either not considered or it is pathologized:
No one who lived through the Tribulation had it easy. That she had to live through it at all was her own fault--for having heard the message and ignored it for so long. She had not considered herself a rejecter. Leah had seen herself as an intellectual, a thinker, a ponderer.
Evangelists and evangelistic-minded friends had told her and told her that a nondecision was a "no" decision. She had argued. She wasn't saying no, she said; she was still thinking. Well, one of her well-meaning friends had said, don't think yourself into hell. Or into being left behind.
Which, of course, is exactly what happened. There is no nuance: Not to decide is to decide against. There are only two ontological possibilities in this Evangelicalism. The simplicity of this book is impossible to exaggerate. Page after page of the novel (it is really just a lurid sermon) is cribbed from the Bible to instruct the people to praise Jesus, for he is the one and true God; for otherwise they must face his wrath; for to love Christ is to reap eternal reward; for, again, he is the one and true God--and on and on and on, until what feels like the end of time.
And, yet, aside from being much more powerful than Satan, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the Jesus of this novel and the prince of darkness. Christ is not compassionate any longer, he has lost his patience with forgiveness, and he is happy to slaughter anyone who doesn't bow down before him, call him "Lord," and mean it. Meanwhile, all the believing heroes of the novel look on, practically cheering, "I told you so!" as millions are disemboweled, burned alive, or trampled to death. They banally regard millions of people as they are being butchered around them. Their notion of compassion in the midst of this sacred genocide is to wonder if perhaps they should shield their children's eyes. There is no mercy; the light of God is wrath, vengeance, and reward to those who worship Christ. All this traduces the most beautiful dimension of Christian thought. As I read this thing, I kept wondering whether somebody will finally defy Christ by speaking for Jesus.
But we are not exactly a thinking nation, and good versus evil is just a whole lot easier than the kind of thought that really goes into a consideration of the genuine complexity of Scripture. And so a lowest-common-denominator Evangelicalism is the fastest-growing religious movement in the United States right now, and Glorious Appearing tops the charts. The Evangelicalism of LaHaye and Jenkins is just the kid at school whose answer to the question "Why?" is "Because." Since this kind of faith is unquestionable, it leaves you mainly with an impression of arrogance. In this universe of definitions, believers can define themselves into a position of superiority--which is as American as apple pie. America is Christian, America is right, God is on our side. It is a theology of national egoism. A last judgment--I mean a Last Judgment--is the best way to prove how right one is without having to work up any sympathy for those who are wrong. In Glorious Appearing, judgment has come and gone, wrapping up the Left Behind series, but, as any good thriller writers might, LaHaye and Jenkins have left room for the possibility of still another sequel. It seems, after a millennium of Heaven on Earth following the Glorious Appearing, Lucifer is released from Hell to test the people once more. With any luck they will pass the test. One way they could do so is by leaving the Left Behind series way behind.
Sacha Zimmerman is the assistant managing editor at TNR.
Copyright 2003, The New Republic
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Updated class notes:
A Study in EPHESIANS
Uncovering the Mystery of God’s Plan
WARNING: This material could change your life – Radically
The language of Ephesians is very forceful in indicating that there is something intentional going on. The words; chose(n), predestined, according to his will, purpose(d), prepared in advance, appear repeatedly in the book.
God has a plan that has been hidden – A Mystery
A top-secret campaign to surprise and overwhelm the Enemy, retake the territory and restore his people
Planned before the world began (1:4)
Accomplished in Christ (1:9,10,20-22; 3:11)
Guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (1:13,14)
Revealed / carried out by His people (1:4,5,11,12,22,23; 3:10,11)
A 1 –2 Punch
1. His is going to unite all things under one lord
2. He is going to do it in and through the Church
This is God’s Plan – His Will.
If we want to know what God’s will is we need look no further than this. This should have a serious impact on the constant question: “what is God’s will for my life.” If we understand the message of Paul / God in the book of Ephesians we will know the answer to that question!!!
(More on this later.)
Here’s how the Plan unfolds: (It is also the flow of the book)
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned (the sequel) – Chap 1
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death – Chap 2
3. “Enemies” at “peace” – Chap 2
4. A people indwelt – Chap 2
5. A people empowered – Chap 3 & 4
Part I – Christ Enthroned
Chapter 1 is primarily concerned with establishing where Christ is and what He is doing – the first punch. He is enthroned and all things are being united under Him.
We’ve talked about the centrality of the Resurrection and now we need to follow through with it to understand it in the mindset of the first century Jew, which, of course, Paul was. Was the Resurrection just an issue of life after death? NO. To be sure it was about the fact that the leader of the “movement” was not dead. But it wasn’t just that he wasn’t dead but what that means – he is alive and well, HE REIGNS.
The Old Testament uses the language of “Raising Up” to describe this. It can certainly refer to the raising up from death in the Resurrection but more significantly it refers to the raising up of someone to accomplish a specific task; namely, redemption and restoration. (Compare Psalm 80:12-19; 85; 92:8-15; 94:1-3,16-23 and Isa 44 and 45 –the raising up of Cyrus)
So, when we read Eph 1:19-22 , where he is “raised up” and “seated him at the right hand”, we need to understand what that would mean to a first century Jew. IT IS POWERFUL MESSIANIC LANGUAGE.
The Resurrection was the “raising up” of the Messiah, the King of Kings, and the promise of a new life for his people. JESUS IS THE PROMISED ONE. Their hope is fulfilled in Jesus. All of the expectations are met in him. He is the “Desire of Ages”.
Now, if we revisit what we learned about the expectations that the Jews had for the Messiah we will see something very significant.
The 4 main expectations were:
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple (This would not have been prominent during Jesus time because there was a temple. But, it was destroyed in 70AD and therefore would have been an expectation again.)
Compare these expectations with how Paul tells the story of God’s unfolding plan.
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death
3. “Enemies” at “peace”
5. A people indwelt
6. A people empowered
We can see that Paul is setting the stage for a powerful presentation of God’s story – His plan to meet the expectations of the Old Testament.
Ephesians 2: Part 1 – The defeat of and freedom from our enemies.
Told in Story form not Theology
Who are our enemies? Critical question. We have to know who were fighting here. Chapter 2 reveals who are real enemies are and who they aren’t and what to do about them.
Our Enemies:
1. The devil – vs 2 – the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Matt 13:39; Luke 10:19; Eph 6:11,12; 1 Pet 5:8)
2. The law – Gal 3:10, 23-25, Col 2:13-15; Eph 2:15
3. Sin – Gal 3:22; Col 2:13-15
4. Death – I Cor 15: 20-28, 54-57; Rom 5:12 – 6:23
We are also “Raised Up” with Christ and seated with Him in the Heavenly Realms
What are or Where are the Heavenly Realms?
1. Blessed us in the heavenly realms – (1:3)
2. Christ seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms – (1:20)
3. We are seated with Him in the heavenly realms – (2:6)
4. The Church and the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms – (3:10)
5. The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms – (6:12)
We are all in the Heavenly Realms right now! The Heavenly Realm is the dominion of God (Col 1:13) and everything is there. It is not some far off place that doesn’t mean anything now. It is a real place where very real things are happening.
What are we raised up for? As we saw before, to be raised up is to be set apart for a purpose
(hmmm – ecclesia, the church, = “called out ones”)
To the Praise of His glory – Eph 3-21 Glory in the church
Raised up to:
1. Show His incomparable riches of his Grace (What are his riches?)
Kindness, mercy, forgiveness of sins, wisdom and understanding, the Holy Spirit
2. Do what we were created to do – “good works”
We now have FREEDOM to be and do what were unable to.
We were prisoners locked up, unable to fight, confused, without hope
Restored to our true King
Enabled to fight again (eventhough the victory is assured the war is not over)
We are now able to LIVE for Christ with hearts full of hope and love
As His agents or Ministers of Reconciliation
Col 1:9-14; 1 Cor 15:58, 2 Cor 5:14-21
Ephesians 2 – Part 2 Our ‘enemies” at Peace.
Who did the Jews think of when they thought of their “enemies?” Gentiles
Who are the gentiles now in Christ – members of God’s Household!
Chapter 2 takes us through the amazing truth of how those who use to be enemies are now members of the same family – are a part of Israel!
On what basis was one considered a Jew?
On what basis is one now a member of God’s family?
IS THAT ALL???? This is an outrage to a good Jew. And not an easy thing for them to accept.
Remember Peter in Acts 10?
Now when we talk about Peace here what is going on? What do you think of when you think of Peace?
What is going on in the text? He himself is our Peace. He made Peace.
The greek word for Peace is Ireneaus – From which we get our English word Irony
What is irony? Having two things together that don’t usually go together.
This is the kind of peace Paul is talking about!
How is it accomplished?
What is the “dividing wall of hostility?”
Now there is one “new man” – a new constituency to Israel.
So why is this a big thing? Why should we be blown away by this? This is a social, political and economic bombshell. This is a redefinition of who Israel is.
This is the uniting of “all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
The church is the new Israel. This is where these social, political and economic realities need to be exhibited for the whole world to see. We should live differently because our God reigns and we give him authority over our whole lives and this equates to a radical new social reality. (See chapter 3:6-11) This should cross every barrier of race, economic status, gender, political party, etc.. Because Jesus is Lord every other identifying factor is less important. Because Jesus is Lord every other desire is laid at His feet. Because Jesus is Lord every opportunity for self advancement is subjugated to the needs of the whole. As one goes we all go.
Ephesians 2 – Part 3 A People Reconstituted - The Temple Restored
Paul is now about to bring it all back together, tie up the loose ends, connect the dots and help us see how all this relates to the big picture – the whole story. He wants to remind them of the Story of what God has been doing since the beginning and where they are in the story.
So he moves to a picture of two very significant ideas, concepts for the Jew:
1. God’s Household – His people
2. The Temple
(In studying the scriptures it is important to look for themes – reoccurring subjects that are dealt with throughout the bible. It is in recognizing and understanding these themes and their importance that we can get in touch with the heart of God.)
Eph 2
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
In referring to these ideas Paul connects to two very significant symbols in the Jewish mind.
What was the significance of the Temple? What was it’s purpose?
In order to understand these ideas, these symbols we must go back and see the history of their development.
So we go back to the Old Testament. To the beginning.
Genesis 3
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
The Story of Abraham
The Exodus – God calling his people out of Egypt.
Exodus 25
8 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
Exodus 29
42 "For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD . There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
44 "So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
The Story of the Tabernacle in Israel’s history:
David’s thoughts and actions:
Psalm 132
Then we go to the Prophets and see the story continue when Israel returns from exile.
See Haggai 1-2:9
Then the Old Testament ends. The job is never completed
Then Jesus comes John 1:14 – he pitches he tent with men. He also declares that where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name – “I will be there.”
When he dies the temple curtain is torn in two by unseen hands.
And then Paul makes this declaration in Ephesians 2 that we are be being to become a temple.
Paul’s other teachings on this subject:
I Cor 3:1-17 – in the presence of division in the church, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are God’s building, His Temple, and that if anyone destroys God’s temple – by being devisive – then God will destroy him. These are pretty strong words and they have to do with the unity of believers. And this is important because this is where God lives – this is His temple!
I Cor 5:5 – An interesting reference. In the context of church discipline Paul says that when the church is gathered “the power of the Lord Jesus is present.” Wow. This reminds us of Jesus’ own words, “where two or three are gathered, I will be there.” This is a strong indication that there is more going on in Jesus being present when WE are gathered together than the idea of “Jesus in me.”
I Cor 6:14-19 – most of the references to us being the body of Christ or His temple (or that of the Spirit) are plural. They refer to the gathering of the saints, to God’s household, his people corporate. It is not an individualistic thing. Yes, the Spirit does dwell in each one of us but that is not the emphasis. However, here, in chapter 6 we have the oft quoted verse, “don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” This is actually referring to the individual. But, please note the context (v.15 specifically) tells us that we are all members of Christ’s body. In the larger context, nearly the whole book of I Corinthians is a chastisement of the church because they are not living with regard to one another as being members of the same body. What one does affects the whole bunch. That is the point of this particular passage. It is not a reminder of personal, individual significance! It is just the opposite! Mind what you do because it affects everyone else and the corporate condition of the body of Christ, His temple.
2 Cor 6:14-7:1 – further discussion reminding the church that bonds, agreements, relationships with those outside the body are sometimes inappropriate because they go too far in uniting the body of Christ with unbelievers.
Peter’s teaching is the same:
I Peter 2:4-12
Rev 21
It ends where it started – God dwelling with His people
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
And what about the temple?
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
And the writer of the Hebrews confirms in a more in depth study chapters 8-10.
So, what conclusions can we draw?
Why are we here? To these buildings every Sunday?
What is our agenda? Our purpose?
Are we here to get refreshed? To get refueled for another week of survivor? J
We should not mistake the benefits for the purpose! There is another purpose.
Our gatherings – actually our whole lives - are for the indwelling of the Spirit of God. This is an awesome truth, both grand and glorious as well as sober and scary. But, if this is our calling, and it is, then we need to make it a priority. If fact, the number one priority of our lives should be to seek to understand and become the part of the body, the temple, the household of God we are meant to be.
Let me add a quote from Allen Wakabayashi’s book, Kingdom Come:
“So as you think about living out the kingdom of God, remember that Gods intent for the community of faith is to serve as a Spirit filled community before a watching world. Living out the kingdom is not an individualistic endeavor. The kingdom is not primarily a confederation of people working out salvation on our own, and the corporate nature of the kingdom is not meant to support individuals as they live out their kingdom lives or to meet their needs. Nor is it a community of people seeking to live out the kingdom under their own power. Living out the kingdom demands that we all serve in a Spirit-filled community that is seeking to witness to the kingdom before a watching world.” (Page 143,144)
A Study in EPHESIANS
Uncovering the Mystery of God’s Plan
WARNING: This material could change your life – Radically
The language of Ephesians is very forceful in indicating that there is something intentional going on. The words; chose(n), predestined, according to his will, purpose(d), prepared in advance, appear repeatedly in the book.
God has a plan that has been hidden – A Mystery
A top-secret campaign to surprise and overwhelm the Enemy, retake the territory and restore his people
Planned before the world began (1:4)
Accomplished in Christ (1:9,10,20-22; 3:11)
Guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (1:13,14)
Revealed / carried out by His people (1:4,5,11,12,22,23; 3:10,11)
A 1 –2 Punch
1. His is going to unite all things under one lord
2. He is going to do it in and through the Church
This is God’s Plan – His Will.
If we want to know what God’s will is we need look no further than this. This should have a serious impact on the constant question: “what is God’s will for my life.” If we understand the message of Paul / God in the book of Ephesians we will know the answer to that question!!!
Here’s how the Plan unfolds: (It is also the flow of the book)
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned (the sequel) – Chap 1
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death – Chap 2
3. “Enemies” at “peace” – Chap 2
4. A people indwelt – Chap 2
5. A people empowered – Chap 3 & 4
Part I – Christ Enthroned
Chapter 1 is primarily concerned with establishing where Christ is and what He is doing – the first punch. He is enthroned and all things are being united under Him.
We’ve talked about the centrality of the Resurrection and now we need to follow through with it to understand it in the mindset of the first century Jew, which, of course, Paul was. Was the Resurrection just an issue of life after death? NO. To be sure it was about the fact that the leader of the “movement” was not dead. But it wasn’t just that he wasn’t dead but what that means – he is alive and well, HE REIGNS.
The Old Testament uses the language of “Raising Up” to describe this. It can certainly refer to the raising up from death in the Resurrection but more significantly it refers to the raising up of someone to accomplish a specific task; namely, redemption and restoration. (Compare Psalm 80:12-19; 85; 92:8-15; 94:1-3,16-23 and Isa 44 and 45 –the raising up of Cyrus)
So, when we read Eph 1:19-22 , where he is “raised up” and “seated him at the right hand”, we need to understand what that would mean to a first century Jew. IT IS POWERFUL MESSIANIC LANGUAGE.
The Resurrection was the “raising up” of the Messiah, the King of Kings, and the promise of a new life for his people. JESUS IS THE PROMISED ONE. Their hope is fulfilled in Jesus. All of the expectations are met in him. He is the “Desire of Ages”.
Now, if we revisit what we learned about the expectations that the Jews had for the Messiah we will see something very significant.
The 4 main expectations were:
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple (This would not have been prominent during Jesus time because there was a temple. But, it was destroyed in 70AD and therefore would have been an expectation again.)
Compare these expectations with how Paul tells the story of God’s unfolding plan.
1. The return of the King (Messiah)
2. Overthrow of their Enemies
3. Vindication of God’s people
4. Restoration of the Temple
1. Christ, the King, is Enthroned
2. Enemies defeated – sin and death
3. “Enemies” at “peace”
5. A people indwelt
6. A people empowered
We can see that Paul is setting the stage for a powerful presentation of God’s story – His plan to meet the expectations of the Old Testament.
Ephesians 2: Part 1 – The defeat of and freedom from our enemies.
Told in Story form not Theology
Who are our enemies? Critical question. We have to know who were fighting here. Chapter 2 reveals who are real enemies are and who they aren’t and what to do about them.
Our Enemies:
1. The devil – vs 2 – the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Matt 13:39; Luke 10:19; Eph 6:11,12; 1 Pet 5:8)
2. The law – Gal 3:10, 23-25, Col 2:13-15; Eph 2:15
3. Sin – Gal 3:22; Col 2:13-15
4. Death – I Cor 15: 20-28, 54-57; Rom 5:12 – 6:23
We are also “Raised Up” with Christ and seated with Him in the Heavenly Realms
What are or Where are the Heavenly Realms?
1. Blessed us in the heavenly realms – (1:3)
2. Christ seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms – (1:20)
3. We are seated with Him in the heavenly realms – (2:6)
4. The Church and the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms – (3:10)
5. The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms – (6:12)
We are all in the Heavenly Realms right now! The Heavenly Realm is the dominion of God (Col 1:13) and everything is there. It is not some far off place that doesn’t mean anything now. It is a real place where very real things are happening.
What are we raised up for? As we saw before, to be raised up is to be set apart for a purpose
(hmmm – ecclesia, the church, = “called out ones”)
To the Praise of His glory – Eph 3-21 Glory in the church
Raised up to:
1. Show His incomparable riches of his Grace (What are his riches?)
Kindness, mercy, forgiveness of sins, wisdom and understanding, the Holy Spirit
2. Do what we were created to do – “good works”
We now have FREEDOM to be and do what were unable to.
We were prisoners locked up, unable to fight, confused, without hope
Restored to our true King
Enabled to fight again (eventhough the victory is assured the war is not over)
We are now able to LIVE for Christ with hearts full of hope and love
As His agents or Ministers of Reconciliation
Col 1:9-14; 1 Cor 15:58, 2 Cor 5:14-21
Ephesians 2 – Part 2 Our ‘enemies” at Peace.
Who did the Jews think of when they thought of their “enemies?” Gentiles
Who are the gentiles now in Christ – members of God’s Household!
Chapter 2 takes us through the amazing truth of how those who use to be enemies are now members of the same family – are a part of Israel!
On what basis was one considered a Jew?
On what basis is one now a member of God’s family?
IS THAT ALL???? This is an outrage to a good Jew. And not an easy thing for them to accept.
Remember Peter in Acts 10?
Now when we talk about Peace here what is going on? What do you think of when you think of Peace?
What is going on in the text? He himself is our Peace. He made Peace.
The greek word for Peace is Ireneaus – From which we get our English word Irony
What is irony? Having two things together that don’t usually go together.
This is the kind of peace Paul is talking about!
How is it accomplished?
What is the “dividing wall of hostility?”
Now there is one “new man” – a new constituency to Israel.
So why is this a big thing? Why should we be blown away by this? This is a social, political and economic bombshell. This is a redefinition of who Israel is.
This is the uniting of “all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
The church is the new Israel. This is where these social, political and economic realities need to be exhibited for the whole world to see. We should live differently because our God reigns and we give him authority over our whole lives and this equates to a radical new social reality. (See chapter 3:6-11) This should cross every barrier of race, economic status, gender, political party, etc.. Because Jesus is Lord every other identifying factor is less important. Because Jesus is Lord every other desire is laid at His feet. Because Jesus is Lord every opportunity for self advancement is subjugated to the needs of the whole. As one goes we all go.
Ephesians 2 – Part 3 A People Reconstituted - The Temple Restored
Paul is now about to bring it all back together, tie up the loose ends, connect the dots and help us see how all this relates to the big picture – the whole story. He wants to remind them of the Story of what God has been doing since the beginning and where they are in the story.
So he moves to a picture of two very significant ideas, concepts for the Jew:
1. God’s Household – His people
2. The Temple
(In studying the scriptures it is important to look for themes – reoccurring subjects that are dealt with throughout the bible. It is in recognizing and understanding these themes and their importance that we can get in touch with the heart of God.)
Eph 2
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
In referring to these ideas Paul connects to two very significant symbols in the Jewish mind.
What was the significance of the Temple? What was it’s purpose?
In order to understand these ideas, these symbols we must go back and see the history of their development.
So we go back to the Old Testament. To the beginning.
Genesis 3
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
The Story of Abraham
The Exodus – God calling his people out of Egypt.
Exodus 25
8 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
Exodus 29
42 "For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD . There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
44 "So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
The Story of the Tabernacle in Israel’s history:
David’s thoughts and actions:
Psalm 132
Then we go to the Prophets and see the story continue when Israel returns from exile.
See Haggai 1-2:9
Then the Old Testament ends. The job is never completed
Then Jesus comes John 1:14 – he pitches he tent with men. He also declares that where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name – “I will be there.”
When he dies the temple curtain is torn in two by unseen hands.
And then Paul makes this declaration in Ephesians 2 that we are be being to become a temple.
Paul’s other teachings on this subject:
I Cor 3:1-17 – in the presence of division in the church, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are God’s building, His Temple, and that if anyone destroys God’s temple – by being devisive – then God will destroy him. These are pretty strong words and they have to do with the unity of believers. And this is important because this is where God lives – this is His temple!
I Cor 5:5 – An interesting reference. In the context of church discipline Paul says that when the church is gathered “the power of the Lord Jesus is present.” Wow. This reminds us of Jesus’ own words, “where two or three are gathered, I will be there.” This is a strong indication that there is more going on in Jesus being present when WE are gathered together than the idea of “Jesus in me.”
I Cor 6:14-19 – most of the references to us being the body of Christ or His temple (or that of the Spirit) are plural. They refer to the gathering of the saints, to God’s household, his people corporate. It is not an individualistic thing. Yes, the Spirit does dwell in each one of us but that is not the emphasis. However, here, in chapter 6 we have the oft quoted verse, “don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” This is actually referring to the individual. But, please note the context (v.15 specifically) tells us that we are all members of Christ’s body. In the larger context, nearly the whole book of I Corinthians is a chastisement of the church because they are not living with regard to one another as being members of the same body. What one does affects the whole bunch. That is the point of this particular passage. It is not a reminder of personal, individual significance! It is just the opposite! Mind what you do because it affects everyone else and the corporate condition of the body of Christ, His temple.
2 Cor 6:14-7:1 – further discussion reminding the church that bonds, agreements, relationships with those outside the body are sometimes inappropriate because they go too far in uniting the body of Christ with unbelievers.
Peter’s teaching is the same:
I Peter 2:4-12
Rev 21
It ends where it started – God dwelling with His people
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
And what about the temple?
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
And the writer of the Hebrews confirms in a more in depth study chapters 8-10.
So, what conclusions can we draw?
Why are we here? To these buildings every Sunday?
What is our agenda? Our purpose?
Are we here to get refreshed? To get refueled for another week of survivor? J
We should not mistake the benefits for the purpose! There is another purpose.
Our gatherings – actually our whole lives - are for the indwelling of the Spirit of God. This is an awesome truth, both grand and glorious as well as sober and scary. But, if this is our calling, and it is, then we need to make it a priority. If fact, the number one priority of our lives should be to seek to understand and become the part of the body, the temple, the household of God we are meant to be.
Let me add a quote from Allen Wakabayashi’s book, Kingdom Come:
“So as you think about living out the kingdom of God, remember that Gods intent for the community of faith is to serve as a Spirit filled community before a watching world. Living out the kingdom is not an individualistic endeavor. The kingdom is not primarily a confederation of people working out salvation on our own, and the corporate nature of the kingdom is not meant to support individuals as they live out their kingdom lives or to meet their needs. Nor is it a community of people seeking to live out the kingdom under their own power. Living out the kingdom demands that we all serve in a Spirit-filled community that is seeking to witness to the kingdom before a watching world.” (Page 143,144)
