The Simplicity of the Way of Jesus

The Simplicity of the Way of Jesus

Not too long ago, I saw on Facebook an article about an almost pristine Caddo canoe that was discovered in Louisiana. Archeologists were examining it, but it looked to be authentic. Such discoveries thrill us because they give us some insight into the history of our area and how native people’s lived hundreds of years ago. We believe that we can learn from the past, and so we invest energy into discovering things of the past and studying them. We also value primitivism. This is the notion that the peoples of the past did things better than we did. We may view their lifestyle as superior to ours because of its simplicity, resourcefulness, and originality.

simplicity way

The way of Christ is the beauty of simplicity.

While the things that we learn from a Caddo canoe are limited, we can certainly apply these principles to our spiritual life. We look to the teaching, example, and life of Jesus as the one who did things better than we do them. His was truly a superior lifestyle being simple, resourceful, and original in its spirituality. Jesus didn’t complicate things like we do; He didn’t seek all the worldly pursuits that we engage in; He trusted in the blessings of His Father one day at a time. His plan is simple, resourceful, and original, and it is best to stick with Him. This is why He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Let’s not complicate things with so-called “contemporary” spiritual pursuits, but trust in the primitive, simple words of Jesus.

 

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Friend: Face to Face with God

Friend: Face to Face with God

Question: No man has seen God at any time (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12). However, Jacob said, “I have seen God face to face” (Gen. 32:30). Moses said the Lord spoke to him “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11). Moses, Aaron, Nadab & Abihu, and 70 elders said they saw the God of Israel (Ex. 24:9). Please explain.

In modern times, we tend to use words and phrases in many different senses. Likewise, in Scripture words and phrases are often used in a variety of ways.  With that in mind, consider that the gospel of John says that Jesus, the Word, was God (John 1:1). John then said that Jesus, the Word, “became flesh and dwelt among us” (v. 14)…but then just a few sentences later said that “no man has seen God at any time” (v. 18; 1 John 4:12).

friend face

As a friend, can you see the face of God in the Bible?

Was Jesus God? Yes. Did man see Jesus? Yes. So in what sense has man not seen God?

The Bible says that God is spirit (John 4:24). Jesus is God, but no man has ever seen Jesus in his true image as a spirit Being, in all of his fullness, glory, and splendor.  Paul told the Philippians in Phil. 2:6-7 – “who, though (Christ Jesus) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

When God the Word, Jesus Christ, appeared on Earth two thousand years ago, he came in a veiled form. He had existed in heaven “in the form of God,” but made himself nothing and took on “the likeness of man.” So when mankind saw Jesus, they saw an embodiment of deity in the form of a man…the Word who became flesh.  Likewise, when Jacob struggled with God in Genesis 32, he saw only a form of God…not the spiritual, invisible, omnipresent God who fills heaven and earth.

But what about those statements which indicate that man saw or spoke to God “face to face”?  Remember, Moses and Jacob and others who made those statements, while they witnessed great and awesome things, still only saw manifestations of God and a part of his glory, not the fullness of his glory.

God specifically said as much in Exodus 33:18-23 when Moses asked God to show him his glory. God replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you…but…you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” God then put Moses in a cleft in the rock and covered him with his hand until he had passed by. Then God took away his hand, and Moses saw his back, but not his face. Moses saw a manifestation of God, part of his glory, but not the fullness of his glory.

Remember also that the terms “face” and “face to face” are used in different senses in Scripture. Exodus 33:11 says that God spoke to Moses “face to face,” but just nine verses later God tells Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live.” Was the author of Exodus so misguided that he contradicted himself in the same paragraph? Not when we realize that these terms are being used in different senses, in different ways.

Numbers 12 shows us the difference. In Numbers 12 Aaron and Miriam had complained about Moses and arrogantly asked, “Has the Lord only spoken through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” (v. 2) God then appeared to Aaron and Miriam. Notice what he said to them in vs. 6-8:  “If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. I speak with him face to face, even PLAINLY, and NOT IN DARK SAYINGS (RIDDLES).”

Notice the contrast. God spoke with the prophets through visions and dreams, but to Moses he spoke not in dark riddles, but plainly, directly. In other words, God…who never showed his face to Moses, nevertheless allowed Moses to see some unmistakable evidence of his glorious presence by letting him see his back, and spoke to him “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11), in other words, plainly, directly. That’s what “face to face” means.

Look at it this way. If you can work “side by side” with someone without literally working inches from him, and if you can see “eye to eye” with someone without ever literally looking into their eyes, then God can speak “face to face” with Moses without literally revealing to him his full, glorious, spiritual “face.”

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Good Advice

Good Advice

In Proverbs chapters 6–10, Solomon continues his instruction to his son but giving him some good advice that will increase his days, bring joy, and ensure a continued fellowship with God. These words of wisdom are just as applicable for us today as they were for Solomon’s son so long ago.

advice ahead

Is your heart ready to accept some advice?

1) Keep your promises. The Psalmist says that the one who will live with the Lord is the one who “swears to his own hurt and does not change;” (Psalms 15:4).

2) Work hard and don’t be lazy. In Ecclesiastes 9:10 we read “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” Paul wrote, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,” (Colossians 3:23).

3) Avoid wicked women (fornication and adul-tery). “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body” (1 Corin-thians 6:18).

The adage has always been true; you reap what you sow “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). So be wise and be faithful.

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Kingdom of the Model Prayer

Kingdom of the Model Prayer

One of the most famous of prayers is that model prayer, taught by Jesus, which begins, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)

Praying for the Kingdom

For what do you pray?

Millions upon millions have recited this prayer since our Lord first taught it, finding comfort in its familiarity. Yet the Scriptures teach us that we should pray with both the right spirit, and with the understanding. (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:15) Jesus did not want mere rote from His followers – He was encouraging them to have an active and meaningful prayer life. Which means that we should understand what we pray.

So what of the phrase, “Your Kingdom come?”

Jesus told His followers that they should pray for such a thing, and some years after the death of Christ, the Spirit of God saw fit to include those same instructions in the Gospel of Christ, so that Christians might learn to pray accordingly.

What does that phrase mean?How do we understand it?

Different men are going to provide different answers to that question, often depending upon their understanding of the Kingdom. We want to make sure that we understand the phrase, not according to the private interpretation of men, but as Jesus meant for us to understand it.

The Kingdom was quite an important subject to Jesus, and to His apostles. When Jesus came preaching, He preached, “repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” (cf. Matthew 4:17). He was encouraged by the desire of others around Him to enter the Kingdom, and foretold that it would be established in the lifetime of His hearers. (cf. Luke 16:16; Matthew 16:28)

There are those who believe that Christ failed to establish His Kingdom as He wanted to; that He was thwarted by the unbelief of the Jews. Such, when they pray, “Your Kingdom come,” look for the coming of the kingdom at some future date. These same individuals, one would assume, must think that Christ was in error in his prediction concerning the kingdom coming in the lifetime of those who were personally listening to Him preach.

Yet, following His resurrection, Jesus claimed the authority of a king (cf. Matthew 28:18), and, in answer to the anticipation of His apostles concerning the establishment of the Kingdom, told them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit. (cf. Acts 1:6-8). They thereafter considered themselves to be in the Kingdom. Which is why Paul could tell the Colossians that they had been transferred into the Kingdom by the power of Christ (cf. Colossians 1:13). Peter told his readers that they were a “holy nation,” and John declared Christ has “made us a kingdom.” (cf. 1 Peter 2:9-10; Revelation 1:6, ESV).

The clear teaching of the apostles and Christ lead us to the conclusion that the Kingdom is already here, on earth. This Kingdom, of which Christ preached so often, is the church, and it is a spiritual, or heavenly, Kingdom. This is why Jesus said concerning the Kingdom, “my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

In a very real sense, the Kingdom of Christ has already come. We should not be praying for Christ to establish His kingdom; He already did that, and quite successfully. The Cross was His coronation. The Resurrection was the proof of His kingship. He is, even now, the King above all kings, for He sits on His eternal and divine throne, as declared by the Word of God. (cf. Acts 2:30; Hebrews 1:8, 4:16, 8:1, 12:2; Revelation 3:21)

So again, the question, why do the Gospels, written some years after the establishment of the Kingdom, for individuals already in the Kingdom, include this prayer as a model prayer for Christians to learn and study. There are those who say the prayer was only meant for Jesus’ Jewish audience, but that ignores who the Gospels were written for and when they were written.

But perhaps there is a different way to think about the coming of the Kingdom attested to elsewhere in the Scriptures.

Jesus said concerning the coming of this spiritual Kingdom, when questioned about its arrival by the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20b-21; NKJV)

The Kingdom has come to the earth, the King has been crowned, the Law of Christ has been given in the Gospel, but we are not to be looking for an earthly kingdom with visible borders and landmarks. Rather it is a Kingdom that comes into you, as a spiritual realm into which you have been spiritually born anew. (cf. John 3:1-6) The Kingdom has come into the World, but it has not yet “come” into the hearts of all men.

Therefore, while we don’t need to pray for the Kingdom to be established, it is quite scriptural to be praying for God’s kingdom to come fully into our lives, so that we might partake of the blessings therein. Likewise, as we see those around us, lost in sin, we should be praying for the Kingdom to come into their lives, so that they too might be blessed. And, having so prayed, we should then act, that God’s will might be done in our lives, on earth, even as it is in heaven.

 

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Doctrine is Not a Four Letter Word

Doctrine is Not a Four Letter Word

The spirit of compromise which permeates our society may be blessing in some areas, but it has little place in regard to the clear teachings of the Bible. Its presence has led to a watered-down teaching in churches in America. While the Bible doctrine about morality is clear, denominations are struggling to deal with divorce for every cause, living together without marriage and homosexuality. The same is true about how God wants us to worship, the organization of church, the path to salvation and many aspects of Christian living. It is as though there is no doctrinal teaching on these matters. This spirit of compromise has made doctrine a four-letter word.

doctrine four letter word

The Lord gave us Doctrine to live by, not to edit as we see fit.

Jesus Taught Doctrine

Take time to read the Sermon on the Mount in its entirety. Do not stop after the Beatitudes (which some would not view as doctrine) but read all three chapters where the sermon is found. It is filled with a precise teaching and leaves little room for religious compromise. Immediately after the beatitudes, Jesus attacks the false teaching of the religious leaders in a series of topics centered around “You have heard it has been said” and Jesus’ words, “But I say unto you.” Clear doctrinal teaching is what Jesus did. He did not think that doctrine was a four-letter word. He exalted it.

At the end of these three chapters, pay special attention to what is said, “When He had finished these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught them as one who has authority” (Matt. 7:28-29). Churches in America, where the teachings of the Bible are being compromised, stand in marked contrast to the doctrinal preaching of Jesus. Remember that Jesus said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me” (John 7:16). What did He do with that doctrine given to Him? He gave it to the apostles. “For I have given to them the words which You have given to Me” (John 17:8).

The Apostles Taught Doctrine

What did the apostles do with those words? How did they use them? After Jesus ascended to heaven, they gave the doctrine to the world. On the day the church began it is stated, “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42). They taught in the temple and when arrested were charged, “You have filled all Jerusalem with this doctrine” (Acts 5:28). When Paul taught in Athens his listeners said, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak” (Acts 17:19). The apostles taught that salvation comes when men “…obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine” (Rom. 6:17).

Let’s talk more about doctrine in next week’s article. Remember that doctrine is not a four-letter word!

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