The Nature of Biblical Edification

The Nature of Biblical Edification

First Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” What does it mean to be edified? Without doing a scientific survey, my guess is that most people would say that being edified means to be encouraged, to make to feel better, or to have a more positive attitude. So, I did some searching on the Internet to see if my guess was accurate or not. I found that the majority of the time, the word is used in the sense of encourage or be made to feel better. However, when I looked into an English dictionary, I found the following definition. “Edify: enlighten, to improve the morals or knowledge of somebody.” Another dictionary said this. “Edify: to instruct or improve spiritually.” Does this surprise you? Do you think of being instructed as edification? Do you think of gaining new knowledge when you are edified?

edification

Are you up for it?

In going back to the Greek language and looking at the word, we find that it comes from a word that means to build, erect, or set up one thing or another. The word was originally used to describe the founding and construction of a house. So, it literally meant to build a place of dwelling out of construction materials. The original sense of the word can still be found in our language today in the word edifice, a building. However, in the New Testament, the word is often used metaphorically of imparting wisdom to another person, that is, instructing another person with words that can be understood and applied to life. While today the word may be used in the sense of encourage or make someone to feel good (that is, from a purely emotional point of view), that is generally not the way that it was used within the New Testament.

There is no doubt that the Bible clearly teaches us to follow after things that edify. Romans 14:19 states, “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11 states, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” And in 2 Corinthians 12:19, Paul says “…we do all things for your edifying.”  However, we also read that not everything that is lawful is something that edifies. Paul writes in 1 Cor.10:23, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” This leads us to ask the question: what are the kinds of things that truly do edify?

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul deals with the problem of the Christians at Corinth speaking in unknown tongues without the presence of an interpreter.  In contrast to the one who speaks in an unknown tongue, Paul states in verse 3, “But he that prophesiethspeaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” In essence Paul is saying that the unknown tongue does not edify, but prophesy does edify. He states, “For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.” For something to edify, it must have meaning. Not in the sense of emotion or feeling, but in the sense of the understanding. That is, if something is not intelligible or comprehendible by the intellect, then it cannot edify. True edification can only come through a situation where knowledge and instruction is imparted with the attitude of love.

Let us note Ephesians 4:11-16.  These verses speak concerning the subject of edification of the body of Christ. Verse 12 tells us that one reason God gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers was for the edifying of the body of Christ.  Each of these offices are special in that God uses them to instruct and teach.  Verse 13 tells us that this instruction and teaching has as its object, imparting the knowledge of Christ. Verse 15 says it is about speaking the truth in love. One cannot be edified without love (1 Corinthians 8:1). Verse 16 reiterates that instruction and teaching are for edifying. Truth, knowledge, instruction, and love are all things that are associated with edifying. We learn then, that edification comes through the avenue of words when conjoined with the motivation of love on the part of the one edifying. Biblical edification inherently involves communication. Wordless expressions of emotion, feeling, or any other element which produces an incomprehensible sound cannot edify.  Speaking the truth in love, however results in godly edifying (1 Timothy 1:4).

Playing an instrument of music is something that is aesthetically beautiful, stirring, and uplifting, but it cannot edify; it cannot impart knowledge; it cannot instruct. Only the use of verbal communication when combined with spiritual words and an attitude of love can accomplish this task. Knowledge alone does not accomplish this task. Knowledge separated from love does not edify, it merely puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1). However, biblical edification is the loving impartation of spiritual instruction designed to build up the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the student to the motivation of accomplishing the work of the kingdom.

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What is the Age of Accountability?

What is the age of accountability?

The term “age of accountability” is a man-made term used to describe a biblical concept, kind of like “Golden Rule” or “Great Commission.”

The Bible teaches that children are born and for a time remain sinless & innocent. Ezekiel 18:1-20 states quite clearly that we do not inherit the sins of our parents.  Ezekiel 28:15 has God telling a human being, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till unrighteousness was found in you,” showing that there is a time in our lives during which we were innocent, with no unrighteousness in us.  In Romans 9:10-11, Paul talked about Jacob and Esau before they were born while they were still in the womb of their mother, and stated that during that time they “had done nothing either good or bad.” This teaches us that children are born sinless and innocent, and during childhood we remain sinless and innocent. That’s why Jesus told adults in Matthew 18:3-4 that they had to be like little children in order to be in the kingdom.

Age of Accountability

When is a person accountable?

However, the Bible also speaks of a time when we become accountable for our actions. Isaiah 7:15 speaks of a time when a young man will come to “know how to refuse the evil and choose the good,” in other words, become accountable.  Before they became accountable, they were sinless and innocent. Paul would say in Romans 7:9 that he was “alive,” spiritually speaking, at that time. However, in vs. 10-11 of Romans 7 he then spoke of a time when sin entered his life and he “died” spiritually. When he was accountable, when he knew how to refuse the evil and choose the good and yet he chose evil, that’s when he sinned. And it would be at that point that he and all the rest of us would need God’s grace, we would need forgiveness, we would need to obey the gospel.

Is there a specific, set age for when that time of accountability occurs? No, because each person is different. When each of us becomes accountable for our actions and choices depends upon a variety of social and environmental factors. Children mature at different rates and ages as their spirits are fashioned, shaped, and molded by parents, teachers, and life’s experiences. That’s why there is no set age of accountability.

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Busy or Idle Hands

Busy Hands

In 1 Kings 6–10 one witnesses the great work and wisdom of Solomon and the king is busy about the work of building a house for the Lord God of Israel. Just as Jesus at a young age asked his family if they did not know that he had to be busy doing the work of the Father even we should recognize our need to be stead-fast in our labor of love for God. God blesses the work done by Solomon but make a conditional promise predicated upon Solomon’s continued faithfulness. God also makes a conditional promise to us that He will bless us in eternity if we are obedient and faithful.

busy hands

What work are you busy about in your life?

Soon after finishing the work we read this sad statement, “But King Solomon loved many foreign women” and “his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David” (1 Kings 11:1–4). One thinks of the old adage “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” God still today gives the same instruction and warning to do what He says and be blessed, do not and suffer the consequences (Romans 11:22). Being busy about the Lord’s work leaves little time and few opportunities to sin. Being idle will give Satan access to our hearts, minds, and hands to turn away from serving God.

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The Faithful Witness of the Moon

The Faithful Witness of the Moon

The Creation of God bespeaks His wisdom, power, love and goodness. Concerning this, the Scriptures say, “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20)  Consider a thing we often take for granted, but which manifestly demonstrates the presence of a creator: the moon.

moon witness

Indeed, the moon is a witness to its Maker.

In Genesis 1, we read of the creation of the Sun and the Moon: “Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.” In Psalms 89:37, the moon is called a faithful witness, and this is true: the moon is indeed a faithful witness to its Maker.

We see the moon in the sky each night and oft forget what a wondrous thing it is. It is a massive chunk of rock which keeps time for us and helps to sustain the life on this planet.

Our moon is an oddity in the galaxy, being proportionally oversized when compared to those satellites possessed by our neighboring planets. This allows our moon to do some rather interesting and important things, to our benefit.

The moon is positioned from the planet at exactly the right distance from the planet to be proportionally, to the eye, the exact same size as the sun in the sky. This equity of apparent size, an optical illusion on a grand scale, allows the shadow of the earth to mark perfect time upon the moon, in a 28-day lunar cycle of waxing and waning moons. At the same time, the proximity of the moon is of such a distance as to create a constant, moderate tidal effect.

If the moon were closer to the earth, the tides would overwhelm the land. Great floods would daily sweep back and forth across most of that area of the earth we now inhabit. Life on such a planet would be impossible. If the moon were much further from the earth, we would not have the tides we now have, and the oceans would begin to stagnate. Likewise, the tides help move heat from the equator to the poles, preventing ice from overwhelming the land. There are other things the tides do, but in a nutshell, the tides created by the moon play a rather significant part in maintaining life on the planet.

The moon does one other thing that many people don’t pay much attention to. Our planet is at a particular tilt to the sun, allowing for the creation of seasons across the majority of the globe. The moon helps regulate those seasons, a thing the Bible testifies to in Psalms 104:19.

Because of the size of our moon, and its proximity to the planet, the moon acts as a stabilizing agent upon the planet, as we rotate around the sun, so that the tilt of the planet only ever shifts by no more than a single degree. Without the moon’s stabilizing influence, our planet could shift back and forth by, we are told, 10 degrees or more, creating havoc with every ecosystem we have as the seasons fluctuated wildly throughout the years.

When you start to add up all of these things, one must start to be rather impressed by how exactly and perfectly positioned the moon is to the planet. It is exactly the right size, at exactly the right distance so as to make life possible on this planet. So much so that even nonbelieving scientists, who do not give God the credit for any of this, debate whether or not life is even possible on other planets without a moon such as ours.

The moon, is but a single witness to the power of God, but night after night, it stands high in the sky, keeping time, sustaining life, and speaking to the glory and wisdom of God. (cf. Psalm 8:3-4) When we start to have doubts, we can look to the night sky and think about those powerful testimonies to the majesty of God we see in the sky above us.

God has provided well for us. He has left us a multitude of myriad witnesses to His care and affection for His creation. You can have confidence that God wants you to have life. He wants to sustain you, in this world, and in the next. Which is why He sent His Son to die for you, that you might have salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and hope for eternal life. (cf. John 3:16) God has done mighty things for us, and if we will trust in Him, He will continue to work on our behalf.

 

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The Bible Praises Doctrine

The Bible Praises Doctrine

The disdain some have for doctrine in our day stands in marked contrast to the way the Holy Spirit exalts it. Instead of having little regard for doctrine, the early church proclaimed it. Do not lose sight of the charge brought against the apostles, “You have filled Jerusalem with this doctrine” (Acts 5:28).

Doctrine builds faith

Stand strong in the doctrine of the scriptures.

The Holy Spirit Commands Preaching Doctrine

What does God want to be the nature of preaching in the kingdom? When Paul wrote young Timothy he answers this question. “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine…” (2 Tim. 4:2-3). Any teaching that does not involve doctrine is seen by God as a departure from sound doctrine.

Without Doctrine Teaching Is Incomplete

Look at the verse immediately preceding the instructions to preach the word. In the Old Testament, the phrase “the man of God” was used to refer specifically to the prophets, who were the men of God. This phrase is part of Paul’s instruction to Timothy. He affirms that all Scripture comes by the inspiration of God and then lists what this inspiration gives. The Scripture is “…profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God man be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If the man of God ignores the doctrine found in the Bible, he is imperfect, and he will never equip those who hear him for every good work.

Doctrine Nourishes the Christian

Listen to Paul’s words again. “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed” (1 Tim. 4:6). Instead of doctrine being detrimental to spirituality, it nourishes!

Other Words About Doctrine

The Bible exalts doctrine. Doctrine is part of exhortation and conviction (Titus 1:9). We are to continue in doctrine (1 Tim. 4:16). We are to carefully follow doctrine (2 Tim. 3:10). Ignoring doctrine results in disputes, arguments, strife and wranglings (1 Tim. 6:3-4). There is so much more which could be added to this.

The next time you hear anyone talk about focusing only on the positives aspects of Christianity and ignoring the rest, you should be aware of what he has done. He has ignored sound teaching, departed from the faith, and kept others from God’s way of nourishing us to spiritual perfection.

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