Category: Love

Of Shepherds, Angels, the Glory of the Lord, and the Christ Child Born in Humble Estate

At Christmas, we celebrate God coming to us and revealing Himself to us in human form to draw us to Him

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“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.'”

Luke 2:9-11 NIV

This is a classic Christian text remembered at this time of year about the birth of the Christ child. The birth of Jesus in the town of David would have drawn the attention of 1st Century Hebrews who knew their Scripture. The significance of that understanding is preserved for us today by Luke, the traveling companion of Paul the Apostle.

Bethlehem was the birthplace and early home of King David, who is Israel’s most venerated and celebrated king. (1 Samuel 16:1, 1 Samuel 17:12). The prophet, Samuel, who presided over the coronation of David, foretold that God would establish from the lineage of David a kingdom that would last forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-16)

The prophet, Isaiah, lived about three centuries after David. Fourteen kings reigned between David and King Hezekiah, Isaiah’s contemporary. After a span of time longer than the United States of America has been a country, Isaiah repeated and expanded on what Samuel foretold:

“For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.”

Isaiah 9:6-7

The prophet, Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, He riffed on the same theme:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

micah 5;2

According to the biblical chronology, these predictions of a coming kingdom and a king “whose origins are from ancient times” were declared 700-1000 years before the birth of Jesus. Those predictions were memorialized in the writings we identify with Samuel, Isaiah, Micah and others, and they were preserved for many centuries before Luke penned his own words tying them to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, who was born in Bethlehem.

Though it was an ignoble birth by all accounts, we still remember back almost 2000 years now, recalling the prophecies declared from of old. We remember the birth of Jesus, lying in “humble estate” in a manger in the same space where the animals lived.

Hold that thought…. because today, I want to focus on the first half of the verse with which I introduced this article. The passage began with these words:

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified….

This may seem like a strange twist to the way I have started this article, but I will bring it back around. I think you will be glad to stick with me as I take seems like a left turn.

Continue reading “Of Shepherds, Angels, the Glory of the Lord, and the Christ Child Born in Humble Estate” →

Still Influenced by the Flesh: Jealous Much?

To avoid jealousy and dissension we need unity in the basics of our faith

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The following words were Paul’s assessment of the Corinthians when he wrote to them in the letter we call 1st Corinthians:

“[Y]ou are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people?”
1 Corinthians 3:3 NET

Paul admonished the Corinthians for having jealousy and dissension among them. What Paul meant in that phrase (jealousy and dissension) may not be exactly as you imagine, however. Of course, I will explain.

First of all, though, we need to understand that Paul wrote this letter to the Christians at Corinth. He was writing to people who were born again who were “still influenced by the flesh” , causing those Christians to behave “like unregenerate people”.

Christians today are also still influenced by the flesh, and we sometimes act like unregenerate people. And, that’s not okay!

God’s plan for you is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29) who is the “the exact representation of [God’s] being”. (Hebrews 1:3) God had same plan for the Corinthian Christians, and He has the same plan for all Christ followers today.

If I have time and focus enough, I will make this a series. Today, though, I want to focus on the influence Paul specifically identified the Corinthians – jealousy. (If you read the whole letter, you find that jealousy wasn’t the only issue, but it’s the one Paul leads with.)

The word translated as jealousy in this verse is ζῆλος, ου, ὁ (zelos), meaning eagerness, zeal, rivalry. (Biblehub) It is an onomatopoeic term that mimics the sound of water bubbling over from heat. It may even derive from the Greek world, zéō (“to boil”).

Zeal comes from the same root word (zē), which means “hot enough to boil”. This word can be used in the positive or the negative. It can be used metaphorically with many emotions such as boiling anger, burning love, burning zeal, etc.

A person who burns with zeal for God is exhibits a positive form of zelos, but a person who burns with zeal for idols exhibits a negative form of zelos. Burning passion for one’s spouse can be good (unless it gets possessive), but burning passion for someone else’s spouse is not good.

Paul pairs zelos with ἔρις, ιδος, ἡ (eris) in the verse quoted above, which means strife and is often translated as contention, strife, wrangling, or quarreling. It means to have a contentious spirit. Thus, zeal (zelos) with a contentious spirit (eris) is how Paul assesses some people in the church in Corinth.

That kind of zeal is caused by the influence of the flesh. That kind of zeal, Paul says, is unregenerate behavior, and needs to stop. So, what is Paul specifically talking about?

Paul is talking about the quarreling among them over who they follow: “One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.'” (1 Cor. 1:12) He comes to the point again in Chapter 3 when he says, “Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’” are you not mere human beings?”

Stop and think about that for a moment…. Don’t we still do that in the 21st Century, too? Paul says that this kind of attitude is worldliness; it is acting like “mere infants in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1); it is acting as of we are unregenerate.

If we are going to take Paul (and God) seriously, we should not allow ourselves to burn with a contentious spirit that leads to dissension with fellow Christians. With that in mind, let’s take a deeper dive into what I believe Paul is saying.

Continue reading “Still Influenced by the Flesh: Jealous Much?” →

Still Influenced By the Flesh: What’s Love Got to Do with It?

If we are Christ followers, we should not be content to remain as we are

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“[Y]ou are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people?”

1 Corinthians 3:3 NET

I am inspired by Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (of which we have record). The topic I want to write about is what Paul calls “the flesh”. We might just call it sin. The doctrine of sin is not popular today, but the Bible doesn’t pull any punches about it, and neither should we.

We do need to view it in the right context, though. The Bible is clear that all people have sinned, and all people do sin. John says that anyone who denies they have sinned is a liar, (1 John 1:8) but John adds that God is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sin to Him. (1 John 1:9)

Paul wrote this letter to “the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified by Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….” (1 Cor. 1:2) Thus, he is writing to Christians – Christians who are “still influenced by the flesh”.

Yes, Christians are influenced by the flesh, and Christians are susceptible to sin.

The notion of sin is disfavored and much maligned, but most people would agree that “to err is human”. The biblical notion of sin is not much different than this popular understanding of what it means to be human. It means in its various forms in the Greek to fail, to miss the mark, to do wrong, to misstep, etc. (See Biblehub)

The Greek word translated “flesh” in the New English Translation is σαρκικός, ή, όν (sarkikos). It means “pertaining to the flesh, carnal” (“behavior which is typical of human nature … with special focus upon more base physical desires” according to the HELPS word studies found at the Biblehub website).

Fleshiness is human tendency. Therefore, we might change the popular idea of what it means to be human by saying, “To sin is human.”

The Bible claims that only one human being in history was without sin, and that person was Jesus of Nazareth, who the Bible claims was actually God incarnate (God who became human). The Bible also claims that Jesus came to deliver humans from the limitations of sin (and from death). This was his purpose – to invite us into relationship with God as children to become who God always meant us to be – to be free of sin and death, to live in eternal relationship with God, having the same characteristics God has.

This is a process that starts with a commitment to God in Christ, and it culminates in our own victory over sin and death. The ultimate realization of this victory, however, only occurs after our resurrection:

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”

1 Corinthians 15:42-43

“I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”

1 Corinthians 15:50-53

Paul calls this transformation the perishable being clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Cor. 15:54) Thus, we do not attain this perfection until we die and are resurrected, but we are called into relationship with God in this life where the process of change this begins the to happen

Paul’s purpose in writing this letter to the Christian Corinthians (and Christians everywhere and at all times) was to address their fleshiness – their sin. Though they had the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16), they were still influenced by the flesh. (1 Cor. 3:3) Just as we are. So we should take note.

Continue reading “Still Influenced By the Flesh: What’s Love Got to Do with It?” →

The Need for Unity of Purpose in the Church: Focus on Jesus

When Paul heard of the divisions in the Corinthian church, he came to them with the centrality of the Gospel – Jesus and him crucified.

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I have been meaning to write on unity in the Church for some time, but the subject has seemed too large for me to tackle. I am not a theologian. I took all the classes to be a religion major in college, but I didn’t hand in my thesis paper (on inerrancy), so I settled on being an English Literature major only.

Over the last 15 years, approximately, I been serious in reading Scripture and thinking (and writing) through the many difficult issues that face modern Christians. I have always been about “mere Christianity” since my earliest days as a Christ follower over 40 years ago, and I am convinced more than ever of the importance of being unified around basic or essential Christian principles.

My church is going through 1 Corinthians for the next several months or more, and the first chapter of the letter focuses on unity. I began writing about the need to be intentional – to agree – to end divisions and be unified in mind and purpose in Fighting for Unity in the Body of Christ.

I learned that the Greek word translated “mind” (or mindset”), nous, means more than just our thinking. It encompasses our attitude and disposition also. As we follow Jesus as he followed the Father, we should have same attitude/mindset that Jesus had.

Jesus is our pattern, and he calls us all to live as he lived, conforming to the same pattern he described when he said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Paul reminds us that Jesus left aside his privilege and humbled himself to become one of us. (Philippians 2) Paul adds that our knowledge and ability to fathom all mysteries are nothing if we don’t have love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-2) Therefore, our mindset – our attitude and disposition (love) toward one another – is vitally important in what it means to be unified in mind and purpose.

Unity does not just mean intellectual assent on matters of doctrine. Paul says that we only “know in part”. (1 Corinthians 13:12) We need to bear that mind, therefore, as we try to be obedient to the commandment to end divisions and be unified in mind and purpose.

This all begs the question, though: what mind and what purpose is Paul talking about? What is it that we must be intentional to agree about?

In the first article, I found some clues in the Greek meanings of the words translated “mind and purpose”, but they only scratch the surface. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, the Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich Lexicon, and the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament all agree that νοῦς (nous) (translated mind) refers not only to the intellect, understanding, or reasoning faculty; it it also encompasses the mindset or disposition of a person.

Doctrine is implied in the concept of being of one mind, but doctrine is not all that this word implies. In fact, the summary of the Law Jesus provided for us (love God and love neighbor) seems to emphasize attitude and action over intellectual, theological constructs.

That doesn’t mean that Jesus was not doing theology when he summarized the Law. In fact, I think it is safe to say that we do theology far less perfectly than Jesus did!

We tend to complicate theology, but Jesus simplified it. In simplifying it, though, Jesus was not discounting or minimizing the rationality and intellectual rigor of it. Rather, Jesus was prioritizing the intellectual aspect of knowledge below below love. As Paul says: even if we can fathom all mysteries and have all knowledge, we have nothing without love. Love, therefore, is the priority over knowledge and understanding.

As we have already seen, the mindset we adopt must also incorporate our disposition and attitude toward God and each other. Any doctrine divorced from these things is empty. It is like a clanging gong without a symphony.

I think it is safe to say that doctrine, by itself, is devoid of life. Knowledge and understanding are nothing without love. It seems to me that love, even without knowledge or understanding, is better than knowledge and understanding without love.

Some might say though, that love cannot be divorced from truth. Jesus said that he is the way, truth and the life, so truth is obviously important.

But, not all truth is of the same value. It is true that today is sunny and warm in the Chicago area, but that truth is not nearly as important as the truth that Jesus is God incarnate who died on the cross for our sin and rose from the dead to redeem us from sin and death.

Having the same mind and purpose implies that we agree to the certain key value and truth propositions. It cannot mean that all of us view all value and truth propositions the same way. As finite beings who know only in part, that would be impossible! So what does Paul mean?

Continue reading “The Need for Unity of Purpose in the Church: Focus on Jesus” →

Fighting for Unity in the Body of Christ

Unity is driven by a mindset and purpose that we agree on, according to Paul.

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I have been reading in 1st and 2nd Corinthians these last few weeks in the Bible reading plan I am following this year. My church is also focusing on 1 Corinthians for the next few months, and we have been in 1 Corinthians 1 for the last two weeks of sermons and small group discussions.

Paul wrote what we call 1st Corinthians to address divisions in the church, ethical issues, relational issues, and differences over religious practices (among other things). The overarching theme of this letter seems to be an attempt to get this local church in southern Greece on the same page. In the first bit of guidance Paul provides, he says:

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, to end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose.

1 Corinthians 1:10

Unity (in Christ) is a focus of Paul in many of his letters: Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 4:3-6, 13; Philippians 2:2; and Colossians 3:14. Peter also stressed like-mindedness in 1 Peter 3:8 (with sympathy, love, and compassion for one another in humility). John stressed love for one another in his letters (1 John 3 & 4; 2 John 1:5-6)) and working together. (3 John 1:8) James urged believers to be “peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17-18)

Paul, Peter, John and James are the pillars of the early church. Unity and love are stressed by them because it was stressed by Jesus. Jesus prayed for unity among the disciples and all who believed after them:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me— so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

JOhn 17:20-23

Jesus, of course, summarized the whole Law of God in two statements: Love God and love your neighbor. In his last extended discourse with the disciples at the Last Supper before the events unfolded that led to the cross, Jesus said:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

JOhn 13:34-35

Love is the new command from Jesus that summarizes all that God sought to teach His people through the Law and the Prophets Therefore, when Paul urges the Church to be unified, we need to pay attention!

Continue reading “Fighting for Unity in the Body of Christ” →