Author: Ernest

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Enemies

Lately I’ve been reading through the Book of Psalms and noticing the frequent references to enemies. An early example is in Psalm 3, which carries the title, A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son: “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah” (Psalms 3:1-2). In fact, most of the psalms describe conflict on an individual, national or cosmic scale. In general, though, these conflicts are rooted in spiritual discrepancies: righteous v. wicked, observers of God’s law v. those who disregard it, God’s appointed King v. the rulers of the nations.

This made me reflect on what the idea of enemies might mean for us in the present. Every enemy represents a threat to something that we value. In the extreme, the threat may be to our lives and the lives of our loved ones. There are Christians who, to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, face such threats every day.

Although this kind of threat may not be part of our experience, we should consider that our lives are more than bodily life. We have a spirit that Jesus, through his death and resurrection, restored to life when we received him as Savior and King. Not only that, but the Father also placed us in Christ, and our lives are secured with Christ in God. Not only that, but Christ Himself came to live in our human spirit, imparting to us His eternal life. “And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13). In his book, The Power of His Resurrection, T. Austin-Sparks wrote, “The basis of union with God is that God’s own Life is given to us in new birth, and upon that God builds everything….” The quote continues:

“In order to reach and realize all God’s thought, God must put Himself into man in the very essence of His being, His very Life. God cannot realize spiritual, eternal, universal intentions on the basis of natural life. The Scriptures make it very clear that man’s own natural life can never be the basis of the realization of any of God’s purposes, that God’s own Life alone can be that [basis]. Thus for all His hopes God first of all provides His own basis. God’s hope is in His own Life, not in ours, and He puts the basis of His hope within [us] at new birth, and on that basis He proceeds to the development of all His thought, and the realization of all His intention.” 

So, the threat posed by enemies is the threat to our union and fellowship with God. It places at risk God’s accomplishment of His own thought and intention. However, God’s own Life—that is, the indwelling of the life of the Son—which He Himself has given to us, is the foundation of our union. We who have believed in His name have that Life. Furthermore, as I noted above, God has placed us in Christ. And nothing can separate us from Christ because He sits at the right hand of God’s throne! That is far beyond the reach of every enemy. So, no enemy can take these gifts of God from us.

However, enemies can deceive us into living a life that contradicts the Life that we truly have in God’s Son. We can fall into deception through ignorance, not recognizing that we are in Christ and have the life of Christ. Also, we may know that we have eternal life but fail to enter, or remain, in the good of it. Either way, the lie has in effect robbed us of our life and frustrated God’s purpose in us.

Take the example of Peter as recorded in Matthew 14:28-31. At the invitation of Jesus, Peter climbed out of the boat and walked on the water—up to the point when he “saw the wind.” He had received the gift of walking on water until a lapse of faith robbed him by making him doubt. He still had the gift, but he could not continue living it out until Jesus rescued him. Then they walked together, on the water, to the boat.

Many conditions can hinder us from living the life of God’s intention for us. As we continue in the process of transformation, He will reveal to us the lies that keep us from enjoying our spiritual riches in Christ. Jesus Christ is God’s basis for our union with Him; it does not depend on us. We truly have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Nevertheless, we have enemies who can deceive us into living as though God has not so blessed us. Let us present ourselves before Him in humility, with open hearts. Let us receive deliverance from the false beliefs that limit the expression of Christ’s life in us.

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A Mighty Work

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. John 2: 23-25

This passage implies that Jesus was looking for people to whom he could entrust himself but, on that occasion, did not find any. 

I’ve heard that while our Lord’s love is unconditional, we must “earn” His trust. How can we accomplish that? Through striving? Education? Studying scripture? Moral behavior? It’s not a matter of what we do. God will never trust a soul-dominated human, no matter how apparently good. That human may even have the moral standing of a Pharisee, even a respected teacher of Moses’ law like Nicodemus. The answer is always the same: “You must be born from above” (John 3:7). “You must…” It is a requirement.

We understand this new birth as our receiving an impartation of the life of Jesus Christ into our human spirit. Being born again is just the beginning of a mighty work of transformation, by which the life of Christ expands from the spirit to permeate the human soul: the mind, will and emotions. Christ Himself offers to do this work in us through the Holy Spirit. In the process we incrementally relinquish our self-centered claims in favor of Christ’s authority. The question then becomes, how much of Christ is there in us? How much of the soul’s territory has come under His banner, as opposed to what remains in the grip of the old nature? Only to that extent can He entrust Himself to us.

And how does He accomplish this transformation? The scripture uses metaphors for the process, including “the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). T. Austin-Sparks describes it this way in chapter 2 of his book, The Essential Newness of the New Creation:

The furnace of affliction is for those who by faith are in Christ. What happens in the furnace of affliction? What is it that is dealt with in the fire? Is it you, and is it I, that are refined in the fire? Are you refined in the fire? Am I refined in the furnace of affliction? I say, No! emphatically NO!! If we say, “Yes!” well, let us look at the furnace of affliction, the fire with the metal in the crucible. What are you doing with that metal? Well, you say, you heat the fire intensely and all the uncleanness, the corruption, comes to the surface; this is skimmed off, and when that process has been carried through to its end, there is left pure gold! Then if you say that is you or that is me you will have to abandon your doctrine of total depravity, and you will have to come back to the place where you say there is good in us, after all! You will have to say there is good and bad in us, and the furnace of affliction is to get the badness out of us and leave the goodness! Is that true doctrine? No!

The furnace of affliction is not for the removal of the bad out of us so as to leave the good that is in us, and secure it! Then what is its purpose? Is it to refine Christ in us? We need not discuss that! Christ needs no refining! What is it for? It is to divide between what is us in fallen nature, and what is Christ, and to get rid of the one in order to give full place to the other! The furnace of affliction is the application of the Cross to the getting rid of you and me, in order to leave the whole place for Christ. It is the measure of Christ that God is after, not to cut in between the good and bad in us, but to cut in between what is Christ, and what is ourselves. That is what the Lord is doing. He is after increasing Christ, and in order to do that He has to displace self, the old creation. It is all the measure of Christ in this realm. The realm of God is not going to be refined self, reformed self, or any kind of patching up of self. It is going to be none of self, and all of Christ.

One of God’s intentions in creating humanity was to entrust to it the governance of the visible creation. Because of the fall He had to put that plan on hold. In Jesus Christ we now have an opportunity to undergo this mighty work of transformation, so that we can be people to whom He can entrust Himself.

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The Mighty Man

The Scripture sometimes uses the term “mighty” to describe humans who have extraordinary abilities or resources. Mighty men arose both before and after the flood—also known as the “men of renown” (Genesis 6:4). A post-diluvian example is “Nimrod, a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:8-9).

“Mighty men of valor” were many among the children of Israel. In the case of Gideon, the first mention of his might was facetious (Judges 6:12). Nevertheless, he ended up among the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11:32). Israel’s first king, Saul, was a mighty man of valor (Psalm 52:1). David was one also, along with the military leaders under him (2 Samuel 17:8). David’s mighty men have their own chapter (2 Samuel 23).

Moses was known as a mighty man because of his wisdom. “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his works and deeds” (Acts 7:22). Solomon acquired an international reputation for wisdom. “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore… And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:29, 34). Boaz occupies a unique position—he was a “mighty man of wealth” (Ruth 2:1). He did have wealth, and he used it in the generous spirit of God’s law.

Of course, the idea of might originates in God. From the opening pages of Scripture, He presented Himself as the Almighty. Nobody has power to match His. But how does He wield His might? Consider the word of the Lord to Jeremiah: “let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). 

His interest is in showering the earth with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. He is looking for people who share His zeal. Those who are mighty in the Lord draw upon His abilities and resources—His life. They advance His agenda. On the other hand, people who are mighty in themselves, like the arrogant and rebellious Nimrod, draw upon their own abilities and resources—or those of the forces of evil. They think of wisdom, power, and wealth as theirs to exploit. They oppose God and His agenda.

The foremost example of a human being who constantly lived by God’s life is Jesus of Nazareth. “…And coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?’” (Matthew 13:54). They recognized his inner state as wisdom, which was the life of the Father and the leading of the Holy Spirit, manifested outwardly as mighty works. He never used this wisdom and these mighty works for himself, only to glorify the Father from whom they came. His disciples knew him as “a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word” (Luke 24:19). Also, as “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did” (Acts 2:22). 

Jesus himself had something to say about the mighty man. “But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Mark 3:27). The forces of evil tried to overcome Jesus by executing him on the cross and binding him in death. “None of the rulers of this age understood this,” the apostle Paul points out, referring to Christ becoming the power of God and the wisdom of God through his crucifixion, “for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”—sealing their own doom (1 Corinthians 1:23-24, 2:6 and 2:8).

The subjection of Jesus to death was only temporary. On the third day the Almighty intervened, raising him from the dead. “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Furthermore, this Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). 

Jesus has ascended from the earth. He now sits at the right hand of the Father. He is Lord over all creation (Philippians 2: 9-11). As the apostle Peter declared to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in it”—that is, in the cross (Colossians 2:15).  

How does Jesus now reign as King of kings and Lord of lords? By steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Love is the essence of God. In the description of divine love in 1 Corinthians 13, we see the characteristics of Jesus Christ. This love never ends. Every form of human might will pass away—even good things, like prophecy and spiritual gifts and intellectual knowledge, not to mention political power and wealth and human ambition. How mighty is the love of God in Christ Jesus!

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Eternal Life

We take it on faith that, because of the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ, we have eternal life. My idea about eternal life had to do with living forever, avoiding the condemnation of sin leading to death. And that is certainly one aspect of redemption. As the apostle John points out, “…the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). However, eternal life was available to humans before sin entered the world. The Tree of Life stood at the center of the Garden. So, the fruit of that tree, which was eternal life, must have had some greater significance.

Jesus prayed, in the opening verses of John 17, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Jesus makes it clear that there is more to eternal life than merely living forever.

For one thing, eternal life has to do with belonging. Jesus dispensed eternal life into all who had been given to him by the Father. Jesus had become the Tree of Life for us. Why did God see fit to mark us out to receive eternal life from the Son? I don’t have an answer to that question. It seems, however, that we had this connection before we were even aware of it.

God not only knew us, He also made Himself known to us in the person of Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus says that our knowing the Father and the Son in an intimate, experiential way is eternal life. It is divine life flowing through us like the life of the vine flowing through its branches. It is the product of being, and remaining, joined to the source of that life. That life does not exist for its own sake but for a purpose. The branches of the vine quite naturally bear fruit corresponding to the life that is in the vine. We who have eternal life display the characteristics of Jesus Christ among Christians and in the world.

Ultimately, eternal life is engaged with God’s eternal purpose. Consider two events from the earthly life of Jesus. Event One: his parents lost track of him after the feast of Passover, when he was twelve years old. After three days of searching, they found him in the temple. When his mother asked him to explain his behavior, he replied, “Didn’t you know that I would be about my Father’s affairs [or, involved in my Father’s work]?” (Luke 2:41-52). Event Two: early in his ministry Jesus cleansed the temple of merchants and moneychangers. This event reminded his disciples of the saying from Psalm 69, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (John 2:17).

Eternal life isn’t only for the future. As the Father’s life was evident through Jesus’s dedication to the Father’s purpose, so his life can be made visible through our devotion to that same purpose. That’s how we can experience the reality of eternal life in the present. T. Austin-Sparks noted that “to be in the full, comprehensive will of God with purpose, it is necessary for us to have no purpose of our own,” defining Christianity as “being caught up in the eternal going of the eternal God in Christ by the Holy Spirit” [The Will of God in Relation to His People, part 3: “Seeing the Lord”]. Likewise, if zeal for His purpose has consumed us, we are incapable of zeal for anything else. Eternal life is the life we have in Jesus Christ. It will be apparent in us more and more as we are transformed.

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Masterpiece

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works… Ephesians 2:10.

The word in the Greek for “workmanship” in the quote above refers to a work of art. The New Living Translation renders it “masterpiece.”

Recently, I heard a talk by a landscape photographer. He spoke about going out “in the field,” as he described it, to take photographs. He called them “assets.” These are digital image files. Then he spoke about taking those assets and processing them to create a finished product, a work of art. The processing step includes minor changes such as cropping and tonal adjustments, and major changes such as removal of distracting objects.

He pointed out the need for both acquiring assets and processing them. There is no way of making art without assets, but the assets don’t become art without putting extra work into them.

Hearing this made me think about my experience as a Christian. I can acquire spiritual assets in a variety of ways—paying attention to the circumstances of my life, reading scripture, praying, listening to spiritually mature brothers and sisters in Christ, and reading materials such as this blog, to name a few. 

All of these are good and even necessary. And having His life indwelling my spirit makes them attractive to me. But it isn’t until Christ Jesus processes them that they augment His life within me, allowing Him to permeate not only my spirit but also my soul. 

This is transformation. It can’t happen unless we acquire the assets that He places in our path. Neither can it happen unless we cooperate as He does His work in our inner lives. Ultimately, He gets the masterpiece He always wanted.

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Basic Questions

I don’t remember how I came across the website of Clayton Gibbs, but I bookmarked a page from it entitled “A House for God.” It was instructive for me. (As an aside, he borrows liberally from Frank Viola’s book, From Eternity to Here.) Toward the end of the page there is a list of habitats, metaphorically speaking, in which Christians can find themselves. These habitats, although they may have been needed for a time, do not support spiritual flourishing.

I shared this with my wife, who challenged me in return with some fundamental questions:

  • Where have you been and where are you now?
  • What are you seeking (John 1:38)?
  • Who is guiding you?
  • Why are you uncertain, hesitant, or afraid?
  • How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13)?

For my own part, I have had my experiences with Egypt and Babylon (again, speaking metaphorically). Now I’m in the wilderness. I’m walking the trail of transformation. Although I look forward to living in a habitat where my wife and I can thrive spiritually, good things are happening out here. I am learning to experience the blessings of Heaven to the extent I can as an individual. I am re-examining many teachings of the past, to get God’s perspective on them. Also, I am continually looking for the leading of the Holy Spirit, so that I don’t remain in the wilderness any longer than necessary.

My object is to know Jesus Christ, not just facts about him. John the Baptist directed two of his disciples to Jesus. As they approached him, he met them with the second question in the list above. “And they said to him, ‘Teacher, where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’” They saw where he was staying. Later they discovered that he himself was the earthly dwelling place of the Father. Jesus took what they were seeking and used it to reveal the reality of himself.

One day Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well. She had come seeking water. He revealed himself as the source of living water. “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). Jesus took what she was seeking and used it to reveal the reality of himself. When I began to believe in Jesus, I was seeking eternal life for myself. Later I discovered that he himself is eternal life and that I had become his dwelling place.

The process of making these discoveries is difficult for many reasons. One difficulty that becomes more acute as time goes on is the many people within earshot, across all media, who have something to say about Jesus Christ. Who can we depend on for guidance? The problem is not whether the message presents correct doctrine. The issue is: is it the Word? Does it point me in the direction of spiritual maturity? Is it about building up a house for God, or any other aspect of God’s eternal purpose? As Peter remarked to Jesus, on behalf of all the disciples, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Separating the Word of Life from all the other words takes discernment. I pray that Jesus who lives in me and every believer will be my discernment and yours.

There is no reason for hesitancy, uncertainty, or fear. We have insurmountable forces on our side. Not only does Jesus Christ dwell within each of us, each of us also dwells in Him. Jesus prayed to the Father that all who would believe in him through the word of his messengers would be united to him (John 17:20-21). After the birth of the Church, the apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “And because of him [the Father] you are in Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). The Father has placed us in Christ, His Son. In the letter known as Ephesians, Paul goes further. He declares that the Father “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.” The Father is behind us 100%. He has withheld from us nothing that would be to our benefit. It was always His desire to have a house for Himself, a bride for His Son, and a family. He has adopted us into that family. He has spared and will spare nothing to bring us up from the wilderness and into the glorious reality of His house.

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New Year Reflection

In John 15:5, Jesus told his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide [remain, reside] in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Apart from the vine the branches can do nothing. Specifically, they can’t display the life that is in the vine. 

Also, apart from the branches, the life that is in the vine has no outlet. It has no opportunity to express itself. I am not discounting the power of Almighty God but where the visible creation is concerned, He always prefers to work through willing humans. We see in scripture Adam, Abraham, Moses, David and at long last Jesus. Finally, we see the apostles and the formation of the Church. 

Jesus still speaks to us. I am paraphrasing: “Yes, I am the vine. And YOU are the branches. Everyone who makes a home in me and draws on my life will bear fruit, which is the visible expression of my life!”

“For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:14-16). These are the words of God. 

For a long time, He has restrained Himself. The Almighty has chosen to limit Himself. We see this in the ministry of Jesus when he returned to Nazareth. He couldn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Even now He is waiting for a people who choose to make their abiding place in Jesus, and for people who are willing to be led as though they were blind. 

Mary, at the wedding in Cana, went to Jesus when the wine ran out. He asked her, “What is my part? What is your part? My time has not yet come.” She understood and acted. She paved the way for Jesus to intervene marvelously.

May the new year find us a people who is willing to bring God’s wait to an end, to make a way for Him to bring about everything that has been on His heart!

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True Humility

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, and arguably the foremost apostle, saw himself as the foremost among sinners. You can read what he wrote in 1 Timothy 1:12-17. This was no statement of false humility. If so, Timothy would have seen right through it. Was he, then, dwelling on his old self? To do so would have paralyzed his ministry. But what does he say? Christ Jesus our Lord had given him strength, had appointed him to His service, had extended him mercy, had overflowed with grace to impart to him faith and love. In his own words, “But I received mercy … that in me, as the foremost [of sinners], Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, and arguably the most exquisitely trained apostle, saw himself as a wretched man. You can read what he wrote in Romans 7:13-25. But this passage immediately leads into Romans 8, one of the high peaks of the New Testament: no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; freedom in Christ Jesus from the law [operation] of sin and death; grace to walk according to the Spirit. This is not the perspective of a man who kept his undeniably wretched condition foremost in his mind. In fact, as he states, “to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

One of the operations of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin. “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement…” (John 16:8). The Spirit hovers over our inner lives, seeking to reveal those features that remain attached to the world and susceptible to sin.

Although Christ Jesus dwells in our spirits, the process of transformation extends His authority over ever-enlarging areas of our souls—the mind and will and emotions. The Spirit brings to light our worldly attachments one by one. His intention is not to condemn us. Instead, He is giving us the opportunity to turn to our Lord with a heart that is willing to change. This is true humility. It is the prerequisite for personal transformation. He will work out the changes that we need if we are disposed to allow it. 

Speaking of high peaks of the New Testament, Paul lays out the reality of our situation from God’s point of view in the first 3 chapters of the letter to the Ephesians. What he writes is, to be honest, beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, a prayerful reading will at least give us a glimpse of God’s intention in creating humanity. He is realizing that intention in Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with our efforts and everything to do with the Father, Son and Spirit working together to accomplish a grand plan.

This understanding is enough to encourage us to elevate our vision. Let’s commit our past to God, trusting Him by grace and walking with Him in true humility. Let’s also commit to God our present condition, whatever remains yet to be transformed within us. Then we can begin to appreciate our true status in the Father’s eyes, that we are blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). It helps to surround ourselves with other believers who can remind us of these facts when we forget them.

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Surpassing Worth

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed…” Luke 1:46-48.

We say that God is love—not that He merely has love, but that love is part of His essence. So, every story that has God in it is a love story—when considered in the light of Scripture as a whole. We acknowledge our humble estate, as Mary did. Some of us even have cause to be ashamed of our past. But in His love God exalts us to a blessed place, a place of honor. This was the experience of the Shulamite, as told in the Song of Songs.

That kind of love is why Mary was willing to accept God’s offer, that she should become the mother of the promised Messiah. Her decision was costly to her. It certainly meant a definite break with her life as she knew it. We, too, are turning our backs on many things that once were important to us because we find surpassing worth in Christ Jesus. Knowing Him, we are learning, is far better than things that once seemed valuable to us. 

God’s love transforms us. It is the Messiah coming to life in our hearts. Because Mary agreed to be the mother of Jesus, all generations would recognize her as blessed. We are discovering that, in Christ, we too are blessed. We have God’s approval. If transformation means anything, it means that we are being changed. Old things have passed away. The new has come. One old thing that’s gone now is our guilt and shame as sinners. Jesus Christ bore our every sin—past, present, and future—to the cross. He redeemed us. We never entirely forget our past, but God has raised us with Christ and given us the right to stand before Him.

The beloved woman in the Song of Songs wasn’t preoccupied with her humble origins; her attention was on the man of her passion. Mary lived in the presence of Jesus from the beginning to the end of his earthly life. Her focus was on her awesome responsibility to train up this child who was both son of man and Son of God. She taught him and she learned from him. As Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, Mary also matured—spiritual maturity as well as physical aging. Her humble origins remained a historical fact but were not always at the forefront of her thoughts. In Christ, we too have the privilege of living in God’s presence. Why dwell on our old self when we too have Someone far better to keep our eyes on?

As the apostle Paul put it, “…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way…” (Philippians 3:13-15). We celebrate Christmas and look forward to a new year. Here is an encouragement to keep our eyes on our Lord. He is unfolding his love story in our lives. He has already accomplished some of His transforming work. Now is the time for us to disengage from the elements of our old nature, the obviously bad things and the seemingly good things. May we press on toward a more complete transformation. We have no reason to take pride in ourselves, but neither should we let feelings of unworthiness impede us. Our worth derives from Christ–our relationship to Him and His relationship to the Father. And true humility is keeping an open heart toward Him.

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Knowing God, Known by God

The apostle Paul wrote the letter we know as 1 Corinthians to reintroduce the church in Corinth to Jesus Christ. He then used this as the basis for addressing several problems that were limiting the church and threatening its unity. One problem arose from differing opinions about eating food that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul’s response to this problem occupies all of chapter 8. However, in verses 2-3 he makes a couple of remarks that stood out to me. “If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”

The initial part of Paul’s remark reminds me of the testimony of Milt Rodriguez. It is possible to know much about Jesus and serve him in many capacities, and yet not know him. You can listen to it in his own words in the first ten minutes of this recording.

T. Austin-Sparks also had something to say on that subject: 

The fact is this, that we may advance a long way in spiritual knowledge (I mean in information, the knowledge of the truth) beyond our own real measure, and then have the shock, under terrible conditions, of discovering that all that we have accumulated through the years does not help us. We are right up against things and have to say, “I have not got the realities I thought I had, they are not helping me; I am being brought right back to foundations in my real, personal, living knowledge of the Lord Himself.” The peril then, of course, is to jettison all the teaching we have had and to say that it is a valueless thing. It is not valueless; but we must recognize that there is all the difference between knowing the thoughts of God in our minds, and the Holy Spirit’s using that knowledge to accomplish God’s ends. Thus we have to come back with every fragment and have very real dealings with the Lord. (from “Conformed to the Image of His Son”)

The something we know—our understanding of things, even of scripture—is not of primary importance. Later in the same letter, Paul states that “knowledge will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes the partial will pass away.” And, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). So, the most important thing for us is whether we love God. With respect to knowledge, what matters most is that we are known by Him. His knowledge of us is a full knowledge, whereas our knowledge of Him is continually dawning on us. 

One thing we are learning about Him is His voice. As Jesus said when he presented himself as the Good Shepherd, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). We learn, morning by morning, to distinguish his voice from all the competing voices. Listening leads to obedience. The more we hear and follow Christ Jesus the King, the more we disengage ourselves from the world and its influence.

Our knowledge of many things may be very limited. Nevertheless, we can rest assured that if we love Him, we are known by Him—fully known. He will join us to the flock of others who also are known by Him, and we will follow Him together. 

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