Bible Study With Jairus

Bible Study with Jairus - Colossians

Bible Study with Jairus - Colossians

We are striving to speed read several volumes of the Bible every month. The main consideration is to help some brothers and sisters who aren’t able to read further when they reach Exodus in the Old Testament, and Romans in the New Testament. This will help those new ones to have a rough understanding on the contents of some books in the Bible. We started to speed read the Old Testament, from the first book up to the Book of Ruth. Meanwhile, we have done the opposite in the New Testament. We began to speed read from the Book of Revelation up to Colossians. Although it’s just a passing glance, it might help some of our brothers and sisters who have never read the Bible from cover to cover.

This time, the inspiration that I got after speed reading Colossians is how Paul dealt with carnal Christians in the church at Colossae. Originally, we arranged a speed reading of 3 letters: the letters to the Colossians, and First and Second Thessalonians. But because of the rich content of Colossians (one meeting will take up most of the time), we will have one Bible study session on both First and Second Thessalonians later.

I had an inspiration after I read Colossians and First and Second Thessalonians. In Colossians, it was dealing more with carnality in the church. While in First and Second Thessalonians, it was dealing more with Christians who are easily deceived in church. As Paul mentioned in Colossians, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (NIV, Colossians, 3:2), and advised Christians in the church at Colossae to forgive each other.  In First and Second Thessalonians, it talks a lot about the lessons of the Antichrist which led people to be deceived.

What does this mean?  Even when people are long time church goers, we  find that many Christians may actually possess the knowledge and truths of the Bible, but when something really happens, they still can’t overcome their own flesh. For example, we know that God isn’t happy with the divisions in the church and hopes that all of us can get along with each other, but when something happens, we will still form sects and factions.  This is a common situation in churches today.

Another situation we find in today’s church is people who don’t have much biblical knowledge and haven’t meditated on the truths of the Bible.  They may not have strong fleshly desires but they are easily led astray by wrong teachings leading to greater losses.  Both of these situations are ubiquitous in the church.

Today, let's talk about Colossians. First of all, we have to clarify that there are fleshly or other problems in the church at Colossae but it isn’t entirely a bad thing. For example, in the church at Corinth, there were also a lot of problems that existed. Thus, Paul wrote two letters to them, revealing many truths about Christ.

There’s background information behind every letter. Similarly, Colossians has a special background.  Paul wrote four letters in prison - Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.   There’s very important historical background behind these letters. I asked a Christian who attended our Bible study, to imagine that he was Paul, he was in prison, he only had a little time left and the conditions were poor, but he has to say something important right from his heart to write these letters. Of course, after writing the letters, it has a lasting significance, letting the churches benefit from them for thousands of years after. But often, there is a latent cause in writing them initially. For example, when I mentioned the chaos in the church at Corinth, including the man who had married the stepmother, it leaves Paul with no choice but to write a long letter to them.

What is the background of Colossians here? There are many things in the Bible that are not accounted for, but it doesn’t mean that they didn’t happen.

I shared a story I personally heard. Soon after I received salvation, a brother told me of a situation that had happened in the church. There was a man who had been in the church for a long time and his car was accidentally hit by a newcomer causing minor damage. This man insisted on filing an insurance claim to let the newcomer compensate. Someone tried to persuade him to give a little grace to this newcomer, let him compensate just a little money, but the man refused. Naturally, in the end, the newcomer stumbled. The person, who told me the story, said that the man whose car had minor damage didn’t have enough grace. He lacked real Christian love.  He regarded his own car as more important than the newcomer’s stumbling.

Of course here in the United States when we encounter such things, there is no reason not to file an insurance claim. The point that the person telling the story was trying to make is that we should look less at the circumstance and have more grace toward the person to avoid having them stumble.

I don’t know whether a situation like this is a common occurrence in the church, but as far as my own experience is concerned, there are indeed many similar situations. On the one hand, we are Christians. On the other hand, we are human beings. Humans have fleshly desires. When we talk about the love of Christ, we may speak clearly and logically, but when our interests are involved, the flesh often speaks louder than the spirit and we lose.

After sharing this story in the meeting, I asked everyone “Is there a similar situation in the church at Colossae that Paul is concerned about?” As stated in Colossians 1:7, the church in Colossae was taught by Epaphras, and he also reported the situation of the church to Paul and others. Is there a possibility that after Epaphras told Paul about the grace of God to the Colossian church, he also told Paul about the situation in which some brothers and sisters become competitive, irreconcilable and unforgiving when they are in the flesh? And that these brethren are actually those whom Paul knew, even loved, or personally brought to be saved or trained? Is it possible that the two parties are both loved by Paul, but are incompatible, leading Paul to worry in prison and to write a letter to the Colossians to mediate them? Both are Paul's love, so Paul can't blame one, and hold the other in high regard. He must be very careful in dealing with this subtle situation.

If these situations are possible, if you were Paul, how would you deal with it? We don't know if Paul was facing these things, but we know that in the life of the contemporary church, we often have to face these situations.

We assume that this may be the background behind Paul's writing. Let's see how Paul's letters respond to this situation.    Suppose the parties involved are all Paul’s acquaintance, and the two people are still arguing, it will be difficult for Paul to directly judge who is right and who is wrong. And judging right or wrong may not be a good choice because the dispute between right and wrong is often in the realm of the mind, the flesh, or the soul. What Paul needs to do is to help the members of the two factions to break carnal, and spiritual strongholds, enter the mind of Christ in the heavenly, and look at these problems from the eyes and perspective of God. When they can look at these problems from a Heavenly perspective, they can escape from earthly, carnal, and spiritual strongholds and they will be able to forgive, tolerate, and mutually compromise in love.

If you were Paul, how would you start writing this letter? Of course, he wouldn’t begin by blaming the two brothers. Instead, he avoided direct accusation. He started from a very high place - Heaven. Paul’s slant at the beginning of Colossae is very high. Paul began by praising the believers of Colossae, saying he heard the praise of the Colossian believers from Epaphras, which he mentioned in 1:4: "because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people." (NIV)

After praising the Colossian believers, Paul switched the thread of conversation to directly mentioning the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

¹² Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified youto share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NIV)

Then Paul used this opportunity to say that, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (NIV, Colossians: 1:15). He added, “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” (NIV, Colossians: 1:22). From here, we can speculate that what Paul means is we have eliminated all strife on the cross of Christ.

Paul then uses his experience again to testify that, “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” (NIV, Colossians: 1:24).

Paul mentioned how he was called to complete God’s Word. He revealed the mystery hidden by God over the ages - Christ is our hope of glory. Paul has struggled and worked hard for this. He wants us to maturely dedicate our life to God.

In this chapter, Paul seems to be saying good things. It appears that he doesn’t have any criticism. But in the second chapter, Paul slowly began to raise the obscure issue of the Colossians. Of course, when Paul ended the letter, he never forgot to give encouragement and comfort to the audience of his letters. Some people call this type of writing a "sandwich". This kind of writing is very common in the Bible. For example, Jesus’ seven letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation are also in the format of a “sandwich." It praised the faithfulness of each church in the beginning. After which, it criticized the church in the middle. In the end, there were words of encouragement and promise again.

Let's take a look at how Paul began to put "meat" in this "sandwich" from the second chapter (we will use meat as a metaphor for Paul's criticism).

In verse 2:4, Paul said that, “ I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.” (NIV)

This sentence implies that in the church of Colossae, some people will use flowery words to deceive the Christians in Colossae.

2:8 says, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ”. (NIV)

 

This sentence has implicit meaning. In the church in Colossae, there are those who will use philosophy and empty deception according to human teachings rather on Christ, leading the Christians in Colossae astray.

Thus, in the second chapter, Paul especially revealed many of the mysteries of Christ in these two negative situations.

Then at the beginning of third chapter, Paul immediately encouraged the Christians in Colossae to set their minds on things above and not on earthly things (NIV, Colossians: 3:2). Chapters 3:1-4 are some of my favorite verses:

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory”. (NIV)

Paul becomes more and more straightforward in here.

3:5 says, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (NIV)

3:8 says, “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” (NIV) 

3:9 says, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” (NIV)

3: 12-15 also say,

^“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (NIV)

I shared my experience and said that when I was starting to learn to serve, I was with a brother who was a little older than me. We had a dispute when we once served together in the Church.   Our Elders in the church did not criticize us, but they let us sing Colossians 3:12-15. So at this bible study, my wife and I sang these same verses again to the tune of a hymn.

Why is Paul particularly emphasizing here that as God's chosen people, we must have compassion, kindness, humbleness, gentleness, patience, and even if there is a discord between people, we must always bear and forgive each other as the Lord forgive us? It is not enough to just forgive, but we must also have love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect unity.

So although these are just speculations, perhaps things such as carnality and strife among people really happened in the church in Colossae. Ultimately, the reason why such things happen is due to the fact that their life is not mature enough to let the life of Christ rule their lives.

So Paul said in 3:16-17 (NIV),

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

In chapter 4, Paul has hardly any criticism. Instead, he began to comfort, encourage and greet.

4:2 says,

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (NIV)

4:6 says,

 ^“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (NIV)

In conclusion, Paul ended the four short chapters of Colossae with a lot of greetings.

Although our sharing is of a speed reading nature, or a passing glance, we can see that many of the verses in Colossians are written with a delicate touch. Let’s pray and try to fathom the implications of these verses. This will be beneficial to our Christian life because it especially helps us to grow up into Christ, overcome the flesh, and even enter and preserve Christian unity.

 

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus - Galatians

Bible Study with Jairus - Galatians

 

This evening we are going to quickly go through several chapters of Galatians.  This morning when I attended an American Evangelical Community Church, the pastor used a term called SBNR which means spiritual but not religious.  This pastor was criticizing people who don’t participate in church activities and are not willing to have any commitment.  He stated that there were Christians in the United States adopting this slogan.  These people are dissatisfied with the church as an institution and use the slogan as an excuse for laziness.  He said that admittedly, there’s nothing wrong with being SBNR, but it shouldn’t be an excuse for laziness.  They refuse to pursue spiritual growth and be built together with others.  He said that God’s intention for Christians is to love and interact with each other in a community so that we can learn and edify each other.

 

When I got home and opened   Facebook   I saw one of my teachers, a Charismatic pastor at the Randy Clark Scholars, a Doctor of Ministry program at the United Theological Seminary,   preaching through live streaming. He was talking about the same topic, that Christians should be rooted in the community and grow more in one’s spiritual life through interacting with each other. We shouldn’t use avoiding religion and pursuing spirituality as an excuse to escape building each other up.

 

Then I felt inspired by the Holy Spirit about the message I will be sharing tonight. Today, the Holy Spirit seems to have a theme - the issue of abusing grace and the relationship between grace and the law. Since we were already planning to study Galatians which deals with the law, we will explore this topic tonight.

 

I heard that there was a dispute in China over the propagation of the so called “Grace Gospel.”  A pastor in Singapore prefers to impart truth by teaching God’s grace and therefore was labeled
as the “Grace Gospel.”  I read an article in a charismatic magazine by an American pastor who believed that this pastor in Singapore overemphasized God’s grace and neglected God’s discipline which in turn caused people to abuse God’s grace.  These two pastors agreed to meet and discuss the topic in the Lord’s love.  I even saw pictures of the meeting.  As a result of this meeting even the American pastor was criticized by those who opposed the “Grace Gospel.  Apparently many people in the United States disagree with that teaching.

 

When I used to have my own audio program on the Chinese online platform, some of the audience in China often interacted with me. One of them was a follower of this so-called Grace Gospel. He chatted with me and asked me how I felt about the Grace Gospel. I know that he wanted me to affirm this teaching, but to be honest, I don’t know much about the Grace Gospel in China or why people criticize it so I couldn’t support him.  He and I didn’t have any further communication after that.  

 

 I still hold this point of view. I don’t make any comments on the so-called “Grace Gospel” because my understanding is limited. But I have heard that many churches have split because of their attitude towards the “Grace Gospel. There are also a lot of disputes on the Internet. The purpose of my analysis here is not to judge other believers. Rather, I will talk about my understanding of grace and the law from a general perspective.

 

I think this topic is directly related to the contents of Galatians.

 

I came into contact with some people who had background in some traditional American Christian churches. They told me that they don’t like the legalism in the church. An American Christian lady told me that she was from a very legalistic church. When she came to the small Charismatic church, she said that she had absolutely never felt the freedom and release like this before. She described a variety of legalistic situations in her original church which really surprised me.

 

I met another American Christian man on the train. He asked if we could use instruments at our church. I said of course we can. He told me that his church doesn’t allow any instruments. They believe that instruments are all from Satan.

 

I also heard from a preacher that there was a teenager (who grew up in the church but wasn’t baptized yet) who accidentally ate the bread of the church’s Sunday worship without realizing it, and was reprimanded, causing the teenager to stumble.

 

I just cited a few examples as there are too many examples of legalism in the church. I suppose that there are a variety of these experiences. For example, some churches don’t allow women to wear makeup or jewelry, which may cause people to stumble. Some parents force their teenagers to go to church and when they are 18, they leave the church for good not even having experienced God.  The list goes on.

 

Legalism really exists in churches. There are usually three outcomes of legalism. The first result is to stumble, which I’ve already said above.

 

The second outcome is people who develop a sense of pretense and hypocrisy. On the surface, they don’t violate the rules and regulations, but they don't really embrace them in their heart. This is the case with Peter in Galatians 2:12 where it says: for before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but after they arrived, he pretended not to eat with the Gentiles. Even Barnabas was led astray. In the end, Paul stood and reprimanded Peter. In the modern church, in the face of the overflow of legalism, many people are like this. They don’t violate the law; they oppress themselves and they pretend. Why? Because of fear. Fear made Peter pretentious because eating with the Gentiles may not have been accepted by the people of Jerusalem and he still had to go back to Jerusalem. If they accused him in the meeting, it would be very shameful for Peter. I mentioned in our study that fear is the main tool of the religious spirit to control people. Everything that is done out of fear is usually not from the Lord, but from Satan. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline (NIV, 2 Timothy 1:7).

 

For example, the teenager that I mentioned who had not experienced the Lord in a subjective way in the church may have two attitudes.   He may be the type that refuses to go to church saying he’d rather be an unbeliever than a hypocrite. On the other hand, he could pretend to go along with everything to please his parents and live the opposite when they aren’t looking.

 

The third outcome is a person who finds grace in the law. I likened this type of person to a salmon. Salmon swim and spawn upstream. For them, the environment is like the law. It is against them. They are swimming against the current, but they insist on swimming upstream. Upon reaching their destination, they spawn and they continue to multiply. There are many Christians who are like this, whether in church history or now.

 

I’ve recently been reading a biography of an African American Christian named Samuel DeWitt Proctor. He had served for several US presidents and had held important positions in the field of education. He was a visiting professor at the United Theological Seminary, where I’m taking classes. In the biography, he mentioned that the arduous history of discrimination of the United States against African American people has caused some African American people to give up on themselves. On the other hand, it has also caused some African American people like him to become even firmer in their faith in God and become useful citizens in American society. If American society's discrimination against the African American people is likened to legalism, then some people have indeed overcome these laws and found God's grace in them.

 

So, what is the relationship between the law and grace?

 

Galatians chapter 4 has used personification as an approach. It likened Hagar (Abraham's wife) to the Old Testament, and a person who bears children into slavery. In Galatians 4:25-26, Paul compared Hagar to Mount Sinai, and Sarah to Jerusalem which is the mother of us all. So, Abraham and his two wives have very interesting interactions. Abraham is not just comprised of one person. There are two people in him. One is the new man who lived by faith, and the other is the old man who lived by flesh. Therefore, the intertwined relationship between   Abraham’s new man and old man and his two wives is the best illustration to explain the relationship between grace and the law.

 

Paul also had a good analogy in Romans 7:1 which says, "Do you not know, brothers and sisters--for I am speaking to those who know the law--that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?" The “person” here refers to a woman’s husband. Here, Paul is hinting that the old man died because of being crucified with Christ. In other words, the law kills. Paul says, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life!” (2 Corinthians 3:6). It’s not because of the law or the letter that kills. Rather, it’s because your old man played a role there. As Paul said in Romans 7:7 (NIV), “Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” In other words, Paul found that it’s not totally because of the law that convicted and killed him. Rather, it’s because he has the sin of greed in him. He was convicted when he ran into the law. The main reason why the law, the ministry of conviction, has played a role is not because the law stipulates that you must not steal or covet. The fundamental reason is that your fallen sinful nature has caused you to steal or covet.

 

Let’s look at the example of Abraham. As a woman, Hagar is already unfortunate enough to be born an Egyptian. What is more unfortunate is that she became a slave girl to Sarah afterwards. Life was already difficult for her and she hoped to have the opportunity to move up the social ladder by getting pregnant from her master. Instead of this bringing her respect, she was driven away by Sarah. Abraham was powerless to do anything. From the perspective of modern women, her demands were not too much. Why aren’t her demands met? In Galatians 4, Paul compares Hagar to the law and the Old Testament. Why is it that when the law (Hagar) asks Abraham to love her back or fulfill the requirements of the law to love, he can’t do it? Is it because the requirements of the law are wrong? No. It was Abraham’s old man who had a problem. Since Abraham married Hagar according to the flesh and didn’t ask counsel from God, thus the result of his flesh could not bring the fruit of the Spirit.

 

Why do you think God comforted Abraham in his distress and told him to listen to Sarah and allow Hagar and Ishmael to be driven away? It’s important to know that after Ishmael (the son of Abraham) was born according to the flesh, God did not appear to Abraham for thirteen years. Abraham was already ninety-nine years old before the Lord appeared to him and promised the birth of Isaac. It took God thirteen years to deal with Abraham's flesh. When Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised himself, Isaac and Ishmael as God commanded him. This represents the results of him dealing with the flesh. Therefore, it wasn’t Sarah who wanted to drive Hagar away, but it’s because Abraham’s old man   died. According to Paul's analysis in Romans 7, once her old man dies, the law no longer has any jurisdiction over her.  Paul was referring to the fact that the wife was no longer bound by the dead husband. But we are twisting it around here to say the new husband is no longer bound in the way the old man and his wife were bound. Actually, it’s not that Hagar was driven away, but rather Hagar was able to get freedom from her status as slave. This is why many people don't understand why God appeared and blessed Hagar and Ishmael when they were crying in the wilderness. If God didn’t like them and wanted to drive them away, why would He appear and bless them?

 

Since Abraham's flesh died, his new man began to come to the stage. At this time, the law that convicts and kills us became the law that perfected us. In other words, Hagar exited the stage and Sarah came to the stage. The Old Testament exited the stage, and the New Testament came to the stage. The law and grace have become mutually reinforcing relationships. It’s no longer because the law   killed me and I can’t obey the law. At this time our new man (the life of Christ) was able to repeatedly live out the requirements of the law (the wife). As Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.” (NIV, Matthew 5:17). Not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law (Matthew 5:18), but the new life of Jesus Christ in us has fulfilled these laws. The convicting ministry of Moses in the Old Testament became the ministry of the grace of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament.

 

This is the relationship between the law and grace. They are interactive. In other words, now we have the life of the old man, and also the new man. Besides this, there’s also Hagar (who represents the law) and Sarah (who represents grace) as our wife inside of us. Our life is very complicated. But it is also easy if you make it simple. If you die completely to the flesh and circumcise your flesh, Hagar (the law) will become ineffective in your life. You are a person who lives in the spirit and who marries Sarah. Sarah is Jerusalem, the mother of spiritual life.

 

In other words, if you die to your old man, you won’t stumble by the law.  You stumble by the law not because the requirements of the law are unreasonable but because of your flesh. The requirements of the law are often difficult for our flesh to adhere to. Whether God has given the Israelites the Sabbath, or your church doesn’t allow you to wear jewelry, sometimes it just doesn’t make any sense. Why? For example, it is clear that Jehovah wanted the Israelites to keep the Sabbath. But in the end, Jesus, the Son of God, came and didn’t keep the Sabbath in certain situations. Isn’t this contradictory? No. God allows the law, and even the existence of legalism. The purpose is not just to keep the law, but to see if you will obey it. If you don’t have a spirit of rebellion, but rather obey everything in the Lord, can you stumble? So people who   stumble usually have problems inside themselves. This would be like the prodigal son in Luke 15. His rebellious nature   led him to commit a sin and wander. In the end, he found a way to enjoy grace by repenting and confessing his sin of rebellion. This is the first R I’d like to mention-- rebellion. I said in the beginning that the American pastor said that many people pursue the SBNR slogan and don’t participate in church activities. Actually, they may be living in rebellion of God and are prodigal sons. This is the current state of many churches and Christians. It is also the state of many prodigal sons in the world.

 

The next R, which is religion is represented by the eldest son in Luke 15.   He works very hard. He has the presence of the Father outside, but he has no real intimacy with the father. He is even envious of the prodigal son who repented. This type of mentality is the religious spirit. This person represents the second type of person I’ve talked about. They are pretentious. They are often bound by the religious spirit. They initiate legalism just like the Pharisees in the time of Jesus. They often persecute the prodigal son, who represents the relatively weaker people. After being persecuted by legalism and the religious spirit, the prodigal son often goes to the opposite/other extreme, which is rebellion. The prodigal son is often influenced and controlled by the "spirit of rebellion". These two spirits both come from Satan.

 

The story of Luke 15 is a very good metaphor. Have you ever thought about the possibility that the prodigal son may have suffered persecution from his older brother   way before he decided to leave his house? I read a sermon by Charles Spurgeon.  If I remember correctly, he said that Cain’s persecution of Abel didn’t begin on the day he killed him, but rather it was ongoing because of their different understanding of what an acceptable sacrifice was. The persecution had already existed from the beginning. Similarly, it is very likely that the eldest son in Luke 15   disliked his younger brother from the beginning, and persecuted him through a religious spirit of legalism until he couldn’t take it anymore and left home. Of course, after dealing with the environment, the prodigal son dealt with the spirit of rebellion. He returned to his father's house and found the love of God, allowing him to overcome the persecution of the religious spirit and legalism. But in the end of the gospel of Luke the author did not tell us that the elder brother overcame his religious spirit.

 

God often allows legalism and even a religious spirit to be in the environment in order to test whether or not we are obedient. I’ve heard that one of the reasons why the teaching on the Grace Gospel is very popular is that many believers have been hurt too much by the church's legalism. This analysis is correct. But we can't be biased. If there is no flesh or rebellion in us, the spirit of legalism and religion can’t hurt us.  The real reason why legalism or a religious spirit hurts us is because our old man has not truly died and still perhaps possesses a rebellious nature.  Christians who are deeply persecuted by legalism and religion often go to the other extreme of what they consider to be freedom and grace but in actuality they are often bound by the spirit of rebellion.

 

This is like driving a car. If you turn to the left, you’ll fall into the trap of religious spirit and legalism. If you turn to the right, you’ll fall into the trap of the spirit of rebellion.  The prodigal son’s attitude before repentance and his brother’s religious spirit can be likened to the two extremes that the church often goes to. This is not God's intention.

 

God's intention is for us to become like the salmon I mentioned earlier. No matter how difficult it is, the salmon would swim upstream and multiply. Although there are all kinds of difficulties in the environment, our hearts should be like Paul, a person who exemplifies Christ in every situation. God's intention is to let us bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit through these different and even difficult circumstances. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." People usually pay attention to the first half of verses 22 and 23, but often ignore what the second half of verse 23 says, “Against such things there is no law.” If we live out the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the religious spirit or legalism won’t harm you. On the contrary, we need to understand that whether it’s a religious spirit causing legalism or a spirit of rebellion abusing grace, they are both from the flesh.

 

Therefore, the reason why I don't want to criticize the so called Grace Gospel is because on the one hand, I am not familiar with it. On the other hand, I know that if we use legalism and a religious spirit to criticize the supporters of the Grace Gospel, not only will it have no effect, but it will cause dissention in the body of Christ. Because legalism and a religious spirit is a reaction of the flesh, and the abuse of grace and the spirit of rebellion is also from the flesh, the flesh is waring against the flesh nullifying any good effect.

 

It’s important to obey God’s discipline in our lives.  Although many times the circumstances of our environment are difficult or others wrong us unfairly, we need to understand that nothing comes to us without God’s permission.  We learn through experience to obey his discipline because the more we turn away from it the heavier His hand of discipline will be and our circumstances will get increasingly worse.

 

The reason that people abuse grace and freedom is largely due to opposing the religious spirit and legalism.  The danger here is the tendency to fall into self-indulgence and rebellion which abuses freedom and God’s grace.  I’ve observed that churches tend to be at one extreme or the other in this area.  This is not God’s intention for His people.  He wants us to live by the fruit of the Holy Spirit in every situation and says that against these there is no law.

 

In other words, when we face an overabundance  of legalism and a religious spirit in the church, the correct response is not to go to the opposite extreme (abusing the grace and indulging in rebellion), but to deal with our flesh and grow up   spiritually   If we do this, legalism is no longer  negative or a stumbling block. Instead, all things will work together for good, which let us grow in our spiritual lives and fulfill God's will for us.

 

In Galatians 3:3 (NIV), Paul blames the Galatians, "Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" This corresponds to what Paul said in Galatians 1:6 (NIV), "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel." Paul continues to say in Galatians 6:8 (NIV), "Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

 

These words should be alarming. They should be a solemn warning for us not to live and act according to the flesh. The legalism and rebellious spirit that is pervasive in today's church is actually just two different kinds of living in the flesh. If we don’t live in the flesh, Satan is unable to raise a religious spirit, legalism or the spirit of rebellion to harm the church. As the Lord Jesus said, the evil one has no place in Him.

 

Paul's expectation for the church is what he said in Galatians 2:20 (NIV), "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

This is the way   a Christian should live. If a majority of Christians in the church would live like this, the flesh would be dealt with, and legalism and religious spirit wouldn’t be rooted in the soil. The spiritual stature of the church would then greatly improve; the light of the church will also be brighter;   more prodigal sons from the outside world would return to the household of God, and the church would grow stronger.  On the contrary, because there are many churches with believers who live according to the flesh, the prevalence of legalism is high and causes weaker believers to stumble and often leave the church completely.  Those who aren’t willing to leave the church reject any law, regulations or discipline which ultimately affects the growth of the church.

 

Although we are reading through Galatians rather quickly, our hope is that you have a general introduction and understanding to this rich and valuable book.  There are a multitude of verses worth praying and meditating on.  God bless you as you focus and meditate on His word.

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus – Philippians

Bible Study with Jairus – Philippians

 

Today’s study will mainly focus on one topic:  how to manifest Christ in our lives. What does it mean to manifest Christ? It’s what Paul said in Philippians 1:20-21 (NIV), “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

 

In other words, manifesting Christ is living and revealing Christ through us in any given situation. When we are saturated by Christ, not only will people see us but like Paul we will manifest Christ to those around us. People didn’t only see Paul at this time, but also Christ Himself.

 

How is this possible? Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV), “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Paul further said in 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV), “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

 

Paul uses the analogy of a mirror here. To put it in simple terms, I am the mirror. When I follow Paul and do the things he does, I am reflecting Paul.  Paul follows Christ and reflects Him and Christ follows God and reflects Him.  When people look at me (the mirror) ultimately they should see God reflected in my life.

 

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV), “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” This means that Paul used his unveiled face or mirror to reflect that he has seen the face of the Lord. The face of the Lord is also transparent, a mirror, and a reflection of the glory of God. As Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) says, “Christ is the radiance of God's glory”.

 

So, when I imitate Paul, I look into Paul’s mirror. And then Paul's mirror reflects the mirror of Christ, which reflects the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:6 said, “to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ”. What you clearly saw was my face, but what you actually are seeing is the glory of God through me.

 

This is manifesting Christ, which is, showing the glory of God revealed in our body or in our faces because Christ is in us. No matter what situation we encounter, when others are anxious and worried, we aren’t worried and are able to manifest peace and joy in God.   When people see you, they see God and that is a witness to them that God is real.

 

This is our destiny as Christians.  Unfortunately many Christians don’t act like or reflect Christ in the world around them.  Unbelievers often criticize those who say they are Christians yet act like the world.  If you are in the workplace and someone says “I didn’t know you were a Christian,” this speaks loudly that you aren’t reflecting God in your work or relationships.

 

If individual Christians reflect God like a mirror, the church as a whole should be brightly lit to the surrounding community. The Lord said the light is placed on a hill illuminating the city.  That is not often the case however.  Many cities are still in the dark because the church isn’t doing its job of reflecting Christ.  This in turn goes back to the individual Christians who need to do a better job being the light of Christ.

 

The main reason why Christians aren’t brightly lit is because they are living in their flesh or soul which includes their emotions, mind and will.  They also live in the culture, and even religion rather than living in their spirits. Proverbs 20:27 says that the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord. When we, with unveiled heart, live and keep in step with the spirit, we will manifest Christ and reveal the glory of God.

 

2 Corinthians 3:15-17 says, “Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (NIV)

 

I’m very grateful to the Lord for leading me to the Local Church movement where I was saved.  I am also grateful for the thirteen years of Bible study I received there.  I learned so much about living in the spirit and manifesting Christ from Witness Lee.  The Lord led me to leave the Local Church in 2015 in order to learn more about the Charismatic and Prophetic movements.  It was during this process that I realized there were some mistakes in Witness Lee’s teaching.  Many of his teachings however, are correct and worthy to be studied by believers. 

 

In my personal experience I’m aware of several evangelical groups that condemned Witness Lee’s teachings as heretical which turned many believers away from following him. Many Christians in the Charismatic movement have heard of Watchman Nee but very few know about Witness Lee’s ministry.

 

Before I left the Local Church I was in a doctor’s office in Baltimore humming a Bible verse to a popular Christian tune.  An African American woman nearby asked me if I was a Christian.  While chatting with her I recommended Witness Lee’s ministry to her. She went home and began to read the Life Study and other spiritual works by him.  I invited her to attend our Local Church and she came to several meetings.  Her goal wasn’t to join our church but to transform her Pentecostal church.  She said she had been a Christian for decades but never heard these teachings although she had heard of Watchman Nee.  Over time she wrote me several letters thanking me for introducing her to Witness Lee’s ministry.  Since she hadn’t been tainted by the evangelicals who condemned Witness Lee, she was able to grow in her spiritual life through learning about living in the spirit and manifesting Christ.

 

Later in 2015 while attending a Charismatic Ministry meeting in Pennsylvania a pastor testified that he wanted to be holy.  He fasted for 40 days hoping for breakthrough in some of his weaknesses but ultimately he failed.  The person in charge of the ministry took him aside later and told him that holiness was a person and His name is Christ.  He was told that personal efforts or fasting didn’t bring about holiness.  Letting Christ live through him was the answer.  This helped him tremendously and he ended up following the leader of this ministry.

 

After hearing his advice I realized that the teaching I had received at the Local Church about manifesting Christ was one of the most basic truths.  The pastor in the above story had fasted and prayed for 40 days without understanding this.  Each group of Christians holds truths that may not be known in other groups.  For example I had no idea what the baptism of the Holy Spirit or speaking in tongues was when I was in the Local Church.  It was only after I left and began to investigate the Charismatic Movement that I learned about teachers like Kenneth Hagin, Bob Jones and Derek Prince.  I had no idea how the Pentecostal movement had developed over the last 100 years.

 

Of course, I was very eager to learn about the truth that God revealed through the Pentecostal Movement and the Modern Prophetic Movement. I was also actively seeking the gift of healings and gift of prophecy. In addition to my wife’s supernatural healing and us having a miraculous baby, I’ve also activated my prophetic gift. God often talks to me through prophetic dreams.

 

Looking back on these experiences, I realize that the division in the body of Christ is very serious. Every group has its own richness, but it doesn’t necessarily know and accept the richness of others.  

 

I’ve talked about the fact that many of Witness Lee’s teachings greatly helped many to grow spiritually although he was misunderstood and not well known.  The same goes for many Christians who haven’t learned or don’t understand the Charismatic and Modern Prophetic movements.  Many Christians believe that these movements are of the devil.

 

The attitude of many churches can be likened to martial arts sects described in Chinese martial arts novels, such as the Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sect. Actually, every martial arts sect has its own unique skills, and considered one of a kind in Chinese martial arts. However, many sects are strictly guarded. They cut off their disciples if they learn the martial arts of other sects. They also feel that their martial arts are the only authentic ones. They hope to conquer or dominate Chinese martial arts through their own martial arts sect. The same is true for many Christian denominations.  They think they have the only truth and want others to buy in to that but they often can’t humble themselves and learn the truths that others have.

 

Actually, God created each snowflake differently. God allows us to be rich and diverse in His wisdom in order to manifest His richness and diversity. God's purpose is not to let us conquer each other, but to help us coexist and complement each other. One man said something that left a deep impression on me. He said unity is not conformity.

 

An older woman from China who has served in the Local Church movement for many years always comes to see us when she is visits her son in the U.S.  She is very caring and full of life.  She heard that I had begun to study the Charismatic movement and became very concerned about my spiritual life.  She encouraged me many times to return to my Local Church.  I told her that the Lord put me on this path just like Joseph was bound for Egypt, I was also bound for this journey.  The more involved I become in the Charismatic church, the more burdened I become to see them grow more in their spiritual lives.  Many of the things I learned in the Local Church would help them tremendously. I told this woman that those of us in the Local Church aren’t familiar with Charismatics and don’t have a heart to love them. Many evangelical believers believe that they are deceived by evil spirits or live in the flesh.  I don’t accept this because I’ve seen that these Charismatic believers truly love the Lord. God has given me a burden to help Charismatic believers in the United States.

 

In addition to enthusiastically sharing the truths I learned in the Charismatic and Modern Prophetic Movements with evangelical brothers and sisters, I also hope to share some of the truths that I had learned in the Local Church movement. I personally think that just like the experience of the African American sister I mentioned earlier, it will be a great help to Charismatic believers.

 

Therefore, I suggest that those who are interested take a look at the series “Life-study of Philippians” by Witness Lee to see if it can help your spiritual life. Although Witness Lee’s teachings have a lot of controversy on the Internet, these controversies are mainly about theological issues such as the person of Christ and the problem of One City One Church. I don’t feel that there is a problem with his teaching about how to practice spiritual life.

 

Since we are speed reading Philippians at this meeting, a friend who is a new believer invited me to briefly introduce the background and summary of Philippians. I said that the main essence of Philippians is to manifest Christ in all kinds of circumstances.   Recently I was getting ready to go to class in my doctoral program at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. My mother-in-law and my wife had a little misunderstanding (which they reconciled later) that almost made me miss my class. Due to the heavy rainfall in Chicago that day, I had to change my ticket. Plus, I was hesitant wondering if the Lord was the one leading me to study this PhD. I almost cancelled it. However, when I got there, I was blessed and I clearly knew that God was the one leading me to this doctoral program. This friend, who asked me to talk about Philippians, recently experienced a similar crisis in his family.  We all experience trials.  As Christians we should manifest Christ in every crisis or in any situation. The greatest power of Christians is to live in peace and joy when people are troubled and worried. This isn’t something that money can buy. Big entrepreneurs like Jack Ma may not be able to do it, but a Christian who has life in the Lord should be able to do it.

 

Bob Jones, a Charismatic prophet from the United States, said that God is already judging the United States. One of His judgements is anxiety. This anxiety is what Satan released from hell. If a person or a Christian does not live in fellowship with God, he may be bound by anxiety. On the one hand, anxiety is an attack from the enemy. On the other hand, it’s the judgment of God. As the Bible records, after Saul betrayed God, an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him (NIV, 1 Samuel 16:14). Bob Jones said that anxiety, fear, and worry are the three most important tools from Satan’s realm of the dead. In the last days, they will plunder and devour every person who is not deeply rooted in the Lord. I am paraphrasing his words.  Forgive me if I didn’t quote exactly what he said.

 

Philippians 4:5-6 says, “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV) I came to the United States shortly after I was saved. I only had a few hundred dollars with me.  The Lord helped me through the Local Church and His wonderful leading by providing for my basic necessities, but I still had no tuition fees, and many other things to worry about. At that time, some fellow believers taught me to pray using Philippians 4:5-6. I began to pray these verses. I don’t know many times I prayed. This was a lifesaving verse. I prayed it over and over again giving my anxiety to God.  Pray-reading the word which I learned from the Local Church is very simple and effective. It’s similar to traditional meditation in Christianity. You repeat God’s Word, you add your own prayers and slowly, you focus your attention on the Lord and His words. Afterwards, you will find yourself slowly entering into communication with God and you can also get the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.

 

This process of entering and getting peace is not automatic. It takes time to build up and it needs long-term practice. The more we practice these prayers and entrust everything to the Lord, the more we will grow in the spirit and live in the peace of Christ. Hebrews 4:11 (NIV) says, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest”. This rest is not a complacent rest. It takes effort like our muscles need training to make them stronger. Our ability to enter into peace and rest needs continuous prayer in order to be strengthened.  Christians who don’t make the effort to train themselves will find that they won’t be able to endure anxiety and are forced to go with the tide and succumb to it.

 

During that difficult time, according to the teachings of Witness Lee I practiced pray-reading this verse. I repeated this over and over again, bringing into play my own prayer entering the depths of the verse and into God's presence.

 

For example, when I started to pray, I would say this:  The Word of God says “do not be anxious.”   It’s not an option, it’s a command.  It commands us not to be anxious about anything, so anxiety is a violation of God's command. It’s a sin. Lord, I am often anxious. This is considered as unbelief to you. I have committed a sin. Please forgive me.  Your word says “See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you?” (NIV, Matthew 6:28-30). We really shouldn't worry. No one can solve problems by worrying. Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (NIV, Matthew 6:27). God, You command us not to worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own (NIV, Matthew 6:34). Lord, forgive me for my little faith, and my worries. I will trust you and not worry.

 

Then I would pray, “The Word of God says to be anxious about nothing.”  It doesn’t say it’s okay to worry about small things, big things or things that we can’t solve ourselves.  It says not to worry about anything.  My tuition problem couldn’t be solved but I knew I didn’t need to worry about it.

 

I continued to pray the next phrase, "everything." It turns out that everything can be done in this way. No matter if it’s a big or small thing, something within my ability, or something beyond my ability; I can solve it through prayer and supplication.

 

"Praying" is telling God the thoughts in your heart. God, I am now praying to You and telling You what I need. "Supplication" is a specific request. I’m asking and believing that you will help me with the tuition problem.   I am willing to dedicate myself to you.

 

It should also be with "thanksgiving.” The Bible tells us to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (NIV, Psalm 100:4). I thank You, Lord. You saved me for eternity.

 

The verse here also says, “Present your requests to God.” At this time, I prayed and I told God my supplication and requests.

 

Then, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV, Philippians 4:7). The guard here is like the battle of Roman legions. God will send angels to protect our hearts and minds and to defeat the enemy’s attack on our minds. Although the problems outside may not be solved at once, we can get the peace that transcends all understanding.

 

And so, I prayed this verse over and over again, and received unparalleled inner peace. The problem was solved through the help of my teacher at the university.  She helped me to get a large deduction on the tuition.  There was also a Christian lady whose heart was touched by God. She loaned me some money so that I could pay the remaining tuition. I was then able to get through that difficult day.

 

Much later, I was sharing the gospel with new Chinese students on campus in Washington, D.C. when I noticed a woman with a look of despair on her face.  By the looks of her clothing I could tell she was from a rich family.   I found out that she and her daughter had a fight about school.  Her daughter wanted to quit school and go back to China but the mother was adamantly against it.  I wrote down the above verse in Philippians and shared it with her and told her how I meditate and pray to receive answers.  I showed her how she could set her hope in God and get the peace than transcends understanding.

 

It’s not only a lack of money that distresses people. Those who have a lot of money can also have troubles and difficulty.  In this fast paced world, there are so many things that cause unbelievers as well as Christians to be bound by anxiety. Therefore, the practice of this prayer reading is wonderful for living in peace and joy every day.

 

Witness Lee’s teaching about calling on the name of the Lord is also a very effective tool. He testified that he often practiced this to the extent that when he quieted himself down, he called on the name of the Lord and in less than ten minutes, he could enter into God's complete presence and rest. I have been practicing this method every day.  When circumstances and worry attacks me, I will quiet myself down and continually call on the name of the Lord, because the Bible tells us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (NIV, Romans 10:13). This method is simple and easy to learn. You can see the effect if you continually practice it over a long period of time. Americans are busy, have limited time and often don’t spend quality time in prayer. Learning to call on the name of the Lord will bring many benefits and internal peace. Of course, this practice can't be mastered overnight.  It needs to be a consistent long term practice to see the full effect.  If you can practice calling on the name of the Lord three times a day (morning, noon and evening), every day for 10 minutes, you will find that you have more peace.

 

When I led a small group in the Local Church a new believer attended that wasn’t familiar with the term living in the spirit.  He was very curious and asked what it meant to live in the spirit.  It’s a difficult thing to explain to a new believer.  He eventually left Baltimore and moved to another state.  I happened to see him again when he came back to Baltimore to visit.  He told me that he learned how to stop and call on the name of the Lord when he encountered difficulty at work. He’s a scientist and likes to quantify things. Each time he encountered problems in his experiments he would stop and call on the name of the Lord ten times.  As he practiced this he not only had peace but often received enlightenment from God regarding the experiment.  It was obvious that he had learned how to live in the spirit.  Paul said in Romans 8:6 (NIV), “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace”.

 

Often fast paced living and the various pressures that go along with that keep our minds focused on the negative aspects of life and cause us to be worried or anxious. This is the mind governed by the flesh, which ends in death. We don't necessarily have physical deaths now, but there are spiritual deaths. It is the weakness, darkness, emptiness, boredom and distress often mentioned in Local Church teachings. But if we can quiet down by calling on the name of the Lord and turn our attention to our Lord Jesus Christ, we will be able to get brightness, light, fullness, liveliness, and peace.

 

Although Philippians is just a short letter, it has a very practical meaning for Christian life. I hope what I’ve shared opens up a window for you to learn more from others in the body of Christ. Christians can easily develop a bias toward other ministries or denominations but it is very difficult to humble ourselves and learn from others.  I heard Rick Joyner testify that he learned the most from those who hold different or opposing views.  I love to use a Chinese idiom to express my thought about this. “Stones from other mountains can polish your own jade.” That means even when other’s teachings are worthless stones compared to your own jade, they still can be used to polish your jade. Let’s humble ourselves and learn from others even if their views don’t match your own.

 

One night in a dream I heard a voice proclaiming to me in English, “You will soon be on national TV”.  Plus a number of prophetic dreams about my ministries will be enlarged to a TV ministry. If I was able to have a Christian TV program in the future, I would call it “Stones on the other mountains.”  The Lord also appeared to me in another dream and told me convergence is happening. We are definitely entering into an age to tear down our fences and learn from others.

 

Are you willing to humble yourself? May the Lord bless you.

 

Bible Study with Jairus - Ruth

Bible Study with Jairus - Ruth

 

The book of Ruth is comprised of only four short chapters, but it’s a very important book in the Bible. It serves as a link between the past and the future. It’s preceded by the historical account of chaotic Israel in the book of Judges for hundreds of years or more. It’s a cycle in which the Israelites turned their backs on God and therefore God judged them, and then they repented and prayed for God's help, so God saved them. In summary, the scene of Judges is not very good. The book after Ruth is Samuel. It describes the birth of David and the wonderful work God did through David.

 

Ruth was a Moabite gentile. She married Boaz, the descendant of Tamar and Judah (Salmon, the father of Boaz by Rahab). Boaz is the father of Obed. Obed is the father of Jesse, and Jesse is the father of King David (NIV, Matthew 1:5-6). Matthew's genealogy looks very simple, but it’s the condensed version of the entire Old Testament. If you want to figure out this genealogy, you need to be familiar with the history of the Israelites in the entire Old Testament.

 

Similarly, Ruth’s short description at the beginning tells us that in the days when the judges ruled, Israel suffered a famine. Naomi’s husband Elimelek left Bethlehem in Judah and lived in the country of Moab. In the end, Elimelek and his two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, died. These first three verses have simply recorded this story. Actually, this is a condensed summary of the history of the Judges. The history of the Judges is like a severe cold winter, with dead twigs and withered leaves everywhere. But when the earth is in a severe cold winter, new life will be born underground, just waiting for the spring to come. It’s just like the budding plum blossom in China. The Bible is written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I often say that the Holy Spirit is the best playwright and creator in the world. The picture painted by the Holy Spirit in the book of Ruth is like the author of traditional Chinese ink painting. Now there are a few black dead twigs on the Xuan paper. It doesn't look that lively, but it didn't take long for God to draw a few bright red and beautiful plum blossoms, making this painting radiant.

 

 

The dark period of the Judge's is like the dead twigs of this Chinese ink painting. The story of Ruth's wonderful salvation is like the blooming of plum blossoms. Although the weather is still severe and cold, the plum blossom is starting to bloom and spring has already arrived. Ruth is this plum blossom, proclaiming the Savior of mankind. Jesus Christ is coming soon in a few more generations. Isn’t this exciting? If you were a prophet in the Old Testament or Simeon or Anna who were looking forward to the coming of Jesus Christ in the temple, can you imagine how exciting it will be to see this picture? Ruth the mother of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David, and Jesus Christ, the descendant of David, are coming soon. Although it can’t happen overnight, a definite date has already been arranged. It’s a pity that most people don’t have such prophetic vision. They see the savage darkness and the raging winter instead.

 

Chinese poet Hai Zi said, "The night has given me dark eyes but I use them to look for light." I am not familiar with Hai Zi's poems, but a good friend of mine who graduated from Beijing Normal University is a fan of him. He told me about Hai Zi’s poems and the story of Hai Zi’s suicide. I don't understand what kind of pain causes a person to commit suicide. I can only say that Hai Zi did not live out the ideals written by his poems. Darkness is temporary. As John says, darkness never overcomes the light (NIV, John 1:5). Dawn is actually very near you when you’re in your darkest hour. The footsteps of spring have already come secretly even in the harshest winter season.

 

The book of Judges is like a cold, dark winter. Ruth’s appearance depicts a blooming plum blossom before spring. In our speed reading this time, we’ve painted this beautiful picture. I hope to briefly review the contents of our Bible Study.

 

God's Judgment brought Redemption

 

I have always said that God's judgment is not the aim, but a means to bring redemption. Many people misunderstand God's thoughts and imagine God as a fierce God. Elimelech and his two sons died because of God’s judgment. Of course, Naomi felt bitter. The name Naomi means blessings from God. Her life was bitter to the point where she even returned to the country of Judah and told other Israelites, “Don’t call me Naomi, call me Mara for my life is bitter.” (Ruth, 1:20).

 

My wife and I have suffered the painful experience of ten years of infertility. The process is really bitter. The quarrels, struggles, tears, and pain experienced is unimaginable for those who have never experienced it. Another couple who participated in our Bible Study at that time was also infertile for many years.  One day, the wife said to us that she felt that God had done nothing but deprive her. Everything that others have, she doesn’t. Coupled with other difficulties in life, she felt like Naomi who called herself Mara, which meant bitter (Of course, she had a son and a daughter afterward; we also have our miracle daughter). Thinking back, we really learned a lot of lessons. We should keep our eyes open and see the hope ahead of us when we’re in difficult circumstances.

 

Naomi represents our old man, Ruth represents our new man

 

Actually, saying that Naomi represents our old man is not very accurate, or perhaps it’s too early to say that. Because the thing that should be said first is that Elimelech and his two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, represent our old man. They have been killed by God's judgment. But Naomi can represent the struggles of our old man in our spiritual experience. We all know that once we are saved, our old man is crucified with Christ. But in experience, our old man is still alive. From the spiritual reality, our old man is indeed dead. But in terms of spiritual experience, our old man still needs to be conformed to the death of Christ. In the process, our old man will inevitably complain. This is Naomi’s experience. Ruth represents our new man. While Naomi had experienced death, life was started in Ruth, and it resulted in producing a descendant, which was Obed. Although this child was Ruth’s, people said that he was Naomi’s child, because Naomi became his nurse. Naomi’s and Ruth’s experiences are actually together, or we can say that a person’s two different experiences, when intertwined, produce a new man in the end.

 

I heard that the author of the book "Dream of the Red Chamber" sometimes applied the story of the same person on different characters. The Holy Spirit often used this writing technique when writing the Bible. It often separates and puts the spiritual experience that one person had on different people. If you have spiritual comprehension, you will be able to understand that they are actually one person, or that the experience of these people can actually be a person’s different spiritual experience.

 

For example, the Bible records that the families of Saul and David had been fighting for a long time. This experience can represent the battle between a person’s old and new man. In the end, of course, the new man represented by David won. Similarly, the experience of Naomi and Ruth here is intertwined, showing us a picture of how the new and old man reacts differently to things. For example, in facing God's judgment, the old man Naomi said that the Almighty has made my life very bitter (NIV, Ruth 1:20). But the new man Ruth lay at the feet of Boaz (who represents Christ), like Mary of Bethany. The old man Naomi said, “Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?” (NIV, Ruth 1:11). The new man Ruth said, “Unless death can separate me from you, where you go I will go, your God will be my God”. (NIV, 1:16). The old man Naomi complained that her life was bitter so she let people call her Mara. But the new man Ruth never complained. She did not complain that her husband died. She also did not complain that she was born a Moabite. In Deuteronomy 23:3 God said: “No Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, not even in the tenth generation.” (NIV, Deuteronomy 23:3). If she lived today, she would have a lot to complain about, such as: "I was born the wrong color, my race was cursed, my husband has even died etc," But in the entire book of Ruth, you don’t hear any complaints from her. Her words and behavior are very much like what Peter said, "Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." (NIV, 1 Peter 3:4)

 

Naomi also represents the Holy Spirit, Ruth represents the bride

 

I mentioned earlier that the Holy Spirit often puts different experiences that a person can have on different people when writing the Bible. In addition, the Holy Spirit often uses the same person, things, or events to represent different spiritual things or experiences. For example, the simplest example is that the Bible uses a lion to describe the Lion of the tribe of Judah - Jesus Christ. It also uses a lion to describe the devil who prowls around looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

 

Here, in addition to representing the old man, Naomi also represents the Holy Spirit. Ruth represents the bride, and Boaz represents Christ. We know that Abraham's old servant represents the Holy Spirit. He finds Isaac (who represents Christ) a bride named Rebekah. He beautified the bride (gave Rebekah a lot of earrings, nose rings, and other ornaments), and used camels (representing an unclean environment that is a tool in the hands of God) to bring Rebekah to the tent of Isaac. We also know that the eunuch in the book of Esther also represents the Holy Spirit. Not only did he help select Esther, but he also supplied her with anointing oil, so that she could receive beauty treatments (ointments and perfumes), thus exuding the fragrance of (Christ), letting the king (who represents Christ) to be delighted with her. Here, Naomi also represents the Holy Spirit. She has been a helper and a comforter. After our old man is dead, we travel together with our weak new man to bring her to the Promised Land God has given us and help her to know Christ (a representation of Boaz) to please Him. Through his redemption as her relative, she has become his spouse and bride. In the end, a man child (Obed) was brought into the lineage of Christ thus completing God's plan.

 

Ruth 2:1 says that Naomi had known that Boaz was a wealthy man. But in verse 2, Ruth herself said that she would glean in the fields and she didn’t know who would find favor with her. Note that it doesn’t say here that Ruth knew Boaz. She didn’t know him at all, but the Holy Spirit explained in the first chapter that when Naomi was in the land of Judah, she knew Boaz. Here is the foundation of the writing of the Holy Spirit later in this chapter.

 

So, how long did Naomi stay away from Judah? The Bible didn’t record it, so we don't know. But we guess that it may be quite a while because both of her two daughters-in-law were married in Moab. We guess that Boaz may be an old man already and perhaps he is a man with wife. We don't know these. It’s just our speculation. Because when Ruth followed Boaz, Boaz said a sentence, “You have not run after the younger men but chose me instead.” (NIV, Ruth 3:10). From here, we can also guess that Boaz might not be that young anymore. But Ruth did not know Boaz (who represented Christ) according to the flesh. It’s through the help of Naomi (who represents the Holy Spirit) that she knew Boaz (or Christ).

 

Consequently, Ruth went to glean in the fields and it happens to be the field of Boaz. Was this accidental? No, it wasn’t.  The Holy Spirit led her there.

 

I’ve been a believer for seventeen years now. Looking back at the history of these seventeen years and the years before becoming a believer, I find that the Holy Spirit has been wonderfully leading me. When the Holy Spirit leads us, he often doesn’t speak loudly. Rather, he leads us silently. We may not feel him, or we’ll only discover afterward that it’s the Spirit’s wonderful leading. When I was in college, I went to Peking University to find some friends to hang out with. When I saw that they were preparing for the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language) test, I was curious to understand why they were preparing to go abroad.  I had thoughts myself of ​​going abroad to study. However, I also wanted to take the national postgraduate entrance exam in China. I had made a plan for myself. If I passed the national postgraduate entrance exam, I would stay and pursue postgraduate studies in China. If I didn’t pass, I would apply to study abroad. In the end, I took third place for my total score in the national postgraduate entrance exam in my major. Ten plus postgraduate students were enrolled in our major. My scores far exceeded the admission score. However, when I was taking the politics exam, I had an extremely bad headache. I didn’t score well on the test. I was only a few points away from passing. So, I missed the postgraduate admission. Only after I was saved, did it occur to me that this might be the Lord intervening. I rarely get headaches so perhaps He wanted me to study abroad.  Later, when I did go abroad to study, I came in contact with gospel believers and began to receive Biblical education. It was only then that I realized that this was part of God’s plan for me.  Even the school choices that I filled out in college were the same. I originally planned to apply for philosophy at a well-known university in China. While I was trying to rest in my dorm room, I suddenly thought of applying to a journalism major in another university. This university was more of a liberal arts college. Because I come from a rural family and wasn’t good at socializing with others, I had a very hard time adjusting to this school and spent a few painful years there. Later, I had worked in the media industry, and I had hoped to make a difference in this area. But because I’m a believer, I was also slowly becoming indifferent to the world's ambitions. But in recent years, God gradually showed me that my ministry will greatly use media and film in the future, and gave me dozens of dreams to encourage me to make films. These are things I never thought of, but I did know that God was the one leading me to study media from the beginning. Often, the way that God leads us is by giving us an idea, and we unknowingly obey the leading of the Holy Spirit.

 

I shared my own experience here to make a point. The way the Holy Spirit leads us is sometimes very subtle. Here, when Ruth walked in the field, whether she walked to the left or to the right, she was led by the Holy Spirit. In the end, she was brought wonderfully to the fields of Boaz. Things that you often think are accidental are not. It’s just that you haven’t seen the certainness behind the accidental, which is the silent leading of the Holy Spirit.

 

After Ruth returned, she told her mother-in-law that she was gleaning in the fields of Boaz that day.   Naomi told her, “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative." (NIV, Ruth 2:20). After which, Naomi told Ruth, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.” (NIV, Ruth 2:22). This accompanies what Boaz said to Ruth before, "My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me." (NIV, Ruth 2:8). They said almost the same thing. So how did Naomi know? It’s very surprising. It can be seen from here that Naomi represents the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit often confirms what the Lord says to us.

 

At the beginning of the third chapter, Naomi was preparing to find a home for Ruth. In 3:2, Naomi said, “Tonight, Boaz will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.” (NIV). How did she know? It shows that Naomi had inside information or she knew Boaz very well. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit comes from God and Christ. He knows Christ very well. Then in 3:3-4, Naomi told Ruth to wash, perfume herself, dress up, and go lie down in the threshing floor of Boaz. This represents the work of the Holy Spirit. It dedicates God’s church, and the bride of Jesus Christ to her husband without blemish, which is Jesus Christ. Naomi taught Ruth how to get Boaz’s attention and told Ruth (after everything was going according to plan) that Boaz wouldn’t rest until the matter was settled (NIV, Ruth 3:18).

 

What was the book of Ruth talking about? It’s Boaz (who represents Christ) redeeming us, his lost relatives, which Ruth represents. Christ is our relative and ultimately through the sacrifices He made, we were redeemed to return to God, which is our inheritance (because God is our portion and our inheritance).

 

Boaz had a relative who was first in line to redeem Ruth, but according to the law, he would have had to marry Ruth in order to maintain the name of her dead husband with his property. But the man said that he was willing to redeem, but he wasn’t willing to marry Ruth because it would endanger his own estate.  According to the law, if he married Ruth, her child would not belong to him, but to Ruth’s dead husband. Thus, his inheritance would be damaged. But Boaz was willing to make these sacrifices. Because of this he was blessed by the Israelites.

 

In Ruth 4:11-12, the Israelites blessed Boaz and Ruth and said:

 

11 May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” (NIV).

 

Later, Ruth gave birth to a son named Obed. Naomi held him in her arms and became his nurse. He was obviously Ruth’s son, but the neighbor women named the child, saying that, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed (NIV, Ruth 4:17). The meaning of Obed is servant, the servant of God. Obed is the father of Jesse. Jesse is the father of David. And Christ is the descendant of David. At this point, Naomi and Ruth’s experiences are combined into one. The previous pain that she experienced has passed, because a son was born, bringing her much happiness. Our old man will also experience pain like this. But our new man will have continued growth. In the end, we will enter the glory. At the same time, Naomi also represents the Holy Spirit. His change in us is now finally completed. He has completed the work of God on earth today, letting Christ be glorified in us. The one who is glorified is the man child, which is a new man in the universe.

 

 As a new believer attending a special conference in 2004, I didn’t believe that Christ would come back the second time and was unwilling to dedicate my life to Him.  That evening I prayed: “Lord if you show me that you are really coming again, I will dedicate my life to you.” Then, I had a prophetic dream that night. Two people were fighting to get my heart. A man who was stronger took my heart away. The next day, I dedicated myself to the Lord and then I saw a vision. The Lord said to me, “Once the New Jerusalem, the body of Christ in the world is built up, I will come back.”

 

Ruth’s experience is our experience as the bride of Christ. May we work cooperatively with the Holy Spirit and gradually transform ourselves into the image of Christ. The book after Ruth is Samuel. It describes the birth and growth of King David, our position of sitting together with Christ in the heavenly and reigning with the king. These two sides complement each other. They are the two different sides of Christian spiritual destiny. Not only are we the bride of Christ, we also have the power to govern and rule the universe with Him.

 

Bible Study With Jairus - Romans 9

Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 9

Referring to the Old Testament, Romans 9:13 says, "As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'” A Christian asked in the meeting, “Why did God hate Esau? Isn’t the word hate too strong in tone? Why did God choose Jacob instead of Esau? How do we understand God's choice? How do we know that we are chosen by God? How do we know which people are not chosen by God?” There seem to be a lot of questions, and these queries are all connected.

According to STEPBible.org’s literal interpretation of the word "hate," it is μισέω (miseō), which means "hate." Based on this translation, the literal definition of hate can be understood to be accurate in Romans 9:13. Why did God hate Esau? The common understanding is God hated because Esau chose the flesh. He sold his birthright for a bowl of red bean soup.  God hated him; however, God also loved Esau. When the Israelites came from the land of Egypt and passed through the land of Seir, the Lord especially reminded the Israelites not to contend with Esau’s descendants because the Lord gave Mount Seir to Esau as a possession (Deuteronomy 2).

Did God not choose Esau? Esau is the eldest son. There is no reason for God not to choose him, but Esau's own choice brought different results. In other words, God choosing us and our willingness to choose him is a dynamic relationship and not rigid or inflexible. This is not to say that only God can choose us, and we are entirely passive in the process. Rather, our subjective and active choice will bring a different result to this dynamic relationship.

Once evangelist D. L. Moody was asked by a student, “Since all the people who are saved are people chosen and are predetermined by God before the creation of the world, what will happen if I have mistakenly preached the gospel to people whom God has not chosen?” Moody replied, “If you preach and the person believes, it means that he is one chosen by God before the creation of the world. Before he enters the door of salvation, he will see the words ‘Anyone who is willing can come’ on the door. Once he enters the door and turns around, he will see ‘You are chosen by God before the creation of the world’ is written inside.”

This story clearly talks about the dynamic relationship between God and His followers. God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (ESV, 1 Timothy 2:4). This is God's common grace. But God has given us free will, so we have the freedom to choose. God sent the Lamb, His Son Jesus Christ, into the world to take away the sins of the world and bring us back to God. But whether or not a person returns to God is not automatic. It still requires us to make a choice. Although Jesus Christ died for the sins of all, not everyone experiences forgiveness and salvation. You must choose to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior to receive this kind of salvation.

Similarly, in a Christian’s spiritual life, you must also make this choice. You cannot simply believe in the Lord and expect to grow and mature spiritually over time. This is impossible. You must make a choice every day and set your mind on the Spirit to have life and peace. If you set your mind on the flesh, it is death (ESV, Romans 8:6).

Romans 9 is a continuation of Romans 8. It reminds us of the stories of Esau and Jacob, depicting the different results of different choices. We can all choose to be descendants of Isaac.  Isaac represents the common grace that God has prepared for you. Choosing to become his descendant enables us to become a person chosen by God. At the same time, you have the freedom to become like Jacob, who possessed God's riches and inheritance, or you can be like Esau, who sold his birthright for a bowl of red bean soup. Your red bean soup today may be your worldly enjoyment and entertainment or the pleasures of sin. Many Christians today choose the flesh and the world and unknowingly become Esau. We need to be vigilant.

Paul said in Romans 9:6 (ESV), “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.” Verse 7 (ESV) says, “Not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’” Verse 8 says (ESV), “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” Here God uses the examples of Abraham and Isaac.  If God chooses you, you are a descendant of Abraham and Isaac.  Yet if you are born of the flesh, you are like Ishmael. And when you choose God in return, you are like Jacob.  But as a chosen one of God, if you choose the flesh, you will be like Esau.  

This truth is essential to our Christian life today. The reason why God told Rebekah that out of the twins, He chose Jacob and hated Esau (Romans 9:10-13) was not to declare that Esau couldn’t possess his birthright. Instead, it was because God foresaw that Esau would choose the flesh. Although God knew in advance that Esau would choose flesh, God wasn’t pleased with Esau’s decision. If Esau valued his birthright, God would also bless him. What about Jacob? God would also bless him. A father in this world has only one birthright. But for God, His riches are unending, so He can infinitely bless many different people.

Why does God establish such a dynamic relationship? First, God wants to bless all the descendants of Abraham. But God also said that the descendants of Isaac are the descendants of Abraham. God wants to bless all the descendants of Isaac too. But we must choose the birthright, like Jacob, before we can be blessed. In other words, God wants all people to be saved, but He absolutely does not want anyone to abuse this grace and indulge in the flesh. If we see this relationship clearly, we can understand why God allows such contradictions here. This is the difference between God's election and man's choice. On the one hand, God chose you. But on the other hand, your own choice will bring different results. God is the God of the living (Luke 20:38). He is a living God and decides who will receive life and blessings.  It is not our theology that determines the results.  We can’t twist God’s arm because He is living, His word is alive, and God has the final say.

Verses 14-18 (ESV) say that God has mercy on whomever he wills, and it doesn’t depend on human will or exertion.  His mercy depends only on Him.  God hardened pharaoh’s heart to show His power. This doesn’t give us an excuse to be hard-hearted.  If we already have a hard heart toward God, God will harden it also. But if we repent and have a soft heart towards God, He will show mercy to us.

In recent years, controversy has surrounded the Hyper-Grace Gospel because it doesn’t line up with the truth that we have a dynamic relationship with God.  Legalism in the church has propelled some toward the opposite extreme of Hyper-Grace.  People hurt by legalism try to receive God’s mercy through personal efforts or rules and regulations. There are various levels of legalistic teaching that cause people to stumble.  Alternatively, the Hyper-Grace Gospel advocates that individual efforts or actions don’t matter because God’s mercy is always readily available.  They believe that God can continuously forgive even those who repeatedly sin after salvation.  Ultimately, both extremes lead people to abuse God’s grace.

Romans 9:22-23 (ESV) says, “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory."

This verse is challenging to explain.  A man in our study asked, “What does this verse mean?”  Why is it that to show His wrath and make His power known, God tolerated some people, did not interfere with them and let them walk towards destruction? Interestingly, this verse raises the same points as Psalm 73 of the Old Testament. The psalmist had also asked such questions.

The psalmist says:

73:12 (ESV) “Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

73:13 (ESV) All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

73:14 (ESV) For all the day long, I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.

73:15 (ESV) If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

73:16 (ESV) But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,

73:17 (ESV) until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

73:18 (ESV) Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.

73:19 (ESV) How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!

73:20 (ESV) Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.”

These wicked people seemed to live a good life and were not disciplined; so, the psalmist was perplexed. He felt it was unfair. But it was not until he went into the sanctuary of God and looked at this issue from a different height and angle that he realized that God had really abandoned them, allowed them to stumble, and to have eternal destruction in the end. Those of us who are saved will have eternal life. If you look at it from an eternal perspective, the temporary suffering in this life is God’s mercy and discipline in love because God disciplines the people He loves.

On the one hand, God chose the Jews. On the other hand, God gave salvation to the Gentiles (Romans 9:24).  These are God’s sovereign decisions that no one can change. But as an individual Israelite or Gentile, we have the freedom to choose whether or not to accept this salvation. The price of the Israelites' hardened heart was that God temporarily abandoned them. But God still had mercy on them. The Gentiles originally were not God's people, but God's mercy came to them. So, the Gentiles “who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith.” (ESV, Romans 9:30) But the Israelites who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness failed in reaching that law (ESV, Romans 9:31). Why is this? Because the Israelites, who had gone to extreme legalism, had overlooked the fact that God's grace is through faith.

Romans 9:32-33 (ESV) says, “Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’”

Actually, this is still a matter of choice. When we choose to obey the law through our natural strength, we cannot get what the law promises. But when we choose to trust God's grace and mercy, we can receive the salvation promised by Him through faith. Why is it that Jesus Christ, the promise, and the way of salvation, had instead become a stumbling block for many Jews?  It was not that God did not choose the Jews.  God did choose them.  It was that these Jews made a mistake in not choosing Jesus. Jesus Christ, who has become wisdom for us from God, has given us salvation (1 Corinthians 1:30). No one can receive God's salvation except through Jesus Christ.

Similarly, in the New Testament today, God's word also explains that setting our mind on the Spirit is life and peace while setting our mind on the flesh is death. We must set our minds on the Spirit and choose life.  What went wrong with the Israelite’s choice? There was no problem with the law itself. The law was there to introduce Christ. But why was it that the Israelites who pursued the law did not know Christ? We will continue to discuss this in the next chapter, Romans 10.  There was nothing wrong with the law; instead, the Israelites had a veil on their hearts.

 

Bible Study With Jairus - Leviticus 8- Aaron’s Anointing and The Modern Day Mercy Seat

Bible Study With Jairus - Leviticus 8- Aaron’s Anointing and The Modern Day Mercy Seat

For today’s study, we’re going to look at several questions from a woman who wondered how we are to understand the meaning behind the story of Moses putting the anointing oil on the high priest. To her, it seemed that since the content of this chapter had already been mentioned in the Book of Exodus, why was it being repeated here? Was the anointing oil solely poured on Aaron the high priest? Or was it also poured on his sons? What are the reasons for putting blood on the lobes of Aaron’s and his sons’ right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet after anointing the high priest?

We don’t find any verses specifically talking about anointing Aaron’s sons in this chapter. This chapter clearly states that the anointing oil was poured on Aaron. However, it also says that blood was put on the lobes of Aaron’s and his sons’ right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. We think that this is about a transfer of responsibility. This was the very first moment when the Lord gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and met him in glory at the mercy seat where blood was poured (Numbers 7:89).  In this chapter, it was Moses who anointed Aaron, and sprinkled blood on the lobes of Aaron’s and his sons’ right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. This was in preparation for them to meet God since meeting with God was based on the atonement of blood.

The Offerings and the Mercy Seat

As we have already mentioned, the place where God and Moses met was at the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony. The high priest sprinkled blood on the seat once a year. When Moses entered the Holy of Holies where the ark was, God only saw the blood poured by the high priest-- not Moses’ sin. Thus, the problem of sin was solved. God could talk with Moses in glory, as is clearly stated in the Bible.

This is the actual implication of peace offerings. Men take a step forward through sin offerings (and guilt offerings). God takes a step from the Holy Place through Christ’s burnt offerings (and grain offerings). As such, God and men meet in the midst of the path where the peace offering is. Jesus is the guarantor between God and men. We must follow Jesus in order to come to God. The righteousness of God allows us to meet God in the salvation of Christ. Why do I say that? Men cannot meet God in glory because men commit sin. Sin is an obstacle between God and men. If God did not love us, that would be fine. But God does love us! So, this is not only a difficult question for us, but for God. Because God loves us, He wants to see us. However, God could not see us in the Holy of Holies. That’s why Christ completed these offerings to overcome this difficulty. When we receive the sin offerings and the guilt offerings that Christ did for us, our sins and guilt are hidden by Christ. As such, we can come to a real peace offering. We have peace with God in Jesus Christ our Lord. God only sees the blood of Christ, but not our sins. That’s our perspective.

From God’s perspective, because Christ’s burnt offerings (representing the absolute offering of Christ to God) and grain offerings (representing salvation for men) satisfy the requirements of God, and in addition, because we practice sin offerings and guilt offerings by applying the blood of Christ in prayer to cleanse our sins, God can come out from the Holy of Holies and meet us. We have discussed this in other studies. The five basic offerings are the process of meeting between God and men. We can meet God in Christ. The actual meeting is peace offerings. Peace offerings include the wine and the blood in burnt offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. They also represent salvation. Peace offerings also include grain offerings and other burnt offerings, and represent joy and the acceptance of God. Therefore, the peace offering is the sum of all that comprises most of the sacrifices and makes harmony between God and men.

Moses and God met at the mercy seat in the glory of God, forming a picture of peace offerings. Moses had met God at the mercy seat before, but he later had to pass this service to Aaron and the other high priests. They could then meet God in glory under the shed blood, just like Moses had. The sprinkling of blood is a further application of the mercy seat. This mercy seat was once kept in the ark of the testimony. It is kept on men’s thumbs, toes, and the side of their ears now.  Before we receive God’s anointing oil, we must be purified by the precious blood of Jesus. There is an interactive relationship between God’s anointing oil and the purification of precious blood. On one hand, we must be purified by the precious blood in order to get God’s anointing oil. On the other hand, just like what is mentioned in this chapter, if we want to receive God’s anointing oil, with the help of purification of precious blood, we must keep our fellowship  with God. As a result, we will have God’s anointing oil on a continuous basis.

As High Priest Aaron has been anointed by anointing oil.  High priests must live to the full extent of the anointing oil. They must always use the blood of sacrifices to purify themselves. As they do, God will meet them. The distance between God and priests is as narrow as the sides of ears and fingers. When Abraham was anointed by God as a prophet, God offered him places where his footsteps could reach, places where his hands could touch, and places where his eyes could see. Wherever he went, God would follow and be with him.

Anointing in Today’s Context

What is the meaning of this? The lobe of priests’ right ears, the thumb of their right hands, and the big toe of their right feet represent the words we hear, the things we do, and the ways we walk. After God anointed the high priests, not only could they enter the Holy Place, God was actually with them wherever they went. With God’s presence, God could not only come out from the Holy of Holies but actually live in the lobe of high priests’ right ears, the thumb of their right hands, and the big toe of their right feet. In other words, God was in the body of high priests. No matter what the high priests heard, said, did, or went, God was with them. This also applies to the New Testament nowadays. Every one of us, as Christians, are God’s priests. God is with us no matter what we say, what we do, or where we go. Many Christians do not notice that. They speak unsuitable words, do unsuitable things, and go to unsuitable places. Thus, they defile God’s anointing oil offered to them. That’s why we need the precious blood of Christ to purify our ears and mouths, the thumb of our right hands, and the big toes of our right feet. When we use the precious blood of Christ to purify ourselves, and guard ourselves to live well in the anointing of God, we continuously strengthen the anointing of God and the fact that God is with us.

This is the fact of anointing. The actual anointing is that God trusts us and gives Himself to us.  You can say “God has trusted himself to you”, wherever you go, God be with you. Take Abraham as an example. God was with Abraham when he went to Egypt. Even though he sold his own wife, God still blessed him. We can see this in Scripture and in our own lives. If someone is right in the eyes of God, God will still bless him even though he commits mistakes occasionally. But this cannot be an excuse for our wrongdoings or for betraying God’s trust. Instead, if an anointed man betrays God’s trust, he will receive more severe punishment from God.

Being anointed implies higher authority given by God and being closer to God. It does not matter if you are doing work for the Lord or preaching the word of God; it is easier to bring the good things from above to earth if you are anointed. In the Old Testament, normal people could not go into the Holy of Holies except for the high priests. The anointing of a high priest was so huge that he always needed to purify himself with blood to avoid the sins and uncleanness of the world. If he was unclean, he could face the punishment of death. Beginning in the New Testament, every Christian can enter the Holy of Holies through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We enter the Holy of Holies and stay with God without fear. This requires us to use Christ’s precious blood to purify ourselves. If we purify ourselves continuously,  we keep on strengthening the anointing of God and God’s manifested presence will be with us to a greater degree.

I have come across some of the groups that are regarded as heretics by Christians in the United States, including Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have witnessed their hard work in spreading the “gospel”, reading Bibles in groups, setting up booths in Metro stations, etc. I see how hardworking they are, but I don’t see the presence of God. In other words, I see the lack of anointing from God. These groups may deny the deity of Jesus Christ, or they believe in books other than the Bible. They try to receive God through hard work, which is impossible. We must receive salvation from God through the blood of Jesus Christ. We must also always use the blood of Jesus Christ to purify ourselves, our ears, our hands, and our feet in order to let more anointing of God be released to us.  When we have the anointing of God, things will be much easier.

The Leviticus 8 Ordination Process

Leviticus 8  is a portrait of this concept. It portrays the relationship between God’s anointing and the purification of blood. Let’s take a look in detail.

Leviticus 1-7 describes Burnt Offerings (Chapter 1); Grain Offerings (Chapter 2); Peace Offerings (Chapter 3); Sin Offerings (Chapter 4); Guilt Offerings (Chapter 5); the laws of Burnt Offerings, Grain Offerings, Sin Offerings (Chapter 6); and the laws of Guilt Offerings and Peace Offerings (Chapter 7). These offerings put Aaron in a position that was close to God. In Chapter 8, God started anointing Aaron as well as allowing the priests to offer their blood offerings. To our surprise, God did not let Aaron offer his offerings and blood at the beginning. Instead, God let Moses take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that was in it, consecrating all these things (8:10). He also sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them (8:11). He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him (8:12). It says “consecrate them” three times respectively. This is to consecrate something positionally. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?” (Matthew 23:17) From God’s words, the temple that has made the gold sacred is more important. It helps our understanding if we apply this to what we’ve already discussed.  We must consecrate ourselves in order to get anointed by God. If we want to keep ourselves in God’s anointing, we must always purify ourselves by the blood of Christ.

Let’s consider the sequence of events in chapter 8. In verse 2, the Lord requested Moses to take Aaron and his sons, along with the garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. Moses assembled “all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting” (3). He then brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water (6). He clothed Aaron with the holy clothes and anointed the tabernacle and all its utensils (7-11). Finally, Moses “poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him” (12). It does not talk about Moses pouring anointing oil on Aaron’s sons’ heads or anointing them. Instead, it says that Moses “brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them” (13). We notice that the anointing oil is only for Aaron the high priest. This does not imply that Aaron’s sons were not anointed after they became high priests. This is not true. This anointed oil was inherited from Aaron’s anointed oil. We can find proof in the Bible. In Psalm 133, David said, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down the collar of his robes!” Although this anointing oil was only poured on Aaron, his sons could inherit his anointing oil. Even though the anointment of Aaron’s sons is not mentioned in this chapter, the above reference still applies. 

This also explains why it is later said that the purification of blood on Aaron also applied to his sons. Moses not only put blood on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot (23), he also put blood on the lobes of Aaron’s sons’ ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet (24). This means that Aaron and his sons were anointed together in the presence of God. But they had to offer blood offerings and let their ears, right thumbs, and right toes be purified in order to listen to the voice of God, do what God asked them to do, and go to places where God asked them to go.

 

Verses 14-17 describe how Moses offered the bull of the sin offering: Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering before Moses killed it. He then took the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar with his finger, purified the altar, poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it to make atonement for it. Please note, as mentioned before in vs. 10-12, anointing oil was placed on the altar and utensils. Moses then consecrated the altar, the utensils, and Aaron.  Starting in this verse, blood was poured at the base of the altar which was consecrated by Moses. Verse 30 says, “Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons’ garments. So, he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.” The blood Moses sprinkled made the priests clean and the anointing oil made the priests holy. We must be clean and holy to get closer to God. It was true for the priests in the OT and for believers in the NT. For Hebrews 12:14 says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Priests in the Old Testament and in the New Testament must be sanctified.

 

Verses 18-21 describe Moses presenting the ram of the burnt offering: Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram before Moses killed it. Verse 22 and following describes Moses presenting the other ram, the ram of ordination. This ram was not for atonement but for ordination. The blood of the ram was put on Aaron’s and his sons’ right ear lobes, the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet by Moses. The blood of this ram was specifically used to consecrate Aaron and his sons. After that, the unleavened bread used for grain offerings (26), wave offerings (29) and burnt offerings (28) were added to the ceremony. These offerings, used to consecrate Aaron, were very important. 

In verses 31-35, Moses commanded Aaron and his sons to boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting. They were to eat that and the bread that was in the basket of ordination offerings. Moses also commanded them to burn up the remains of the flesh and the bread with fire. Aaron and his sons were not to go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of their ordination were completed. At the entrance of the tent of meeting they were to remain day and night for seven days so that they did not die. This also tells us that, while the feet of Aaron and his sons were purified and consecrated by blood, they had to stay in the tent of meeting and not leave during the period of special ordination.

Ordination in Today’s World

What is ordination? Many churches still use this procedure to “ordain” ministers and other spiritual positions. These ceremonial constraints do not exist in the New Testament but in the spirit instead. Every one of us believers is to serve God. Although we are not all pastors, we are the Lord’s priests (1 Peter 2:9)- we are the one who receive ordination. Our high priest is Jesus Christ himself. He receives the greatest anointing from God. Psalm 45:7 says, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” This was said when Jesus was anointed by God. We are in Christ. So the anointing of Christ is also our anointing, just like the anointing that Aaron was anointed with was also his sons’ anointing. But this does not imply giving us anointing unconditionally. The anointing that God gives us in Christ is so huge that we must use the blood of Christ to continuously purify the lobes of our right ears, the thumbs of our right hands, and the big toes of our right feet. When we purify what we have heard with our ears, what we have done with our hands, and where we have walked with our feet, we can use the anointing prepared by Christ to consecrate ourselves. Today we are not short of anointing, but we are not sanctified enough. This means that the anointing is not able to be released in us. The more we become sanctified with the blood of Christ, the more anointing will be in our lives and ministries. We are very close to God now. God lives inside our heart and at the side of our mouths. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:10) God meets us at the side of our ears. If we do not listen to and pay attention to voices from the world and from our flesh, after we put blood on the lobes of our right ears and purify them, we can hear the spiritual voice. Many Christians can only see images and hear sounds from the world, or even the lies from the enemy. But when we offer our ears to God, God will talk to us. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Our distance from God is as close as the distance of the sides of our ears.  This blood on the side of the ear is like the blood on the mercy seat that let Moses and the Lord meet below the glorious cherubim. Similarly, when we use Christ’s blood to purify our ears, God’s voice will come to us. Likewise, after our hands have done any wrong doings, if we repent and use Christ’s blood to purify our hands, God will come to us, and we will come to God. God will bless what our hands have done. After we have gone to a sinful place, if we repent and use Christ’s blood to purify our feet, God will be with us. God will bless the places we step, just like God blessed Abraham. So if we put Christ’s blood on our ears, our right hands, and our right feet, we meet with God by the blood of Christ, like Moses and God met at the mercy seat.

Aaron’s and his sons’ right earlobes, the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet in this chapter are the extension of the mercy seat where Moses and God met. May Christians today understand this truth, and use this in their daily life.

Bible Study With Jairus – Leviticus 2- Grain Offerings, Leaven, and Legalism

Bible Study With Jairus – Leviticus 2- Grain Offerings, Leaven, and Legalism

Leviticus 2:11-12 says: “No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the Lord. As an offering of first fruits you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma.”

Today’s question is, what are the “them” in verse 12? In the part about the grain offerings mentioned earlier, some parts were burned before the Lord. However, it is clearly stated here that no grain offering offered to the Lord is to be made with leaven or honey. They are not to be burned as offerings made by fire. Therefore, to understand this, we naturally assume that God is not pleased with anything related to honey and leaven. The law also stipulates that the Israelites should eat unleavened bread, so it deepens our impression that anything mixed with leaven and honey cannot be offered to the Lord.

We recently discussed this in our Bible study group. At first, we did not understand what “them” was referring to. Eventually we realized that it might be “things mixed with leaven and honey” or just “leaven and honey.” Once we figured it out, it seemed more logical, but our minds were hindered by thinking that the Lord does not like honey and leaven in grain offerings. We assumed that God completely dislikes and does not accept honey and leaven. We thought that the “them” in verse 12 was obviously not an offering mixed with leaven and honey.

The word of God here, says that an offering mixed with honey or leaven can be offered as a first fruit offering, but not as a grain offering. Some of the grain offerings are to be burned, and things with honey or leaven cannot be burned. But God does not say that they are not accepted at all;  He clearly says that they can be offered as first fruits offerings.

Leaven is obviously not good since the Israelites were asked to eat unleavened bread. Although it says here that honey may not be offered as a grain offering, the Bible does not say that honey is completely unacceptable. For example, John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey. Isaiah 7:15 prophesied about Jesus Christ the Lord, “he shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.” Israel is also known as “the land of milk and honey.”

Although God said honey is not allowed to be used as part of a grain offering, we know that God allows things with honey to be offered as a first fruits offering. I wonder if there were beekeepers in ancient Israel. If they did exist at that time, what would they have offered to God if honey was all they had?  In other words, if God did not allow honey as an offering of first fruits, it is possible that the bee keepers or honey collectors would have had nothing to offer. Although it is such a small detail, allowing honey in other offerings shows God’s care for beekeepers and honey collectors.

This has very practical applications to our spiritual experience as well. For example, a certain law may be more applicable to a person with a more mature spiritual life. If he wants to get close to God and offer a grain offering to God, God would not allow him to mix leaven and honey with it. I was taught that leaven often symbolizes worldly ambition or our sins, and honey often represents our fleshly zeal or natural self. For such a believer, God may want to deal with his uncleanness. If he refuses to deal with it, God will not allow him to draw closer to Him.

But sometimes, a new believer may not understand all the nuances of the offerings, so his first fruits offering to God may have been mixed with leaven and honey. This could represent some undealt with sin or our natural selves. But God will still accept such an offering. This doesn’t mean that God is pleased with leaven and honey or the sins and self they may represent. No, God accepts his offering at this person’s level. What God values is his heart.

Offerings and Legalism

If we don’t understand this spiritual principle, we may commit the mistake we made when first reading this passage: thinking that since God does not take pleasure in leaven and honey as a grain offering, God is totally displeased and does not accept anything mixed with leaven or honey. In the same way, we can be too legalistic in our treatment of new believers or friends who have not yet believed in the Lord. We can often hurt new believers  and non-believing friends, for we see at a glance the “leaven and honey” in them. Before God has decided to accept or reject someone’s offering, we assume that God is judging these things and we condemn their faults. This is actually our sin. It is how Moses erred when he was angry toward the second generation of the Israelites. God was not angry, so Moses’s reaction misrepresented God in that moment. It is how the church hurts new believers if the church has a tendency towards legalism. Many believers testify that they have been hurt by the church’s legalism. When God is not angry with us, but is presented as an angry God by the church, it can discourage new believers from drawing closer to God.

I have observed this happening in my previous denomination. There was a fervent group of Jesus lovers among the Chinese. They were ready to dedicate their lives to Christ, even at the price of martyrdom. This group held special meetings each summer to encourage new believers to dedicate themselves to the Lord. I experienced this challenge and dedicated myself in 2004. I was greatly transformed. But I have also witnessed some negative sides to these meetings. During some of the messages at these special meetings, people are encouraged to give up their worldly ambitions and even their lives for the sake of the Gospel. However, this sounds harsh to some new believers and to nonbelievers who have not yet been drawn to the beauty of the Lord. It is hard for them to think about giving up their worldly ambitions, their future, etc. Most of us in these meetings are Chinese immigrants who came to the US to fulfill our American dreams. Those new to the meetings did not understand the spiritual reason we did this. They pointed out that we all had good jobs and big houses while their lives were just beginning. To them, it seemed illogical for them to give up everything for the Gospel. While some new believers were greatly transformed by these special meetings, others stumbled and even left the church or never came to faith.

New believers or non-believers thinking is, of course, not the same as more mature believers.  Those who advocate surrendering everything to the Lord don’t think this way. To them, everything is worthless without the Lord. When they have achieved something in their lives, they find that only the Lord is real and everything else is illusory. But here we may be making the mistake we pointed out before. Even people who are mature enough in their spiritual lives to experience the Lord’s dealing with them hesitate to abandon the world. So these words of encouragement are necessary: they need the reminder that they must choose the world or the Lord. Put another way, if they want to offer a grain offering, they cannot mix it with leaven or honey, even a little. The Lord demands our all, not just partial obedience.

For some of those new to the faith, God may give them time to learn His expectations. He does not expect perfect obedience the moment someone is saved. But if we as more mature Christians are too radical in dealing with these matters, we will overstep God, and make these new people think that God is just like us. In fact, God is much more gentle in dealing with new ones and seekers of the Gospel than many Christians are.

I also made this mistake myself. My nephew came to study in the US from China and had not heard the gospel. On the first day when he came to the United States, I took him to the meeting mentioned earlier, hoping that the Holy Spirit would greatly “kindle” him, or let him be saved. Instead, he “stumbled.” He felt that I was “crazy,” so he started to stay away from it. Of course, his unbelief was not entirely the fault of others; his own hardness of heart was the cause. But if I had a choice again, I would not have done it this way.

The same is true for many Christians parents when their children are away from the faith. They are anxious, but what they say and how they treat their children might not necessarily reveal the nature of the Lord at this time; it reveals their own flesh and religion and understanding of the law. Sometimes the more we push them, the more they will stay away from us.

For those of you dealing with these situations, I hope the inspiration here comforts you. These prodigal sons are all in God’s hands, and God has determined their boundaries and scope, when they are saved and when they repent. Don’t worry, don’t rush. Trust in God, wait for God, and do not overstep God in your impatience. The repentance of the prodigal son in the wilderness and the appeal of the tax collector in front of the temple may be a more acceptable offering! If we are like Pharisees or the prodigal’s older brother, our legalism may prevent others from offering even their imperfect offerings to Christ.

Legalism in the Church

I just gave an example of legalism in the church. Many believers have different experiences with this. What is the reason behind legalism in the church? It ties to the inspiration we had earlier. Some of us have a heart to help the believers to be pure and without blemish, but may lack the tender heart of God. We may not have enough understanding about the process it takes for a person to grow in the Lord. We may have knowledge about God, but lack the heart of God. Legalism in the church happens when we have a heart for God but we don’t have the heart of God. We can use the humanity of Jesus Christ to represent the heart of God. Jesus is not only God but was also human. He was not just a regular human being; He was a perfect human being. I grew up as a country boy in China so sometimes I am rude without realizing it. The divine life I carry in me is certainly genuine. But the expression of God though me sometimes is hindered by my nature. It is imperative for us to participate in the grain offering which points us to experience the perfect humanity of Jesus in our spiritual lives. We need to become more like Jesus in his perfect human nature to express more of God’s divine nature!

In addition, a new light we see in this reading is that the grain offering is also divided into several categories: burning on the altar (verse 2), roasting on the stove (verse 4), frying in a pan (verse 5), and roasting in a pot (verse 7). These signify the different degrees of experience in the human nature of Jesus. We need to be sanctified in our human nature. The more sanctified people are, the less they fear the fire of God. Therefore, they experience more fire and can pass through it. From the altar to the oven, to frying in a pan and roasting in a pot, each category represents the level of sanctification a believer can experience based on how close they are to the fire. The closer you are to the fire, the more trials you will experience. This is good, because it grows your faith as you are sanctified. The more holy your life is and the closer you are to the Lord, the closer you will be able to approach the fire during the grain offering, because God is the holy fire (Hebrews 12:29). This also shows the gentle side of God and God's provision for people at different levels of life. It echoes to the testimonies of some prophetic people. They testify that the more you are transformed on earth, the closer you may live to God in heaven. There are different realms in heaven as well. If a person is not transformed and filled with the light enough, they may not be able to stand the light in the higher realm.

Grain Offerings in Our Lives

Through these lenses, let's look at the grain offering as a whole and how to apply it to our spiritual experiences. In our reading of Leviticus chapter 1, we refer to five basic sacrifices as representing the five ways of offering Christ as our sacrifice. He is our sin offering, trespass offering, peace offering, grain offering, burnt offering; His work on the cross covered all the offerings we had to make for all time. When we praise God (a sacrifice of praise, as mentioned in Hebrews 13:15), it is like offering Christ back to God as a type of sacrifice. The sequence of these offerings is burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering. These signify God coming out from the Holy of Holies to meet us. The reverse order of these five sacrifices represents the Israelites going into the tabernacle from the outer courtyard to meet God (Please refer to the study of Leviticus 1 for more details.).

Grain offerings are generally interpreted as a typology of the humanity of Jesus Christ. The reason is that the grain offering is generally made with fine flour and oiled with frankincense (Leviticus 2:1). Oil typifies the Spirit of God, frankincense typifies the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and fine flour typifies the humanity of Jesus Christ. It is as if the Lord Jesus had been squeezed in His humanity, experienced pain on the cross, then experienced the resurrection and ascension. Therefore, Jesus Christ is our grain offering. The Lord Jesus also gave this example in John 12:24 “If the wheat does not fall into the ground and die, it remains alone, but if it falls into the earth and dies, it bears much fruit.” The Lord Jesus spoke of His own death and resurrection in using this illustration. He is that one grain of wheat, and we are the many grains of His death and resurrection. The fine flour is from the wheat being milled and crushed. We are these many grains going through the mill press, being milled and blended together, to become fine flour. The "fine" in fine flour refers specifically to the softness of this flour after it is milled. Of course, Jesus is the ultimate fine flour- we are simply being remade in His image and sanctified to become more like Him.

Part of the grain offering was to be burned on the altar; the things burned included fine flour, oil and frankincense.  The other part of the grain offering was to be given to Aaron and his descendants as a most holy offering of the LORD's offerings by fire (2:3). If we compare the grain offering and the burnt offering, all parts of the burnt offering are for burning. This typifies Christ in His divinity because He offered Himself to God forever as an unblemished sacrifice, entirely for God's satisfaction. Part of the grain offering was reserved for the priests to eat, which shows that the grain offerings were for God and man to enjoy together. The part left here for the priest is specifically mentioned as being most holy. In other words, we can say that the purpose of the grain offering was to help the priest to be sanctified. In today's spiritual experience, it is sanctification that changes our humanity. We receive in the spirit the life of Christ, which is entirely for God. But the life in our soul is not yet fully filled with the humanity of Jesus, and therefore needs to be sanctified, renewed, and changed to become more sanctified. This is the purpose of the grain offering.

In the experience of many Christians, they experience Christ as a burnt offering. When they receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, they experience the burnt offering to a certain extent...He is the burnt offering that God accepts to die in our place.  But many Christians lack the experience of grain offerings. They lack the experience of Christ's transformation in humanity, the experience of the blending of flour, oil, and frankincense. They also lack the experience of offering a grain offering to God, and therefore lack the most holy part of the grain offering for themselves.

One characteristic of a grain offering is that it passes through fire. Peter says in 1 Peter 1:6-7, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith --more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” From Peter’s words here, our faith goes through trials, as if it were going through fire. In fact, this is actually a picture of a grain offering. The reality of a grain offering is to experience the trials of faith and the lessons of the cross in our lives. The purpose is to break us, so that every part of our humanity and inner being is filled and changed by the life of Christ.

Levels of the Grain Offering (Breaking down Leviticus 2)

We previously mentioned the different options for the grain offering, which represent the varying degrees of passing through the fire. This is how we go through different degrees of trials, or how far we have gone through the work of the cross. The more we are tested by fire, the more the dross from within us is removed and our pure nature refined. The first level of the grain offering is that fine flour is mixed with oil, with frankincense (verse 1) and burned directly on the altar (verse 2). The grain-offering at this level also mentions a portion remaining for the priest to make the most holy things (verse 3). The second kind of grain offering is to take something baked in the oven and make unleavened bread of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened pancakes greased with oil (verse 4). This second level of the grain offering is roasted in an oven, very close to the fire, but not directly in the fire. The unleavened bread can be mixed with oil or anointed. At the third level of the grain offering, food on the frying pan shall be of fine unleavened flour mixed with oil, divided into pieces, and covered in oil. Although the grain offering at this level has heat, it does not go through the fire because it is separated from the frying pan. The grain offering that is baked in the second oven is a whole pancake, but here in the third grain offering it is not a complete pancake, but divided into pieces. This level typifies our experience of Christ as a grain offering, but is not as complete as the second level. And the fourth level of grain offering shall be made with oil and fine flour in a pot. This level does not have a lot of other details. This pot is probably thicker than a frying pan, so there's less heat going through it.

After the second to fourth grain-offerings, it was mentioned again that the offerings should be brought before the Lord, presented to the priest and brought to the altar; at this time, the priest would take out the memorial part and burn it on the altar, an offering made by fire, a pleasant aroma for the LORD. It is mentioned here again that the remnant of the offerings went to Aaron and his descendants, which were the most holy of the offerings made to the Lord by fire (9-10). This tells us that although the preparation of the grain offering was different for each case, it ended directly through the burning of the fire on the altar.

Our grain offering to God must not be mixed with leaven and honey, since it is an offering made by fire (2:11) We may offer leaven and honey in our first fruits offerings to God (2:12).

Every offering offered as a grain offering must be blended with salt (13). Salt also typifies the killing effect of the cross. In addition, the Israelites had another option. They could offer the first fruits as a grain offering, which were the dried kernels of fresh ears, the rolled ear kernels (14). The "drying" and "rolling" here also typify the work of the cross. Such a grain offering was likewise to be supplemented with oil and frankincense (15). The priest burned the memorial part of it, a few crushed ears and some oil, and all the frankincense, as an offering made by fire to the LORD (16).

Concluding Thoughts

To sum up, a grain offering typifies experiencing the changing and filling of our lives through the humanity of Jesus Christ on the cross. Each of us experience the degrees of sanctification and the cross of Christ differently. Therefore, for a new believer, there may still be parts of their lives that need to be refined, as leaven and honey have typified. God's mercy permits them to offer their own sacrifices with mixtures as a first fruits offerings to God. But if they want to offer a grain offering, they must experience the work of the cross in Christ to renew and change themselves before they can please God. Romans 12:1-2 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” It is specifically mentioned here that the renewal and changing of our minds is God's good will. Similarly, the Bible says that unless a man is holy, he will not see the Lord (Hebrews 12: 14). 1 Peter 1:16 also says: "Since it is written: you shall be holy, for I am holy." These verses show that holiness is what God requires of us. A grain offering is a sacrifice of our lives- getting rid of sin and self that we may be more holy. Once we have not only a heart for God, but also the heart of God, we will have less legalism in the church. This will help us to manifest Christ in our lives to draw sinners closer to God.

 

 

Bible Study With Jairus – Leviticus 1

God Moves Towards Us

Bible Study With Jairus – Leviticus 1

 

God’s Care for Young Believers.

When we read Leviticus, we are often discouraged by its complexity and the excessive details of the sacrificial system. However, if we look at this from another angle, every minute detail is necessary to truly depict the gentleness of God’s character and the depth of his love.

When we want to get to know a historical figure, we read his biography. If we only read a few hundred words of the introduction, we will have a limited understanding of this person. However, if we read a detailed biography which contains millions of details about the person's experiences, we will know a lot more about this individual.

The same is true for Leviticus. The details of these offerings form a biography and image of God himself. As we read Leviticus chapter 1, we pay special attention to details. For instance, why do sacrificial cattle and sheep have to be male, but sacrificial birds do not specify a gender? Why do all parts of a bird except its crop and feathers need to be burned? Why are they put in the ashes of cattle and sheep? Why did the priests pull the bird’s head off and burn it at the altar until the bird’s blood flowed at the side of the altar? Why do priests have to sacrifice birds, whereas Israelite citizens perform these actions themselves on the cattle and sheep?

It is difficult for people to differentiate the sex of the pigeons or turtledoves. Even professional breeders have a hard time differentiating their genders. In addition, those who offer birds as sacrifices are poor people. They symbolize people who do not have enough strength and are poor spiritually. God takes special care of them, giving them a low bar to meet. He does not request special details such as gender specifications. If a poor person finally managed to afford a turtledove, but then found out it was a female one and the sacrifice required a male one, it would naturally cause him a lot of trouble. In addition, God does not require the person to do the slaughtering; the priests help them out. It reminds me of how we treat newcomers in the church. When we invite them to join our services, we do not request them to bring food to a potluck. Instead, we go the extra mile to help them. We may even give them a ride to and from church. We are just grateful they can attend. Their presence in the service is already a sacrifice for them, and we don’t require additional sacrifices. This is a beautiful picture of God’s love, full of gentleness and warmth.

When we are young spiritually, we are not yet capable of the discernment necessary to offer sacrifice. We need the help of others. However we should not stagnate here. We can start by offering pigeons and turtledoves, but we need to continually grow spiritually so that we become capable of offering cattle and sheep as well. At first, it’s ok to rely on others (such as a pastor or priest), but as we grow, we will be able to offer more advanced sacrifices all by ourselves.

Burnt Offering

The burnt offering is the first sacrifice recorded at the beginning of Leviticus. In verse 1, the Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. These words about sacrifices come straight from the Lord’s heart. These sacrificial laws are not just dry regulations, but a description of God’s character and heart. Christ is the manifestation of God, and these sacrifices are a description of Christ himself.

 

When Abraham offered Isaac, he offered him as a burnt offering. This sacrifice was a prelude to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Just as Isaac abandoned himself completely to the will of God, Jesus willingly offered himself as a sacrifice to obtain God’s favor. Therefore, the different animals used for burnt offering in this chapter-- bulls, rams, turtledoves or pigeons--are all pictures that point to Christ as the sacrifice.

 

Christ being our sacrifice has the same effect for all of us: it saves us from sin and death. However, we differ in the amount to which we personally experience the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice. For example, we know that Christ provided salvation for us, but have not accepted this salvation. Or we may have accepted his salvation, but are not living in the full experience of his love. This is a very important point.  

 

In Verse 2, God says, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord , you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.” Clearly, God is pleased with either goats or sheep as offerings. In verse 14, God says that if someone uses a bird as a burnt offering, he must offer turtledoves or young pigeons. However, birds do not seem to be God’s first choice. Using a bird is a special exception for poor people. Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, must have been poor, because she and Joseph offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons as burnt offerings (Luke 2:24).

In Verse 3, it says, “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish.” This offering represents Christ.  A bull without blemish and defect points to the strength of Christ’s flawless life. The burnt offering is burned completely without anything left over. This shows that Jesus Christ offered himself fully to God. This is the first sacrifice God asked Moses to prepare. This points to the fact that God will use Jesus Christ as a sacrifice to save us. The sin offerings and trespass offerings mentioned later are needed for the full experience of salvation.  However, if Jesus Christ had not first offered himself as a sacrifice to complete God's salvation plan, we would not have the opportunity to use him as a sin offering and a trespass offering later. We would have no way to enter into the beautiful reality of the peace offering: having peace with God.

In God’s eyes, time does not exist. Revelation 13:8 says that Jesus Christ was “the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.” NLT Furthermore, in 1 Peter 1:20, God says that Jesus was “foreknown before the foundation of the world”. From these verses, we understand that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is eternal and transcends time.  God made the first move in solving the problem between God and man when He planned Christ’s sacrifice before the world even began. That is what John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”.

The tabernacle of Israel represents the heavenly tabernacle. The most holy place in the tabernacle is a type of the most holy place in heaven. God lives in the Holy of Holies, where people could not enter in the Old Testament. Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, and only once a year.

A way needed to be opened so that people, including the high priest, could enter the holy place to meet God. The way God provided was through the sprinkling of blood. When the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place, Moses could meet with God and hear His voice. God was present on the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant under the glorious gaze of cherubim (Numbers 7:89).

In the Old Testament, the blood of the sacrificed cattle and sheep was used, but in the New Testament, the blood of the flawless lamb of Jesus Christ atones for sin. Because of the blood of Jesus Christ, we can come to the throne of grace without fear to receive mercy, grace and help in time of need (Hebrew 4:16). Therefore, without God's initiative to send his son Jesus Christ as a flawless sacrificial lamb, we would not be able to enter the most holy place to get close to God. By preparing Jesus Christ to be the sacrificial lamb, God made the first move to open his hidden, holiest place to us. God meets us through the salvation of Christ. That is the reality of Christ as burnt offering.

God and Man Move Towards One Another through Sacrifice.

After the burnt offering is the grain offering. The grain offering points to Jesus Christ becoming flesh and giving his life as a sacrifice.  Grain offerings signify human nature, so this sacrifice signifies that Christ became human and put on human flesh. We would not have had a sacrificial lamb if Jesus had not come to earth. Without Jesus Christ becoming flesh, God’s sacrifice would not have been completed in time to achieve salvation for us. Hebrews 10:5 says, “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me.’” From this verse, we can see that God prepared a body for Jesus so he could come in the flesh and become our sacrifice.

The peace offering points to peace with God. Through it, we see that God and humans are finally reconciled. God prepared Jesus Christ as a sacrifice (grain offering), and we offer Christ as a sin offering and a guilt offering. Through these sacrifices, we are enabled to meet God. This is the reality that the peace offering points to. Peace offerings come in a lot of different forms, including total sacrifices, as well as heave offerings and wave offerings that the priests were allowed to eat.

Imagine God coming out of the Holy of Holies to see us. He has prepared his son as a burnt offering and grain offering for our salvation, to cover our sins. But if we want to enter from the outer court outside the tabernacle into the Holy of Holies to meet God, we must first go through the sin offering and guilt offering to remove our sins. At this very moment, when we meet God, we experience the peace offering. We meet God near the Mercy Seat, where Moses met and listened to God under the gaze of the glorious cherubim. When God saw the blood on the mercy seat, he forgave Moses’ sin. God only saw the blood, rather than seeing Moses’ sin.

The order of the five basic sacrifices in Leviticus (burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering and guilt offering) indicates that God comes out of the Holy of Holies into the outer courtyard and meets us through these sacrifices. By means of the various sacrifices, He meets people in different situations. If you are a sinner wandering in the world, like the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15, He will meet you through the sin offering. If you have experienced forgiveness but need more sanctification, God will meet you through the guilt offering. If you want to experience more encounters with God and to hear from Him, God will meet you in the peace offering. As you experience more transformation through Jesus Christ, God meets you in the grain offering.  If you want to experience Jesus Christ's total commitment to God, God will meet you in the burnt offering.

God comes out of the Holy of Holies and meets people in their circumstances through these sacrifices. We, in turn, experience the blessings of the sin offerings, guilt offerings, peace offerings, grain offerings, and burnt offerings as we get progressively closer to God. This is the spiritual meaning of the order of the five different sacrifices in the first five chapters of Leviticus.

However, chapters 6-7 mention the five different sacrifices in a slightly different order. Here, the order is burnt offering, grain offering, sin offering, guilt offering and peace offering. The regulations for the peace offering were placed at the end of the list. In my personal opinion, this means that both God and man take the initiative to move towards one another, and the final peace offering is the place where God and man meet.

A simple parable speaks to the shared initiative of both God and man. The story says that prayer is like digging a deep tunnel through the mountain of our suffering. Whenever we dig one foot, God also digs a foot from his side. When we give up and stop, God does not continue to pursue the answer to our prayers. We may feel that we did all the work, but in reality, God was also working the entire time to answer our prayers. If we persist in praying and don’t give up, we will meet halfway eventually. This story reflects the truth that both God and man must move towards one another, which is the basic lesson of the sacrifices.

Going on to Maturity

Let’s continue to learn about the details of the burnt offering so that we can understand its spiritual meaning more clearly.

Verse 3 says that the bull must be offered at the entrance of the tent of meeting so that the individual may be acceptable before the Lord. This verse shows that we must experience Christ as a sacrifice before we can enter the tent of meeting, which is the dwelling place of God. Though the burnt offering represents the initiative of God (lamb slain since the foundation of the world), it also shows our own initiative to enter his presence by way of the sacrifice.

Verse 4 says that the Israelites who are offering the burnt sacrifice have to lay their hands on the cattle’s head to show that they are united. In this way, the sins of the Israelites are transferred to the cattle.  Similarly, when we offer Christ as a sacrifice, we must be united with Christ. Christ then takes away our sins.

Verse 5 says that the Israelites themselves should kill the bulls before the Lord. Practically, God gave this command because it was difficult for the priest to kill so many bulls for so many Israelites. Spiritually, it also signifies that everyone must take the initiative to receive salvation for themselves. Though God has prepared Christ as our sacrificial lamb, we still must accept Him in order to receive salvation. Our initiative is necessary.

The second half of the verse says that Aaron’s sons, the priests, would bring the bull’s blood and sprinkle it against the sides of the altar at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Verse 6 says that the Israelites would flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. Verse 7 says that the priest would put fire on the altar. Verse 8 says the priests would arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that was on the fire on the altar. Verse 9 says that the Israelites should wash its entrails and its legs with water. The priest would burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

We must pay attention to the specific details here. The priest serves God, but the priest and the Israelites each shared the responsibility for the sacrifices. The Israelites would kill the bull, lay their hands on its head, skin it and cut it into pieces. The priest would sprinkle blood, place wood on the fire, place the sacrifice on the wood, and burn the sacrifice on the altar. Just as God took the initiative to meet us and we also take initiative to God, every Christian has their own individual responsibilities in service.

When we mope around, relying only on God's initiative and the help of the priest (or today's Priest or pastor), we are living in spiritual laziness. Spiritual laziness is a great problem for church members today. D L Moody once said that he had never seen a lazy man get saved. In today's church, many Christians only attend church to listen to sermons. They are "Sunday Christians”; during the week, they never read the Scriptures, pray, or offer any sacrifices to God. Although such Christians can meet God, they are all living in the outer courtyard.

In Verse 10-13, the Bible gave instructions about offering sheep and goats as burnt offerings. Sheep and goats must be without blemish, just like the bull. Verse 11 specially instructs worshipers to kill the sheep on the north side of the altar. After that, he would cut it into pieces, with its head and fat, and wash the entrails and legs with water. The priest’s job was sprinkling the blood against the sides of the altar, putting the sacrifice on the firewood of the altar, and offering the sacrifice on the altar. The same basic principles that we saw with the last burnt offering also apply to this offering. However, please note that this passage does not mention laying hands on the sheep to identify with it. This shows that to a certain extent, this worshiper’s experience of Christ is not as mature as the one who offered the bull.

The person who offers birds as a burnt offering is even more immature (Verse 14-17). The worshiper’s only job is bringing the turtledove or pigeon; the priest does the rest. The priest would bring the bird to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar (vs. 15). Its blood would be drained out on the side of the altar.  The priest would remove the bird's crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes (vs 16). The priest would tear the bird open by its wings, but not sever it completely (vs 17). And the priest would burn it on the altar, on the wood that was on the fire. This burnt offering was a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

These images are very thought-provoking. In many churches, most Christians are only mature enough to offer birds as sacrifices. That is, they attend Sunday Services, but all other responsibility for their growth is shouldered by the pastor. Years have passed since they came to know Christ, yet they have not matured spiritually. This is not God’s ideal wish for us. God desires that we offer the bull, but if we really can't afford to offer the bull, we can offer the sheep instead. If we can't offer sheep, we can offer birds. In his mercy, God meets us in our differing degrees of spiritual growth. However this is not God's ultimate goal for us. God hopes that we can experience the growth and maturity of life in Christ, and that we can continue to advance to the Holy of Holies to meet Him.

But didn’t Jesus’ own mother offer a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeon as a sacrifice when Jesus was circumcised at eight days old? Yes, that's right. However, remember that when Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross, the sacrifice offered was no longer a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Nope. He became the flawless Lamb of God.

To sum up, Christ has become the sacrifice through which we receive salvation. However, we each experience that salvation to varying degrees. We need to experience more of the of Jesus Christ’s salvation and move closer to him. Our experience of Jesus’ salvation is our spiritual sacrifice to God today. As we offer ourselves freely and lovingly to God, He will be satisfied by the fragrant offering of our lives.

 

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 9

God’s Perfect Plan

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 9

Peter and Paul

In Acts 9, we see an abrupt transition from the transformation of Saul/Paul (vs. 1-30) to the story of Peter’s ministry (vs. 31-32). Why this abrupt transition? Why does the storyline seem incoherent and inconsistent?

To answer this question, let’s look back briefly at chapters 7 and 8. Chapter 7 tells the story of Saul guarding the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen to death, and Chapter 8 talks about Philip evangelizing. Chapter 9 tells the story of Saul’s conversion. These chapters introduce Saul (Paul), preparing readers to recognize him as the leading apostle and one of the main characters in the book of Acts.

Before Paul’s appearance, Peter is the leading force of the first-generation apostles, along with the twelve disciples he represents. At the beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus tells the disciples to wait at Jerusalem to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter preached a powerful message through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, bringing salvation to 3000 people. The twelve disciples worked together to preach God’s word and bring others to Christ.

Later, some widows complained about being ignored in the daily distribution of food. Stephen is introduced as one of the deacons who helped serve meals daily. Writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Luke chose to include the story of Stephen so that he could introduce Saul. After Saul is introduced briefly, we continue to follow Peter’s story. Peter remains the main figure for a few more chapters.

The transition between Peter’s storyline and Paul’s storyline has not yet completely occurred. Slowly, the focus will be shifted from Peter to Paul. In Acts 13:2, when the prophets and teachers were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work that the Lord called them to. Paul was officially named an apostle, and from then on, he became the main character in the book of Acts. Paul wrote 14 New Testament letters, over half of the New Testament (27 books in total). Paul was clearly the main figure in the New Testament.

 

The Authority of God’s Word

Sometimes, we may be tempted to view the structure of Acts as disorganized. We may doubt the authority of God’s word because of its seemingly incoherent structure.

At the time of the Renaissance, the authority of the Bible was undermined. The church believed the earth was the center of the universe, and they executed Bruno, who advocated for the heliocentric theory of the earth.  They persecuted Copernicus, Galileo, and others, mocking their belief that the Earth is only a few thousand years old and revolves around the Sun.

Because of this scientific mistake, many people lost their faith in the authority of the church and the Bible. Instead, science became the mainstream concept. Theology and belief in the Bible were marginalized to an extent.

Recently, I took a Systemic Theology class from the United Theological Seminary (UTS). In the class, I learned how the church lost some of its credibility under the pressure of modern science. These factors helped to produce a liberal theology that does not believe in God’s miracles and even denies that the Bible is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The church persisted in some traditional teachings that were not in line with the facts. For example, they continued to believe the earth was not round. Because of this, modern scientists who disbelieved the Bible had a chance to criticize them.

However, our disregard towards the authority of the Bible can be changed as the Holy Spirit helps us understand it. As the Holy Spirit enlightens us, we will see the authoritative inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit helps us see that the transition between Paul and Peter are perfectly organized, like beautifully orchestrated movie cuts.

If we view the Book of Acts as a movie script, we can see that the Holy Spirit is the best screenplay writer. We may think the organization of certain Bible verses or chapters are fragmented. As the Holy Spirit guides us, we can see that the various storylines in Acts are stitched together in perfect coherence by the best author of all.

 

The Beautiful Structure of God’s Word

I often use examples from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to explain the Bible. According to Chinese Medicine, our bodies have many meridians. Wikimedia defines meridians as “paths through which the life-energy known as ‘qi’ flows."[1] There are about 20 channels and along them about 400 acupuncture points. The acupuncturists use these acupuncture points and their channels to determine what medicine to use for certain diseases. They say a good combination of these efforts will bring better healing results. Of course not everyone agrees with this theory. I am just using this as an example.

When the Holy Spirit inspired authors to write the Bible, he put down lines or hidden structures that flow through the Bible. These lines are just like meridians, or channels, that the Holy Spirit used to express His train of thought. If you are good writer or editor, you understand the importance of following certain threads throughout an entire narrative. A poor writer does not have a coherent thought that flows through his entire writing.

The Holy Spirit is God. If we learn to see the coherent thought patterns behind the words on the page, we will marvel at how beautifully God inspired the Scriptures. If we do not understand it well or do not see the hidden line or channels, we will have a hard time understanding the Bible, in part or as a whole.

Liberal theologians often deny the authority of the Bible because traditional theology was slow to accept the truths of science or to come in line with fact. Other traditional theology tended to be legalistic, so nonbelievers reject the Bible’s truth. To counteract this trend of unbelief, we need to help others grasp the true meaning, coherence, and beauty of the word of God. We can understand this through the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe that God's children will feel it inside their spirit if something is really an illumination from God.

As we study the Bible, we are not trying to just understand the written words. We also want to receive the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Often the questions that disturb us most are the very questions that the Holy Spirit wants to answer. At our church’s Bible study, a believer shares their insights into the passage, and then we have a Q&A session. We allow people to ask questions about the passage. As we talk and discus the answers, we receive insights and inspiration from the Holy Spirit. As each person shares what God is teaching them, we all learn and grow.

Today’s discussion is an example of one of these inspirations. A lady asked about the sudden jump from Paul to Peter in this chapter, and the Holy Spirit helped me understand it. As we were discussing this question, I realized that Saul is introduced for the first time at the end of Acts Chapter 7. At the martyrdom of Stephen, Saul agreed to put Stephen to death (7:60). When Stephen was martyred, he was filled with Holy Spirit. He saw God’s glory and Jesus standing at His right side. He prayed that God would not charge his murderers with sin, because they did not know what they were doing. This testimony is the root cause of Paul’s salvation. The blood of martyrs is the seed that produces the flower and fruit of the gospel. On the one hand, Paul was saved because he was chosen by God and Jesus and because Jesus appeared to him in a vision. On the other hand, he was also saved because of Stephen’s testimony.

When I was still meeting with the Local Church Movement (LCM), I read a testimony about a man that was saved when the Boxers massacred missionaries. The Boxers used a prison wagon to carry a female missionary to the execution ground. The man in the story was so frightened that he hid behind a door and watched through the crack. He noticed this female missionary was not fearful; instead, her face was full of God’s glory. The man was astonished at what he saw. He decided to believe in Christ as Savior. This story shows the power of a martyr’s testimony. Stephen’s testimony in Chapter 7 began to guide Paul towards salvation. As Stephen exits the stage, Paul begins his appearance. In a way, Paul inherited the spirit of Stephen. And eventually Paul was also martyred for Christ.

Luke does not immediately re-introduce Paul in Chapter 8. Instead, he continues by telling the story of Philip spreading Gospel. Philip is not one of the twelve disciples but is one of people chosen to serve food to the widows (Acts 6:5). Here we call him an evangelist. Stephen is also chosen by the disciples to serve food, so the Holy Spirit continues to tell Philip’s story after Stephen dies. Philip is a first-generation worker for the Lord, serving under the twelve disciples headed by Peter. Philip’s story still falls under the category of ministry headed by Peter.

Acts 9:1-31 speaks of Saul meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. After he was blinded by a bright light, Paul received his sight when Ananias laid hands on him and prayed for him. The chapter mentions that no one would accept Saul as a genuine believer, except Barnabas (9:27). This is a foreshadowing of the fact that God wants to raise up Paul as a servant of the gospel, and that he would work together with Barnabas.

This premonition comes true in Chapter 13. Chapters 9-11 continue discussing Peter’s service to the Lord, and it’s not until Chapter 11 that we hear that Barnabas went to Tarsus to find Saul in order to bring him to Antioch to start serving (11:15-26). Acts 11:30 mentions that Barnabas and Saul brought the donations to Jerusalem from Antioch. Chapter 12 speaks of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison. Chapter 12 verse 25 mentions that Barnabas and Paul went back from Jerusalem after they had completed their service, bringing Mark back with them. In Chapter 13, Paul was then introduced formally in the text when the Holy Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul to become apostles.

There are two stories worth mentioning. The first story tells us how Paul went to Jerusalem right after being saved. He attempted to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple (9:26). Only Barnabas accepted him (9:27).

These two verses are very interesting. We can see that all circumstances are under God’s control. Why did the disciples not want to associate with Paul? God had a hidden purpose for this rejection. God wanted to train Paul first in the wildness. Even though Paul had been saved, God still needed to train him to know Him better and to learn to understand God’s revelation. Therefore, God brought Paul into the wilderness of Arabia (Galatians 1:17). Theologians have different opinions on how long Paul stayed there. Some theologians say 14 years, some say seven years, some have other opinions. Even though we don’t know the exact length of time Paul stayed in the wilderness, we know he stayed there a long time. Paul may have had a lot of time to pray and fellowship with God. Perhaps this is when he was caught up to the third heaven to receive a supernatural revelation (2 Corinthians 12:2). Maybe in the desert, God continued to work on Paul’s personality to prepare him for his future ministry. It was not yet God’s time for Paul to step out publicly. But God was preparing him secretly. The previous mention of Barnabas’ acceptance of Paul foreshadows the later fact that Barnabas went to search for Paul at Antioch (Chapter 11).

The second notable story is the story of Peter’s hypocrisy from Galatians Chapter 2. When Peter came to Antioch, he would eat with the Gentiles, but after certain men came from James, he drew back and separated himself from the Gentiles, as he was afraid of those who promoted circumcision. Even Barnabas was led astray. Hence, Paul opposed Peter publicly and rebuked his hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-13).

Peter’s weakness may have disqualified him from the responsibility of leadership. Plus, God was ready to bring the gospel to the Gentiles rather than strictly to the Jews. Therefore, Paul’s appearance as the apostle of the Gentiles became unavoidable. Barnabas’s hypocrisy showed his weakness as well, so he was also disqualified from taking on the new role of leadership.

Another important story deals with the relationship between Paul and Barnabas. At first, Barnabas accepted Paul, but later, the two men had a falling out. The Bible leaves no doubt in our minds that that Barnabas was a good man (Acts 11:24). He was very helpful to Paul in his gospel work. When the teachers and prophets had fasted and prayed, the Holy Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul to become apostles. (When Barnabas was first mentioned, Paul was still called Saul.)

If Barnabas was the only one who accepted Saul when he was first saved, why did they later have a falling out? My answer is this: It is not easy to accept new people, but it is even harder to accept the fact that new people have surpassed oneself. I was taught that Barnabas and Paul had an argument about whether or not to take Mark along on the next missionary journey. Perhaps Barnabas had more problems as well, as the Bible never mentions his itinerary after this. I am not sure if this view is correct or not. But in any case, God used Barnabas to introduce Paul to the church, as Paul was God's special chosen vessel.

On the other hand, we cannot look at Barnabas and Paul in terms of victory or defeat. God’s grace is great, and although the Bible does not continue to follow Barnabas’s missionary journeys, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Paul was better than him. It only means that God’s grace on Paul was greater. Paul was God's chosen vessel, and since he and Barnabas had differing opinions on ministry strategy, Barnabas had to step aside. Barnabas's mission was to bring Paul to the foreground. Now that Paul was on center stage, Barnabas's mission was accomplished. In the same way, John the Baptist’s mission was to bring in Jesus, and his mission was completed when the Lord Jesus began his ministry.

 

Who is Judas?

Verse 11 says, “And the Lord said to him, ‘Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying.’” Who is this man, Judas? The Bible does not say. But we know it is not Judas the betrayer. Personally, I think that he is a little-known figure that the Bible has never introduced before. But at an unanticipated time and place, God showed Paul what He had planned for him.

 

Waiting on God’s timing

God chose Saul in eternity, but He did not reveal himself to Saul on the first day. God was really holding out on him; he only revealed himself after Saul studied Judaism for many years. In our Christian life, we are all chosen by God, or given a certain calling or promise. God may wait a long time before he reveals your calling to you. Paul was chosen by God from the time he was in his mother’s womb, but only years later, when he was on the road to Damascus, did God reveal himself to him. God revealed himself to Paul while he was at the house of Judas. God sent Ananias there to lay hands on and pray for Paul.

God knows everything. He knew Paul was going to Damascus to persecute the Christians, and he knew he went to the house of Judas to pray. The great light at Damascus turned Paul from the wrong path. Ananias’ prayer in the house of Judas brought Paul onto the right path. After Ananias laid hands on Paul’s eyes, immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained sight. From here on out, Paul started to spread the Gospel enthusiastically in Damascus.

But God’s time had not yet come. Paul soon encountered persecution, and he was forced to leave Damascus and Jerusalem. He went to Caesarea and Tarsus. Later, in Acts 11:25, Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and bring him to Antioch. Theologians say Saul left Damascus for the first time and then went to the wilderness of Arabia for some time. No matter how long Paul was in the wilderness, the experience in the wilderness was used by God Himself to train Paul and prepare him for future ministry.  Even people like Paul had to go through long periods of training. We should be encouraged that the pruning process is a normal part of God’s work in his children’s lives.

What amazing plans God has for his people! While God was using Peter and the others in the limelight, He was also preparing Paul and others backstage. At the wave of the director’s hand, Paul and his companions would come onstage. Paul definitely did not come out from nowhere; God had already been preparing him for that exact time and place.

Just like the meridians in TCM I mentioned earlier, the Bible has many lines or channels, themes you can follow through entire chapters and books. The Bible has many threads of meaning and storyline that weave through the entire text. All these lines are like meridians through which the spiritual life (or “qi”) flows like a current underneath the ground. They are the breath of God (2 Timothy 3:16)! If we can find these spiritual meridians and acupuncture points while studying the Bible, it will greatly help us to understand God’s word.

The authors who wrote the Bible were definitely inspired by the Holy Spirit. Once you find the “channels” under the surface, you will see how the same continuous thread flows through all the books of the Bible. All the biblical authors follow a coherent storyline.

When we lose sight of these channels or threads of meaning, it doesn’t mean the Bible is wrong. It just means we don’t yet fully understand it. In Acts 8- 9, the Bible is going through a major transition, or turning point. Paul is being introduced on the one hand, and on the other hand, Peter has not yet fully left the stage. The storyline is transitioning from the ministry of Peter to the ministry of Paul. The focus of the book of Acts is being shifted from ministry to the Jews to ministry to the Gentiles.

The Lord Jesus told Paul that he would go far away to the Gentiles, because his testimony would not be accepted in Jerusalem (Acts 22:21). Just like many of us, Paul was very slow in obeying God’s call. He was eager testify for the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem and other areas in Judea, but he met persecution. This forced him to make a slow and roundabout journey to Rome. At the end of the Book of Acts, he finally reached Rome.

The book of Acts is the biography of the apostles, and the representatives of the apostles are Peter and Paul. Peter represents the twelve disciples; they focus on bringing the gospel to the Jews, and they are the direct fruit of Jesus' earthly ministry.

Paul was the apostle who received his call to apostleship after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul’s ministry focus was the Gentiles. His work and ministry are the fruit of Jesus’ heavenly ministry. Jesus is still alive today, and He is working behind the scenes. The end of Chapter 7 mentions Saul briefly, and the first part of chapter 9 talks about Paul again. But the second half of Chapter 9 continues to talk about Peter's ministry, because Peter is still in the frontline of the ministry. Acts Chapter 9 is an important turning point, a watershed moment for the Book of Acts. Paul’s ministry started to come over the horizon in this chapter, and came into full force in when he was anointed as apostle in chapter 13.

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridian_(Chinese_medicine)

Bible Study with Jairus - 1 Corinthians 4

Dissension in the Body of Christ.

Bible Study with Jairus - 1 Corinthians 4

 

Rivalry in the Church. In 1 Corinthians 4:6, Paul urged the Corinthians not to idolize him or his coworker, Apollos. Paul said, "I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another." As I read this passage, the Holy Spirit highlighted the words puffed up. Why did Paul say that the Corinthians who picked sides, favoring Paul or Apollos, were puffed up?

 

In politics, we often see one politician exalt another for his own personal gain. Those who exalt others usually have ulterior motives. Their purpose is to use the people they exalt to achieve their goals.

 

Unfortunately, such scenarios also exist in the church. People who exalt others in the church often use the people they exalt to increase their own influence. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:11-12, "For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’”

 

Paul pointed out that there was rivalry between the Corinthian believers. These rivalries stem from the flesh. Paul clearly states in Galatians 5:20 that rivalry is an act of the flesh.

 

What is the purpose of a rivalry? The purpose of a rivalry is to pursue leadership, authority and influence. The people who were rivals in the Corinthian church were not really trying to exalt Paul and Apollos, but to gain their own influence. Paul and Apollos were just tools in their hands.

 

 

Stages of Church Decline. Why did some Corinthians exalt Paul and Apollos to advance their own status? To answer this question, we need to cite a pastor Ernest B. Gentile. In his book, Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy: Prophetic Gifts in Ministry Today, he analyzed the famous German sociologist Ernst Troeltsch's theory of the degradation of the church. Based on his own experience, he proposed his own research on the "model of the degradation of the church." This model includes four stages.

 

The first stage is "an aggressive sect." At this stage, the leaders of the first generation of churches or denominations are usually very focused on God's mission and actively devote themselves selflessly to the Lord. The leaders and believers of the first generation are also full of energy. Leaders of the first generation often have prophetic guidance. They create new churches and are actively committed to correcting the mistakes of the past churches, purifying the ranks of believers, and actively playing the role of the church in society. There is often external persecution, but the persecution does not restrict them but instead makes them work even harder. The church achieves great growth and the number of people increases. The church achieves widespread gospel influence.

 

The second stage is“ an evangelistic movement.” At this stage, the church continues to expand and multiply. Not only do they maintain their enthusiasm for the gospel, but they also continue to maintain their uniqueness in preaching of the truth. This is a period of consolidation. Because the ministry has expanded, it is necessary to establish a certain organizational structure for management. After such an organizational structure is established, it gradually loses the flexibility of the first generation and instead relies mostly on organizations and institutions for management. At this time, prophetic experiences begin to become less common. Through the efforts of the first and second generations, vivid spiritual experiences and practices gradually morph into sectarian rules and traditions.

 

 

The third stage is "a recognized denomination.” People of the first generation usually lack a management structure. The management structure established by the second generation has begun to help the church or denomination continue to grow, but in the third stage, it will become a limit to the growth and spiritual vitality of the church. The church and believers begin to lose the enthusiasm of the first generation and begin to be more influenced by the world. At first, the church attached great importance to paying attention to the poor, but now the church and believers have become rich and gradually forget this mission. The church begins to focus on more academic and theological teaching and begins to ignore the use and practice of gifts. At this time, prophetic words and gifts begin to be gradually ignored. The church pays more attention to knowledge and reason.

 

 

The fourth stage is "A Spiritless Monument." In the fourth stage, the church slowly becomes a monument to the glory of the past, and the spiritual reality has been lost. Believers do not know and desire God as the believers did in the beginning. The church's interest in the gospel and ministry has also gradually declined. The Holy Spirit gradually loses any freedom, so the Holy Spirit leaves this church. The church continues to operate according to tradition and organization.

 

 

Ernest B. Gentile said that this cycle has been operating throughout the history of the church. After the fourth stage, the Holy Spirit will raise up a new apostolic church movement and start the cycle all over again. Because new wine can’t be put into old wineskins and new spiritual movements often contain new wine, believers in traditional churches begin to leave the traditional church to seek the richness of God.[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Arrogance of the Corinthian Church

Although Ernest B. Gentile’s observations apply to current-day Charismatic and Prophetic churches, the insights may apply to many churches, and even to Paul's ministry. Paul and Apollos were the first leaders of the Corinthian church. They both served in the Corinthian church. But the Corinthian church faced a difficulty: Paul and Apollos were not present in the church as permanent pastors.

 

We don’t know who the pastor or leader of the Corinthian church was. But because Paul and Apollos were no longer there, nobody had enough authority to make others obey. Therefore, there were different leaders trying to exalt Paul and Apollos, using Paul and Apollos to establish their own leadership in the church. Fortunately, after Paul learned of these circumstances, he promptly wrote a letter to correct the situation. But we know that his letter did not prevent the eventual decline of the church. Perhaps the fall of the Corinthian church was delayed because of Paul's intervention. But in his later years, Paul said that all the Asian churches had abandoned him (2 Timothy 1:15).

 

One of the difficulties of the Corinthian church is that Paul was not there. Paul even mentioned that “Some are arrogant as though I were not coming to you.” (1 Corinthians 4:18). Here Paul clearly pointed out that the reason why some people are "arrogant" is that they think Paul will not go to the Corinthian church. A Chinese proverb says, "When there are no great tigers in the deep mountains, even a monkey can become king." This proverb describes the situation in the Corinthian church very well. Since Paul was gone, sin and rivalry were running rampant. “When the cat’s away, the mice can play.”

 

Paul said in verse 19, "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power." In this book, the word “arrogant” is used three times (verses 6, 18, and 19). This shows that Paul was very concerned about their arrogance. God wants to teach us something through this word.

 

Why are these people arrogant? Rodney Hogue, a teacher in the "Deliverance Ministries,” will answer this question very well in his commentary on 1 John 2: 12-14. These verses say, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

 

Rodney Hogue said that from a spiritual perspective, there are three types of people in the church: children, young people, and old people. Older people are the spiritual fathers. They know the God who has existed from the beginning. What they care about is knowing God and who he is. To them, “being” is more important than “doing.” They will never be jealous of the spiritual progress of young people and children, but are instead happy for them.

 

Young people are those who have overcome evil to a certain extent. They are strong, know the word of God, and eagerly hope to do something for God. But their weak point is their jealousy when they see the progress of other children. They are not fathers, but elder brothers. They will be jealous of younger believers’ progress. They resemble the older brother in Luke 15 who was jealous of the prodigal son. These kinds of people are characterized by an active desire to do things for God, and they care about their ministry (doing).

The third type of person is a child. On the one hand, they simply trust the Heavenly Father. Because their sins have recently been forgiven, they urgently need the love of their spiritual brothers, and to be fed by their spiritual parents. They are characterized by the need to humbly accept spiritual offerings (receiving). Rodney Hogue said that the church needs spiritual fathers. Unfortunately, the church is full of spiritual brothers but lacks spiritual parents. On the one hand, these elder brothers are a little more spiritually advanced than the children, but they are often jealous of others because their lives have not matured into the mindset of spiritual parents. Many pastors and even elders are still at the level of elder brothers.

 

 

The situation in the Corinthian church resembles the plight of many modern churches. Why are some people arrogant? They are spiritual young adults. On the one hand, they aspire to be leaders of the church and accomplish more for God. But when they encounter opposition and interference from others, there will be rivalry. When they see that others also want to be leaders, they will feel jealous.

 

Paul knew their situation well. Paul longed for them to grow into spiritual parents. He knew that the way to become spiritual leaders was to help the Corinthians mature into spiritual fathers. Paul said, "I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” (1 Corinthians 4:14-16)

 

Paul knew that the growth of the church required leaders, but the creation of leaders required maturity. The church leader must be a spiritual father, not a spiritual young person who will rival and contradict others at every turn. Paul was a spiritual father, so he said, "Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!" (1 Corinthians 4:8) Although Paul was mocking them, Paul's heart really yearned for them like a father who had matured into spiritual life and reigned in a glorified spiritual abundance.

 

 

However, the lives of the rival Corinthian believers had not matured to this point. On the contrary, they were young people. Paul used himself as an example to let the Corinthians learn how to be a spiritual father.

 

He also sent Timothy to the Corinthian church. Paul specifically mentioned, "That is why I sent you Timothy my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach them everywhere in every church" (1 Corinthians 4: 17). Timothy would follow Paul's example as a spiritual father. Therefore, Paul's purpose in sending Timothy to the Corinthian church was to get them on the path to becoming spiritual leaders. He wanted them to imitate himself, just as he imitated Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

 

Living in God’s Power

When Paul talked about arrogant people in verses 19-20, he evaluated their spiritual power, rather than just looking at their words. Paul said, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power."

 

A man asked, “What does power mean here?” In my personal opinion, the power includes the power to cure the sick and cast out demons, but that is not the only power in view here. The real power lies in being able to give birth to other believers, just as Paul gave birth to the Corinthian church in Christ. Abraham's power lay in his ability to have as many descendants as the stars in the sky, and our power lies in fathering spiritual children.

 

I grew up in rural China, where we often dried food on the roof. We would tie a rope to a bucket so we could lift the grain to the roof. This task requires a lot of power. When I was a child, I didn't have enough muscle power to pull it up, and I needed to ask an adult to help me.

 

The Local Church Movement (LCM) often uses this metaphor to explain how you should not marry unbelievers because the Bible teaches that believers and unbelievers should not work closely together (2 Corinthians 6:14). A close association with an unbeliever could pull you down into sin, rather than pulling the other person up to salvation.

 

To illustrate, one man would stand on a chair, and another man would stand on the ground. One man tried to pull the other off the chair, and the other tried to pull the man up onto the chair. As a result, the person standing on the ground tended to pull down the person standing on the chair.

 

The person who gave this example said that it is very difficult for us to lift people up spiritually, but it is very easy to be dragged down by the world and sin. When two people get married, if one is an unbeliever, it is difficult for you to pull the other into belief, but the other person can easily pull you into unbelief. This is a good analogy.

 

 

In the same way, the real power lies in removing yourself from the attraction of possessions, the temptation of physical sin, and the uncleanness of the soul and life. Remove yourself from influences that will complicate your journey to heaven.

 

You can only lead someone to a place you’ve been yourself. If you’re living in intimate fellowship with God (as if you were in the Holy of Holies), you can bring others with you into God’s presence. If you’re living at a distance from God (as if you were in the outer court), you can only bring people into the Outer Court.

 

Therefore, Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 4 demonstrate great power. He not only pointed out the spiritual problems of the Corinthian church, but also regarded himself as an exemplary spiritual father. He told the Corinthians that they must become spiritual fathers like himself in order to become the spiritual leaders of the church.

 

Becoming the spiritual leader of the church does not lie in exalting Paul or Apollos, but in the maturity of your own life. If your life is mature enough to resemble Apollos, you will have Apollos' authority. If your life is as mature as Paul's, you will have Paul's spiritual authority. The true power comes from the spiritual authority we receive from God after we mature in the spiritual life.

 

The book of 2 Corinthians tells us that the Corinthians repented and worried over their downfall, and Paul comforted them himself. This tells us that Paul's message to the church did its job and was effective. Later, the church in Asia rejected Paul, but the Corinthian church did not reject Paul.

 

Parallels in Today’s Church.

While studying this passage, a man asked, “What is the state of the church today? Is today’s divided church puffed up, as well? Do you see situations in our current church today that mirror the situation in 1 Corinthians 4?” I said, “Yes, I do.”

 

In the church where I was saved, I saw Ernest B. Gentile’s principles at work. The first generation of leaders experienced many struggles, and the second generation became more established. However, in the third generation, rules and regulations inevitably entered the church and slowly hindered the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

Therefore, some people began to seek more guidance from the Holy Spirit. Because of this situation, I began to study in the Charismatic Movement and the Prophetic Movement. Once I got in touch with the Charismatic Movement and the Prophetic Movement, I learned that the Holy Spirit has a lot of freedom among them and has done a lot of things.

 

According to Ernest B. Gentile, when the leaders of the second or third generation of churches are not trying their best to open themselves to the Holy Spirit’s prophetic guidance, people will lack the manifestation of the authority and power of God. This makes it difficult to establish trust in the church.

At this time, the leaders of the second or third generation will hold high some of the views or propositions of the leaders of the first generation. On the one hand, it solidifies the teaching of the first generation of leaders, but on the other hand, they use it to establish their own authority. Because they cannot get fresh prophetic revelation from the Holy Spirit and direct authority from God, their authority is often based on the inheritance and consolidation of the teachings of the first generation of leaders. Furthermore, they usually don’t dare to break the restrictions taught by the first generation of leaders. Thus, they lack the ability to create a major breakthrough in the future. This pattern is not only found in the Charismatic and Prophet Movements as observed by Ernest B. Gentile, but also in many different denominations.

 

 

In addition to difficulties within a sect, there are often disagreements between sects. The struggles of different factions within denominations are often not necessarily known to outsiders. But the struggles between denominations are easily visible to the world. Struggles within churches and groups are often concealed in the name of unity. However, the struggles between sects can be seen by the world.

 

Both are from the flesh. Different denominations are like different brothers in the body of Christ. One group said that they belonged to Paul, and the other said that they belonged to Apollos. The struggle in the Corinthian church represents a struggle within a church, but the struggle between denominations represents an internal struggle with the universal church.

 

 

Imagine Paul speaking not only to the Corinthian church, but to the entire body of Christ. Imagine that the Apostle John was not speaking to the fathers, young people, and children in one particular church, but to the fathers, young people, and children in the entire body of Christ. We can see that the situation of the global church is similar to that of the Corinthian church. There are not many people who are truly fathers like Paul was. Most of them are young people or children. The problem with young people is that they cannot accept others. But spiritual parents can accept others. The brother in Luke 15 could not accept the prodigal brother, but his father was able to accept the return of the prodigal son.

 

 

Our God is our Father. Every snowflake he created is different. Everyone has a unique call from God. Every sect is born out of a truth received from God that the group adheres to. None of us are complete without our fellow believers. When we criticize each other and condemn other denominations, we make our Heavenly Father sad, just as the rivalry within the Corinthian church made Paul, their spiritual father, sad.

 

The Chinese church has experienced similar dissension. Many evangelical pastors, such as Pastor Stephen Tong, fight against the Local Church Movement (LCM), and neither Chinese evangelical churches nor LCM churches accept Charismatic churches. My personal study in both the LCM churches and the Charismatic churches, as well as my contact with churches under Tong’s influence, has shown me that the teaching and practice of the LCM would be very helpful to ordinary Chinese churches and Charismatic churches. The LCM can provide insight into the importance of life maturity and spiritual practice, which can help many believers in the Chinese evangelical churches and Charismatic churches to grow up spiritually. In addition, the practice of Charismatic churches can inject more vitality into the LCM and other evangelical churches, giving them more freedom in the Spirit and keeping them from dying.

 

Because Tong strongly criticized the LCM and Charismatic churches, many believers were unable to learn the truth from these two groups. In addition, the LCM refused to accept the baptism of the Holy Spirit and tongues. They have not accepted God’s work in other churches, especially Charismatic churches. Charismatic churches have weaknesses of their own. They generally tend to be immature and place too much emphasis on miracles and marvels, lacking pastoral teaching on the deeper spiritual life.

 

We should be eager to humble ourselves and learn from each other. God’s calling for our time is to bring together different denominations and sects. As we come together, we can learn from each other’s strengths.

 

Another controversy in today’s church is the Hyper Grace Gospel. Many evangelical Chinese churches in China strongly oppose the Hyper Grace Gospel. A woman who studied the Bible with us was deeply hurt by legalism in her evangelical church. She said that her church taught her that she must always condemn herself for not repenting enough and not working hard enough. It was very painful for her to condemn herself over all those years.

 

As a result, she found that Pastor Joseph Prince and his message on the Gospel of Grace helped her. Joseph Prince is often accused of being the leader of the Hyper Grace Gospel. It’s true that some believers go to extremes, overemphasizing grace and ignoring the law of God. However, the reason the Hyper Grace Gospel has become so popular in China is that in many traditional churches, legalism prevails. For believers who have been wounded by legalism, it is particularly easy to accept the teachings of the Hyper Grace Gospel. Because many evangelical churches in China have legalistic tendencies, the message of the Hyper Grace Gospel is like a cool breeze on a summer day for believers who have suffered from legalism.

 

This controversy has caused internal disputes in many churches, causing many church members to become estranged. The backlash from the church has been fierce, condemning the Hyper Grace Gospel as heresy.

 

But there is something commendable in the Hyper Grace Gospel, especially for believers who have been harmed by legalism. The Hyper Grace Gospel finds fertile ground for spreading widely in China. To a certain extent, this is due to God’s desire to correct the mistakes of legalism.

 

Joseph Prince also had a great influence among American Charismatics. Therefore, some Charismatic leaders have begun to worry. For example, a Charismatic and Jewish spiritual leader in the United States, Michael L. Brown, raised concerns that the Hyper Grace Gospel was preaching the grace of God too much and ignoring the law of God. Therefore, he proposed a peaceful meeting with Joseph, and the two men had a genuine dialogue. But I don't know whether their dialogue had any specific positive effects.

 

Personally, I believe that the message of the Hyper Grace Gospel will be helpful to a person whose strict basic theological training has focused on legalism and external behavior. It will not cause them too much harm, because they need this strong correction to the teachings they’ve heard all their lives. But believers who have not received strict basic theological teachings will be more prone to extremes if exposed to the Hyper Grace Gospel.

 

 

There is an extreme example of the Hyper Grace Gospel circulating on the Internet. I have no way to know if it is true or not, but I have heard many similar reports among Chinese Christians. The Facebook post reads: "Now the Hyper Grace Gospel from Singapore has flooded China. They believe that once they are saved, they can never lose their salvation. There is nothing wrong with sin. A female Christian who keeps having an affair talked to a pastor, and the pastor asked her to repent. She told him that according to the teachings of the Hyper Grace Gospel she had received, this is not a sin. Even the Gentiles know that immorality is a shame! The Hyper Grace proponents regard Jesus as a consumer product, giving them heaven for free without holiness and repentance. It's a highway that leads straight to hell." [2]

 

People who have heard the Hyper Grace Gospel first-hand have told me similar stories. I don't believe that Joseph Prince truly teaches these extremes, but some of his followers excessively expanded the grace element of the gospel and ignored the teaching about repentance and confession of sin.

 

We must look at the Hyper Grace Gospel in a balanced way. The Hyper Grace Gospel is like any other movement. If it is not from God, it will not gain much traction. But Satan tries to destroy God-given movements by pushing their teaching to extremes, thereby stigmatizing these practices. This is Satan’s, usual trick and it is called the Straw Man Fallacy.

 

Let me give another example of this tactic. Witness Lee, the leader of the Local Church Movement where I was saved, advocated "calling on the Lord’s name." The practice of calling on the name of the Lord helped believers pray by meditating on the name of the Lord. This is a very good spiritual exercise, and I have benefited a lot from it.

 

But the enemy has tried to destroy this movement by raising up people in mainland China who twisted Witness Lee’s teaching. Some heretical groups in China stole this practice. Instead of calling on the name of the Lord, they call on the name of "Witness Lee" as if he were a god. This is not Witness Lee’s teaching or the LCM. The enemy has harmfully distorted this practice in order to discredit it. Unfortunately, because of the enemy's destruction, not only the practice of "calling on the Lord's name" was stigmatized, but the LCM and Witness Lee were also stigmatized.

Similarly, the Hyper Grace Gospel may contain truth from God’s word, as well as areas that need to be corrected. Believers who support the Hyper Grace Gospel, believers who oppose the Hyper Grace Gospel, and the church as a whole need to be humble enough to dialogue with one other. In some places, these conflicts are already very intense. Those who oppose the Hyper Grace Gospel call the Hyper Grace Gospel heresy. But perhaps those people should reflect on the legalism of the church. Believers of the Hyper Grace Gospel should also reflect on how to avoid the extremes shown in the above examples.

 

 

Instead, the two parties who support and oppose the Hyper Grace Gospel have become emotional and are unable to resolve the contradiction. Like in the Corinthian church, the modern church struggles with rivalry and division. Remember, when believers are immature, they will experience these contradictions and rivalries. True spiritual fathers imitate Paul, who can look at problems from different perspectives.

 

On the one hand, Paul was able to accept weak believers, and on the other hand, he was able to feel joy in seeing believers' progress. We must also look at this issue from both perspectives. Too much emphasis on grace and too much emphasis on the law are both wrong aspects. Legalism will harm believers and prevent them from fully realizing God's grace in Christ; the extreme Hyper Grace Gospel also hurts believers, preventing believers from understanding God’s holiness and strict discipline. These two aspects of truth need to be held in balance.

 

[1] ^[1] Ernest B Gentile, Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy-Prophetic Gifts in Ministry Today, (Chosen Books, Grand Rapids, MI), 1999, 247-249

[2] https://www.facebook.com/godjesusloveme/posts/2371476159599706/