Tag: Paul

The Will of God

The will of God.  This is such a difficult and mysterious phrase within the Christian faith.  I think that almost every Christian would say that they want to know what the will of God is for their lives.  But, how can we find it?  How can we discern what God would have us to do? 

Maybe, we should try to find what is already before us.  I think of what Paul told the Roman church:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. (Romans 14:17-18 ESV)

What Paul appears to imply by this passage is that the will of God is NOT something we do, but rather something we are.  We are to become something new as Paul would tell the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:17).  Could it be that as we become more like Christ and live a Christ-like life we are then “doing” the will of God?  Could the will of God be a changed life living for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31)?

If the will of God is becoming more like Christ, then anything we avoid doing or anything we modify for our own convenience is a move away from God’s will.

I pray that we will strive to become more like Christ as we seek to obey God.

God’s Love Through Paul’s Eyes

First Corinthians 13 has been called the chapter of love. It contains beautiful and poetic language regarding the nature of love. As I have read it this week, I found myself struck by the opening verses of that passage. There is something in the way that Paul instructs the Corinthian church that deeds without proper motive are vacuous and utterly worthless efforts.

At first it is difficult to understand why Paul takes such a hard stance on our need to love in all we do. Sure, it makes sense that we should be kind and generous to others. We should not see to do harm to those who have wronged us. But, there is something else at work in Paul’s examples. He reminds us that we must take care not to get lost in our own spiritual endeavors that we forget our companions on the way.

Paul highlights that the possession and exercise of spiritual gifts does not give us license to do as we wish. The examples Paul uses are spectacular. These are not small or insignificant gifts. She are big, visible, in-your-face gifts, but if it’s about the individual then it is nothing more than a charade. It seems that the temptation to take advantage of spiritual gifts was something that had become common place in that church. The struggle to remain humble had given way to personal gain and influence.

Paul ends the chapter by telling us that of all the gifts that will abide faith, hope, and love will remain forever. These three are given prominence among all of God’s gifts to the saints because they are different from the all the others. All the spiritual gifts discussed in chapter 12 are to be used by the believer for the benefit of those in the church. Faith, hope, and love are not like this. These three are given to the believer as a means of confirming the presence of God within us. The fact that faith, hope, and love will abide forever, is an indication that what God has done was intended to produce these three things from the start.

The question that rolls around in my mind is why love is the greatest. What is it about the nature of love that make it rise above the other two? I think it is greatest because it is a reflection of God’s own character. Love, while it resides within us, must be expressed sacrificially. I can speak in tongues, move mountains, and give everything away and it not really be a burden or a struggle to do so. It makes us feel good to do those thing most of the time. But, when the task required is costly; when it calls for a deeper level of commitment; when there is no inherent benefit to me, love must be present for me to act.

Love is sacrificial. When we love the way God does, it forces us to not consider the ramifications to ourselves. We see the one in need and we are compelled to act. Love is more than just an emotion. A true act of love engages us to the very core of our being.

I think Paul understood this better than most. After all he had done, God loved him and taught him how to love others. As I read this famous chapter, I read it as an acknowledgement by Paul of what he experienced when God loved him and saved him. This is Paul’s description of God’s love toward him, the chief of sinners. A magnificent one at that.

Lent Day #31 | Weakness

Yesterday we looked at power. Today we will look at weakness.

One of the difficulties we face when we engage in the study of the bible is the use of juxtaposition. A juxtaposition is the comparison two ideas or concepts that are not related under normal circumstances, but whose connection makes the contrast more striking. The bible is full of these. A prime example of this is found in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church. This is what he says.

10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10, NIV, emphasis added)

I may be the only one who thinks Paul is crazy, but how could he say this? What did he know that I do not? What had he seen or heard that could have lead him to this conclusion? Sure we can jump to the “Jesus knocked him of a horse” line, but I do not think this answers the question.

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I think the problem we have in our modern time is the expectation of comfort and ease. This is particularly true in the United States. Privilege is not merely the luck of a few. It has become the right of all. We no longer understand one of the simple rules of life, we are not all promised prosperity. The fact that we enter into this world and will leave this world with nothing should stir us from the laziness we tend towards in our lives from time to time. We need to wake up to the fact that we are in no position to be demanding anything from anyone. We have to see that the only one who can make demands of this life is the one who has conquered death. There is only one person whom I know has done this!

Paul’s words are a stark and unyielding reminder that weakness, rather than robbing us, actually opens our eyes to what we truly have. When I understand my weakness I am freed from the pressures imposed on me from exterior agents because I have nothing that can be taken. Actually, when I have accepted weakness, especially the kind of weakness Paul is describing, we are saying that the result, the effect is NOT within my prerogative to address. And that’s a good thing.

I think what Paul offers us is a different path than the one offered by the systems and philosophies of this world. Paul is encouraging us to cease from striving for the pleasures and amenities of this world; to stop trying to lift ourselves by our proverbial boot straps. The weakness Paul demonstrated was based in the certainty of another’s strength. This is the mystery and this is the secret Paul gives us access to.

Therefore, the questions we must ask ourselves are these: Why am so afraid of being seen as weak? What do I have to let go of (that I probably should let go of anyway) that is and has been keeping me from fully trusting God?

Weakness, within the Christian context ultimately is not about us. The reality is this, our weakness is an opportunity for God to show himself faithful to his word, his character and his people. When I am strong I have no need of him. Well, at least that is what I tell myself to continue in self-reliance and, at the root of it all, sin.

The Epistle of Joy and A Theology of Suffering

In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians there is an interesting dichotomy developing. Paul gave thanks for what God was doing in his life and in the life of the believers in Philippi. He then turns his attention to what is happening to him. And what is that? He is in prison because of his preaching of the Gospel. He is doing exactly what God wants him to do and he gets thrown in jail.

There is no easy road to evangelism. It is paved with the rough stones of adversity. There is no beautiful scenery. There is only the destruction of sin and the carnage of willful disobedience. Jesus never promised that the task of communicating the message of salvation was going to be easy. Whenever we grumble that it isn’t we have not paid attention to what Jesus taught us on the matter.

There are several passages in the first chapter that truly reveal this paradox of faith. How can Paul write such encouragement when he is shackled to a wall or guard all day long? How can he rejoice because of his situation? I just doesn’t make sense. What are we missing that Paul seems to have understood?

Here are a few samples of what I mean.

7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel… 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

These three verses are Paul’s introduction to what he believed about his current state. He did not see being in jail and suffering as a concern. He was actually pleased at the effect that it was having on those around him. The entire guard had heard the Gospel, and many of the believers outside had been stirred to action as well. It really does challenge our modern, American sensibilities to think that going to jail for our faith is a good thing. But, Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes and says the following.

15  Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Paul knew that there are some people preaching the Gospel for the wrong reasons. They were out there for profit, for acclaim or, as Paul writes, to make it more difficult on Paul! Can you image that. You are sitting in prison and someone dislikes you so much that they are intentionally trying to make things worse. And yet, Paul looks past all of that and says that the reason is irrelevant to him because the truth is being proclaimed. Now, those preaching for the wrong reason will be held accountable, but God is so good that he will even use these wrong motives to accomplish his ultimate purpose.

But again, this is not the end of what Paul said. He continues.

19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 

Really?! It is hard for you to decide whether you want to stay on earth or go to heaven? I sometimes wonder why we don’t talk like this? And then I realize that many of us are not willing to go where Paul went. Paul knew and understood something that many in the Western church have not learned to even acknowledge. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I believe that Paul’s commitment to the proclamation and spread of the Gospel had a lot to do with it. The power of evangelism to motivate and refocus the believer is largely lost in our day.

Here is Paul’s final salvo in the chapter 1.

29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul really does lay out for us his theology here on the subject of suffering and the Gospel. There is a mysterious way in which our faith in Jesus will lead to some form of suffering. If we are not making any effort to spread the Gospel to those whom God sends along our journey, we will find no resistance. The intentional advancement of the Good News of Jesus is what causes friction between what we believe as followers of Jesus and what the world is leaning towards. We are not merely interested in propagating a religion. We want to produce fruit because of a relationship with Jesus the Savior.

Related articles

Romans Series (Pt. 3) – Romans 1:16-17

Paul’s Confession (1:16-17)

In these two verses we find one of the greatest confessions of what the Gospel is and what it is designed to do.  This is not an overstatement of the Gospels intended purpose. Nor is it an exaggeration that Paul wanted the Romans to understand that the Gospel, by design, was intended to be the means through which people are regenerated and the gospel is the seed from which the germ of eternal life will emerge in the life of all who believe. It is this seed that will mature into the tree that the psalmist alludes to in the opening psalm of the psalter.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its  leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. [Psalm 1:3, ESV]

But it doesn’t end here. Even Jesus himself said,

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. [John 1:3, ESV]

Here in lies the heart of what Paul is speaking to. The Gospel’s power breaks the dam of sin in our lives which is keeping us from having a right relationship with the Father. And it releases unto us the power of God to make us his children and the Gospel gives us the right to claim for ourselves the righteousness that rightfully belongs to Jesus. The challenge to anyone who agrees with Paul is that we have to receive this truth and grace in faith. For it is only from faith that we can receive it and it is only by faith that we can live it.

Romans Series (Pt. 2) – Romans 1:1-15

Introduction (1:1-7)

One of the main characteristics of Paul’s letters is the introduction. Paul follows the common pattern of the time for letters and identifies himself and gives a formal greeting to the people or person that he is writing to. Another characteristic of Paul’s letters is the connection that he draws between hos apostleship and the God’s activity in his life.  Paul is intentional about speaking to the fact that God plays an integral role in all that He does as an apostle.

Paul’s Desire (1:8-15)

Paul then shares his desire to be with them there Rome.  The church in Rome did not start because of Paul’s direct presence.  Rather, it was through the evangelism and mission work by those converted that the faith made it to Rome.  This was a great source of joy for Paul, but it brought with it a desire to be among them.  Paul tells them that he had previously plan to go to Rome, but was kept from going for some reason.

This sets the stage for the rest of the letter.  We will look at the heart of Paul’s message in our next post.

Romans Series (Pt. 1) – Who is Paul the Apostle?

Paul provides for us a mini biography of himself in Philippians 3:5-6. Paul says that if there is anyone who has reason to show pride it is him because of his lineage. Most of what Paul describes doesn’t mean much to us today, but Paul was a special individual. He was born at the crossroads of history. God selected Paul because in Paul were all the qualities required to take the message of Jesus Christ from the Jewish outpost of Jerusalem into the metropolis’ of the Roman world. Ravi Zacharias provides a wonderful summary of Paul’s unique place in the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Dr. Zacharias is looking at 2 Corinthians 4:6 as the evidence of Paul’s ability to bridge the gap between the three major groups during his lifetime:

The apostle Paul was born a Hebrew, raised as a Roman citizen in a Greek city. The Romans gave to us our legal ideals. The Greeks gave to us our philosophical ideals. The Hebrews gave to us our moral ideals.

  • The Hebrew’s pursuit was symbolized by light. “This is the light that lighteth every man that comes into the world.” “The people that sat in the darkness have seen a great light.” “The LORD is my light and my salvation.”
  • The pursuit of the Greeks was knowledge. “These things are written that we might know that we have eternal life.” The Academy was a Greek invention.
  • The pursuit of the Romans was glory – the glory of Rome, the glory of the Caesars, the glory of the eternal city, that wasn’t built in a day.

Paul, who was born a Hebrew, a citizen of Rome, in a Greek city, says this in Second Corinthians 4:6: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV).((Dr. Zacharias has used this example on several occasions. One example is from a message given at the Urbana Conference in 1993.))

It is not mere coincidence that in Christ God seeks to embody all of the pursuits and ideals of man. And it is Paul, because of his unique place in history, who has the insight to demonstrate how Christ is the Redeemer of the world.

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