My wife, Terri, is somewhat well known for her inspiring "fully-alive" teaching. So now she's taken a leap to "follow her heart" and become a life coach. I think she's going to call her effort "Fully-Alive Life Coaching" or something like that...which will also include a catchy tag line of some kind. (It will function as a sub-department of our little non-profit ministry called Radius.) We probably could have all guessed on that name for her practice anyway. She's has certainly been providing life coaching for me now for 32 years and look what I've become! Well...maybe you actually shouldn't look too closely...it might hurt her new, more deliberate, service to humanity. I don't know that I am yet "fully-alive", but I don't seem as "half-dead" as I used to be...maybe I'm up to 3/4 alive now...at least on most days. And I owe it all to her!!
What the heck is life coaching anyway? For some reason I tend to think of it as having regular time with Bobby Knight and him going berserk and yelling at me about not performing too well on the basketball court of life. Now Terri has a lot of passion, but she certainly is no irate mentor who cusses and spits out orders to people. (Actually, I have seen her spit strategically on very rare occasions..but that's the private stuff of married life!) But it is true that she has often lit a fire under my seat to get me moving forward. She thinks that people tend to get stuck living lives below their potential and that she can help them get unstuck by helping them discover how God has designed them and then help them map out a specific plan to move ahead in their life's work toward being more and more their "authentic self" under God. (But beware...rumor has it that God does sometimes whisper random insights to her about people's lives.) It all sounds good, but will it help pay the bills?!
As she has been dreaming about all of this, I have been present to point out all the times that I've seen people's plans for their life takes twists and turns that they could never have imagined. Take our lives for example! It seems to me that God doesn't often cooperate with this kind of planning. But she says her approach is different than the traditional approach somehow and she has some mysterious way of incorporating all of these surprising dynamics into her big picture of the art and craft of setting life goals. I guess we'll see about that. She certainly has been good at "mystery" through the years. I am regularly "mystified" by her to this day!
So now you know what Terri Sullivant is most recently up to. Yes...I live with a bonafide life coach. (Do you think this really is a good thing? I'm hoping and praying so.) She has a certificate and everything. She even received some personal training from the "Dave Ramsey" of life coaching on the national front. His name is Dan Miller. He and Dave live in the same city, go to church together, are actually buddies and regularly refer their followers to the other guy in his arena of expertise. Dave is around to "free" us up financially (ouch!) and, I assume, Dan is around to "free" us up in all the other stuff of life (more ouches?). Seems like a whole lot of stuff falls in Dan's bailiwick to me. (What is a bailiwick? Does anyone really know? But...my spellchecker didn't underline it, so there you go.)
I guess we all have a "life" to live and we all need some "coaching" along the way...so maybe this will be a good thing to add to the Sullivant repertoire of services to the people God sends our way. If you decide to hire her to do some life coaching for you...whether by phone, personal appointment or in one of her classes she's conspiring to host here at home (where am I going to live while all these people are meeting at my house to make plans to live?)...please let me know how it goes...I may decide to hire her myself. I may need to just to get some time with her!
So now I will really let the cat out of the bag and give you her email address just in case you might dare to give her a shot at helping you plan out...your entire future!
terrisully@gmail.com. God bless and...good luck.
Your friend,
Michael
P.S. "BAILIWICK - In general use, 'bailiwick' has come to mean your own province, particularly one in which experience or knowledge gives you special authority or freedom to act. However, it has had a very definite legal sense for centuries: the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff (sheriff's assistant). It goes back to Middle English 'bailie,' meaning 'bailiff,' and 'wick,' meaning 'village.' If you trace the origin of bailiff back to Latin, the poor chap suffers a loss in dignity since 'bailiff' is derived from 'bajalus,' the Latin word for 'porter.'" From the "Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1977).
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Romance of Romans-Part 74
Romans Chapter 12 cont'd
In the light of these magnificent mercies of God, I appeal to you dear friends to offer your entire being, including your body itself, to God as a living sacrifice. This is holy and acceptable to him and actually, living a life of worship is the only reasonable response to who he is and what he has done.
Comments:
Chapter 12 is the beginning of the "application" section of Romans. It is quite common in Paul's epistles for him to first expound on "believing rightly" and then lead his readers into "living rightly" in that light. Our core beliefs truly do affect our daily choices.
As those who have been swept up into the New Creation in Christ...a new temple/priesthood/sacrificial paradigm has been inaugurated. (The Book of Hebrews elaborates on this.) The "once and for all" sacrifice of Jesus...who decisively carried away all the guilt and shame of humanity in his death on the cross...trumped the past need for a stone temple, human priests to serve as mediators and animal sacrifices. Now each believer has become a temple of God (not made with hands), a priest of God and...on the basis of Christ's death...a "living sacrifice" to God.
Human beings, redeemed by Jesus, have been transformed into literal temples of the Holy Spirit. Our entire lives (spirit, mind and body) also have become mobile fiery altars where the very presence of God intersects with the passionate and intentional consecration of all that we are, have and do.
God goes with us into all of life and we are his agents and ambassadors. In our waking and sleeping; our work, rest and play; our public and private lives (whatever that means!); our thoughts, words, prayers and songs; our eating and drinking; our dealings and inter-personal relationships...we are living a life of worship before the Living God. ("Worship" is much more than attending gatherings to sing, pray, confess, give, read scriptures and receive instruction...as vital as those things are.) No more "dead" sacrifices are needed to take away sins...just a host of "living" sacrifices whose human lives...substantially, though not perfectly...bear and reflect the restored image of God in the midst of a broken and fallen world.
In the light of these magnificent mercies of God, I appeal to you dear friends to offer your entire being, including your body itself, to God as a living sacrifice. This is holy and acceptable to him and actually, living a life of worship is the only reasonable response to who he is and what he has done.
Comments:
Chapter 12 is the beginning of the "application" section of Romans. It is quite common in Paul's epistles for him to first expound on "believing rightly" and then lead his readers into "living rightly" in that light. Our core beliefs truly do affect our daily choices.
As those who have been swept up into the New Creation in Christ...a new temple/priesthood/sacrificial paradigm has been inaugurated. (The Book of Hebrews elaborates on this.) The "once and for all" sacrifice of Jesus...who decisively carried away all the guilt and shame of humanity in his death on the cross...trumped the past need for a stone temple, human priests to serve as mediators and animal sacrifices. Now each believer has become a temple of God (not made with hands), a priest of God and...on the basis of Christ's death...a "living sacrifice" to God.
Human beings, redeemed by Jesus, have been transformed into literal temples of the Holy Spirit. Our entire lives (spirit, mind and body) also have become mobile fiery altars where the very presence of God intersects with the passionate and intentional consecration of all that we are, have and do.
God goes with us into all of life and we are his agents and ambassadors. In our waking and sleeping; our work, rest and play; our public and private lives (whatever that means!); our thoughts, words, prayers and songs; our eating and drinking; our dealings and inter-personal relationships...we are living a life of worship before the Living God. ("Worship" is much more than attending gatherings to sing, pray, confess, give, read scriptures and receive instruction...as vital as those things are.) No more "dead" sacrifices are needed to take away sins...just a host of "living" sacrifices whose human lives...substantially, though not perfectly...bear and reflect the restored image of God in the midst of a broken and fallen world.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The Romance of Romans-Part 73
Romans Chapter 12
In the light of these magnificent mercies of God, I appeal to you dear friends to offer your entire being, including your body itself, to God as a living sacrifice. This is holy and acceptable to him and actually, living a life of worship is the only reasonable response to who he is and what he has done. Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.
Comments:
Paul has completed laying out his inspired overview of the life, teaching, ministry, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus as Lord and Christ and put all this into the divinely re-contextualized kingdom construct based upon the now fulfilled Messianic Hebrew prophecies of scripture. It was no small task and its implications are revolutionary for human life on this planet. In the remaining chapters Paul begins to tease apart some of these important practical implications of "Jesus is Lord" for our lives, lifestyles and relationships.
With the coming of Christ there has been a fundamental shift in what the "temple of God" is all about. This "new temple" imagery is a major theme of the NT apostles that is woven into the fabric their writings. Through Christ, a new way of worship that is "in spirit and truth" and not focused upon ritual or confined to geography was inaugurated for the people of God. Jesus did more than hint at this in his interchange with the woman at the well in John 4.
The "tabernacle/temple" matters related to the manifest presence of God in this world and the proper way for the people of God to truly connect/commune with him in acceptable worship. On a practical level, it always revolved around divinely ordained priesthood and sacrifice. Jesus was himself the embodiment of the presence of God like no other "tabernacle" in the history of Israel. "The Word became flesh and "tabernacled" (lit.) among us (Jn 1:14)." Christ himself is...along with his body, the church, the new Temple of God. Also, he is the "high priest after the order of Melchizedek" prophesied in Ps 110 that signaled a massive shift in the nature and dynamics of the divinely ordained priesthood. Moreover, he himself became the "once and for all" substitutionary sacrifice...the Lamb of God...who took away the sins of the world in his death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection and ascension.
Here in the beginning of Romans 12, Paul dials up the image of "temple worship" and draws us into our proper role in the acceptable worship of the Living God through Jesus Christ. And...it begins on an intimately personal level.
More to come....
In the light of these magnificent mercies of God, I appeal to you dear friends to offer your entire being, including your body itself, to God as a living sacrifice. This is holy and acceptable to him and actually, living a life of worship is the only reasonable response to who he is and what he has done. Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.
Comments:
Paul has completed laying out his inspired overview of the life, teaching, ministry, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus as Lord and Christ and put all this into the divinely re-contextualized kingdom construct based upon the now fulfilled Messianic Hebrew prophecies of scripture. It was no small task and its implications are revolutionary for human life on this planet. In the remaining chapters Paul begins to tease apart some of these important practical implications of "Jesus is Lord" for our lives, lifestyles and relationships.
With the coming of Christ there has been a fundamental shift in what the "temple of God" is all about. This "new temple" imagery is a major theme of the NT apostles that is woven into the fabric their writings. Through Christ, a new way of worship that is "in spirit and truth" and not focused upon ritual or confined to geography was inaugurated for the people of God. Jesus did more than hint at this in his interchange with the woman at the well in John 4.
The "tabernacle/temple" matters related to the manifest presence of God in this world and the proper way for the people of God to truly connect/commune with him in acceptable worship. On a practical level, it always revolved around divinely ordained priesthood and sacrifice. Jesus was himself the embodiment of the presence of God like no other "tabernacle" in the history of Israel. "The Word became flesh and "tabernacled" (lit.) among us (Jn 1:14)." Christ himself is...along with his body, the church, the new Temple of God. Also, he is the "high priest after the order of Melchizedek" prophesied in Ps 110 that signaled a massive shift in the nature and dynamics of the divinely ordained priesthood. Moreover, he himself became the "once and for all" substitutionary sacrifice...the Lamb of God...who took away the sins of the world in his death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection and ascension.
Here in the beginning of Romans 12, Paul dials up the image of "temple worship" and draws us into our proper role in the acceptable worship of the Living God through Jesus Christ. And...it begins on an intimately personal level.
More to come....
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Romance of Romans-Part 72
Romans Chapter 11 cont'd
Do you see the balanced personality of God, both his goodness and his severity? He dispensed severity to those who were unbelieving, but he has shown you his goodness. And he will continue to do so if you persevere in your faith. Otherwise, he will also cut you off. Likewise, if the Jews repent of their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, and God is able to do it. For if God is able to graft wild unnatural branches into a domesticated olive tree, surely he can graft the natural branches back into their own olive tree.
I am laboring this point because I don't want you to be uninformed about this divine mystery and thereby fall prey to spiritual pride. So here it is again: a partial spiritual blindness has befallen the Jews, until the fully appointed number of Gentiles are saved. At that time, the Jews will turn wholesale to Messiah Jesus as it is written, "The Deliverer will come out of Zion and turn Jacob away from his ungodliness. For this is my covenant with them- I will take away their sins." So, in relation to the good news, they are presently your enemies. But in the larger prophetic picture, they are a chosen people who are favored by God because of his unconditional promises to their fathers. And God will not and cannot renege on his sovereignly given gifts and callings.
Just as you, who at one time did not believe God, have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, even so they, who do not yet believe, will receive mercy through the mercy shown to you. For God has allowed all to experience the agonizing desolation of unbelief so that he might reveal his mercy, in no uncertain terms, to all people. So in the end, unbelief in some leads to mercy for others which, in turn, leads to the mercy that finally destroys all unbelief and causes mercy to triumph over all!
O the depth of the richness of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! His judgments are inscrutable and his ways are unfathomable. "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has counseled him into the right way?" Or "who has met God's needs in a way that God now owes him something?" For ultimately, from him, and through him, and back to him are all things. To him be eternal honor. Yes indeed!
Comments:
The Story kind of speaks for itself above. Paul concludes this powerful chapter by again putting the questions surrounding the Jews and gentiles, and their spiritual journeys, into the context of a historic and mysterious meta-narrative that he claims has now been made clear through the coming of Jesus Christ...and how he has fulfilled the OT scriptures.
The Story is significantly about the grandeur of God himself who is the One who has been guiding human history along with his invisible hand. It's an account of his power, justice, holiness and the spiritual weakness of humanity...left to ourselves...and of his kindness and love ultimately sweeping in to rescue us in Messiah from our unbelief in his wisdom, goodness and nearness. Mercy triumphs over justice...not only in our personal lives...but in the narrative of international history.
It's a bit hard for us to air drop into the same level of thought and emotion that swirled around this thorny issue that Paul has been attempting to address in Romans. But, if we immerse ourselves deeply enough in the scriptures, we are able to come to the place that we can identify from the heart with the massive historical/theological dilemma that the apostle is unraveling and the great mystery that he is revealing through the gospel of Jesus.
I can't say it better than my friend, Michael Flowers, has recently stated it...
“From a Pauline perspective (early church), ‘Christianity’ as a new religion did not cross his mind. Paul had come to see that in Jesus the fulfillment of all the promises of God in the OT had been inaugurated in Jesus the Messiah. The walls of ethnic exclusivity had been kicked down by the power of the resurrection, announcing the invasion of the New Age of the Kingdom into the present. His Jewish Eschatology had greeted him in person, on the Damascus road. Therefore, a Christless Judaism would be viewed as a thing of the past, an expression languishing within the pages of the Old Covenant, awaiting a fulfillment that had already occurred in Jesus the Messiah.”
...or the way that Eugene Peterson translates Eph 3:4-6 in the Message:
As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
And all this leads Paul, and us, to two divinely strategic responses that are captured in the final paragraph: humility and awesome worship. May we simply take our place...on our face.
Do you see the balanced personality of God, both his goodness and his severity? He dispensed severity to those who were unbelieving, but he has shown you his goodness. And he will continue to do so if you persevere in your faith. Otherwise, he will also cut you off. Likewise, if the Jews repent of their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, and God is able to do it. For if God is able to graft wild unnatural branches into a domesticated olive tree, surely he can graft the natural branches back into their own olive tree.
I am laboring this point because I don't want you to be uninformed about this divine mystery and thereby fall prey to spiritual pride. So here it is again: a partial spiritual blindness has befallen the Jews, until the fully appointed number of Gentiles are saved. At that time, the Jews will turn wholesale to Messiah Jesus as it is written, "The Deliverer will come out of Zion and turn Jacob away from his ungodliness. For this is my covenant with them- I will take away their sins." So, in relation to the good news, they are presently your enemies. But in the larger prophetic picture, they are a chosen people who are favored by God because of his unconditional promises to their fathers. And God will not and cannot renege on his sovereignly given gifts and callings.
Just as you, who at one time did not believe God, have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, even so they, who do not yet believe, will receive mercy through the mercy shown to you. For God has allowed all to experience the agonizing desolation of unbelief so that he might reveal his mercy, in no uncertain terms, to all people. So in the end, unbelief in some leads to mercy for others which, in turn, leads to the mercy that finally destroys all unbelief and causes mercy to triumph over all!
O the depth of the richness of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! His judgments are inscrutable and his ways are unfathomable. "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has counseled him into the right way?" Or "who has met God's needs in a way that God now owes him something?" For ultimately, from him, and through him, and back to him are all things. To him be eternal honor. Yes indeed!
Comments:
The Story kind of speaks for itself above. Paul concludes this powerful chapter by again putting the questions surrounding the Jews and gentiles, and their spiritual journeys, into the context of a historic and mysterious meta-narrative that he claims has now been made clear through the coming of Jesus Christ...and how he has fulfilled the OT scriptures.
The Story is significantly about the grandeur of God himself who is the One who has been guiding human history along with his invisible hand. It's an account of his power, justice, holiness and the spiritual weakness of humanity...left to ourselves...and of his kindness and love ultimately sweeping in to rescue us in Messiah from our unbelief in his wisdom, goodness and nearness. Mercy triumphs over justice...not only in our personal lives...but in the narrative of international history.
It's a bit hard for us to air drop into the same level of thought and emotion that swirled around this thorny issue that Paul has been attempting to address in Romans. But, if we immerse ourselves deeply enough in the scriptures, we are able to come to the place that we can identify from the heart with the massive historical/theological dilemma that the apostle is unraveling and the great mystery that he is revealing through the gospel of Jesus.
I can't say it better than my friend, Michael Flowers, has recently stated it...
“From a Pauline perspective (early church), ‘Christianity’ as a new religion did not cross his mind. Paul had come to see that in Jesus the fulfillment of all the promises of God in the OT had been inaugurated in Jesus the Messiah. The walls of ethnic exclusivity had been kicked down by the power of the resurrection, announcing the invasion of the New Age of the Kingdom into the present. His Jewish Eschatology had greeted him in person, on the Damascus road. Therefore, a Christless Judaism would be viewed as a thing of the past, an expression languishing within the pages of the Old Covenant, awaiting a fulfillment that had already occurred in Jesus the Messiah.”
...or the way that Eugene Peterson translates Eph 3:4-6 in the Message:
As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
And all this leads Paul, and us, to two divinely strategic responses that are captured in the final paragraph: humility and awesome worship. May we simply take our place...on our face.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Prayer Hill
I have heard a story that has deeply touched my heart and wanted to capture it in writing.
She has been no stranger to some hefty relational disruption, pain, disappointments and sufferings. The challenges that come with all of this were in her face from the time she was still a child. But at around age twelve a goodness was set in motion that would inaugurate a tested and true redemptive narrative into the midst of her young life. She found Jesus. (Of course...we all know that he actually reached out through the Holy Spirit and found her!)
Her new community of faith became her extended family and throughout her teen years, she courageously chose to invest much of her time and energy into learning about knowing and following Jesus and serving the people in her life...both young and old...for the sake of her Savior.
When sorrows, fears and temptations would rise up to confront and and seek to overwhelm her, she would often retreat to a sacred space on the church property that is known as "prayer hill" to pour out her heart in conversation and communion with her heavenly Father. Up on prayer hill is a large cross that has helped the pilgrims to this place to find their center in Christ once again. It had obviously become a very special place for her and she continually grew strong in spirit and wisdom...despite a profound "alone-ness" that she would often struggle against. It was on prayer hill that she would hope and believe that she actually was not alone.
Now she is a vibrant and radiant young woman who is studying to become a family counselor at a college far away from home. A year and a half ago, she was pursued by a young man (who had already caught her eye) and they agreed to become boyfriend/girlfriend. Their friends and teachers could immediately see the good chemistry and good effects of this new relationship in both of their lives. This man had enjoyed both the favor of God and man from his youth and his heart had become full of Christ's love and passion. They were quickly falling in love in a deep way.
This summer, the young man has had the opportunity to go and work in her home town while she is doing an internship with her church's youth ministry. Some months ago, he had purchased a diamond ring that he was hoping to put on her finger sometime this summer...if she would say "yes" to making a commitment to spend their lives together and become "one flesh" in the sight of God and people. He, of course, had heard about "prayer hill" and knew the special place that it held in his lady's heart.
About three weeks ago, after he had gone to prayer hill to prepare a small table with some refreshments, he subtly suggested to the young lady that they make a trek to this sacred place during the beautiful sunset and to which she joyfully agreed. He followed her up the hill. When she saw the table, without looking back, she quietly informed him that they probably needed to leave as they were obviously disrupting someone's event. Then...as she turned to look at him...he was on his knee holding out the precious token of his love for her. The table had been set for her! It was a perfect moment in the midst of our quite imperfect world. An amazing day had dawned for them both and their lives would never be the same.
She said "yes" and they kissed. Then they prayed at the foot of the big cross and committed their love and relationship and its future to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was on her special place on prayer hill that she would come to know and be reassured that indeed...she is not alone.
The wedding will happen at sunset May 28 next year in Phoenix AZ and guess where?...in the beautiful outdoor forum that lies beneath the shadow of...prayer hill. We are so pleased to be the parents of this wonderful young man, Mike Sullivant. And we are overjoyed to continue the journey of welcoming an inspiring and beautiful young woman, Jeri Jensen, into our family circle.
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Romance of Romans-Part 71
Romans Chapter 11 cont'd
This is an unchangeable spiritual principle: If the representative token of something is holy, so is the whole. And if the root of something is holy, so are its branches. So if some of the Jewish branches have been broken off from God's spiritually rich and succulent olive tree and its holy root system, and this has made a way for some branches from the wild and uncultivated olive tree of the Gentiles to be grafted into it, then you Gentiles had better not be arrogant toward the Jews. Just remember, you're not supporting the root, it's supporting you! But you might be tempted to think, "Hey, they've been broken off to make room for us." Yes, they were broken off for their unbelief and you are secured by your faith. So don't become proud, but fear the Lord. If God didn't spare the natural branches that fell into unbelief, do you think he will do less to the unnatural branches that fall into it?
Comments:
Paul is here painting a word picture that captures the essence of God's Big God-Story. In God's economy of his historical callings and dealings with humanity...there is essentially one dominant and everlasting covenant (the rich, ancient and well-planted "olive tree") that he has made with us...though there are nuances and admittedly surprising and progressive features to its outworking over the centuries. This belief is grounded in the way that Jesus and his apostles authoritatively rehearsed, interpreted and utilized Old Testament scripture. The covenant that God cut with Abraham...a non-Jew and the father of true faith...is central to this paradigm. Certainly the Law that God gave through Moses can be viewed as another "covenant", but our understanding of its purposes must be nested into the larger "Abrahamic" meta-narrative of redemption. (Galatians 3 and 4 deal with this head on...as does Romans 4.) This also holds true for our understanding of "covenants" that God made with Adam (in the original creation mandate), Noah (in the aftermath of the flood and reaffirmation of the creation mandate) and David (in God's promise to have one of his "sons" sit on his throne forever).
The fact that the Jews of the first century (and for many centuries since) have generally rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah and have thereby been "cut off" from the historic divine covenant does not negate God's faithfulness to his word or halt his relentless forward march to spread the fame of his name and accomplish his will in the nations of the earth.
The apostle then goes on to make two main points. First, the gentile believers must be mindful to not become proud about their new status in Christ and come down wrongly on the Jews as a people. This, sadly, seems to have happened all to often throughout the history of "Christendom"...and has left an understandably bitter taste in the mouths of Jewish people regarding the gospel of Jesus. We who follow Jesus should repent for this spiritual arrogance and lament that we have not well-represented the beauty of our Lord to them. Gentiles owe the Jews a debt of gratitude and respect because we, the "unnatural branches", have been grafted by God into the covenant that they historically enjoyed with God and worked and suffered to preserve. Our faith has rich and powerful "Hebrew roots".
Second...just as Paul laments that the "natural branches" (the ethnic Jews) have been lopped off from their own olive tree because of their active unbelief in Christ...he gives a sober warning that seems to apply in our day to people groups and "gentile" nations that have enjoyed the personal, family and cultural blessings that flow down from a wide historic reception of the gospel of Jesus. If an extended family of peoples reject their faith in Jesus, they will likewise be cut off from the the divine covenant and its attending blessings that once ruled over their lives and society. To me, this appears to be happening in a wide-spread way here in western culture.
And remember...its not the end of the story for the Jews...and their ongoing part to play in God's Big God-Story. Divine jealousy yet hovers over this people for the sake of their spiritual fathers and mothers and, of course, the glory of his Son!
This is an unchangeable spiritual principle: If the representative token of something is holy, so is the whole. And if the root of something is holy, so are its branches. So if some of the Jewish branches have been broken off from God's spiritually rich and succulent olive tree and its holy root system, and this has made a way for some branches from the wild and uncultivated olive tree of the Gentiles to be grafted into it, then you Gentiles had better not be arrogant toward the Jews. Just remember, you're not supporting the root, it's supporting you! But you might be tempted to think, "Hey, they've been broken off to make room for us." Yes, they were broken off for their unbelief and you are secured by your faith. So don't become proud, but fear the Lord. If God didn't spare the natural branches that fell into unbelief, do you think he will do less to the unnatural branches that fall into it?
Comments:
Paul is here painting a word picture that captures the essence of God's Big God-Story. In God's economy of his historical callings and dealings with humanity...there is essentially one dominant and everlasting covenant (the rich, ancient and well-planted "olive tree") that he has made with us...though there are nuances and admittedly surprising and progressive features to its outworking over the centuries. This belief is grounded in the way that Jesus and his apostles authoritatively rehearsed, interpreted and utilized Old Testament scripture. The covenant that God cut with Abraham...a non-Jew and the father of true faith...is central to this paradigm. Certainly the Law that God gave through Moses can be viewed as another "covenant", but our understanding of its purposes must be nested into the larger "Abrahamic" meta-narrative of redemption. (Galatians 3 and 4 deal with this head on...as does Romans 4.) This also holds true for our understanding of "covenants" that God made with Adam (in the original creation mandate), Noah (in the aftermath of the flood and reaffirmation of the creation mandate) and David (in God's promise to have one of his "sons" sit on his throne forever).
The fact that the Jews of the first century (and for many centuries since) have generally rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah and have thereby been "cut off" from the historic divine covenant does not negate God's faithfulness to his word or halt his relentless forward march to spread the fame of his name and accomplish his will in the nations of the earth.
The apostle then goes on to make two main points. First, the gentile believers must be mindful to not become proud about their new status in Christ and come down wrongly on the Jews as a people. This, sadly, seems to have happened all to often throughout the history of "Christendom"...and has left an understandably bitter taste in the mouths of Jewish people regarding the gospel of Jesus. We who follow Jesus should repent for this spiritual arrogance and lament that we have not well-represented the beauty of our Lord to them. Gentiles owe the Jews a debt of gratitude and respect because we, the "unnatural branches", have been grafted by God into the covenant that they historically enjoyed with God and worked and suffered to preserve. Our faith has rich and powerful "Hebrew roots".
Second...just as Paul laments that the "natural branches" (the ethnic Jews) have been lopped off from their own olive tree because of their active unbelief in Christ...he gives a sober warning that seems to apply in our day to people groups and "gentile" nations that have enjoyed the personal, family and cultural blessings that flow down from a wide historic reception of the gospel of Jesus. If an extended family of peoples reject their faith in Jesus, they will likewise be cut off from the the divine covenant and its attending blessings that once ruled over their lives and society. To me, this appears to be happening in a wide-spread way here in western culture.
And remember...its not the end of the story for the Jews...and their ongoing part to play in God's Big God-Story. Divine jealousy yet hovers over this people for the sake of their spiritual fathers and mothers and, of course, the glory of his Son!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Romance of Romans-Part 70
Romans Chapter 11 cont'd
Then have the Jews spiritually stumbled never to rise again? No way! In fact, through their fall, a door of salvation has opened wide for the Gentiles in order to strategically provoke the Jews to jealousy. And if through their failure and loss of spiritual status, the nations of the world have been so richly blessed, what will their restoration bring to the earth?
Now I address you Gentiles, given the fact that I, as a Jew, have been specifically called to be a divine messenger to the Gentiles and therefore have special insight into this issue. I long that my work among the Gentiles might stir some of my Jewish people to a jealousy that will set them up to be saved. For if their temporary rejection has led to the reconciling of the other nations to God, their future return to God will invoke nothing less than resurrection power!
Comments:
A main point that Paul makes in Romans 11...that the Jews (generally speaking) as a people group did not receive Jesus as Messiah...and that this choice opened the doors spiritually for the gentile world to accept him and be grafted into the ancient Abrahamic covenant...only makes sense if we capture the intrigue and drama of the meta-narrative of "God's Big God-Story" that Paul has been rehearsing.
The Father originally intended for the entire Jewish nation to serve the others nations as a "kingdom of priests" and extend the gracious blessing of Abraham to the world. Yet, they institutionalized, formalized and nationalized their corporate life thereby effectively reducing and enculturating the kingdom of God in such a way that it walled off the gentile nations from coming to the living God. So, for instance, God, in response, chose only one tribe of their twelve to then embody the priesthood. He didn't ultimately put his hope on the "seeds" of Abraham to fulfill the promise, but rather progressively focused in on the "seed" of Abraham...the promised Messiah...the Faithful Israelite who was to come.
God placed his salvific stock in a second Adam, a covenant mediator greater than the angels, a prophet greater than Moses, a general greater than Joshua, a king greater than his father David and a priest greater than Aaron/Levi. His dealings with Israel would center on preparing a cultural/historic/national "womb" from which the Messiah would come forth and provide a prophetic backdrop that would provide the nations with a convincing "reason to believe" when his Day would come. God would incarnate his very Word, who co-created with him the heavens and the earth, into human flesh in order to win the day for broken and wayward humanity. The Author himself became the Lead Character of the salvation story. There was and is no other human being worthy to take the book of human history and destiny and open it's seals.
However, Paul is quick to also remind us that the story is not over yet and that powerful divine promise yet hovers over the heads of the Jewish people. There is another thrilling twist in the plot of the grace of God at work among the nations before the end of the end times. The Jewish nation...ethnically speaking...will be substantially and mysteriously stirred to a spiritually jealousy through the compelling witness of both their separated brothers and the gentiles who have become united in truly following Messiah Jesus. A remnant of ethnic Jews (that will embody the fulfillment of the divine promise to Abraham) will come to faith in God's chosen Messiah...Jesus of Nazareth...and be grafted in again to the rich and eternal covenant of God's grace. (The fact that they are still a people group at all, after having no homeland for so many centuries, is already a powerful divine sign and wonder in the earth.)
Those of us to have come to faith in Christ should take courage and heart from the fact that in our generation, more Jews have come to Jesus...along with the millions of Asians, Africans, Indians, Arabs and many indigenous people groups of the earth who have also come to him (despite the rise of post-Christian culture in the West)...than at any other time in history. The harvest fields are ripe and Christ Jesus will receive the reward of his suffering and see the ramifications of his resurrection. The Father will himself see to this (Ps 2; Ps 110).
Then have the Jews spiritually stumbled never to rise again? No way! In fact, through their fall, a door of salvation has opened wide for the Gentiles in order to strategically provoke the Jews to jealousy. And if through their failure and loss of spiritual status, the nations of the world have been so richly blessed, what will their restoration bring to the earth?
Now I address you Gentiles, given the fact that I, as a Jew, have been specifically called to be a divine messenger to the Gentiles and therefore have special insight into this issue. I long that my work among the Gentiles might stir some of my Jewish people to a jealousy that will set them up to be saved. For if their temporary rejection has led to the reconciling of the other nations to God, their future return to God will invoke nothing less than resurrection power!
Comments:
A main point that Paul makes in Romans 11...that the Jews (generally speaking) as a people group did not receive Jesus as Messiah...and that this choice opened the doors spiritually for the gentile world to accept him and be grafted into the ancient Abrahamic covenant...only makes sense if we capture the intrigue and drama of the meta-narrative of "God's Big God-Story" that Paul has been rehearsing.
The Father originally intended for the entire Jewish nation to serve the others nations as a "kingdom of priests" and extend the gracious blessing of Abraham to the world. Yet, they institutionalized, formalized and nationalized their corporate life thereby effectively reducing and enculturating the kingdom of God in such a way that it walled off the gentile nations from coming to the living God. So, for instance, God, in response, chose only one tribe of their twelve to then embody the priesthood. He didn't ultimately put his hope on the "seeds" of Abraham to fulfill the promise, but rather progressively focused in on the "seed" of Abraham...the promised Messiah...the Faithful Israelite who was to come.
God placed his salvific stock in a second Adam, a covenant mediator greater than the angels, a prophet greater than Moses, a general greater than Joshua, a king greater than his father David and a priest greater than Aaron/Levi. His dealings with Israel would center on preparing a cultural/historic/national "womb" from which the Messiah would come forth and provide a prophetic backdrop that would provide the nations with a convincing "reason to believe" when his Day would come. God would incarnate his very Word, who co-created with him the heavens and the earth, into human flesh in order to win the day for broken and wayward humanity. The Author himself became the Lead Character of the salvation story. There was and is no other human being worthy to take the book of human history and destiny and open it's seals.
However, Paul is quick to also remind us that the story is not over yet and that powerful divine promise yet hovers over the heads of the Jewish people. There is another thrilling twist in the plot of the grace of God at work among the nations before the end of the end times. The Jewish nation...ethnically speaking...will be substantially and mysteriously stirred to a spiritually jealousy through the compelling witness of both their separated brothers and the gentiles who have become united in truly following Messiah Jesus. A remnant of ethnic Jews (that will embody the fulfillment of the divine promise to Abraham) will come to faith in God's chosen Messiah...Jesus of Nazareth...and be grafted in again to the rich and eternal covenant of God's grace. (The fact that they are still a people group at all, after having no homeland for so many centuries, is already a powerful divine sign and wonder in the earth.)
Those of us to have come to faith in Christ should take courage and heart from the fact that in our generation, more Jews have come to Jesus...along with the millions of Asians, Africans, Indians, Arabs and many indigenous people groups of the earth who have also come to him (despite the rise of post-Christian culture in the West)...than at any other time in history. The harvest fields are ripe and Christ Jesus will receive the reward of his suffering and see the ramifications of his resurrection. The Father will himself see to this (Ps 2; Ps 110).
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