Advent: Jesus Came to Ransom You

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

 

Why did Jesus, the Son of God, come to earth over two-thousand years ago? That is the question we should always ask, but it is especially fresh on our minds in the Advent season. And we also can’t ask about Jesus’ first advent without also looking ahead to his second advent. Nevertheless, we must first ask, “Why did Jesus come, the first time? What did he come to do?” According Mark 10:45, Jesus came to serve and to give his life as a ransom. That answer should shock us and move us to worship.

 

What Jesus Did Not Come To Do

In this Mark 10:45, Jesus first notes what he did not come to do. Jesus says he did not come “to be served,” or we could translate it, “to be ministered to.” His ultimate purpose in coming was not for himself. It was not for his receiving of anything—any act of service, any act of generosity, any meeting of a particular need, any honor—from us. This is shocking considering who he is.

 

The Shock Factor

In this verse, Jesus’ self-proclaimed identity makes his not being served all the more jarring. Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man. Jesus’ chosen moniker refers to the “one like a son of man” who comes to YHWH, the Ancient of Days, and receives from him all “dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples should serve him” (Daniel 7:13–14). Jesus is the promised divine king. And yet, according to the king himself, Jesus, he did not come to us in his first advent to be served. Why then did he come? What did he come to do?

 

What Jesus Did Come To Do: Serve and Die

Jesus says he did not come to be served. Rather, he came to do just the opposite. He came to serve, to minister, to give. Notice Jesus does not separate his serving from his giving. His giving is what defines the nature of his serving. What does he give? He gives his life. He came to die. Again, given who he is, this too should shock us. And it should shock us even more than his not serving.

 

The Greater Shock Factor

Jesus the divine king of Daniel 7:13–14 will have an everlasting kingdom—“his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” How can the kingdom be everlasting if the king himself is not everlasting? How can the kingdom not be destroyed if the king himself is seemingly destroyed in death? Nevertheless, Jesus, the supposed everlasting divine king of an everlasting kingdom, says that he came to die. More specifically, he came to die as a ransom for many. The nature of this ransom should move us to worship and will ultimately culminate in our worship.

 

Jesus Came to Ransom You

Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many. If Jesus is the divine king, then he must have a kingdom made up of people—“And to him was given…a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” What is it that holds his people captive that Jesus the king would need to give his life as a ransom? Exodus 30:11–16 notes that every individual in God’s kingdom of Israel had to give a ransom to make atonement for his life. They did this so “that there be no plague among them” (Exodus 30:12). God’s people are enslaved to and under the curse of sin and death and the object of God’s just wrath. The only way God’s people can be in his kingdom with him is if a ransom is paid so that their sin is atoned. Jesus says that he, the divine king, came to pay this ransom. And he came to pay it not with coin or animal offering, but with the inestimable value of his infinitely, perfectly righteous life. Jesus became the curse of sin, wore the plague fully on the cross, and died his peoples’ death to satisfy God’s wrath completely—to pay the ransom of your life in order to deliver you from the curse of sin. And then Jesus by virtue of his perfect sinless life, rose from the grave, defeating death and thereby purchasing his people not only from sin but also snatching them from the jaws of death. He is the divine king who is everlasting, who is not destroyed by death but is rather the destroyer of death. He lives forever, and his people will live forever in his presence worshiping and enjoying him in all his beauty and glory.

 

Jesus’ Second Advent

Jesus came to serve by giving his life as a ransom for many, including you. He traded his perfectly righteous life for your completely sinful life. He paid the price of your debt and subsequently becomes your only viable asset. He is your ransom. This is why Jesus came the first time. So if this is the reason for Jesus’ first advent, what does his second advent look like? I think it looks something like what we see in Isaiah 35 and Revelation 22.

“They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God…Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the reward of God. He will come and save you…And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away…They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their lights, and they will reign forever and ever” (Isaiah 35:2, 4, 10; Revelation 22:4–5).

 

Remembering Jesus’ First Advent, Looking to Jesus’ Second Advent

Jesus the divine king came the first time to ransom you by giving his life. Jesus the divine king will come again to reign with you as your king forever. This is why Jesus came. This is what we remember and this is what we look forward to this Advent season.

A Method to Remain Unstained from the World – Ephesians 1:15-23

How are you with cleaning or replacing filters? I do not mean so much your personal skillset to do it, but more your consistent initiative to get it done. When you think about it, cleaning or replacing filters has some place in all of our lives, whether we are the ones directly doing it or not.

Filters are everywhere. You have oil filters and air cabin filters for our cars, water filters, home air filters, even lint filters for our dryers. You have vacuum filters, coffee filters, and furnace filters. Even for those tea drinkers among us, the tea bag itself is a filter. Depending on the type of filter and its use, filters need cleaning or replacing often because they capture dust and debris, used grounds or leaves, chemicals and compounds, gunk and grease harmful for engines, lungs, or stomachs.

But, in addition to physical filters, there are also spiritual filters. If James expresses that alongside visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, part of a pure and undefiled religion before God is to keep oneself unstained from the world, then there is certainly a need of a clean spiritual filter. The LORD has given us what we need in this by uniting us by grace through faith to Jesus and declaring us forgiven and cleansed in Him. He has also given us His Holy Spirit. But there is a relational sense of walking in step with the Spirit, of growing in the likeness of Christ, of walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we’ve been called by God. In light of this, how do we keep our spiritual filters cleansed and renewed from the worldly, toxic grime?

First, let’s identify a few deadly ways the world can infect us without utilizing God’s means of keeping us spiritually filtered and clean.

  • Fatalism- Focusing on the world as the hopeless mess it is and us as hopeless sinners, and believing no good or change will ever come to it or us.
  • Cynicism- Thinking that everyone is in it for themselves and motivated by greed and power. No one can be trusted.
  • Overtly focusing on entertainment and distraction, consuming and wasting our lives with things that are eternally worthless.
  • Idolatry in all forms, but especially to self, tribe, and sex.

How do we resemble Christ more and more, and this present form of the world that is passing away less and less?

This, and the question before, are big questions of sanctification and perseverance that the Bible speaks to in many places. I believe Paul has a helpful part of the answer for us today in Ephesians 1, starting in verse 15.

To give some brief background, Ephesians was written to the group of believers in the major city of Ephesus and likely other groups of believers in nearby towns and cities as well. Ephesus was a port city on the western coast of what is now modern-day Turkey. Paul wrote this letter while in prison for Christ in Rome towards the end of his life (likely AD 60-62), and sent it by his faithful minister and brother-in-Christ Tychicus. So far in the letter, he has briefly greeted believers and then pens an astounding section of praise to God for His sovereign election and adoption of His people in Christ and the sealing by the Spirit- all to the praise of His glory. This is where our section begins in verse 15.

So getting back to the issue at hand, what does Paul model for us as he’s locked up in prison that would help us keep our spiritual filters unstained from the world’s toxic grime? Not surprisingly for us in this prayer-themed year, the answer Paul models is a prayer. And this prayer starts, fittingly for this time of year, as a prayer of thanksgiving.

“15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might 20 that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Notice, Paul’s thanksgiving is not over his imminent release from imprisonment or worldly comforts. His prayer of thanksgiving from prison for the Ephesian people is for two specific reasons:

    1. Their faith in the LORD Jesus
    2. Their love toward all the saints

Two quick observations.

  1. In the midst of Paul’s personal suffering, he is thankful to God for evidence of Christ’s saving work in other’s lives. He is Christ and kingdom-centered and others-focused.
  2. He’s not ceasing in prayers of thanks to God for them, continually remembering them. Most of us know seasons of prayer for others, but sometimes people in my own life people fall off my radar. I’m not suggesting we have a prayer list that only grows and involves every person on it getting daily prayers. I do gently ask though- who are those people (specifically believers) we know God has placed personally in our lives and called us to pray consistently for whom we haven’t prayed for in quite a while? I’d encourage you to pause even now, or as you finish reading this, to lift that person up to God and consciously bring them back into your regular time of prayer.

At this point, in verse 17, Paul gets specific in what prayer for those for whom he is so thankful looks like. He asks 3 things. Now, I don’t know about you, but the content of these prayers are much different than the healing, comfort, safety I’m used to running through for people. These things aren’t wrong to pray, but consider the 3 prayer points Paul mentions:

  1. That God the Father would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in their knowledge of Him.
  2. So that with their hearts now enlightened they would know 3 things:
    1. The hope to which He has called them
    2. The riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints
    3. The immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe
  3. A focus on the Gospel and who God has made Christ Jesus to be.
    1. Jesus is the One the Father has raised from the dead and seated alone at His right hand.
    2. Christ Jesus is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named in this present age, and the age to come.
    3. All things have been put under Jesus’ feet and He has been made the Head over all the Church, His body, and He fills all things everywhere.

So what is Paul’s help for us to keep our spiritual filters unstained from the world?

  • To put your focus on Christ and give thanks to God for how you’re clearly seeing the Spirit of Jesus at work in believer’s lives.
  • To continually lift up believers like this in prayer and share openly with them the way you’re encouraged by God’s work in them and work in others.
  • To pray specifically that God would grant believers to experience a spirit of wisdom and revelation of their knowledge of God
  • That through this greater understanding they’d experience hope and they’d ponder more with joy the inheritance we’re running to that nothing in this world can touch or compare
  • To have a better understanding and knowledge of God’s great power- the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, seating Him above all others for all-time, who is now directing His church to expand

This is a model of prayer by Paul that we can use as a filter to remain unstained from the world. Prayer like this transforms our perspective from worldly to eternal.

When we were in Turkey, just before seeing Matthew, Kailie, and the boys, we stayed a night in Istanbul and visited the Hagia Sophia. This building was built in 537 AD. At the time it was not only the largest cathedral in the world, but the largest building as well. It became one of the centers for the Christian faith for hundreds of years. Great sadness welled up in me going inside the building with Katie and the boys though. In the 1400s, Istanbul was taken over by the Ottoman Turks. So for the better part of the last 500 years, Hagia Sophia has served as a mosque. Within 15 minutes of entering the building, everyone was quickly forced to exit and the Muslim cry for prayer soon followed. With all the building had symbolized, it just felt like such a loss. There was a thought of “this is what it is to be conquered”.

Though I was there to be an encouragement for Matthew, I shared what I’d felt being in that place with him the next day. Not only does God use prayer and his Word to clean and replace our world-contaminated filters, He uses His people as well. Matthew reminded me that night that we’re not to the end of the story yet. He also said, if you’d told Christians who worshipped the LORD in that great building long ago that another religion would spring up and overtake the church for hundreds of years. And then you explained the Gospel would go out to the ends of the earth. It would even go out to a New World they didn’t even know existed. Then you explained believers from there would return with the same unconquerable message of Jesus in order to share it back in this city–they’d be in disbelief and wonder. Thinking about it now, hopefully they’d say, “take the city and the building, we have Christ, the conquering King, who is returning to set up a city, Church, and temple of God not made with hands, that will never end.”

That’s where our focus and hope must remain. That’s the filter through which we keep the world’s lies at bay, and also through which we also see the world around us and where it’s all headed.

Humility and Love

Some of you probably know by now of my affinity for John Newton.

One of the reasons I appreciate him so much is because of his letters. He was prolific in his letter writing. He wrote to all sorts and all comers. What I find so wonderful about his letters is that in them you truly see how his rich theology and experiential knowledge of God’s love in the gospel both come to bear in his pastoral care. His letters exquisitely exhibit theology applied. He truly was a shepherd to admire.

Recently, I was reading one of Newton’s letters to the Reverend Mr. Whitford, his friend and a fellow minister. In this letter, Newton was encouraging Mr. Whitford in his cooperative gospel ministry, and there was one sentence that stood out to me: “I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ, and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master.”[1]

I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ, and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master. — John Newton

What an assessment of the distinguishing marks of the Christian! Are these the characteristics that first come to mind when we think of what should mark a Christian? Perhaps we think of holiness or joy or one of the many other characteristics that distinguish the Christian life. But Newton hangs spiritual maturity on these two marks, humility and love. This sent me running to the Scriptures to find what humility and love for the Christian look like.

 

Christian Humility and Love

In Ephesians 4:1–3, Paul urges the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [they] have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Here, humility and love go hand-in-hand with gentleness or meekness and patience. Let’s take a closer look at these fruits.

 

Gentleness

Paul makes clear in 2 Corinthians 10:1 that gentleness and meekness are distinguishing marks of Jesus himself writing, “I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ…”. These are Christlike characteristics. To get an idea of what a gentle and meek person looks like, it’s helpful to consider what Scripture sets gentleness and meekness over against. Paul encourages Titus to remind the flock “to be gentle and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:2), as opposed to not being submissive to authorities, speaking evil of others, and being quarrelsome. Likewise, in 1 Timothy 3:3, Paul calls for gentleness rather than violence. Indeed, it is this type of gentleness and meekness that marks reasonableness as opposed to divisiveness (Philippians 4:1–5).

So, gentleness and meekness do not look like: speaking evil of others, a quarrelsome spirit, a lack of appropriate submissiveness, violence, and/or divisiveness—the distinguishing marks of sinful man. Rather, Scripture tells us that gentleness and meekness are the hallmarks of godly wisdom (James 3:13, 17).

 

Patience

Humility and love also go hand-in-hand with patience. The patience referred to here does not speak to the type of perishable patience we typically exercise when we are waiting for our food order to come to the table or when we are standing in a long line. Rather, it speaks to the enduring, unwavering patience that God exercised toward us in order to save us (Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:15).

 

Gentleness and Patience Mark Christian Humility and Love

So, if you are seeking the fruits of Christian humility and love, they can be found in the same garden row as their closely related counterparts of gentleness and patience. Christian humility and love run counter to divisiveness, quarreling, and violence. And Christian humility and love exercise the same long-suffering that God graciously showed and shows toward us. Indeed, Christian humility and love fight for the very unity that human sinfulness would undo (Ephesians 4:3). Let’s look more closely at both humility and love.

 

Humility

Paul sets humility over against selfish ambition when he addresses the Philippians, writing, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). Selfish ambition is not an internal, victimless characteristic. Rather, selfish ambition by nature works itself out externally in hostility and contentiousness toward others, inflicting harm on others (2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20; Philippians 1:17; James 3:16). Christian humility, on the other hand, considers others more significant—of a surpassing worth—when compared to self (Philippians 2:3). Moreover, Christian humility is not kept to oneself but has natural outward effects. Taking into account the gentleness and patience that mark humility, Christian humility, like a rock thrown into water, sends out ripples of gentleness and patience toward others that promote fellowship and unity (Ephesians 4:3).

Christian humility, like a rock thrown into water, sends out ripples of gentleness and patience toward others that promote fellowship and unity.

 

Love

In like manner, Christian love bears with others in a spirit of gentleness and patience. This love “is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:1). This is the very bearing with love that binds together all godly qualities that foster a culture of forgiveness. Christian love is love that bears with others, loving and forgiving them in the same way that God loved and forgave us in Christ. (Colossians 3:12–13). This forgiving love, then, fans the flames of fellowship and unity (Ephesians 4:3).

Christian love is love that bears with others, forgiving them in the same way that God loved and forgave us in Christ.

 

The Gospel: Jesus’ Humility and Love Saves Us

Surely, we can begin to see that John Newton was very much on the right track. Indeed, it was these very qualities, humility and love, that, as Paul notes, mean salvation for you and me. Jesus exercised perfect humility and perfect love toward us in order to save us when we were unsubmissive, speakers of evil, divisive, violent, quarrelsome—completely arrogant and completely hateful. Yet Jesus counted us as more significant than himself in humility and extended the comfort of his forgiving love toward us by dying in our place on the cross (Philippians 2:1–8).

If the Christian life is to look like Jesus, then Newton’s assessment is beautifully accurate. It is the humility and love of Christ that saves us, and it is our Christlike humility and love coupled with our gospel proclamation that God will continue to use to save and unite his people. So, in the spirit of John Newton, we must ask ourselves: Do Christlike humility and love mark our lives? Let’s strive in God’s power to ensure they do.

[1] John Newton, Letters of John Newton, ed. Josiah Bull (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2018), 39.

As the Mountains Surround Jerusalem So the Lord Surrounds His People

Consider three texts:

  • Psalm 125:1-2: Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.
  • Jude 24: [God] is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy
  • Luke 22:32 (Jesus is speaking to Peter after prophesying his denial): “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”

To whom do these texts refer? Who can count on such promises?

We 21st-century Americans tend to see in these texts promises to ourselves and other individuals:

  • “Since I trust in the Lord, He surrounds me and protects me.”
  • “God will keep me from stumbling and present me blameless before Him.”
  • “Jesus prays for me, strengthening and securing my faith.”

Praise God – these precious promises do indeed apply to us as individuals who trust in Jesus.

But Psalm 125:2 closes with the phrase, “from this time forth and forevermore.” When is “this time”? Well, the psalm was written more than 2500 years ago.

For all these years, God has been surrounding His people, advancing His purposes, building His church, keeping her from stumbling, seeing to it that the faith “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) does not fail. We today stand at the end of a long line of faithful believers, all witnesses to God’s surrounding love. Through the dangers of persecution and the dangers of acceptance, despite indwelling sin and the enticements of the world, through times of renewal and times of apostasy, God has preserved, established, and spread His church century after century, continent after continent, culture after culture.

These promises apply not only to believers as individuals but also to God’s people as a whole.

Beth and I glimpsed this truth last month while in Turkey with Matthew and Kailie. We visited Cappadocia, a region of great importance in the history of the church. Three hundred years after the resurrection, theologians from this area known as the “Cappadocian Fathers” were instrumental in combatting heresy by clarifying the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. In subsequent centuries, believers created amazing churches and homes by digging through the volcanic rock. We were able to visit a number 1200-year-old cave-churches, some complete with frescoes of biblical characters. The most well-preserved of these churches are in the Goreme Open Air Museum. The Dark Church is particularly striking, with frescoes of Jesus and John the Baptist, among others.

But most stirring for us was a church far away from the tourists. We hiked down steep slopes into an ancient valley, past old grape vines and apple trees, approaching a rock face pocketed with holes – were they windows? We climbed through an opening, up some stairs carved into the rock – and came out into a massive interior space, with large columns from floor to ceiling.

No one else was there – just our family and the seeming presence of these believers from ages ago. I felt such a sense of oneness, of shared family with those who for the glory of the name of Jesus chipped away at the rock centuries ago, hour after hour, day after day, year after year.

There was a continued Christian presence in this area for centuries – until 1923 when many Christians were expelled from Turkey to Greece, and Muslims expelled from Greece to Turkey. So for the last century there has been no worship of Jesus in these rock churches.

Since our return home, I have learned more about the genuine faith of many in this era through reading The Reformation as Renewal by Matthew Barrett, who argues that the Reformation built on much of the theology and piety of the medieval church, including the writings of Anselm, Thomas, and Lombard – even when the Reformers themselves did not perceive their influence –  and that the Reformers’ arguments were focused much more against the positions taken by later Scholastics such as Ockham and Duns Scotus.

Be that as it may, as we celebrate twenty years of God’s faithfulness through Desiring God Community Church, let us also look back over twenty decades, over twenty centuries, and praise God that as empires rise and fall, as economies thrive and crash, as Christians are exiled and welcomed, God is always building His Church, spurring His people on to acts of devotion and witness, showing in Cappadocia and in Charlotte, in cave churches and in modern buildings, that Jesus is worthy of all our efforts and the source of all our joy. God’s Church is like Mt Zion – the Lord surrounds that Church, and He will present Her blameless before His presence with great joy – all of us, those who carved the Cave Churches, we who are part of Desiring God Community Church, followers of Jesus from every tribe and tongue and people and nation – and century.

DGCC 20th Anniversary Celebration: Obeying God’s Command to Remember

As we have seen now over and over again in the book of Judges,  God’s people consistently rebel against him to serve other gods after he persistently shows them mercy by saving them from oppression. In Judges 3:7 we learn of one of the most surprising root causes of their idolatry; “the people did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.” They forgot God? That sounds really strange. Did they forget God like we forget the many passwords we use to access our accounts online? Did they forget God like we forget a person’s name just moments after they introduce themselves to us? No. In fact Romans 1:18 suggests that is impossible to forget God in this way since our world is filled with reminders of an eternally powerful creator God.

The things that God has given us that bring us joy and purpose are not inherently bad but when they become our ultimate focus we can forget God.

So how did they (and we) forget God? They forgot God like a adult child forgets to call their parents or loved ones. It’s not that they forget they exist but other things in life begin to occupy their focus and animate their hearts and desires. We can begin to be more interested in the things of this life and begin to believe the promises that they can give us more than the promises of God. Maybe it’s a fulfilling career, your identity, a mate, bodily pleasure and expression, or even your vision of ministry. The things that God has given us that bring us joy and purpose are not inherently bad but when they become our ultimate focus we can forget God. The people of Israel forgot God and served Baal and the other idols of their day. We too are prone to forget God, but, instead of serving physical idols, we often serve our own worldly hearts and desires. Have you forgotten God? Have you loved creation more than the Creator or wanted the gift more than the gift giver? We all have whether it was intentional or not. The solution to this problem is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 20-25, and it is as simple as the problem is surprising. We must remember God’s Law, his powerful work in our lives and then testify of his goodness.

We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers (Deuteronomy 6:21–23).

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates[…] “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5, 20–25).

Our personal testimonies of God’s work in our lives are just as miraculous and powerful as visual acts of God’s power.

One of the ways we remember God is by sharing our personal testimony of how he has delivered us. To the children of Israel their testimony was of a big and powerful act of God through the plagues and parting of the red sea to save them. Our personal testimonies of Gods work in our lives are just as miraculous and powerful as visual acts of Gods power. We were slaves to unforgiveness, but the LORD softened our hearts and repaired our relationship. We once lived a life that ignored God, and now God has become the primary source of our joy. Sharing our personal testimonies, especially with our children, in a way that highlights God’s power and doesn’t bring undue glory to our sin is not only God honoring but it also helps build faith. This weekend we have an exciting and joyous opportunity to fulfill this command as part of our celebration of 20 years of ministry at Desiring God Community Church. We will share our testimonies of God’s work in our lives through this ministry. We will sing songs of worship to God for his steadfast love shown to us through others. So think of the ways that this ministry and the people in it have blessed you and helped you draw closer God. Come and join us this weekend as we remember a God who cannot be forgotten.

We will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Desiring God Community Church on Saturday October 21st with dinner, testimony, and worship at 1821 Back Creek Church Rd, Charlotte, NC 28213 from 3pm-7pm. Please join us!

DGCC’s Vision Part V: Sharing Jesus With One Another as His Disciples

Preface

Why We Exist: Gospel Purpose

Our mission statement at DGCC says the following:

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

This is why we exist. This has been DGCC’s identity from the time it was planted twenty years ago. This is our gospel purpose. And, by God’s grace, this will be DGCC’s gospel purpose for the next twenty years and beyond. The question is, though, what exactly do we aim to do in order to live out this gospel purpose.

 

What We Do: Gospel Pursuit

For the past several months the Vision Team here at DGCC has met regularly to pray and discern DGCC’s vision for the foreseeable future. Essentially, the Vision Team aimed to articulate what we do, that is, our gospel pursuit. And, by God’s grace, in our most recent members meeting, the Vision Team shared with our fellow members the vision we believe God has led us to. This statement below captures that vision.

We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture birthed this statement. Specifically, Ephesians 3:14–21 became the foundational text that informed and shaped this vision statement. I unpacked that passage over three previous posts: DGCC’s Vision Part I, Part II, and Part III.

Here I outline how we accomplish our vision or our gospel pursuit. We do so through our gospel practice.

 

Gospel Practice: How we do it

So our mission statement and our vision statement make clear what our gospel purpose is and what our gospel pursuit is, respectively, at DGCC. Our gospel purpose is who we are and our gospel pursuit is what we do. But how do we aim to do this? Our Vision Team at DGCC felt it was necessary to answer this question as well. So to go along with our gospel purpose and gospel pursuit, we also articulated our gospel practice to answer the question, “How will we glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit”? We, DGCC, will do this

By seeing Jesus together as a family.[1]

By sharing Jesus with one another as his disciples.[2]

By showing Jesus to all peoples as his witnesses in our neighborhood, in Charlotte, and in the world.[3]

As you can hopefully see, to answer this question we aimed to not reinvent the wheel. The call of every Christian is twofold—(1) love the Lord God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength, and (2) love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34–40; Mark 12:29–31; Luke 10:25–28). These are the two most important tasks for us as Christians. We only know God and carry out this call through Jesus. The normative context for carrying out this call through Jesus is the local church.

The three-dimensional life of the local church of Jesus Christ is the natural ecosystem in which we live out the call to love God and love our neighbor. The church exists to joyfully love and worship God together in truth, to build itself up in love and in truth by ministering to one another within the body, and to spread the love of God and love for God in truth to the lost (John 4:23–24; Ephesians 3:10; 4:1–16; Matthew 28:18–20; 1 Timothy 3:15). Or, in short, the church exists to worship God, buildup one another within the body, and evangelize the lost.[4] In the past, we’ve expressed this three-dimensional purpose of the church here at DGCC as (1) expressing joy in Christ, (2) deepening joy in Christ, and (3) spreading joy in Christ. So this is what we aim to make our gospel practice. So you see, it’s nothing novel. It is the same, simple, reproducible gospel practice and rhythm that the local church has embraced since its founding.

In the last post, we considered seeing Jesus together as a family. Here consider sharing Jesus with one another as his disciples. In the next post, we will consider showing Jesus.

 

By Sharing Jesus with One Another as His Disciples

This gospel practice speaks to our discipleship within the body. That is, it speaks to the building up the body of Christ through our ministry to one another through sharing Jesus with one another. Through the gospel, God has truly, spiritually unified all believers and purified all believers in Christ  (1 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:16; 4:4). This unity and purity most visibly expresses itself in the life of the local church. And the gospel calls local churches to build upon that unity and purity—to live it out more and more, to grow in unity and grow in purity. We do this by building up one another in the love of Christ that we “may be filled with all the fullness of God,” that is, until we attain to “the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 3:19; 4:1–16).

“The fullness of God” and “the fullness of Christ” speak to Christian maturity. To that end, God has given us gifts to equip us for the work of ministry in order to build up the body (Romans12:4–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 27–31; 14:2; Ephesians 4:4–16; 1 Peter 4:711). And when we engage in ministry with one another and use our gifts to build up the body, we are more specifically building up one another’s faith in Jesus and the knowledge of God’s love for us in him (Ephesians 4:15–16). Indeed, Paul makes clear in his prayer for the Ephesians that the key to growing in Christian maturity, “the fullness of God,” is growing in the knowledge of God’s love for us in Christ (Ephesians 3:14–19). Thus, by our gifts we point one another back to the gospel and back to Jesus, who through the Holy Spirit gives these gifts to us in the first place. In this way, we share more than just our gifts with one another. We actually share Jesus himself. Indeed, the language of sharing Jesus in our gospel practice rises from this reality in Scripture.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul declares his eagerness to share both gospel of Jesus and himself with other saints.

So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

Sharing Jesus with fellow saints is bound up with the sharing of ourselves. Elsewhere Paul makes clear that the sharing of his spiritual gifts with fellow saints ties directly to encouragement in and increase of faith in Jesus for both those with whom he shares and himself (Romans 1:11–12). Indeed, sharing Jesus is what builds up the local church in unity and purity and, thus, shapes the church more into the fullness of Christ. Therefore, in all aspects of our church life we desire to and aim to share Jesus. And of course, we aim to do this with one another.

Scripture makes clear, that the life of the local church is marked by loving, serving, and sharing Jesus with one another. We are to

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor (Romans 12:10)

Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)

welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you (Roman 15:7)

through love serve one another (Galatians 5:15)

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32)

encourage one another and build one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Thus, we desire and aim to share Jesus with one another just as the church of Christ has always done.

Finally, and importantly, we do this as his disciples. Indeed, it is this love toward one another in Christ that marks people as Jesus’ disciples.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).

And in this way, we have come full circle. The local church is made up of disciples who make disciples. All of our sharing Jesus to build up one another in the body of Christ is the gospel practice of discipleship. This falls in line with Christ’s commission to his disciples to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). As God’s people, we are followers of Jesus—disciples. And we desire to grow more and more and conform more and more into the likeness Jesus. Therefore, we disciple one another through sharing Jesus with one another. And the normative, natural ecosystem for discipleship, by God’s design, is the local church. Therefore, we lean into this reality by saying, we aim to share Jesus with one another as his disciples.

 

Sharing Jesus with One Another as His Disciples

So taking this aspect of our gospel practice and adding it to our gospel pursuit, we at DGCC joyfully treasure Christ and prayerfully pursue Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit by sharing Jesus with one another as his disciples.

 

 

 

[1] “seeing” Exod 33:18–19; 34:5–9; Isa 6:1–5; Ps 27:4; John 14:810; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:6; “family” Gen 12:3; 28:14; 2 Sam 7:12–13; 1 Chr 17:11–14; Ps 22:27; 87; Jer 32:39; Mark 3:31–35; 10:29–31; Acts 3:38–39; Rom 8:15–16, 29; Gal 3:28–4:7; 6:10; Eph 2:19–22; 1 Tim 5:8; Heb 3:6; 1 Pet 2:5

[2] The various Greek words that convey  “sharing” occur often in the context of the faith community. That is, Christians share in Christ with one another in the faith as disciples. And therefore, they share with one another Christ, his gospel, his good gifts, etc. For example 1 Thess 2:8—So, being affectionately desirous of you we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” Christians, then, as disciples share Christ through love, service, and building up one another. For examples of this concept see: John 13:34–35; 15:12, 17; Acts 2:42–47; Romans 12:3–13; 15:7, 14; 1 Corinthians 12:4–7, 25–26; 13; 14:1–3, 12; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:13; Eph 4:1–16; 5:19, 21; Colossians 3:1–4, 12–17, 18–25; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9, 18; 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Titus 2:4–8 ; Hebrews 3:13; 10:25; James 5:16; 1 Peter 1:22; 4:8–10; 5:1–5, 19; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12; 2 John 5

[3] “showing…as witnesses” particularly the Greek φανερόω (show, make known) often occurs outside the context of the faith community. That is, Christians “show” Christ and his gospel to those in the world, those outside the faith and outside the Church. For example, “But thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads/shows (φανερόω) the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. Also, “all peoples”; and “witnesses”; Genesis 12:1–3; 22:15–18; Leviticus 19:18, 34; Psalms 22:27; 87; Isaiah 49:1–7; 52:7; 61:1–2; Joel 2:28–32; Matthew 5:16; 9:37–38; 10:18; 24:14; 28:16–20; Luke 21:12–13; 24:45–48; John 1:7–8, 15, 32, 34; 3:11; 13:35; 15:26–27; Acts 1:8; 2:22; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39, 41, 43; 13:31, 46–47 (cf. Isa 49:1–7); 26:16; Romans 1:16; 10:9–10, 14–15; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:6; 1 Peter 3:15–16; 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:5

[4] Time Challies offers simple, helpful, and thoughtful insight that cuts through the common misconceptions of the day regarding the local church. See “What’s the Purpose…of the Church?”. 

DGCC’s Vision Part IV: Seeing Jesus Together as a Family

Preface

Why We Exist: Gospel Purpose

Our mission statement at DGCC says the following:

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

This is why we exist. This has been DGCC’s identity from the time it was planted twenty years ago. This is our gospel purpose. And, by God’s grace, this will be DGCC’s gospel purpose for the next twenty years and beyond. The question is, though, what exactly do we aim to do in order to live out this gospel purpose.

 

What We Do: Gospel Pursuit

For the past several months the Vision Team here at DGCC has met regularly to pray and discern DGCC’s vision for the foreseeable future. Essentially, the Vision Team aimed to articulate what we do, that is, our gospel pursuit. And, by God’s grace, in our most recent members meeting, the Vision Team shared with our fellow members the vision we believe God has led us to. This statement below captures that vision.

We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture birthed this statement. Specifically, Ephesians 3:14–21 became the foundational text that informed and shaped this vision statement. I unpacked that passage over three previous posts: DGCC’s Vision Part I, Part II, and Part III.

Here I outline how we accomplish our vision or our gospel pursuit. We do so through our gospel practice.

 

Gospel Practice: How we do it

So our mission statement and our vision statement make clear what our gospel purpose is and what our gospel pursuit is, respectively, at DGCC. Our gospel purpose is who we are and our gospel pursuit is what we do. But how do we aim to do this? Our Vision Team at DGCC felt it was necessary to answer this question as well. So to go along with our gospel purpose and gospel pursuit, we also articulated our gospel practice to answer the question, “How will we glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit”? We, DGCC, will do this

By seeing Jesus together as a family.[1]

By sharing Jesus with one another as his disciples.[2]

By showing Jesus to all peoples as his witnesses in our neighborhood, in Charlotte, and in the world.[3]

As you can hopefully see, to answer this question we aimed to not reinvent the wheel. The call of every Christian is twofold—(1) love the Lord God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength, and (2) love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34–40; Mark 12:29–31; Luke 10:25–28). These are the two most important tasks for us as Christians. We only know God and carry out this call through Jesus. The normative context for carrying out this call through Jesus is the local church.

The three-dimensional life of the local church of Jesus Christ is the natural ecosystem in which we live out the call to love God and love our neighbor. The church exists to joyfully love and worship God together in truth, to build itself up in love and in truth by ministering to one another within the body, and to spread the love of God and love for God in truth to the lost (John 4:23–24; Ephesians 3:10; 4:1–16; Matthew 28:18–20; 1 Timothy 3:15). Or, in short, the church exists to worship God, buildup one another within the body, and evangelize the lost.[4] In the past, we’ve expressed this three-dimensional purpose of the church here at DGCC as (1) expressing joy in Christ, (2) deepening joy in Christ, and (3) spreading joy in Christ. So this is what we aim to make our gospel practice. So you see, it’s nothing novel. It is the same, simple, reproducible gospel practice and rhythm that the local church has embraced since its founding.

Here, we consider seeing Jesus together as a family. In subsequent posts we will consider sharing Jesus and showing Jesus.

 

By Seeing Jesus Together as a Family in Our Corporate Worship

This gospel practice speaks to our corporate worship of the Triune God. But the language leans into the reality that we only come to know God through the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. Indeed, seeing Jesus is what saves us and changes us. Consider the following passages.

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).

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).

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1).

As these passages make clear, seeing Jesus is what transforms and conforms us into his very image. Indeed, this is the eschatological destiny of every Christian—looking like Jesus.

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).

Therefore, in all aspects of our corporate worship, we desire to and aim to see Jesus. Thus, God’s Word in the Bible and the gospel of Jesus saturates our corporate worship. From our singing, to our prayers, to our taking part in the Lord’s supper, to our baptism, and certainly to our expositional, gospel-centered preaching, God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus shapes and soaks our worship. We desire and aim to see Jesus. And, importantly, we do this together as a family.

In Christ, God has adopted us as his children (Romans 8:15). Again, Scripture overflows with this reality that we are God’s family in Christ. In Christ, we are brothers and sisters, members of God’s household (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 2:19; 1 Peter 2:5; cf. 2 Samuel 7:13; 1 Chronicles 17:12). In Christ, God has made good on his covenantal promises and made us all Abraham’s offspring (Galatians 3:29; cf. Genesis 17:5; 28:14). Jesus himself notes that we are his family (Mark 3:31–35). Thus, when we gather to see Jesus in our corporate worship of our Triune God, we do so together as a family.

To this end, we intentionally shape our liturgy (our order of service) to reflect our common kinship. From our opening gospel welcome and responsive call to worship to our final benediction and closing call and response—and every Scripture reading and prayer that falls in between—we aim to imbue our service with familial hospitality and the participation of all members. This gospel won family reality then spills over into our fellowship after service. We are a family in Christ, and we see Jesus most readily together as a family in our corporate worship.

Seeing Jesus Together as a Family

At DGCC, we joyfully treasure Christ and prayerfully pursue Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit by seeing Jesus together as a family.

 

[1] “seeing” Exod 33:18–19; 34:5–9; Isa 6:1–5; Ps 27:4; John 14:810; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:6; “family” Gen 12:3; 28:14; 2 Sam 7:12–13; 1 Chr 17:11–14; Ps 22:27; 87; Jer 32:39; Mark 3:31–35; 10:29–31; Acts 3:38–39; Rom 8:15–16, 29; Gal 3:28–4:7; 6:10; Eph 2:19–22; 1 Tim 5:8; Heb 3:6; 1 Pet 2:5

[2] The various Greek words that convey  “sharing” occur often in the context of the faith community. That is, Christian’s share in Christ with one another in the faith as disciples. And therefore, they share with one another Christ, his gospel, his good gifts, etc. For example 1 Thess 2:8—So, being affectionately desirous of you we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”; John 13:34–35; 15:12, 17; Acts 2:42–47; Romans 12:3–13; 15:7, 14; 1 Corinthians 12:4–7, 25–26; 13; 14:1–3, 12; 2 Cor 13:11; Galatians 5:13; Eph 4:1–16; 5:19, 21; Colossians 3:1–4, 12–17, 18–25; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9, 18; 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Titus 2:4–8 ; Hebrews 3:13; 10:25; James 5:16; 1 Peter 1:22; 4:8–10; 5:1–5, 19; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12; 2 John 5

[3] “showing…as witnesses” particularly the Greek φανερόω (show, make known) often occurs outside the context of the faith community. That is, Christians “show” Christ and his gospel to those in the world, those outside the faith and outside the Church. For example, “But thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads/shows (φανερόω) the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. Also, “all peoples”; and “witnesses”; Genesis 12:1–3; 22:15–18; Leviticus 19:18, 34; Psalms 22:27; 87; Isaiah 49:1–7; 52:7; 61:1–2; Joel 2:28–32; Matthew 5:16; 9:37–38; 10:18; 24:14; 28:16–20; Luke 21:12–13; 24:45–48; John 1:7–8, 15, 32, 34; 3:11; 13:35; 15:26–27; Acts 1:8; 2:22; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39, 41, 43; 13:31, 46–47 (cf. Isa 49:1–7); 26:16; Romans 1:16; 10:9–10, 14–15; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:6; 1 Peter 3:15–16; 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:5

[4] Tim Challies offers simple, helpful, and thoughtful insight that cuts through the common misconceptions of the day regarding the local church. See “What’s the Purpose of…the Church?”.

Words for Those Waiting for His Rescue

The Greatest Threat to our Life

We just heard a rousing sermon Sunday from Pastor Jacob titled, “The Cry of Faith: Help my Unbelief” from Mark 9:14-29. One of the early takeaways from the sermon was this, “Unbelief is the greatest threat of your life!”

Do you believe that?

In our heart of hearts, I suspect many of us think of that statement with the same sort of perplexity the crowd likely had hearing Jesus’ first words to the paralyzed man, “My son, your sins are forgiven,” (Mark 2:5).

Perhaps they thought, “Forgiven sins? Jesus, this man needs miraculous healing – a rescue from paralysis.” In this case, the obvious rescue came quickly. As we know, Jesus said a few moments later, “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home,” (Mark 2:11). We see the instantaneous results, “And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:12). Don’t miss though the purpose statement of why Jesus said, “your sins are forgiven” and then spoke the healing. Just a verse before Jesus uttered those powerful words of healing, He stated the purpose behind it all, “…that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”.

That was the crux of everything at that moment. The paralyzed man, his friends, the questioning scribes, and the larger crowd needed to know and believe in Jesus’ identity and purpose. They needed to know and believe Jesus was the Son of Man who had authority to forgive sins. This was more crucial than the physical need for rescue from paralysis. There was ignorance and unbelief in Jesus at work, and therefore an eternal need for rescue.

We may admittedly think, “Yeah, I have issues with unbelief in my life, but it pales in comparison to the life-altering trials I’m currently enduring.” However, unbelief is a root buried under all of our sins, it robs us of our joy in Christ, it can quench the Spirit’s power and work in our lives, and it blunts our maturity in the faith. For those who are not born-again believers, unbelief in Jesus is the urgent and eternal barrier that must be overcome by the grace of God. Whether we’ve believed in Christ or not, unbelief is the crucial, foundational point from which we all need rescue. We must come to the point of knowing that God through Christ and by His Spirit is both powerful enough and that it’s His gracious will to ultimately rescue us.

Fighting Against Unbelief as we Wait on His Rescue

But how do we fight against unbelief and seasons of doubt in our lives as we endure trials, especially when His rescue seems to delay?

Again, Pastor Jacob gave some great points of application I want to highlight and expand on a bit.

1) Realize we’re in a spiritual battle, so we desperately need God. When we realize that for non-believers there is a war going on for their souls, then we realize how much we need Jesus to intervene. As believers, when we recognize that a war’s being waged to distract and tempt us to mar the name of Christ and His bride, and to divide and neutralize our effectiveness through depression, demoralization, moral failure, and false teaching- then we understand we desperately need God.

2) Recognize that as we’re needy for Jesus’ help we can be His instrument to help others. God works mightily through those who know they need Him and rely on Him. This makes sense since we’re made to glorify Him and help others find their greatest joy is found in Him. Sometimes our moment of realizing our greatest need for God can be a moment of fruitful work. That’s because in that moment, we’ll be less likely to bring any credit or glory to ourselves. As believers, we all have an opportunity to point others to the ways we’ve seen God’s faithfulness in our own difficult seasons and to comfort them with His comfort we’ve received directly and through others. This stepping out in faith to bless others is a way to fight against doubts and despair when our own trials are raging and our rescue is delayed.

3) Recognize God is working in our waiting. Sometimes with delays, it’s easy to feel God has forgotten us, or isn’t willing or able to rescue us. Biblically though, this we see lots of delays in God’s timing.

  • The Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years before God redeemed them through Moses (Exodus 12:40).
  • The exiles remained in Babylon 70 years before the first of them were able to return to Israel.
  • The man born blind was an adult before he was healed and believed (John 9).
  • Lazarus got sick and was dead 4 days before Jesus came and resurrected Him (John 11).
  • The woman suffered with an issue of blood for 12 years before receiving Jesus’ healing (Mark 5:25).
  • Jesus’ arrival on earth came after 400 years of silence from prophets and thousands of years after He was foretold. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son…” (Galatians 4:4)

God’s timing and His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). In His love, sovereign power, and omniscience He delays His rescue for the most opportune moment. While He delays, He works in His children to reveal unbelief, grow our faith, and make us more like Christ.

4) Recognize God has guaranteed an eternal rescue in Christ. Scripture does promise trials and hardships as we follow Jesus and does not promise a clean rescue from every one on this side of heaven. But, Christ Jesus does act as the Chief and Good Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4; John 10:11, 27-29) to carry us throughout our lives and ensure that our faith He’s gifted us will endure to the end. Paul toward the end of his life beautifully articulates this kind of confident attitude during crisis. In 2 Timothy, as he is nearing his execution, he says these words,

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:16-18)

This didn’t mean he’d be spared from being martyred for Christ. It did mean, not even death could stop God’s loving plans for rescue into His heavenly kingdom.

5) Recognize we must pray. In each of previous points, I hope you’ve sensed the necessity of Pastor Jacob’s final imperative Sunday to pray. If we’re dealing with cosmic forces of darkness, we need to pray for Christ’s protection and deliverance. If we’re to get beyond ourselves and see the opportunity to bless others, we need the Lord’s strength and wisdom. When our patience and faith and hope is running dry as we wait, we need to pray for God’s perspective and help to trust His perfect timing. We need to pray to keep our eyes focused on Christ and the eternal joy and rescue set before us in His presence.

This weekend, as we’re waiting for God’s rescue in circumstantial and spiritual ways both individually and as DGCC, we’ve got a chance to put our faith into action through prayer. We’ll have an opportunity for a corporate prayer of confession in our worship service. We’ll also have a joint time of prayer after lunch. Then we’ll send a group off to prayer walk around our church neighborhood. We’re even planning for a handful of people to stay back to pray that God’s Spirit would lead those walking to God-glorifying interactions.

As we pray together and seek His face, by His grace we’ll grow in our faith and will see the cry to rescue positively answered, “I believe, help my unbelief!”

DGCC’s Vision Part III: In the Love of the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit

Preface

Why We Exist: Gospel Purpose

Our mission statement at DGCC says the following:

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

This is why we exist. This is our gospel purpose. This has been DGCC’s identity from the time it was planted 20 years ago. And, by God’s grace, this will be DGCC’s gospel purpose for the next 20 years and beyond. The question is, what exactly do we aim to do to live out this gospel purpose.

 

What We Do: Gospel Pursuit

For the past several months the Vision Team here at DGCC has met regularly to pray and discern DGCC’s vision for the foreseeable future. Essentially, the Vision Team aimed to articulate what we do, our gospel pursuit. And, by God’s grace, in our most recent members meeting, the Vision Team shared with our fellow members the vision we believe God has led us to. This statement below captures that vision.

We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture birthed this statement. Specifically, Ephesians 3:14–21 became the foundational text that informed and shaped this vision statement. Over the next several blog posts, I will unpack this vision statement. And I aim to do that by unpacking Ephesians 3:14–21 in order to (1) reveal the wonderful truths within this glorious prayer of Paul and to (2) hold those truths up as a glorious vision for the saints of DGCC.[1]

In our initial post, we considered the core of this vision: We glorify God. In the second installment of this series, we considered the means by which we glorify God: by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness. Now, here in the third post of this series, we will consider the final portion of our vision statement: in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Paul’s Petitions in Ephesians 3:14–21

In the first two articles regarding our visions, I observed the following:

So, Paul’s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God’s glory (Ephesians 3:21). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this: We glorify God. And here in Paul’s prayer, we see what Paul prayed for so that the Ephesians would do just that. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would (1) have Christ dwell in their hearts through faith, or treasure Christ, and (2) reach full spiritual maturity as Christians, or be Christlike.

Thus, the purpose of Paul’s petitions is for the Ephesians to treasure Christ and grow in Christlikeness all for the glory of God. But what makes this treasuring and this conformity to Christ possible? For that, we consider Paul’s petitions themselves. What are those petitions? We’ve noted them in our previous articles. Let’s revisit them.

Paul makes two petitions in his prayer to God the Father on behalf of the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:14–21: (1) Holy Spirit power and (2) a greater revelation of God’s love. First, Paul prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with power through the Holy Spirit. Second, he prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power to grasp and know God the Father’s love for them in Christ.[2] Paul petitions God on behalf of the Ephesians for the power of the Holy Spirit and a greater revelation of God’s love for them in Christ. More power and more knowledge of God’s love.

 

Holy Spirit Power

Paul first prays for the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen the Ephesians — “that…he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16). We have already unpacked the purpose of this power in the previous post. The purpose of this request is that the Ephesians would treasure Christ even more — “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17). But consider the reality of this request. As Christians we should treasure Christ in our hearts. Christ should take up permanent “residence” and make our hearts his home, and we should conform more to him and his ways as he has greater and greater influence on our hearts.[3] However, given Paul’s prayer, we are incapable of doing this without God acting on our behalf. We cannot rightly treasure Christ without power from the Holy Spirit. Or, to say it positively, we need power from the Holy Spirit to treasure Christ.

 

Revelation of the God’s Love

Paul makes a second petition that grows out of his petition for power through the Holy Spirit. Paul asks that the Ephesians would have a greater knowledge of God’s love for them in Christ — “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:17–19). Again, we have already unpacked the purpose of this greater revelation of God’s love. The purpose of this petition is that the Ephesians would grow in spiritual maturity, that they would become more and more Christlike — “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19; 4:13). But again, consider the reality of this request. Christians should grow in spiritual maturity. Christians should become more and more Christlike. Christians should pursue holiness and Christlikeness. However, given Paul’s prayer, we are incapable of doing this without God acting on on our behalf. We cannot rightly become Christlike or pursue Christlikeness without a greater revelation and knowledge of God’s love for us.

Carson notes the following regarding the nature of this knowledge of God’s love: “This cannot be merely an intellectual exercise. Paul is not asking that his readers might become more able to articulate the greatness of God’s love in Christ Jesus…He is asking God that they might have the power to grasp the dimensions of that love in their experience.”[4] The measure of this love is, well, immeasurable. Therefore, Carson rightly observes that Paul “resorts to metaphor and then to paradox” in order to try and describe it.[5] God’s love for us in Christ is multi-dimensional — “the breadth and length and height and depth” (Ephesians 3:18). God’s love for us in Christ cannot be bound by knowledge — “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). We could never, on our own, grasp this love. We need God to reveal it to us. Only in the knowledge of God’s love for us can grow in spiritual maturity. We need a greater revelation of God’s love for us to become more Christlike.

 

Conclusion: In the Love of the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit

So, Paul’s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God’s glory (Ephesians 3:21). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this: We glorify God. And in Paul’s prayer, we see the purpose of his petitions for the Ephesians — (1) that they would treasure Christ and (2) that they would be Christlike. And according to Ephesians 3:14–21, the two things that make this possible, the two petitions Paul laid before God were (1) power from the Holy Spirit and (2) a greater revelation of God’s love. When these two petitions are considered together, we clearly see that we are completely dependent upon God to treasure Christ and pursue Christlikeness. As Carson notes, “Paul assumes that we cannot be as spiritually mature as we ought to be unless we receive power from God to enable us to grasp the limitless dimension of the love of Christ.”[6] We need the power of the Holy Spirit and we the knowledge of God’s love for us in Christ in order to treasure Christ and pursue Christlikeness.

Therefore, we at DGCC make this our aim: We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness. And we recognize the only way we are able to do this is in complete dependence upon God, that is, in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[1] Exegesis of this passage was aided by and leans heavily on Carson, who unpacks this passage in D. A. Carson, Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), 159–81.

[2] Carson, Praying with Paul, 161.

[3] Carson, Praying with Paul, 163–64.

[4] Carson, Praying with Paul, 168.

[5] Carson, Praying with Paul, 169.

[6] Carson, Praying with Paul, 173. Emphasis mine.

DGCC’s Vision Part II: Joyfully Treasuring Christ and Prayerfully Pursuing Christlikeness

Preface

Why We Exist: Gospel Purpose

Our mission statement at DGCC says the following:

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

This is why we exist. This is our gospel purpose. This has been DGCC’s identity from the time it was planted 20 years ago. And, by God’s grace, this will be DGCC’s gospel purpose for the next 20 years and beyond. The question is, what exactly do we aim to do to live out this gospel purpose.

 

What We Do: Gospel Pursuit

For the past several months the Vision Team here at DGCC has met regularly to pray and discern DGCC’s vision for the foreseeable future. Essentially, the Vision Team aimed to articulate what we do, our gospel pursuit. And, by God’s grace, in our most recent members meeting, the Vision Team shared with our fellow members the vision we believe God has led us to. This statement below captures that vision.

We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture birthed this statement. Specifically, Ephesians 3:14–21 became the foundational text that informed and shaped this vision statement. Over the next several blog posts, I will unpack this vision statement. And I aim to do that by unpacking Ephesians 3:14–21 in order to (1) reveal the wonderful truths within this glorious prayer of Paul and to (2) hold those truths up as a glorious vision for the saints of DGCC.[1]

In our initial post, we considered the core of this vision: We glorify God. Here in the second installment of this series, we consider the following portion of our vision statement: by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness.

 

Purpose of Paul’s Petitions in Ephesians 3:14–21

Paul’s prayer to God on behalf of the Ephesians ultimately aims at glorifying God. But what exactly does Paul request of God on behalf of the Ephesians? Paul makes two petitions in his prayer to God the Father on behalf of the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:14–21. First, Paul prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power. Second, he prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power to grasp and know God the Father’s love for them in Christ.[2] But these petitions are not ends in themselves. Paul makes these each of these petitions for specific purposes: the treasuring of Christ and Christlikeness. We can apply those purposes to all Christians, including us.

 

First Purpose: Treasuring Christ

First, Paul prays for the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen the Ephesians in order that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:14–17).[3] Thus, we as Christians need Holy Spirit power in order that Christ would dwell more richly in our hearts, that he would have the throne of our hearts, and that he might begin to shape and mold our hearts, fashioning them to reflect his desires. Carson likens this to remodeling a recently purchased, dilapidated house in order to make it a permanent, livable, lovely home, that is intentionally shaped and curated to the renovator’s specifications, desires, and purposes.[4] Thus, we as Christians need the power of the Holy Spirit to open up even more of our hearts to our king so that he would have full access to “take up residence in our hearts as we exercise faith in him.”[5] This exercise of faith in Christ so that he dwells in our hearts is the treasuring of Christ above all things and submitting ourselves to him (Philippians 3:7–8). Because Jesus is our greatest treasure, this isn’t done begrudgingly, but joyfully (Philippians 3:1). In short, we as Christians need the Holy Spirit’s power in order that we might joyfully treasure Christ more.

 

Second Purpose: Christlikeness

Second, Paul prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power to know God’s love for them in order that they might be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18–19).[6] Being “filled with all the fullness of God” refers to Christian maturity (Ephesians 4:11–14).[7] Elsewhere, Paul uses the phrase “fullness of Christ” to make the same point (Ephesians 4:13). Thus, we as Christians need the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen us to know spiritually, emotionally, experientially, and intellectually God’s love for us in Christ in order to grow in our maturity as Christians—in order to become more Christlike.[8] Indeed, the entire Christian life aims at Christlikeness—conformity to the Son—which God has predestined (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:9; 1 John 3:2–3). Therefore, we as Christians live out our identity in Christ by actively pursuing Christlikeness. Notably, though, we are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to give us this greater revelation of God the Father’s love for us in Christ. Therefore, our pursuit of Christlikeness is a prayerful pursuit. In short, we as Christians need the Holy Spirit’s power and a deeper knowledge of God’s love for us in Christ in order that we might grow in Christlikeness.

 

Conclusion: Joyfully Treasuring Christ and Prayerfully Pursuing Christlikeness

So, Paul’s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God’s glory (Ephesians 3:21). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this: We glorify God. And here in Paul’s prayer, we see what Paul prayed for so that the Ephesians would do just that. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would (1) have Christ dwell in their hearts through faith, or treasure Christ, and (2) reach full spiritual maturity as Christians, or be Christlike.

According to Ephesians 3:14–21, then, Christians glorify God by treasuring Christ and pursuing Christlikeness. This treasuring of Christ is a joyful treasuring of Christ rising from deep gratitude for God’s kindness toward us in Christ (Ephesians 5:20). And this pursuit of Christlikeness is a prayerful pursuit that recognizes our utter dependence on God to fill us with all his fullness (Ephesians 3:14–21).

Therefore, we at DGCC make this our aim: We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness.

 

[1] Exegesis of this passage was aided by and leans heavily on Carson, who unpacks this passage in D. A. Carson, Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), 159–81.

[2] Carson, Praying with Paul, 161.

[3] See Carson on this point in Carson, Praying with Paul, 163–67.

[4] Carson, Praying with Paul, 163–64.

[5] Carson, Praying with Paul, 164.

[6] See Carson on this point in Carson, Praying with Paul, 167–76. Especially 172.

[7] Carson, Praying with Paul, 172.

[8] Carson, Praying with Paul, 173.