Category: The Word (Page 17 of 34)

A Community Where the Spirit Lives

December 22, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Most Christians know the church isn’t the building. But not as many know the church is a community indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, how we treat the church is of utmost importance.

The mid-1^st century A.D. Corinthian church members to whom Paul is writing are divided over preachers. They base their preference on “human wisdom (Sophia)”. Which preacher stands above the others in philosophy and rhetoric? By this time, Paul, having left Corinth for Ephesus, languishes at the bottom of the preference-list, because his speaking is unimpressive and in person he’s weak (2 Corinthians 10:10).

Paul answers his critics . . .

DIVIDING IS UNSPIRITUAL BEHAVIOR

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

The problem, says Paul, doesn’t lie with him, but with them. They have the Spirit, but don’t behave as those who do. They disagree and fault Paul, who preached only gospel-basics, because, like babies, they couldn’t “digest” more. Their divisiveness proves him correct.

Our common sharing in the Holy Spirit (“ , , , all [were] baptized by one Spirit into one body . . . and all were given the one Spirit to drink”–1 Corinthians 12:13) should unite us. Too often, however, we quarrel and divide. Thus we act like children, especially when we dispute over leaders, because . . .

LEADERS ARE SERVANTS

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).

Corinthians are exalting one preacher over another. But leaders are only servants. Like farmers. One plants, another waters. But growth—that is, faith as the Lord assigns—comes from God. Make much, then, about God, not his servants!

Leaders are also like builders. Builders are servants who, like farmers, “get their hands dirty”. And the building belongs to God, not the servant-builders.

Our culture makes it hard for a leader to think like a servant. People respect you. Your word is usually final in decision-making. Dozens of eyes look to you when you preach. The really successful churches are “mega” and the pastor a celebrity. Leaders easily clothe themselves with self-importance. Here’s what the Spirit leads you to do: take off the “royal robe” and put on the servant’s shirt! The gospel of the crucified Christ is at stake in the leader’s demeanor.

LEADERS MUST BUILD CAREFULLY

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Paul claims to have founded the Corinthian church “like a skilled master builder.” No boast, because he was enabled by the grace God gave him. Now that he’s left, “someone else is building” on the foundation he laid. Paul warns: choose to build with care, because if your building doesn’t line up with Jesus Christ crucified, God’s Judgment Day fire will burn up what you’ve built.

Corinthians were caught up with “wisdom”–human philosophy about where we’ve come from, how we can know truth, what we should value and how we should think—delivered by polished orators. Now, with the Holy Spirit, Corinthians presumed to possess superior human wisdom and preferred preachers with superior oratorical skill. Relying on those traits was like building with wood, hay and straw.

Preachers today are pressured to build big churches and speak with spellbinding skill. The message “how to be happy” builds bigger churches than “Christ crucified”. The pastor who dresses in the current style and speaks like a talk-show host attracts more listeners than a suit-wearing, arm-waving preacher-man. And if the pastor can find a “great” contemporary worship “band”, he’s got it made. But the church is “the community of the Spirit”. And the Spirit always leads us to the crucified Christ. Leaders who rely on the Spirit build with “gold, silver and precious stones.” What they build will stand in the Judgment. But those who rely on what’s popular are building what will burn.

Divisiveness among members and reliance on inferior “building material” are especially egregious because . . .

THE CHURCH IS GOD’S HOLY TEMPLE

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple (1 Corinthians 3:16,17).

Paul defines “God’s temple” as the people among whom “God’s Spirit” dwells. The church is a community of the Spirit. “God’s temple” means not only that the church belongs to God, but that the church (the gathered people) is indwelt by God (be means of the Holy Spirit). Significantly, for “temple”, he uses not hieron (the temple as a whole), but naos (the inner sanctuary where God dwells).

Destroy God’s temple by divisiveness or by building with teaching contrary to that of the crucified Christ and, Paul warns, “God will destroy [you]”.

The church isn’t only “a community of the Word” where people gather to hear the Bible preached. The church is “a community of the Spirit” where people gather to enter the presence of God the Holy Spirit.

When we enter the sanctuary (“meeting room” demeans what God intends), we should be careful to foster a sense of unity, never divisiveness. And we should actively seek the presence of the Spirit as we worship. For he always leads us to the crucified Christ by whom we are saved from boastful pride and sanctified in humility like our Lord.

Secret Wisdom

December 15, 2016 / Allan Babcock

So, are we fools? Is the cross-message nonsense? Are its preachers idiots? No. No. And no. We who believe in Jesus Christ have received God’s wisdom.

Of course, our popular culture doesn’t prize wisdom. That’s obvious from bestseller lists, college classroom lectures, and the following from “Psychology Today” magazine . . .

“ Psychologists tend to agree that [wisdom] involves an integration of knowledge, experience, and deep understanding that incorporates tolerance for the uncertainties of life as well as its ups and downs . . .Today, we turn to the internet for everything, with Wikipedia being our web-based wisdom, and Google providing the search capabilities that often surpass our failing memories . . . This raises many important questions, one of which is to what degree can we rely on web-based wisdom, perhaps at the expense of our own ‘human’ knowledge and memory?” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/metacognition-and-the-mind/201404/wisdom-ask-siri-or-ask-grandma).

Psychologists’ wisdom-definition is, well, foolish. As is the notion of seeking wisdom on the web. And the above-paragraph implies our only alternative to the web is wisdom found in “our own human knowledge and memory”.

Anyway, what’s the big deal? The name of the game now is information. That’s power. That’s success. Guess it depends on how you spell “success”. The world through its wisdom does not know God (1 Corinthians 1:21). Doesn’t sound like success to me.

Having rightly bashed human wisdom in 1:18-2:5, Paul now turns to commend God’s wisdom.

THE NATURE OF GOD’S WISDOM

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”– but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:6-10a).

Most will admit God is wise. He must be—he’s God! But most will understand God’s wisdom to be just superior human wisdom available to whomever searches for it.

Paul points out that God’s wisdom lies in a whole other category from “the wisdom of this age” or those whose influence shapes this age. Want proof? The “wise” movers and shakers of this age “crucified the Lord of glory”. Christ, who is wisdom incarnate, they executed like a common criminal—and would do the same today.

Furthermore, God’s wisdom leads to glory to which the human eye is blind, the human ear deaf, and to which the human mind cannot conceive. Enroll at Harvard, climb the highest mountain to the wisest sage, gather as much information as technologically possible and you’ll not discover God’s wisdom.

God’s wisdom is secret, hidden. And God reveals it only to those he gives the Spirit. You might disagree. Want God’s wisdom? Just read the Bible. It’s all there. True. But the human eye sees it there, hears it there and conceives it there only when the Spirit reveals it there. This is why some of our greatest intellectuals trash the Bible as foolishness.

KNOWING GOD’S SECRET WISDOM

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words (1 Corinthians 2:10b-13).

Unless I tell you, you don’t know what I’m thinking. In the same way, only God knows God’s thoughts. In fact, we don’t even understand what God has freely given us. Oh, we can read about the gift of his Son and hear it heralded again this Christmas. But Jesus’ birth is just a sweet, sentimental story and his crucifixion a political miscalculation on his part (or some vague means for our forgiveness, whatever that means) unless we receive “the Spirit who is from God.” Only he reveals to our sin-darkened mind the significance of Jesus’ birth and death. Only he enables us to appreciate the value of “what God has freely given us.”

Even “charismatic” orators can’t break through our mental sin-haze. Only words “taught by the Spirit” (the Scriptures themselves and the words of an ordinary preacher deliberately dependent on the Spirit) can “express (God’s) spiritual truths”.

And we receive the Spirit when we trust our lives to the crucified Christ and depend on the Spirit to transform us.

PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16).

In some Christian circles, the Spirit is the forgotten member of the Trinity. But not to Paul. Elaborating on the contrast between the apostle’s message of wisdom and the wisdom of the age (1:6), Paul argues that the absence of the Spirit (“the man without the Spirit”) prohibits a person from accepting and understanding the things that come from the Spirit. Such a person cannot discern what God is doing in the world. Not because his IQ is embarrassingly low. Nor because he’s half-hearted about God. Because he is “without the Spirit.”

“The spiritual man” isn’t a superior category of Christian. “The spiritual man” is simply a Christian, a believer in the crucified Christ, a man with the Spirit, a sinner empowered by the Spirit to accept and understand what God is doing in the world.

To say it as Paul does, “the spiritual man” is enabled to “make judgments” about (ascertain) what God is doing to save his people. At the same time, he’s not subject to the judgments of persons without the Spirit (“the message of the cross is foolishness”) because those persons are “without the Spirit”.

Or as Paul asks rhetorically, “ . . . who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” The un-Spirit man cannot know the mind of the Lord. “But we have the mind of Christ”. In other words, we who have the Spirit can know the mind of the Lord (the mind of the crucified Christ).

Why, we might ask, does Paul emphasize the Spirit when it comes to the message of the crucified Christ? Because for him, salvation is not only (or even primarily) “legal.” In Romans 3:through 5 he declares that sinners are “justified by faith” (declared right with God). That’s “legal” standing before God and his Law. But for Paul, salvation is experiential as well. And this transformation is affected by the Spirit.

THE CROSS AND THE SPIRIT

No, we’re not fools. We have God’s wisdom because we have God’s Spirit. And we have God’s Spirit because he has been freely given us by grace through faith in Christ. That calls us to live cross-centered. Which is to say, humbly. Willing to sacrifice. Embracing suffering remembering Christ suffered for us. And boasting only in Christ.

Does that mean we go around bragging that Christ is our Savior and Lord? No, I think it means we praise and worship him. Remembering we’re wise with Another’s wisdom. Remembering we’re being transformed by the Spirit. Remembering on that Day we won’t pride ourselves on how smart we were to get there. But worship him who graciously saved us by the Spirit.

Preaching Fools

December 8, 2016 / Allan Babcock

The ancient Greeks spread their philosophies (“wisdom”) through itinerant orators. We do it through the media.

“Collateral Beauty” is a soon-to-be-released movie about a man (Will Smith), “retreating from life after a tragedy, [who] questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4682786/).

A philosophy of life. That’s what this movie offers. We might mindlessly absorb it (hopefully not!). Or we might, as the Corinthian Christians did, boast that Christianity is the superior philosophy. Paul argues that Christianity isn’t a superior philosophy. Rather Christianity stands in a wholly other category than human wisdom.

In 1:18-31 Paul explains that “the message of the cross” isn’t superior human wisdom; it’s foolishness to those who are perishing”. Further, those who believe that message aren’t “wise” but, according to human standards, fools.

In 2:1-5 Paul continues. Gospel preachers aren’t the wisest orators; measured by human standards, they’re “fools”. As an example, Paul points to himself.

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God (1 Corinthians 2:1,2, NIV).

By “eloquence or human wisdom” Paul means he didn’t come to Corinth to distinguish himself. Eloquence (Greek huperoxay) refers to “excellent” or “superior” words. In this context, it implies superior words intended to impress. Paul, on the other hand, simply “proclaimed . . . the testimony about God.”

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling (1 Corinthians 2:2,3, NIV).

“For” introduces Paul’s reason for not coming “with eloquence or human wisdom”: he had determined to know only Jesus Christ and him crucified. As this letter will show, he did preach other truths about Christ. But Christ-crucified was his focus and his passion.

“I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.” While asthenia is often used of physical illness, it seems best to connect “weakness” to “great fear and trembling.” What could have so shaken Paul? He doesn’t explain. Perhaps the challenge of evangelizing such a big city corrupted by such dark immorality and idolatry. Whatever the cause, Paul knew the Corinthians (who were boasting about their “great preachers”) needed to hear this. His success in Corinth didn’t stem from his powerful oratory skills.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4,5, NIV).

Paul reminds the Corinthians he didn’t preach his message with persuasive words of wisdom. What marked his preaching “was a demonstration of the Spirit’s power”. The Corinthians were converted. They experienced the Spirit, evidenced by spiritual gifts. That was “a demonstration of the Spirit’s power”.

Why did God choose to work through a weak and fearfully trembling preacher whose oratory lacked the wisdom and persuasion of “wise philosophers”? “ . . . so that you might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

I’m reminded of Tim Keller. In 1989 Keller started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Today, Redeemer has more than five thousand regular attendees and has helped start almost two hundred churches around the world. Some time ago I watched one of their worship services online, expecting “something special”. Instead, I heard them sing hymns. I watched Keller preach conversationally. The service order was ordinary. And I realized what God was doing: “ . . . so that [the people’s] faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power”.

Dr. Gordon Fee comments on 1 Corinthians 2:4,5 . . .

“The message of the cross, which is folly to the ‘wise’, is the saving power of God to those who believe. The goal of all the divine activity, both in the cross and in choosing them, and now in Paul’s preaching that brought the cross and them together, has been to disarm the wise and powerful so that those who believe must trust God alone and completely” (The First Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 96).

“Collateral Beauty”. The movie, if the trailer is any indication, packs a punch. It draws us in. As crazy as Life, Time and Death personified may be, we identify with Smith as he searches for beauty and meaning, even in life’s tragedies. Subtly, a philosophy of life unfolds. It’s deceitful, however; because it argues that a tragedy-weakened man can fight back, can rise above his defeat, and can find meaning in life.

Christianity, on the other hand, declares humans weak. Meaning is found only in the message of Christ crucified. Believers in that message don’t become movie stars; they’re fools in the world’s eyes. Even their preachers are inferior without bragging rights.

But into the weakness of that message, faith comes. That faith is a demonstration, not of their power, but the Spirit’s. And with the Spirit comes conversion and the presence of the Spirit in the converted evidenced by gifts. And so they sing . . .

“’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
And, O my God, it found out me.”

And so they humbly confess . . .

“It is because of him that [we] are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God– that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30,31).

We’re one of those “fools”, right?

Grace-Rich Thanks

November 30, 2016 / Allan Babcock

By its completion in 1980, the Crystal Cathedral cost $18 million. Ten thousand glass panels “opened to the sky and the world” as televangelist Robert Schuller wanted. Opulent Lavish.

Image result for crystal cathedral

The Corinthians couldn’t have imagined such a building, Yet, they “have been enriched in every way” (1 Corinthians 1:5). For this, Paul tells them how he thanks God.

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:4, NIV).

In this thanksgiving paragraph, Paul accomplishes two goals. One, he tells the church how he gives thanks to God for them. He wants them to know, despite their problems, that he’s genuinely thankful for God’s grace among them. And, two, he redirects the Corinthians’ focus from their giftedness to the Giver, and from the present to the future.

He gives thanks to God, he explains, because God has lavished his grace on them in Christ Jesus. He has acted in great mercy to redeem these undeserving, guilty sinners.

By “grace” (Greek charis) Paul often means God’s free justification through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24)—what we often call “saving grace.” But here he means more–spiritual gifts (charisma) God has given. This is obvious from his following comments: “For in him you have been enriched in every way . . . Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift (charisma) . . . “ (1:5,7). The reason Paul thanks God for them, then, is the charis he has given them in Christ Jesus, specifically in the charisma.

For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge (1:5, NIV).

God’s grace in Christ, says Paul, has made the Corinthians rich “in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.” “Speaking” is the Greek logos ,“knowledge” the Greek gnosis. Why does Paul thank God for these graces in particular? Probably because these “graces” are the most evident among them. (Their abuse of these graces he will later reprove them for.)

What does Paul mean by “speaking and knowledge”? Later, in chapters 12-14 he uses both words of spiritual gifts (charisma). For example, in 12:8 he identifies “the message (logos) of knowledge” (gnosis). Other gifts (such as wisdom, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, tongues and the interpretation of tongues) also involve speaking knowledge one has been given. Such spiritual gifts are the specific “graces” God has given the Corinthians.

. . . because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you (1 Corinthians 1:6, NIV).

Paul is especially thankful because these charismata are evidence that “our testimony about Christ was confirmed”. They are signs of the Corinthians’ genuine faith in the gospel.

Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed (1 Corinthians 1:7, NIV).

With “you do not lack any spiritual gift”, Paul negatively repeats what he affirmed positively in 1:5, “For in him you have been enriched in every way . . . “

Here, though, he adds “as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed”. Why add this? Two reasons. One, for Paul salvation began with Christ’s incarnation and will be consummated at his return. Salvation, then, is eschatological. Two, the Corinthians are behaving as if everything promised in Christ is theirs now. Theologians call that “overrealized eschatology”. This has led to “triumphalism” (the idea that they will be “winners” in every life-situation) and, unsurprisingly, to spiritual pride. So Paul refocuses them on the coming revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ when salvation will be consummated and every promise fulfilled.

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8, NIV).

To continue refocusing them on the Lord, Paul assures them the Lord, not their “spirituality”, will cause them to be firm in the faith, so that on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ they will not fall under condemnation but be guiltless before God’s Law.

God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9, NIV).

With this statement, Paul summarizes everything expressed in this thanksgiving. The Corinthians will be found blameless on the day of Christ because God is faithful. God is faithful to save them by grace. God is faithful to give them grace-gifts for serving him and each other. God is faithful to keep them blameless in the judgment. For all this grace, God has faithfully put them “in Christ”.

Including into “fellowship with his Son”. They are not only positionally “in Christ”, they are relationally “with” Christ. Old believers spoke of this as “communion”—intimate sharing—with Jesus.

Give Thanks for “Grace-Rich”!

That’s my take-away from Paul’s thanksgiving prayer. His prayer should move me to pray . . .

O God, I thank You because of the grace You’ve given in Christ Jesus to my family, to so many I was privileged to pastor over four decades, and to my blog-readers (over 3,000 subscribers, most of whom I don’t even know!). I include myself with them when I thank You for enriching us in every way, so that we don’t lack any spiritual gift of Your grace as we wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. I also thank You that we have his revelation to look forward to. And I thank You that is not a day to dread—because You will keep us stumbling believers firm to the end, so that we’ll be without blame on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God, I am often ambivalent; but You are always faithful. You must be true to Yourself and Your promises. And I thank You, too, that by Your grace You have not only put us positionally in Christ, but You have called us relationally into fellowship with Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

In His name I pray. And in His name I give You thanks. Amen.

Psalm 2 Reflections: Why Do the Nations Rebel?

November 20, 2016 / Allan Babcock

This psalm shocks. Not if we skim it, but if we ponder it. .

First, the psalmist claims the world’s nations are rebelling against the Lord’s chosen ruler.

Why do the nations plan rebellion? Why do people make their useless plots? Their kings revolt, their rulers plot together against the Lord and against the king he chose. “Let us free ourselves from their rule,” they say; “let us throw off their control” (Psalm 2:1-3, GNT).

Paranoid psalmist seeing Israel’s enemies revolting against God’s chosen king? We might presume so, except that author Luke cites the plot to crucify Jesus as the fulfillment of this psalm. In other words, it’s ultimately about the world’s rebellion against the Lord Jesus . . .

As soon as Peter and John were set free, they returned to their group and told them what the chief priests and the elders had said. When the believers heard it, they all joined together in prayer to God: “Master and Creator of heaven, earth, and sea, and all that is in them! By means of the Holy Spirit you spoke through our ancestor David, your servant, when he said, ‘Why were the Gentiles furious; why did people make their useless plots? The kings of the earth prepared themselves, and the rulers met together against the Lord and his Messiah.’ For indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together in this city with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Jesus, your holy Servant, whom you made Messiah. They gathered to do everything that you by your power and will had already decided would happen” (Acts 4:23-28, GNT).

Represented by Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and Israel’s people, the nations gather in rebellion against the Lord and his chosen ruler. God has come in human flesh and blood and the nations reject and execute him. Furthermore, the powers that be forbid his followers to even speak in his name.

Second, the psalmist declares rebellion is futile. So much so that the Lord mocks their feeble schemes. Hard to imagine the Lord mocking anyone, isn’t it! No tougher a stretch for some, though, to imagine God angrily terrifying anybody with his fury . . .

“From his throne in heaven the Lord laughs and mocks their feeble plans. Then he warns them in anger and terrifies them with his fury. ‘On Zion, my sacred hill,’ he says, ‘I have installed my king'”(Psalm 2:4-6, GNT).

The nations’ plots are “useless”. Their plans are “feeble”. Set aside for a moment that these plots and plans are against the Lord and his chosen ruler. See them simply as the plans for world leaders to govern. All government isn’t bad. In fact, the apostle Paul urges Christians to obey the state authorities because God established them (Romans 13:1). But look at world conditions. Threatened by nuclear powers. Refugees fleeing the burning Middle East. Terrorists killing innocents and hacking into critical computers. Corruption common wherever you look. Governments holding it all together with duct tape. Ordinary people cry out for “good” government. Might the world’s be “bad” because they’ve “killed” the Lord’s chosen leader?

Third, the psalmist warns earth’s rulers to bow down and serve the Lord or else his anger will flare and kill them . . .

“‘I will announce,’ says the king, ‘what the Lord has declared.’ He said to me: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask, and I will give you all the nations; the whole earth will be yours. You will break them with an iron rod; you will shatter them in pieces like a clay pot.’ Now listen to this warning, you kings; learn this lesson, you rulers of the world: Serve the Lord with fear; tremble and bow down to him; or else his anger will be quickly aroused, and you will suddenly die. Happy are all who go to him for protection” (Psalm 2:7-12, GNT).

Jesus is the Lord’s son. He’s the king who receives all the nations whose military force he shatters like a clay pot. Therefore, the psalmist warns the nations’ “kings” to fearfully, humbly serve the Lord, lest his anger flare and kill them.

Sounds more like radical Islam than Judaism/Christianity, doesn’t it! To a world that views God as overseer and therapeutic helper, this God’s a stranger. A warrior. A world government leader. A potential killer.

Let’s make no mistake. When Egypt and Babylon and Assyria marshaled armies against Old Testament Israel, they fought the Lord’s chosen ruler. When Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and Israel sentenced Jesus to death, they rebelled against the king the Lord had chosen to one day rule the world.

In Psalm 2 the psalmist doesn’t pray about personal salvation; he prays about world politics. And he warns the world’s rulers now to serve the Lord. For the whole earth will be his.

“Lord Jesus, your Father will give you all the nations. The whole earth will be yours. You will shatter their rebellion like a clay pot. Herein lies the ultimate failure of human government. Not faulty policies, but misplaced faith–faith in false religions, faith in godless worldviews, faith in economic programs and military might.

“Lord, mercifully gather world leaders to the foot of your cross. Bring them to saving faith and then to righteous rule. And may that repentance begin with ordinary people like us. May we serve you. With reverence. May we bow down to you. And show by our lives that our citizenship is in heaven, that we belong to the kingdom not of this world. May we go to you for protection we need. And find our joy in living under your rule.”

Psalm Reflections: Forever Happy

November 14, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Read Psalm 1 today. Can’t resist some simple reflections. Here’s the psalm in the Good News Translation (change from the familiar) . . .

Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God (1:1).

The GNT substitutes “Happy” for the typical “Blessed”. Both somewhat miss the mark. The meaning is more like “happy because one is favored by God”.

The psalmist makes a blatant judgment. We would think it politically incorrect. Some people are evil. Not just ISIS. Not just mass murderers. Evil people are those whom God judges “sinners”, those who fall short of what he calls “right”. Because the Bible claims “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), all are sinners apart from God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.

Of course, in the ongoing process of God’s salvation history, the psalmist would identify sinners as those who didn’t believe in God as revealed to Israel and who didn’t evidence that faith by living according to his laws.

The psalmist identifies “evil people” another way also: “those who have no use for God”. That’s the GNT’s take on “sit in the seat of scoffers”. A good interpretation, though not literal translation.

We’d be dangerously mistaken to assume advice from “evil people” comes only one-on-one. (I’ll be happy if I don’t take my evil neighbor’s counsel.) Advice comes much more—and subtly so—through the omnipresent media. Everything from a sit com to an Internet blog offers counsel, almost all of it “evil”. Listen with discernment and reject the godless!

Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord, and they study it day and night (1:2).

We Christians speak much of faith, little of obedience. Afraid of falling into salvation-by-works, we ignore obedience as the evidence of faith. And we overlook the fact that even the Old Testament psalmist was saved by faith, his obedience between faith’s outworking.

It seems incongruous to us that the source of joy is obeying the Lord’s Law (Be free! Break the rules!) and so we’re driven to “study” the Lord’s Law “day and night”. Who equates joy with obeying and studying laws? Apparently, the Lord does! If I’m to have joy, I must fill my mind with the Lord’s Law(s) and obey that Law in my living. Note: the psalmist doesn’t promise obedience brings salvation; rather that obedience brings joy.

They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do (1:3).

The psalmist’s no dreamer. Life, he knows, has its “dry” seasons. But even then, those who obey the Lord’s Law prosper. Like “trees that grow beside a stream” bearing fruit, not drying up, they “succeed in everything they do”.

Skeptics here think “pollyanna” (blindly optimistic) or “the guy doesn’t live in the real world”. Without a doubt, the psalmist knew about suffering. Hard times God’s people endured were a reality to him. So “success” doesn’t mean “a pain-free, opulent lifestyle”. It has a decidedly eternal perspective.

But evil people are not like this at all; they are like straw that the wind blows away (1:4).

“Evil”people don’t prosper. Really? What about the politicians (to cite just one example) who used their position to enrich themselves? To cite another, what about the billionaires who get richer by bending/breaking laws because they’re billionaires?

” . . . they are like straw that the wind blows away.” Here’s a hint of the eternal perspective. The old farmer takes his wheat to the threshing floor. Throws a pile into the air. The heavy grain falls to the floor. The wind blows the lighter “straw” away. So, says, “evil people” are like that.

Sinners will be condemned by God and kept apart from God’s own people (1:5).

Sounds fairy-tale-ish. Can’t even imagine it. Is God going to direct every human who ever lived into one interminably long line, then call each one by one to appear before him while he waves his long-robed arms around and interrogates their life’s habits? Will he then send “the guilty” to their doom? Get real. Couldn’t happen. Well, maybe not that way. But, if we accept the Bible as God’s word, we can’t write off Judgment Day because we can’t fit it into our little minds.

The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord, but the evil are on the way to their doom (1:6).

And so, the “righteous” enjoy the Lord’s guidance and protection. Not from sore throats or cancer or physical death, but from being thrown away like straw on Judgment Day. They will be eternally guided and protected.

On the other hand, “the evil are on the way to their doom”.

Thus the psalmist divides humanity in two. Different worldviews. Different lifestyles. Different directions. Different destinies.

The lesson is obvious: Don’t buy into the counsel of the world. Study and obey the Lord’s Law. But only if we want to be happy forever.

Psalm Reflections: Happy Forever

November 14, 2016 / Allan Babcock

I read Psalm 1 today. Can’t resist writing simple reflections on it. Here it is in the Good News Translation (a change from the familiar . . . )

Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God (1:1).

The GNT replaces the typical “Blessed” with “Happy”. Both fall a bit short of the mark, the Hebrew meaning something like “happy because one is favored by God”. Who are these “happy” ones? ” . . . those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God.”

The psalmist makes a blatant judgment. We would think it politically incorrect. Not the psalmist. Some people are evil. Not just ISIS. Not just mass murderers. Evil people are those who God judges “sinners”, those who fall short of what he calls “right”. Because the Bible claims “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), all are sinners apart from God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.

Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord, and they study it day and night (1:2).

They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do (1:3).

But evil people are not like this at all; they are like straw that the wind blows away (1:4).“Evil” people don’t prosper. Really? What about the politicians (to cite just one example) who used their position to enrich themselves? To cite another, what about the billionaires who get richer by bending/breaking laws because they’re billionaires?

Sinners will be condemned by God and kept apart from God’s own people (1:5).

Sinners (evil people who have no use for God, who flaunt his Law) “will be condemned by God . . . ” On the future Judgment Day, the “straw” will be “blown away” and “kept apart from God’s people”, who have trusted him, rejected evil counsel, and devoted themselves to live by the Lord’s Law.

The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord, but the evil are on the way to their doom (1:6).

On the other hand, “the evil are on the way to their doom”.

Thus the psalmist divides humanity in two. Different worldviews. Different lifestyles. Different directions. Different destinies.

The lesson is obvious: Don’t buy into the counsel of the world. Study and obey the Lord’s Law. But only if we want to be happy forever.

Another City Riot!

November 12, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Ferguson. Baltimore. Dallas. Ephesus. Test: pick which one doesn’t belong. Ephesus? Nope. All belong. Ephesus didn’t make non-stop cable news and no one was killed; but it was another city riot.

I included a short video and a few photos (two modern-day), for background information. Maybe overkill, but I find these cities interesting.

Image result for map of ancient ephesus

Charisma

Paul spent more time in Ephesus than any other city. He was wildly successful. Not only the city, but ” . . . all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10b).

Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.” So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia (Acts 19:21,22, NRSV).

Image result for map Paul's 3rd missionary trip

Why go west to Macedonia when he wanted to go southeast to Jerusalem? To collect an offering from the Macedonia Gentile churches for the poor Jerusalem Christians (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). So, guided by the Holy Spirit, Paul made his plans. But he hadn’t counted on the riot.

About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These (artisans) he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, “Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.” When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travel companions (Acts 19:23-29, NRSV).

A little disturbance? Author Luke, euphemistically, calls it “a little disturbance”. Demetrius, pressing on the profit-loss, rounded up angry Artemis salesmen. Artemis was “the ancient mother goddess of Asia Minor, worshiped in that land from time immemorial as the mother of gods and men. Her temple at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world; her image, enshrined in that temple, was believed to be of heavenly workmanship: it appears to have been a meteorite in which the semblance of a many-breasted female was discerned. Her worship was marked by the traditional features of nature-worship; it was presided over by eunuch priests and three grades of priestesses. She had a special festival about the time of the spring equinox, at the beginning of the month Artemision: it may have been at the time of this festival in A.D. 55 that the trouble now described by Luke broke out” (The Book of Acts, F. F. Bruce).

Image result for image of artemis of ephesus

The open-air theater, which sat an estimated 25,000 to 30,000, was famous for concerts, plays, as well as religious, political and philosophical discussions and for gladiator and animal fights (http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/theatre.htm). On this day, it became the city’s riot-center where chaos reigned.

Image result for the open air theater at Ephesus

Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even some of the officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theater. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together (Acts 19:30-32, NRSV).

Look at Luke’s little humor: ” . . . the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together”.

Several factors fueled the riot. One, a dramatic fall in profits from the sale of Artemis images. (Luke twice makes this business-loss their first concern.) Ephesus had once been a rich trade center. But, when the harbor silted up, trade plummeted. Tourism became the city’s main revenue source. Lost income from Artemis images sent profits plunging.

Two, the shameful offense to the great, world-worshipped goddess. Artemis abandoned in favor of a crucified Jew!

Rioting silversmiths didn’t distinguish between Jews and Christians. So Jewish Alexander was shoved to the stage to defend the Jews—to no avail. The town clerk fared better. He served as official liaison between the city’s civil administration and the Roman provincial administration. His warning that the riot might bring Rome’s wrath and reminder they had legally-acceptable ways to register their protest quieted the mob and emptied the theater.

Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people.But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”But when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven? Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.You have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another. If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples; and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia (Acts 19:33-20:1), NRSV).

* * * * *

” . . . the closer you are to the King and the more focused you are on the gospel, the more likely you are to draw the enemy’s fire.” So writes Reformed pastor and theologian Derek Thomas. But why does God allow us to suffer for the gospel?

Back in Philippi, Paul and Silas suffered prison apparently so the jailer and his family might be saved (Acts 16:25-40). But why did God send his servant smack into the middle of a city riot here? Writing later to the Corinthian church, Paul tells us . . .

We want to remind you, friends, of the trouble we had in the province of Asia. The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy that we gave up all hope of staying alive. We felt that the death sentence had been passed on us. But this happened so that we should rely, not on ourselves, but only on God, who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:8,9, GNT).

After a life time of studying the word and years of preaching and planting churches, Paul still had God-reliance lessons to learn. So do we. So do I. When we’re living for Jesus but life turns hopeless, when we feel condemned to a terrible fate, God is teaching us to rely on him alone. And to remember he is the God who raises the dead.

The Prevailing Word

November 5, 2016 / Allan Babcock

World Series. Despite being up 3 games to 1, the Cleveland Indians couldn’t prevail over the Chicago Cubs. Prevail: “to prove more powerful than opposing forces; win out, carry the day, come out on top, prove superior.” The Cubs proved more powerful than the Indians. They prevailed.

Author Luke evaluates Paul’s ministry in Ephesus: “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:20). It “grew mightily”, spread greatly throughout Ephesus and all of Asia (today’s Turkey). It “prevailed”, proved more powerful than forces opposing it. For the first two years in Ephesus, the Lord’s word won the day. But powers opposed it.

Synagogue to Tyrannus Hall.

Jews formed the first opposing force. After encountering John’s twelve disciples in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7, https://theoldpreacher.com/12-empty-men/) Paul turned to the Jews in Ephesus. He . . .

” . . . entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:8-10).

As in other cities, Jews rejected Paul’s message. They “stubbornly refused to believe”, and even “spoke evil of the Way before the congregation.” Taking this public stand, they made themselves culpable before God for rejecting their Messiah.

It must have been with heavy heart that Paul left the synagogue, taking with him those who did believe. He continued to reasonably present (Greek, dialegoumenos) the Lord’s word “in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.” We’re told nothing about Tyrannus or how this “hall”, used for informal education and debates, was made available to Paul. Some ancient manuscripts suggest he used it 11 a.m to 4 p.m., probably six days a week. This continued for two years. Co-workers took the gospel to neighboring towns. Some of Revelation’s “seven churches of Asia” may have been planted then, as well as the church at Colosse. ” . . . all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord”, wrote Luke. Despite stubborn opposition from much of the city’s Jewish community, ” . . . . the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”

Image result for pictures of seven churches of revelation

Signs, Wonders and Evil Spirits.

The diseased and demonized are victims. But the forces behind them are opponents. Disease denies “God loves you.” Evil spirits’ power prove their ascendancy over Paul’s Jesus. But Luke reports . . .

“God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them”(Acts 19:11,12).

This “handkerchiefs” and “aprons” thing sounds like TV evangelists selling Jordan river water. Actually it echoes the woman who was healed after she “touched [Jesus’] garment” (Mark 5:27) and the healing of others who touched “even the fringe of [Jesus’] garment” (Mark 6:56). Rather than evoking scenes of frauds, it recalls powerful signs and wonders associated with Jesus.

“So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” This power-show attracted itinerant Jew “exorcists”. One group, “the seven sons of Sceva”, led by a self-proclaimed “high priest”, tried to duplicate Paul’s success by using Paul’s technique. But with humiliating results . . .

“Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit said to them in reply, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:13-16).

What of evil-spirit-power today? In the mid-1970’s, the charismatic movement was in full swing in northern New Jersey. Every problem had its own demon—obesity, lust, laziness, obsession with chocolate, etc.—for Christians and non-Christians alike. We arrived to plant in church in the swamp of that unbiblical teaching. Nevertheless, we’d be wise to recall Paul’s position on demonic powers . . . We shouldn’t attribute more authority to them than they have; but we ignore them at our peril . . .

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12, ESV).

They exist. They are anti-Christ. But in Ephesus ” . . . the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” Even more . . .

Bonfire by Exorcists.

“When this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices. A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins” (Acts 19:17-19)

F. F. Bruce comments . . .

A number of such magical scrolls have survived to our day . . . The special connection of Ephesus with magic is reflected in the use of the term “Ephesian scripts” for such magical scrolls. The spells which they contain are . . . considered to be unusually potent . . . On this occasion fifty thousand drachma’s worth of such documents went up in smoke . . . The powers of darkness were worsted, but the gospel spread and triumphed” (The Book of Acts).

“So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:20).

The Lord’s Purpose Prevails.

Proverbs 19:21—“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” In first century Ephesus, it was the Lord’s purpose for his word to prevail—against stubbornly resistant Jews, against disease, against evil-spirit-powers, against fraudulent exorcists. So it did. Ephesus became a leading center of Christianity for centuries.

In 21st century America, the Lord’s word isn’t prevailing. Look at shrinking churches. Look at Christians’ minority status. Look at the rise of other worldviews that minimize Christianity. Look at the casual attitude of many Christians about the faith. Instead of prevailing, the Lord’s word seems to hold on by fingernails. Furthermore, as we’ll see, Paul’s visit to Ephesus ends with a city-wide riot against him.

This is a good time to “cheat” and check how the story ends. Go to the back of the book. Keep a finger in Revelation. No, you don’t understand everything in it. (Who does?) But one point is crystal-clear: in the end, the word of the Lord prevails.

It proves more powerful than opposing forces. It wins out. It carries the day. It comes out on top. It proves superior.

Best to be on the prevailing side. Regardless of how things appear at the moment.

12 Empty Men

November 1, 2016 / Allan Babcock

In the 1957 movie, “Twelve Angry Men”, one jurist (Henry Fonda) tries to convince the other eleven that the accused isn’t guilty of murder. (They’re all certain evidence proves he is.) Tempers flare and hidden characters are revealed. The drama provides fascinating insight into the hearts and minds of these twelve men!

In Ephesus, the apostle Paul comes upon twelve “empty” men. Here we get a fascinating insight into the working of the Holy Spirit . . .

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions (of Asia, today’s Turkey) and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied—altogether there were about twelve of them. (Acts 19:1-7, NRSV).

Image result for map of Paul's 3rd missionary journey

Why did author Luke (inspired by the Holy Spirit) include this unusual incident? Not only because it happened. But because Luke intended to tell us something. (Author’s intent is a critical question for interpreting most any Scripture.) In discovering Luke’s intent we’ll discover how this event applies to us.

Let’s start our answer-search with Paul’s question to the twelve “disciples”: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” Now why would Paul ask that? Dr. Gordon Fee’s (theologian and author who currently serves as Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada) view of the Spirit in Paul’s theology hints at an answer . . .

Any careful reading of Paul’s letters makes it abundantly clear that the Spirit (for Paul) is the key element . . . of all Christian life and experience. To put that in theological perspective, it needs to be noted that, contrary to historic Protestantism, “justification by faith” is not the central theme of Pauline theology (Listening to the Spirit in the Text, p. 37).

If true, Paul’s question to the twelve is perfectly reasonable. They are “disciples” of John the Baptist. They haven’t heard that Messiah (Jesus) has come and with him the Spirit-riches of last days’ salvation.

So Paul announces the good news and the twelve believe, are baptized in Jesus’ name and receive the Holy Spirit. We understand, then, why Paul asked the twelve about the Spirit. But, why did Luke include this incident?

Pentecostals (and some Charismatics) point to this passage as a proof-text for “baptism in the Holy Spirit” as an experience subsequent to salvation. They argue that, since these twelve are called “disciples” they must have been Christians, but without this “second blessing” of Spirit-baptism. Clearly, though, these men are disciples of John (the Baptist). Furthermore, how could they be Christians if they’ve never even heard of “a Holy Spirit”? In the saving work of Messiah Jesus, and in the Pauline theology of it, the Spirit is the key element . . .

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:4-7, ESV).

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9, ESV).

Therefore, these “disciples” were of John, not Jesus. Pentecostals, though, aren’t alone in misusing this passage. Some non-Pentecostals seem fixated on bludgeoning Pentecostals with this text. No (as I’ve argued), this doesn’t prove a “second blessing”! By misusing this text, they miss the bigger word-picture Paul paints.

I think Dr. Gordon Fee gets it right: “The key to understanding Acts seems to be in Luke’s interest in the movement, orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, of the Gospel from its Jerusalem-based, Judaism-oriented beginnings to its becoming a worldwide Gentile-predominant phenomenon.” (How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth). Luke intends to show us this movement, this Holy Spirit-orchestrated stream flowing from Jerusalem Jews to the Gentile world.

But why include “the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied”? When the Holy Spirit was initially poured out on the Day of Pentecost, Luke describes the phenomenon of speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:1-4). Then, later while Peter preached the gospel to the Gentile Cornelius, ” . . . the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God” (Acts 10:44-46). Now, here in the great Gentile city Ephesus Luke reports how the Holy Spirit came upon (the twelve) and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”

Luke is showing us movement—the movement of the Gospel, orchestrated by the Holy Spirit from its Jerusalem-based Judaism beginnings (Pentecost, Acts 2) to its becoming a worldwide Gentile predominant phenomenon (Cornelius in Acts 10, the twelve in Ephesus in Acts 19).

We 21st century Americans see that movement bottled up. Evangelical Christian percentage of the country’s population is slowly shrinking. Yet, in places like Africa and South America, the movement continues. We mustn’t be complacent about stagnant movement here. But we can be encouraged that the Holy Spirit’s orchestration of the Gospel movement continues despite the obstacles. God will see to it that his will is done!

Finally, this incident reminds us of a very personal application of the Spirit-filled Gospel. I’ve called these twelve men “empty”. Even though they believed John the Baptist’s preaching and looked forward to the coming Messiah and showed their repentance from sin and to the coming Savior by being baptized in John’s name. But inside they were “natural” men—men without the living, transforming presence of God the Holy Spirit, men still dominated by the sinful nature.

Then Paul, returning to Ephesus according to God’s will (see https://theoldpreacher.com/if-god-wills/), finds them. He announces what John prophesied Jesus fulfilled. They believed, were baptized and were filled with the Holy Spirit. Their “emptiness” overflowed with the regenerating, sanctifying, empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.

Luke wants us to know that this “movement” is available to us, too. His concern isn’t speaking in tongues or prophesying. It isn’t whether we call ourselves Pentecostals, Charismatics or something else. It’s that we understand a movement of the Gospel is still sweeping through the world.

And that we welcome whatever God the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. So that we are no longer empty, but filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name to the glory of God the Father.