Rom. 7:13-20, The Sufficiency of the Cross Applied (6)

Quoting from page 271f of Christ Among Us, we read this about preparing for Easter from “Ash Wednesday and on through Lent – (violet vestments).  Through this time of prayer, fasting, and voluntary self-discipline, we make up for our sins which caused Christ’s sufferings.”  This “making up for our sins” is common language in the RCC.  Repentance I understand.  Abhorring sin I understand.  Putting to death the deeds of the body I understand.  The Bible teaches me about this.  The Bible does not indicate that Jesus needs me to “make up for” my sins.   (If you can explain how this fits being “under grace” leave a comment on this blog.)

Further, there is a question about the 40-day period of time set aside for lent.  The evangelical pastor of whom I spoke did tell me there would be great value in this time of self-discipline.  He explained from the Bible the issue of self-discipline or temperance.  He then told me I “should” join them in this exercise.  In this case he is in agreement with the RCC.  He reminded me that Jesus was 40 days in the wilderness, Elijah was 40 days running from Jezebel, Moses was 40 years in the desert in the middle portion of his life, and he might have mentioned that it rained 40 days and nights in the time of the flood.  I noticed he did not tell me I should spend three years in the desert re-structuring my theology as Paul did.

But the problem is, none of these things were what is called “lent.”  Jesus was led into the desert for 40 days of fasting.  If the Spirit leads you to do that, you should do it.  But Jesus never, that we know of, told His disciples that they should do that.  After 40 years Moses was adamant that he was not interested in accepting the calling God had on his life.  And who needs to say anything about Elijah. 

I will just suggest to you that what is called “lent” in my view is addressed in Col. 2:20-23.  If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations – do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.  This is exactly what “lent” is, and the basic wisdom of the world is: “if you can do it for 40 days, and let everyone know, the limited experience will make you a better Christian.”  The world always thinks like that because in the world the essence of religion is keeping rules and laws.  But Paul says, These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.  No value!

You might ask, how can a program for self-discipline be of no value?  It’s the making of laws and rules that is the problem.  Go back several posts and review: we are not under law but under grace.  I.e. we don’t come to know Christ by keeping any law and we don’t grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ by keeping any law.  Not even a law I came up with myself that fits some problematic issue in my life. 

Again, I see in the encouragement to keep “lent” someone trying to cheat me of my reward, someone trying to keep me from holding fast to the Head! I think I need one more post on this area of application, and then we will consider others.

Psalm 101

Time and again in the Scriptures, God’s people are encouraged to be patient, to wait on the Lord.  In my Bible reading today this theme showed up in the great 40^th chapter of Isaiah.  The point of the chapter is that comfort is coming to Israel.  God’s word is eternal; and God is fully capable of fulfilling what He has promised.  So don’t think that God does not see your way, or that He has passed you by.  God is faithful and will not grow weary.  He will keep His word!

The reason for this repeated theme is that it is a repeated occurrence in the lives of the saints.  We grow weary.  And in our weariness we may have the tendency to mix our impatience with ungodly shortcuts.  What we mean is that we grow tired of the affliction and may choose to try ungodly means so as to avoid the pain or the disappointment. 

These shortcuts are frequently extenuated (i.e. we decide our impatience is excusable or not as serious a sin) because we set our focus on the wicked around us who, we think, are enjoying much easier lives.  Psalm 73, among others, dealt with this problem.  And so does Psalm 101.  Except that in the case of today’s Song the writer is addressing the problem head-on.

Notice that he is in a situation where he desires God to bring an answer (v2).  But notice that he openly confesses his desire and plan to maintain a walk in holiness, to walk within my house with a perfect heart.  There is no place more difficult to walk in holiness than in our own home because we may feel we have the possibility of hiding our unfaithfulness.  We may find it hard to continually keep from setting wickedness before our eyes (v3). 

But notice that the hymnist also confronts the issue of those in his inner circle, so to speak.  He commits to have none in his focus who will lead him astray.  Rather my eyes shall be on the faithful of the land that they may dwell with me (v6).  This issue of focus is fundamental.  In the New Testament we see it often when we are urged to set our minds on the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5), with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18), to not lose heart as we look on the eternal things which are not seen (2 Cor. 4:16-18), to meditate on the things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report (Phil. 4:8), to seek those things which are above, where Christ is (Col. 3:1-4), to remember that Jesus Christ … was raised from the dead (2 Tim. 2:8), to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith … to consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls (Heb. 12:2-3), to rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).

We must choose what we set before our eyes so as to behave wisely in a perfect way and with a perfect heart!

Mk. 7:1-8, The Sufficiency of the Cross Applied (5)

Before coming to the issue of “lent,” as background for this I came across the issue of the “liturgical year.”  The Catholic doctrine says “through the liturgical year the Church systematically brings forth before us God’s Word, the bible” (p271).  So that is interesting, in light of the fact that the RCC for generations forbade church members to have their own Bibles and read and study them.  The Church was the only valid interpreter of Scripture.  I say “was.”  I am aware that Vatican II encouraged Catholics to read the Bible.  But while it seems there is some of this evident in the USA I will be interested to see whether it is the case when we are in a country where Catholicism is the dominant religion.

Further, I was not aware that for different times in the year the priest apparently wears different colors of robes.  The 4 advent Sundays before Christmas involve “violet vestments;” Christmas, Jan. 1 and Epiphany on Jan. 6 get “white vestments;” the Sundays after Epiphany get “green vestments.”  Where does all this come from?  It is strange to me.  But here is the explanation:

The liturgical year … is not a cold and lifeless representation of the events of the past, or a simple and bare record of a former age.  It is rather Christ himself who is ever living in his Church.  Here he continues the journey of immense mercy which he lovingly began in his mortal life, going about doing good with the desire of bringing men to know his mysteries and … live by them. (From Pope Pius XII)

One observation about the Pius’ words: he tells me that all this liturgy is the means by which Christ is merciful with the mercy He began in his mortal life.  I am sure Pius will object to this, but he is speaking of a Christ who did not finish the work of grace and mercy on the cross.  The veil was torn in two to give me access to God and His grace and mercy.  I come to Him for grace and mercy (Heb. 4:14-16).  I do not need additional mercy.  And furthermore, as RCC theology says, for me to receive God’s mercy requires “the bible and the liturgy – ‘Word and Sacrament (p187).’” 

The answer to my question as to where the various robes and the liturgy is that it is TRADITION.  It does not come from the Bible but from men.  Why should I not have the same attitude about this that the Lord Jesus had: This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men (Mk. 7:6-7).  Jesus spoke of Judaism: For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men – the washing of pitchers and cups and many other such things you do (7:8).  Why would He not have the same judgment for Catholicism?  They have added to the requirements that must be fulfilled to have access to God and His grace and mercy, and what they have added is “the tradition of men.”  Whoever tells me I must make this part of my relationship with God is cheating me of my reward (Col. 3:18).

1 Cor. 11:23-26, The Sufficiency of the Cross Applied (4)

In the previous post we mentioned seven sacraments in Catholicism.  You may be aware that non-Catholic denominations do practice baptism and the Lord’s Table or “communion.”  As we mentioned previously, we do not believe that these works bring grace.  Again, Catholicism says,

The bible gives us God’s teaching, and at the same time prepares us to receive his grace in the sacraments.  Christ speaks to us through the scriptures, arousing faith in us, leading us to respond by the sacraments.  The better prepared we are by the scriptures, the better is our worship and the more of God’s grace-presence the sacraments bring us. (p188)

The one consistent truth about water baptism (immersion, that is what the Greek term means) is that it is for those who have already received the grace of God through faith in Christ.  “Communion” is all about remembering what Christ did for us (1 Cor. 11:23-26).  But in Catholicism the “mass” is both a reenactment and a continuation of Christ’s death for us.  Here is Catholic doctrine:

Christ wants us to take part with him in his death and resurrection

… the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ.  By the power of Christ working through the priest the bread and wine, though still appearing to be bread and wine, become Christ.

When Jesus Christ living among us in the holy eucharist prolongs his death and resurrection so we can take part, this is the Mass.

At Mass, we are not only present at Christ’s actual death and resurrection, we can actually take part in them to the extent that we want to. (p244-245)

You see that the priest is required for this event; it is only as he blesses the bread and wine that it is changed into the actual body and blood of Christ.  This challenges the fact that Christ was our High Priest, with a sufficient sacrifice for sin, so that there is no longer a need for a priest to bring us to God.  But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.  Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11-12).  We do not need another priest.  We do not need to literally drink His blood and eat His flesh.  Those words of Christ (John 6:51-58) refer to the faith that is required to receive Him by the grace of God.  It is past tense, once and for all that He “entered” heaven’s tabernacle, “having obtained” eternal redemption.  Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many (Heb. 9:28).  But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God (Heb. 10:12).  We do not need to continually be joined to Christ in His death and resurrection.  Again, it is past tense: as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death (Rom. 6:3).  Anyone who tells me I need another priest or a repeat of the cross is seeking to cheat me of my reward!

Gal. 6:11-15, The Sufficiency of the Cross Applied (3)

Along time ago, when we started talking about the “sufficiency of the cross,” and the Son being forsaken by the Father, and Christ refusing anything that would diminish His full identification with sin and sinners, I mentioned some recent non-Catholic churches we attended (I have attended 2 Catholic services in my lifetime: a funeral and a wedding, if you need to know) where the sermons were encouraging me to observe “lent.”  I also mentioned being aware of claims that many young people are moving to the Catholic Church these days. 

As we seek to apply the “sufficiency of the cross” I want to return to those situations and to the subject of Catholicism.  I am not picking on the RCC.  As I have said, every religion seeks to cheat believers of their reward.  I am going to speak of this particular one for the reasons I already gave: it has come up in my own experiences.  I understand as well that, especially in the USA, practicing Catholics might not understand the official doctrine of the Church.  For that reason, my issue is not with what people think about Catholicism but about what the Church actually teaches.  One additional reason for this approach is that we plan, Lord willing, to be in a very Catholic country for three months in the near future, where the teachings of the RCC are not so “debatable” as they seem to be in the USA.  My source for RCC doctrine is Christ Among Us: A Modern Presentation of the Catholic Faith for Adults (6^th edition) by Anthony Wilhelm.

Let me begin with the general issue of the “sacraments,” as I referred to these in the previous post.  There are seven (p187): baptism, confirmation, the holy eucharist, penance, the anointing of the sick, holy orders and marriage.  Here is the summation:

“The great means by which God gives himself to us are the bible and the liturgy – “Word and Sacrament.”  Each is a special meeting with Christ and the Trinity.  God uses them above all else to give us his grace and teaching.  Together they form the Christian’s way to God.”

Note that the Bible, and thus the gospel, alone is insufficient for a Christian to come into relationship or fellowship with God.  Sacraments are essential.  They are essential because they are means of receiving grace.  The “doing” of these things bring grace.  What the Bible says is that if our work is essential to receive grace then it is no longer grace but reward or payment (Rom. 11:6).  Faith along is the means by which we receive the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9).  And do not fall for the idea that a sacrament is an “act of faith.” Paul spoke of circumcision, a Jewish “sacrament” (they didn’t call it that but it fits the definition) saying it does not avail anything.  Instead he said, God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14-15).  The above paragraph violates every doctrine of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, therefore Solo Cristo, and thus Soli Deo gloria!  Whoever tells me that the Bible is insufficient to bring me to God is trying to cheat me of my reward (Col. 2:18-19).

Rom. 7:7-12, The Sufficiency of the Cross Applied (2)

In Colossians who might have been cheating the Believers?  In some cases it was those “Judaizers” who tried to make the Church Jewish.  They tried to bring Christians back “under law” and thus not “under grace.”  Since Christ had satisfied the law, and was “the end of the law for righteousness” (Rom. 10:4), a return to the law was a return to the flesh and thus “carnal” Christianity.  It also might have been the “mystery religions” of the Roman Empire.  These promoted a religion that allowed you to submit to the Emperor as God or Savior, but who also had their own liturgy and doctrine to follow.  Most of them were wed to the Greek “Gnostic” philosophy that, among other things, claimed that in addition to Christ and the Bible you needed additional special knowledge (Grk. gnosis).  I think you see all of this in Paul’s words in places like Col. 2:8,16-23.  

It is no different today.  Any religion that tells us there is a “law” by which we can be righteous and have a right standing before God, they also are trying to cheat us, to keep us from holding fast to Christ, our Head, from whom we receive all we need to grow into His likeness (cf. Col. 2:18-19).  Paul illustrated this in the Ten Commandments which said, “Thou shalt not covet” (Ex. 20:17).  I could quote the law every day, and it would not cure my covetousness.  Only what I have in Christ can change my life.  If I continue to commit this sin I have not forgotten the law; rather, I have forgotten who I am in Christ. 

The problem is not just the “law of Moses.”  Every religion calls people to a carnal (fleshly) approach to righteousness and a right standing before God.  They all have laws/rules of some sort that are the key to fulfilling the demands of said religion.  Hinduism has the Dharma, Islam the five Pillars, Catholicism has seven sacraments, Seventh Day Adventists these days mainly judge you “in food or in drink,” and in the mega-business called Latter Day Saints the top of nearly every list is that you pay the tithe.  But hear this: any pastor who tells you that you can solve some deep moral issue by ABC or 12 steps or 10 laws is potentially setting you up for the frustration and failure of living in the flesh.

Before giving you specifics, you might consider me a hypocrite because I told you, from Romans 6, four words that are fundamental to sanctification.  So let me remind you: what Paul did was to call you to live life the same way you received Christ.  You received Christ by faith and faith must not be a work (Eph. 2:8-9).  It is the absence of work.  So what Paul said was: you KNOW this, so RECKON it to be true of who you are.  As you laid aside your works to become a Christian, lay aside your works to live as a Christian: YIELD your body to Christ.  Our good works are called “fruit” because they are the work of the Holy Spirit rather than the your work.  In every other system you are called to do some work that will cause God to bless you or give you grace.  In Christ you are called to faith whereby He produces the fruit of righteousness in our bodies.

Col. 2:16-23, The Sufficiency of the Cross Applied (1)

Col. 2:11-15 has made a powerful statement about the sufficiency of the cross of Christ.  Through the cross we have been spiritually circumcised and baptized into Christ.  Believers are complete in Him (Col. 2:10), being graced with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3), having all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pt. 1:3). 

One characteristic of Colossians is the repeated use of words like “all” and “none” and “every.”  These are words that have no room for compromise.  Here are some more of these terms. LET NO ONE JUDGE YOU.  LET NO ONE CHEAT YOU. If you weaken these you will be denying all that Christ has done through His cross.  For the honor of Christ, “no one” must mean not any one, at all, ever!

“Let no one judge you” applies to v16-17.  Let no one judge you in food or in drink or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths.  Some might try to limit this to a Jewish influence at Colossae.  Paul’s note in v17, that these are a “shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ,” might lead us to think this way.  After all, OT worship all pointed to Christ.  But on the other hand, find me a religion anywhere that does not have rules for diet and holy days.  Let NO ONE judge you in these matters.  This applies to any religion!

“Let no one cheat you” applies to v18-19.  “Cheat” is an interesting word.  This is the only use of this compound verb in the NT, but the main part of the word is used in Col. 3:15, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”  The “word” experts say it means to “act as an umpire.”  We should let peace call the “balls and strikes” in our lives, but don’t let anyone have that role if it means they are cheating you. 

How do you know if they are cheating you?  First, it again involves “religious activity” such as taking delight in false humility and worship of angels as was happening in Colossae.  But more importantly, if what they are calling you to do “vainly puffs up the fleshly mind.”  This is the nature of “religion.”  It involves a system that makes you proud of yourself.  The classic illustration is the first one.  God was not pleased with Cain’s worship in Gen. 4.  Cain brought the best he had, but God wanted something else, something specific.  Climbing the “ladder of religion” is all about doing the best I can.  Paul even warned Timothy about this in appointing elders in a church: not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil (read about it in Isa. 14:12-15).

But MOST important, this person or practice will be cheating me if it turns me away from the Head, from Christ who is the fullness of God, who is the source of my nourishment and growth in my new life (Col. 2:19).  The “religious” activities, with their false humility, are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.  If my religion takes that away, I am truly being cheated.  And yet, it is happening more and more these days.  And more on that in the coming posts.

Rom. 6:15-23, With Christ in Baptism (4)

We begin with what we know as believers in Christ, things we know because the Bible and especially the gospel say they are true (e.g. Christ died, then was raised to life so that death no more had dominion over Him), and things we have come to know by experience through faith in Christ (we too have been raised from the dead to live a new life).  But then we must stop and think: this is true of me!  I am “in Christ” and this is who I am in Christ!  This is a critical step in the “renewing of the mind.”  We need to think sound doctrinally, but our doctrine is not merely intellectual.  Eternal life is a real life, a new life.  We have been born again.  We are new creations. 

And now we have come to “yield.”  In light of who we are, we are now commanded to present our bodies, and yes, even the various parts of our bodies, to Christ.  In one sense, this is the repetitive act of “faith in Christ” that characterized our faith when we first trusted the Christ of the gospel.  We walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7).  As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Col. 2:6).  The principle of living the Christian life is no different than the principle of beginning the Christian life.  This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (Gal. 3:2-3). 

We see this in Rom. 6, that the command to present ourselves (6:12-14) is preceded by the “baptism,” our union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (6:1-10; cf. Col. 2:12.  We are by NATURE a new creation.  It is real.  We are citizens in a new kingdom (Col. 2:12), one where grace reigns “through righteousness.”  Regardless of how sinful the natural world is around us, we do not live in nor are we ruled by that kingdom.  So it no longer makes sense for us to present our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.  It only makes sense that we would present our bodies as instruments of righteousness to God.  That is why Paul is incredulous at the thought that we should knowingly continue in sin (6:1).  It is also why he says in 12:1 that presenting your bodies to Christ as living sacrifices is “your reasonable service.”  “Service” here is not the bond-slave but religious service.  Heb. 9:1 speaks of the Old Covenant and the Levitical system as, ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.  That is the same word.  In Christ, under the new covenant, we do not have the kinds of service practiced in the OT.  Rather, we present our bodies to Christ and what He produces is the new service.

OBEY.  And note that 6:12-14 on “yielding ourselves to God” leads to righteousness.  Here is one thing to note: in the rest of the chapter there are no commands to “be righteous” or “obey” or “don’t sin.”  The decision was made when you presented yourself to God.  You are the slave of the one to whom you present yourself (v16).  Having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (v18).  That constant faith, “presenting” yourself to God, will produce in your life fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life (v22).

Psalm 100

This is one of the more familiar Psalms.  From childhood I remember Psa. 100 in every Thanksgiving service in our church.  We actually met on Thanksgiving Day, at 9:30 AM.  Just enough time to get the turkey in the oven and then off to church to rejoice in the blessing of living in America.  It was a perfect fit being a clear call to the very reason for our gathering: thanksgiving. 

Of course it’s the familiar ones, like Psalm 1 and 23 and 100, etc. that can lose their significance.  We can say them without thinking.  Just like some of our favorite hymns or worship songs.  So slow down today with Psalm 100.

·         It is, in fact, a Psalm for the nations, not just Israel.  Thus it was, and is, appropriate to use in the context of national thanksgiving, wherever we live.

·         It is a call for exuberance.  The items of note in this Psalm, as we will see, call for a joyful shout, gladness and singing.  Singing must be from the heart but by definition it must be audible. 

·         Make a joyful noise about the Creator.  This is the first theme.  The Lord (Heb. YHWH, the God of Israel, as opposed to all other supposed gods) He is God.  You must know this.  Not just knowledge from a book.  Knowledge with perception, knowledge involving a thorough acquaintance with the subject.  God has revealed Himself for this very purpose: that you might know Him!  You see Him in creation.  You see Him in your conscience (in case you didn’t know, a conscience is the Creator’s law written in your heart).  You see Him most clearly in His Son, Jesus Christ, in the pages of the Bible.

·         Once you know He made us, then you also know we are His.  That’s the way it always is: if you made it, it’s yours.  He made us so we are His.  And that’s an amazing thing because He has provided well for us.  We are the sheep of His pasture.  He made the world and put us in it so we would have what we need.

·         The second theme is also about the Lord.  He is good!  The pasture where we reside (i.e. planet earth) is unique in all the universe.  The temperature range is perfect for humans.  So is the tilt and rotation of the earth.  There’s plenty of water in all its forms.  He is a good Creator and Sustainer of all we enjoy.

·         But actually His goodness is better seen in His mercy and faithfulness.  His goodness in creation is amazing.  But His goodness to us, given our sin and rebellion against Him, is indescribably wonderful.  He has been gracious to us by reconciling us to Himself.  In other words He has offered to reestablish us in fellowship with Him.  And He offers this without denying the fact that we deserve to be punished, eternally.  Both His mercy and truth have been satisfied by the fact that He has paid the price Himself for our sin.  He took our punishment on the cross of Christ. 

With all of this in mind, do we really need to be told to make a joyful shout to the Lord?  No, I didn’t think so.  If we will not give thanks and glorify God then, well let’s just say, we have no excuse (Rom. 1:18-21).

Rom. 6:1-14, With Christ in Baptism (3)

How do I live “under grace” rather than under law?  We have four words to consider in Romans 6.

KNOW.  First, this word appears several times.  Don’t you know (v3,16) and knowing (v6,9).  Second, none of these is a command.  None are in the Greek imperative mood.  It is assumed that you know these things, or at least you should know them.  Third, there are two types of knowledge bound up in two different words.  There is “knowledge by experience” in vs. 3 and 6.  Then there is knowledge that you just know to be true, whether it is your experience or not (v9,16). 

You could say, for example, that you know something to be true because the Bible says it is true.  In v6 we know that our “old man” (the person we were from birth until the new birth when we became a “new man”) was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be done away with (spiritual circumcision).  This is about us as believers in Christ.  We are learning this by experience from day to do.  But we first know this because, as Paul explains in v7-10, we see it in Christ.  He died and was then raised.  Death no more had dominion over Him.  That is the gospel, the good news proclaimed in the Bible.  Again, in v16, we know we are slaves to whomever we yield ourselves.  We know this because Jesus taught this (John 8:34).  What this means is that our knowledge begins with the Word of God, and then it becomes personal as we grow in Christ.

Thus, Paul reminds us in 6:1-10 of who we are as believers in Christ.  We have been spiritually baptized, joined with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.  Related to the “know” words is the word “believe” in 6:8. We know what we know because we believe God; we take Him at His word.

RECKON.  “Reckon yourselves to be …!”  This, like “know,” is a “mind” or “thought” term.  It means to take what we “know” in v1-10 and consider it to be true of us.  Who we are in Christ must be very personal.  We must embrace it.  We must see this as real and not merely as doctrine. 

Lest we forget, we are taking considerable time to explain Col. 2:9-23, and the sufficiency of the cross.  Verses 9-10 tell us Jesus is the fullness of God, which means that those who have received Christ by faith are themselves complete!  What Paul was trying to get the Colossian believers to do was to “reckon” themselves to be who the Bible says they are, in Christ!  So, yes!  This word is an IMPERATIVE. 

YIELD.  This is the point when our renewed minds change our hearts.  Given who we are in Christ, the only sensible thing to do is to submit to Him, to take these bodies and every part of them (tongue, hands, feet, faces, everything) and give them to Him.  In other words, in light of His grace which has raised us to new life, we give ourselves to Him to use for His will (Rom. 6:12-14; 12:1).  Yes!  This is a command!

Rom. 5:14-21, With Christ in Baptism (2)

From Rom. 6:1-4 at the end of the previous post we see that our baptism “into Christ Jesus” is critical to the new life we live day by day.  Because of this baptism we can see that continuing in sin makes no sense.  Because of this baptism we see that our lives will be different than our old lives. 

Rom. 6:1-14 is explained by four words: know – reckon – yield – obey.  But before we look at those words there is a “big picture” we need to have.  The question is, who reigns or rules in our lives?  Another way to state it is, who is our Lord?  In the end, that is the one we will obey.

There are two “ruling” terms.  First is the one that means to “reign as a king.”  Death ruled as king from Adam to Moses (Rom. 5:11) because of Adam’s sin that was passed down.  By one man’s offense, death reigned (5:17a).  But if that is the case, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (5:17b).  As sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (5:21).  Do you see the “options?”  Rom. 5 tells us as sin and death ruled as king in our lives before we received Christ, it is also possible that Christ in His grace can reign abundantly for those who have received Him by faith.  Thus, in Rom. 6:12, those believers are commanded: do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 

The other “ruling” term is the one that means to “rule as a lord.”  That is certainly similar to “reigning as a king.”  But I am letting you know the different terms because I always believe God’s words are very specific.  In Rom. 6:9 we see that once Christ was raised from the dead, death no longer had “dominion” over Him.  He was subject to death, having become a Man (Heb. 2:9).  But God raised Him from the dead: it was not possible that He should b e held by it (Acts 2:24). 

In Rom. 6:14 we see that we believers in Christ can also be free from the dominion (lordship) of sin, because we are not under law but under grace.  Remember in a previous post how we saw that the law arouses sin because of our sinful passions.  If we seek to live by the law, meaning by our best attempts to keep the law, sin will actually become stronger in us and will be our lord.  But we are free from that dominion when grace reigns in us (again, Rom. 5:21).  This is restated in Rom. 7.  In 7:1, the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives.  In 7:4: my brethren (i.e. this is true of Christians), you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.  Living an abundant, fruitful life depends on our living under grace and not the law.  All this leads to the question: how do I live under grace?  The answer is in those four words we gave you at the start of this post.

Col. 2:12; Rom. 8:9-17, With Christ in Baptism (1)

Before we move on from “spiritual circumcision” I want to note something in Colossians.  This work of Christ is “putting off” the body of the flesh.  It does not say “destroying” the body.  The Greek term means just what the English says; it is like putting off clothing.  The verb form is used in v15: “having disarmed” principalities and powers.  He did not destroy them but removed their weapons and armor.  The only other use of this word is in 3:9: Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.  These other uses might help us to understand this work of Christ.  Moses had called on the people to circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer (Dt. 10:16), something they were unable to do and that awaited the day when this work would be done under the New Covenant.

How does this “circumcision without hands” impact our lives as Christians?  We still live in the body.  Rom. 8:10-11 tells us that our bodies are “dead because of sin.”  But “in Christ” we have been given the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, in our flesh-and-bone bodies!  While we are “dead” the Holy Spirit “is life because of righteousness.”  When we, by faith, received Christ, we received the One who became “sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).  This is our new life, the life of Christ (Gal. 2:20), and we have this life because we have His Spirit (Rom. 8:9).  Listen to God’s amazing promise in 8:11: If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.  We who were dead in sin (Eph. 1:1) have now come to be alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit.

So we have died to sin, been buried and raised to new life.  The picture of all this is “baptism.”  Obviously this is where “immersion” or “dipping,” the literal meaning of “baptize,” needs to be visualized.  Again, remember that “circumcision” and “baptism” in Col. 2 are spiritual events.  Spiritually we have been immersed in the Christ of the gospel.  As He died, was buried, and three days later was raised from the dead, so “in Christ” we have been joined with Him.  Immersion or baptism with water depicts this death-burial-resurrection as the new believer is immersed in the water (“buried with Him”) and then brought out of the water (“raised with Him). 

Let me close this post with the clear statements of Rom. 6:1-4, and then, Lord willing, in the next post we will seek to uncover some of its spiritual treasures.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom. 8:1-11, Circumcision Made Without Hands (2)

Paul spoke of trying to live his life “under the law.”  “With my mind,” he says, I “serve the law of God.”  But when the law came it aroused the sinful passions of the flesh.  So Paul was defeated.  “I don’t do what, in my mind, I want to do; yet I do the things that in my mind I don’t want to do.”  The problem he said was, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me (7:20).  The problem is that rule #1 (come on Paul, do evil) is strengthened or aroused by the law that Paul longs to obey.

What is the answer? The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (8:2).  There is another law that comes into the one who is “in Christ Jesus,” who has learned to walk according to the Spirit rather than the flesh (8:1).  This law is the life of Christ.  I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20a).  In Rom. 8:9a Paul says it like this: But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Christ lives in the believer by His Holy Spirit who indwelt the one who has put his faith in Christ.  We know this has happened because, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he is not His (8:9b).  The Holy Spirit, when we are born again, makes us alive in Christ.  If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (8:11). This is the “eternal life” promised in the gospel (John 3:16).  This is what it means to be a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

But still, what does this rule #4 do?  First, it does what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh (8:3a).  Second, it condemns sin in the flesh (8:3b). That is, it takes away the power of the first law.  But again, what is the power of the first law?  It is the second law, the law of God.  What Christ did was remove the law of God by fulfilling it, by fully satisfying the righteous demands of God’s law.  Remember that Jesus promised this: I did not come to destroy but to fulfill … one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18).  This fulfillment came to an end with His death on the cross.  When He said, “It is finished,” He had fulfilled the law. 

The way Paul said this in Colossians was this: having wiped out the hand-writing of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.  And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (2:14).  The “hand-writing of ordinances” is not a list of your sins; it is the righteous requirements of the law!  And that, my brothers and sisters, is the circumcision made without hands.  And now you can understand why, after Moses told Israel the LORD has not yet given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day (Dt. 29:4) that He then promised that the day would come when the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live (Dt. 30:6).

Rom. 7:13-24, Circumcision Made Without Hands (1)

What Colossians says in 5 verses (2:11-15) Romans says in 3 chapters (6-8).  Spiritual “baptism” is explained in Rom. 6:1-14.  Circumcision made without hands is in Rom. 6:15-8:17. That term is not used in Romans. However both Col. 2:11 (“putting off the body of the sins of the flesh”) and Romans (7:24, “this body of death;” 8:10: “the body is dead because of sin;” 8:13: “put to death the deeds of the body”) speak of the same problem.  How are we to live our lives as Christians, given we still exist in the body we have used for sin all our lives?  The body is dead spiritually.  Yet, it is still our bodily home on this earth.  This is the problem.  Let’s study this out, beginning by identifying “four laws” in Romans 7:21-8:4.

·       In 7:21 Paul saw a law “that evil is present with me.”  The previous verses, where he describes the struggle (“I want to do good but I do evil”) is what he is talking about.  Sin is present, always.  That is “rule” #1 if you will.

·       In 7:23 Paul saw “another law in my members” (i.e. in his body).  That verse tells us this “rule” is about bringing Paul into captivity to sin.  Paul has a “mind” to do God’s law (7:22).  Yet there is something that is making this impossible for him.  What is that “something?”  Consider this carefully.  This “other” law is the law of God, whether the Mosaic law or the law of the conscience.  Don’t be aghast at this.  Paul makes this very clear.  For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death (7:5).  In 6:14 we read, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.  The clear implication is that if we are “under law” we are being lorded over by sin.  This is the thing that the law “could not do” in 8:3.  In 8:7-8 we get the clear picture: the law of God is good because it points out my sin to me, enables me to know that my “covetousness” is sin.  But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produces all manner of evil desire.  For apart from the law sin was dead.  So “rule” #2 is: “keeping the law of God” will not produce holiness but will increase my struggles with sin.  Defeat is guaranteed!

·       In 7:23, the “law of my mind” is the third law.  In Paul’s mind he delights in the law of God (v22).  In Paul’s mind he longs to do good.  This ruled Paul’s life, even when he was living in Judaism before Christ.  So the first law says “do evil.”  The third law says “do good.”  The second law, the law of God, comes along and instead of empowering the third law it arouses the first law.  O wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death? (7:24).  Paul’s short answer to this wretchedness is, I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord (7:25a).  His conclusion to this point, however, in in 7:25b: So then, with my mind I myself serve (douleuō, as a bondslave) the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

·       We will continue this in the next post, but for now let me say that the fourth law is the one mentioned in 8:2: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

Col. 2:6-13, The Sufficiency of the Cross (5)

The Savior is complete.  His work is complete.  The question now is, how does/did this work come to have the effect on those who believe in Christ that they are complete?  In other words, how do we come to be “in Christ”?

Before we speak of what Christ does, we need to see that the key for those who are “complete in Him” is their faith.  In Col. 1:22-23 we see that God will present us holy, blameless and above reproach in His sight if you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven.  Paul has already acknowledged that these people in Colossae are believers in Christ (1:4-8).  But as he says it in 2:6-7, As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith.  Some of them were tempted to add something to the work of Christ.  Paul is saying “no!”  You need to continue, growing, becoming more and more solid in your faith in Christ.  To grow in faith is not adding something to Christ or His work; faith is not a good work but an empty hand receiving.  To grow in faith is to see that faith in the all-preeminent Christ applied to more and more of your life.  If we buy into the idea that Christ did His work and now my work must be added to it, we are no longer living by faith. 

I hope you are seeing this clearly, because it is one of the greatest, liberating truths for Christians.  The same Christ of the gospel who saved us the day we first believed, is the Christ of the gospel in which we walk day by day. 

Christ’s work IN the believer, Col. 2:11-13.

Christ’s work “in” the believer is given to us with two pictures: circumcision and baptism.  Clearly, these are spiritual works.  The circumcision is “made without hands.” The baptism is a picture of our death, burial and resurrection with Christ.  We were not on the cross, in the tomb, and raised with Christ around 30AD while we were visiting Jerusalem.  Even The Twelve could not say that and they were really there.  No, our baptism is real and spiritual. 

Just as the foreskin is cut away in physical circumcision, so in spiritual circumcision there is a putting off the body of the sins of the flesh (NKJV; I realize the NU omits “of the sins.”)  From birth our physical body carried the sinful nature.  Throughout our lives our body was used to carry out the sinful passions that come from that nature.  God called on Israel to circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer (Dt. 10:16).  Stephen preached to the Jews, You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you (Ac. 7:51).  This spiritual circumcision has to do with cutting away sin.  But under the law Israel could never do this.  So God promised, the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live (Deut. 30:6).  In Christ this promise was fulfilled.

Psalm 99

Again we have a regal Psalm that begins The Lord reigns! 

·         He is the most exalted God because He dwells between the cherubim (v1-3), a reference to the throne room of heaven (Rev. 4) and it’s shadow on earth, the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle/temple of Israel. 

·         He alone is worthy to be exalted and worshiped (v4-5) because He is just (legal) and righteous (moral) in all His doings.  He is to be worshiped at His footstool, the place on earth where He rests His feet (i.e. the temple, His holy hill, the place He designated where He would dwell with men.

·         Moses, Aaron and Samuel called on His name; They called and He answered.  Moses and Aaron were noted for their communication with God in the wilderness, even as Samuel communicated with God at a time when few were communicating with God (1 Sam. 3:1,21).  In these great men God’s justice and righteousness was clearly seen.  He forgave them while at the same time holding them accountable for their sins.  A good illustration of this is Moses who was called of God to lead Israel and yet was not permitted to enter the Promised Land because of his sin in striking the rock.  We know God’s forgiveness in Christ; but we also know that we reap what we sow.  Thus we are called to join these saints and exalt and worship the Lord our God!

This is a great call to worship.  But it is not hard to notice what is exceptional about God in this great Hymn.  Three times there are references to the holiness of God (v3,5,9).  Three times, as in the song of the angels: holy, holy, holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8).  His name is holy (v3).  He is holy (v5).  And most wonderfully, the Lord (Yahweh) our God (the God of Israel, yes and of the Church, the only God besides whom there is no other) is holy (v9). 

Verbal definitions are hardly adequate but it is where we start.  The Hebrew qadowsh  means to be free from defilement of crimes, idolatry and other unclean and profane things (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon).  It refers to God as abhorring every kind of impurity … as being the judge of what is right and true.  God is the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 1:4 and many other places in Isaiah).

The laws in the Old Testament concerning food (Lev. 11) provided a picture of holiness.  We are to be free of anything unclean, physically removed from it and cleansed (forgiven) when we have failed to do so.  And this is critical because there are no more important words in Scripture than these: Be ye holy for I am holy (Lev. 11:45, etc; and repeated for us in 1 Peter 1:16).

And how can we say we are to satisfy this impossible command?  This Psalm tells us.  Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool.  By and in Christ, God must be the exclusive focus of our worship.  Not simply Sunday worship; we are talking about the yearnings, desires, expectations of our lives every day.  Exalt Him!  Worship Him! 

Col. 1:13-22; 2:9-10, The Sufficiency of the Cross (4)

The sufficiency of the cross begins with the sufficiency of the Savior.  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (2:9).  This is actually the conclusion to Paul’s argument in the earlier part of the letter.  The “Son of His (the Father’s) love” (1:13) is our Savior, in whom we have redemption (1:14). 

The sufficiency and fullness of the Son of God is described in two references to the “firstborn.”  In 1:15-17 He is the firstborn over all creation.  He created all things, so all things were created through and for Him.  We know He Himself was not created because, 1) He has the right of the firstborn over all creation; and 2) He existed before all things. In Him all things consist, meaning they continue to exist and fulfill their created purpose.  There is nothing in all the universes outside His firstborn authority.

In 1:18 He is the firstborn from the dead.  Here the Scriptures are specifically speaking of “the body of Christ,” “the church.”  This is the “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), those who have been born again.  The Father has made His Son preeminent in all things, both the original creation and the new creation.

This preeminence is related to the fact that the Son was the image of the invisible God (1:15).  The Son is the “invisible God,” but in the working of the Godhead the Son, the Word, became flesh (Jn. 1:14).  Paul does not give the detail in the incarnation as he did in Phil. 2:5-11.  What is important in Colossians is that this One who took on a visible form nevertheless had all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him (1:19; 2:9).  There can be NOTHING added to Christ!

Not only is He our Savior in whom we have redemption; He is our Savior in whom we have redemption through His blood (1:14).  From the very beginning of the sin-problem in Gen. 3 there needed to be a Man (seed of the woman) whose blood would be sufficient to redeem Adam and Eve and all their lineage.  As God shed blood to provide a covering for Adam and Eve, and as God was pleased when Abel shed the blood of a lamb for an offering (Gen. 4), so God began to prepare humanity for the coming of a Savior with all-sufficient blood, a Lamb without blemish.  Those who lived before that Lamb could put their hope in Him.  And those who lived after that Lamb could put their faith in Him.  That Lamb was Jesus (John 1:29).  It pleased the Father to reconcile all things to Himself by that Lamb who shed His blood on the cross (Col. 1:19-20). 

The result is that you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless, and above reproach in His sight (1:21-22).  Thus, Paul’s conclusion in 2:9-10 is not only that Christ is all-sufficient but that you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.  The Savior is complete.  His work is complete.  Those who by faith are in Him are complete!

Colossians 2:16-23, The Sufficiency of the Cross (3)

Specifically, we are talking about the sufficiency of the cross to give a person access into the presence of God.  It has to do with the rending of the veil from top to bottom.  Paul’s letter to the Colossians, the entire letter, is about the sufficiency of our Savior and His salvation, His person and work. 

Colossians was written to churches that were contending for the gospel, that were being told that the gospel was insufficient in bringing people into such a relationship with God.  They needed something more.  Whatever the “more” was, it involved philosophy and empty conceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ (Col. 2:7).  The specifics of what “more” was needed included standards involving food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths (2:16).  Since Paul says these things are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (2:17) it is possible there was some Jewish/Old Testament influence involved, although it does not appear to be the strong “Judaizing” influence experienced by the Galatian Churches. 

In addition, from 2:18-23, the “more” involved taking delight in false humility and worship of angels … regulations – “do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.”  These were according to the commandments and doctrines of men, and had an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body.  Since Paul does not speak of these in detail, nor does he contradict each regulation, it is possible that the problem is not that they have been led to follow the wrong “religious practices” but that they have been tempted to follow ANY religious practices. 

It is also clear that what the Colossian believers are being called to “do” is seen by Paul as “in addition to” the gospel.  In Col. 2:8 these things are “not according to Christ.”  In 2:17 the religious practices are at best “a shadow” but the substance is of Christ.  Doing these things has kept them from not holding to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God (2:19).  In 2:20 he clearly states that doing these things is totally unnecessary if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world.  And at the end (2:23) he is emphatic that these religious practices are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.  In other words, these religious practices, being designed to teach discipline or self-control, which is evident in all the rules and restrictions and taboos, are useless to do the very thing they are intended to do.

What is described here is not unusual.  It sounds like, essentially, every religion ever created.  Paul rightfully relates this to “traditions of men” and “basic principles of the world.”  The New Testament never taught these things.  We were not left with a system of religion, not even in the physical observances of water baptism and the Lord’s Table (nor foot washing if that is one of your practices).  There is a reason for that, and we will see it in Colossians.

Esther 4:10-5:3, The Sufficiency of the Cross (2)

In the previous post, the ideas about “forsaken” and “torn in two” bring me to the subject of “The Sufficiency of the Cross.”  Jesus without exception bore the sins of the world on Himself.  His work was complete.  The IMMEDIATE result was that, upon His actual death, the veil was torn, granting access to God.  In the Septuagint in Esther 1:14 we see that the seven princes of Media and Persia, the highest ranking officials in the government, were the only ones to have “access” to the king.  Later in the story, although the term is not used, the thing that everyone needed was access.  Haman had it by virtue of the King’s ring.  Esther was afraid to approach the King but did and was granted it when the King extended his scepter.  Mordecai later was given the ring, giving him access.  All this tells us that “access” is a high privilege, and brings great blessing to those who have it.

In the NT the term is used thrice.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Rom. 5:1-2)

For through Him we both (Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ) have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Eph. 2:18)

…according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. (Eph. 3:11-12)

Before we go any further, I want to share some current background illustrations that have brought this “access” to my attention.  We recently made a four week to visit family and friends.  We attended church fellowship on the four Sundays in what would be called “evangelical” churches.  In two of the four we were encouraged to celebrate or participate in some way in the 40-days of Lent.  I sat wondering why Protestants are taking up the call to Lent?  For some reason, centuries ago, we found these to be lacking in some way.  People died over the issue.  It appeared to my keen “pastor’s” eye that one church was parroting a program suggested by someone else.  Sure enough, later, through an internet search, I could find the same materials and terms and PowerPoint slides that had been used.  The other, which I know has some Anglican leanings, was much more “original” about it. 

Additionally, I have seen some article suggesting there is a great movement among young people towards the Catholic Church, even from those with Protestant leanings.  The reason has to do with a love for “ancient religion” and the ritualistic emphasis of the RCC.  Again, I’m wondering why?  Don’t expect a full answer to these questions, but I am extremely interested in the issue of “access” to both these questions.

Mark 15:33-38, The Sufficiency of the Cross (1)

Continuing in Mark 15, we note these events while Jesus was on the cross:

·       15:33-34: forsaken.  In this case He was not forsaken by His friends and followers of course but by His God.  We need to remember that this is not Jesus angry at His Father because of all the physical pain.  This is not like so many who doubt the love of God because He has allowed some grievous trial into their lives.  For one thing, Jesus is quoting Ps. 22:1, the beginning of the OT description of His death on the cross.  If you read the entire Psalm, which most understand was written by David under the direction of the Holy Spirit because David could not have been writing just about his own personal experience, you will see that at the end of 22:21 the subject of the suffering knows there will be an answer of hope from His God.  The Messiah is not so much looking for an answer to the “why” but is acknowledging that there is a “why.”  He is truly forsaken, the Son of God by the Father.  This is all within the bonds of the Godhead.  It indicates there is something of major and unique proportions that has happened to bring this about.  Never before had this happened, nor will it ever happen again.  It is only here, as Jesus is numbered with the transgressors, as He bears our sins, as He satisfies the wrath of God.  We will never understand this if we have a too-shallow view of our sin and guilt.

·       15:35-36: misunderstood.  This pales in significance compared to the forsaking.  Someone hears “Eloi, Eloi” and thinks he has heard a call for “Elias.”  In the order of the words of Christ from the cross, the cry to “Eloi” must have been followed soon after by “I thirst” (Jn. 19:28; cf. Ps. 69:21), because the one who hears “Elias” goes to get the wet sponge.  As we have noted previously, Jesus at the beginning rejected the wine with myrrh because He wanted to bear the fullness of our punishment.  So “My God” leads to “I thirst” which leads to “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30) and “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Lk. 23:46).  Jesus did not need to correct the man who misheard because at this point the only relationship of concern is the one He has with His Father. 

·       15:38: torn in two from top to bottom.  The temple was much higher than the tabernacle was in the wilderness.  Thus the veil was quite high.  Like the one in the tabernacle it was quite thick, several layers of material.  You can read about the original earthly veil in Ex. 26:31-34.  The purpose was to separate men from God, to maintain His holiness by separation.  Behind the veil was the mercy seat, where God dwelt with men.  Only the priest could go there, only once a year, only with blood to sprinkle (Lev. 16:15-17; Heb. 9:7-9).  But upon the death of Christ this veil was torn in a way, from top to bottom, that made it clear: only God did this!  The veil was torn, thus indicating there was not something special in the relationship that men could have with God.  There was “access.”

Phil. 2:5-11, The Fullness of Humility

As we continue through Mark’s account of the cross of Christ we come to an event that was recorded by all four of the Gospel writers: the dividing of His garments.  Does that surprise you that by the Holy Spirit they all were led to include this story?  I was and wondered about it: what point do we gain from this story?  I remember as a child that a teacher said it was special for Jesus to have a robe of one piece of cloth, so that the soldiers didn’t want to tear it in pieces but gambled for it.  That has a ring of truth, and I can imagine that among the women, some of them wealthy, who followed Jesus throughout His ministry, might have given it to Him.  Most of that is not important since it involves the imagination and not Scripture.

When I read Psalm 22:16-18, where it is part of the prophecy of the crucifixion, and thus adds greater importance to the event, it seems to be that it is in a context that emphasizes the humility of Christ.  Dogs have surrounded Me … they pierced My hands and My feet … they look and stare at Me … they divide My garments.  To me it has a little bit of a circus show.  People staring at the gruesome sight, jeering, while soldiers are playing a game.  All at the feet of the Son of God. 

Let me remind you of the seven steps in Jesus’ humiliation from Phil. 2.

Being in the form of God … He emptied Himself … Taking the form of a bondservant … Being found in the likeness of men … He humbled Himself … To death … Even death on the cross.

It is what Rome always intended for crucifixion: pain but shame!  “Fun and games” while the Savior suffers for sin!  All this is part of “death on the cross.”  As Isaiah prophesied: He was despised, and we did not esteem Him (Isa. 53:3).

·       15:25: Here is a reminder of the timeline, given in Scripture.  Crucified the third hour (9AM).  Both the Jews whose Sanhedrin met at sun-up, and the Romans who received the Prisoner shortly thereafter, things moved quickly.  There were no seemingly interminable legal moves like we have in our courts.  From noon to 3PM there was darkness (15:33, 6^th to 9^th hour), after which He entrusted Himself to His Father in death.  By 6ish the Body was in the tomb.

·       15:27: He was crucified with two “robbers,” also called “malefactors” or “evil doers” in Lk. 23:33.  I have heard a senseless theory that there were five crucified.  As I say, senseless.  Robbers are evil doers.

·       15:29-32: The blasphemy, head-wagging and mockery are a big deal, prophesied and anticipated in Psa. 22:6-7; 69:5-12; 109:21-25.  Remember: there is respectful disagreement with people of every religion, but not with Christ or His followers.  Quit acting surprised.  If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. … If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (Jn. 15:18-20).