2nd Corinthians 7:1 -- Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Before this in ch 6, Paul is talking about not being yoked with unbelievers but also this general idea that good does not have anything in common with evil. Light cannot fellowship with darkness. Righteousness has nothing in common with wickedness. We are the temple of the living God and therefore we should not yoke ourselves to anything that is impure. As the temple of the living God, as His people, He has promised to recieve us and to make us His sons and daughters.
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
Verse 1 of chapter really seems to be the climax of what Paul was talking about at the end of chapter 6. He starts with 'therefore' indicating that what he is about to say is a logical following of what he said previously. The promises he is referring to in this verse are that we are His sons and daughters, holy temples of the living God, and that He will recieve us. Therefore, because of these promises, Paul calls us to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
I really feel like Paul starts of specifically by explaining that we should not be yoked with unbelievers and then explains why by generalizing that we should do because we need to separate ourself from defilement. He ends by saying that we cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, thereby perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This isn't to suggest that we can make ourselves perfect by separating ourselves from defilement. I think what Paul is saying is that we do this because it is a part of the sanctification process.
It's not that we should not love or associate with unbelievers. I don't think that's what Paul is saying at all. What he's saying is that we need to be careful not to become too tied to them because we don't live life the same way or have the same worlviews or practices. If we are around that and are a part of that we will naturally become defiled.
I think we can see this practically. When we spend a lot of time with a certain crowd, we naturally adopt their style of speech, their attitudes, beliefs, etc. This is why it is important that we surround ourselves with good solid people. We should consider it of utmost importance to yoke ourselves with solid believers who will naturally impact us in a positive way by leading us closer to God and being a part of the sanctification process. I truly believe that God works through people to impact our lives and this is one of those ways.
06.04.11
2nd Corinthians 7:2 -- Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one.
At first glance, Paul seems to start talking about an entirely new topic in verse two--as if he wrapped up a previous sermon on the dangers of being yoked with unbelievers in the first verse and were beginning something new with the second. However, a second glance reveals this isn't the case.
He starts off by saying, make room for us in your hearts. As I recall, the word 'heart' in the context of their culture and language really meant a person's whole being. It was not referring to a person's physical heart or their emotions or something of that nature. It was referring to a person's whole sense of being. Paul is saying make room for us in your whole being which is a lot like saying, let us be a part of your life.
His support for this request is that 'we' (which if you go back to 1:1 in 2nd Cor, you'll know that 'we' refers to Paul and Timothy) wronged no one, corrupted no one and took advantage of no one. In context, he is effectively saying to the Corinthians that they have done the Corinthians no harm. They are not like the unbelievers whom Paul warns not to be yoked with. They corrupted no one; they did not lead anyone to become unpure. They treated everyone well and took advantage of no one. Paul is really arguing that he and Timothy have done nothing that should keep the Corinthians from being yoked with them.
The Corinthians should accept Paul and Timothy into their hearts because they have been good influences.
12.03.11
The next two verses, I think, should be talked about together. They are vs 3-4, "I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. 4 Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction."
In my studies, I must admit that verse three has me somewhat perplexed. Paul starts by saying, "I do not speak to condemn you." This sentence can only be understood in reference to what Paul was saying previously. Those things he spoke, he did not say to condemn the Corinthians. The NIV translation hints at this more clearly by saying, "I do not say this to condemn you." His usage of the word 'this' clearly refers to the previous statement.
No we remember that the prior statement in verse two was this, "Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one." This may seem like a long-winded way of explaining that Paul did not say, "Make room for us in your hearts," to condemn the Corinthians, which is the logical interpretation. However, we need to take the utmost care when interpreting the text lest we make it out to say something that the author did not intend for it to say.
I really would like to do a word study on 'condemn' in this passage. I think it would give us a much clearer picture about what Paul is saying here. Having not done such a study yet, my assumption is that Paul was trying to clarifying the intent of his prior words. He was trying to say that he was not condemning them for having not made room for Tomothy and him. He's simply urging them to do so now and explaining why they should do so.
He follows this up by saying that the Corinthians are very important to them, so important, in fact, that they would live and die with the Corinthians. This, I believe, is to say that they would go through anything with the Corinthians and not leave by their side, no matter what. No trials, not even death would separate Paul and Timothy from the Corinthians; that's how deep their bond is. They are truly yoked. They are invested in the Corinthians.
Not only that, Paul writes about his pride for the Corinthians. He is proud of them and he has been encouraged by how they are doing. Even in all the persecution and trials that Paul was facing, he was overjoyed.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Silent One: In Search of the Holy Spirit
Written for my Acts to Rev class
It was the day of Pentecost. The believers were all gathered together to celebrate when a great noise surrounded the house and tongues like fire rested on them. Suddenly, they began to speak and prophesy in other languages. The Holy Spirit had filled all of the believers. Who is this mysterious member of the trinity? Churches rarely seem to delve into the character and being of the Holy Spirit. Today, He remains a relative mystery to believers; they only know that He silently resides in them and that He empowers them. Yet, if they begin to delve into the scripture, they see that the Spirit is anything but silent. He was not dormant one thousand years ago but was working in great ways through the early believers. Even now He is working just as diligently within every passionate believer. Believers need to begin to understand how the Holy Spirit worked in the early church in order to grasp how He is working today.
Before Jesus parted with His disciples, He sought to comfort them because they were distressed after He had predicted that one of His own would betray Him. They did not yet understand what Jesus had to go through. In John 14, as He was bringing peace to the disciples' troubled hearts, He spoke of the Spirit, saying in verse 16, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever” (NASB). Notice how Jesus refers to the Spirit as a ‘Helper’. Believers today seem to think that the Holy Spirit takes a passive role in His relationship to believers. However, the descriptive name ‘Helper' explains this was someone who actively aids the believers. “This indicates that the Spirit’s presence with the disciples will replace Jesus’ encouraging and strengthening presence with them while on earth” (Kostenberger 436). Not only that, Christ said that the Spirit would be with them forever.
Jesus shared more about this mysterious Helper that the believers would soon receive. In verse 17, Jesus said, “that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” The Spirit was not someone whom the world could receive, meaning that only believers could enjoy this close relationship with the Spirit. Indeed, the relationship is close because Christ also said that the Spirit would abide within the disciples and all believers.
The Holy Spirit is again mentioned in Acts 1:2 which says that before being taken up into heaven, Jesus had, “by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen” (NASB). More than likely, this refers to, “the influence by which his last instructions were accompanied, and by which the apostles were enabled to obey them” (Alexander 4). Believers should ask how this applies to them today. It would seem that the Holy Spirit prompts them and calls them to particular tasks. In addition to this, the Holy Spirit also enables believers to accomplish the tasks which He has called them to do.
The conversation between Christ and the disciples, recorded in John, was fulfilled during the day of Pentecost—the day the Holy Spirit descended from heaven. The day of Pentecost was also known as the Feast of Weeks and was an annual festival celebrated exactly fifty days after the Passover. We know that Christ was crucified during the Passover celebration (Brand 568). Thus, just as Christ had said, around fifty days after the crucifixion the Spirit had been sent by the Father to the believers.
The Spirit did not simply enter the believers but was sent in a magnificent fashion. Acts chapter 2, verses 2-4 says,
Before Jesus parted with His disciples, He sought to comfort them because they were distressed after He had predicted that one of His own would betray Him. They did not yet understand what Jesus had to go through. In John 14, as He was bringing peace to the disciples' troubled hearts, He spoke of the Spirit, saying in verse 16, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever” (NASB). Notice how Jesus refers to the Spirit as a ‘Helper’. Believers today seem to think that the Holy Spirit takes a passive role in His relationship to believers. However, the descriptive name ‘Helper' explains this was someone who actively aids the believers. “This indicates that the Spirit’s presence with the disciples will replace Jesus’ encouraging and strengthening presence with them while on earth” (Kostenberger 436). Not only that, Christ said that the Spirit would be with them forever.
Jesus shared more about this mysterious Helper that the believers would soon receive. In verse 17, Jesus said, “that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” The Spirit was not someone whom the world could receive, meaning that only believers could enjoy this close relationship with the Spirit. Indeed, the relationship is close because Christ also said that the Spirit would abide within the disciples and all believers.
The Holy Spirit is again mentioned in Acts 1:2 which says that before being taken up into heaven, Jesus had, “by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen” (NASB). More than likely, this refers to, “the influence by which his last instructions were accompanied, and by which the apostles were enabled to obey them” (Alexander 4). Believers should ask how this applies to them today. It would seem that the Holy Spirit prompts them and calls them to particular tasks. In addition to this, the Holy Spirit also enables believers to accomplish the tasks which He has called them to do.
The conversation between Christ and the disciples, recorded in John, was fulfilled during the day of Pentecost—the day the Holy Spirit descended from heaven. The day of Pentecost was also known as the Feast of Weeks and was an annual festival celebrated exactly fifty days after the Passover. We know that Christ was crucified during the Passover celebration (Brand 568). Thus, just as Christ had said, around fifty days after the crucifixion the Spirit had been sent by the Father to the believers.
The Spirit did not simply enter the believers but was sent in a magnificent fashion. Acts chapter 2, verses 2-4 says,
“And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the while house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
Charles Carter and Ralph Earle, authors of The Acts of the Apostles, had some interesting comments in regard to verse four, saying that this verse shows God’s desire to dwell within the soul of man (32). However, they note that before “such an unrivaled establishment of God in the soul of man could be realized, the inner nature of pollution and enmity against God must be cleansed away” (32). Only Jesus could fulfill this role. This means that only believers may receive the Holy Spirit. Regardless, one thing is strikingly clear in these passages. This was not a simple entrance for the Spirit; the magnificence through which He came down to the believers suggests the sheer importance of the event. Put bluntly, the coming of the Holy Spirit was a big deal.
Soon after, the Spirit began to work within the leaders of the early church. Peter, who had been afraid to even admit that he knew Jesus, now suddenly had the courage and strength to confess his faith before rulers, elders and scribes, the ones responsible for bringing about the crucifixion of Christ. We see this in action in Acts 4:8 which says, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them...” In verse 10, Peter connected these rulers and elders with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It would seem that the Spirit empowered Peter with a courage that he had, in the past, lacked. No longer was this man denying Christ, instead, he now was not even afraid to acknowledge those who had been responsible for the persecution of Christ. Peter did this in the face of physical persecution and imprisonment. Then, in Acts 7:55, we see that Stephen is also filled with the Holy Spirit, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God...” It is interesting that this happened right before his death.
Believers must be careful when they interpret these verses, however. It would be very easy to read over one of these instances in which the Spirit empowered an early follower and believe that the Holy Spirit turns us into fearless speakers for Christ. Aspiring biblical interpreters should be asking what being “filled with the Holy Spirit” means with regard to the context. Immediate context might suggest that the Spirit gave them the strength to become fearless speakers. This interpretation does not appear at first glance to be far from wrong. However, it is important to look at the extended context of the New Testament. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he tells them that he, “did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God” (2:1). Then in verse three, he continues, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” If being “filled with the Holy Spirit” is interpreted as being given the ability to speak fearlessly and bravely, then there is a contradiction between those verses and what Paul was saying to the Corinthians. Paul said that he was a fearful and non-persuasive speaker. However, it is important to notice that the Spirit was still demonstrated in his speech. Was Paul wrong? Surely not!
Returning to John 14, we see that Jesus went on to explain the Spirit’s role in greater detail in verse 26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” Jesus simply stated the role and purpose of the Spirit, to teach and bring remembrance of Jesus’ teachings to believers. In light of this verse, a better interpretation of the Spirit’s involvement in Peter’s and Paul’s message was that He empowered and directed their words in that particular situation. F. F. Bruce, author of an exceptional commentary on Acts, also reinforces this interpretation by saying that in Acts 4:8, “In words inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter made his reply” (99). The Spirit worked through them to share the Gospel regardless of their temperament and speaking style. Thus, it is more likely that Peter and Paul simply had differing abilities in public speaking. Note, however, that this did not change the effectiveness of their message. The power of the Spirit was displayed in both instances. With Peter, the leaders were amazed at the confidence of one they understood to be untrained in the scripture. Then Paul himself says that his message was, “in demonstration of the Spirit and power” (I Cor 2:4).
Understanding how the Spirit was at work in the early church leaders in these particular instances is very practical and applicable for believers today. First, believers do not need to feel like they have to be powerful, confident speakers in order to effectively share Christ with others. Peter appeared to be a powerful speaker, but Paul was not. Nevertheless, both were very effective at reaching out and sharing the Gospel with others because the Spirit worked through them in sharing the message. Believers can feel encouraged simply by knowing that God will use them no matter what their speaking abilities are, and the Spirit will work through them. From my own personal experience, there seem to be many believers, including myself at times, who are afraid to break out of our comfort zones when speaking out about our faith because we are uncomfortable about our ability to speak. There is confidence in knowing that the Holy Spirit will use us anyway.
Second, it is empowering to know that the Spirit is going to be guiding our speech and working through our words to impact others. Knowing this is actually very humbling; the power of the Gospel has nothing to do with the way we present it but rather how the Holy Spirit uses it. One particular life example comes to mind for me that, I think, really illustrates these two points. A number of years back, I went to a high school camp that was held in California. I spent one of those days on the beach with some friends, and we wanted to go out to evangelize, inviting others to join us for a worship service on the beach that evening. None of us had ever gone to the streets to evangelize to strangers before, so we were very nervous, but we ended up talking to a group of skater guys covered in tattoos and piercings. We were as nervous as we could be, stuttering our way through what we had to say. After we finished, all of us were certain that there was no way that any of those kids would join us for worship that evening. To our surprise three of them stopped by, and one actually attempted to follow along with the worship songs. It was clear to us that the Holy Spirit had been at work because we knew that nothing we had done personally brought those kids to our worship service.
Another way the Holy Spirit works is through the teachings of Scripture. This can be seen as the Holy Spirit working through believers, but it can also be seen as the Holy Spirit working within the hearts of unbelievers. Paul speaks to the Thessalonians, saying, “for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (I Thess. 1:5). The power of the Holy Spirit brought full conviction to the people of Thessalonica. We see that, “the Holy Spirit accompanied the gospel proclamation as the one who convinced the hearers of its truth” (Green 96). The Gospel was preached in power, ultimately meaning that it had, “the ability to do something” (Wanamaker 79). It arrested the attention, convinced the mind, and convicted the heart (Wanamaker 79).
Not only does the Spirit work through believers and in the hearts of unbelievers, but He also aids believers in understanding the Scriptures which are God-breathed. Briefly going back to John, Jesus again speaks of the Spirit in chapter 16, saying, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (vs. 13). Clearly, the Holy Spirit aids us in understanding God’s Word for us. This is seen again when Paul talks to the Corinthians about matters of the spirit, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (I Cor. 2:14). Believers get special help in truly understanding the scriptures and seeing it for its spiritual value. J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, author of Grasping God's Word, argue that non-believers are able to comprehend the basic message of the scriptures, however do not apply it (207). “When Paul goes on to say that a man without the Spirit ‘cannot understand’ the things of God, he is referring to a personal, experiential kind of understanding” (Duvall 207). The Holy Spirit enlightens believers to the significance of the Scripture.
It is encouraging to know that I have a Helper that is constantly aiding me in understanding God's Word. The Spirit does not just want me to know the Scriptures but also to fully understand their significance and to be able to apply it to my life. In my Bible classes that I have taken in college, studying the Word has caused Scripture to “pop” out at me, almost as if it is alive. I firmly believe that only the Holy Spirit could do that. When the Holy Spirit is at work, revealing the secrets of the scriptures, the Word truly is alive—breathing new life and renewing me each day.
It is also relieving to know that the Spirit works through me to impact others. That fact is both humbling and comforting. All of the glory belongs to God because He is the one who truly changes hearts. I find myself thanking God from time to time that I do not have to do that all by myself.
Believers today need to open their eyes to what the Spirit is doing in the world. He is diligently at work, empowering His faithful followers to do the work of God and also to grow in their understanding of the Scriptures. So often, it seems, the body of Christ glosses over the Spirit—so much more emphasis is put on the Son and the Father. Yet, the Spirit is the One who works closest to the believers. The New Testament abounds with the work of the Spirit, particularly through the early church followers. Modern-day believers should not expect any different. The Holy Spirit is not so silent after all.
Works Cited
Alexander , J. A. Acts: The Geneva Series of Commentaries. Carlisle, PA : The Banner of Truth Trust, 1980. 4. Print.
Brand, Chad Owen., Charles W. Draper, and Archie W. England. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville, Tenn.: Holman Bible, 2003. Print.
Bruce, F. F. The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Book of the Acts. Grand Rapids MI : Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980. 99. Print.
Carter , Charles W., and Ralph Earl. The Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan Publishing House, 1973. 32. Print.
Duvall, J. Scott, and J. Daniel Hays. Grasping God's Word. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. 207. Print.
Green, Gene L. The Letters to the Thessalonians . Grand Rapids, MI : William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company , 2002. 96. Print.
Kostenberger, Andreas J. John: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004. 436. Print.
Wanamaker, Charles A. New International Greek Testament Commentary: Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Grand Rapids, MI: Wanamaker, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990. 79. Print.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
New Beginnings
It's a restricting, almost suffocating feeling to not be able to sit down and write for so long. Recently, it seems like there is always some sort of wall in the way which has prevented me from penning something new and reasonable for posting. I suppose these are the hurdles all writers must face. Either we find our lives consumed with other matters that are more pressing and which keep us from sitting down to think and write, or when we finally do sit down to write, we find that we have nothing to write about. Creativity is like lightning; it flashes for a moment and consumes our every thought until it fades just as quickly when our attention is diverted elsewhere. I personally find that I am most creative when I am not actually able to sit down and write. Either I am lying down in bed, fading quickly into sleep or I am busy with school or work, with not a minute to spare, or in the company of friends or doing really anything that would keep me from writing.
I hardly doubt I am the only writer who must face this annoyance. It's unfortunate really, because it seems like my best ideas are the ones that I forget before I can jot them down. This just makes the me wonder. If all writers were able to record every creative idea from their heads and run with them, would we have more works like those of the most famous authors such as Shakespeare (who can, of course, be substituted with any other author you may prefer more)? What about the whole world? If everyone were able to devote full attention to every creative idea their minds ever entertained, would our world, our culture and our technology be even more advanced than it already is? This is either a fascinating or frightening thought. Perhaps it is best that the human mind is forgetful.
If you were hoping all of this was leading up to something that would be meaningful or applicable to your life, I'm sorry to dash your hopes. I really have no intentions of taking any of these thoughts anywhere; I simply wanted to record them out of a desire to write. It's been too long. Though I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, it just seems fitting to make this post into a new beginning. Over the last few months, I have not been nearly as involved with blogging as I have been in the past and I want that to change.
Here's to a new year and a new beginning, filled with many new ideas, most of which will likely be forgotten before they have a chance to be written about but some which will undoubtedly find themselves posted here.
- Sean
I hardly doubt I am the only writer who must face this annoyance. It's unfortunate really, because it seems like my best ideas are the ones that I forget before I can jot them down. This just makes the me wonder. If all writers were able to record every creative idea from their heads and run with them, would we have more works like those of the most famous authors such as Shakespeare (who can, of course, be substituted with any other author you may prefer more)? What about the whole world? If everyone were able to devote full attention to every creative idea their minds ever entertained, would our world, our culture and our technology be even more advanced than it already is? This is either a fascinating or frightening thought. Perhaps it is best that the human mind is forgetful.
If you were hoping all of this was leading up to something that would be meaningful or applicable to your life, I'm sorry to dash your hopes. I really have no intentions of taking any of these thoughts anywhere; I simply wanted to record them out of a desire to write. It's been too long. Though I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, it just seems fitting to make this post into a new beginning. Over the last few months, I have not been nearly as involved with blogging as I have been in the past and I want that to change.
Here's to a new year and a new beginning, filled with many new ideas, most of which will likely be forgotten before they have a chance to be written about but some which will undoubtedly find themselves posted here.
- Sean
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