By In Culture

Resolutions for Church-Friendly Family

Merry 8th Day of Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here are the five resolutions I encourage you to take seriously as members of local churches in 2024:

a) Resolved to attend corporate worship every Lord’s Day unless providentially hindered. We live in a society that treasures entertainment and personal hobbies on Sundays, but God has made his commandments clear. If you compromise on this, you are placing your offspring at the altar of preference and convenience, and the fruit will be disastrous.

b) Resolved to be engaged in the life of fellowship. This is, of course, an extension of the first, though it does not carry the weight of the first. The solution to knowing your community is to be around it beyond Sunday morning. There are activities where it is good and right to attend and there are seasons where attending such activities/events are not profitable nor necessary. Wisdom needs to be considered often. For the life of any Christian body to grow in love and holiness, you will have to work extra hard to maintain a good community life, which demands a commitment, but the rewards are beyond measure.

c) Resolved to grow in the knowledge of God and His Word. One of the great threats of our day is apathy: Christians who sit week after week without increasing their knowledge of the Bible or who are content with the bit of knowledge they have.

Dear friend, it is a sin to not desire to know more about God. To be indifferent as a Christian contradicts the Lordship of Jesus. Jesus demands your souls and bodies. Don’t give him your crumbs.

d) Resolved to be hospitable Christians. Your home—however big or small—is meant to be a garden that provides refreshment to those who enter. I am exhorting you to take your calendars and mark one day a month when you plan to have folks over.

Some families are more gifted in this area ( a gift which has been built with years of practice) and will have people over for meals every week—and you are free to go above and beyond—but I am encouraging 12 days a year where you will intentionally invite some (one) over your home for a meal or dessert or some kind of fellowship. If you need help implementing any of these things, send me a note, and I’d be pleased to offer some suggestions. As one who has been practicing hospitality since the beginning of our marriage, I have learned much from these years and am eager to share any lessons.

e) Resolved to live out the Church Calendar in 2024. Depending on your context in a local church, you can still practice many of these things as families and on your own. If your congregation’s leadership is adamantly opposed to the calendar, I would refrain or, at the very least, talk with them. But in most cases, local churches are indifferent to private practices. Remember that everyone has a calendar. We don’t allow the government or other institutions to determine our calendar. The Church has its own. It takes some practice and creativity to use the calendar wisely. For example, most evangelicals in our culture think that there is only one day of Christmas on the 25th. Anything after the 25th becomes a preparation for the new year. But the Church has set aside 12 days to celebrate Christmas.

So, there are things we can do to make these seasons even more festive and meaningful. Ultimately, the church’s life is the only true life there is. Live it out faithfully this new year and commit your joys and sorrows to the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ.

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By In Church, Culture, Discipleship, Theology

House Building

God is an architect and builder. Creation is his house. One part of the house was finished from the beginning. God created his heavenly palace complete. It was a turn-key job. The earth, however, he gave to his son, Adam, as a project (Ps 115:16). God provided his son all the raw materials and the blueprint to complete his mission. Once the earthly house was finished, the breach between heaven and earth created on the second day of the creation week would be reconciled.

The original separation of heaven and earth was not caused by sin. The division was a design feature of the original creation, and the maturity of the earth was man’s mission before sin entered the world. When Adam sinned, the separation was deepened. From that time forward, the project to build a house in which God would be pleased to dwell, uniting his heavenly home to an earthly home, was crippled by sin.

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By In Christmas

The Apocalyptic Christmas

INTRODUCTION

When we think about Christmas, our minds often conjure images of serene tranquility: a sleeping babe swaddled in linen, nestled in a manger under a starlit sky, surrounded by gentle animals lowing. We envision angels strumming golden harps, their melodies echoing sweetly with promises of peace on earth and goodwill toward men, heralding the birth of heaven’s all-gracious King. However, a starkly different, yet equally significant, portrayal of the Christmas narrative unfolds in the book of Revelation. Here, instead of peaceful stillness, we encounter a dramatic scene with dragons, falling stars, and a celestial war centered around a particular child. This apocalyptic vision of Christmas, far from the traditional manger scene, challenges us to expand our understanding of what Christmas means and how to apply its incredible and profound implications.

With that, let us explore the apocalyptic Christmas from Revelation 12 and discover what it teaches us.

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child, crying out in labor and pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. His tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; her child was caught up to God and to His throne. – Revelation 12:1-5

THE APOCALYPTIC CHARACTERS

Now… For a moment I want to examine the apocalyptic characters in this scene, look at who they are, what they represent, so that we can understand what is going on.

On the surface, the meaning seems obvious. This passage is clearly talking about Jesus. He is the male child born to the woman and delivered to us on Christmas Day. He is the King who ascended into heaven after His resurrection as Revelation 12 alludes. But, this passage also presents the familiar scene to us in a very different sort of way. The book of Revelation does not present these events in the material realm like all of the other Christmas passages, which are set in our world, where men and women observe events in space and time (with stables, innkeepers, cities, stars, and wise men or with gifts like gold, frankincense, and myrrh that could be held in the hands).

Yet, Revelation tells the Christmas story, it seems, from an entirely different dimension. Instead of communicating events in the physical world, it portrays them in the spiritual, cosmic, and apocalyptic realm, which means that if we are going to understand them, we must be careful to examine them in their proper setting, identifying what each of the characters in the drama represent and mean.

THE APOCALYPTIC WOMAN

The passage from Revelation 12 introduces us first to a woman “clothed with the sun,” which is a beautiful portrayal of a holy female, set apart by God and enveloped with God’s dazzling creative light. Now, this is not just any female. Many might want to attribute the woman from Revelation 12 to Mary, the physical mother of Christ, but this is not her. The imagery in our passage allows for only one interpretation of this woman’s identity: it is not Mary, but is instead faithful Israel.

Remember, faithful Israel was God’s Old Testament bride (Isaiah 54:5-6) as she is cast in feminine terms. But, since the church is the Israel of God, God’s bride is also the New Testament Church (Ephesians 5:25-27), who was grafted into Israel by the working of Christ (Romans 11:17-24). She, the faithful people of God, is the one whose maker is her husband (Isaiah 54:5) and who in the Old Testament was promised to be restored from her covenant unfaithfulness in the new covenant coming in Christ (Hosea 2:19-20; Jeremiah 31:31-34). At every turn, Israel, the people of God (Past, Present, and Future) are compared to a woman, which is why Revelation describes her this way. She, and by that I mean the people of God, are the ones covered in His loving light through our relationship with Yahweh (Numbers 6:24-26). His face beams on us so that we shine like a radiant lights to all the nations (Isaiah 49:6).

Thus when we see in Revelation, a shining apocalyptic woman clothed with the sun, we should immediately recognize her as symbolic of God’s bride, the people of God in both Testaments.

Our suspicions are further confirmed when we see that the moon is under her feet and that she is crowned with 12 stars, which is directly alluding to Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9. As you will remember, Joseph dreamed that the sun (representing his father, Jacob), the moon (his father’s wives), and the 11 stars ( all of his brothers) would all bow down to him and serve him in the future. And because of this dream, Joseph’s brothers become furious at him, selling him into slavery to a midianite caravan, which left him in Egypt, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, eeking out a living in prison, all before God elevated him to the position of second in command in Pharaoh’s empire. In this way, he was positioned at just the right place, to deliver his family from a massive famine in Egypt, making the dream true. His father and wives, along with his brothers (all of the people of Israel) bowed down and served Him.

Now, what is pertinent in Joseph’s dream to the description of the apocalyptic woman in Revelation, is that she is depicted with the sun, moon, and stars, which in Joseph’s dream applied to the entire people of Israel. Knowing this, it is especially clear that she is the embodiment of the true covenant Israel that Joseph dreamed about all those years ago. She represents the people of God, who are called the bride in the Old Covenant, but also in the New Covenant. We know this because this passage is not just a reference to a bygone Israelite era but a vibrant, living link that connects the ancient people of God, represented by the twelve tribes, to the unfolding narrative of salvation history in the New Testament. This woman is God’s bride who brought forth the man child messiah, but she is also the bride of Christ, who while persecuted will follow her Lord to victory. We see that as the passage develops (Revelation 12:13-17; 19:7).

We see this unfolding by the apocalyptic woman’s condition, as she is besieged by labor pains, which is more than a mere depiction of her physical anguish. This pain encapsulates, not only the long travail of Israel until the messiah was born, but also the tumultuous journey of the early Church, marred by struggles and persecution, especially under the harsh rule of the Roman Empire. These pains are not just symbolic of her suffering; they are indicative of birth, of new birth, of something new and transformative emerging from the throes of the old. Which is why this woman is the perfect picture. She is the Israel by which the Messiah was born… From her very womb. And she is also the bride of Christ who was birthed by His ascension into heaven. That event, began the shift from the Old to the New Covenant, a pivotal moment in the redemption where the Law and Prophets find fulfillment in Christ and where all the types and shadows of the Old Covenant fade away to make room for what they pointed to all along… Him.

In that sense, this apocalyptic woman stands as the people of God at a crossroads. She is the people of old whose temple, priests, and sacrificial system always anticipated Him and now were fading to make room for Him, and she is the people of Christ who are welcomed into His end time Kingdom of justification and grace.

Interestingly, this transition period also aligns with the themes of Christmas, a time traditionally associated with joy and peace yet deeply embedded in a context of struggle and divine intervention. Christ’s birth, celebrated during Christmas, is a transition from prophecy to fulfillment, from expectation to realization. It is God’s intervention in human history, much like the protection offered to the woman in Revelation 12.

In essence, the woman “clothed with the sun” is a multifaceted symbol. She is Israel at a crossroads, the early Church in its nascent stages, and a beacon of hope for believers facing adversity today. She is the true people of God, past, present, and future, who find hope in the messiah… Born to die, risen to ascend, ascended in order to reign! This imagery of the apocalyptic woman, set against the backdrop of Christmas, reminds us that even in times of our greatest struggle, the promise of salvation and triumph in Christ remains our anchor and hope. It’s a message that resonates through the ages, from the dusty roads of ancient Israel to the modern-day celebrations of Advent in Christian Churches. We all with unified voice echo these enduring truths of divine providence and cling to the protection Jesus offers for all God’s people everywhere.

THE APOCALYPTIC CHILD

In exploring the depths of Revelation 12 and its connection to the eschatological themes of Christmas, we find ourselves drawn to the figure of a male child, a pivotal character in this cosmic drama of Revelation. This apocalyptic child, unmistakably a representation of Jesus Christ, stands at the heart of this narrative that connects prophecy, celestial conflict, and divine triumph all in one fell swoop.

John the revelator begins by telling us that the child would rule the nations with an iron rod (Revelation 12:5), which is.a picture of Christ we are not to oft to celebrate. But, this comes directly from the messianic Psalms (Psalm 2:9), where David tells us that the Messiah “will break them with a rod of iron; and will dash them to pieces like pottery.” This Psalm gives us a glorious picture of Christ as having an unchallengeable rule! He has unrivaled authority and power and the advance of His Kingdom totally unstoppable no matter how much earthly opposition and tumult the nations try to throw at Him. He will establish His Kingdom, and the nations will either bow down and worship this King or they will be crushed by the weight of His holiness.

The narrative in Revelation 12 reminds us why this king was born… Yes He was born to die. But death was not the terminus. He was also born to rise. And in His rising He was born to rule the nations!

This passage also mirrors the historical events surrounding Christ’s birth at Christmas, particularly Herod’s pursuit of the infant Jesus. Herod, in his attempt to thwart the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, ordered the massacre of all male infants in Bethlehem starting with the boys who were two years old or younger. This tragic episode, often referred to as the Massacre of the Innocents, reflects a broader theme of satanic opposition to God’s salvific plan that unfolds across all Scripture.

Yet, our passage in Revelation doesn’t end with Herod’s cruel decree or even with the earthly life of Jesus. It skips everything from just after birth to death, periscoping all the way past calvary to the Mount of Olives where Jesus was ascended! By juxtaposing His birth and ascension, Revelation is symbolizing not just a physical ascension to heaven but the ultimate defeat of the dragon, who will be cast out of heaven by Jesus triumphant arrival. This passage typifies the inauguration of Christ’s eternal kingdom that began when He sat down at the right hand of God in His throne room, and cast the dragon and His angels clean out of the heavens. While indeed these events are historical, Revelation presents them in the terms of a cosmic battle. A battle the infant Jesus was born into and a battle the ascended Jesus will bring to completion.

The victory of Christ, celebrated at Christmas as the birth of the Savior, is not just about His birth but about His victory He won in resurrection and ascension. That victory grows in every age by the spread of Jesus’ Church. Now, as the body of Christ, we get the awesome privledge of participating in this ongoing cosmic drama. We get to join the male Child in the war against the dragon. We get to bring His life and light to a world still addicted to the shadows and darkness. And… serving this King reminds us that the joy and hope we celebrate during Christmas are not mere commemorations but vibrant realities, calling us to participate in the unfolding story of redemption and to witness the continued unfolding of God’s kingdom on earth.

THE APOCALYPTIC DRAGON

As we conclude our examination of the characters in this cosmic apocalyptic war drama, we encounter a formidable antagonist: the dragon, identified as Satan or the serpent of old. This character represents not just a singular evil entity but the embodiment of spiritual opposition to God’s redemptive plan throughout history.

The imagery of the menacing apocalyptic dragon in Revelation 12, poised to devour the male child, is rich in biblical symbolism. This scene echoes the constant spiritual warfare that has existed from the beginning, but it narrows the focus onto the spiritual warfare experienced by Christ. From the Herod attempting to kill Him at birth, His temptation by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), to his many battles with the demons (Mark 1:34, Luke 4:35, Matthew 8:28-34, etc.), all the way to the cross where He bound the strong man and disarmed the cosmic powers (Colossians 2:15), Christ’s life was a series of confrontations with the forces of darkness. The dragon’s failed attempt, one after the other, to destroy the Christ is emblematic of his ultimate defeat and Christ’s ultimate victory.

To understand this imagery fully, we can turn to the Old Testament, which lays the groundwork for this cosmic conflict. Isaiah 27:1 speaks of the the Messiah punishing Leviathan, a twisting serpent, often interpreted as a symbol of evil forces opposing God’s plans. Similarly, Psalm 74:13-14 describes God crushing the heads of sea monsters, including Leviathan. These passages are not just ancient poetry but are part of a larger narrative that Revelation 12 is drawing upon.

All throughout the Scriptures, we see a pattern of the divine triumphing over evil. And by interpreting this image in Revelation 12, correctly, within all of its manifold historical and symbolic frameworks, we can see that the dragon experiences ultimate defeat in the male child’s Kingdom. This is not merely a future event, that will happen at the end of time, but an ongoing event that is happening here and now on earth, as the church follows Christ into all the nations. This is certainly made possible by the events of the ascension and Easter but it finds its roots in the Christmas story.

This ongoing spiritual warfare underscores the themes of Christmas as a time of divine intervention. In Christ the light has come. War upon the demonic realm has come. The invasion and plundering of Satan’s Kingdom has come in a babe wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. The birth of Christ was not just a miraculous event contained within the past; it was a decisive moment in the spiritual realm that broke the power of evil and inaugurated His rule of peace that will overtake the nations. Christmas marked the beginning of the end of Satan’s reign and the inauguration of Christ’s victorious kingdom.

Moreover, this narrative provides a profound assurance for believers: the Church’s ultimate victory is coming as we continue our work to expand God’s kingdom on earth to the all the nations (Matthew 28:18-10). The Church, born out of Christ’s victory, is engaged in this ongoing spiritual battle, continuing the work that Jesus started by putting satan under our feet as well (Romans 16:20). As Christians gather worldwide to celebrate these glorious truths that dawned upon us at Christmas, we are all reminded of our role in this cosmic drama. Like Israel, we are called to be bearers of light in a world that often seems dominated by darkness. And we are to herald His victory until peace on earth and goodwill toward men has reached all His blood bought people.

The story of the dragon in Revelation 12, interpreted in the light of the entire biblical narrative, is not just a tale of ancient cosmic conflict. It is a living narrative, particularly relevant during Christmas, as it reminds us of the birth of the One who came to defeat evil and restore all creation. This eschatological perspective transforms our understanding of Christmas from a mere celebration to an ongoing, victorious reality in our present and future.

CONCLUSION

In our journey through the apocalyptic Christmas narrative of Revelation 12, we have traversed a landscape far removed from the serene manger typically associated with this season. This exploration has revealed a Christmas story that encompasses not only the physical realm but also a profound spiritual and apocalyptic dimension. It invites us to see the birth of Christ not just as a historical event but as a pivotal moment in a cosmic saga that will see everything God planned and promised coming to fruition in Him.

The characters of this narrative – the radiant woman symbolizing the entire people of God, the male child as the Christ, and the dragon as the Satan – each play a crucial role in unfolding the truths of Christmas. The woman, clothed in celestial light, reminds us of God’s enduring faithfulness to His people never ends.

The male child, fulfills the ancient prophecies and initiates a kingdom that will never end. This reminds us that Christmas is not just about the birth of a baby but the inauguration of a reign that would forever alter the course of history and forever change the world.

The dragon, representing Satan, though a figure of formidable power, ultimately stands defeated in this narrative. His presence in the Christmas story deepens our understanding of the gravity of Christ’s mission. It underscores the reality that Jesus’ birth was the dawn of Satan’s defeat, which is why we scream Joy to the world!

This apocalyptic Christmas narrative reorients our understanding of the season. It’s a reminder that the peace, joy, and goodwill come through death, war, and dominion. Theses are not just sentimental ideals but realities grounded in the triumph of Christ over the powers of darkness.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, do so with a renewed sense of awe and gratitude, recognizing that in the birth of Jesus, evil has been defeated, it is being defeated, and one day will be perfectly defeated. This Christmas, do not sit on the sidelines any longer. Join the male child and work to see His Kingdom advance in your neighborhood, job, school, or wherever the Lord may call you. And this Christmas, celebrate that light has come into the world. You no longer live in darkness. You are a part of a church that is wrapped in heavenly light who is called to bring that light to the land of Shadows. This Christmas, do not merely commemorate a past event but celebrate a living cosmic reality.

May the truths brighen your hearts and propel you to serve Him Joyfully.

Merry Christmas! 

Kendall

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By In Christmas, Theology

Christmas & The Kingdom

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

~2 Samuel 7:12-13

From the beginning, God’s task for his son, Adam (Lk 3:38), was to build a kingdom. Wrapped in the commands to subdue the earth and have dominion in Genesis 1:28 is the reality that Adam is a king over creation who has the responsibility to be a good steward of creation, developing and arranging the world under his lordship. The goal was to glorify all creation so that it imaged the Father’s heavenly dwelling place. God’s will was to be done on earth as in heaven. The Father was the high king, and Adam, his vice-regent, was commissioned to carry out the Father’s will.

The success of this project began with Adam’s heart allegiance being given to his Father, but the mission was not limited to Adam’s heart. He was to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Adam was to cultivate the soil, making it fruitful. He and his wife were to be fruitful and multiply, filling the earth (Gen 1:28). As the family grew and became families, and as families became larger societies, they to arrange their lives under the lordship of God’s son and have entire societies who gave their allegiance to their heavenly Father. Everything from the ground to governments was a part of this kingdom-building project. The earth was to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as waters covered the sea.

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By In Culture

Pope Francis and the Sexual Revolution

The pontiff’s opening words on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in 2013 noted:

“My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today…be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.”

What has this evangelization wrought in a decade but decadence and a concrete movement toward old-fashioned modernism! The audacious hierarchy of Rome brought all the fruits you would expect of a fallen man playing the role of vicar of Christ on earth. The man who came to power to strengthen human bonds is now eagerly dissolving the very fabric of society established in Eden.

Romanism will enter into the most challenging chapter of its history with a declining population (even in South America, the home of Francis) and a growing apathy to traditional forms. The Catholic Charismatics was an attempt to preserve the Church amid a changing demographic in the 60’s, but now what will become of a Church that claims dogmatic authority led by a pope playing out his socialist and progressive schemes before an ever-changing society? There is no certainty this transition is the last among a wildly revolutionary play on sexual ethics. The Church that prided itself in theological stability and coherence through centuries is now plagued by its own ecclesiology.

Conservative bodies need to be prepared to absorb this hungry generation of Roman Catholics who have observed dogma and tradition faithfully after Vatican II but now will look to find refuge somewhere where creational norms of sexuality have not evolved with time.

I believe the conservative Protestant tradition–especially among the Reformed and Lutheran–must be prepared to educate a massively illiterate Catholic population. Only the Bible and the vast Reformational tradition can provide that security; only the Scriptures can be the source of evangelization.

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By In Culture

The Pastor’s First Duty

Pastors have a fundamental responsibility to shepherd within before they can shepherd without. While the negative world provides us plenty of opportunities to uphold truth, if those propensities and proclamations are not shaped by the garden of the Church first, the opinion pieces will fail to get a hearing. They will only draw the untrained and uncivil pugilist to your corner, who eventually may swallow the young clergy. Therefore, that percentage dynamic should be heavily weighed in favor of the immediate parish concerns (I Pet. 4:17).

While much of theological and pastoral output can benefit the outside community, the minister’s primary goal is to meet the needs of his people. He is a local shepherd, accountable to a local body (Heb. 13:17), connected to a local people.

We are experiencing a monumental decline in pastoral candidates in mainline traditions and a slight decline in more conservative bodies like the Missouri Synod Lutheran.* While there are sociological demands for modern pastors to confront every conceivable moral issue, the minister represents God to his visible assembly, whom he addresses from the pulpit and to whom he administers the elements of bread and wine. His particular dispositions must be used accordingly; his gifts need to be activated rather than re-creating him after the image of some publicly acclaimed character.

While there is tangible evidence of institutional dereliction among seminaries, there is still a more significant fault among those who have demands of pastors that do not place them first at the feet of their congregants before the feet of outside inquiries.

Of course, every pastor has a public face, but his local image shapes that public image. To reverse that dynamic is to create influencers rather than shepherds. The decline of candidates stems from expectations that ministers must embody nearly renaissance gifts, and no man can endure that level of pressure for sustained periods of time.

Too much pastoral theology in our day, put the Table and Pulpit secondary, and the political halls and podcasts as primary. But ministers are heavenly professionals tending to the first garden of God before moving into the land and world.

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By In Church, Theology

Garments of Salvation

“I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

~Isaiah 61:10

The theme of clothing is woven into the warp and woof of Scripture. Man is created naked and unashamed, but he wasn’t to remain unclothed. As creation around him was immature and, in that sense, naked, needing to be clothed with the glories created by man’s dominion, man himself was to mature and be clothed with garments of glory and beauty. We can know this with certainty because the resurrected and ascended Christ Jesus, the last Adam, is clothed in his glorified state. He was naked and ashamed on the cross, but in his exaltation, he is gloriously vested (see Rev 1). Man’s destiny was to be clothed, and his clothing would be the glory for which God created him.

Man sinned and fell short of this glory (Rom 3:23). After the first sin, the man and woman sought to clothe themselves with fig leaves, covering their shame. This wasn’t the glory God intended. God shed blood and clothed them with the skins of animals.

Nevertheless, God’s plan was unchanged. Man was still to take dominion of the earth and make clothes for glory and beauty from it. The world would fight him in various ways, but God intended man to share his glory so that man would be clothed in the way God himself was clothed. God clothes himself in creation (see Psa 104:1-2). This is the manifestation of his glory. God desires that man share his glory, clothed in a glorified creation.

Images of this glory are given in the high priest of Israel. When God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, they plundered the Egyptians. From this old, decimated world that was Egypt, God provided the materials to make a new world. This was the world of the Tabernacle with its principal figure, the high priest, the new man. God made clothes for the high priest, and these clothes were “for glory and for beauty” (Ex 28:2). The high priest’s garments were made from animal (wool), mineral (gold, silver, and precious stones), and vegetable (linen). The high priest wore creation like a garment. He is the living image of the invisible God who wears creation as a garment.

Isaiah 61 refers to these priestly garments throughout the chapter and, toward the end, calls them “the garments of salvation” and “robe of righteousness.” These are parallel, describing the same thing with slightly different images.

Isaiah 61 is structured by creation imagery. “The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh” begins the chapter. The chapter ends with the image of a man and woman, bridegroom and bride, clothed and in a fruitful garden. The middle of the chapter describes ruins, a formless and void world. The Spirit is brooding over the ruins and will re-create the world, culminating in a glorified husband and wife in a fruitful garden. The one upon whom the Spirit rests, the Anointed One, of whom Isaiah prophesies, is coming to make a new creation. He will not turn back the clock and make everything as it was in the beginning. He will glorify the world with the man and woman at the center with their garments of salvation.

The garments of salvation and robes of righteousness are not abstract concepts, ideas that need down-to-earth illustrations so that we can grasp them. The garment of salvation is the glorified creation. The developed creation, the new heavens and the new earth that will be our garments, will be our salvation. Salvation is not an escape from the earth, a bodiless existence in a distant immaterial heaven. Salvation is being clothed with the glorified creation.

The One for whom we wait in this season of Advent does not come as a bodiless spirit or transform into one after his work is completed. He is the Spirit-anointed One who clothes himself with the creation, hovers over its ruins, and then transforms creation into glorious garments. At the end of Isaiah 61, we learn these garments are not for him alone. He takes a bride under the wing of his garment. She is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, sharing his garment. I speak of Christ and the church.

In your baptism, you have “put on Christ” (Gal 3:27). The one who took on the creation and brought it to its intended glory in his resurrection and ascension is your garment of salvation, your robe of righteousness. In him, you are glorified.

Work remains to be done. Christ has glorified the creation in his own person, and now all creation must follow. This is our continuing work in the world until Christ’s second Advent. In the power of the Spirit, whom we share in our union with Christ, we are to work to make everything we touch in the creation a glorious garment worthy of Christ and his bride.

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By In Culture

Recipes and readings for Advent (3)

One of our members at Emmanuel in London, Lucie Brear, has compiled a fantastic collection of recipes and suggested Scripture readings for advent. If you want to discover a traditional English way to prepare for Christmas, then just read on! I’ll post them here one week at a time. Here’s the third:

A Reformed Christmas – The Butter Letters

Given that we have just celebrated its 500th anniversary, it’s festively fitting that we explore the impact of the Reformation on Christmas, along with a traditional Advent recipe that is closely linked to this period.

It may surprise some to learn that the Reformation had a profound influence on the way we celebrate Christmas, in more ways than we might expect. Read on to discover how Luther and the Reformers shaped the Christmas traditions that many of us hold dear.

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By In Culture

Authority in the Church? Upholding Ecclesiastical Office in an age of Tumult

The idea of office has fallen on hard times in North America. The fact that many Christians probably don’t know what I am referring to when I speak of “office” is an indication that I am at least running down the right trail with this criticism of modern day Christianity. This term refers to the office of an elder or a deacon in the church and more loosely to the office of every believer. If you hold to a 3/4 office view of authority in the church, then it refers the office of an elder or a deacon or a pastor or a theologian/seminary professor. I won’t get too much into that debate here.

I want to demonstrate here how this “idea of office” is a Biblical idea. It is my purpose to show how Christians must uphold their own office as believer, but also the various authority structures that Christ has ordained for His Church: at minimum the office of elder and deacon that we find in I Timothy 3.

As I launch into this topic, you should know that some of my work here is based on an old dead Dutch theologian (some of the best theology), Rev. K. Sietsma. He put out his book “the Idea of Office” already in the Pre-WW II Netherlands. The copy that I have is a book that has been translated out of the Dutch by Henry Vander Goot. It was published in 1985 by Paideia Press in Jordan Station, Ontario, Canada. There are some points that I disagree with in the book, but that is not the purpose of this essay. If I quote Sietsma, I will add the page number. That being said, find a copy if you can and try to read it. It is a short book.

The Officers of the Church:

The exact terminology of “office” is found primarily in Acts 1:20, which reads: “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and ‘Let another take his office.’” This is referring to the work of the Apostles to find a 12th apostle, following the death of Judas for his sin of betraying Jesus. The word that is translated as “office” here comes from the Greek word “ἐπισκοπή/episkope.” It is most literally translated as “oversight” and refers to the “overseers” of the church in passages like Acts 20:28 and I Tim 3:1. You will notice that the ESV translates it as “the office of overseer” in its translation of I Tim. 3:1.

Acts 1:20 quotes from Psalm 109:8, which uses the Hebrew word “פְּקֻדָּה” to refer to “office,” a word that can also refer to “oversight” or “overseer” in the Old Testament. For example, in Numbers 4:16, Eleazar the son of Aaron is given oversight over the whole tabernacle and all that is in it. In II Kings 11:18, the priest appoints watchmen over the house of the Lord. In I Chronicles 24:3, King David with the help of Zadok appoints men to certain duties in their service. In I Chronicles 26:30, 1700 men are given oversight over Israel for all the work of the Lord and the service of the king. In II Chron. 24:11, we see these appointees referred to as officers. So if we use the language of the Old Testament, one might regard elders as officers, overseers, watchmen, who with the aid of deacons (servants) govern the church. When we see the language of these men being appointed, that might shine some light on the work of Titus (Titus 1:5) and the apostolic pattern (Acts 14:23).

Louis Berkhof brings out an interesting nuance that frequent mention is made of elders, but also bishops, to refer to a similar class of officers. While elders were not initially teachers, eventually this becomes attached to their office (Eph. 4:11, I Tim. 5:17, II Tim. 2:2). It appears in I Tim 5:17 that as time went on, some elders are given the task of rule and others the task of teaching. As an aside, the term ‘elder’ seems to emphasize age, and the term ‘bishop’ seems to stress oversight [Louis Berkhof, Summary of Christian Doctrine (Grande Rapids, Eerdmans, 1938), p. 158].

This is a very brief summary from one specific angle. There are many other word studies that we could do on authority in the church. But for the sake of time, I will continue. As we expand outward to look at the whole body of Biblical evidence on this, clearly then we see an idea of ordained office in both the Old and New Testaments. Certain men serve as “officers” in the Church – whether that be the deacons or elders or any of the names that are associated with “office” in the New Testament, like the Apostles or Timothy, Tychicus, Titus, etc.

The “Idea of Office”:

An office, like the “office of overseer” in I Timothy 3:1, is clearly a reality in the New Testament. There are positions of authority that are held in the church.

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There are a couple principles that we must lay out as we develop the idea of office. First, God is the complete and absolute sovereign of all the universe. The logical conclusion of this axiomatic statement is that all human authority is then limited. It is delegated, not transferred. This is why even the civil authority is described in Scripture as “a minister of God” (Rom. 13:4).

Sietsma puts it this way:

“two elements in the idea of office come to the forefront: (1) the idea that man is charged with responsibility, though granted a certain relative independence vis-a-vis God; and (2) the idea that the essence of office depends on the divine mandate.”

Rev. K. Sietsma, The Idea of Office (Jordan Station, Paideia Press, 1985), p. 24.

Both of these points are important to understand in all the spheres of authority, whether we are considering the office of the civil magistrate, the office of overseer in the church, the office of father, or the office believer (self-government). If the essence of office depends on divine mandate, then a father’s authority over his children does not lie in himself, the authority of an overseer in the church does not lie in himself, but in the decree of the Lord. And that means that he too is a man under authority (Matt. 8:9). His authority is a limited and delegated authority.

This is why historically when the Reformers spoke of ecclesiastical authority they never simply spoke of an internal call (from the Lord), but also an external call (from His Church). If a man feels that he is called by the Lord and presses himself forward into the office of elder or deacon, that does not mean that he is indeed called. We only have his word, which can be nebulous. There is neither accountability or transparency. Timothy also had to live by the standard for elders and deacons (I Tim. 3). While Paul does commend Timothy for his track-record of life (II Tim. 3), yet Paul also appeals to the external laying on of hands (II Tim. 1:6-7). As we see in Acts 6, the selection of deacons involves a process of the Apostles and the congregation working together to call qualified men. Sietsma writes again:

“… it should not be the case that someone accepts a call because he feels capable of the office. Rather, having been called by the congregation and as such by God, the person chosen accepts the office in spiritual obedience, expecting that the Lord will increase his ability not by any miraculous strokes, but according to his faithful promise.”

Rev. K. Sietsma, The Idea of Office (Jordan Station, Paideia Press, 1985), p. 42-43

Is any one elder or pastor or deacon a servant of the congregation or of the body of elders or elders and deacons together? Primarily each one stands subject the one who has authority over all: this means that the primary act of service is to Christ. Sietsma points out that office has an administrative character in that the office-bearers of the church are called to administer the rule of Christ into the congregation. They do so by administering His Word, His sacraments, His loving and gracious discipline within the church of Christ.

This then stands in opposition to ecclesiastical anarchy, the idea that a man’s authority in the home, the state, or the church, is derived from the “will of the people”, an idea which came via the French Revolution. Sietsma writes again: “… the idea of office is destroyed as it is transformed into the idea of the mandate of the masses.” (p. 40) It also stands in opposition to the belief that a man’s authority resides in himself, his charisma, or powerful presence. Rather, any office, but especially office in the church, is subject to the glorious reign of Christ, rests in the mandate of Christ, and is limited by the rule of Christ. His yoke is easy and burden light.

On one hand, we must contend against this democratic and anti-authoritarian age which denies office all-together, or bases it entirely on a social contract (ie the will of the people). On the other hand, we must contend against those officers of the church (or state or family) who claim authority that belongs only to God (authoritarianism), when each one is called to an office to be a minister of God. It is clear that God does indeed want His church to be ruled, for there to be overseers in the church, watchmen in His house.

Why Does it Matter?

We live in a godless, anti-authoritarian, egalitarian age. In response to the spirit of the age, we see a rising authoritarianism in our civil governments. It is easy for the spirit of the age to creep into the Church. Egalitarianism is an idea that seeks to pursue complete social equality through anti-authoritarian measures. This egalitarianism can take on the form of modern day spirituality which avoids the clear command of Christ for a mystical sense of unity and oneness with the divine. The only way this egalitarianism can be achieved is by dismantling ecclesiastical government as well as other forms of government like that of the family. But as we see clearly in the Scriptures, we do not promote “office” or “authority” in the church simply because we want to or because we have an inflated sense of self-importance, but because Christ has called us too, because Christ has determined that this is one of the tools by which He will preserve and increase His holy Church. His intentions for His one, holy, catholic, church, will militate against all the false and anti-God philosophies of the modern age that raise themselves up against the knowledge of the living God and His rule in the Church (II Cor. 10:1-6).

Christ the Office-bearer:

It is important to recognize that Christ is the primary office-bearer. It is central that we uphold the inherently Biblical truth that Christ is the sole Head of His Church (Eph. 1:22, 5:23, Col. 1:18). In our Lord’s baptism in the Jordan River, the Father declared His Son to be that office bearer as He was anointed for that task by John the Baptist (Lk 3:21-22). This means that the officers of the church do not rule by their own authority. They rule by an authority that has been delegated to them. An authority that has been delegated by Jesus Christ Himself. He gives the officers of the church His Word and Spirit by which to oversee God’s people and to be watchmen in the House of the Lord.

This is constantly repeated in the Belgic Confession, for example, as the Reformed churches sought to respond faithfully to the Word of God. Christ is the eternal King (Art. 27). Jesus Christ is the only universal bishop and the only head of the church (art 31). The office-bearers of the church must not go on to command that which Jesus Christ has not ordained (Art. 32). They have authority, but it is not transferred or absolute authority, it is delegated by Jesus.

Louis Berkhof summarizes this concept in his summary of Christian doctrine:

“Christ is the Head of the Church and the source of all its authority, Matt. 23:10; John 13:13; I Cor. 12:5; Eph. 1:20-23; 4:11, 12; 5:23, 24. He rules the Church, not by force, but by His Word and Spirit. All human officers in the Church are clothed with the authority of Christ and must submit to the control of His Word.”

Louis Berkhof, Summary of Christian Doctrine (Grande Rapids, Eerdmans, 1938), p. 157.

The Office of Believer:

If we look at the themes of Scripture as they culminate in Christ you will see that the Scriptures present Him as our final prophet, priest and king, ordained to that office. When we are united to Him as believers, we find ourselves united to Him in that office (Rev. 1:6). We are a kingdom of priests, serving Him in this world (Rev. 1:6). This is what the Reformers referred to as “the priesthood of all believers.” There is an objective anointing to office in the baptism of a believer within the context of the church. Historically, many Reformed Christians have taught their baptized children to confess at the youngest of ages:

“… by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity.”

Heidelberg Catechism, LD 12, Q&A 32, https://threeforms.org/heidelberg-catechism/.

The “priesthood of all believers” or the “prophethood of all believers” or the “kingship of all believers” must be understood within the rule of Scripture (regulei Scripturae). This doctrine does not negate the command of Christ that His church be ruled by overseers and watchmen, by elders and deacons, that men like Titus and Timothy and Tychichus should be sent out to order the churches and to teach them to live in obedience to Christ. The “priesthood of all believers” is expressed in Berea when Paul praises “those noble Bereans” who tested what he taught with the Scriptures and then fell on their knees and worshipped Christ (Acts 17:10-15). It is expressed in the prayers and praise of the saints throughout the Book of Revelation. It is expressed in our acts of holy service to Christ and to one another as we find Paul call for in the first letter to Corinth. The overseers and watchmen are put in place to equip the saints for these acts of service (Eph. 4:11-12), to teach principles from the Word of God, to make the priesthood of believers more effective through godly leadership, a mighty army of men and women, boys and girls, following after the Son of God as He goes forth to war.

It is in this office of believer that the congregation is expected to choose for themselves 7 deacons in Acts 6. But they have been given a divine standard to chose men according to particular criteria (Acts 6:3, I Tim 3). God also permitted the people to choose for themselves a king in I Samuel 9, and we find in I Samuel 26, that David recognizes that Saul was not simply anointed by the people, but by the Lord.

A Final Word of Encouragement:

This is a final word for the Church to consider these issues as matters of highest importance. There is an increased flattening of the Christian faith to an individualized piety. This individualized piety wipes out the church as Christ has instituted it in this world. He intended it for the glory of God and for the sake of growing men in maturity. And for that reason our Lord instituted offices in the church – for our good and for His glory.

There is a growing level of disrespect for the ordination of a man to the office of overseer and watchman in the church – for ecclesiastical office. This is seen in the last couple of years in the arrest of various pastors in Canada (ie Rev. James Coates and Rev. Tim Stephens) and the fines imposed on other pastors for continuing in the ministry of the Word and sacraments, for acting as overseers and watchmen in the Church of Jesus Christ. Those arrests only revealed a much deeper and systematic problem across the nation, a problem that arises from both the pew and pulpit.

What we need is men who know their God, who know their Bible, who love His people, and who do their duty. This sense of duty can only arise from a deep understanding of office, and a clear understanding of the commands of Christ, both in the pew and in the pulpit, but especially among those who have been called to serve Christ and His Church as elders and deacons.

With that I want to conclude with a quote that is attributed to St. Boniface:

Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf.  Instead, let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock.  Let us preach the whole of God’s plan to the powerful and the humble, to rich and to poor, to men of every rank and age, as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season, as St. Gregory writes in his book of Pastoral Instruction.

Boniface, Ep. 78: MGH, Epistolae, 3, 352, 354; from Liturgy of the Hours According to the Roman Rite (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co. 1975).

Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

This is the second article in a series on the Church. I posted the first as “The Church is our Mother” on October 16. The second article was initially posted here on Substack:

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By In Christmas

Merry Christmas. This Means War!

In one of the classic holiday songs, John Lennon harkens that the war is over, saying:

“And so happy Christmas, for black and for white, for yellow and red ones, let’s stop all the fight.”

John Lennon & Yoko Ono

According to Jesus, Christmas signifies that the war has just begun.

A WARLESS PEACE

One of the most significant accomplishments in antiquity, which is littered with wars and violence, was a hundred year stretch of peace known as the Pax Romana, which in English means the peace of Rome. This unique and peculiar era of warless tranquility is unmatched in any other period known to man. During this peace nation no longer rose up against nation, rumors of wars no longer leaped from the lips of women in the marketplace, and the myriad of complex personalities and cultures, usually unwilling to submit to world empires, were now contained within a burgeoning peace, that lasted from 27BC, under the reign of Augustus, to the death of Nero Caesar in 68 AD. This is the world and setting that the Savior of the world was born.

On that first Christmas morning in Judea, God did not show up for a press conference at a palace or a “Precious Moments” commercial in the big city. Instead, in a surprise attack, He stormed the beaches of Bethlehem. He blitzkrieg’d the stables of that old country barn and assembled all the legions of heaven to herald Christ is Lord to shepherds in their fields. He held His fiery star in the sky to announce kings and kingdoms would either worship Him or be put down. While under the peace of Rome, God was bringing war. 

And He was bringing war because this old world had fallen into bitter, soul-crushing slavery to an evil dragon. A serpent of great beguiling who tricked our only king into trading in his scepter for over-tight handcuffs… His crown for rusty chains. On that first Christmas morning, after legions of failed men who came before Him, the heaven-sent God-Man was born the royal Man-King. Delivered as a helpless babe to deliver and set the helpless free. 

Isaiah said it like this: 

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. – Isaiah 9:6-7

INCARNATION AS INVASION

Every Christmastime we celebrate that the invasion has begun. The world was not left to pine away in oppression and deep darkness. The Light of the world has come! Human governments, which all have limits and ends, would be replaced by a government that knows no end. A government that would not bring a measly hundred-year ceasefire but would bring His wonderful and perfect peace forever. 

Our King is the one who put the world on notice. That babe in swaddling clothes announced to the nations you will either bow down and worship Him or be trampled underneath His glorious feet. The Son of Man, the Prince of Peace, entered brokenness and brought His Shalom. He went raiding behind enemy lines, rescuing His elect and delivering them safely back to God. He triumphed not only over the manger but also over the grave. He wrestled control of the cosmos away from the fallen serpent, disarming his authorities, powers, and spiritual forces, and began an uprising that would turn the world upside down (as far as the curse is found). And for 2000 years, this is precisely what our King has done. 

NEVERENDING REIGN

When you look at what God says in Isaiah 9, He promises nothing less than total dominion. He claims that the government Jesus inaugurates will continue until no ground on earth is left to take. He will rule until His Kingdom comes on earth as it already is in heaven. This means Christmas is about the downfall of sinful nations. Christmas is about the end of corrupt politicians padding their pockets and allowing their children to live above the law. Christmas is about the war of God that will end sex trafficking, annihilate abortion mills, and will put the world back right again. Christmas is the first fruits of the death of democracies, oligarchies, and socialism. The Christ Child in the manger signifies that the world is now under the rule and authority of a King, and His rule of total peace is coming deeper and deeper in

CONCLUSION

This Christmas, as you enjoy eggnog and figgy pudding, ham, and hot cocoa, remember that Christ was born as King. As King, He was born to reign. And in that reign, all the iniquity we see on earth will one day be put under our messiah’s feet. Instead of despair, allow the Light of hope to fill your heart. Remember, He is Lord! And He will make all things new in good time. 

Merry Christmas! 

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