Right Weeping

In Nehemiah 1:4 we read: “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

When I read this, my first question was, “Do I weep over what causes the Lord to weep?”  Is what moves me to tears important to Him?  I don’t think He cares much about Hallmark movies.  I rather doubt that He is concerned about the outcome of the football games I watch.

On the other hand, I read that He wants us to abide in His Word.  I read in Jeremiah 23 (Here at Bible Gateway), that when the leadership of Israel did not abide in His Word, He was moved by that – seemed angry – wept?

In Matthew 28:18 – 20 (Here at Bible Gateway), He wants us to make disciples of all the nations, when we are not focused on that, it would seem that He would respond much as He did with the leaders in Jeremiah.

Nehemiah takes it up a notch in 1:6b: "…I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned."  Nehemiah knew that the nation had drifted away from what God wanted them to do.  His response was to pray, confess, not just once, but day and night.  He took it seriously.  

How are we doing as a Church?  Either globally or locally?  Are we abiding in His Word?  Are we obeying His commission?  Are we representing Him well to the lost?  Or are we more interested in pleasing ourselves, making ourselves comfortable in our meetings and events?

Nehemiah ends with this in 8 – 9: “Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them…”  Note that Nehemiah is basing his petition to the Lord on the Word of God, the promise of God.  

It seems that if we are to follow Nehemiah’s example, we will pray not just for ourselves or our needs but for the Church both globally and locally to do what the Lord wants done.  Further, when we see that the Church is not following what the Lord commands, then we will with Him weep.

Leading Others (like your kids) Through the Word

One of the joys the Lord gives me is the privilege of equip either lay men or pastors how to study the Bible more effectively.  One of the last things shared in the seminar is a suggestion to pass on what they have learned to others.  Either turn around and lead a group on your own or teach one person.  There are several benefits to doing this but the most important one is that the individual that chooses to lead another will significantly deepen their understanding and knowledge of the material and the methods covered in the Seminar...

Note: while I was writing this, I got a call that touched on the issues that I am writing about in this post, I share that to emphasize that what this post is covering is a pervasive, universal challenge.  Not only have I seen this over and over here, but also overseas in the 11 countries the Lord has allowed me to serve.

In the last year two men who have been through the seminar each started helping another man.  One, a coworker and the other one of his sons.  I got to observe one by watching recorded zoom calls and the other gave me reports on how the meetings went.  In the one I watched, the man leading the coworker (call him Dan), Dan would interrupt his coworker when he was sharing what he saw in the Word.  The other man (call him Sam) would allow his son to talk and process what he was seeing with his father.

When we do not allow those we are equipping to get their thoughts out we miss several opportunities to help them.

1. We do not get a good sense of what the other person has done in their time in the Word.
2. We are focused on getting them to see what we did, thus validating what we saw in the Word.
3. We are practically not believing Hebrews 4:12 and John 16:13, believing that we have the right answer and we have to give it to them.
4. We are disregarding or minimizing the reality of the diversity of gifts and their operation in the Body and that those with differing gifts will see things in Scripture that we do not.

One of the challenges all of us face is our excitement about what we have seen in the Word and our desire to share it.  If we are working on equipping another, it is not what we have seen that is important.  It is what they have seen.  We need to be focused and excited about what they have gotten out of the Word.  In a sense we are to be a cheerleader first and a coach second.  We get excited about what they have seen and then either ask questions to help them see more or show them tools to use to increase their observational skill.

One of the things that drives me is this:

It does not matter what I know.  What matters is how well I can equip others to learn.

It seems to me that if we are going to equip others as Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (Here at Bible Gateway) directs us to do we have to listen more and talk less.

The Core and the Means, Part 4

 Unfunded Mandates

Finishing the post yesterday, it was clear that two things had been left out of the previous posts, there was more to say about why men and women are not abiding in the Word.  Secondly, there should have been a suggestion on how one can become more familiar with the Bible.  I created something I detest, unfunded mandates.  I challenged you to do something without suggesting or showing how to do it.  Abysmal failure on my part.

So, other than a pastor or teacher using the Bible as a springboard, what is another reason folks in our churches do not have confidence that they can understand the Word.  Many pastors ignore or misapply Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (Here at Bible Gateway) and Matthew 28:18 – 20 (Here at Bible Gateway).

This happens in at least two ways.  One is to create the detested unfunded mandate.  That is, to exhort one to study the Bible without showing how, equipping.  That is exacerbated when a pastor believes that standing in front of a group of people and telling them what he got out of the Word is equipping.  It is not.  There is no measurement of the effectiveness of the transmission of information.

The misapplication of Matthew 28:18 – 20 is that the directive to teach “ALL (emphasis added) that I commanded you,” is either ignored, severely limited, or else reduced to verbal instruction, again, without measurement.  In no other discipline is one taught without either observation of application of that being taught, or a test of some sort to measure how much of the information was successfully transmitted to the one being “equipped”.  Yet, we will continually have classes in which information on the Bible or the Christian Life is shared without following up in anyway how well that information was received and applied.

Here is an offer.  If you wish to learn how to do Bible study, I will show you how.  If you are near Tulsa, watch the event tab on this blog.  We will soon offer a seminar for men and a separate seminar for women on how to do Bible study.  If you are not near Tulsa, let me know if you are interested and we will figure out how to help using Zoom.

Basic Familiarity with the Bible

Now what is a way to grow in general knowledge of the Bible?  Use a reading plan.  Simple, but takes discipline.  I use M’Cheyne’s Reading Plan.  With that you read through the OT once a year and the NT and Psalms twice in a year.  There is a way to stretch the plan out to two years.  I have been using this since February 2016.  I used other means prior to that.  After looking this over and using it for a time, I find that it has helped me get a better handle on the story arc of the Bible.  Further, it seems like the Lord uses this to deal with the issues I am facing on a regular basis.

Those are the two things I felt were lacking in the previous posts.  That said, there is much more that could be said about both issues.  

If you scan the blog, you may find some more help or if there is something you want help with, tell me in the comments.

The Core and the Means, Part 3

We have been revisiting the reason for this blog.  Two days ago, we reviewed our dependence on and the centrality of the Word of God to both our ministry and leadership.  Yesterday, reviewed that it is the text of the Bible that is our primary source, not the notes in our study Bibles or commentaries.  However, we were left with a challenge.  If we are struggling with a passage, how do we come up with an answer if we are not to drop into the notes or pick up a commentary?  Today we are considering an answer to that significant question.

There are four questions that we continue to ask in Bible study.  These four questions comprise the heart of any good method of study.  They are, in order of application:

1. Observation: What does the text say?
2. Interpretation: What does the text mean?
3. Correlation: What do other parts of the Bible say that help us understand the text?
4. Application: What does the text say that I need to do?

Unfortunately, many times, the questions are taken out of order, skipped, or given short shrift.  The first question is first for a reason.  Much of what we talk about in this blog is how to make more and better observations.  That requires asking a lot of questions of the text.  Most of the Bible study handbooks will instruct you to pepper the text with questions.  What I am attempting with this blog, the means, is to give you a better set of questions.

So, the answer to what to do with the difficult passage is, observe more.  Stick with it.  Pray over it.  Ask the Lord to help you see.  Many times we give up too soon.

John 16:13 – 15 tells us:
13 “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.
14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore, I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. 

One of the purposes of the Spirit is to guide you into all the truth.  As we know from 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (Here at Bible Gateway) and 2 Peter 1:20 – 21 (Here at Bible Gateway), the Spirit inspired the Word of God.  So, the Bible is the only book you will ever read that the author, the Holy Spirit, is tasked and present to help you understand what He wrote.

John Piper has a practice of sharing biographical messages (some of them are here), in 2005 he spoke at a Samford University a the Reformation Heritage Lectures on Martin Luther’s approach to the Bible.  In that message he quoted Luther:

I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what Saint Paul wanted. At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely “in it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” And there I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.  (Piper, John. “I Beat Importunately Upon Paul: Martin Luther and His Bible.” https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/i-beat-importunately-upon-paul. Accessed August 19, 2023.)

“Importunately” is not a word that turns up much in normal conversation.  Some synonyms are eagerly, earnestly, frantically, vigorously, the idea here is that Luther was not going to let go of the text, he was sticking with it until he understood.  It is a good example to follow.  There is much more in that quote which can guide us as we struggle with a passage; do you see what they are?  If so list them in a comment.

To do this well, we need to have a good set of questions to ask the text.  Further, we need to have a basic familiarity with the Bible.  

I intended to end this topic here, but there are one or two more things I need to say based on reviewing these, so, I will end this topic tomorrow.

 

The Core and the Means, Part 2

 Yesterday, we looked at what drives this blog, the centrality and necessity of diligently engaging in the Word of God.  The bottom line is that all ministry, all leadership, is the overflow of the Word of God from one’s life into the life of another.  We saw how 2 Timothy (Here at Bible Gateway) validated that truth.

But there is more.

John 8:31-32, emphasizes this, here Jesus says:
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly disciples of Mine;
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 

Note that the word translated “continue” in 31 is the same word that is translated “abide” in John 15:1-16 (Here at Bible Gateway) and other places.  The point here is that continuing, abiding in God’s Word is the mark of a true disciple.

A couple of observations about this may be helpful, note that the passage does not say that we are to continue, abide in the notes in our study Bibles.  Nor does it say that we are to continue or abide in books about the Bible or commentaries on the Bible.  While the notes, the books, and the commentaries have their place, that is not where we are to abide.  We are to abide in the text.  The text is inspired, remember yesterday, 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (Here at Bible Gateway), the notes and the commentaries are written by men, not inspired.  By definition, the notes and the commentaries will have errors in them.  I have an extensive library.  There are over 5,400 books in my Bible program, Logos.  I have over 2,000 physical books.  I have profited from many of them.  However, they cannot be, and they are not, my primary source.  That has to be the Word of God.

Unfortunately, many believers do not have confidence that they can understand the Bible on their own.  There are several possibilities why this may be true in a believer’s life.  It may be that they have sat under a teacher or a pastor that has used the Bible as a springboard.  That is, the teacher or pastor reads a passage and then springs off that into sharing their own ideas that has little or no connection to what they have just read.  That leaves the one listening puzzled how the teacher or pastor derived what they are sharing out of the passage.  That may result in the listener concluding that they cannot understand the text without the help of the teacher or pastor.  I have experienced teachers, pastors, and Bible study leaders doing this in sermons, Sunday school classes, small group Bible studies, and one on one conversations.  

Just after I became a Christian, I was in a Bible study with several others who were in Undergraduate Pilot Training in the U.S. Air Force.  Several of them had the Scofield Reference Bible.  Many times, during the study, while we were discussing what a passage said, meant, or applied to our lives, one would say something like, “The note in my Bible says...” and that, would pretty much end the discussion.  It communicated that all of us needed that Bible to really understand the Scripture.

At about that same time, I learned something about commentaries.  We had moved on from fill in the blank studies to verse and chapter analysis studies.  Some of those studies I was leading.  At times I would struggle with understanding or applying a passage and would have a question to which I could not figure out and answer.  I had a few general commentaries on the Bible and would turn to those works to get answers.  What I discovered was the commentaries did not address the questions with which I was struggling.

So, what do we do?  If we are not to drop down into the notes in our study Bibles and we should not bounce out of the text into a commentary, how do we answer questions with which we or others in our studies or community are struggling?  John 8:31 – 32, tells us that if we continue, abide, we will know the truth, but if we are struggling, how?  

Great question.  We will look at an answer in tomorrow’s post.

The Core and the Means

It is probable that you already know this, but it may be prudent to remind you of the core of what is presented in this blog.  First, it is my conviction that men are commissioned by the Lord to lead.  They are to lead themselves, their families, and their communities of faith.  Women also are to lead, if married, in submission to their husband, in the same three areas, with the caveat that in their communities of faith they are in submission to their husbands and the leadership, elders, of that local body.  Titus 2:3-5 (Here at Bible Gateway) outlines some of the areas in which women are to lead.

Second, it is impossible for men or women to lead if they are not consistently, engaging in, abiding in, the Word of God.  The clear message of 2 Timothy does not just support this but fairly screams it as us.  

Most of us, if not all, have 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 memorized:
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Here, the exhortation is focused on leading oneself consider the context 3:10 – 4:4 (Here at Bible Gateway)

What you may not notice is that notion is repeated twice in the letter, in 2:24 – 26 to false teachers and unbelievers:
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 

To believers in 2 Timothy 4:1 – 2:
1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2 proclaim (my translation) the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 

Notice that the four ministries of the Word are repeated in the passages in 2 and 4 using slightly different words:

2:24-26	Teach	Correcting	Repentance	Knowledge of the Truth
3:16 – 17	Teach	Reproof	Correction	Training in righteousness
4:1 – 2	Proclaim	Reprove	Rebuke	Exhort

The Word of God, the Scripture, is central to any ministry.  All ministry, all leading, is the overflow of the Scripture from one life to another.  If one is not in the Word intentionally, consistently, one is not going to be effective in either leading or ministry.

There is a bit more here to consider.  But, I will leave that until tomorrow.

Disciplined Freedom

From time to time I read Valley of Vision (VV) in my Quiet Time.  Typically, I will read an entry and then daily go back through it thought by thought.  It has been interesting to see how often what I have read in VV has aligned or is supported by what I read in the Word that day.

For example, some months back I read in the section entitled “Requests”,

O God, May I never be a blot or a blank in life, or make my liberty and occasion to the flesh. (p 274)

That Day I read Galatians 5:13 (here @ BibleGateway), which lead me to 2 Peter 2:18 (here @ BibleGateway).  The clear message of the word and the quote from VV is that while we are free in Him, we cannot allow our freedom to hurt others.  

In 1 Corinthians 8 (here @ BibleGateway), Paul, while affirming the freedom of the Corinthian believers to eat meat sacrificed to idols, because, in fact, they are false, at the same time reminds them that if a fellow believer struggles with that freedom, they should not exercise their freedom for the sake of their “weaker” brother.  He tells them to limit their freedom in order not to cause their brother to stumble.

Paul repeats this exhortation in Romans 14:15 (here @ BibleGateway).  In fact, this was the first passage that I applied to my life as a new believer.  I was in Pilot Training in the Air Force.  The Officer’s Club was the place to be after the flight line.  Drinking beer was part of that scene as was playing foosball.  One Sunday night at First Baptist, I was attending “training union” with some other young adults.  We were going through Romans 14 (here @ BibleGateway).  The topic came up that we probably shouldn’t be drinking because it might damage our testimony to those who were not believers.  I pointed out that verse 14 (here @ BibleGateway) clearly stated nothing wrong with anything.  The leader emphasized the last part of the verse.  That part is nearly identical to the argument in 1 Corinthians 8.

If someone thinks that believers should not drink and they saw me drinking, it could be that I either damaged their faith or else hindered them from coming to the Lord.  I pondered that for some time.  As a matter of fact, I stayed behind after the meeting and worked through it alone.  I decided then that I would no longer drink beer or other alcoholic beverages in order not to cause others to stumble.

I learned through that experience both the impact of application and the importance of voluntarily limiting my freedom to better serve those with whom I wanted to sustain ministry.

Responding to the Call

Most mornings the first thing I do is open my Bible program Logos.  A while back I did and when the program opened, Deuteronomy 32:18 (here at Bible Gateway) was in the middle of the screen and caught my eye.  It is a powerful passage.  Even more so, when you read the context.  

Tonight, I went with my brother to his church in Houston.  A pastor I had shadowed while taking a leadership course in seminary was leading a class on John 15 (here at Bible Gateway).  It was interesting to see how what he said in the 90 minutes that we spent together aligned with what I saw when Logos opened to 32:18.  One of the points he made was that Jesus gives us three callings:

• Come to Me
• Come after Me
• Abide in Me

He pointed out the density of the repletion of the word abide (Greek, μένω) in John 15.  Then he pointed out that John uses the word even more densely in 1 John (here at Bible Gateway).  I just checked, abide shows up 24 times between 1 John 2:6 and 4:16 (here at Bible Gateway).  The speaker’s point was that more people respond to the first two calls than those who respond to the third.

That mirrored my response to Deuteronomy 32:18.  In my journal I wrote, “People who do not choose to abide in His Word are those who have forgotten Him and neglected Him.  Lord, show me how I have neglected you?”

This morning I was talking to a pastor at our church.  I was sharing some quotes from the book, These Words upon thy Heart, I had shared with him that I searched for this book on the recommendation of Prof for 40 years.  It was  worth the search.  Here is one of the quotes we discussed:

“…we truly inherit nothing except what we also discern.  Nothing is ever really ours, however it may be presented to us except we discover its truth and except it prove itself again in our experience…mere acceptance of the conclusions of others… is not the way which we…lay broad and deep foundations.  With eyes bandaged in formulas we see only the aspect of life the formula allows…they grow accustomed to the half light…and with all the colors of it toned down to suit the somber hues of a twilight soul.” (Kuist, Howard Tillman. These Words upon thy Heart.  Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1947, P 56.)

The point is, we must respond to Christ’s third call.  To not do so is to lead a anemic, muted, colorless, Christian life. 

Making Things Clear

Yesterday I referred to a study in 1 Corinthians.  We are in 15 (here @ BibleGateway) this week.  14 (here @ BibleGateway) Last week.  12 – 14 is a difficult passage.  This time through I saw something that was tangential to the typical discussion that is usually started when one engages with 14.  

Before we get into that, lets think about one of, if not the major, theme of 1 Corinthians.  In each chapter Paul seems to deal with an issue that is causing division in the Corinthian church.  For instance:

Chapter	Divisive Issue
1	Competition of whose mentor is best
2	Lack of growth
3	Arrogance of conversion
4	Pride or Arrogance toward leaders
5	Misplaced tolerance
6	Mishandling of legal issues
7	male female relationships
8	Liberty misused
9	Rights demanded
10	Forgetting all in the same situation, choosing what one likes without regard for the choice’s impact on others
11	Misbehavior at the Lord’s table, differences about head coverings
12	Spiritual gifts
13	Lack of love

Which brings us to 14.  Most would probably suggest that it is a rehearsal or expansion of chapter 12, and at some level that is correct.  But, I believe there is more going on under the surface of the arguments Paul is making.  There are hints of this all through the chapter but 14:10 - 11 (here @ BibleGateway) is perhaps the clearest example.  Paul remarks that there are many languages and if two people are not speaking the same language one will think the other is a barbarian, they are not communicating.  

As I thought through the chapter, it began to dawn that that issues of not communicating was underlying all of what Paul is saying in this chapter.  Whether it is tongues, either in the charismatic sense, or prophecy, if those hearing do not understand what is being said, there is no edification in the church.

Shortly after thinking this through, I was in several meetings that included both staff at churches and men in Bible studies, I observed miscommunication happening in each meeting.  One person would say something and the person listening would hear something else and respond to what they thought they heard rather than what was said.

That happens between generations as well.  I am a baby boomer.  I have a different language, for the most part, than millennials.  I must work to both understand what they are saying, and work to communicate what I am thinking to them in language that they understand.

This past weekend we had a speaker that used the DISC personality inventory to help those in our church understand the different ways that different personalities communicate and hear what is communicated to them.  It was again a validation of what I saw in 14.

When I read articles on current events, I sometimes wonder from what planet the person writing the article recently arrived.  They are viewing what I see through a completely different lens.  

Interestingly When you consider Paul’s prayer request in Colossians 4:3– 4 (here @ BibleGateway), the main thing he is asking for is to be able to speak clearly, to make the mystery of the gospel clear to those to whom he speaks.  Communication.  James in 3:1 – 12 (here @ BibleGateway), you know the passage, the word translated tongue is the same word that is used in 1 Corinthians that is similarly translated tongue or tongues.  Lastly, in Genesis 11:6 (here @ BibleGateway), the Lord looking at what the people were building in the plain in Shinar, acknowledged that they all spoke the same language, thus they could do anything they chose to do.

If we communicate, across generations, across theological differences, across cultural differences, as believers, think of what we can do in pursuing first the Kingdom, Matthew 6:33 (here @ BibleGateway).

Vindication of His Name?

In the past year or so I have there have been several passages that have made me wonder about the way we approach our Father.  Here is a partial list:

• Psalm 79:1,12 (here @ BibleGateway)
• 2 Kings 19:14 – 19 (here @ BibleGateway)
• Ezekiel 36:22 – 32 (here @ BibleGateway)

The common thing in these is that the Lord’s name has been challenged or diminished by the actions of either those who are not His people or His people.  Is this a ground of approach to Him?  Do we come to Him on the basis of the fact that others have blasphemed Him and ask Him to redeem the greatness of His name?

In 1 Peter 2:4 – 12 (here @ BibleGateway) and Ephesians 2:19 – 22 (here @ BibleGateway) we are told that as believers we are being fitted together as a holy temple.  It is the case that we are to represent Him in this world.  We have been given the ministry of reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:14 – 21 (here @ BibleGateway).  

How are we doing?  Should we come to Him in prayer and ask Him to act because by failing we are doing the same thing that Israel did in Ezekiel 36?  Should we ask Him to vindicate the holiness of His great name?

I find I am being pulled in that direction.

Growth by Praying for Others

I often ask others how I can be praying for them.  There is also another question I ask; I wrote about that here.  

A few weeks back, I asked a man for whom I have a lot of respect, how I could be praying for him.  He replied that he was anxious.  Later as I pondered his request – I want to be clear he had reason to be anxious – it occurred to me that when we are anxious, it is evidence of, possibly several deficiencies in our understanding and/or our relationship with Him.

We all may have Philippians 4:6 – 7 (here @ BibleGateway) memorized, but that doesn’t mean that we find it easy to live that out.  We still get anxious about “nothing.”  Psalm 139:3 (here @ BibleGateway) reminds us that God has scrutinized our path*.  That word means that He has examined our path beyond how a civil engineer examines the aggregate used to mix the concrete in our roads.  So in a real sense when we are anxious we are not trusting Him.

Nothing comes our way without Him knowing.  Nothing comes our way without intention.  Personally, I need to be continually reminded of that truth.  By asking my friend how I could pray for him, I was reminded and challenged in my own trust of God’s scrutiny of my own life’s path.  

Yet another example of the genius of the Lord’s commands to us.  We are to love one another, and pray for one another in so doing we are exhorted, challenged, and built up not only in our relationships with one another but also in our walk with Him.

*I have written a lot on this Psalm in this blog, there are several posts if you would like to see them type Psalm 139 in the “Search This Blog” tool at the top of the column next to this post.  Then I would suggest sort by date.

Joints – Summary

For the past four days we have been looking at Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) in some detail.  The reason we did this stems from a recent study in which I participated.  In that study I realized that I had misunderstood the passage which caused me to misapply the content.

In the first post I alluded to the error I had made.

In the second post we looked at Ephesians 4:11 – 12.

In the third we considered Ephesians 4:13.

Yesterday we examined Ephesians 4:14 – 16.

I have lost count of the number of times I have studied Ephesians.  I have been in at least two studies in the letter this year.  I have translated the book from Greek to English.  I have used portions of it in studies with men on the believer’s position in Christ more times than I can count.  Suffice it to say that Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus is one of my go to books in the Bible.

That in of itself is a problem.  When we come to the Word in study the method we should be using is inductive.  We first observe the text.  Second, we begin the process of interpretation.  At the same time, we are correlating the passage with other places in the Word that deal with the same topic.  Much of Paul’s writing is parallel with Ephesians, but Colossians is almost a sister book.  Lastly, we apply the scripture.  All four of those steps are needed and essential.

When we are very familiar with a passage, as I am with this book, we can tend to short circuit the observation portion of the study.  After all, we know the passage.  So, it is easy to see what we have seen before.  In fact there are some who once they have studied a book in depth, find no need to return to that book.  

It takes discipline to slow down and look as if for the first time.  That is the mistake I made with Ephesians in the past.  The thing I missed in doing so, is that it is not the individuals that cause the growth of the Body, but the joints.  The joints are the interactions between different groups of individuals or individuals with groups of people, as per the chart yesterday.  It is still absolutely necessary to equip individuals so that their gifts will be engaged.  But it is when those gifts are engaged in relationship in the Body that growth occurs.

It seems to me that the implications of this are far reaching.  How do we as leaders of Bible studies engage the gifts of all of those in the study?  If we are leading a class, how do we engage all of the gifts that are in the class?  Not to do so seems to be ignoring the thrust of Paul’s exhortation.

The lesson for me is that regardless of how well I know a passage, I need to slow down and make good observations.  I feel much like the Psalmist in Psalm 119 (here @ BibleGateway).  I need to spend much more time asking the Lord to help me understand His Word.

Joints – Part 4

We are looking in detail at Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway). Yesterday we looked at one verse, one sentence, verse 13. Today we look at the last sentence in the passage 14 - 16. 

Tomorrow we will summarize what we have seen. I would like to hear what you have seen in this. Please comment on any of the posts. 

Spoiler alert, this is long.

4:14

ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης,

As a result, (or “in order that”) we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

Effect Temporal iEnd Locative Locative iMeans General iMeans iMeans iMeans iMeans

One result of equipping is that a member of the community can determine false teaching. That would seem to imply that they have developed sufficient skill in Bible study to validate objectively, biblically something that is taught. When one looks in detail at the fourfold assignment of leadership in the body it become obvious why the result of the leadership engaging would be the ability of the body to withstand false teaching.

 

4:15a

ἀληθεύοντες δὲ ἐν ἀγάπῃ

but speaking the truth in love,

Contrast iEnd iMeans; in Love 1:4, 3:17, 4:2, 4:15a,4:16g, 5:2

Starting with this clause, Paul connects this line of thought to the thread of in love that started in 1:4 (here @ BibleGateway). Therefore one of the results of the equipping of the saints is that they are living more completely out of love. The interactions as they individually engage are spoken and presented in an attitude of love for one another as Christ commanded in John 13:34 – 35 (here @ BibleGateway). 

NB “Speaking the truth in love,” in a real sense is a umbrella statement that covers all of the interactions, joints, and individuals regardless of their level of engagement in the Body. The contrasting elements are being carried about by every wind of doctrine as opposed to growing up in all aspects into Him. This would seem to summarize the effect of the fourfold assignment of the leadership of the community.

 

4:15b

αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα,

we are to grow up in all aspects into

iEnd Emphatic

The intention is that we are to grow into Christ. The emphatic all is strengthened by the word order in the Greek, literally, “we are to grow up into Him the all”, the neuter all indicates the idea of aspects. All aspects of Christ life and character is the goal. It is not just a partial growth that is imagined but a growth into all of Him. Again this is imagined by Paul to be done in a manner that is consistent with speaking the truth in Love.

 

4:15c

ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλή,

Him who is the head,

Locative; cf. 4:13 fullness of Christ

Note that the metric is Christ. We are to grow up into Him, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλή, Χριστός, (which is the head, Christ) mirrors εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ (into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ) in 4:13. Thus we are measured not by any man but by how much our character and our actions are similar or different from Christ. 

 Not to be overly repetitive here but the overarching context is love. Each of our interactions, equipping actions – for lack of a better label – is to be under the umbrella of love. This removes equipping from the academic realm and places it in the arena of relationship. Relationship that is defined below as a joint, and one that is intentionally created by the Lord. Each encounter we have with one another is an opportunity to properly work in love. 

Further, considering the sovereign providence of God, each interaction we have with other people whether they are believers or not, literally each person we encounter is intentionally placed on our path, scrutinized by the Lord. He has sovereignly placed them on our path. If that is the case, and it seems to be so, then our ability to engage with one another intentionally, diligently, in the body becomes the crucible wherein we learn to engage with each individual with which we come in contact intentionally, with love, for the purpose of increasing their love for Christ and others.

 

4:15d

Χριστός,

even Christ,

Emphatic

The "even" is supplied by the committee because of the use of Christ here. It is not necessary for clarity; the use of the title here emphasizes the goal.

 

4:16a

ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα

from whom the whole body,

Locative Emphatic 2:21a, 4:16

Christ is the one that is driving, or the source of what Paul is about to declare. Note the mirroring of "all" in 15b with "whole" here. This is not imagined to be a partial engagement or result; all the body is to grow in all aspects into the fullness of Christ 

NB. The theme of all or whole runs through this chapter. This seems to grow out of or be an extension of the theme of unity in 1 – 6 (here @ BibleGateway). Consider the inclusive and unifying terms:

Verse	Term(s)
1	you
2	All, one another
3	Unity
4	One, one, you, one
5	One, one, one
6	One, all, all, all
7	Each, one, us
12	Saints, body
13	All, unity, fullness
14	We
15b	We, all
16a	Whole body
16c	Every
16e	Each
16f	Body

4:16b

συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον

being fitted and held together

iEnd

Christ is the one who is acting. He is fitting and holding together the Body. These are both present passive participles so, ongoing action. 

   

4:16c

διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας

by what every joint supplies,

iMeans Emphatic

16b is the end, the means is the contribution of the joints. Joints are the junction or meeting of one or more members of the body or of a mechanical device. It is the relationship between the members that is in mind here?

I have always read these two clauses as emphasizing the importance of the individual.  While that is certainly in mind. The growth happens at the junction of, the joint, the intentional interaction between the members of the Body, again in the context of Love… 

Proverbs 27:17 (NASB95) Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. 

Proverbs 27:19 (NASB95) As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man.

 

4:16d

κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους

according to the proper working of each individual part,

Criteria Emphatic Emphatic Emphatic

An implication is that the contribution of the joint, is dependent on each of the members of the joint, at the joint, properly functioning. 

An implication of this would have to be that one of the results imagined by the equipping of the saints is the identification, activation, and diligent engagement in operating in one’s gift in the body. 1 Timothy 4:14 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) is a crucial passage on this result: Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. 

If this exhortation is given to a leader, it is also applicable to those under his shepherding, or the command to make disciples and its element of teaching all that Christ commanded, is of no consequence. 

All of this results in raising the importance and intensity of what is done in the local body. 

Key implication: a joint is the relationship between two or more members of the Body.

 

4:16e

τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος

causes the growth of the body

iEnd

The supply of the joint causes the growth of the Body. For years I have read this incorrectly as the contribution of each individual part. True, the proper working of each part, affects the supply of the joint. 

The verb αὔξησιν (growth) here in 16e is in the same word group as the verb αὐξήσωμεν (we are to grow up) in 15b. This ties these two clauses together tightly. We are to grow into Christ in all His fullness, that is caused here by the interaction of the members working intentionally and properly in those interactions. 

As there are differing types of joints in the body, there are differing types of relationships in the body.

Member	Member	Type of Meeting
Pastor	Congregation	Worship
Teacher	Class	SS or class
Team leader	Team	Team Meeting
Leader	Group	Small Group, Bible Study
Disciple Maker	Growing Christian	One on One
LDM	DM	Man to Man
Pastor	Elders	Elder Meeting
Pastor	Staff	Staff Meeting

I have typically viewed the two highlighted on the list as the only effective joints. However, if the illustration is to hold that cannot be the case. We must view all these as important. Further, we must work to equip all the individuals to work properly.

 

4:16f

ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ

for the building up of itself

Purpose/Substantiation iMeans

The purpose of this process and arrangement is the building up of the Body of Christ… 

This is a repetition and emphasis on the building up of the individual and by extension the Body in the fullness of Christ. NB. The equipping of each individual is required in order to insure the proper working and thus the contribution of each of the joints to this building.

 

4:16g

ἐν ἀγάπῃ.

in love.

Locative iEnd; in Love 1:4, 3:17, 4:2, 4:15a, 4:16g, 5:2

…the end of the building is love. Note that this sentence started with speaking the truth “in love”. Which would imply that all of this is done in an atmosphere of love. Note that this aligns with Paul’s exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:5 (here @ BibleGateway).

Joints – Part 3

We are looking in detail at Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway).  Note that this passage is three sentences.  We looked at 11 and 12 yesterday which is one sentence.  We will look at 13 today, again one sentence.  Tomorrow we will finish with 14 – 16, also one sentence.  We will then summarize what we have seen.

4:13

μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ,

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to [of JMC] the fullness of Christ.

Temporal Emphatic Purpose Essentially one cf. 4:3, 4:13 Purpose Purpose Emphatic Colossians 2:9 – 10

This passage sets the parameters for the ministry of the leaders.  The first clause tells us the length of time that the leaders will be engaged in the process, that is described as until unity is attained.  The implications of that at least include that job is ceaseless.  Further the scope of the leader’s ministry is emphatic.  The leaders are to engage with all the saints, not some, all.  The expected outcome, the result of this engagement by the leaders is rather daunting.  There are at least four metrics that are expected results:

1. Unity of the faith.
2. Unity of the knowledge of the Son of God
3. To maturity
4. To the fullness of Christ

Each of these deserve significant description on their own.  It would be incumbent on leadership in a body to define these.  It would seem that the leadership of a body as stewards of the grace of God would be held accountable for their engagement in this.

Joints – Part 2

Yesterday, I confessed to having misunderstood a passage that I have used in our ministry for years. I asked you to take a look at Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) and then compare it to what I have seen today. I just spent a few minutes reviewing my study and have concluded that I need to share all of it here. That will take more than one post. As you look at the study you will see why fairly quickly.

Here we go:

4:11

καὶ αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν τοὺς μὲν ἀποστόλους, τοὺς δὲ προφήτας, τοὺς δὲ εὐαγγελιστάς, τοὺς δὲ ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους,

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

Purpose Purpose Purpose Purpose

He works through the gifts of His people therefore we must put value on the gifts of the people and engage in equipping them to gain the benefit He intends from those gifts.

4:12

πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων εἰς ἔργον διακονίας, εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ,

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service,  to the building up of the body

Purpose Substantiation Purpose Substantiation Purpose; Building up the body: 4:12, 4:16f

The purpose of the gifts given by Christ is to equip the saints. The saints are the members of the community. The saints are to be equipped to do the work of service. 

 Part of the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18 – 20 (here @ BibleGateway), is that part of making disciples is to teach those that are led to Christ all that He taught. That would seem to include all of these points. We expose people to the idea of following Christ through the presentation of the gospel which would be supplemented by exposure to the community. They would be able to experience the love and unity of the body through that exposure. 

 The next step would be to engage them in some facet of the community, a small investigative Bible study, a small group, or in a church setting some form of service or project that increases their exposure to the community. Behind the scenes the community is praying for their salvation. 

 Should they trust Christ the next step would be to establish them through the process of follow up. The Seven topics would be appropriate here, these should be done one on one. After one is established, which would entail some level of consistent personal input of the Word and growth in prayer. By the way, the idea behind Establish is that the individual would be able to stand on their own in their walk with Christ. This does not suggest that they are independent of the body but that they have developed personal habits and disciplines that will help them sustain a personal walk with Christ. We should then begin to Equip these individuals. 

 The purpose of the equipping is to enable them to serve the Body of Christ, in this case their local community and beyond. This would entail helping them to discover and develop in their gifts.  1 Timothy 4:14 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) seems to indicate this type of effort. This equipping would necessarily include significant time in the Bible, engagement with a group of men as well as man to man. There should be sufficient opportunity for both ministry opportunities as well as observation of the individual engaged in the ministry. There should be training in each of these opportunities consisting of instruction, observation, and critique. 

 It will be the case that not all of those who are established will be equipped. That will be because of several reasons some due to the choice of the individual and others due to the choice of the one who will be doing the training. 

The importance of following this type of model, in some form, cannot be over emphasized. To not do this ignores both the command of Christ and the engagement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of these individuals. To do so also diminishes the effectiveness of the gifts that the Lord has, by His grace given to the Body. To not equip those to use their gifts robs the body of the impact of those gifts utilized. 

The last step in this process is to entrust the ministry to those who have been equipped. Entrusting implies that they are focused on serving others and exposing others to the riches of a relationship with Christ and His community.

Stay Tuned - More tomorrow...

Joints

Have you ever realized that you got something wrong in your understanding of the Bible?  I have.  I have in the past few months.  One of the realities we face in Bible study is that anytime we approach a text we come with a preconceived notion of what we will see.  (I have written about this several times, this post was the first.)  It is one of the struggles in Bible study to look past what we expect to see and allow the text, the prime data, speak to us.

Tuesday mornings I am in a study with men whom I have known for over 40 years.  We were in Ephesians a few months back.  We are following the same pattern we follow in each book or topic we study.  We do an overview of the book or topic, study the details or sections, and then summarize what we have seen.  We move from the whole to the parts and then back to the whole.

During the study, we invested about 4 weeks in Ephesians 4 (here @ BibleGateway).  I have used Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) to validate the need for communities of faith to intentionally engage in equipping each of their members for years.  While that is true, in the process of focusing on the need to be intentional to equip each person in the fellowship, I missed something vitally important.

Consider Ephesians 4:14 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway).  Read through it yourself and notice what is repeated and how Paul describes the purpose of the gifts, what they are supposed to do, and what should be the outcome of the successful deployment of the gifts in a body.  If you have time write down your observations and compare them to what I am going to share tomorrow.

Loose End – Part 3

Yesterday we continued to think through the issue that Wilberforce and Osborne both wrote about 206 years apart.  An issue that persisted throughout those 206 years and seems to persist today.  That is the seeming apathy to the Lord’s exhortation to abide in His Word.

Yesterday I shared the idea that reading books about the Bible, listening to messages about the Bible, watching programs, going to classes about the Bible, is not the same as being in the Bible.  I have done and still do all those things.  I have a ThM, which was 128 hours of class and untold hours outside of class, and that does not count the courses I took in Greek and Hebrew before I got to seminary.  I’m sitting in an office that has every available wall lined with full bookcases and there are 20 or so boxes of books in storage.  All of those things, books, programs, classes are helpful, but they cannot and are not supposed to be the major input of our Biblical lives.

All of those, as good as they are, are filtered through the study and experience of others.  As good as those others are, their work is not inspired.  We need to be in the Word of God ourselves, before we pick up a book – say we are studying Ephesians.  We need to do an overview, analyze each section, and then summarize what we studied.  Then and only then we are ready to look at some secondary source.  If we engage in the secondary source first, what we see will be channeled toward what the teacher, author, or speaker saw.

There is another challenge though.  For the most part, churches regardless of their tradition, have not done a good job of equipping those in the community with the skills needed to study the Word for themselves.  Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ Bible Gateway), outlines succinctly what the ministry of a local church is to be.  The leaders are tasked to equip those in the church to do the work of the ministry.  Did you catch that?  The leaders are not supposed to do the work they are to equip the saints to do so.

That may be the source of the problem.  Seminaries, at least the ones I am aware of, do not focus on training pastors to equip.  They are focused on exegesis, hermeneutics, exposition, and homiletics.  That is, in a normal person’s words, technical study, interpretation, explanation, and proclamation.  Thus, most pastors do not equip, they proclaim.  Again, that is good.  I have listened to thousands of messages and have benefited from them.  But the primary input, the most help I have gotten, has been from personal study, personal engagement, wrestling with the text of the Bible.

I learned how to do that, not from classes – while there were some classes that helped in the sense that they suggested methods or tools of which I was not familiar.  Rather, it was from individuals who showed me how to do the work and gave me feedback on what I saw and how I explained it.  It is that interaction, that back and forth, what Paul refers to in Ephesians 4:16 (here @ Bible Gateway), as “being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body…”  Classes do not equip.  Practicing what a class teaches, under observation by someone who knows and is mastering or has mastered the content and gives feedback and constructive criticism – that is what equips.

It seems to me that is what we need in our churches.  I have heard there are some that are doing this.  I am working at doing so in my church.

Loose End – Part 2

Yesterday we started to probe the issue that both Wilberforce and Osbourne spoke to around 206 years apart.  Today we will consider some of the implications of what we examined yesterday.

The conclusion yesterday was that if one does not engage in the activity that Christ exhorts, the implications are dire.  That conclusion is driven, in part, by John 8:31 (here @ Bible Gateway).  As we saw, if one is to be a disciple of Christ, one must abide in His Word.  The import of that is if one is not abiding in the Word, then one is not a disciple.  

In an earlier post we examined 1 Peter 2:1 – 3 (here @ Bible Gateway).  The passage is a complex conditional statement.  Essentially it says that if one has tasted the kindness of the Lord, that is has fully experienced His kindness, then that one will long for, hunger for, not be satisfied without the Word of God.  Would it not be the case then that if a person does not have a hunger for the Word of God, if they are not pursuing learning it, studying it, reading it, would it not be reasonable to conclude that they have not tasted the kindness of the Lord?

In Luke 6:46 (here @ Bible Gateway), Jesus asks a rather penetrating question.  “If you call me Lord, why do you not do what I say?”  Isn’t the implication there that if one is not doing what Christ says, He is not their Lord?  

I have been engaged with more than one church’s small group project.  One of the consistent challenges is getting the groups to engage personally, individually in the Word of God.  Many are quick to read “Christian” books, or watch “Christian” videos, or focus on fellowship, but to read secondary sources is not the same as reading the Bible.  

I have been asked to review two study Bibles.  I have done one, and the other is in the que.  Both are chock full of notes and reference material.  When I was new to the faith, the Scofield Reference Bible was the main Bible that people carried.  It too was chock full of notes and reference material.  Full disclosure I have at least four Study Bibles.  I don’t use any of them.  Why?  The notes and reference materials are the work of man.  They are not inspired.  The text of the Bible is inspired.  Hebrews 4:12 (here @ Bible Gateway) does not say, “For books about the Bible and the notes in your study Bible are living and active and sharper than any two edged sword…” you can fill in the rest.

It is confusing to me why the Lord allows this.  He states that His word will not return void, Isaiah 55:11 (here @ Bible Gateway).  It seems like, many, if not most, of those claiming to be in the Body, have chosen to abandon His Word.  Chosen not to abide instead to depend on proxies to apprehend the Word of God.  This seems to have resulted in an ineffective and anemic Body.  I don’t know why this persists.  But the quotes from Wilberforce and Osborne indicate that it has for the last couple of hundred years.

The Holy Spirit inspired His Word, all of it.  It reflects God’s nature and character, 2 Peter 1:1 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Peter in 2 Peter 1:16 – 21 (here @ Bible Gateway) compares having the Word of God to his experience seeing Jesus transformed on the Mount of Transfiguration.  But, we have trouble getting believers to engage personally in it?  Why?

I have some thoughts on that I will share in the next post.

Loose End

In June of last year, I shared two quotes, one by William Wilberforce, the other by Grant Osbourne.  As noted in the post, the quotes were 206ish years apart and yet essentially dealt with the same issue.  In that post I said I would share my thoughts on those two quotes.  In reviewing my journal and the blog just now, I realize I never did.  So here goes…

If I were to synthesize the two quotes the common issue seems to be that there is a tendency in the community of faith to not take the need to work at understanding or studying the Bible as necessary for every believer.  There seems to be a prevailing sentiment that after I come to Christ, I’m done with work in terms of knowing Him.  Sure, I will listen to the occasional message and may read the occasional Christian book, but actually dive into the Word of God for myself?  I wouldn’t know where to start.  Anyway, that is the job of the pastor and teachers.  They need to study and tell me what to think.

In the previous paragraph I referred to the community of faith.  Why?  This issue prevails from Genesis to Revelation.  The people of Israel abandoned the Word of God.  There were times of renewal.  Each time the Word was found and read to the people and the people tore their clothes and repented.  But abandoned the Word again in short order.

In Jeremiah 23 (here @ Bible Gateway) the Lord reveals His attitude toward this type of behavior.  The prophets were not sharing the Word of God with the nation.  Rather, they were sharing their own dreams and ideas.  God did not like that.  It is worth your time to read the chapter.

In the New Testament over and over the importance of the Word of God is emphasized.  Perhaps the section of Scripture that is most telling is John 15:1 – 16 (here @ Bible Gateway).  In that passage John repeats the Greek word μένω (meno) 11 times in those 16 verses.  The word is variously translated abide, remain, continue, dwell.  We are exhorted by the Lord to abide in Him and have His Words abide in us.  In John 8:31 (here @ Bible Gateway) the exhortation is to abide in His Word to be His disciple.  Both statements in John 8:31 (here @ Bible Gateway) and John 15:7 (here @ Bible Gateway) are conditional.  The construction of the sentences indicate that it is not certain that those who heard or read will actually fulfill the condition of having the Words abide in them or abide in His Word.  The implications of not doing what Christ exhorted are dire.

This is getting longer than I intended when I started.  So I will finish it in the next post or so.  Stay tuned.