Scripture… As We Live It #234
This is the 234th passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Yes, of course they were! God always sends disasters like this and hurricanes and tsunamis and tornadoes and other natural disasters because of the sins of a nation. (Luke 13:4-5 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)
Replay: The Problem of Learning from Strangers
Four years ago, back in November 2008, I wrote a post called “Learning from Strangers.” Have you noticed that when you ask a Christian a question today, they will tend to suggest a book to read on the topic? Or, when you’re talking about something, someone tells you what several of his or her favorite authors wrote about it? Perhaps you’re lucky and that doesn’t happen around you. But, I’ve noticed it happening more and more. I think this illustrates a big problem: we’re primarily learning from strangers, i.e., people we do not actually know. That’s the point of this post.
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Learning from Strangers
As followers of Jesus Christ, we should be ready to learn from anyone – especially other brothers and sisters – even if we do not know them. However, when reading through Scripture, it seems that the authors thought most learning would happen within relationships.
These relationships as described in Scripture are “full life” relationships, meaning that we primarily learn from people that we actually know. We know what they say. We know how that treat their family. We know about their work ethic. We know how they treat other people. Thus, we learn from people that we really, truly, actually know.
But, today, things have changed. Strangers (or acquaintances at best) are the primary source of “information” and learning for most Christians. We read books written by people that we do not know. We watch and listen to sermons given by people that we do not know. We attend conferences where the speakers are people that we do not know. We often listen week after week to teaching from people that we do not know – even if they are part of our church.
Thus, when our favorite author, or a powerful speaker, or a gifted musician “fails” we feel betrayed. But, in reality, we are failing ourselves by putting our trust so heavily in people that we actually do not know.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. Books, and tapes, and CD’s, and lectures, and conferences can be very helpful. But, these things should complement the really, true, actual learning and discipleship that takes place through really, true, actual relationships. These things (books, tapes, cd’s, lectures, conferences) should not take the place of relationships.
In fact, we’re now part of a “Christianity” in which relationships are not only secondary, but they are rare. When talking to others, we would prefer to quote our favorite author than to listen to someone we know, perhaps because we don’t really know them.
Jesus not only spoke the gospel of the kingdom, but he also demonstrated it. Paul told people to consider his words and his manner of living. John said that our fellowship with one another is actually fellowship with the Father and the Son. We’ve replaced learning through relationship (knowing someone and their manner of life) with learning from strangers (people we do not know – including their manner of life).
Your favorite author may be able to wax eloquently concerning the theological implications of the love of God. But, you will learn more about the love of God from the person that you actually know – the person who is struggling with his boss, but continues to love her – the person who gives to others while going without himself – the person who would walk into a low income neighborhood because of her concern for the neighbors there.
Relationships are more than pastimes or good ideas. God worked in Scripture primarily through relationships. Discipleship occurs primarily through relationships. Spiritual growth occurs through relationships. Its time to spend less time with our favorite authors and more time with the people that God has placed in our lives.
Today is my last day working for the seminary
Today, Friday, November 9, 2012, is my last day of employment with Southeastern Seminary. I’ve worked in the IT department for SEBTS doing web development for 10 years (and 8 days to be exact). Monday, I begin a new job as an application consultant / developer for CtiPath, an IT company in the contact management center industry.
As I was telling my wife, Margaret, earlier in the week, this last week has hit me harder than I thought it would. You see, for the last 10 years, I’ve worked in an office with 3-4 other people. And, I’ve made some great friends during that time. You’ve even “met” some of them on this blog, although you probably didn’t know it.
I worked with one of them almost the entire 10 years that I’ve been here. I worked with others for a few years. Some have already moved on to other jobs, while some still work at the seminary. I’m going to miss these people!
While they are all technically adept and often helped me in my job, they are more important to me because of the way that we all helped each other grow in Christ. Our conversations, discussions, and even arguments have been extremely beneficial to me. They’ve taught me that it’s possible to remain united in Christ and to fellowship closely with people with whom you have theological differences.
So, to Gary, Tony, Jonathan, Stan, Lew, Dan, Theron, Glenn, Drew, Jason, and others… Thank you! And, I know that our relationships will continue past this job change.
Ephesians 4:7-10 and receiving/giving gifts
In a previous post, “Ephesians 4:7-10 and Psalm 68:18,” I pointed out that Paul changed Psalm 68:18 when he quoted it in Ephesians 4:8. In short, he changed “receiving gifts from people” to “gave gifts to people” with the primary distinction being in the “receiving” and “giving.” Why would he do that?
I started explain one possible reason that Paul would make that change in my post “Ephesians 4:7-10 and the one who ascended to fill all things.” In that post, I pointed out that a phrase that Paul used in Ephesians 4:10 (“the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things”) reminds his readers of two statements that he previously made about Jesus and two corresponding statements that he made about them. I also hinted that I think this parenthetical statement (Ephesians 4:10) may help us understand why Paul changed Psalm 68:18 when he quoted it in Ephesians 4:8.
So, to wrap this up, in Ephesians 4:8 Paul quotes a passage in Psalm 68:18 in which the psalmist focuses on the victorious king receiving gifts. Paul specifically identifies this victorious king as Jesus Christ (in his parenthetical statement in Ephesians 4:9-10). Similarly, he has previously referred to Jesus’ victory over all things, and specifically over other authorities:
[His power] that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:20-21 ESV)
So, it’s clear that Jesus is identified as being above all in Ephesians which demonstrates why Paul would also identify him as the victorious king in the illustration from Psalm 68:18.
But, remember, we’ve also seen that Paul closely identifies the believers in Ephesus with Jesus, beginning with the important phrase “in Christ” or “in him” which he has used throughout the letter so far. Importantly, since they are “in Christ,” the Ephesians share in Jesus being raised and seated in the heavenly places (which is above all things including above all other authorities). Plus, we’ve seen that Jesus is placed above all things for the sake of the church.
Thus, continuing the illustration from Psalm 68:18, Jesus is the victorious king who receives the spoils of war – i.e., he receives gifts from men. But, given the close association between Jesus and the church in this letter, the church naturally shares in Jesus’ victory and spoils. Gifts received by Jesus as spoils are also received by the church due to that association. However, the association is still “in Christ” (and become of him) not in the church themselves. Thus, it makes sense that the “spoils” are received by Jesus due to his victory, and also given by him to the church because of the church’s association with him (being “in Christ”).
In this passage (Ephesians 4:7-11 especially), Paul is discussing the grace of God that is given to the church through the gifts given by Jesus Christ. So, Psalm 68:18 is a perfect passage to reflect this topic. Paul changes the ending of Psalm 68:18 to emphasize that Jesus both receives the spoils as the victorious king (“received from men”) and that Jesus also gives these spoils to the church (“gave to men”).
The change in wording moves the focus from Jesus receiving the gifts to Jesus giving the gifts, which is the topic of Paul’s discussion. However, the only reason that Paul is able to make this change (without changing the meaning of the text itself) is because of the close association that makes between Jesus Christ and the church.
Eagerly pursue their company in your home
Stan at “Rocky Meadow” has written a very good article called “The Hospitality Commands Part 1” – which, I guess, indicates that there will be other parts. So, be on the look out for those posts too!
In this post, Stan talks about Romans 12:10-13, especially the instruction to practice hospitality. I love posts about hospitality, because I think it’s one of the things missing in the life of the modern church. (Perhaps it’s been missing for some time, but I only know about the years that I’ve been around…)
At one point, Stan writes this:
For now, let’s concentrate on the hospitality aspect of this description. If I were commenting solely on the English translation the word “practice” would catch my attention. Practice carries with it the idea of doing something repetitively until we get it right. That, in and of itself, would be a very good thing where hospitality among the followers of Christ is concerned.
The Greek behind the English translation conveys a slightly different idea. Practicing means “strive for” or “pursue”. Strive for sharing your hospitality with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Eagerly pursue their company in your home. Seek to share life together in Christ with them.
Think about what Stan said: “Strive for sharing your hospitality with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Eagerly pursue their company in your home. Seek to share life together in Christ with them.” I think that’s a great explanation of the instruction to practice hospitality.
But… there is a little problem. Today, the home is not generally considered a place of socialization. It’s often a place of seclusion.
So, how do we “practice hospitality” if people will not accept an invitation to our home? How do we “eagerly pursue their company in your home” when that’s out of the question for them? Is it possible to begin by “sharing life together in Christ with them” in another location? (By the way, this is the idea of a “third place.”)
Have you found certain places (besides the home) where people are more comfortable building the kind of relationships in Christ that Stan talks about here?
(As a funny / ironic side note… if you search for “hospitality” on Google images, you get almost all pics of restaurants and hotels. That tells us a little about what our culture thinks when they hear the term “hospitality.”)
Ephesians 4:7-10 and the one who ascended to fill all things
In my previous post, “Ephesians 4:7-10 and Psalm 68:18,” I pointed out that Paul changed Psalm 68:18 when he quoted it in Ephesians 4:8. In short, he changed “receiving gifts from people” to “gave gifts to people” with the primary distinction being in the “receiving” and “giving.”
At the end of that post, I asked why Paul would change Psalm 68:18 when he quoted it in Ephesians 4:8. I have a suggestion about why Paul changed the passage, and I’m going to explain my suggestion over the next two posts.
First, here is the passage in Ephesians:
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.” (quote from Psalm 68:18)(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:7-10 ESV)
Notice that Paul added a parenthetical statement following his quotation of Psalm 68:18. I believe this parenthetical statement can help us understand why he changed the wording of the Psalm (without changing the meaning, by the way).
Let’s begin with the very end of Ephesians 4:10 – “that he might fill all things.” If you are familiar with Ephesians, then this statement may sound familiar:
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23 ESV)
…and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19 ESV)
So, with the phrase “fill all things,” Paul looks back at what he had already said about Jesus Christ (at the end of chapter 1) and to his prayer for the Ephesians (at the end of chapter 3).
Returning to Ephesians 4:10, Paul also refers to Jesus as “the one who ascended far above the heavens.” While the wording is a little different, this statement is also reminiscent of statements that Paul has made previously in the letter:
…that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:20-21 ESV)
…and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus… (Ephesians 2:6 ESV)
So, with the phrase “the one who ascended far above the heavens,” Paul also reminds his readers of something that he had previous said about Jesus and something that he had also previously said about them. (By the way, in Ephesians 4:10, I think that Paul used “ascended” instead of “raised” because it corresponds better to Psalm 68:18 while providing the same image.)
So, in the phrase “the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things,” Paul reminds his readers of two statements that he previously made about Jesus and two corresponding statements that he made about them. I think this reflection back to what has already been said is important in understanding why Paul changed “receiving gifts from people” to “gave gifts to people” when he quoted Psalm 68:18 (in Ephesians 4:8). I’ll explain why in my post tomorrow morning.
Can you see where I’m headed with this yet?
But they’re not trained teachers and preachers!
Again, I want to point you to two very good posts on a similar topic. What topic? Teaching among the church.
This is huge for the church. In fact, in seminary, many classes focused on helping people (the people in the classes, that is) teach others. And, primarily, the focus was on monologue (i.e., one-way) type teaching/preaching.
But, many studies have shown that one-way teaching is not the best way to communicate, and it’s certainly not the best way to disciple. Plus, we mostly see dialogical (i.e., two-way) type teaching in the New Testament.
First, Kathleen at “Church in a Circle” continues an on-going series about “Tomorrow’s Church” in a post called “Part 6: From spoon-feeding to hands-on learning.” This is a great article about the difference between one-way and two-way teaching.
Churches today come in all shapes and sizes, with differing styles and a wide range of music genres, but one thing is consistent across most of them – the central “teaching” session consists of one person standing at the front and talking at a passive audience. Like a caring mother preparing her child’s food (in my case, it often consisted of grabbing a packet of baby food from the pantry – shhhh), the pastor has spent the week preparing the “meal” for the congregation, “digesting” the Scriptures, and organising the message into an attractively presented platter of palatable thoughts and ideas, ready to “spoon-feed” the listeners. The content is often superb, the message is often clearly articulated – but God’s people are not given an option to get their hands messy, to be involved in the learning process, to feed themselves.
Similarly, Miguel from “God Directed Deviations” tackles this subject in his post “Someone told me I should teach Homiletics. This is why I recoiled…”
Personally, in my teaching or preaching, I want to listen to people. I want to be able, through the Spirit’s leading to not only answer their questions, but answer the person behind the question with a person, the person of Jesus. For me to teach someone homiletics would be a conflict of interests.
I think it would change the church if we moved from one-way teaching (monologue) to dialog. Yes, there are benefits to monologue teaching, but I do not think the benefits actually align with the purpose of teaching as we read about in the New Testament.
Have you been involved in dialogue type teaching before?
Ephesians 4:7-10 and Psalm 68:18
As I’ve mentioned several times over the last couple of months, we are studying Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus together when we gather on Sunday morning. So far, we’ve made it half way through chapter 4.
Last Sunday, we looked at one of my favorite passages in the book: Ephesians 4:1-16. And, guess what? I did not lead the discussion on that passage. Nope. One of my friends wanted to facilitate our study together of that passage, and he did an awesome job!
To be honest, we had such encouraging and challenging comments about Ephesians 4:1 that I almost wish we had just remained on that verse for our entire study time. But, my brother did a great job of moving us through the whole passage so that we could consider how it all connects together and how we can respond to the passage.
Right in the middle of this great passage there is a quote from Psalm 68 that has often caused me to scratch me head. First, here’s the passage in Ephesians:
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:7-10 ESV)
I separated Ephesians 4:8 above so you can see the quotation. It comes from Psalm 68:18, and this is the way the passage reads there:
You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there. (Psalm 68:18 ESV)
Do you see the difference? The Psalm passage says that God – as the victorious king – receives gifts from people, while Paul said that Jesus – as the victorious king – gave gifts to people. (By the way, I checked the LXX – the Greek translation of the Old Testament – and it is very similar to the ESV above.)
So, it looks like Paul changed the passage from Psalm 68:18 when he quoted it. Did he make a mistake? Did he change Scripture? (Well, obviously, he changed it…)
So, what’s going on? Why did Paul find it necessary to change Psalm 68:18 when he quoted it? Is his hermeneutic simply to change the Old Testament to match his theology? (Some people have suggested that.) Or, is something else going on?
Well, I do think that something else is going on, and I’m going to explain what I think Paul is doing in two more posts over the next two days. But, for now, I thought I would ask what you think.
Why do you think Paul changed Psalm 68:18 when he quoted it in Ephesians 4:8?
Two different types of leaders among the church?
Jon at “Jon’s Journey” has written a very helpful post called “Leading the Way.” The post is a summary of all of his posts on leadership among the church. The posts cover many different aspects of that topic, and he puts them all together in a great way.
A few years ago, when I had only been blogging a couple of years, I recognized that my posts on leadership were often the most read and commented posts on my blog, even though I wrote about leadership much less than other topics. I think there are several reasons for that, but I won’t get into it here. I thought about that when I read this statement at the end of Jon’s post: “So as you can see I’ve invested some thought into this topic lately. But I don’t want this to be the main focus of my journey moving forward.”
But, I’d like for us to think about something that Jon says at the beginning of his post:
I see two different types of leaders in the church.
- Those who make decisions for others to follow
- Those who live their lives as examples that others follow
I know in many cases some people do a bit of both.
After you take the time to read through Jon’s post, and some of his linked posts, think about this:
Jon is right… there are two types of “leading” among the church. And, interestingly, both types of “leading” often get followed and followers.
Consider this question: What type of “leading” are you following? (And, if you think you’re not following anyone but Jesus – i.e., not learning from another’s example – then I think you’re probably fooling yourself.)
Another example: Mutual edification through serving together
In yesterday’s post, “Examples of Mutual Edification When the Church Gathers,” I offered several examples of how we work together to build up on another when we get together. I included examples of studying Scripture together, singing together, praying together, and eating together. (As I said in that post, a Facebook friend suggested that I write about those examples.)
At the end of that post, I also said that there was an absolutely necessary element that leads to mutual edification. What element is that? It’s sharing our lives with one another throughout the week in many different way and at many different times.
There’s something else that we do that always results in us building each other up, and this activity has additional benefits as well. I’m talking about serving others together. Don’t misunderstand me. It can be very beneficial to serve others individual, and we often do this as well. But, when we serve others together, we get the added benefit of having many opportunities to edify one another as we serve.
While the specific types of service can be “big” things, even small acts of serving together can be a catalyst for mutual edification. We’ve done simple things like rake leaves, cut grass, work at a food pantry, make food, etc. We’ve also done bigger things together like traveling across the state, to other states, and even around the world together in order to serve others. However, like I said, even simple tasks of service allow us to not only love others, but also to build up one another while we serve.
How do we build up one another while we serve others? Well, certainly, there are usually opportunities to talk and encourage and teach one another as we serve side by side. Similarly, as we find out what different people are going through, we’re able to pray together as we serve. But, even the encouragement to serve is a method of edifying each other.
You see, when we do some kind of service like this, it’s usually initiated by one of our brothers or sisters who knows the person being served and the need for service. This brother or sister tells others about the opportunity/need, we pray about it, and then decide as a group how to serve the person.
There have a been a few times when I did not want to serve someone… oh, I knew that I should want to, and it showed me that my heart was not in the right place. Because of the example and encouragement of my brothers and sisters and the opportunities that they brought to our attention, my heart / love issue was brought to the surface (and of course, I wasn’t the only one). Thus, together, we are encouraged to grow in love and concern for others.
Interestingly, I’ve found recently that the teenagers among us often take the lead in these opportunities to serve together. They seem to love to gather together for the purpose of caring for someone else. What an encouragement this has been to the rest of us!
How about you? Have you ever served other people together with brothers and sisters in Christ? Have you found this to also be an opportunity to edify one another?