The Indwelling

Finally, my brothers,[and sisters] rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. ~ Philippians 3:1

As I read the Apostle Paul’s words in his letter to the Church at Philippi, I was momentarily stuck on the phrase above. The term “finally” seems out of place in the middle of the letter. Or, perhaps it is a compilation of letters. We can’t know for sure, but it slowed my reading down like a roadsign that instructs you to be cautious and prepare for an encounter that needs careful consideration. Paul says, “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.” What are the “same things”? Why are they easy to say and safe to hear? 

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:1-11

I’m confident that this is the message Paul felt good about sharing and sure to be safe for its hearers. Please do me a favor now and re-read the paragraph above slowly out loud and let it sink in. (I’ll wait) ⏲ 

So, what was that like for you? Paul says that if anything is encouraging about being a Christian Believer, then live by the example of Christ our Lord - who, being in very nature, GOD, emptied himself to become like us. His example is more than a model; it is a prototype that is a prerequisite for our complete transformation. In the Gospel of John, chapter 5, Jesus said he can do nothing on his own. As he hears, he judges and his judgment is just because it comes from the Father’s. (5:30) When you get to know Jesus in the Gospels, it is apparent that the Father works through Jesus. The Word (=heart and mind of God), the perfect timing, and the miracles are all manifestations of the Father’s will. Therefore, if we live by Jesus’ example, we are to be instruments too. 

Merely copying the recorded words and deeds of Jesus will only take you so far. After Jesus’ resurrection from death, he became what Adam was supposed to be and more. Now He is to us what the Father was to Him in the gospels. By covering our sin and making us welcome in His Father’s house, Christ made the way of salvation and new life in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is Christ dwelling within us. Therefore, if you live as Jesus lived, you serve under Christ just as He served under the Father so that you will say, “Apart from Christ, I can do nothing.” “Nothing I say or do in His Name is valid unless it comes from Him.” 

When Paul said his message was easy to write, it was because it came from Christ. When he said it was safe to hear, it was because it came from Christ. Paul’s admonitions against selfish desires, words, and deeds are not about religious rules; it is about creating room for Christ’s Spirit to dwell in you so that your life is an expression of the indwelling LORD of your heart. Therefore, let us pray words like those attributed to Francis of Assissi.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.

O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in pardoning that one is pardoned, it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life. (public domain)

Scripture passages are from English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Felix's Fear

There will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.  So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man … As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid … ~ Acts 24:15-16, 25 NIV

    Felix was a cruel Roman governor of Judea, appointed by Emperor Claudius. He was even described as a wicked and heartless ruler by his peers. When the Apostle Paul spoke to Felix it was as though the voice of God echoed through the room. Felix heard clearly that the ignorant, unsophisticated religious fanatics down in fly-over country may have been right after all. At that moment Felix realized the transient nature of his authority and the brevity of his life. It occurred to him that he too will die one day and be resurrected to face his maker. It shook him to the core as well it should anyone who grasps that sobering truth. 

            Felix probably took little notice of the sanctimonious religious leaders and their foolish followers since their cause was always clouded by their internal strife. His job was to keep the Roman version of peace and to assure that Ceasar received regular tribute. Therefore, fighting among religious factions over petty differences in doctrine and theology weakened their values and message before the secular rulers. How could those people know what God was really like and how God would judge anyone? Their religion said more about them than their God. Then, Paul spoke like no other. His words resonated with truth in that they represented something even Felix’s local religious adversaries would fear if they had any sense.              A career politician’s mind will not change without the help of the Holy Spirit. Politicians become exceedingly egocentric over time because there are always persons who want something from them or seek to take something away from them. Many public servants start with lofty ideals and honorable objectives, but as he/she climbs higher into the ranks of government, he/she becomes part of a secular establishment that will devour them unless they learn to play the “game of thrones.” Therefore, when constituents attempt to influence them, all is lost unless it furthers the politician’s ambitions and feeds his/her ego.              It turns out that, despite his cruelty and political savvy, Felix feared a resurrection to God’s judgment. On this day of heightened awareness of all the division and chaos in our land, let us pray that we each feel the weight of Paul’s words and fear the LORD’s judgment. Then, after repenting and seeking God through Christ, let us pray for political leaders, government workers, and party devotees who are celebrating and grieving today. Let us pray that they too will know the fear of their resurrection from death to face God’s judgment. Let us pray that they realize the transience of their power and influence and the brevity of their lives.     

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ~ Ephesians 4:29

Last week at this time I wrote to you about the primacy of love in Christian living. I was not aware of the events unfolding in Washington D.C. as I was writing (1/6/21). Upon reflection, it seemed altogether appropriate that I wrote those words rooted in Scripture. Now, I am writing a week later without knowing what’s going to be in the headlines later today. I only know this, Citizens of Christ’s Kingdom are revolutionaries of a unique sort. They overcome evil with good; they have hope when others have despair; they defeat their adversaries with truth is love (There is only one adversary, really. It is Satan, who authors chaos, hatred, and violence.), and they use their mouths to build up and not to tear down. 

If you want to change the world, it must be done under the King’s authority and according to the King’s mandate. The King is Jesus Christ. “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:28) What Paul is saying here is that, when we subject our will to Christ, we open a channel through which God flows to the world we are moving through. Any act of self-will cuts off that flow. Do you want to revolutionize the world according to your will or according to the LORD’s will? When disagreeing turns into violence, the flesh and evil are served. 

Jesus said, “By myself, I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” (John 5:30) Even Jesus was subjecting his will. His Word, his deeds, and his thought were so perfectly in tune with God the Father that his human flesh was a conduit for the Father. Therefore, his words and deeds were just and loving. Christian Believers must strive for balance as they exercise both grace and discipline as human connections with God. If churches, religious organizations, and individuals act according to the flesh they are not serving the LORD. Please join me in praying that Christ will be King in churches, and wherever people declare themselves to be Christians. 

Perfect Love

You must be perfect just as your father is perfect ~ Matthew 5:48

This verse is intimidating. How could Jesus say such a thing and expect us to take him seriously? The answer lies in the context of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7. Chapter 5 starts with hard-hitting instructions that are impossible to fulfill completely. How, for example, is one supposed never to have an angry thought lest he sins? 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus took direct aim at the Pharisees who specialized in subjective legalism and those they oppressed with it. He named common sins and then reduced them to attitudes about one’s self and others. Jesus said that, while they observed the letter of the Law, they failed to comprehend its heart. In another place, Jesus said the Law is summed up in simple terms: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Another way to say what Jesus said in Matthew 5:48 is, “pursue perfect love like that of the Father.” 

It is the Father’s perfect love that saves repentant sinners even though they fail time and again to uphold the spirit of the Law. It is the Father’s perfect love that saves by perfect, immeasurable self-sacrifice by the Son. The Father’s perfect love sends the Spirit to refine, guide, and preserve Christian Believers through physical death and ready them for resurrection. So, as children of God’s perfect love, we are compelled to strive to love our neighbor as the Father has loved us. 

As we imitate the Father’s love, we become increasingly in love with others through sanctification. That is, imitators of the divine nature witness the perfecting of their love through repeated practice. Of course, “neighbor” doesn’t exclusively refer to the person or family next door—instead, our commission is to love those persons whom the LORD places along our way. It will be more comfortable with some than with others. With the Spirit’s help, there will be sufficient grace to persevere. 

As we begin 2021 amid the ongoing pandemic, the ongoing culture war, and the continuous reframing of what “Church” is, let us agree that the Church, or the Body of Christ, is best understood as the physical presence of Christ’s heart and mind. When we love as He loves and thinks as He thinks, we are Christ to the world we meet along our way. 

        Christian Believer, please dedicate yourself to perfecting your love in the image of the Father in your heart, in your home, in your workplace, in your community, on the road, online, on the phone, and anywhere else you are. Be especially loving with your Christian family. Be long-suffering, kind, and gracious to those who worship, learn, and serve with you. Remember that “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-10