Author: petebeck3

Pete Beck III ministered as a pastor and Bible teacher in Burlington for over 34 years. He is married to Martha, with whom he has four children, ten beautiful grandchildren, and four amazing great grandchildren. He ministers in his local church as a Bible teacher and counselor. He has published two books - Seeing God's Smile and Promise of the Father - as well as a wide variety of Bible-related articles which he has compiled into books in PDF form.

Sanctification: Dancing with an Invisible Partner

 

Sanctification or transformation is a partnership between God’s people and the Holy Spirit that can be thought of as dancing with an invisible partner. If we are to let God’s Spirit take the lead, it will require that we repent from our inborn propensity to rely on our own mind, strength, and ability, which we inherited from Adam and which has been reinforced by our living in our sin-filled world.

Living out of our own resources is the essence of sin and frustrates or nullifies the power of God’s grace in our lives.

"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galatians 2:21 (NASB)

Until we learn to lean on God’s Spirit instead of ourselves, we will live out Romans 7 and groan under the burden of frustration as did Paul.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23  but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24  Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25 (NASB)

Romans 7 becomes our experience when we rely on the “flesh” instead of the Spirit. (If you are not familiar with the meaning of the word “flesh” as Paul uses it, please read my second article in this series now.) Jesus taught us that the “flesh” does not profit us in any way spiritually speaking. The only thing that helps us is what comes from and through the Spirit of God.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63 (NKJV)

Learning how to “walk” in the Spirit means that on a daily basis we live out of the strength and power of God’s indwelling Spirit doing what he puts in our hearts.

The better we get at partnering with the Holy Spirit, the happier, more fulfilled, and more useful we are to God and other people.

Jesus called this the “abundant life.” (John 10:10)

Partnering with God Who Lives inside Us
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 18  "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18 (NASB)

Perhaps the most amazing part of the Christian life is that God chooses to live inside of us who believe forever.

The Holy Spirit is called the “helper” (Greek: paracletos – one called alongside). He is our best friend, someone who will never abandon us, the Person we always wanted to be, the One we are becoming like through the process called sanctification or transformation.

Jesus told his followers, whom he called “sheep,” that we are able to “hear his voice.”

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; John 10:27 (NASB)

He said that we will know and recognize him; yet, many followers of Christ today have little or no experience of this. Perhaps it is because of a misunderstanding or misconception of what it means to hear his voice. Since our spirits are joined to the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), our thoughts are connected to God’s thoughts (1 Cor. 2:16), and our desires are becoming more in line with God’s desires (Ezekiel 11:19-20), it is likely that we may not always be aware of when God is “speaking” to us. What God is “telling” us may seem to originate in our own minds. It may appear as if we are directing our own lives. But if we understand that God lives inside us, our desire is to live in harmony with him, and we have surrendered our lives to him as best we know how, then God’s Word teaches us something that I must accept by faith: Christ lives in me.

For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20  "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  Galatians 2:19-20 (NASB)

Paul learned that his life was Christ’s life and Christ’s life was his.

It was not Paul; yet, it was Paul. It was Christ; yet, it was also Paul. This same principle is echoed elsewhere.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB)

If we are looking for God somewhere outside us, we are still living in an Old Testament paradigm.

At times, it may seem as if I am working hard at this thing called transformation, but the reality is that it is a joint effort, as we rely on God’s Spirit and grace. Every true work of sanctification or transformation is a work of grace, no matter how it seems. The key thing is for us to maintain an attitude of rest. We do not struggle and strive to perfect ourselves. Instead, we “labor” to enter and maintain rest.

The struggle for believers, more than anything else, is to rely upon God’s ability to fulfill his promises and complete the transformative work inside us that he began. (Philippians 1:6)

So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11  Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11 (NASB) 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

God forgave us, justified us, reconciled us to himself, and is transforming us by his Spirit as we hold fast to his promises and keep our eyes upon the Lord.

The Law, with its demands, is external to us and speaks to us from afar. The Spirit is internal and speaks most often from within.  His voice is often so subtle that, unless we quiet our noisy minds and souls, we may miss it altogether. His voice is always in harmony with the written Word of God, but not in a legalistic sense.

The Spirit is life and makes the Word of God become life and peace to us.

But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Romans 7:6 (NLT)

If we have learned to lean on the power of the human mind exclusively, we will have to learn to command it to be still and learn how to hear and live out of our spirits, much as a baby learns to walk.

The words of Solomon come to mind at this point.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

God wants us to believe that he lives inside us, communicates with us, directs us, and empowers us, even when it seems as if it is only we who are doing it. Thankfully, however, God makes his voice and presence known to us. He does not leave us on our own. We do not always have to walk by faith only. King David knew the life-giving presence of God, and so can we.

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:11 (NLT)

There are times when his voice to us is so clear that it is almost as if he audibly spoke to us, but this is not the norm. Most of the time, we must learn to trust faint impressions in our minds and hearts as coming from God. It takes a while for us to learn to distinguish between God thoughts and merely human ones, but the Holy Spirit will help us, and we can lean on other more mature followers of Christ to help us grow in this area.

Walking in the Spirit can be likened to dancing with an invisible partner. As we learn to follow his lead, those watching will think that it is only we who are dancing, but we will know that is is not. We will know that it is Christ who lives in and through us.

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What Is Sanctification?

Sanctification or transformation is the ongoing process whereby the Holy Spirit is changing us on the inside on a daily basis. In my previous article, I wrote about the eternal reality of justification, which primarily concerns the innermost part of our being, the spirit. If you have not read it yet, I encourage you to do so before going any farther. It will help you better understand this article.

Still waiting…

The apostle Paul made a very interesting statement regarding salvation and hope.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19  For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21  that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24  For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:18-25 (NASB)

I quoted the entire passage, but the key verse for my purposes is 24: “in hope we have been saved.” Paul argues that, even though we have been declared righteous in the court of heaven and have complete confidence that God will keep his promise to raise us from the dead, we are still waiting to see the completion of what God began.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NASB)
 
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24  Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NASB)

Even though Christ already completed the perfect work of justification and we are sure that God will certainly finish what he has begun at the resurrection, we must wait for it in confident expectation, which, by the way, is the actual definition of hope (Greek: elpis).

To hope is to confidently wait for what God has promised, knowing that he will keep his word.

In the above passage, our hope is the resurrection of the body at Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. At that point, all of creation will be recreated, producing what John the Revelator called a new heaven and earth. (Revelation 21:1) However, being saved in hope also refers to the present ongoing process of our being sanctified or transformed into Christ’s image in how we think, speak, and act as we continue to live in this time-space experience called life.

Even though justification is a once-for-all completed work and our glorification will also be once and for all at the resurrection, the transformative effects of God’s grace are being worked out in our lives on a daily basis.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 15  And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16  “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” Hebrews 10:14-16 (ESV)

Justified people who have been declared righteous (“perfected”) in God’s sight are still undergoing a transformation process orchestrated by the Holy Spirit through grace by faith in an atmosphere of the fear of the Lord. God is actively writing his laws, his heart, and his mind upon our hearts and minds. We are becoming more and more like Jesus in how we think, speak, and act as we allow the Holy Spirit to live the Christ life in and through us.

Imagine if…

What if we had no way to measure our spiritual status or progress? How would we know how we are doing in God’s eyes? Would we have confidence toward God? Would we feel good about ourselves? Imagine if there were no way to “grade” ourselves spiritually. Are we passing, failing, acing it, barely squeaking by, or in danger of getting a failing grade? How does God mean for us to gauge our spiritual condition?

I have a friend who would often ask me and others, “Are you doing enough?” He asked this in good humor to try to point out that we cannot do enough to earn or maintain a right standing with God. Nevertheless, most believers, in spite of having a decent theology, labor under the thought that they do not measure up in God’s eyes. We know that what constitutes being good enough if found only in our Lord Jesus, but somehow we feel that we too need to attain to some level of works and holiness in order to be pleasing to God. Why are we so ambivalent? Why do we who know about grace wrestle with a works mentality? To find the answer, we need to go back to the Garden of Eden.

After Adam and Eve sinned, in shame they hid themselves from God having become aware of their nakedness, which previously was a non-issue or had not been evident for some reason. God asked them a telling question: “Who told you that you are naked?” (Genesis 3:11) The fact that they were aware of their condition indicated that someone had informed them of their deficiency. We know, as God did, that it was the devil, the accuser of the brethren, who did this. Sin exposed their nakedness about which they had previously been oblivious. Some think they had been clothed with the glory of God, which had been removed because of their sin. Just as the serpent had promised, their eyes were now opened to good and evil.

When Jesus died and rose again, those of us who believe in him are “clothed” with his right standing before God. (Isaiah 61:10, Galatians 3:27), which restore us to the Edenic bliss of not needing to know, care, or otherwise occupy ourselves with wondering if we good enough and acceptable in God’s sight. Since Jesus was good enough, so are we.

If we persist in trying to earn or maintain a right standing with God, it means we have not yet understood the New Covenant.

Why Trying Hard to Be Good Doesn’t Work

The process of transformation is a supernatural work of grace. It does not happen because we try very hard to make it happen. It is quite the contrary.

When we focus on what some call “sin management” – trying very hard to control our sinful urges and ways – we actually heighten sin’s power in our lives.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 1 Corinthians 15:56 (NASB)

This is because we are transformed into that upon which we focus. If we fix our gaze on our own sinfulness, it gets the upper hand in our lives. Bitter people become just like the one they hate because they are mesmerized by the offense and think about it continually. When we think about how hard it is to resist temptation, we maximize temptation’s power.

Trying to oversee our own spiritual transformation is a hopeless endeavor. God promises that we will fail.

This is because the Law has no power to transform us at all. Trying to perfect ourselves is a form of legalism. This raises the question: can we trust God to do what we cannot do?

The Law’s function is to point out how sinful we are and condemn us for transgressions, thus revealing to us our utter need for a Savior.

The Law is a harsh taskmaster who castigates us when we fall short but refuses to lift a finger to help. Paul wrote that the Law actually arouses our sinfulness. It exposes our ugly rebellion against God.

What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "YOU SHALL NOT COVET." 8  But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9  I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; 10  and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11  for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. Romans 7:7-11 (NASB)

Perhaps we have honestly tried to reign in sin and temptation in an effort to be more devoted to God. When we do this, we may seem to succeed for a while, but eventually we will fail miserably. God has ordained failure for our every attempt to attain sanctification and holiness by our own strength and on our own terms. Adam’s sin was trying to live independently from God. We dare not attempt the same folly, even when its done in a noble enterprise. 

Sanctification is a work of the Spirit by grace in which we cooperate. The sooner we learn how to follow the Spirit’s lead, the better.

A New and Living Way
Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22  But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23  But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. Galatians 3:21-24 (NASB)

God designed the Law to illustrate his righteousness, point out our sinfulness, and lead us to Christ. The Greek word for tutor is paidagogos, which was a servant who escorted his master’s child to school to leave him or her with the instructor. Being with the paidagogos was not the goal. He was simply the means to help the child reach the true teacher.

The Law is not our goal: it is the means God uses to bring us to Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Law. (Romans 10:4)

Once we come to Christ, we no longer need the Law. It’s power to condemn us is removed. We are now joined to our new Master and Husband, Jesus the Lord.

Living by grace is called a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20, John 14:6), in which we are wholly dependent upon God’s living his life through us. To return to trying to serve God through our own futile efforts is a sin.

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. Romans 7:6 (ESV)
 
Transformation through Union and Beholding
Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5  For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6  But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Romans 7:4-6 (NASB)

Rather than being ruled by an inherited inner rebellion against God, which is ignited by the Law’s prohibitions, the spiritual transformation process begins with justification at the new birth, the subject of my previous articles in this series. God replaces the rebellious heart with a new one that loves to please God. We are joined (“married”) to God in the Spirit. His life in us replaces the “old man” inherited from Adam that formerly dominated us. Once this happens through the miracle of the new birth, we are entirely capable of living for God, as long as we do it God’s way. If we try to accomplish it on our own, the Law’s power reengages the sinful tendencies of what the Bible calls the “flesh,” which is a sinful residual connection through our yet-to-be-resurrected bodies to the sinful Adamic condition. (You can read more about that by clicking on this link.)

Real transformation takes place when we follow the Spirit’s lead to become followers of God’s Word and worshipers of God.

By focusing on our Lord and Savior and beholding his love and glory, we are silently and seamlessly changed, often without our even being aware.

God removes us from the treadmill of trying to be “good enough.” He takes away every “report card” of how we are doing and tells us to forget all that and focus on him, his promises, his grace, and his glory. He helps us to stop fighting against him and complaining of our situation. He helps us to humbly surrender everything to God in worship. If we do that, the Holy Spirit will live his life through us and transform us into Christ’s image.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)

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Justification: An Eternal Reality

Justification by faith in the finished work of Christ is one of the gospel’s most important truths, which unites us who believe to the eternal reality of our Lord’s right standing with God the Father.

Jesus came to the earth in order to reverse what Adam’s rebellion against God’s rule set in motion. When Adam fell for Satan’s lie in the garden, he set humanity on a destructive sinful trajectory that has produced untold suffering, destruction, and death. To reverse this, several things had to take place.

  1. A new representative head of humanity had to do what Adam failed to accomplish– live a surrendered life of obedience to and dependence on God. This person would be a “Second Adam,” the source of a brand new edition of humanity. (1 Corinthians 15:47)
  2. To rescue humanity, someone had to take the punishment for our sin and rebellion against God. Either all of us had to be condemned, or a perfect substitute had to take on our collective sin, guilt, condemnation, and the sentence of death. Jesus came to die as God’s Lamb for the sins of the world. (John 1:29)
  3. The authority given to mankind by God, which Adam ceded to Satan by obeying him rather than the Creator, had to be recaptured, so that God’s effective rule over the earth and its people could be regained and retained by a new Lord, Jesus the Savior King.
  4. In order to prevent a repeat of Adam’s failure, a New Covenant had to be established that would guarantee that humanity would live a surrendered, dependent, and victorious life in partnership with God’s Spirit.

When Jesus died on the cross at Calvary and subsequently rose from the dead, he accomplished all these things. This article will focus on justification by faith, which is possible because Jesus did all four things mentioned above.

Justification: Eternal Reality Accomplished in Time

Justification means that Jesus put us who believe into a right relationship with his heavenly Father, from whom we had been alienated by sin.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, shed his blood to satisfy the wrath of God against sin and provide us with forgiveness. Our debt toward God was completely and forever paid! This is called propitiation. We who put our faith and allegiance in Christ not only are forgiven, however; we are declared “not guilty” in the court of heaven. Justification means that God sees us as if we had never sinned at all. It means that in God’s eyes it is as if we had already completed lives of perfect devotion and surrender to him in the face of every sort of adversity, temptation, and test, as was accomplished by our Lord Jesus on our behalf.

Justification means that Christ’s perfect right standing with God, which he earned at the cost of his life, has been given to us as a free gift!

When those who put their faith and allegiance in Christ one day stand before his judgment seat, we will be declared “Not Guilty” based on our identification with the risen Lamb of God who was slain for our sins. This is what it means to be “written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

Christ accomplished our justification by taking our place upon the cross. Since the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), we all deserved to die because of our sin, but Jesus volunteered to take our sin upon himself, even though he was completely without guilt. He fulfilled the meaning of the Passover feast by offering his innocent blood on our behalf as God’s Lamb, so that God’s judgment would “pass over” us, just as happened to the Israelites so long ago before their historic Exodus from Egypt.

According to the Bible, Jesus so identified himself with us that he actually “became sin.” In exchange, he gave us his perfect righteousness.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

He completely paid the penalty for our sin and disobedience toward God. This payment, which was made on a particular day in Israel some 2000 years ago, extends and continues to impact people who believe backward and forward in time. It is an eternal reality.

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11  Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12  but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13  waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14  For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 10:10-14 (NASB)

Jesus’ death on the cross was accomplished on an historical day in the history of the world, while at the same time being an eternal reality. Only God, who is unencumbered by the restraints of time, could do this.

Slain before the Foundation of the World

Please read the following verse, which is presented from two different, yet reliable, translations and consider the implications.

All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. Revelation 13:8 (NIV) 

All who dwell on the earth will worship him [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. Revelation 13:8 (NASB)

Obviously the above verse poses a challenge for translators. Is the eternal aspect to be assigned to our being written in the book of life or to the crucifixion, or to both? I say both.

We know from Ephesians that God chose the “elect” (his special people) from before the creation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4) This is another way to say that the elect were written in God’s book of life before the creation of the world. Therefore, the NASB translation above fits with Ephesians 1:4 and should be accepted as a valid way to translate Revelation 13:8. But let me remind you that, even though God chose his special people before the creation, we each must encounter God in our time-space experience of life. God’s sovereign eternal choice always interfaces with our responsibility to choose at some point in time. It is a mystery in how we cooperate with God’s Spirit in the entire process, upholding both his sovereignty and our responsibility.

God’s eternal choice impacts us when it becomes part of our personal history through our participation in the process. The eternal choice and work of God must be “fleshed out” in our lives. What is eternally true must become experientially and historically true for us.

Now let us take a look at the NIV translation of Revelation 13:8. Could it be correct, too? We know from Scripture that Jesus died according to the predetermined plan of God. (Acts 2:23)

God, who dwells in the eternal now (which encompasses our past, present, and future), saw his Son crucified from all eternity. This is because in God’s eternal perspective, the most real of all, his Son was already crucified, dead, buried, risen, and glorified. The plan for him to die on a given day in the history of the earth was preset, predetermined, foreordained, and certain.  It was so sure, from God’s eternal perspective, that it was done even before it took place in history.

This is why King David, who was a prophet, could write about the crucifixion as if he were experiencing it himself. (Psalm 22) That is why the prophet Isaiah could write about Christ’s coming crucifixion using the past tense. (Isaiah 53) From God’s eternal perspective, the eternal now, something in our historical future was already completed. This is why I contend that Christ was indeed slain before the foundation of the world; even though he was also put to death on a specific historical day. Once again, eternal truth must be fleshed out in human history in order for it to become part of our reality in the time-space experience which God created for us to inhabit.

By One Offering Perfected for All Time
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12  but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13  waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14  For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 10:11-14 (NASB)

Think about this amazing fact. When Jesus died and rose some 2000 years ago, the benefits of his sacrifice went backward and forward in time. It provided forgiveness and reconciliation for those who trusted in God before Christ’s coming to earth and provides the same for all who would come after.

In other words, God forgave past, present, and future sins by Christ’s one sacrifice.

King David was forgiven for his adultery and the murder of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. Both sins were punishable by death; yet, God forgave David. How could a just God do that without violating his just wrath against sin? When the woman caught in adultery was dragged before Jesus in John Chapter 8, he forgave her instantly for a sin that was punishable by stoning under the Law of Moses. How could a just God do that? The answer is that Jesus’ looming sacrifice was already considered to be in effect. Jesus made “draws” from a future deposit, which from God’s eternal perspective had already been accomplished.

It is fair, then, to say that the benefits of Jesus’ death and resurrection are not time bound. They are eternal, complete, and finished.

Our Future Glorification Is Also a Done Deal from God’s Eternal Perspective

Not only is our justification an eternal timeless truth; so is our glorification.

This is something that should “blow our minds,” if we are honest about it. Paul taught that our glorification is inexorably linked to our justification. Anyone reading Paul’s letter to the church in Rome would believe that their justification was already accomplished through a past event, Christ’s death and subsequent resurrection.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30  and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 (NASB)

Astoundingly, Paul used the same aorist past tense to describe what for them and us is still historically in the future, our glorification at the resurrection of our bodies. Our threefold salvation is all included in this passage – justification, transformation (being conformed to Christ’s image), and glorification.

Election (God’s choosing us), justification (God’s declaring us righteous in his eyes), transformation (God’s conforming us to Christ’s image in our everyday life), and glorification (God’s giving us a new resurrection body) are all described using the Greek aorist past tense, which lets us know that each of these is a once-for-all-time completed event in God’s eyes.

Think about this: God sees us already in heaven with a new resurrection body! How can this be? Obviously this is not true yet in our present historical context here on the earth, but it is true in the eternal realm of God’s Spirit. However, the eternal must become my historical experience at some point because that is where we experience the eternal for now. One day Christ will raise us who believe from the dead, and we will receive a new spiritual body. At that point in time, if time still exists, the eternal truth of glorification will be fulfilled in my experience. Until then, God expects us to believe what the Bible says is true and rest in Christ’s finished work, as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit who was sent to help us “work out” what God has put within us. (Philippians 2:12-13)

Conclusion

God’s will cannot be thwarted. His plans will come to pass. His words will be fulfilled. He says that which does not yet exist in our time-space experience already exists eternally because it does.

(as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed — the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. Romans 4:17 (NET1)

But God’s eternal perspective is not ours. We still live in a time-space restricted world. We must learn to navigate the historical present on the basis of eternal truth.

I hope that most readers who have professed faith and allegiance in Christ will have no difficulty believing that Christ accomplished our justification on the cross once for all and that our righteous standing before God depends wholly on that glorious truth. I also think that most followers of Christ believe that Jesus will certainly raise us from the dead on the Last Day.

However, not so many understand how to live in the present from an eternal perspective.

Many struggle to navigate the here and now process of sanctification or transformation by faith in the finished work of Christ combined with a complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit. I will discuss this in more detail in my next article entitled “What is Sanctification?”

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Chapter 89: Overview of the Church

Jesus established his church before he ascended to heaven. The Greek word translated church is ekklesia. Literally it means “called out ones.” In ancient Greece, ekklesias were political gatherings at which decisions were made and laws passed. The Romans later used the word to describe gatherings of citizens called together by political leaders called consuls.

The New Testament used the word ekklesia to describe gatherings of believers.

The word was never used for buildings until around 200 AD. The Jewish word that had an equivalence would have been synagogue.

There are local and universal aspects to the church.

When we are born again, we become part of the universal church. We are seated with Christ in heaven and included in the vast army of believers, both past and present.

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.  1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB95)

No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.  Hebrews 12:22–24 (NLT)

On earth, Paul taught that the church is the “body of Christ.”

When Jesus ascended to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower every believer individually and the church corporately. Jesus’ resurrected body is now seated in heaven on God’s throne. The church gives our Lord a body through which to operate on the earth in the physical realm, just as Jesus did during his public ministry.

Paul wrote about believers “clothing” themselves with Christ.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  Galatians 3:27 (NASB95)

When we do this, the Holy Spirit can operate through us without hindrance. Properly fitting clothes allow freedom of movement.

There are three Old Covenant examples of the Spirit of God clothing himself with individuals. Each of them was highly significant. In each case, I think it is reasonable to assume that the Spirit fully expressed himself through that person.

The Spirit clothed himself with Gideon, which enabled him to lead his small army to victory over seemingly insurmountable odds.

Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him.  Judges 6:34 (NLT)

He also “clothed himself” with Amasai, a leader who defected to David during Saul’s reign. The Spirit of God enabled him to prophesy over David.

Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the leader of the Thirty, and he said, “We are yours, David! We are on your side, son of Jesse. Peace and prosperity be with you, and success to all who help you, for your God is the one who helps you.” So David let them join him, and he made them officers over his troops.  1 Chronicles 12:18 (NLT)

Lastly, he clothed himself with Zechariah the prophet making him a bold witness prior to his martyrdom.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!”  2 Chronicles 24:20 (NLT)

Today the Holy Spirit clothes himself with the church to carry out Christ’s desires on the earth.

God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.  Ephesians 1:22–23 (NLT)

As Christ’s body, we are to speak and act for him. Although the Spirit of God can interact personally with people who are not yet part of the church, as he did with Saul leading to his conversion on the road to Damascus, usually he employs the church to be his witnesses by sharing the gospel, doing ministry including signs and wonders, and loving people sacrificially.

On a local level, the body of Christ has many parts, just as does a human body, and each part has a different yet vital role to play.

But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body.  1 Corinthians 12:18–20 (NASB95)

The church reflects the person and ministry of Christ. As individuals, we have a role to play in making up the entire ministry of Christ on the earth.

There are governmental roles in the church, speaking ministries, and other areas of serving.

God assigns us our particular function, and part of the challenge is to figure out how we fit.

Governmental roles are primarily found in the eldership who have the responsibility to shepherd or oversee the local assembly.

The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.  1 Timothy 5:17 (NASB95)

The Greek word translated “rule” is prohistemi, which means to preside over, govern, protect, and care for. Elders are to watch over the members of the Ekklesia to protect them from “wolves” and false doctrine. They are responsible for leading the church under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Part of their role is to minister the Word of God to the people. This does not necessarily mean that they are gifted speakers, but they should be proficient in the scriptures and competent to exhort and counsel people.

An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,  1 Timothy 3:2 (NASB95)

One elder will usually emerge as what some call the “lead” elder. He will have a gift of leadership, which enables him to be the “first among equals.”

God always provides leadership, without which any group will drift and lack cohesion.

In our area, a lead elder is usually called the “pastor,” but this person might be one of the other translocal ministries.

Translocal roles include what some call the “five-fold” or “ascension gift” ministries: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher.

Whereas elders are only elders to their own local church, translocal ministries can be effective across the larger body of Christ. When they are asked to minister outside of their own assembly, it is should always be with the permission and oversight of the local eldership. Translocal ministries usually have a God-given governmental or leadership component, which might enable them to function as a lead elder in a local assembly.

Paul lists a variety of gifts found in local churches.

And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.  1 Corinthians 12:28 (NASB95)

This is not an exhaustive list, but it includes some major gifts God gives to the local assembly and the church at large. Another listing provides us with what some people call motivational gifts. These are part of people’s general make up.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.  Romans 12:6–8 (NLT)

In addition, we have what are called the “gifts of the Spirit,” which are listed in Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.

There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.  1 Corinthians 12:6–14 (NASB95)

People in the ekklesia will also have various “passions” which motivate them to service. These are the concerns or areas of ministry that capture our hearts.

Discovering what roles God has given to each of us requires us to examine what is our passion, our calling, our motivational gifts, spiritual gifts, and any governmental equipping God may have given to us.

Often, we need help from others to recognize what God has given to us or called us to do. This is where we can benefit from those in oversight and those who operate in spiritual gifts.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.  1 Timothy 4:14 (NLT)

The church’s primary task is to make disciples. (Matthew 28:18)

This responsibility is carried out one-on-one, one-on-a few, and congregationally. It involves far more than simply instructing or teaching. We are to follow Jesus’ example. He taught, demonstrated, empowered others to do the same, and then gave feedback. Eventually he launched them into their own ministries, in which they depended on the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship is more caught than taught.

But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. 11 You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it.  2 Timothy 3:10–11 (NLT)

For this to happen, we must spend time with those whom we disciple. It cannot be done only at congregational meetings or Bible studies. The goal of discipleship is to reproduce ourselves in others and launch them into their own ministries. Small groups tend to work well to help this along.

The church is God’s plan to reach and disciple the world.

Every person in the church should be involved at some level, either as a disciple or a disciple-maker, or both. This means people need to be regular participants in church gatherings. People who try to fly solo may find themselves unprotected against the enemy and robbed of what they could have gained from others. Likewise, the church will suffer by their not being there to do their part.

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)
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Understanding what it means to live by grace…

Living by grace is an essential aspect of the New Covenant. What Christ accomplished through his sacrificial death and resurrection affects our entire being – spirit, soul, and body. (1 Thes. 5:23) He alone was able to orchestrate this “great salvation (Hebrews 2:3),” being the unique God-man, born of the virgin Mary by the operation of God’s Holy Spirit in her life (Luke 1:30-35). Jesus lived a perfect life of dedication and obedience to his heavenly Father, which culminated on the cross, where he voluntarily shed his blood as God’s holy Lamb in order to provide forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to the Father. When he rose from the dead, he was designated the Son of God (Romans 1:4), the all-powerful Messianic King and Lord, who will one day return to the earth to judge the living and the dead as the divine Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14).

Jesus: The Fusion of the Eternal with the Temporal

God is not limited by any created dimension. However, God assigned us to live in a world fenced in by the dimensions of space and time. Those who put their faith and allegiance in Christ and experience the new birth also live in another reality – the eternal spiritual realm.

Human beings, by virtue of our tripartite nature (spirit, soul, and body), are uniquely and amazingly fitted to interface with both the material world and the spiritual one.

To God, all things are in the present. His revealed name, given to Moses, is the “I Am.”

Jesus, the Second Person of the Godhead, who has existed from all eternity as the Logos (John 1:1), in obedience to his Father’s will, entered into our time-space experience as a human being through a miraculous fusion of the eternal with the temporal inside Mary’s womb called the Incarnation.

He was indeed a true extra-terrestrial, being the only person who came from heaven and is truly God and truly man, the “monogenes” or only begotten Son of God. The truth of the Incarnation has been held fast by the church since its inception and is clearly stated in Scripture.

Jesus understood that his “origin” was and is divine and that he has always existed.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NASB) 

And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. John 8:23 (NASB) 

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 57  So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" 58  Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." John 8:56-58 (NASB)

In Jesus the Messiah, the eternal “I Am” became a human being.

As a human being, he was subject to the limitations of time and space. He entered the world as a baby and grew and developed into a man in the ordinary way. The mystery of the Incarnation produced a person who was and is truly human and truly God, thus elevating humanity beyond comprehension.

Working Out what Is Within…
In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. 8  Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. 9  And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 10  being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:7-10 (NASB)

When Jesus, the perfect only Son of the Father, entered the human experience, he was responsible to live out of his inward or spiritual identity in a fleshly body.

The spiritual side of our being was always meant to be the core from which we live and derive our identities, too. Adam forfeited that, plunging the world into chaos. Against all odds, Jesus came to show us that kind of life and to make it possible for us to live out of a redeemed spiritual identity.

Because of his divine birth and origin, he did not inherit a sin nature from Adam, as we do.

There was nothing in him that was “out of step” with the Holy Spirit. It was completely “natural” for him to hear his Father’s voice, see what his Father was doing, and follow his Father’s lead without hindrance.

So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. John 8:28 (NASB)

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. John 5:19 (NASB)

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:38 (NASB)

The eternally perfect Logos of God became an historically perfect human being over time through continued obedience to his Father.  He worked out in his life that which was eternally true about him on the inside.

He had to make choices along the way to obey his Father, even when it cost him supremely. He learned obedience from the things he suffered as he lived out of his union with his Father.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB)

This gives us a key to understanding how our own sanctification or spiritual transformation takes place.

In this case, I use these words to describe the process of learning obedience to God over a lifetime through which the Holy Spirit transforms our character and behavior to match what Christ already accomplished for us through his death and resurrection. By placing us in a world governed by time and space, God requires us to believe and live by faith in his promises, obey the Holy Spirit, treasure the fear of the Lord, and rely on the transforming work of grace.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB)

Living by grace is a cooperative effort between us and God in which we too learn to live out what is true spiritually on the inside through the new birth. Jesus the Messiah did the hard lifting at Calvary. However, the salvation he won for us must be actively worked out in our personal histories through belief in the truth and cooperation with the indwelling Holy Spirit.

God is not content to merely forgive us. The Spirit is committed to making what is true spiritually and eternally about us become our experience and history.

We will be judged and rewarded on how well we live out our new inward identity in Christ.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12  instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13  looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14  who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:11-14 (NASB)

This does not mean that we “save” ourselves by works. Our justification (being made right with God) will be the subject of the fourth installment of this series. Justification is what made us children of God. It was entirely Christ’s work. None of us can make ourselves right with God. Our glorification at the resurrection will also be Christ’s work. None of us can raise ourselves from the dead.

Our sanctification or transformation, however, is an ongoing partnership with the Holy Spirit, for which we are accountable to God.

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11  For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13  each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14  If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15  If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NASB)
Conclusion

Legalism teaches us that we must earn God’s blessings and favor by our obedience to his commands. Failure to do so will result in our bringing upon ourselves the judgments associated with disobedience. Everything is on us, and we always fail miserably, because no one can keep the Law. Its whole purpose was to reveal our desperate need for a Savior.

19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. ... 21  Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22  But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:19-22 (NLT)

The New Covenant teaches us that Christ perfectly obeyed the Law and paid in advance the penalty for our failure to measure up. When we put our faith and allegiance in Christ, we are credited with the benefits of his obedience and released from the just penalty of our disobedience. Through the new birth, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us, regenerating our spirits and living the Christ life through us. We also are given the promise of one day being raised from the dead as the final installment on this great salvation. In the meantime, we have the opportunity to glorify God by cooperating the Holy Spirit in the transformation process, whereby we learn to obey God from the heart. We will be rewarded according to how effectively we live out by faith the truth of our new inward identity with Christ and his Spirit.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB)

God has given us the responsibility to live by grace in a dynamic cooperation between us and the Holy Spirit as we steadfastly hold on to the truth of God’s Word.

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Defining Some Confusing Bible Terms

In this article, I will do my best to properly define some Bible terms that sometimes may confuse us. Have you ever noticed that we Christians, everyone in fact, often use words and concepts regarding which we have very little real understanding? We assume we know, but when pressed, we realize that we do not. In the church, we sometimes refer to the “danger” of speaking in “Christianese,” using terms with which we may be familiar, but have little or no meaning to those outside the church. Sadly, we may assume everyone who is listening to us understands our meaning, but often it is questionable if we do ourselves! This is especially true regarding the  words and phrases that I will cover in this article. I hope you will take the time to think through each of these terms. Growing in understanding will enlarge our appreciation of the gospel.

The “old man” – (Greek: palios anthropos)

When God created Adam, he formed his body out of the dirt and breathed life into his spirit.

Then the LORD God formed man (his body) of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Hebrew: breath, wind, spirit) of life; and man became a living being (literally: soul). Genesis 2:7 (NASB)

Adam became a living soul or being. I and many others define the soul as being the mind, will, and emotions – what we call the personality. Greek and Hebrew use three distinct words for spirit, soul, and body. In both languages, the word for spirit also means breath or wind. Paul acknowledges this three-part construction of humans in 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NASB)

God created us in his image. He is a Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and so are we (spirit, soul, and body). Understanding how God’s great salvation affects each part is necessary to have an excellent understanding.

I have written in more detail about spirit, soul, and body in the linked three articles.

Before the Fall, Adam’s spirit, body, and the resultant soul were in complete harmony. Neither sin nor death had entered the world; nevertheless, Adam’s state of moral innocence was no match for the sinful allure of attempting to be independent from God and the manipulative accusation and deception of the enemy.

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)

When Adam believed the lie and chose to disobey God’s clear command, his spirit became alienated from God, which is a form of death. Spiritually he died that very day; although, it did not take out his body for many years.

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Genesis 2:17 (NASB)

This condition of spiritual death has been passed on to succeeding generations from Adam.

remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12 (NASB)

Death permeated humanity spiritually, physically, and in the personality, or soul. In addition, the entire universe entered into a kind of death spiral, which Paul called “slavery to corruption.” (Romans 8:20-21)

This post-fall-of-man combination of a spirit alienated from God and a body programmed to die resulted in a new version of the soul that was in harmony with sin and deception and fully committed to forsake God and to live a self-directed life, instead of being in submission to and in partnership with God.

This fallen spirit-soul-body configuration I call the “old man.”

The “old man” we all inherit at conception is naturally inclined toward evil. The essential element of the “old man” is the alienated spirit. It is the driving force or generator behind sin.

People who have never been born again (the regeneration of the spirit) can only experience human life through the “old man.”

The “old man” is incapable of being reformed or rehabilitated, because the core problem is an alienated spirit. It has to be put to death and replaced with what the Bible calls  the “new man.” This is precisely what God did through Christ on the cross over 2000 years ago.

We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6 (NET1)
 
The “new man” – (Greek: kainos anthropos)

When a person is born again, God regenerates the spirit, the innermost part of our being, which previously had been alienated from God and spiritually dead.

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6 (NASB)

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:5 (NASB)

This supernatural rebirth causes people to become new creatures spiritually.

The driving force of the “old man,” the alienated spirit, is replaced with a regenerated, reborn spirit which is in complete harmony with God.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB) 

and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image — in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. Ephesians 4:24 (NET1)

God’s Spirit becomes one with our spirit, fusing God’s life to ours in the innermost part of our being.

The “new spirit” or “new heart,” which was promised by the prophets, is the result of a supernatural union of the human and the divine in the spirit.

But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NASB)

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20 (NASB) 

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NASB) 

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Romans 8:10 (NASB)

The “new man,” as I understand the scriptures, is the combination of the recreated spirit (“inner man” – Greek: eso anthropos), which resides in every believer, with the pre-resurrection Adamic body (“members of my body”), which is still largely influenced by the fall of man.

The regenerated spirit’s desires are in complete harmony with God’s will, but the residual pull of sin, called the “flesh,” remains associated with the pre-resurrected body.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23  but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Romans 7:21-23 (NASB)

The “inner man” or recreated spirit is the source of the believer’s new identity in Christ.

Eventually, at his Second Coming, Jesus will raise our Adamic bodies from the dead, completing our salvation; but for now we only have the “down payment” of the new birth and our union with the indwelling Spirit, which serves as “earnest money” guaranteeing that God will eventually fulfill his promise to fully redeem us – spirit, soul, and body.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14  who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB)

The soul in this “in between time” – the period between the new birth and the resurrection – is being transformed or sanctified (made holy or set apart to God) by the Spirit of grace on a daily basis as we choose to believe the truth (the renewing of the mind) and “walk in the Spirit” – live in dependence, harmony, and obedience to God’s Spirit who indwells us.

But you did not learn about Christ like this, 21  if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus. 22  You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, 23  to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24  and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image — in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. Ephesians 4:20-24 (NET1)

The challenge for us followers of Christ is to identify with Christ’s Spirit, who indwells and is in union with the “inner man,” and realize that the Holy Spirit empowers us to  live above the downward pull of the Adamic body of death, which is called the “flesh.”

 The “flesh” (Greek: sarx)

The flesh is the sinful pull still present in the born again person’s soul, which is connected to the old Adamic order through the body, which has not yet been fully redeemed through the resurrection.

Until then, we are “saved in hope,” which means we are still waiting confidently for the last installment of our great salvation.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24  For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:22-25 (NASB)

As I wrote before, a born again person is the combination of a new justified spirit (the “inner man”) and a body, which is still linked to the old order of the first Adam.

Until the resurrection, when our bodies are renewed and fully redeemed, believers experience a bipolarity in our souls, a warfare between flesh and spirit.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17  For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Galatians 5:16-17 (NASB) 

For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15  For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16  But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17  So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19  For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20  But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21  I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23  but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Romans 7:14-23 (NASB)

Being “saved in hope” means we are completely and firmly confident (Greek: hope – elpis) that God will fulfill his promise to raise us from the dead, which will lift us out of our current conflicted state and make us whole again by transforming the Adamic body into something radically new and unaffected by sin and death.

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" 56  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57  but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Corinthians 15:52-57 (NASB)

After the resurrection, we will no longer have a struggle between that which is connected to Adam (the “flesh”) and that which is reborn by God, since there once again will be complete harmony between spirit and body, but this time oriented fully toward God.

In the present however, the “flesh” is the source of spiritual weakness.

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. Romans 6:19 (NASB)

Even though all believers have “flesh,” we are not ruled by it so that we must live “in the flesh,” which means under the domination of sin.

For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. Romans 7:5 (NASB)

Walking in the Spirit means we set our minds on God’s truth – the things of the Spirit. When we do this, the power of God enables us to walk in freedom from the downward pull of sin.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5  For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7  because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8  and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:1-8 (NASB)

Walking in the Spirit is called “putting on Christ,” an act of faith by which we choose to identify with the regenerated “inner man” and rely on the indwelling life of God’s Spirit to give us victory over sin.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Romans 13:14 (NASB)

Even though, the old man (See above.)  has already been crucified with Christ, the flesh must be crucified or put to death by us on a daily basis. This is equivalent to what Jesus called denying ourselves.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:24-25 (NASB)

To conclude, our great salvation has past, present, and future components. Jesus accomplished our justification, making us perfectly right with God, when he died and rose again. This was a once for all past event. In the future, we confidently expect God to raise us from the dead, fulfilling his promise and completing our salvation. In the present, we are engaged in an ongoing process called sanctification or transformation, in which we cooperate with the Holy Spirit through belief of the truth and surrendered obedience.

God is changing us day by day into Christ’s image in how we think, speak, and act. Living in the present requires us to draw upon the eternal truth of justification and lock into the hope of the resurrection. It requires us to walk by faith in Christ’s finished work while dealing with the unfinished business of still living in a pre-resurrection Adamic body. It leaves us in a “conflicted” state that necessitates us to keep our eyes firmly upon Christ and his promises.

The “body of sin” – (Greek: soma tes hamartias)
We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6 (NET1)

This term is more or less synonymous with “flesh.” The body is not evil, but before the resurrection it is linked to Adam’s fall and is an instrument through which we sin.

We can say that the “flesh” is derived from the “body of sin,” since it will only be present as long as these fleshly bodies are still alive. Once the body dies and is resurrected, it will no longer be a “body of sin,” and the “flesh” will disappear.

The “body of sin” participated in Christ’s crucifixion in the sense that we were spiritually identified with (or “in”) Christ when he died and rose again. Obviously our human bodies were not crucified, only the spiritual component. What this accomplished was the nullification of sin’s power or right to enslave us.

We can still choose to sin, but those who died with Christ now have the authority and power to walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh.

The “body of sin” or the related “flesh” was not annihilated at the cross. It was rendered ineffective in its power to rule us. We can let it dominate us, but we do not have to submit to it. In fact, now it is against our inmost being, nature, and identity in Christ to do so.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body (Greek: thneto somati) that you obey its lusts, 13  and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14  For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:12-14 (NASB)
 
The “body of death” – (Greek: somatos tou thanatou)

This term is synonymous with “body of sin,” but emphasizes the pre-resurrected body’s connection with death through Adam’s sin.

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:24-25 (NASB)
 
The “body of flesh” – (Greek: somatos tes sarkos)
and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12  having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12 (NASB)

This term is synonymous with “body of sin” and “body of death.”

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5  Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6  For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7  and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8  But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9  Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10  and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11  a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:1-11 (NASB)

By faith we understand that the power of the flesh, the sinful tug of the pre-resurrected Adamic body, has been stripped of its power to rule us. As long as we “walk in the Spirit” by faith in Christ’s finished work and in cooperation with the Spirit’s ever present power indwelling us, we are able to live above the downward pull of sin. This is a daily, even moment by moment, interaction with God’s grace.

Conclusion

My purpose in this article is to provide clarity to some potentially confusing terms. Some may disagree with my definitions, which are an attempt to better understand a mystery. Perhaps God has given you a better understanding than I have. In that case, I hope you will share your insights with me. The important thing is for us to believe what the Bible teaches. We never want to nullify the Word of God just because it has not yet been our experience or is difficult to comprehend. To the degree that what I have written helps our faith, I will consider that I have been helpful. Now we can move on to applying these marvelous truths.

Link to all the articles in this series.

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Introduction to the Amazing New Covenant Series

The New Covenant is more amazing and wonderful than most people think. It is completely different from the Old Covenant of Law given to Moses. I hope you will be amazed like I am as we explore its wonders and glory.

The prophet Jeremiah foretold that God would make a brand new covenant with his people.

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32  not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33  "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34  "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NASB)

The difference between the Old and New Covenants is stark and often misunderstood, even by those who have put their faith in Christ.

I have heard sermons presented by well-meaning people who taught that we who believe in Christ are still under the requirements of Law of Moses. They sometimes use Deuteronomy Chapter 11 as their text, explaining that we are either under a blessing or a curse, depending on our obedience to God’s commandments. That, by the way, is the essence of what it means to live under the Law. It is sad to see how readily the people accept this false gospel of works. On the other hand, there is another group of people who think how we live day to day makes little or no difference, since we are saved by grace apart from the works of the law. This also is a false gospel because it holds that we do not have to live according to the truth of the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit.

How we live reveals what we think and believe. A truly saved person who believes the truth will act accordingly. A good tree always bears good fruit.

The Old Covenant Way

Under the Old Covenant, the Jews were given the Law of Moses. If they kept its provisions, they would experience blessings and life. If they violated the Law, curses and death would follow.

You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God. 5  'So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the LORD. Leviticus 18:4-5 (NASB)

Under the Law, being in a right relationship with God is performance-based. That makes us more or less responsible to save ourselves by keeping the requirements of the Law, something we are quite incapable of doing. The Law makes demands upon us without lifting a finger to help us and then condemns us for failing to keeps its provisions.

Herein lies the reason a new covenant was needed. If we were going to ever be in proper relationship with God, it could not depend on us!

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20  because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:19-20 (NASB)

In fact, the purpose of the Law was to convince us that we are hopelessly enslaved to sin so that we would desperately cry out to God for a savior.

But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23  But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. Galatians 3:22-24 (NASB)
 
Jesus, Lamb of God, Savior

The Good News or gospel is that Jesus took upon himself the condemnation and punishment that our sin deserved. He substituted for us by taking the brunt of God’s just wrath against our sin; even though he was completely innocent, having been perfectly obedient to his heavenly Father.

When Jesus died, he removed condemnation once and for all from all those who would afterward put their faith-allegiance in him.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24 (NASB) 

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4 (NASB)

By taking our punishment, Jesus also removed the Law’s power to rule us, which is done through condemnation. The Law’s power comes from its ability to define our sin and condemn us for sinning.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57  but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 (NASB)

When the Law loses its power to condemn us, sin loses its power to rule us.

By taking away our condemnation,  Jesus set the stage for us to live in a radical new way – in the freedom and power of the Spirit. This is done by believing the truth (the Word of God), denying ourselves (refusing to live self-directed lives), and walking in the Spirit (actively cooperating with the Spirit of God, who lives in and through us).

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25  "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26  "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27  "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. Matthew 16:24-27 (NASB)  

"For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20  "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:19-20 (NASB)
Summary

Christ took upon himself the penalty for our sins, thereby removing condemnation and taking away the power of the Law and sin over our lives. Our “old man,” that part of us which is still linked to Adam’s sin, was crucified with Christ. Consequently, we are officially dead to sin. This was done so that we can now voluntarily choose to live in compliance with God’s Spirit and Christ’s teachings.

The only real freedom is living in harmony with God’s will in the power of the Spirit. Everything else is slavery to sin.

Walking in true freedom depends on three things working together:

  1. Belief of the truth.  We learn and believe in what Christ has done for us, who we are in Christ, and who He is in us. We live in harmony with God’s Word.
  2. Denial of self. We choose to not follow our sinful desire to go our own way and live independently from God.
  3. Walking in the Spirit. We live in harmony with and obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit, our best and forever friend, who is also God.

I will examine each of these in the next installments of this series. I hope you will read the whole series. I believe it can help us to experience a new level of freedom in Christ and grow in our faith, joy, and peace.

Link to all articles in this series.

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Developing Teamwork in the Local Church between Government and the Prophetic Ministry

In this article I will explore the relationship between local church government and the prophetic ministry. These two broad categories of responsibility and serving sometimes come into unnecessary conflict due to a lack of understanding of how they should properly relate. The body of Christ functions best when each part works in harmony with the Head, Jesus Christ. God created mankind to experience a wonderful dependence upon him and an interdependence with one another. In the local church, the proper cooperation between government and the prophetic ministry is an example of this.

When government and the prophetic properly work together, great power and authority will be released.

And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness. Romans 12:6-8 (NET1)
An Overview of Biblical Government

Another word for church government is the episcopate, which basically means those who oversee.

Peter used this word in speaking about eldership:

Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. 1 Peter 5:2-3 (NET1)

One purpose of the episcopate is to help people grow to maturity in faith and their relationship with the Lord.

Overseers should see their people in a similar way as a father would a son or daughter. The hope and expectation is for the child to grow to maturity and have less and less need for the father in day to day affairs. The relationship will remain intact, but its nature changes dramatically over time as the child grows to maturity and gains greater responsibility and latitude to operate.

I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because by faith you stand firm. 2 Corinthians 1:24 (NET1)

Our Lord vests responsibility and authority in the episcopate, which includes such leadership ministries as pastor and elder in the local church setting. The writer of Hebrews mentions both aspects of government, leadership and oversight, in the following scripture:

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you. Hebrews 13:17 (NET1)

In this article, by “government” I mean those who have oversight and leadership responsibilities in the local assembly.

This would include persons with “five-fold ministry” gifts, such as the pastor, as well as the governing elders. It could also include other leadership people, such as small group leaders, youth leaders, etc., but I will limit this discussion to pastor and elders.

Those in government have been given the overall responsibility to oversee, nurture, and protect the flock. As such, their main gifts likely will be faith, leadership, wisdom, strategy, discerning of spirits, and administration. There should also be a strong teaching component to this ministry of feeding or nurturing the flock. Those in government who are also part of the “five-fold” ministry will also have gifts to build up the body and equip it for ministry through pastoring, teaching, and prophecy, as well as through the apostolic and evangelistic impartation of Christ. Since these five-fold ministers have both a governmental anointing and a ministerial gifting, we will include them with government in this discussion.

Leadership is the ability and grace God gives to a person that enables him (or her) to effectively lead others in the direction God wants them to go.

When a person endowed with leadership vision and gifting comes under the Lordship of Christ, God will give him the responsibility and the authority needed to lead. God’s command to the leader is to be diligent, eager, earnest, and zealous. The great need of the leader is vision, courage, and wisdom.

… if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence… Romans 12:8 (NET1)
Some Generalities about Ministry

“Ministry” includes those people in the church whom God gifts to serve in any capacity, besides governmental oversight.

Another word for these people is the “diaconate.” Ministry is a very broad category, and, for this reason, in this discussion, I will narrow my focus to the prophetic-intercessory ministry. The general principles that apply to it in the governmental-ministerial relationship will be true for every other ministry person, as he or she relates to the oversight team in the church.

Prophetic people have the ability and skill to operate in the gift of prophecy and some other gifts of the Spirit such as the word of knowledge. (Here I am not including “five-fold” ministry “prophets,” which I have made part of governmental oversight. This is not a hard and fast rule, but simply how I have divided things. In this article, I identify the “prophetic” ministry with those who simply are able to operate in the gift of prophecy.)

The prophetic ministry is comprised of those people in the church who have the ability to “hear” God in a special way and pass that along to God’s people for exhortation, edification, and comfort. (1 Cor. 14:3)

The prophetic ministry relates chiefly to the ability to “see” and “hear” and “know,” especially in the spiritual realm.

In the Old Testament, prophets originally were called “seers.” Prophecy requires those who operate in it to receive revelation from God in the form of visions, dreams, thoughts, and words, which they pass along to God’s people, as is appropriate, timely, and edifying. It goes without saying that any such revelation is subject to God’s truth as revealed in the Scriptures.

The LORD said, “Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream. Numbers 12:6 (NET1)

Intercessory prayer people, who have a prophetic gift, can use this spiritual ability to assist them in praying; therefore, the prophetic ministry can include those who operate in intercessory prayer ministry, worship leadership, counseling, and anyone else who believes he or she is hearing from God for the church corporately or for individuals. Prophetic intercessors seem to have a valid ability to gain understanding from God concerning how to pray for individuals and ministries. In the local church, they seem to have insight into what God is doing or going to do or what the enemy may be up to. For this reason they are included in the same group as the prophetic ministry, who may use their gift for personal ministry to individuals and leaders or to speak messages to the entire church during an assembly.

God’s command to the prophetic person is to stay within the limitations of his or her own faith.

And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. Romans 12:6 (NET1)

If we are prophetic, we should never let anyone or a desire to look good lead us to go beyond our faith when prophesying.

The great need for the prophetic person is to be under authority and properly related to the government of the church.

If we are prophetic, we must remember that our ministry is partially to assist the oversight team in their responsibility to lead and oversee as God desires, not to usurp their authority. If we believe we have heard God regarding things that are properly under the purview of the governmental ministry, we should share those things in such a way that leadership will not feel as if we are putting pressure on them. We should always strive to be “under authority” when speaking as representatives of God to the oversight ministry.

The person who speaks on his own authority desires to receive honor for himself; the one who desires the honor of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness in him. John 7:18 (NET1)
How Government and Ministry Relate

The lead elder or “pastor” in a congregation is normally a person who is gifted in both government and ministry gifts. This person is part of the “five-fold” ministry mentioned in Ephesians 4:11, whose purpose is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. A lead elder’s ministry gift may not be in the realm of the prophetic, but may rather be teaching, pastoring, evangelizing, or that which pertains to the apostolic.

All those whom God calls and appoints to function in church government will have a leadership gift and grace to be able to oversee the church by making judgments and decisions based on the wisdom and understanding God gives.

A person with governmental responsibility and authority from God may or may not have extraordinary pulpit ministry gifts. For example, an elder may not have a strong ministry gifting, such as teaching or preaching, but will have a strong governmental gifting and be able to teach, as needed.

The authority connected with the prophetic or other non-governmental ministry is different from the authority vested in governmental leaders.

Those who prophesy and give revelations from the Lord, unless they are five-fold prophets, generally only have the authority of the message itself; whereas, those in government carry authority in themselves, as delegated representatives of Christ’s authority and as part of their appointment to govern.

(However, this does not mean that leaders are infallible or that I am in any way espousing a domineering authoritarian type of rule in the church. Government has its own checks and balances, which I am not addressing in this article.)

In other words, God asks those in the prophetic diaconate to submit their word or revelation for others to judge with reference to how it agrees with the written Word of God and whether there is a sense that the Spirit is indeed speaking through them. The responsibility to judge prophecy falls especially on those who are prophetically gifted and who have governmental responsibility. The prophetic word or revelation will then stand or fall on its own merits.

The foundation for an effective teamwork between the governmental and prophetic begins with understanding the nature of the authority vested in each and working within those limitations.

Those who have a strong governmental anointing have an ability to discern, interpret, judge wisely, and make sound decisions. The gift of leadership carries with it an ability to discern God’s plan and timing. A leader does receive revelation from God; although, it is not always in exactly the same way as the prophetic person. The leader has vision given by God for what could and should be regarding God’s overall plan. He also has intuition and insight concerning where God is going and when it is time to move forward or wait. This is part of the basis for his or her leadership.

The prophetic person, on the other hand, often sees things and understands God’s plan and purpose long before the time for it to be fulfilled, in order that he or she may pray and prophesy it into being, as opposed to being the actual leader or activator of the event.

Take the example of Samuel and David. Samuel had the prophetic picture and anointed David to be the next king but did not personally have the calling or gifting to be the king. Neither Samuel nor David knew exactly when or how God would bring David’s kingship to pass, however.

The prophetic person may see a revelation painted in broad brush strokes, but lack the governmental wisdom to know how and when the purpose of God will come to pass, or even when the revelation should be made known to others.

The governmental person may not “see” all aspects of the prophetic picture right away, but he or she knows enough about where God is going to discern how the prophetic insight does or does not fit into the overall scheme of things, at least for the moment.

To put it another way, the governmental person often does not see all that the prophetic person sees. The prophetic person often does not understand what the governmental person knows through wisdom and governmental intuition. (When we operate in our God-given gift, we are intuitive, knowing things beyond what we can explain.) This can create a tension that may lead to big problems if a proper teamwork relationship is not established and maintained. Both parties must develop a relationship of trust based on proven faithfulness, which takes time.

How to Build Trust and a Working Relationship

In order to function well in a teamwork relationship, the prophetic person needs to know that the governmental person takes his or her prophetic gifting and ministry seriously, even though what he or she shares may not always be acted upon or even received as a word from God that must be obeyed. The prophetic person also needs to know that the governmental person will seek God about any supposed revelation that is shared.

Conversely, a governmental person needs to know that a prophetic person is willing to follow his or her leadership, even if it does not line up with the prophetic person’s understanding. The governmental ministry needs to know that the prophetic ministry is willing to have its revelations judged by those in the governmental ministry, and the prophetic ministry needs to have confidence in the wisdom and discernment of the governmental ministry to properly judge prophetic revelations. Ultimately, this means prophetic people believe that God is able to direct those in government as he wishes.

Leaders should refrain from speaking in a negative way about those in the intercessory/prophetic ministry, and those who are prophetic must learn to uphold their leaders in prayer and with their words and actions.

When the government and prophetic really respect and appreciate one another, a deep bond can develop and the ministry will thrive. One way or another, however, these relationships will be tested. You can count on that.

The Four-legged Table

For a four-legged table to firmly stand, each leg must be in place. The four legs of wise governmental decisions are listed below.

  • The right thing. We must discern what God wants to do. E.g. David discerned that it was good to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 13:5)
  • The right way. We must discern how God wants His will to be done. E.g. David at first failed to understand that the Ark must be carried on the shoulders of the Levites. Instead he placed it on an ox cart. God disciplined Israel for using the wrong method, but later blessed them when the Levites were used to transport the Ark God’s appointed way. (1 Chronicles 13:12; 15:2)
  • The right person. David was correct in wanting to build a proper temple to honor the Lord, but he was not the right person to carry it out. The prophetic ministry revealed that God had selected Solomon instead. David made all the preparations and shared with his son the plans God had revealed to him, making it easier for Solomon to succeed in the enterprise. David was humble enough to accept God’s choice of the right person. So must we be.
  • The right timing. Abraham had a promise from God that he would have a son, but he jumped the gun in his impatience and begot Ishmael. If we get ahead of (or behind) God’s timing, all sorts of problems may result.
So Jesus replied, “My time has not yet arrived, but you are ready at any opportunity! John 7:6 (NET1)

Tension between government and the prophetic is possible at each point. Will God reveal the thing, the way, the person, and the timing through the leader or a prophetic person? We never know in advance and must remain open. God’s timing is perhaps our greatest challenge.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter… Ecclesiastes 8:6 (NET1)

How often have we rushed into doing something that we knew was God’s will, only to fall on our faces because it was not God’s timing? The prophetic and government must seek God together to discern God’s proper timing.

Timing is everything in the Kingdom of God, and carelessness here can be very detrimental and presumptuous. Prophets and leaders must learn to control their impatience in this area.

Sometimes God might withhold revelation of what to do from a leader because it is not yet time to do anything. The prophetic person may see the revelation long before the leader and need to prayerfully wait until the leader sees it, too, when it is God’s time to act upon it. All this is tied to God’s timing. Both the prophetic and government are tested on this one.

The prophetic person can pray and believe while God waits to reveal the plan to the governmental leader. This requires the prophetic person to have confidence that God will speak effectively to his leaders at the appointed time.

It’s more a trust issue concerning God than regarding the leader; but it may not be perceived that way. The prophetic person may mistrust the leader and think that God is actually speaking but the leader is not hearing. Prophetic ministries may be tempted to judge the leadership at this point and might perhaps launch out on their own, creating a division in the church or team.

Another problem is when the leader may be tempted to do something he is unsure of just because of the influence of the prophetic person. The prophetic person may seem so confident that it can be intimidating to an inexperienced leader, who has not become convinced that God will tell him everything he or she needs to know. Conversely, a leader may become defensive or negative toward a prophetic person and cease being open to their input. The leader must learn to trust in his God-given leadership gift and be open and thankful for input.

Keys to Effective Teamwork
  1. Mutual appreciation and trust
    • It is the leader’s responsibility to cultivate that atmosphere in the church by taking the lead in affirming other ministries and explaining how team ministry happens under God’s authority.
    • It is the prophetic person’s job to earn that trust by properly submitting to authority and returning appreciation to the leader.
  2. Permission
    • The primary responsibility for the welfare of the sheep falls upon the lead elder of the church.
    • If he is wise, he will employ as many people as possible in the task of pastoring, taking advantage of the various pastoral gifts in the church.
    • All those people who co-shepherd with him are doing so “with permission” since they derive their responsibility and authority from the lead elder, who gets his from Christ. We should not be engaged in our own self-directed independent ministry.
    • Delegated authority and ministry must make it their job to make the lead elder successful in his responsibility of shepherding the church.
  3. Deference
    • Those who are assisting the lead elder in ministry and oversight should honor those who are in authority over them.
    • Practically speaking, this involves deferring to them in matters that require higher-level pastoral involvement, such as when there are marital problems or any situation that requires counseling or decision making on a deeper level.
    • In other words, if a delegated ministry or authority has any question at all about how to properly handle a situation, he should defer to the one in authority over him.
    • He or she should follow all guidelines given him by the one in authority.
  4. Freedom
    • The one in authority must clearly define and communicate what are the guidelines he expects those under authority to follow.
    • As a working relationship is developed over time, more and more freedom can be given to the one under authority as they prove themselves faithful.
    • The goal is to produce a ministry team that thoroughly understands its individual roles, and within those roles, has great freedom to operate and initiate. Those under authority will be given authority. The goal is to produce mature ministers who know how to hear God and make decisions without having to be micro-managed.
Conclusion

If we fail to work together, the church will be hurt, the work slowed, and individuals will be held back from ministerial and leadership maturity. The prophetic can never reach its potential unless it works under and alongside church government. The government has the authority that can more fully release the prophetic. In addition, the government will never be able to discern all it needs to without the prophetic. The prophetic has the insight and revelation to help make the government a success.

Tips for Going Forward
  • The governmental ministry should take initiative to teach these principles to the church and especially to those in the prophetic-intercessory ministry. It is good to review these principles with all new members.
  • The governmental ministry should discuss these principles with the governmental and prophetic ministries in the church.
  • Guidelines for ministry should be set up and communicated.
  • The governmental ministry should regularly show their respect for the prophetic ministry in front of the church.
  • People in the prophetic ministry should communicate their desire to be under authority privately and publicly to the church.
  • When governmental leaders override the input of the prophetic ministry, it should be done in the fear of the Lord and with humility.
  • When prophetic ministers think they see or understand something before the governmental ministry does, they must be careful to maintain proper respect for the leadership and not undermine their authority before other people or in their own hearts, giving them space to hear God for themselves.
  • When leaders finally act upon input from the prophetic ministry, the latter should not be surprised that it will appear to be the leader’s own idea. This is part of the humility required of the prophetic ministry.
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When in a Storm, Stay in the Boat

When in a storm, it is usually wise to stay in the boat.

My father had a saying: “The banana that stays with the bunch doesn’t get peeled.” Hungry wolves and lions like to “peel off” weak and young members of the herd to hunt down, kill, and eat. In the animal world, there is safety in remaining with the herd and great danger in going solo. This is true when it comes to the church, too. Unfortunately, today many are choosing to abandon the church community and go solo, often with very poor results.

The reasons for this exodus from the organized church are many. Almost all of us who have been in the church world for very long can tell stories of how we were mistreated and disappointed by people we thought had our best interests in mind. It is humbling to remind ourselves at times that someone out there blames us for their troubles. As one of my dear old friends is famous for saying: “We are all offenses waiting to happen.” Because we are human beings, we offend people, sometimes intentionally and sometimes quite by accident. This happens in every organization and institution, including the family and the most basic building block of society, the married couple.

When offenses happen, we can either isolate ourselves by abandoning ship or stay put and try to work our way through them.

Some offenses are so grievous they may require us to look for another ship, but most can be worked through.

Many who now are spiritually are flying solo formerly were part of a church. Perhaps their church involvement was out of a sense of habit, duty, or tradition, rather than from a conviction it is what God wants because we need each other.

The interesting thing is that once a habit is broken, it is can be difficult to reestablish it. When believers choose to forsake assembling with others of the faith, it may seem strange at first, but we get used to it. I have observed that “de-churched” people are reticent to make the commitment to regular attendance again. Sad.

There are certain things that can only happen when we meet face-to-face. Assembling in person with other disciples on a regular basis accomplishes much good.

Let’s take a look at one of the important Bible verses that applies.

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Acts 2:42 (NLT)

I will approach these four point in the order of a typical small group meeting.

First, we need fellowship. Most of our small groups prioritize eating together as part of the meeting. There is something special about the fellowship and camaraderie that happens around the table. Church is supposed to be a place where deep and lasting friendships are built, and this can most easily happen in a small group setting. We need to have people in our lives who know us well enough to be able to tell if things are going well for us or not. We need those who can speak into our lives with truth and love. We need each other. Generally this happens best in person, when possible.

Secondly, we need to encouraged and exhorted. Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Rome that he longed to see them in order that he might strengthen them and be strengthened in return. (Romans 1:11-12) God created us to be mutually interdependent. None of us has everything that is needed to have a complete perspective on life. None of us has everything in the way of spiritual gifts. God wants us to receive from one another, and this most easily takes place when we gather with other disciples.

Thirdly, solid Bible teaching is crucial to our continued development and growth as a disciple. Deception most easily enters the picture when we abandon the input from trusted people in our lives who are willing to speak truth to us. Solomon wrote:

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. Proverbs 18:1 (ESV)

This does not mean everyone in a group must toe the line and embrace group think. It does mean that we listen to others, examine the Scriptures for ourselves, and allow ourselves to be accountable to people we love and trust.

Lastly, we almost always spend time in prayer, giving thanks to our Lord, who is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. We pray for whatever is important to those present, including for one another. This is when being together is so important because when we lay hands on one another and pray, often the Holy Spirit operates through those present in various gifts, such as prophecy and healing. This can take place over the phone or internet, too, but in person is the only place where we can actually lay hands on someone. The laying on of hands is a very important principle mentioned in Hebrews 6:1-2.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews also wrote:

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

When God sent a worldwide deluge to destroy the wicked, he had Noah build an ark to provide the means to save one family which He would use to repopulate the earth. Only those who entered and remained in the ark were saved. When in a storm, stay in the boat.

The ark is an Old Covenant picture of the New Testament church.

We are in the midst of a storm of another kind today. This is not the time for us to abandon ship, so to speak, by isolating ourselves from other believers. Instead, we should realize how much we need one another now more than ever.

Another time in the Bible when a ship was in a storm was when Jesus and the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee. Although the disciples feared for their lives, the presence of Jesus in the boat guaranteed their safety. The same is true for the church today. Jesus, Immanuel, is with us. There is nothing to fear.

We may think everything is falling apart, but we should never abandon ship.

When the Prince of Peace is with us, we have nothing to fear. He is Lord over the storms we encounter in life. Stay in the boat.

If your boat is sinking, however, sometimes it is necessary to leave it. I tell people that we can often discern where God wants us to be in fellowship with other believers by looking at the following points. If the church you are part of or are thinking of joining (or leaving) has these things, it is probably a good fit.

  1. Does the church teach the Bible without watering it down to fit whatever the latest cultural errors are?
  2. Can you trust and follow the church leaders?
  3. Is the church’s vision something you can embrace? We want to be able to walk in step with the church and not pull against it.
  4. Do you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you to be a part of this church?

If we are looking for a perfect church with perfect leaders and people, we will never find it, and if we do, it will no longer be perfect after we join it.

Groucho Marx resigned from the Friar’s Club by saying that he did not want to be part of a club that would have him for a member. It is safe to say that he would never join any club, and some people have their reasons for not belonging to any church. Life is not a comedy routine however.

It all comes down to a matter of the heart. If we are determined not to walk with others on the discipleship journey, we can always find reasons. If we want to sound spiritual, we can blame our decision on the Lord’s leading. However, when in a dangerous neighborhood, it is much safer to walk with those who are going to the same place we want to go. This world in which we live is a dangerous place.

To sum it up, if you have abandoned ship, either climb back aboard or find another one going to your desired destination. Don’t disobey God by trying to go solo. Too much is at stake.

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Joab: Undone by Looking Out for Number One

Joab was one of the more interesting people who figured prominently in David’s kingdom. Joab was a son of Zeruiah, King David’s sister (1 Chronicles 2:13–17), and was therefore one of David’s nephews. Joab’s brothers, Abishai and Asahel, were two of David’s mighty men. Joab earned the position of general of David’s armies during the battle for Jerusalem. How he became general provides a valuable insight into Joab’s subsequent behavior and eventual downfall.

King David became king after being selected and anointed for that position by God through the prophet Samuel. When King Saul understood that God was raising up David to be his replacement, instead of cooperating with the plan of God, he made it his mission to murder David. Very importantly, David steadfastly refused to take matters into his own hands, even though he had more than one opportunity to kill Saul, his adversary.

David understood that coming against God’s appointed authority never ends well.

Once when Saul entered the cave in which David was hiding, his men urged him to kill the king, saying:

“Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the LORD is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe. 5  But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6  “The LORD knows I shouldn’t have done that to my lord the king,” he said to his men. “The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord the king and attack the LORD’s anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him.” 7  So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul. After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, 1 Samuel 24:4-7 (NLT)

Instead, he waited patiently for God to remove Saul and place him into position as the king. All this is found in First and Second Samuel.

Joab’s ascension to power came very differently, however. In the heat of battle for Jerusalem, David made the following unfortunate promise. He announced that the first to go up and strike the Jebusites would become the leader of his army. (1 Chronicles 11:4–9) Joab fulfilled the requirement and became general. He earned his position; whereas, David received his position as a gift from God. Looking back with 20-20 hindsight, we can see that David should have asked God who should be his commander; nevertheless, the Lord worked through Joab’s generalship for David’s good for the most part, with a few notable exceptions.

The principle we derive from this part of Joab’s story is that how we achieve our position is how we must seek to maintain it. Joab became general through his own efforts, and that is how he sought to preserve it for the rest of his life. Since Joab did not receive his generalship as a gift from God, he had no confidence that God would preserve him in that position. He thought that he must always look out for himself first.

What we receive from God as a gift, we can trust him to keep for us. What we achieve through our own efforts, we must preserve that way.

Looking out for old number one never ends well.

If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. Luke 17:33 (NLT)

Joab generally served David well as general. He won many victories and usually proved to be very loyal to David. He realized that David was his ticket to success.

As long as upholding David resulted in his own position being preserved, he was steadfastly loyal; but, when his position was threatened, he took matters into his own hands, revealing a lack of confidence in God.

During the years when Saul still retained the kingdom and pursued David in the wilderness, Joab loyally served David. He understood that David was God’s man who would eventually be king. Instead of serving the current king, whom God was replacing, he took the risk of backing the one who had the promise from God. This was perhaps Joab’s finest hour.

The first example of Joab’s putting his own interests ahead of David’s was in the matter of Abner. When Saul died, his son named Ish-bosheth was installed as his successor due, in large measure, to the support of general Abner. David was accepted by Judah as their king, but the other tribes remained loyal to Saul’s son. This situation went on for seven years, and battles were fought between the competing factions, which posed Abner against Joab. In one of those skirmishes, Abner killed Joab’s brother Asahel, which fueled a longing for payback in Joab. Eventually the tides of war began to go David’s way, and Abner fell out with Ish-bosheth. Acting rebelliously toward his king because, like Joab, he was seeking his own best interests, he approached David to work out a way to bring the other tribes under David’s rule. Seizing the opportunity, David made a political choice to give the generalship to Abner, which imperiled Joab and incentivized him to murder Abner, both to revenge his brother’s death and to preserve his own position as general.

Joab probably assumed that Abner would get the generalship, since he had been King Saul’s man. Though David stood to gain politically by choosing Saul’s former general Abner over Joab, Abner was an even poorer choice to be general than Joab. One can imagine how Joab must have felt when his king consorted with his rival. Nevertheless, Joab’s deceitful murder of Abner in cold blood cried out for God’s punishment, which would eventually come years later. In the meantime, Joab retained his position as general, but this episode created a big rift between David and Joab. They continued to work together, but never again would they fully trust one another. David now realized that Joab could not be controlled, and Joab understood that David was not fully loyal to him.

The next big test for Joab came when David committed adultery with Bathsheba and ordered Joab to orchestrate things in battle so that Bathsheba’s husband Uriah would be killed. Joab went along with the murderous plan, but why? Perhaps he identified with David, who in this case also was putting himself ahead of God’s will. Maybe he wanted to gain some leverage against David. Perhaps he was being blindly loyal. Whatever the case, this was a sad day in King David’s life, one for which he, his family, and the nation paid dearly. Eventually what took place here culminated in the lowest point in David’s life, Absalom’s rebellion.

Absalom became embittered against his father when David failed to properly deal with Absalom’s older half brother, Amnon. Amnon was infatuated with his beautiful half-sister, Tamar, who was also Absalom’s full sister. He raped her and subsequently cast her off. David did nothing. When Absalom discovered what happened, he coldly plotted revenge, which he pulled off at a sheep shearing event, when his men killed Amnon. He may have planned to kill David at that time as well, but the king chose not to attend the event. David banished Absalom for a season, but eventually brought him back, but they were never reconciled. Absalom began to carry out a plan to gradually win over the hearts of many in Israel. He plotted with Bathsheba’s bitter grandfather to overthrow David. At the right time, Absalom launched the rebellion from Hebron and sent his army to capture David in Jerusalem.

At this low point in David’s life, the king showed his faith in God in a big way. He told his followers that he trusted that God would restore the the kingdom to him if it pleased him. Otherwise he resigned himself to God’s will. He was not passive, however. He fled the city, and, to his credit, Joab remained loyal to David. The decisive battle came some time later. David instructed his commanders to show mercy to Absalom, but Joab paid his king no mind and personally killed Absalom when the opportunity presented itself. Once again Joab showed that he was ungovernable, but, in this case, he did exactly what needed to be done. Absalom had to die.

After the battle, David grieved for his son, confusing his victorious warriors who risked their lives to end the threat. It was at this point that Joab’s true colors once again showed themselves. He told David that he must stop weeping for his enemy or he would demoralize his faithful, which was good advice. However, he threatened to lead a coup against David, if he did not follow this directive. Joab revealed at this point that he considered himself to be in a superior position to David. He believed David was beholden to him to retain his kingship, which was the very thing Abner had done to Ish-bosheth. I believe this threat sealed Joab’s fate.

The principle here is that, when we presume to dictate to or threaten those God has put in place in our lives as governing authorities, we cross a line that begs for God’s judgment.

After Absalom’s defeat, David once again showed disloyalty to Joab by courting the general who backed Absalom in order to gather the rebellious tribes back to himself. David seemed to alternate between operating by God’s principles and the world’s. When Joab heard about this, he resorted to what he knew best. He murdered Amasa his challenger, once again shedding innocent blood. I blame this one on David, but Joab did not have to react the way he did. What would have happened if Joab had trusted God to sort things out? We will never know.

Joab’s “last rodeo” brought him down. When David was so aged that he scarcely governed, his eldest living son named Adonijah decided to step into the vacuum and have himself declared king. To pull this off, he obtained the support of the general of David’s army, Joab. Previously, God had made it clear that Solomon was the one destined for the throne, but, for whatever reasons, Adonijah thought he could pull it off, and Joab must have believed his future looked brighter serving the presumptive king rather than Solomon. This was a fatal decision.

When David got wind of what was going on, he promptly installed Solomon as king, putting those who supported Adonijah in great danger for their treason. Solomon showed great restraint and refused to punish the rebels, but on his deathbed, David ordered Solomon to take down Joab.

And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood. 6  Do with him what you think best, but don’t let him grow old and go to his grave in peace. 1 Kings 2:5-6 (NLT)

The opportunity to fulfill David’s directive arrived when Adonijah asked Bathsheba to seek permission for him to marry David’s former concubine, Abishag. This was tantamount to asking to be king, which infuriated Solomon, who dispatched his new commander, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, to execute him. When Joab heard this news, he fled to the altar, hoping it would offer protection, but Jehoiada dragged him out and put him to death. Thus the old general ended poorly.

Benaiah had faithfully served David as captain of his personal body guard. He never once disregarded his king’s command or did anything solely for his own benefit. His loyalty was rewarded, and he was the man who brought God’s judgment upon the self-serving Joab, who over and over violated God’s principles of authority.

Ending well is a bigger challenge than one may think. Some of the biggest temptations come later in life. What we sow when we are young also may come home to roost later in life.

That was certainly the case with Joab. David made plenty of mistakes, too, but he repented when appropriate and kept his heart soft toward God. There is no record that Joab ever repented for his sins.

The final principle we can draw from Joab’s life is that faithfulness is eventually rewarded and rebellion punished.

Joab’s partial faithfulness was rewarded for a time, but the rebellion that was mixed in eventually brought him down. He ended up siding with a rebel, when it seemed to be to his advantage, and went down with him.

Proverbs says:

 Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? 2  Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. 3  Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. 4  Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the LORD, and keep their promises even when it hurts. 5  Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever. Psalm 15:1-5 (NLT)

Moral character has a tremendous impact on our destiny. Joab’s moral flaws led to his downfall.

It is vital that we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us so that we act, think, and speak more and more like our Lord; otherwise our personal character defects may negatively impact our lives in a big way.

May the Lord be gracious to us and help us so that we can end well as did David, rather than as did Joab. David was a serious sinner, too, but he sought and found forgiveness. Joab never did, which undid him.

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