When a project in the engineering world goes bad, there is a decision that needs to be made in order to correct the failure. That decision is whether or not to scrap the project and start all over, or to attempt to fix the problem on the project already in process. For example, from my own line of work, if I design a cabinet and build it to the specification I made and come across information later that enlightens me to a flaw in my design, I am forced to choose to try to fix the flaw during the manufacturing process, or I have to start all over again. The temptation to start over is often overwhelming. When there seems to be no way to “stretch” the cabinet that is ruined, there, on occasion, is little to no recourse but to do exactly that…start over. On occasion, a solution may be found, but it is often the lesser of two evils. Rarely does a catastrophic mistake or a failure translate into a positive situation (though when they do it is much welcomed.) A good engineer is always an individual who can anticipate eventualities in any given process. They have a seemingly innate ability to “see” a project to completion in their minds.
As I contemplate this, I find myself in awe at a God who chose to redeem man, rather than to “start over” with a new creation (at least not until grace has had its fruition in this and the next epoch.) At the first sign that His creation (man) “failed,” God did not punch a hole in the wall of his heavenly Temple in anger and go back to make a new blueprint. Rather he promised those failures a hope. He promised them redemption through the one who would “bruise” the serpents head. Not only would he redeem man through crushing the serpents head, but he would redeem him through the very act of the serpent piercing His heel. This means that the greatest offence ever committed against the Creator became the very agency by which all the flaws in creation become ultimately corrected. From a novice engineering point of view, this concept is beyond staggering. It is like saying the flaw in my messed up cabinet is going to become the very means by which we (as a business) inherit all the cabinet work in the world and never have to compete again for business, and even that is a pale shadow of grace. Recovering from an engineering flaw in day to day life in the business world is messy and complicated work. So also is redemption. Praise God that he redeems messed up people, instead of writing them off and displaying them as failed exhibits of poor engineering.
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound!” -Romans 5:20
“Call unto me and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty [hidden or unsearchable] things which thou knowest not.” -Jeremiah 33:3
When I was fresh out of high school, I was in Santo Domingo, which is the Capital of the Dominican Republic. We went to a small church somewhere in the heart of the city and listened to a sermon in Spanish, so naturally I was not able to actively engage in what was being said, especially since my Spanish is pretty much limited to adding an O at the end of English words. However in this little church there was a lavishly painted wall with an engagingly large banner painted as a mural behind the preacher. On the banner was a verse in Spanish (of course), and the scripture address, which I was able to recognize. It was the above verse.
I looked it up and to my surprise; I had never heard anyone quote it before. It seemed a rather novel concept to me at the time, so I did exactly what it said. I spent the sermon just praying that God would show me great and unsearchable things. I think I remember that my motive at the time was to gain a lot of bible knowledge so that I could impress other people with it. It was a rather carnal and selfish prayer I think. What is even more surprising is that God answered this prayer for me. He has answered it hundreds, if not thousands of times over in my life. The irony is not that he answered it, but rather…how he did it.
The one thing that is more unsearchable than all things is the human heart.1 It is above all things, deceitfully wicked. We obviously understand that when the Bible speaks about the heart, it is speaking meta-physically. Some have argued, and I happen to agree (though it is not a hill I would die on) that the heart probably speaks of and indicates the culmination of what he is compiled of that cannot be seen or measured. Or the seat of his emotions, his psyche, and his personality.
God has faithfully shown me the self-deception of my own heart. He shows me, time and time again, through his word, and through the Spirit’s conviction, and through brothers…sisters, my wife…family members, even my dog. He brings to light unsearchable things. In order that I may repent from them, and allow my nature to be displaced with His own. I believe that when these events occur, God is plucking logs out of my eyes and sometimes it takes a mighty collision.
“…He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature.” –II Peter 1:4
The flesh and the devil will miss no opportunity to prevent this from happening. The former wars against the Spirit,1 and the latter despises the siblings of resurrection for the bruising migraine our elder brother dealt him2. In tandem they do all within their power to resist the divine nature. In his commentary on the term nature, Gr. phusis: φύσις, Spiros Zhodiates3 rightly observes that this does not speak of some mystical spiritual essence as ‘some have interpreted,’ but rather it implies the compendium of God’s attributes.
The term “partakers,” is derived from the word, Gr. koinonos: κοινωνός, this word is completely tied to the idea of fellowship and communion. In fact both of those terms are synonymous with the word koinonia in greek. This knowledge ought to bring to mind the statement; “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.4” Here we see that Jesus’ teaching on communion speaks of far more than just remembering, tied to the idea is the concept of fellowshipping, or partaking, it speaks of utter familial relationship. As a matter of fact this saying scared people off. When Jesus taught the message that his followers must partake of him just as he partook of the Father, many of his disciples followed him no more.5 Two-thousand years later, not very much has changed. So many want only from Christ that which appeals to human nature, rather than moving beyond his forgiveness to allow him to infiltrate and displace their nature with his.
“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.6” There is a vicious tenacity Jesus expects from his followers. Not vicious in a sinful way, but violent in a righteous way. Those who are content to idly masticate the elements of communion without this “violence” are storing up damnation against themselves.7 There is probably no greater definition of “unworthiness” toward this communion of Christ than disinterest. Such a disposition does not care one whit about Jesus’ desires, and treats the elements as if they were dropped out of a cheap dirty vending machine. Just take two of these and sin again in the morning. (The devil’s orders of course!)
However, if you have run from “evil desire,8” as if the clutches of it were the flaky, charcoal grasp of the devil himself, then hunker down and lock shields with the warrior church,9 and make “every effort,8” to add to your faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. For if these “attributes” be in you and are increasing, then you will be fruitful in your knowledge of Jesus. And you will be a partaker of the divine nature, through fellowship, because of proper communion with your elder brother. It is no wonder Jesus will not recognize dead works of the flesh, and will say unto some…”Depart from me for I never knew you.”
Galatians 5:17
Genesis 3:15
Spiros Zhodiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary 1992 AMG International., Inc. Revised Edition, page 1459
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” -Acts 20:28-30
Possessed of an other-worldly passion for the church, Paul addresses the elders of Ephesus, warning these brothers of two particular dangers. The first one being probably the worst of the two evils…wolves (the first half of this warning the general assembly of believers throughout history has weathered fairly well, albeit not without collateral damage.) Wolves that tear congregations to shreds. They enter in and bring in all sorts of visceral ham-stringing intentions. These are those who intend to destroy, these are those whom I believe God will destroy in kind (I Corinthians 3:17.)
The second type of man Paul warns against is more subtle, and probably far more difficult to recognize as they will tend to make a bit more sense (this is the kind of individual I feel we have not dealt with as well.) They are the type who arise from amongst those whom the Holy Spirit had appointed to be shepherds. I am not sure I understand what catalyst causes these shepherds to go A.W.O.L. but I think the resulting damage can almost be similar to the damage caused from a festal wolf. The pain an “ariser” inflicts is more damaging because a trust of love is broken. In our day and age, they do not even have to be ordained. I suspect there are scads of people who ‘congregate,’ with other believers on a weekly basis but have not a bit of desire to forbear other believers in love; rather they come into our churches with nothing but a desire to promote themselves, or the way they see things.
I think much is known by the body about wolves, but less is known and recognized about those who would make, “followers after themselves.” They are more subtle because they appear to say all the right things. My mind, when it reads Paul’s warning here immediately jumps to other portions of the New Testament where Paul says to follow him after he follows Christ. I wonder, art thou being a hypocrite Paul? Hardly! Those who would follow Paul would be following a man who is following the God-Man Jesus Christ. Paul’s concern wanted men to become like Jesus Christ as a result of his ministry. These perverse men are always frustrated people, who drag others down with themselves, always filled with bitterness and with wrath and doubting. Jealousy is their cologne, and pride is their alarm clock.
The word “perverse,” in this context probably reflects more of the idea of twisting, or making crooked. It is not that they are pedophiles or sexually perverse. It means more that they twist scripture to fit their own agendas, often to such a degree as to be hardly perceptible.
Scripture twisters and me-followers are less concerned with people becoming like Christ than they are concerned with people becoming like them. I suspect that these are more like wolf-kin…shepherds with a form of Stockholm Syndrome. Whether they know it or not they have been hostages of the devil, and are starting to appease him. They have completely lost sight of Christ.
We must take heed, that we do not become prisoners ourselves. Take notice of the tears of the Apostle, and let not those tears fall to the ground in vain…
Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death. Matthew 26:59
This verse is one of many which, by being familiar, we fail to notice the extraordinary content therein. What do I mean? Just this, the Sanhedrin needed somebody to falsely testify against Jesus in order to put him to death. Well…you may ask, what’s the big deal about that? Of course they would need someone to lie about him in order to get him killed.
The fascinating thing about this situation is not what they needed (false witnesses), rather it is that not one of them was willing to do it. They wanted him dead more than anything, but none of them was willing to lie about him. Why? As community pillars their word would have been accepted. So why wouldn’t one of them step up to the plate? The answer may shock you, none of them would testify against him because they were unwilling to sin.
They had to dig up some false witnesses against him in order to avoid breaking the law. The third commandment clearly states, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Ex. 20:16 They refused to bear false witness because it was sinful. Their theology forbade them from lying but did allow them to hire someone to lie for them; forbade them from putting blood money into the treasury but allowed them to pay blood money to Judas; forbade them from going into Pilate’s Palace before the Sabbath but allowed them to conspire and carry out Christ’s murder at the very same location. The false dichotomy they created was rather stupendous.
In other words, bad theology has consequences. If it allows us to sin in certain prescribed ways but forbids us from sinning in other ways, our theology has to go. We must not find ways to explain away the clear teaching of scripture when it stops us from sinning as we wish. When we tailor our theology to allow us to do whatever we want, and forbid only the things we didn’t want to do anyway, we have created an idol, one which will only crucify the Son of God afresh.
In the midst of ash and accusation, boils and belligerent philosophy, a spark of trouble flew upward, beyond the lowly crags of mountain heights, into the deep blue etherium of divine contemplation. His name was Job, which means “hated, or persecuted.” According to his accusers, he must have done something to offend the Almighty. His suffering dictated that it must be so. It is no wonder that the oldest book of Hebrew lore deals with the deepest questions humans have tried to apprehend. In the midst of extreme suffering, we have all inevitably questioned the point of life. Job’s bitter query did not proceed until after seven days and seven nights of silence amidst the conjoining of dust, ash, rending, and “friends.”
There he sat in silence so long…I am sure the day of visitation was fresh in his mind…being replayed like a video again and again and again. No doubt his silence was one of agonizing mental anguish. Once the silence is broken, Job basically says that the day of his birth ought to be cursed into eternal blackness. (Job 3) His deep pondering begs the question. WHY LIVE??? Why live if suffering is our bread, if misery is our drink?
Once Job finally broke his silence…Eliphaz was quick to speak the abundance of his heart and accusation against Job. He starts off with a few quick words of flattery, probably out of cultural respect, then promptly begins to develop a thread of thought that Job must not be innocent, of course his suffering must be the result of sin because, “Who ever perished, being innocent?” Or, “They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.” (Job 4:7-8)
Like so many councilors that lack any form of humility, Eliphaz completely ignores the questions Job raises, and displays the true motive behind why he sat seven days and nights on Job’s pile of ash. His motive was to bring accusation against his friend. Job had asked why it was that he did not just die when he was born. Then he would have moved on to the indomitable vault of equalization…the grave. Where the, “Prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.” (Job 3:17-18) Job was concerned with the deeply subterraneous questions of his soul. Eliphaz was concerned with emanating his own religious pomposity via his theology.
The temptation to give a ringside, blow by blow account is difficult for me to withstand; however, for succinctness sake we must jump forward numerous arguments later, after Job has received jabs, hooks, uppercuts and below-the-belt accusations from his “friends.” In the midst of his suffering and incrimination Job raises one of the single most important questions that suffering must force someone to ask. Keep in mind this is probably the oldest book of the Bible, if not one of the oldest written manuscripts ever. In Job 14:14, he laments, “If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.” God had not yet been fully manifest and in the Son, so total revelation about life and death had not yet occurred to humanity. Job did not know yet that eternal life was knowing the Father, and the one whom he would send.
Eliphaz proves his religious ignorance once again by calling Job’s questions an, “uttering of vain knowledge and a filling of his belly with the east wind.” Why think deeply about your pain Job? Just repent for your ox-dumb pride.
Job then responds to this indictment and receives one more from Bildad. It is at this point in chapter nineteen where Job reaches a crescendo of angst. He points out that his miserable councilors have accused him ten times, and he begins to lament that he has been forsaken by every last person whom he valued. He first laments deeply of God forsaking him, and how God had stripped him of his glory and crown. (Job 19:9) Job was destroyed on every side…troops had been raised against him, his brethren were put far from him, every acquaintance of his had become completely estranged from him. His kinsfolk failed him, and his familiar friends forgot him. Those most intimate with him, his maids and dwellers of his home, now viewed him as an alien and a stranger in their sight. His breath even became strange to his own wife. The word strange in the Hebrew is metonymous with the word for adultery. So it could be said that his very breath was as the breath of an adulterer to his own spouse. This gives us a sense of just how disgusting Job’s suffering was to his kin. His own children also rose up and despised him and spoke against him. All this would be bad enough but the dagger in his back is twisted a little bit more when he says that even his “inward friends” have turned on him as the hand of God touched him.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death by George Inness
It is as if the veil of fellowship had been drawn and stitched. It was woven from the fabric of solitude, and the stitches were the condescending glances of accusation he received. No man is more forsaken in the midst of people than this man. He was so alone that his bones clove to his skin and flesh. This was likely due to malnutrition from prolonged fasting. Eating no longer meant anything to him.
Finally, it is within this broad context that Job laments, “Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? Oh that my words were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever. For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.”
Was it not Christ our Lord, whom upon the cross asked from the bottom of the deepest well of trepidation ever probed, “My God my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Did not all of Christ’s sheep scatter into hiding? Did not Jesus become as an adulterer to them? Were they not completely ashamed of His suffering? Was Peter not in the valley of the shadow of death?
By now, I hope you have noticed the parallel between Job being forsaken by all, and Christ being forsaken by all, even His Father. These continuities are absolutely staggering. I will let your imagination continue to connect these concepts. It is at this point, of Job’s deep suffering, where deep calls unto deep. Some divine tremendous light has perforated the subterranean expanse of his tragedy, and he concludes the only thing an open mind, a humble heart, and a suffering soul can conclude…there must be, there has to be, I know there will be…a resurrection from the dead! My Savior will stand upon the earth someday and I will stand with him. So it was that He (our Lord), for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. The broadest depths of human suffering when contemplated with a view of God in mind, require resurrection to be true. Were it not, sanity would become pointless…
But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
Call me naive or simplistic but I cannot for the life of me understand how someone could claim their plot to overthrow the government is based on scripture. Christ makes it clear that if his kingdom were an earthly kingdom his servant’s would be fighting to defend it. I’m not one to believe every single thing the media reports. But if these men were indeed plotting to murder police officers in cold blood then they are far from Christ indeed.
Nothing Jesus or the apostles taught tells us that murdering civil authorities is good or godly in any way at all. We are told that we will be persecuted for our faith at times, and our response to persecution is to turn the other cheek (non-violent resistance). We are not told to overthrow the government in order to avoid persecution, we are told to rejoice in persecution, because our patient endurance in persecution is the most powerful testimony we can share. If we are fighting to avoid persecution here and now, we are displaying a complete lack of faith, we are declaring we don’t really believe in heaven by trying to craft our little christian kingdom here and now.
When Jesus stood before Pilate he gave the crowd’s a choice, did they want Barabbas the political revolutionary or Jesus who was declaring a heavenly kingdom. I am convinced that many self identified Christians today would choose Barabbas again.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36
For the last three or four months I have had a singular obsession as I study the Word…the resurrection of Jesus Christ. My (spiritual) curiosity had been peaked because over the years I have noticed that among a great deal of the Easter sermons I have attended, I have noticed very little discussion about the meaning of the empty tomb. All too often I have heard sermons preached out of the end of one of the gospels, and we are reminded often about how the women beat the disciples to the tomb, that it was early in the morning…no-one was waiting there. All the details are often commented on, but I have often been left feeling as empty as the tomb Christ vacated when the sermon is over.
The purpose of this blog series is not to debate the technical validity of celebrating the resurrection on Easter. If eating meat sacrificed to Idols bothers you, then don’t celebrate it on Ishtar, my emphasis is rather on the fact that on the day we do commemorate the resurrection, so often the point of it is missed. Our Christian life is un-arguably to be one of resurrection power and the tendency to celebrate this concept only once a year is a very distilling tradition. I find it to be a bitter irony that many Americanized religious folk only go to church twice a year and one of those days is Ishtar.
All the while I was studying this I was completely oblivious to the fact that Easter was once again coming about on the calendar, so I thought it would be fitting to share some of the insights I feel the Lord has shown me in His word that may help to take you deeper in your walk with Christ. This is going to take numerous entries because the nature of the study does not lend itself to a blog post very well as it has been a long, prayer-filled meditation on this powerful truth from the word. Please be patient as I will build up the thesis to a crescendo over an estimated 10 – 12 blog posts. This may take me a month or more to complete.
It is my hope that my blogging silence over the last few months will be noted as I have given very little time to the usual little nuggets I proffer. My silence has been due primarily to this obsession.
For the purpose of maintaining only the things I think are important to us as believers during the following blogs, I will take the remainder of this post to state that if you have been bit by the Zeitgeist Tom-Foolery and think that somehow the resurrection of Christ is not a unique concept to Christianity, I would ask that you consider watching this documentary. While the concept of a god being resurrected may not have been entirely unique in a technical sense…I would propose that the meaning of the empty tomb, to Christians, is hands down, the singularity around which the entire galaxy of Christian sanctification doctrine gravitates. And I would propose that all the “meaning” around the technical god-resurrections of mythos-gone-by does not hold an inkling of meaning by means of comparison. For example, if you think that Osiris being reconstructed by Isis for the purpose of demi-god near necrophilia has much meaning to compare to the Krakatoa of purpose behind Yeshua Hamashiach rising
and conquering the power of death, then certainly the meaning of Christs death-resurrection-and ascension has not been articulated well enough (not as the fault of scripture, but ours to portray it.)
The tendency to view it alone as an historical event has probably invited and begged mythological criticism. I suspect that all this mythos has been a result of such a lack of the display of Christ’s resurrection in us. We ought to take note of the winds of criticism…even the murmurings of dark hearts can be an exhortation for us to seek deeper meaning, and to discover our own failures. If you do not know what Zeitgeist is all about…don’t waste your time. I am only saying this for the benefit of those who have had their flesh exposed to the poison Zeitgeist’s fangs excrete. Please stay tuned or read the next post; I think it will be of great value to many.
-Your brother in Christ (if you are born of the Spirit)…Jeremiah Dusenberry.
In the modern western world we are a curious breed. We are neither strict idolaters nor iconoclasts (destroyers of idols), we are both. We love to take a normal human being like Tiger Woods and confer godlike status upon them; then we wait for a character flaw or misstep to occur, as soon as they falter we destroy them. It can be a sweet old lady like Susan Boyle or an oversexed ego driven athlete like Tiger. We are willing to deify then destroy almost anyone.
This begs the question, why? Why do we engage in this bizarre behavior? Is there something in the water? A cursory glance around makes it plain that none of us meet the high standards we hold our heroes to. Is the media to blame? Is it some sort of mass psychosis? I don’t think so.
I believe that Paschal was right, there is a “God shaped hole” in the human heart and nothing but God can fill it. What fools we are. We vainly attempt to make men into gods, and then we despise them once they fall short. If we seek perfection there is but one place to look. Only Christ qualifies.
“For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!” The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. Deuteronomy 32:3-4
