I'm not sure if I posted the previous study to this one, Col. 1:25-30, but...if I didn't and you would like to see it, leave me a comment, if you will. Meantime I shall post up this one. Enjoy! How are my exposition skills coming, pray tell?
In our last study, we studied the last passage at the end of chapter one, that was vast in its scope. We talked about the mystery and incredible story of the Gospel, from the Fall to Christ. What an incredible six thousand year long story in itself! We studied into that, and into the future that the story of the Gospel will take in the end. Finally, Paul reveals something about his own labors on this matter.
Now, as we start chapter 2, let’s take a look at verses 1 through 5:
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge.
“I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.” -Colossians 2:1-5
Continuing his last train of thought, Paul goes on after telling us of his noble labors with the opening verse here. According to Paul, he has great struggles on behalf of his friends in Colossus, and wishes to tell them so. Interestingly, at this time, Paul was in prison under the Roman Empire at the time of this letter’s writing. How is Paul struggling on their behalf while in prison, quite a distance away from Colossus? What could he be doing that benefits them? And that is such a struggle, too?
Well let’s take a look at the context. Very simply, he stated it in just the previous verses.
As he claims in 1:29, “For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power, with mightily works within me.” The purpose Paul labors and strives for is the purpose of the Gospel and for the ‘admonishing and teaching every man,’ (Col. 1:28) that is, the salvation and edification of every man in Christ. Paul spent his life not only proclaiming the Gospel and bringing many people to the truth and grace of Christ, but he also is probably one of the greatest apostles in the area of teaching his converts Christian doctrine and Theology. After being saved, it is necessary for us, as saved believers, to ‘grow.’ The process we call sanctification is probably what is being achieved by it, and the growing in the knowledge and wisdom of God. In this specific case, it is possible we may never know exactly what struggles Paul had for his disciples. But we do know the purpose of his life and what he labored for, and that his work of saving, teaching, and discipling, not to mention the price of imprisonment it cost him, was certainly no small thing. In short, Paul’s struggles are those that cost him personally to teach the churches he planted. And the cost was indeed high.
Interestingly, Paul wants to tell them about his struggles for them, and not for his own glorification. This is not Paul crowing over his strength and endurance on behalf of others. Rather, he says ‘that their hearts may be encouraged.’ Apparently this message about Paul’s current struggles is supposed to encourage the people of Colossus and Laodicea. This is because this is a prime example of several things. This is an excellent example of one brother in Christ suffering and striving on behalf of others, which should indeed encourage those he’s suffering for. It’s always an encouragement to see a friend willing to suffer for your sake, but even more importantly, ‘and for all those who have not personally seen my face?’ This makes it all the more incredible, that Paul suffers and labors for those he does not even really know. And naturally, this is what we should be. A prime example of Christ-like behavior on behalf of our brothers and sisters, and selflessly laboring for saving and teaching. This is not only supposed to encourage the Colossians in that someone many did not even know was laboring for their good, but that indirectly he did so for us. This is a reflection also of Christ’s labors for us also. This should not only make us more confident in our walk, but should encourage us to imitate Paul in doing the same, for others.
He goes on to say,
“…that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ…” -Col. 2:2
After giving them this brotherly encouragement, Paul goes on to tell them something else they already have in part and are still striving for. Since he uses the word ‘having,’ we can assume that this is something that they already have done in context of the sentence. ‘Knit together in love,’ the Colossians closeness as a church and unity in themselves. This is something we lack in our churches today, quite obviously.
He goes on and states, ‘and to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding.’ This is important because this is a picture of what the knowledge of God brings, though understanding the Gospel and Christian doctrine. What we call theology and doctrine, are really the ‘knowledge of God’ we are often striving for, which are so vital for life. The vast wealth that comes from, well, ‘knowing’ the knowledge comes in forms I’m not sure I can say in human words. Paul is anxious that this wealth be acquired by the people of the Colossian church, a wealth that comes from ‘the full assurance of understanding.’ This is important, because this full assurance of understanding is the confidence we have in the Gospel and the knowledge of God we have learned. This is coming from the Holy Spirit in our lives. Finally, Paul sums up in one word what the mystery and knowledge are, and not surprisingly, ‘that is, Christ.’ Christ then is the summary of God’s mystery and knowledge to us, and rightfully so.
‘…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’ Christ is also quite literally the source of our knowledge and wisdom of God. Our understanding of the Gospel and Christ, and thus the Christian doctrine, is where this wealth and treasure of full assurance is to be found. In other words, in Christ, the mystery of God, is where the assurance of understanding and wealth of knowledge is to be found. This is vital and should give us all the more reason for studying the Word of God, being the source of our knowledge of Him today. For in every sense, the knowledge of God = life.
Now stop, and read that last sentence over again.
The knowledge of God = life. That is probably one of the most important things I can show you from studying God’s Word.
Within Scripture, life isn’t quite what we call life today. The word, ‘life,’ means different things than what we think of when you or I say life. When I tell you, ‘my life is great,’ it usually means that right now, my circumstances and situations are going well for me. Now this is not what the Bible calls, literally, ‘life.’
“Life” as defined in Scripture is the quality of our experience. In short, the level of our satisfaction and happiness, in our hearts and souls. This comes only from God and His Holy Spirit in our lives, and we all know this from each of our own lives and walks in Christ. As we grow, we grow in contentment and ‘life.’ Not circumstances. The quality of our lives. This is a direct outworking of the Holy Spirit in us and our understanding.
Let’s take a look at Paul’s next words in the next paragraph:
“I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.” -Col. 2:4-5
Paul goes on to inform us that the reason for his saying of all these things is to keep his disciples in Colossians from being deluded, drawn away with the arguments of others. There’s just too many examples of this in our church today to now know what this means. The state of the Body of Christ today is fragmented, disunified, and full of false teachings and the doctrines of men, not God. Churches stand on things other than the Bible, like traditions, morals without any foundation, and some just on downright lies and heresies. Paul warns the Colossians, and indirectly us, to avoid standing on ANYTHING except the truth, which is God’s Word, period. No matter how persuasive the argument or excellent the words, we stand ONLY on the Bible, the Word of God, and that alone should be our foundation.
After this, Paul states that despite his absence in Colossus and Laodicea, he is with the Colossians in spirit. Now obviously this does not mean Paul is part ghost. It simply means that his desire is to be there with the Colossians and in his spirit, he feels and understands their circumstances, positions, and shares in what they are and do. This should be another lesson to us, in imitating Paul, on how to share in and understand the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We should likewise try to ‘be with our brothers/sisters in spirit,’ helping and sharing in their trials, hopes, circumstances, and positions. Paul ‘rejoices to see their good discipline,’ sharing in their successes to his joy, and rejoicing also in the strength and solid foundation of their faith, being stable and unmovable. Not only should we strive for these characteristics, it’s important we imitate Paul in rejoicing with others in similar successes in their faith and Christian walk.
This study was considerably more focused on Paul, his work, and his own personal thoughts and wishes. Interestingly, not the Theology most think of for a Bible Study, but we should remember we are to imitate Paul, as he imitates Christ. This is the lesson we can also learn from Paul’s life, and how to be similar to the great apostle.
~Alex
Phil. 4:13
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Trail Blazing, Witnessing, and Melchizedek.
“This is going to be an absolute pain to crawl up again tomorrow.” Matthew said grimly.
We had awoken early that morning from our dark and quiet shelter far up somewhere on the mountain face, to see that the storm had passed and the day had turned out to be a very nice one. As we all awoke, I journeyed down a little bit to the spring to fill my water supply and take a few pictures. The others joined me soon after, and as soon as we had cleaned up, refilled our supplies, and otherwise gotten awake enough to hit the trail, we did so. This time it would be a five mile trek across several mountain peaks to another lower area on the Appalachian Trail, and from there, an easy hike back to our car. Made a good little adventure trail, no doubt.
I will not forget the beautiful and wild territory we crossed that day. From climbing a couple scaly and steep rock faces to easy walking across open plains high above the valley floor, we all made good time over the Virginia Mountains. Once or twice, we would be stopped by other hikers and campers and ask for directions. Once or twice we stopped and asked others or even ourselves about the directions, and it was also decided that under no circumstances could Matthew hold the map. At about the fourth wrong turn Sam took over the job.
At any rate, about mid-afternoon we made it up and over the peak of Mount Rogers, the highest point in the state of Virginia. After that, it was nothing but a slow, rocky descent into the valley below, where our campsite would be that night. As we descended down into the forested area, leaving the open, windblown peaks behind us, it grew a good deal quieter and the fellow hikers and campers thinned out.
The woods were peaceful and gentle, glinting green and gold in the hazy sunlight and warmth. The echoes of the sounds of wildlife were here and there, though we never saw so much as a bird. Though the incline downward was not overly rough, it was slightly steep, and long enough so that we could be glad we weren’t going UP it.
Tomorrow would be a different story, however. Since we had to leave by early tomorrow morning, we would be getting up even earlier and going one or two ways back to…well, the general direction of our car. We could backtrack, or we could take a risk and hike along the road and half-circle around. I personally cringed at the thought of dragging myself all the way back up that mountainside, but kept my thoughts to myself.
When we reached the bottom, after a little bit of searching and some working around large camps of boy scouts in the meadows, we arrived at our campsite. As placed on the map, we had traveled several miles to reach it, and the sun was still high in the sky when we arrived at the little wooden shelter beside a large brook, down at the bottom, right off the beaten path. Low trees overhung the little bunker and fire ring, with a rough table set out in front for use. It looked like quite a comfortable little spot, with the brook flowing past right beside. A pile of firewood stood against the wall, close enough at hand to the fire area itself.
The shelter, however, was faced away from the path, so that we had to go around to get in or see our little home for about ten hours. I believe I was talking to Sam at the time about fixing his car when we all heard voices from inside the shelter. My ears pricked up.
“…I’m serious, we need something besides pasta already! This is like the what? Fourth time in a row we’ve had it for supper?”
We all three turned the corner, to see the inside of the little shelter, which was basically just three walls, a floor, and a roof, all supported a little off the ground in case the brook flooded. Inside there was already two others, we were not the first people to get there.
We all five of us looked up and studied each other for a moment before Matthew spoke. I looked at the two persons with a raised eyebrow. Did this mean we would have to go find our own spot and hope it didn’t rain?
They looked about our age, college students if not even younger, one tall and lanky, and the other shorter and heavier. Both of them had brown hair and eyes, though they couldn’t possibly be related. Both looked honestly like exact opposites, like a sports and workout champion being friends with a total and complete book and computer game geek. An interesting pair of traveling companions.
“Hey, you guys staying here for the night?” Matthew put on his courtesy smile and asked politely. It was the unspoken rule of the trail that it was first come, first serve…but if there was still room left for a sleeping bag, no one should object. We all stood expectantly.
“Yeah, we’re probably going to be hanging here for the night.” The one who looked like the smaller, heavy sports champ said, standing up to greet us. They already had a cook stove out and between them were heating something up in it.
“That’s what we’re thinking too. The next shelter is what? Eight miles down?”
“Yep, just about. That’s where we came from this morning.” The other grinned. “Staying the night here? There’s plenty of room, hang up your bags.” He paused a moment and extended a hand.
“I’m Josh, and this is Henry behind me.” He gestured to the one still hunched over the cook stove, who stood up when his name was mentioned.
We shook hands with the Henry and Josh pair, and threw out our gear, setting up camp. It didn’t take long for us to learn something of our two new friends.
Both of them came from a New England State college, where they had spent two years already, and were out to spend their summer hiking as much of the AT trail as they could. Already we guessed that they were much more experienced than us. They told us some of the trails further up ahead in case we decided to head that way. They were pretty good guys overall.
As I unrolled my bag and got out my things for eating, listening to their conversation, I guessed them not to be saved believers in Christ. They were friendly enough and nice enough, but their conversation contained several words I won’t repeat, and some references I won’t either. I smiled at the jokes, but inwardly thought.
It would make an excellent opportunity to witness, would it not?
After cooking our food and talking around the campfire as the light of day died, Matthew went off to read that good book of his again, while me and Sam played frisbee. At dark we all went to bed, early.
As we were getting ready for it, Matthew stopped me before we entered the shelter. Inside the voices of Josh, Henry, and Sam were talking and half-asleep already.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday.” He commented.
“I know.” I nodded. His point? Would we hold some kind of devotion in the morning?
That did seem to be his plan. “Yeah…since we won’t be at church I think we’ll have a devotion in the morning. And ask if Josh and Henry want in too. Perhaps…perhaps we can plant a seed.”
I caught his meaning. That definitely worked. “Alright.” I agreed entirely. Already we had made it pretty clear to them what we believed, at least, in our behavior and words, but they either missed it or chose to ignore it. Perhaps in the morning we could make it even more clear.
Which we did.
The next morning, I’m not sure who was the first one up, but I remember having to kick Sam out of his bed when all five of us started moving around, getting ready to pack up and head out right away. Breakfast was fast that morning. When I returned from the brook, refilling my half of the water bottles, Josh and Henry were talking in low voices about their planned route for that day, while Sam packed and Matthew read through his Bible. I knew then what he was up to.
“Here, Sam!” I tossed him a couple of bottles. “Stow those away, you’ll wish you had ‘em later.”
“Yep.” He commented, catching them and stuffing them into his bag. I stuffed my own away and returned to sit at the table where Matthew was already. I beckoned Sam over too after he was done cramming things into his pack.
“Alright guys, listen up!” Matthew said aloud, when we both were seated, though Sam still had little idea what we were doing, I believe. “Time for a little devotion.”
I sat where I could keep my eye on the other two from where I was. If they heard us (which I’m sure they did), they made no response or even slowed in their work. Going about their own good business without a care in the world for what we were doing. I shrugged.
Matthew, after getting no response, settled down to the table and opened his Bible to a particular book. “I was actually thinking guys, about a passage in Hebrews this morning, which is a great book in itself. Need to study it more.”
I listened. Unfortunately Hebrews is one of the New Testament books I’m not too familiar with. I knew all about Romans, chapter to chapter, and Galatians I had studied over so many times I was basic theology for me. Titus, Timothy, James, Luke, and Philippians I had a good deal of experience in. And even Revelation, to an extent. But Hebrews I did not know. Something I seriously need to fix.
“Anyway, I was looking at a couple of places in there, chapters 7 and 8.” Sam hadn’t brought his Bible, so I shared mine with him as we followed Matthew. “There it talks mostly about how Christ, as our new high priest, doesn’t come from the traditional Israel priesthood but comes as a high priest from the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a priest long before Moses and Israel the nation, long before the Law, and so his priesthood supersedes that of Israel’s through the promises from long before. Just as Christ and the Gospel supersedes the Law, Christ’s priesthood supersedes Israel’s priesthood.”
My brow furrowed. “Melchizedek. I’ve heard a lot of that name but I know little about it. Who was he?”
“He was a priest long before Moses, back in Abraham’s time.” Matthew looked up from his reading. “A priest for Abraham. The idea behind him is that Christ comes from him and not from the Levitical line of priests in Israel, in terms of priestly authority.”
“Ah.” I nodded. Matthew went on to read.
“‘If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, 16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 17 For he testifieth, Thou a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. 18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope; by the which we draw nigh unto God. 20 And inasmuch as not without an oath: 21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) 22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better covenant.’” -Hebrews 7:11-22
“And here, in chapter 8,
‘Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God, ‘See’, He says, ‘That you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.’”
“But now, He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.” -Hebrews 8:1-6
We paused. If Josh and Henry had heard and understood, they didn’t show it. They continued packing. Matthew went on.
“The main idea in these passages is just that Christ, who is above the order of the Levitical priesthood of Moses, serves as a high priest for us, in that He ‘mediates’ for us to God by His sacrifice on the Cross. The priesthood of Moses does us no good, and in fact, makes nothing perfect and brings about nothing of good, because it is a mere ‘shadow’ of the priesthood of Christ, which is like the book said, ‘based on better promises.’ In other words, Christ’s priesthood and the covenant we now stand under is the covenant of Abraham, NOT Moses. We aren’t subject to the Mosiac covenant because for one, we aren’t Jews, and for two, because we are of Abraham’s covenant which is greater and fulfilled in Christ. For ‘he believed God, and it was accounted to Him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:3)
I thought over this for a few minutes, pondering it. Trying to plant a seed in the minds of Josh and Henry left my mind for a moment. “Hmmm...so the fact is then, not that the Mosaic covenant under the Law was nullified, but rather, a greater covenant, one under the priesthood of Melchizedek and not Aaron, supersedes it?”
“Pretty much, yeah.” Matthew nodded. “That’s all I had to say.” He laughed. “Shall we pray?”
We left shortly afterward, nodding our thanks to the two who had let us use the shelter and shouldered our packs. I will say I was glad I didn’t have to crawl all the way back up the mountainside on the way back. In fact, you could say we cheated. We took a different route back towards the car that would force us to hike along the road for several miles, until we ran into a boy scout troupe leader, who was heading in that direction…in a truck. We gladly took his offer for a ride and made it back in record time.
As we left, pulling out of the park and with Nicole C. Mullens on the radio, we all generally congratulated ourselves on our incredible survival skills.
“ ‘Are you serious?’ were the first words out of his mouth, honestly!” We all laughed. The boy scout troupe leader had nearly told us to get lost when we asked for a ride, until he discovered that we were NOT boy scouts trying to cheat on a hike.
“Wonder how far those other two dudes have got.” I asked aloud, as we headed out the park gates.
“No clue man.” Sam commented.
Matthew was silent for a moment. “Let’s all pray for them quickly. And pray we planted a seed.”
I nodded. “Yes, let’s do that.”
I still remember to pray for them once in a while today, hoping that in fact we did plant a seed of truth in their lives. May God bless them wherever they are. Perhaps we did some good to two unknown travelers that day.
We had awoken early that morning from our dark and quiet shelter far up somewhere on the mountain face, to see that the storm had passed and the day had turned out to be a very nice one. As we all awoke, I journeyed down a little bit to the spring to fill my water supply and take a few pictures. The others joined me soon after, and as soon as we had cleaned up, refilled our supplies, and otherwise gotten awake enough to hit the trail, we did so. This time it would be a five mile trek across several mountain peaks to another lower area on the Appalachian Trail, and from there, an easy hike back to our car. Made a good little adventure trail, no doubt.
I will not forget the beautiful and wild territory we crossed that day. From climbing a couple scaly and steep rock faces to easy walking across open plains high above the valley floor, we all made good time over the Virginia Mountains. Once or twice, we would be stopped by other hikers and campers and ask for directions. Once or twice we stopped and asked others or even ourselves about the directions, and it was also decided that under no circumstances could Matthew hold the map. At about the fourth wrong turn Sam took over the job.
At any rate, about mid-afternoon we made it up and over the peak of Mount Rogers, the highest point in the state of Virginia. After that, it was nothing but a slow, rocky descent into the valley below, where our campsite would be that night. As we descended down into the forested area, leaving the open, windblown peaks behind us, it grew a good deal quieter and the fellow hikers and campers thinned out.
The woods were peaceful and gentle, glinting green and gold in the hazy sunlight and warmth. The echoes of the sounds of wildlife were here and there, though we never saw so much as a bird. Though the incline downward was not overly rough, it was slightly steep, and long enough so that we could be glad we weren’t going UP it.
Tomorrow would be a different story, however. Since we had to leave by early tomorrow morning, we would be getting up even earlier and going one or two ways back to…well, the general direction of our car. We could backtrack, or we could take a risk and hike along the road and half-circle around. I personally cringed at the thought of dragging myself all the way back up that mountainside, but kept my thoughts to myself.
When we reached the bottom, after a little bit of searching and some working around large camps of boy scouts in the meadows, we arrived at our campsite. As placed on the map, we had traveled several miles to reach it, and the sun was still high in the sky when we arrived at the little wooden shelter beside a large brook, down at the bottom, right off the beaten path. Low trees overhung the little bunker and fire ring, with a rough table set out in front for use. It looked like quite a comfortable little spot, with the brook flowing past right beside. A pile of firewood stood against the wall, close enough at hand to the fire area itself.
The shelter, however, was faced away from the path, so that we had to go around to get in or see our little home for about ten hours. I believe I was talking to Sam at the time about fixing his car when we all heard voices from inside the shelter. My ears pricked up.
“…I’m serious, we need something besides pasta already! This is like the what? Fourth time in a row we’ve had it for supper?”
We all three turned the corner, to see the inside of the little shelter, which was basically just three walls, a floor, and a roof, all supported a little off the ground in case the brook flooded. Inside there was already two others, we were not the first people to get there.
We all five of us looked up and studied each other for a moment before Matthew spoke. I looked at the two persons with a raised eyebrow. Did this mean we would have to go find our own spot and hope it didn’t rain?
They looked about our age, college students if not even younger, one tall and lanky, and the other shorter and heavier. Both of them had brown hair and eyes, though they couldn’t possibly be related. Both looked honestly like exact opposites, like a sports and workout champion being friends with a total and complete book and computer game geek. An interesting pair of traveling companions.
“Hey, you guys staying here for the night?” Matthew put on his courtesy smile and asked politely. It was the unspoken rule of the trail that it was first come, first serve…but if there was still room left for a sleeping bag, no one should object. We all stood expectantly.
“Yeah, we’re probably going to be hanging here for the night.” The one who looked like the smaller, heavy sports champ said, standing up to greet us. They already had a cook stove out and between them were heating something up in it.
“That’s what we’re thinking too. The next shelter is what? Eight miles down?”
“Yep, just about. That’s where we came from this morning.” The other grinned. “Staying the night here? There’s plenty of room, hang up your bags.” He paused a moment and extended a hand.
“I’m Josh, and this is Henry behind me.” He gestured to the one still hunched over the cook stove, who stood up when his name was mentioned.
We shook hands with the Henry and Josh pair, and threw out our gear, setting up camp. It didn’t take long for us to learn something of our two new friends.
Both of them came from a New England State college, where they had spent two years already, and were out to spend their summer hiking as much of the AT trail as they could. Already we guessed that they were much more experienced than us. They told us some of the trails further up ahead in case we decided to head that way. They were pretty good guys overall.
As I unrolled my bag and got out my things for eating, listening to their conversation, I guessed them not to be saved believers in Christ. They were friendly enough and nice enough, but their conversation contained several words I won’t repeat, and some references I won’t either. I smiled at the jokes, but inwardly thought.
It would make an excellent opportunity to witness, would it not?
After cooking our food and talking around the campfire as the light of day died, Matthew went off to read that good book of his again, while me and Sam played frisbee. At dark we all went to bed, early.
As we were getting ready for it, Matthew stopped me before we entered the shelter. Inside the voices of Josh, Henry, and Sam were talking and half-asleep already.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday.” He commented.
“I know.” I nodded. His point? Would we hold some kind of devotion in the morning?
That did seem to be his plan. “Yeah…since we won’t be at church I think we’ll have a devotion in the morning. And ask if Josh and Henry want in too. Perhaps…perhaps we can plant a seed.”
I caught his meaning. That definitely worked. “Alright.” I agreed entirely. Already we had made it pretty clear to them what we believed, at least, in our behavior and words, but they either missed it or chose to ignore it. Perhaps in the morning we could make it even more clear.
Which we did.
The next morning, I’m not sure who was the first one up, but I remember having to kick Sam out of his bed when all five of us started moving around, getting ready to pack up and head out right away. Breakfast was fast that morning. When I returned from the brook, refilling my half of the water bottles, Josh and Henry were talking in low voices about their planned route for that day, while Sam packed and Matthew read through his Bible. I knew then what he was up to.
“Here, Sam!” I tossed him a couple of bottles. “Stow those away, you’ll wish you had ‘em later.”
“Yep.” He commented, catching them and stuffing them into his bag. I stuffed my own away and returned to sit at the table where Matthew was already. I beckoned Sam over too after he was done cramming things into his pack.
“Alright guys, listen up!” Matthew said aloud, when we both were seated, though Sam still had little idea what we were doing, I believe. “Time for a little devotion.”
I sat where I could keep my eye on the other two from where I was. If they heard us (which I’m sure they did), they made no response or even slowed in their work. Going about their own good business without a care in the world for what we were doing. I shrugged.
Matthew, after getting no response, settled down to the table and opened his Bible to a particular book. “I was actually thinking guys, about a passage in Hebrews this morning, which is a great book in itself. Need to study it more.”
I listened. Unfortunately Hebrews is one of the New Testament books I’m not too familiar with. I knew all about Romans, chapter to chapter, and Galatians I had studied over so many times I was basic theology for me. Titus, Timothy, James, Luke, and Philippians I had a good deal of experience in. And even Revelation, to an extent. But Hebrews I did not know. Something I seriously need to fix.
“Anyway, I was looking at a couple of places in there, chapters 7 and 8.” Sam hadn’t brought his Bible, so I shared mine with him as we followed Matthew. “There it talks mostly about how Christ, as our new high priest, doesn’t come from the traditional Israel priesthood but comes as a high priest from the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a priest long before Moses and Israel the nation, long before the Law, and so his priesthood supersedes that of Israel’s through the promises from long before. Just as Christ and the Gospel supersedes the Law, Christ’s priesthood supersedes Israel’s priesthood.”
My brow furrowed. “Melchizedek. I’ve heard a lot of that name but I know little about it. Who was he?”
“He was a priest long before Moses, back in Abraham’s time.” Matthew looked up from his reading. “A priest for Abraham. The idea behind him is that Christ comes from him and not from the Levitical line of priests in Israel, in terms of priestly authority.”
“Ah.” I nodded. Matthew went on to read.
“‘If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, 16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 17 For he testifieth, Thou a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. 18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope; by the which we draw nigh unto God. 20 And inasmuch as not without an oath: 21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) 22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better covenant.’” -Hebrews 7:11-22
“And here, in chapter 8,
‘Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God, ‘See’, He says, ‘That you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.’”
“But now, He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.” -Hebrews 8:1-6
We paused. If Josh and Henry had heard and understood, they didn’t show it. They continued packing. Matthew went on.
“The main idea in these passages is just that Christ, who is above the order of the Levitical priesthood of Moses, serves as a high priest for us, in that He ‘mediates’ for us to God by His sacrifice on the Cross. The priesthood of Moses does us no good, and in fact, makes nothing perfect and brings about nothing of good, because it is a mere ‘shadow’ of the priesthood of Christ, which is like the book said, ‘based on better promises.’ In other words, Christ’s priesthood and the covenant we now stand under is the covenant of Abraham, NOT Moses. We aren’t subject to the Mosiac covenant because for one, we aren’t Jews, and for two, because we are of Abraham’s covenant which is greater and fulfilled in Christ. For ‘he believed God, and it was accounted to Him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:3)
I thought over this for a few minutes, pondering it. Trying to plant a seed in the minds of Josh and Henry left my mind for a moment. “Hmmm...so the fact is then, not that the Mosaic covenant under the Law was nullified, but rather, a greater covenant, one under the priesthood of Melchizedek and not Aaron, supersedes it?”
“Pretty much, yeah.” Matthew nodded. “That’s all I had to say.” He laughed. “Shall we pray?”
We left shortly afterward, nodding our thanks to the two who had let us use the shelter and shouldered our packs. I will say I was glad I didn’t have to crawl all the way back up the mountainside on the way back. In fact, you could say we cheated. We took a different route back towards the car that would force us to hike along the road for several miles, until we ran into a boy scout troupe leader, who was heading in that direction…in a truck. We gladly took his offer for a ride and made it back in record time.
As we left, pulling out of the park and with Nicole C. Mullens on the radio, we all generally congratulated ourselves on our incredible survival skills.
“ ‘Are you serious?’ were the first words out of his mouth, honestly!” We all laughed. The boy scout troupe leader had nearly told us to get lost when we asked for a ride, until he discovered that we were NOT boy scouts trying to cheat on a hike.
“Wonder how far those other two dudes have got.” I asked aloud, as we headed out the park gates.
“No clue man.” Sam commented.
Matthew was silent for a moment. “Let’s all pray for them quickly. And pray we planted a seed.”
I nodded. “Yes, let’s do that.”
I still remember to pray for them once in a while today, hoping that in fact we did plant a seed of truth in their lives. May God bless them wherever they are. Perhaps we did some good to two unknown travelers that day.
Monday, May 31, 2010
"Farewell!"
I'm going to interrupt my intended line of posts for something else, a little more important. Yeah I know, its random to have me post more than once a week, lazy as I am...but I feel this requires its own post. And I'll post it while its still very fresh in my mind.
Yesterday made up an interesting day. Interesting, isn't it, how it can only take a few minutes for something to happen (even something spectacular), and then those few minutes impact the rest of your life? Not to go off on a philosophical tangent.
You see, yesterday night, a man named Pastor Darrel Cline said his final farewell and goodbye to the church and people he had been teaching for nearly 7 years now, a long time in our minds even if not in the minds of others. Yesterday the pastor of my church, my mentor in all things biblical and spiritual, and one of my greatest friends left North Carolina to go to to deep south and retire for the last years of his life. Twas a very overwhelming, sad day.
That man, Pastor Darrel Cline, was quite an interesting character. Very down to earth, talkative, and with the air of an experienced veteran, Mr. Cline was a master at Bible exposition and teaching. Let me see...he was a man who had a slight disability in his back, that made it hard for him to walk properly, though he was hardly a large man. When he talked, he talked with a very distinct Texan drawl, being a native of that state. When he put on his overly large glasses to read some text or another, he looked like a cartoon character sometimes, which somehow fit into his corny sense of humor.
He was, without a doubt, a very intelligent man. Not only a pastor, he was half medical doctor and scientist, enjoying meddling in medicines and medical chemicals and had even preformed a few discoveries of health and sickness for his small congregation. Even still some of the medicines he used and manufactured himself are being studied and even used by the health-zealous members of the group.
He was also a master of mechanics, it being his greatest hobby. Nearly anything that ran with an engine or motor he could meddle with. Not necessarily fix, and I suspect he sometimes left things broken just so that he could have the fun of opening them up and taking them apart. Nevertheless, he was a master of many skills. He had read nearly any book you could think of, from theology to medicine to fiction. And he was always ready to tell you whether or not the book was any good. In his personal taste.
In other words, he was not as much an impressive man...as he was a friendly and surprising one. And one of the men I most highly respect of all my acquaintances.
When we joined that church five years ago, it was still a very young church. Not like it isn't now, but younger even. When several families in our area got together, either being new and moved in from other states of people that had stayed there many years, those people discovered a sad fact: That even though there are more churches in our region than most any other region on the East Coast...not one of them (that they found or went to) taught solid, Scriptural doctrine and true Bible teaching. From the mega churches to the traditional Baptists, not a single. Solitary. One. Saddening, isn't it?
So they did the next best thing. These families, almost all of which I know as dear friends, organized themselves into their own small house church, or sorts, with one major idea in mind: That they would found a church on the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing BUT the Bible. Regardless of all else, they would adhere to Scripture and most certainly have a pastor who taught nothing but Scripture, and well.
I'm still a little vague as to how they found Mr. Darrel Cline, and even what in all of God's good Creation made him accept the offer and move all the way up here to teach a random bunch of unorganized, entirely clueless families. But he did. And it was about that time, shortly after they were formed and still meeting in various community centers, that we joined that church.
I believe I was saved before we joined, and when we attended another church I certainly believed in Jesus Christ and 'all of that.' But like at nearly all the churches here...there was no growth. No real solid teaching, and increasing in God's knowledge and faith. So when I actually stopped being an idiot around age 14 and started really paying attention to what the old man on the stool was saying, I started growing up. I was amazed the first time I heard real Bible exposition. Why wasn't this in EVERY church?! At any rate, for five years I have studied directly or indirectly under him.
There is one thing you have to know about me, or probably already do: I am a Bible student. And unlike the other things I do, a "sort-of-kind-of-fiction writer" or a "sort-of half-good musician," I AM a Bible student and scholar. Period. If there is nothing else I do, no other knowledge or skills I acquire, I mean to learn how to teach and study and understand Scripture, and teach others to do the same. I don't know what that will mean for the rest of my life...I don't know if I'm to be a pastor or not. But I am a Bible teacher. And that goes much deeper than any fiction writing fancies or musical talent.
For five years I sat in church, at bible studies, and went to church outings like picnics and fellowships and had the pleasure of just being in his company and listening to him talk about some Bible topic, car engines, garden growing, politics, whatever the case had been. For two of those years I was his direct student, when he spent two years to teach me and three other boys of the church how to read and translate Hellenistic Greek and the New Testament. And as always with him, there was no way we could translate it without him stopping every few minutes to explain the meaning and spiritual content of the passages to us. As his Greek and theology student for two years, I learned much.
But he taught me himself the most important thing I know to this day, and the one thing I hope to build any Bible teaching career that I start on. He taught me the most important thing about the Scriptures for today's believers.
He told me NEVER to rely on another man's word or interpretation of the Bible. Never should we have to go to any other man to know the truth or be forced to rely on any other man to know the Bible.
He told me it is our duty, our responsibility, and our great privilege to each of us rely only on our own Bibles in our own hands to know the truth. Everyone need only look into one's own Bible to learn the truth for himself, and never have to rely on someone else's interpretation of it. I'm sorry for all you Catholics, but that's just how it is.
I didn't get to say as much as I would've liked when he left. Honestly I was a bit overwhelmed at the time, not with that, but with my good friend's baptism on the same day, and by my official graduation. However just before he left I did get to say a few words. As he prepared to leave every member of the congregation was shaking his hand and the hand of his wife. Once he nearly got mobbed by the church children, soaking wet from the swimming pool, each trying to hug him before he left. I smiled. I was surprised that even they would miss him.
When he got around to me, I extended my hand and took his, shaking his heartily.
"Goodbye, and thank you sir." I said quickly. The time was pressing, and he only had a few more minutes.
"Alex, take care! Ah, its alright. Your welcome." I believe he was a little overwhelmed and his mind still whirling through all the goodbyes as well. He had decided that it was God's will for him to leave that church and go help another congregation down in Louisiana, so though he was ready to go...he still was also sad to leave also. But God's will be done.
"You've taught me a lot in the past five years. Thank you, God bless you." I smiled faintly, and before he could reply, he had to leave. I'm sure he left early this morning and is halfway there by now.
He is an old man, or an elderly one. Nearing his seventies and rather attached to the deep south where he came from, he made it clear he was going to stay there until he died. In other words, my good, excellent, respected friend and teacher is not coming back. I doubt I will see him again this side of heaven. But eventually I shall see my teacher again. Of that I am sure.
Now, after the goodbyes and farewells, our church is faced with a new stage of life and new problems. There is only two elders remaining in our church now, and somehow we're going to have to find another good Bible teacher to take up the position. Though both of our elders are good, godly, Christian men, neither of them have a very good gift in the way of Bible exposition. And they both know it. We're going to need a new pastor, and beyond that, we're going to have to keep the congregation together while we look. Already many of those who came to our church only to hear Pastor Cline teach will leave, and we still have a major project before us: Having our own church building. On top of that, with a new congregation, or rather a much smaller and more dedicated one, there's talk of reorganizing and reforming a little bit of how we do things. What bible studies to keep, which ones to continue, what activities to drop and which to start...there is a good deal of work to do in our church now. And our church is more than just a theological school and structure, here. It's part of our family. And obviously highly important. Without a church, we are only half good as Christian people. Without some regular fellowship, we're missing part of what it is to be believers in Christ.
And on that note, things will change for me personally. No longer can I have another man to help me with my Bible issues and passage exposition, and no longer do I have a teacher to correct my own Greek interpreting. Perhaps I relied too much on Pastor Darrel Cline, but whatever the case...from now on I need to step up my own learning, my own studying and exposition of Scripture, and from now on, I will do it mostly alone. In other words, I can't afford to make as many mistakes from here on out. Studies in the Bible will increase, as will (I hope, God willing) my fluency in Greek...and I'm considering whether now is a good time to start Hebrew studies or not. We shall see. One thing at a time.
Continue to pray for our church, if you will. God's will be done.
~Alex
Phil. 4:13
Yesterday made up an interesting day. Interesting, isn't it, how it can only take a few minutes for something to happen (even something spectacular), and then those few minutes impact the rest of your life? Not to go off on a philosophical tangent.
You see, yesterday night, a man named Pastor Darrel Cline said his final farewell and goodbye to the church and people he had been teaching for nearly 7 years now, a long time in our minds even if not in the minds of others. Yesterday the pastor of my church, my mentor in all things biblical and spiritual, and one of my greatest friends left North Carolina to go to to deep south and retire for the last years of his life. Twas a very overwhelming, sad day.
That man, Pastor Darrel Cline, was quite an interesting character. Very down to earth, talkative, and with the air of an experienced veteran, Mr. Cline was a master at Bible exposition and teaching. Let me see...he was a man who had a slight disability in his back, that made it hard for him to walk properly, though he was hardly a large man. When he talked, he talked with a very distinct Texan drawl, being a native of that state. When he put on his overly large glasses to read some text or another, he looked like a cartoon character sometimes, which somehow fit into his corny sense of humor.
He was, without a doubt, a very intelligent man. Not only a pastor, he was half medical doctor and scientist, enjoying meddling in medicines and medical chemicals and had even preformed a few discoveries of health and sickness for his small congregation. Even still some of the medicines he used and manufactured himself are being studied and even used by the health-zealous members of the group.
He was also a master of mechanics, it being his greatest hobby. Nearly anything that ran with an engine or motor he could meddle with. Not necessarily fix, and I suspect he sometimes left things broken just so that he could have the fun of opening them up and taking them apart. Nevertheless, he was a master of many skills. He had read nearly any book you could think of, from theology to medicine to fiction. And he was always ready to tell you whether or not the book was any good. In his personal taste.
In other words, he was not as much an impressive man...as he was a friendly and surprising one. And one of the men I most highly respect of all my acquaintances.
When we joined that church five years ago, it was still a very young church. Not like it isn't now, but younger even. When several families in our area got together, either being new and moved in from other states of people that had stayed there many years, those people discovered a sad fact: That even though there are more churches in our region than most any other region on the East Coast...not one of them (that they found or went to) taught solid, Scriptural doctrine and true Bible teaching. From the mega churches to the traditional Baptists, not a single. Solitary. One. Saddening, isn't it?
So they did the next best thing. These families, almost all of which I know as dear friends, organized themselves into their own small house church, or sorts, with one major idea in mind: That they would found a church on the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing BUT the Bible. Regardless of all else, they would adhere to Scripture and most certainly have a pastor who taught nothing but Scripture, and well.
I'm still a little vague as to how they found Mr. Darrel Cline, and even what in all of God's good Creation made him accept the offer and move all the way up here to teach a random bunch of unorganized, entirely clueless families. But he did. And it was about that time, shortly after they were formed and still meeting in various community centers, that we joined that church.
I believe I was saved before we joined, and when we attended another church I certainly believed in Jesus Christ and 'all of that.' But like at nearly all the churches here...there was no growth. No real solid teaching, and increasing in God's knowledge and faith. So when I actually stopped being an idiot around age 14 and started really paying attention to what the old man on the stool was saying, I started growing up. I was amazed the first time I heard real Bible exposition. Why wasn't this in EVERY church?! At any rate, for five years I have studied directly or indirectly under him.
There is one thing you have to know about me, or probably already do: I am a Bible student. And unlike the other things I do, a "sort-of-kind-of-fiction writer" or a "sort-of half-good musician," I AM a Bible student and scholar. Period. If there is nothing else I do, no other knowledge or skills I acquire, I mean to learn how to teach and study and understand Scripture, and teach others to do the same. I don't know what that will mean for the rest of my life...I don't know if I'm to be a pastor or not. But I am a Bible teacher. And that goes much deeper than any fiction writing fancies or musical talent.
For five years I sat in church, at bible studies, and went to church outings like picnics and fellowships and had the pleasure of just being in his company and listening to him talk about some Bible topic, car engines, garden growing, politics, whatever the case had been. For two of those years I was his direct student, when he spent two years to teach me and three other boys of the church how to read and translate Hellenistic Greek and the New Testament. And as always with him, there was no way we could translate it without him stopping every few minutes to explain the meaning and spiritual content of the passages to us. As his Greek and theology student for two years, I learned much.
But he taught me himself the most important thing I know to this day, and the one thing I hope to build any Bible teaching career that I start on. He taught me the most important thing about the Scriptures for today's believers.
He told me NEVER to rely on another man's word or interpretation of the Bible. Never should we have to go to any other man to know the truth or be forced to rely on any other man to know the Bible.
He told me it is our duty, our responsibility, and our great privilege to each of us rely only on our own Bibles in our own hands to know the truth. Everyone need only look into one's own Bible to learn the truth for himself, and never have to rely on someone else's interpretation of it. I'm sorry for all you Catholics, but that's just how it is.
I didn't get to say as much as I would've liked when he left. Honestly I was a bit overwhelmed at the time, not with that, but with my good friend's baptism on the same day, and by my official graduation. However just before he left I did get to say a few words. As he prepared to leave every member of the congregation was shaking his hand and the hand of his wife. Once he nearly got mobbed by the church children, soaking wet from the swimming pool, each trying to hug him before he left. I smiled. I was surprised that even they would miss him.
When he got around to me, I extended my hand and took his, shaking his heartily.
"Goodbye, and thank you sir." I said quickly. The time was pressing, and he only had a few more minutes.
"Alex, take care! Ah, its alright. Your welcome." I believe he was a little overwhelmed and his mind still whirling through all the goodbyes as well. He had decided that it was God's will for him to leave that church and go help another congregation down in Louisiana, so though he was ready to go...he still was also sad to leave also. But God's will be done.
"You've taught me a lot in the past five years. Thank you, God bless you." I smiled faintly, and before he could reply, he had to leave. I'm sure he left early this morning and is halfway there by now.
He is an old man, or an elderly one. Nearing his seventies and rather attached to the deep south where he came from, he made it clear he was going to stay there until he died. In other words, my good, excellent, respected friend and teacher is not coming back. I doubt I will see him again this side of heaven. But eventually I shall see my teacher again. Of that I am sure.
Now, after the goodbyes and farewells, our church is faced with a new stage of life and new problems. There is only two elders remaining in our church now, and somehow we're going to have to find another good Bible teacher to take up the position. Though both of our elders are good, godly, Christian men, neither of them have a very good gift in the way of Bible exposition. And they both know it. We're going to need a new pastor, and beyond that, we're going to have to keep the congregation together while we look. Already many of those who came to our church only to hear Pastor Cline teach will leave, and we still have a major project before us: Having our own church building. On top of that, with a new congregation, or rather a much smaller and more dedicated one, there's talk of reorganizing and reforming a little bit of how we do things. What bible studies to keep, which ones to continue, what activities to drop and which to start...there is a good deal of work to do in our church now. And our church is more than just a theological school and structure, here. It's part of our family. And obviously highly important. Without a church, we are only half good as Christian people. Without some regular fellowship, we're missing part of what it is to be believers in Christ.
And on that note, things will change for me personally. No longer can I have another man to help me with my Bible issues and passage exposition, and no longer do I have a teacher to correct my own Greek interpreting. Perhaps I relied too much on Pastor Darrel Cline, but whatever the case...from now on I need to step up my own learning, my own studying and exposition of Scripture, and from now on, I will do it mostly alone. In other words, I can't afford to make as many mistakes from here on out. Studies in the Bible will increase, as will (I hope, God willing) my fluency in Greek...and I'm considering whether now is a good time to start Hebrew studies or not. We shall see. One thing at a time.
Continue to pray for our church, if you will. God's will be done.
~Alex
Phil. 4:13
Thursday, May 27, 2010
In Which I Return From the Far South
...WELL, in case you didn't already guess, Alex decided to take a rather, eh, prolonged vacation last week and part of this week, traveling to the far reaches of South Carolina and Georgia to visit some old friends there. Not as though it's unusual for Alex to disappear from his blogs for long periods, but...it matters not! I am back, for those few who are interested!
...Much indeed has happened since I updated the world on my life, and in fact the past few weeks do seem like some kind of unreal dream. Having spent the past 8 months burying myself in schoolwork and studies, nearly locking myself away in my room with the schoolbooks like Brad Voeller, having an entire month of a break was both a beautiful relief...and painful. There is some truth to the old rumor that it can be just as hard to stop working and fighting, as to start and continue.
At any rate, there's no way I can tell you all even half of what has happened in the past few weeks in one post, so I'll start at the beginning and perhaps tell the story over a couple of posts. As opposed to Alex's usual ramblings on life, this might actually be interesting, don't worry.
But all in all, never fear! Even if this rambling blog bores you, rest assured, now that Alex is back, I have begun and picked up again all work in full! And in fact chances are high that over the next few months I won't be going anywhere, so I'll have no excuse for slacking. Spires of Savarica, Reborn Humanity, the Bible studies, AND this blog will once again be kept up fully!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks ago, though it seems much longer in the past, myself, Sam Herson, and Matthew made it to Grayson Highland State Park and Mount Rogers National in Virginia, after a long drive and much anticipation. Disappearing up into the mountains for a weekend for massive hiking, camping, and backpacking adventures was like a streak of incredible fortune for someone who had spent all winter behind a cold stack of books like myself, so as we wound our way up into the beautiful mountains and reached the park, the three of us were ready to test ourselves out on the trails. And indeed we did.
As we parked the car and jumped out, Matthew, the oldest one, the host of our trip, AND the driver (And thus the leader) quickly went over the maps and compass while me and Sam organized the various packs of equipment and supplies. Somehow we got organized and strapped on those packs (which we learned to despise three days later), and went to stand by Matthew and the map.
Looking over his shoulder, I glanced narrowly up at his darkened, gray eyed face before offering my doubts.
"We're going there?" I pointed.
"Yep, that's it!" He offered a smile, though I read some concerns in his countenance.
"That's at the bottom of the river, and less than two miles off."
"We can do two miles!" Sam offered with his usual energy, but that wasn't my point.
"Well yeah, but that's definitely not the Appalachian Trail! The hiking shelters are further up!"
Matthew glanced over and shot me a rather sarcastic, knowing look. "You wanna hike five and a half miles straight up those slopes in four hours, Alex?"
I shrugged. "It depends. Whatever you say, man."
"Alright then." Without further comment, he shouldered his pack. Being the expert camper, Matthew always had the best equipment and knew (mostly) what he was doing. Definitely more than we did, that was for sure.
Without further ado, the three of us professionals attacked the lower slopes of Mount Rogers of Virginia...and nearly killed ourselves on the first mile.
We journeyed down into some pretty looking wooded areas, cool and quiet, much like the foothills not far from my own home in fact. Streams and brooks flowed past, under the gathering clouds and shadows of the massive slopes towering over us.
On reaching the bottom of the falls, Matthew checked the map for us again while me and Sam studied the small river. "WE should be close!" He called back from his perch further up the rocks, and disappeared back onto the trail again. Scrambling after him, the two of us, the followers after the Master Camper, made it to the top and ran after him.
We reached a lower meadow where a lovely waterfall flowed down and created a stream surrounded by trees, where we three found the shelter marked on the map. I noted with interest that on the western horizon, beyond the towering peaks, dark clouds were gathering. Not a good sign. Good to be near a shelter.
Me and Sam were just coming out into the semi-clearing when Matthew's shout reached us, aimed at no one in particular but the map. "Are you serious?!" Exchanging worried glances, me and Sam picked up speed and reached the site, some distance ahead, where Matthew was fuming. We started likewise fuming.
The 'shelter' we probably big enough to be a large refrigerator, two walls and part of a ceiling, and probably big enough for one of us to fit in. Standing up.
"A rain shelter." I muttered, with a grim sigh. Sam nodded, never really one to lose his temper or ever get mad at anything that I knew of. Mostly.
Matthew growled. "Are you kidding me?"
"Dude, this is bad."
My comment got looks on both sides. "What you mean?" Sam asked.
"I mean there's no other shelter between here and the AT trails. Unless you guys want to sleep in the car for the night." I added sarcastically. That wasn't an option and they knew it.
"...They told me we could camp here!" Matthew fumed.
Sam laughed. "I bet they did."
I started thinking fast. Since we couldn't camp here and even hope to stay all three of us dry, there was two options: Go back to the car or family campgrounds, which would set us way off track, or go ahead and try to make the AT trail before sundown.
Make a guess which we did.
Correct.
After several reassurances, careful calculations, and a lot of refilled water bottles, we tackled the slopes of Mount Rogers, the highest point in Virginia, with a vigor. It had been decided after some heated debate that we would go all out: Attempt to make the AT trail, 6 miles up, in 3-4 hours of daylight. And to our credit, we did make it, I'm glad to say. Somehow we crawled up those slopes.
It was a brutal climb. Let no one deceive you, the first day of any long camping trip is always the worst. Not being used to tugging an extra 40 pounds apiece on our backs we huffed and growled and grit our teeth as we struggled up the rocky slopes and mountainsides. From now on I will honestly pity and sympathize with Frodo and Sam as they struggle up the slopes of Mount Doom.
Though when we took a break from our travels, panting for water, I will admit the landscape was beautiful. Breathtaking, in fact. It was lovely to look from high up and see the world spread out below you, with the dark and violent clouds somewhat mingled with sunlight and gentle, green slopes bordering darker green forests. Looked like Vantainian slopes, in fact. I made a mental note to add this state to my list of places to travel through and visit when I turned 18-19 and went on a nationwide adventure. After college, of course.
After we got past the lower rocks and steep slopes, coming out on the peaks and ridges above, the travels went well and easily. The pretty landscape reminded me of New Zealand almost, from what I knew of it, and all of us were pleased to reach the Appalachian Trail Shelter as the thunder began to rumble. Though we did have to share the shelter with a few other wayfarers, it wasn't bad at all. The night was pitch black, stormy and cold, though we stayed fairly warm and dry, reading our Bibles and books under Matthew's flashlight in the dark.
As I put away my Bible for the night, I looked up with interest half buried under various blankets to see what my two comrades were up to before I went to bed. Sam was already half asleep, and was in fact looking at his cell phone screen. I grinned wryly. There was no way that cell phone got service up here, at 6000 feet altitude, but...he was a texting addict, especially when it was his girlfriend that he was trying to text. Suppressing a chuckle I looked to Matthew, who was reading.
I glanced at the book he was reading. I nearly turned over and went to sleep...when the author's name caught my eye. I knew that name.
Joshua Harris.
I stopped immediately, and glanced again at the title. "Dug Down Deep," by Josh Harris. My brow furrowed.
"What's that?" I asked bluntly, nodding to the book.
Matthew looked up and smiled faintly. "Oh, just Harris' newest book, came out just a little bit ago. Very good, I like it a lot."
"Really?" As far as I knew, Josh Harris had written several books and all on the same subject almost, from dating and relationships to broader topics like marriage and purity. I wondered what he was working on now.
"What about?" I queried.
"Ah, it's about mostly how important it is for us as Christians to lay our foundations on orthodoxy and Scripture, as opposed to traditionalist and conservative beliefs." Matthew answered. My ears pricked up at that. That...sounded like something I would write a book about, nearly!
I nodded vigorously. "Ah, really? Now that sounds cool!"
"It really is!" Matthew went on, "So many Christians today just rely on traditions of churches or conservative doctrine, or even laying aside Scripture for...well, many things. In other words, religious morality and conservative tradition aren't good enough."
That sounded like my kind of truth. Dangerous and painfully true. He smiled in spite of myself. "I'm so going to have to get that book when I get home."
Interestingly, when Matthew wasn't reading it and we were taking breaks, I was. A beautiful work that everyone should read, too! I could name a few names, big and small, who prefer tradition and supposed morality over the knowledge of Scripture and God for foundations...but I won't rant tonight.
However, the trip wasn't over. The next day we made across the AT trails and headed for Thomas Jefferson National Reserve, where we ran into...some interesting people and events. I shall post later on the next (and much cooler) half of the adventure!
...Much indeed has happened since I updated the world on my life, and in fact the past few weeks do seem like some kind of unreal dream. Having spent the past 8 months burying myself in schoolwork and studies, nearly locking myself away in my room with the schoolbooks like Brad Voeller, having an entire month of a break was both a beautiful relief...and painful. There is some truth to the old rumor that it can be just as hard to stop working and fighting, as to start and continue.
At any rate, there's no way I can tell you all even half of what has happened in the past few weeks in one post, so I'll start at the beginning and perhaps tell the story over a couple of posts. As opposed to Alex's usual ramblings on life, this might actually be interesting, don't worry.
But all in all, never fear! Even if this rambling blog bores you, rest assured, now that Alex is back, I have begun and picked up again all work in full! And in fact chances are high that over the next few months I won't be going anywhere, so I'll have no excuse for slacking. Spires of Savarica, Reborn Humanity, the Bible studies, AND this blog will once again be kept up fully!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks ago, though it seems much longer in the past, myself, Sam Herson, and Matthew made it to Grayson Highland State Park and Mount Rogers National in Virginia, after a long drive and much anticipation. Disappearing up into the mountains for a weekend for massive hiking, camping, and backpacking adventures was like a streak of incredible fortune for someone who had spent all winter behind a cold stack of books like myself, so as we wound our way up into the beautiful mountains and reached the park, the three of us were ready to test ourselves out on the trails. And indeed we did.
As we parked the car and jumped out, Matthew, the oldest one, the host of our trip, AND the driver (And thus the leader) quickly went over the maps and compass while me and Sam organized the various packs of equipment and supplies. Somehow we got organized and strapped on those packs (which we learned to despise three days later), and went to stand by Matthew and the map.
Looking over his shoulder, I glanced narrowly up at his darkened, gray eyed face before offering my doubts.
"We're going there?" I pointed.
"Yep, that's it!" He offered a smile, though I read some concerns in his countenance.
"That's at the bottom of the river, and less than two miles off."
"We can do two miles!" Sam offered with his usual energy, but that wasn't my point.
"Well yeah, but that's definitely not the Appalachian Trail! The hiking shelters are further up!"
Matthew glanced over and shot me a rather sarcastic, knowing look. "You wanna hike five and a half miles straight up those slopes in four hours, Alex?"
I shrugged. "It depends. Whatever you say, man."
"Alright then." Without further comment, he shouldered his pack. Being the expert camper, Matthew always had the best equipment and knew (mostly) what he was doing. Definitely more than we did, that was for sure.
Without further ado, the three of us professionals attacked the lower slopes of Mount Rogers of Virginia...and nearly killed ourselves on the first mile.
We journeyed down into some pretty looking wooded areas, cool and quiet, much like the foothills not far from my own home in fact. Streams and brooks flowed past, under the gathering clouds and shadows of the massive slopes towering over us.
On reaching the bottom of the falls, Matthew checked the map for us again while me and Sam studied the small river. "WE should be close!" He called back from his perch further up the rocks, and disappeared back onto the trail again. Scrambling after him, the two of us, the followers after the Master Camper, made it to the top and ran after him.
We reached a lower meadow where a lovely waterfall flowed down and created a stream surrounded by trees, where we three found the shelter marked on the map. I noted with interest that on the western horizon, beyond the towering peaks, dark clouds were gathering. Not a good sign. Good to be near a shelter.
Me and Sam were just coming out into the semi-clearing when Matthew's shout reached us, aimed at no one in particular but the map. "Are you serious?!" Exchanging worried glances, me and Sam picked up speed and reached the site, some distance ahead, where Matthew was fuming. We started likewise fuming.
The 'shelter' we probably big enough to be a large refrigerator, two walls and part of a ceiling, and probably big enough for one of us to fit in. Standing up.
"A rain shelter." I muttered, with a grim sigh. Sam nodded, never really one to lose his temper or ever get mad at anything that I knew of. Mostly.
Matthew growled. "Are you kidding me?"
"Dude, this is bad."
My comment got looks on both sides. "What you mean?" Sam asked.
"I mean there's no other shelter between here and the AT trails. Unless you guys want to sleep in the car for the night." I added sarcastically. That wasn't an option and they knew it.
"...They told me we could camp here!" Matthew fumed.
Sam laughed. "I bet they did."
I started thinking fast. Since we couldn't camp here and even hope to stay all three of us dry, there was two options: Go back to the car or family campgrounds, which would set us way off track, or go ahead and try to make the AT trail before sundown.
Make a guess which we did.
Correct.
After several reassurances, careful calculations, and a lot of refilled water bottles, we tackled the slopes of Mount Rogers, the highest point in Virginia, with a vigor. It had been decided after some heated debate that we would go all out: Attempt to make the AT trail, 6 miles up, in 3-4 hours of daylight. And to our credit, we did make it, I'm glad to say. Somehow we crawled up those slopes.
It was a brutal climb. Let no one deceive you, the first day of any long camping trip is always the worst. Not being used to tugging an extra 40 pounds apiece on our backs we huffed and growled and grit our teeth as we struggled up the rocky slopes and mountainsides. From now on I will honestly pity and sympathize with Frodo and Sam as they struggle up the slopes of Mount Doom.
Though when we took a break from our travels, panting for water, I will admit the landscape was beautiful. Breathtaking, in fact. It was lovely to look from high up and see the world spread out below you, with the dark and violent clouds somewhat mingled with sunlight and gentle, green slopes bordering darker green forests. Looked like Vantainian slopes, in fact. I made a mental note to add this state to my list of places to travel through and visit when I turned 18-19 and went on a nationwide adventure. After college, of course.
After we got past the lower rocks and steep slopes, coming out on the peaks and ridges above, the travels went well and easily. The pretty landscape reminded me of New Zealand almost, from what I knew of it, and all of us were pleased to reach the Appalachian Trail Shelter as the thunder began to rumble. Though we did have to share the shelter with a few other wayfarers, it wasn't bad at all. The night was pitch black, stormy and cold, though we stayed fairly warm and dry, reading our Bibles and books under Matthew's flashlight in the dark.
As I put away my Bible for the night, I looked up with interest half buried under various blankets to see what my two comrades were up to before I went to bed. Sam was already half asleep, and was in fact looking at his cell phone screen. I grinned wryly. There was no way that cell phone got service up here, at 6000 feet altitude, but...he was a texting addict, especially when it was his girlfriend that he was trying to text. Suppressing a chuckle I looked to Matthew, who was reading.
I glanced at the book he was reading. I nearly turned over and went to sleep...when the author's name caught my eye. I knew that name.
Joshua Harris.
I stopped immediately, and glanced again at the title. "Dug Down Deep," by Josh Harris. My brow furrowed.
"What's that?" I asked bluntly, nodding to the book.
Matthew looked up and smiled faintly. "Oh, just Harris' newest book, came out just a little bit ago. Very good, I like it a lot."
"Really?" As far as I knew, Josh Harris had written several books and all on the same subject almost, from dating and relationships to broader topics like marriage and purity. I wondered what he was working on now.
"What about?" I queried.
"Ah, it's about mostly how important it is for us as Christians to lay our foundations on orthodoxy and Scripture, as opposed to traditionalist and conservative beliefs." Matthew answered. My ears pricked up at that. That...sounded like something I would write a book about, nearly!
I nodded vigorously. "Ah, really? Now that sounds cool!"
"It really is!" Matthew went on, "So many Christians today just rely on traditions of churches or conservative doctrine, or even laying aside Scripture for...well, many things. In other words, religious morality and conservative tradition aren't good enough."
That sounded like my kind of truth. Dangerous and painfully true. He smiled in spite of myself. "I'm so going to have to get that book when I get home."
Interestingly, when Matthew wasn't reading it and we were taking breaks, I was. A beautiful work that everyone should read, too! I could name a few names, big and small, who prefer tradition and supposed morality over the knowledge of Scripture and God for foundations...but I won't rant tonight.
However, the trip wasn't over. The next day we made across the AT trails and headed for Thomas Jefferson National Reserve, where we ran into...some interesting people and events. I shall post later on the next (and much cooler) half of the adventure!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Colossians 1:15-20
n the last study we did in verses 10 through 15, we learned several majorly important facts. A quick recap to bring them back to mind.
In verses 10-12, Paul told us much of the results of putting our trust in Christ and then increasing in His knowledge, which leads to several things and ultimately, after death, perfection. It’s important to note here that the Gospel that we believe in isn’t about happiness for human beings. It’s about righteousness for human beings. Our relationship with God and Christ certainly does make us happy and fulfilled, but of foremost importance is righteousness before God and the removal of black sin.
Back on topic, Paul goes on in the next paragraph to tell us of our transferring from Satan’s kingdom of darkness to Christ’s kingdom of light. And this, accomplished through Christ Himself and His death, by his transferring of sin from us to Him. Blessed be His precious name for it! Finally, Paul prepares to launch into some words about God and Creation, and His relationship to it. Which we’re to study…now!
Let’s take a look at Colossians 1:16-20:
“For by Him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
The beginning of this seems a very simple, blunt statement. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” -Genesis 1:1. There are some who believe that the world came about by a supposed theory called “Evolution,” the only vaguely god-less way to explain the world around us without a God. However, in all seriousness and without exaggerating in the least, I cannot think of a more cracked, lost, confused and entirely unproved theory than that of Evolution. One piece of solid proof has yet to be furnished in defense of that theory, while the mountains of proof that evidence a God-made earth continue to pile up. It takes blind faith indeed to believe foolishness.
That being said, God is the Master and Creator of all heaven and earth, both the visible and invisible aspects of both. Though we see some aspects of the heavens visibly, such as the sky, or the further areas of space, most of what we would call ‘heaven’ is invisible. I personally find it intriguing just how much of our world really IS invisible, and I’m not just talking about microscopic organisms here. For example, both heaven and Hell are invisible to us here on earth, like anything that exists merely in soul and spirit really is. However, the vast majority of the population of the universes exists in one of two places…and probably the majority of those souls, in Hell. The ranks of the angels, the hordes of the demons, the prince of the demons, the spirits of evil and angels…all of this vastly outnumbering our own little 6 billion planet and all invisible.
And therefore, all of it created by an invisible God. At least, invisible to our bodily eyes. C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest Theologians of our time, put it this way. He believed, in theory, that it’s not so much that the spiritual world is ‘hiding’ from us, but rather, our physical, bodily eyes are too, well, physical. “Low-tuned,” “Slow,” “inferior,” are all decent enough words to use. The spiritual world is the REAL world, whereas the physical world is merely a passing shadow. More of this can be found in 1st Corinthians 15:45-55. I highly recommend looking it up for more depth on this.
“Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him.” Pretty self-explanatory. The thrones of the kinds and their places, the lands they rule, the very rulers themselves are all created by God, and FOR God. As we all know, our end result should be to ultimately glorify Him, and the entire of Creation is going to be brought to this. We as humans beings, and all the rest of Creation is ‘geared’ for that one object. This is something I believe we all, myself included most of all, should bear in mind more often. Though we can and do achieve great reward and benefit by striving to glorify Him now and further His kingdom, remember: The end result in inevitable. It’s going to happen, period. And probably very soon. We WILL glorify Him in the end, in some form or another, indirectly or directly, and all Creation will also be to His glory forever and ever, amen. Even the very souls in Hell will indirectly glorify Him, by testifying to his justice and righteous judgment, whether they like it or not.
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;”
Obviously also God is before and above all things, the first and the last. He is indeed the beginning of all and the end of all, and He will always be so. In fact, as Paul aptly states next, all of Creation is held together by Him, and without Him, none of this would exist. This flies in the face of a older theory called “Deism,” that believes God merely created the earth, and then left it to spin on its own, or tick away like a watch you leave alone on your desk. Our universe requires CONSTANT empowering and supervision from God, His constant life being continually poured into it, to keep it held together.
‘He is also the head of the body, the church.’ Sound familiar?
“For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.” -Ephesians 5:22-24
“…but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” -Ephesians 4:15-16
We are the church, that is, those of us who believe in the Gospel and Jesus Christ as the savior from sins. The church of God, also called the Bride of Christ (a MASSIVE side study in itself!), will be made up of all the human beings who are saved on this earth. Naturally then, Christ is the head of that church, the Leader, the Founder, the Maker and Designer of it. And this goes much deeper than any husband-wife relationship, in fact, probably far beyond. Though they are both very similar relationships, in fact made to be so, Christ being the groom and head of His Church and its Creator.
Furthermore, Christ is also the beginning of the resurrection from the dead and from Hell, the firstborn of God that was also the first to return from the dead, and thus the beginning and an entirely new age and covenant between man and God. This is only natural, since it is the Father’s will to give Him a Name above all names, and a place above all places, the ‘firstborn’ of all.
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
This is an interesting passage. Here Paul states that it was God’s good pleasure for all fulness to literally dwell ‘IN Him’ (emphasis added). On this, I am actually not sure what it means. It could mean a couple of things, and the idea interests me. It could be referring to the fact that God does really exist in His Son since Christ is the exact copy in personality and virtue, if you will, of His Father. However, it could also be referring to the fact that God dwelt IN Christ literally when He was here on Earth, in human form. I’m not sure. Check me on it!
And of course, God, through Christ, has reconciled all things to Himself, that being the earth and its sins. This does not mean that everyone will go to heaven or that God reconciled ALL men to Himself, sadly. He HAS made peace with us, fallen humanity, through the blood that was so horrible shed on Christ’s cross, as Paul says, but this doesn’t imply that literally all men will be saved. It does, however, mean that since God’s righteous wrath and justice has been satisfied, He no longer has to hold a man’s sins against Him…except for one. That what is that ONE thing that God will ask us on Judgment Day? The all-important question. “Did you believe in My Son, or not?” It’s a yes or no question, and that indeed will be the really only defining thing for all eternity when all is said and done. God has reconciled all things to Himself, but even still, if we reject the reconciliation, it will be pointless, and really leave God little choice but to throw us into judgment. Finally, this doesn’t just to apply to humanity, as Paul states at the end. Both heaven and earth will be held to this fact, and all heaven and earth has been reconciled to Him through His Son’s death.
Wow, another long study! Questions? Comments?
~Alex
Phil. 4:13
In verses 10-12, Paul told us much of the results of putting our trust in Christ and then increasing in His knowledge, which leads to several things and ultimately, after death, perfection. It’s important to note here that the Gospel that we believe in isn’t about happiness for human beings. It’s about righteousness for human beings. Our relationship with God and Christ certainly does make us happy and fulfilled, but of foremost importance is righteousness before God and the removal of black sin.
Back on topic, Paul goes on in the next paragraph to tell us of our transferring from Satan’s kingdom of darkness to Christ’s kingdom of light. And this, accomplished through Christ Himself and His death, by his transferring of sin from us to Him. Blessed be His precious name for it! Finally, Paul prepares to launch into some words about God and Creation, and His relationship to it. Which we’re to study…now!
Let’s take a look at Colossians 1:16-20:
“For by Him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
The beginning of this seems a very simple, blunt statement. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” -Genesis 1:1. There are some who believe that the world came about by a supposed theory called “Evolution,” the only vaguely god-less way to explain the world around us without a God. However, in all seriousness and without exaggerating in the least, I cannot think of a more cracked, lost, confused and entirely unproved theory than that of Evolution. One piece of solid proof has yet to be furnished in defense of that theory, while the mountains of proof that evidence a God-made earth continue to pile up. It takes blind faith indeed to believe foolishness.
That being said, God is the Master and Creator of all heaven and earth, both the visible and invisible aspects of both. Though we see some aspects of the heavens visibly, such as the sky, or the further areas of space, most of what we would call ‘heaven’ is invisible. I personally find it intriguing just how much of our world really IS invisible, and I’m not just talking about microscopic organisms here. For example, both heaven and Hell are invisible to us here on earth, like anything that exists merely in soul and spirit really is. However, the vast majority of the population of the universes exists in one of two places…and probably the majority of those souls, in Hell. The ranks of the angels, the hordes of the demons, the prince of the demons, the spirits of evil and angels…all of this vastly outnumbering our own little 6 billion planet and all invisible.
And therefore, all of it created by an invisible God. At least, invisible to our bodily eyes. C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest Theologians of our time, put it this way. He believed, in theory, that it’s not so much that the spiritual world is ‘hiding’ from us, but rather, our physical, bodily eyes are too, well, physical. “Low-tuned,” “Slow,” “inferior,” are all decent enough words to use. The spiritual world is the REAL world, whereas the physical world is merely a passing shadow. More of this can be found in 1st Corinthians 15:45-55. I highly recommend looking it up for more depth on this.
“Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him.” Pretty self-explanatory. The thrones of the kinds and their places, the lands they rule, the very rulers themselves are all created by God, and FOR God. As we all know, our end result should be to ultimately glorify Him, and the entire of Creation is going to be brought to this. We as humans beings, and all the rest of Creation is ‘geared’ for that one object. This is something I believe we all, myself included most of all, should bear in mind more often. Though we can and do achieve great reward and benefit by striving to glorify Him now and further His kingdom, remember: The end result in inevitable. It’s going to happen, period. And probably very soon. We WILL glorify Him in the end, in some form or another, indirectly or directly, and all Creation will also be to His glory forever and ever, amen. Even the very souls in Hell will indirectly glorify Him, by testifying to his justice and righteous judgment, whether they like it or not.
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;”
Obviously also God is before and above all things, the first and the last. He is indeed the beginning of all and the end of all, and He will always be so. In fact, as Paul aptly states next, all of Creation is held together by Him, and without Him, none of this would exist. This flies in the face of a older theory called “Deism,” that believes God merely created the earth, and then left it to spin on its own, or tick away like a watch you leave alone on your desk. Our universe requires CONSTANT empowering and supervision from God, His constant life being continually poured into it, to keep it held together.
‘He is also the head of the body, the church.’ Sound familiar?
“For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.” -Ephesians 5:22-24
“…but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” -Ephesians 4:15-16
We are the church, that is, those of us who believe in the Gospel and Jesus Christ as the savior from sins. The church of God, also called the Bride of Christ (a MASSIVE side study in itself!), will be made up of all the human beings who are saved on this earth. Naturally then, Christ is the head of that church, the Leader, the Founder, the Maker and Designer of it. And this goes much deeper than any husband-wife relationship, in fact, probably far beyond. Though they are both very similar relationships, in fact made to be so, Christ being the groom and head of His Church and its Creator.
Furthermore, Christ is also the beginning of the resurrection from the dead and from Hell, the firstborn of God that was also the first to return from the dead, and thus the beginning and an entirely new age and covenant between man and God. This is only natural, since it is the Father’s will to give Him a Name above all names, and a place above all places, the ‘firstborn’ of all.
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
This is an interesting passage. Here Paul states that it was God’s good pleasure for all fulness to literally dwell ‘IN Him’ (emphasis added). On this, I am actually not sure what it means. It could mean a couple of things, and the idea interests me. It could be referring to the fact that God does really exist in His Son since Christ is the exact copy in personality and virtue, if you will, of His Father. However, it could also be referring to the fact that God dwelt IN Christ literally when He was here on Earth, in human form. I’m not sure. Check me on it!
And of course, God, through Christ, has reconciled all things to Himself, that being the earth and its sins. This does not mean that everyone will go to heaven or that God reconciled ALL men to Himself, sadly. He HAS made peace with us, fallen humanity, through the blood that was so horrible shed on Christ’s cross, as Paul says, but this doesn’t imply that literally all men will be saved. It does, however, mean that since God’s righteous wrath and justice has been satisfied, He no longer has to hold a man’s sins against Him…except for one. That what is that ONE thing that God will ask us on Judgment Day? The all-important question. “Did you believe in My Son, or not?” It’s a yes or no question, and that indeed will be the really only defining thing for all eternity when all is said and done. God has reconciled all things to Himself, but even still, if we reject the reconciliation, it will be pointless, and really leave God little choice but to throw us into judgment. Finally, this doesn’t just to apply to humanity, as Paul states at the end. Both heaven and earth will be held to this fact, and all heaven and earth has been reconciled to Him through His Son’s death.
Wow, another long study! Questions? Comments?
~Alex
Phil. 4:13
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)