faith for faith

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:14-16).

God granted me the grace of watching the testimony of a converted Muslim today, and in it he made quite a profound statement. Roughly it was this, “Can a man become a God? No, he certainly cannot, for how can a weak and finite being take on the almighty and the infinite? But can an almighty, all-powerful God who can do anything become a man? Yes, he certainly can, for he can do all things, and he did so in Jesus Christ.” What this man now knows, by the grace of God, is what the apostle John testifies to in this glorious section of Scripture, namely that the Almighty clothed himself in weakness, the Majestic One arrayed in splendor clothed himself in shame, the One who dwells in the heavenlies became a homeless man, and the King of the Universe took on the form of the lowliest servant. The Lion of the tribe of Judah became the Lamb of Calvary.

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The true light, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:9-13).

In this section of John’s Gospel, we see that the apostle is already defining and clarifying some terms that he is going to be using throughout his Gospel. And the apostle is not shy about his usage of terms, and he uses them in such a way that, though they can be interpreted different ways when standing on their own, they can only have one interpretation in their context.

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It has now been a little over a year since we first thought of beginning our Journey to Unindebtedness, and I have to say that it has been the most challenging year of my life, and I’ve little doubt that my wife would not say the same. It has been trying and complex, but, through it all, we cannot help but to have seen the sovereign hand of good and gracious God through it all. Even so, living life from day to day has been constant challenge to our faith and consequently to our godliness, and dealing with the struggles that seem to come up constantly can easily blind us to the Reality that encompasses it all. It is for us, as it were, a missing of the forest for the trees.

And while we must live our lives from day-to-day and direct each one toward the glory of God, it is of utmost importance to live a life of reflection upon the goodness of our God in Christ. For in not doing so (to which I can readily testify), we effortlessly fall into fits of grumbling and disbelief, much like the Israelites of old who grumbled against the God who for them parted the Red Sea. Therefore, this post is for me a reflection upon these things, and it also a much needed update in the series that I hope will be of some edification to you and your strivings for Christ-likeness.

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No man can work his way to God, for, “No one does good, not even one,” and no one can will his way to God, for, “No one understands, no one seeks for God.” It is for this reason that the apostle writes later in the Epistle to the Romans, “So then, [salvation] depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy” (v. 9:16), and why he quotes the prophet Isaiah later in that same chapter concerning Israel, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah” (v. 9:29).

The Good News is that God has not left us to ourselves. For Paul declares in Romans 5 that that same Offspring that preserved the life and the holiness of ancient Israel has come into the world as the Second Adam–the second head of the human race–and where the first Adam failed, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, succeeded. Where the first Adam brought judgment into the world, the Second Adam–Jesus Christ brought justification into the world. Where the first Adam brought the reign of death, the Second Adam–Jesus Christ brought the reign of righteousness unto eternal life. Where the first Adam was disobedient, the Second Adam–Jesus Christ was obedient. Where the first Adam brought the condemnation of the law, the Second Adam–Jesus Christ brought the abundance of grace.

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For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned (Rm. 12:3).

The foundation of humility is a right understanding of who we are in light of what God has given to us. As regards our salvation, we must recognize that we, like the rest of mankind, were once dead in our own transgressions and were by our choice enemies of God, but God, being rich in mercy toward us, has borne our transgressions in the person of Jesus Christ and has revealed himself to us by the Holy Spirit. We have no basis upon which to boast in our salvation, for our salvation was completely accomplished without us, and love and mercy were directed toward us even before the creation of the world (cf. Eph. 1:6). We did not choose God, but God chose us, so that in all things, especially in our salvation, he might receive glory and honor and that we might glorify him with humility.

This humility that we are to have extends beyond our salvation into our place in the body of Christ. For even among those who are God’s children through Jesus Christ, he assigns to each a measure of faith so that each of them might perform a different function within the body. The apostle Paul continues in Rm. 12:4 with the analogy that the church is like a human body, and each member in the church performs a particular function. And, as in the human body, some members perform seemingly more crucial roles than others. However, a member’s role within the body is not determined by his ambition or his hard work, but it is determined by God who assigns to each a different measure of faith in order that there might be diversity of function within the body.

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Yesterday, we spoke in length on how the death of Christ afforded mercy for the world. This mercy has been manifested and is presently manifested in the staying of God’s hand from striking down every human on the planet in immediate judgment. Because of this we said, repeating Scripture’s declarations, that one facet of Christ’s work on the cross was a propitiatory one, i.e. one that turns aside the wrath of God for a time. We looked at this particularly in God’s covenant with Noah following the Great Flood and how such a covenant necessitates a Propitiator and how Noah’s sacrifice was a foreshadowing and an anticipation of him who is the true Sacrifice and Offering for humanity.

This propitiatory work of Christ for humanity is indeed gracious and merciful on its own accord. The fact that God gives the children of Adam a reprieve from their deserved and ultimate damnation is a mercy that should be incomprehensible to any reasonable heart, and yet Christ’s work on the cross for humanity did not end with its propitiation for humanity.

To understand this second aspect of Christ’s work, we must understand the nature and desserts of all men. We learn in Scripture that all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and that no man is righteous on his own accord (Rom. 3:23, etc.). We are also told in Scripture that every person is guilty before God, not only for the evil deeds that flow from his evil heart, but because of the imputation of Adam’s sin to his children (cf. Rom. 5:12-21). All men therefore, because of their father’s deed and their own wicked deeds, are doubly guilty before God and deserve evil continually.

In spite of the wickedness of men, Scripture teaches that the rain of blessing falls on the just and the unjust from the hand of a loving and gracious God (cf. Matt. 5:45). All men, regardless of their self-righteousness or wickedness, enjoy an amount of blessings while they live upon the earth. All, despite their relationship to Christ, breathe the air that God has provided for the world, give and are given in marriage, enjoy children and grandchildren, are given food for their sustenance and shelter for their protection.

All of these good things that God grants to all people are a gift through Christ and his blood, for it is through his blood that the immediate wrath of God is removed from mankind so that they might live and it is through his blood that these aforementioned gifts are granted to men while they live. And because of his death, Christ has been granted the name above names and is exalted above all things so that in all things he is preeminent and in him all things, including the unregenerate and regenerate, are held together and sustained (cf. Col. 1:15-20).

This goodness of God in Christ in spite of humanity’s wickedness is revealed apart from Scripture in the testimony of Nature, and therefore all humanity is aware of the mercy and goodness of God. The Apostle writes concerning this general awareness in his Epistle to the Romans:

For what can be know about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him (vv. 1:19-21).

Though God has revealed his goodness to all men, they do not give thanks to him for it and thereby condemn themselves further for their ingratitude.

Therefore Christ is for the world the fount head of mercy and blessing, for in his death he temporarily withholds the Divine Judgment and also extends to all common blessings and enjoyments in this age. Tomorrow we will look at redemptive aspect of Christ’s work on the cross.

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

When Haley and I were on our honeymoon in St. Lucia, we decided to try out a free snorkeling trip. Whilst we were snorkeling, I decided (for some reason) to touch a rock that was underwater in the reef, and I found myself reflexively withdrawing my hand just as quickly as I had placed it upon the rock. I swam to the surface, looked at my left hand, and saw that one of my fingers was bleeding and had on it what appeared to be three black specks. Those specks were in fact imbedded splinters from whatever was on the rock that I touched. Being away from home and away from my “home surgery kit,” I had to deal with the splinters for the rest of our honeymoon, and they were quite painful.

After getting back to the States, one of the first things that I did when I got home was attempt to remove the splinters from my aching finger. I successfully removed the first two, pulling out the entire splinter with a pin, a knife, and a set a tweezers. The last splinter proved to be more difficult, and it broke while I was trying to remove it. The small piece that remained in my finger imbedded itself further and finally proved itself impossible to remove. Two years later and after several bloody attempts to remove it, my honeymoon splinter is still with me. Since then the constant pain has subsided, and most times I forget that it is there. But every so often, I will grip something in particular way or push against something at the just the right angle, and I will feel an unbearably sharp pain travel from the tip of that finger and up my left arm, reminding me that my splinter friend is still with me after all this time.

For this reason, when I read Paul’s account of his thorn in his flesh in 2 Corinthians 12, I, either rightly or wrongly, think it comparable with the splinter in my own finger. In light of the context and my experience, I do not think Paul’s thorn was something that struck him with pain constantly, but that it was something that struck him with pain when he needed it. According to the text, the thorn was given to him solely to prevent him from becoming proud and conceited, and I can imagine Paul finding himself in torment, seemingly out of the blue, as with my splinter, at precisely the time that he thought more highly of himself than he ought to have had.

This symbolic thorn in Paul’s flesh is not reserved to Paul’s experience alone, for I believe that many Christians are given thorns like Paul’s to humble them. From the context, I believe Paul’s thorn was a particular, nagging sin that Paul could not completely overcome, and this I believe because of God’s response to Paul’s petition to remove it: “My grace is sufficient for you.” God’s grace was sufficient for Paul’s thorn. Then I asked myself this question, “What is the best way to humble a man who thinks himself righteous and holy on his own accord?” The answer: Let him fall into the sin that he believes that he has conquered.

Have you not found this to be the case in your own life? You find that you are living righteously before God and are loving him and obeying his commandments, and then, all of sudden and out of nowhere, your focus shifts off of God and his glory to you and your glory. You think to yourself that you have somehow arrived spiritually, that you get what others do not, and then a small, pride-filled grin smirks across the side of your face. And just as quickly as you found yourself boasting in yourself, you find yourself sinning in a way that did not even occur to you prior to your boasting. You immediately realize the folly of your thinking and remember quite clearly that without God you are nothing.

For this reason, the thorns of sin that torment us throughout our lives are sweet Providences in disguise. Yes, they cause us to groan for the redemption of our bodies and to yearn for that day when the jewels of sin will appear to be dung in the sight of God, but they are at present working together for God’s glory and our good. We, like Paul, will pray in our ignorance and weakness that these things would be removed from us, and the Spirit will be there interceding for us with inexpressible groanings according to perfect will of our Father (cf. Romans 8:26, 27). Rest well, child of God, knowing that God will discipline you and that his grace is more than sufficient to cover your failings.