Because Jesus Christ is at the center of our life and living we have not become faint-hearted cowards (2Cor. 4:1b). We have disowned the concealed, private, inward, and secret things of our hearts that disgrace humanity (2Cor. 4:2a). We do not deceitfully attempt to catch people off guard or corruptly mingle human religion with the faith of Christ (2Cor. 4:2b). We gaze at the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the presence of Christ (2Cor. 4:6)!

Because we have received mercy by means of the grace of God (2Cor. 4:1a), that which comes by no work of our own flesh, we do not simply deny and otherwise make excuses for our darkened debilitating hearts. We do not attempt bait-and-switch tactics, speaking the freedom of the Good News only to crush people under the weight of brick and mortar. We are not like crooked merchants who mix a cheaper substance with their product in order to cheat the customers. We speak not of a fading human glory, but of an illuminating divine-driven one!!

Because that which is fading, that which is of the fallen nature, that which is of the mindset of the god of this age is blinded by its own image (religion) and blind to the image of God in Jesus Christ (faith); its ideals, opinions, goals, hopes, and views are guided and directed by the enemy of humanity (2Cor. 4:4). Therefore, we spread the Good News of the love of God in Jesus Christ. And if this truth is not visibly clear, it is unclear do to their religiosity (2Cor. 4:3)!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

The picture Paul paints of running a race (9:24-26a) and boxing (9:26b-27) is of the intense discipline and great suffering involved in winning the Games, which Corinth hosted every two years. This discipline and suffering began before the actual competition for the participants, who, in the Corinthian Games, had sworn by Zeus to undergo about ten months of strict training. All this discipline, suffering, and strict training were in an effort to win a wreath that would shrivel up and die. Likewise, the boxers would never train by beating the air; it would have been insufficient preparation for the blows and beatings suffered during the Games.

The comparison, here, made by Paul of aimless running and shadow boxing in the hopes of gaining a rotting wreath, and the true punishment and enslavement of the body for the sake of the Gospel is both disturbing and controversial, but necessary. In Corinth he struggled against a form of (so-called) Christianity where the race, in the name of God, was against the weak and the wreath was a weapon of subjection; where religious leadership claimed themselves prize fighters – champions of the Gospel – but were actually pretentious and unprepared for the actual battle! The game that was being played did not concern the Gospel, but the ego; it was not about the power of the Good News, but of the flesh and the power it holds!!

The necessary comparison expresses the driving of the flesh, with its pretentious and unquenchable ego, into captivity. It is a picture of a victor (Christ) leading the defeated (the sinful flesh) as a captive. It is the sharing of Christ’s sufferings and the bodily conformity to His death (Rom. 8:13; 2Cor. 12:7; Phil. 3:10; Col. 3:5). It is nothing less than an illustration of the form of the crucifixion – The Cruciform. The point of this picture is to express the lifestyle of one claiming Christ (the Christian claim, by definition). It concerns the killing the flesh by the power of the cross and living the resurrected Christ. It is a battle against oneself; ones-own flesh and body; not against another religion, some other culture, or other people!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

This is yet another one of those favored texts that have been stretched, paper-thin, out of context, multiple times over. Becoming all things to all people differs completely from becoming a people pleaser. A people pleaser pleases people for the sole purpose of personal gratification. The focus is almost always centered on the one doing the pleasing, rather than those being pleased. Becoming all things to all people is not synonymous with being a chameleon – one who disguises themselves to appear the same as his/her surroundings – which only proves one to be inconsistent and untrustworthy. Neither does the act of becoming all things to all people constitute a church culture, where all people look, act, walk, talk, and smell the same. Do not confuse sameness with oneness!

When one becomes all things to all people, that one is effectually enculturating the gospel. It is always for the benefit of the people, not the one alone. The Good News speaks all the languages in every single culture. It does not make of all a common language, but is translated into every language resounding as one message!! It makes of every person a partner and sharer in the Good News, producing the manifold expression of God; expressing the many parts of the one body!! Becoming all things to all people speaks less of fitting in wherever one goes and more about a consistent and constant message that is translated into every language. To become all things to all people is not about you, but is entirely about the message you give. There is but one message that speaks to all cultures, in any language, to any people; that, in turn, gives any culture, language, and people a single voice – The Good News of the rescuing act of God in the Person of Jesus Christ!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

When considering this idea of freedom, once we understand that such a freedom is found in Christ alone, there are two flowing currents in which we must wade: Knowledge and Love. The knowledge that comes with freedom is the understanding, for example, that false gods really are not anything in this world, and that there is no god except for the one God (VS 4-6). Yet, this knowledge alone only causes arrogance (VS 1). In fact, knowledge alone proves only that one has no knowledge (VS 2). To have only knowledge is, in actuality, to be a fool, simply because one cannot understand what they do not know if they do not know that they cannot understand. Knowledge alone is nothing more than a human knowing, which really knows nothing!

Knowledge, by necessity, must be joined with love. Anyone who loves has learned that love from God and, therefore, is known by God (VS 3). To be known by God is evidenced by our knowledge with love. When joined with love, knowledge flows from the fount of knowledge – the mind of God – rather than the foolishness of humanity (the fallen flesh). Paul draws an excellent picture of this truth (Vs 1b): Knowledge is puffed up (it is a blow hard, picture the Big Bad Wolf blowing down the houses of straw and sticks); it seeks to tear-down all in order to build up self. But knowledge with love builds up (it constructs a house, picture the house of bricks); knowledge with love builds up all so as to empower all – i.e., the Church. Thus, freedom is not a license nor is it a point from which to condemn another!! Freedom, then, is the knowledge to build up those who have not been set free in the love of God by those who have (VS 7-8, 10-13)!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

The idea of repentance was a desire for a changed heart and, therefore, life, and the desire for the forgiveness of God. Though the Jewish religion had ceremonial repentance, ideally, repentance was for non-Jews (Gentiles) who decided to worship the Creator God; the God of the Israelites. Imagine the offense when, not only John, but also (this) Jesus came proclaiming that Jews had to repent. This message challenged the whole Jewish religion that, because they were Jewish and had not rejected the Law of God (rather, Moses), they were in good standing with God (unlike the non-Jew). This message was a capital offense, for they taught that God is calling all humanity on the same terms.

Likewise, though the Christian religion has ceremonial repentance, ideally, repentance is for the non-Christian (the unsaved) who decides to worship the True God; the God of the Church. Oh, the offense! That, in this shifting paradigm in which the Church finds itself, Jesus again proclaims that the Church must repent (Revelation 3 – 4)! John bears witness that such a paradigm shift can occur, for it occurred in Israel on that day. This message challenges the whole Christian religion that, because we are of the Christian culture and (falsely) claim to keep its moral/ethical codes, we are in good standing with God (unlike the so-called unsaved). This new paradigm call to repentance is a capital offense, for it teaches that God is calling all humanity by the same terms!! The fact of the matter is that the proper time has been furnished for humanity; the Church is to change its mind and be ruled by God, rather than itself, and believe the Good News of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15) – that God loved all humanity so much that He leveled the playing field (John 3:16-17)!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

God has not shut up (at least) since He created the planet! Yet, this fact has no effect on the hearers or the speakers of the word of God. Likewise, God has never ceased in casting His vision – His purposed rhyme and reason for creation generally and humanity in particular. In Samuel’s day, though God had not shut up, the religious leaders had shut up the word and the visions. The break-out message and vision that was to be spoken for God – speaking forth God – was being drowned-out by another message – one that counterfeits God and speaks forth lies.

Signifying the state of the religious system, Eli’s eyes had grown so weak he was unable to see; he could not see the vision of God being cast by God and was unable, therefore, to speak for and forth God. But God continued to speak; He continued to call out. And Samuel heard His calling, though he did not even know God and the word of God – the vision of God’s plan and purpose – had not yet been revealed to Him (1Sam. 3:7). God was doing a new thing (1Sam. 3:11)!!

This story is an illustration for us, today. Eli represents the confounding of a religion that has shut out the word of God with the sound of its own voice and shut up the vision of God as a primary threat to its own well-being (1Sam. 2:12-25; 3:11-14). Samuel represents those that, in spite of the deafness and blindness of religion, are hearing God speak (perhaps for the first time ever) and speaking for and forth God and once again are casting the vision of God. God is doing a new thing, it seems, but it is actuality older than creation. He has never shut up, but continues to speak to those that can hear and He continues to cast a vision for those who can see – to those who will relay the Good News, speaking for and forth the vision of God!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

In Mathew’s account of the baptism of Jesus, John attempts to prevent his baptism by saying that he needed to be baptized by Jesus. The reply by Jesus is subtle, but carries with it great theological ramifications – This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. 3:13-15). John baptizes in water, but the baptism by Jesus is with the Holy Spirit. We overhear Paul explain to some disciples that the baptism of John was a human declaration of the want for a clean heart and life, and a want for the forgiveness of sin; while the baptism of Jesus was a divine declaration of that forgiveness, evidenced by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7). So if Jesus is stronger than John, and if John baptizes with water but Jesus with the Holy Spirit, what is necessary about John baptizing Jesus for the fulfillment of righteousness?

Our first record of righteousness fulfilled, as well as our first record of baptism (by both water and the Holy Spirit) is found in Genesis (1:1-5). Creation is baptized in water (VS 2) and the Spirit of God (VS 3). Righteousness is fulfilled, evidenced by God noting creations goodness (VS 4). No other baptism from that time on had the direct action of the Holy Spirit; not the Mosaic baptism of Israel through the cloud and the Sea (1Cor. 10:2), nor the baptism of repentance by John in the Jordan. Not until the baptism of Jesus did the action, again, of the Holy Spirit come (Matt. 3:16). The baptism of Jesus restored humanity to the original baptism of creation! Likewise, the baptism of a believer, now, reconciles humanity to the baptism of Jesus!! Jesus had to be baptized by John to fulfill the righteousness of baptism – from the action of humanity in an abstract desire to the action of divinity in a concrete reality!! Fulfilled righteousness is the power of a baptism that brings death… and Resurrection Life (Mark 10:38-39)!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

The mystery of God was initiated in secrecy by God. It was a silent reality; though never spoken until a determined time, it has been the reality since the beginning of time. God, who created everything, instilled into everything created the fact of the matter and then shut it up in allusions, shadows, illustrations, and symbols (Rev. 1:18-20). Though the reality was a mystery, history is filled with signs pointing to the revelation of the mystery.

A sign, biblically speaking, is that which provokes and explains truth (rather hidden or uncovered). Throughout history God has utilized signs to provoke and explain the truth of His involvement with humanity (Gen. 9:12-13; 17:11; Ex. 3:12; 12:13; 13:9, 16; 31:13, 17; Deut. 11:18; Is. 7:14; 19:20; Is. 38:7; etc., et el). In these last times God has expressed His involvement with humanity in the sign of an infant born in a manger (Luke 2:12)! Humanity, as a whole, misinterpreted or misappropriated the former signs and missed the latter sign altogether (Matt. 16:4; Luke 11:16, 29-30)!!

The silent reality, hidden since the beginning of time by God, now revealed through His Son (Eph. 3:11; Heb. 1:2), is the reality that the in-breaking God has purposed and planned to rescue diseased and dysfunctional humanity. And those who were not His people – rebellious, destructive, and desecrating – have been included into the rescuing act (Eph. 3:6, 10). The former signs of old spoke to the latter sign in a manger. The sign of a baby in a manger proved to be a sign that generates opposition (Luke 2:34) as He reveals the truth that is buried deep in our minds and hearts; covered completely by our dark imaginations (Luke 2:35)!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

If the baby in a manger is a sign, and a sign is to provoke and explain truth or reality, then what truth and/or reality does such a sign provoke and explain? While the Christmas season conjures all sorts of emotions (both positive and negative), it is important that we comprehend the (proverbial) reason for the season.

Notice that the sign, first, is a baby. The idea that God would break-in on humanity in the form of a child – in complete dependency, utter frailty, and inability to defend itself – is a challenge to say the least! Second, that the child would be wrapped in simple bands of cloth – the same material and means by which one is buried – and, third, the fact that the child would be lying in a feed trough – is a real stretch of the religious imagination!! Not to mention that this Christmas story is presented to shepherds, those despised and scorned, and fit only to live with the animal sacrifices of the religious.

Religion, in both its secular (civil) and sacred (ceremonial) forms, imagines that God is impressed and honored by its pomp and pleasantry. It dreams that through it God is revealed. Yet, the sign provokes a different reality; it explains a different truth. It turns the social norms upside-down (rather right-side-up). The sign speaks of a lowly manger rather than an ivory tower, strips of cloth rather than fine linen, and a feed trough rather than a feast. It proclaims the glory of God in heaven and peace on earth where the favor of God is found (Luke 2:14)!!!

-The Pastoral Staff

Oh! How the religious leaders loved John. He fit, so much, their expectations of the anointed one; after all, he was of prime stock, being the son of a high priest. Yet, no matter how many times they asked (hoping for a different answer), John was not the Christ. He simply insisted that he was a voice in the wilderness preparing Israel for the coming of their Messiah. Oh! How the religious leaders hated Jesus. He fit, so much, their expectations of the one to be ruled over; after all, He was of inferior stock, being the son of a carpenter. Yet, no matter how many times they asked (hoping to prove otherwise) Jesus was in fact the Christ. The Messiah, he for whom the voice in the wilderness prepared the way, spoke in their hearing, but they did not and could not listen.

There are several striking illustrations in the expectations of the religious: First, Jesus was/is the preemptive Word of creation (John 1:1-3, 14), but the religious only listen to the echoing voices. Second, Jesus was/is the Light beaming brightly into the darkness, but the religious hide in the shadows cast by the light (John 1:4-5, 9-11). And third, religions golden-calf-god of expectation deemed the high priest more worthy than the carpenter and the counterfeit interpretation of the voices as superior to the inspired Word of the voice (John 1:13).

The church is a voice in the wilderness preparing humanity for the coming again of Christ! If we listen only to our own voices we have nothing more than a counterfeit religion (John 1:11)!! But if it is the Word we hear, then we listen to Him who made us His own on His own (John 1:12)!!!

-The Pastoral Staff