Love Incorruptible (2013 Remix)

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Pete

Sometimes I’ll read Paul’s letters the same way I’ll drink a jug of milk. I’ll consume the milk glass by glass . . . but then, often, throw away the jug when there’s still a little left in it. Sometimes I’ll do the same with Paul’s letter . . . reading it though section by section . . . but then, when I come to his final greetings . . . when I start to read his last lines . . . then, if I read them at all, I’ll just skim over them. This morning, for some reason (maybe a Holy Spirit reason?), as I read the final portion of Ephesians I read it to the very end . . . took in Paul’s final words to these believers . . . and it was good to the last drop.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

(Ephesians 6:24 ESV)

Paul’s last words to his readers at Ephesus. At first glance, they might look like a conditional blessing, that there’s grace for those who love Jesus with a special kind of love. But that isn’t the nature of grace. It is not dependent upon on our ability to love in a certain way or perform to a certain standard. To be sure, you can frustrate grace (Gal. 2:21) and you can fall from grace (Gal. 5:4), but that happens when you stop relying totally on grace. Grace is compromised when we start thinking that full justification occurs when we have our spiritual act in order, or that sanctification is something that I work for rather than a work God does in me. So grace isn’t dependent upon my ability to love with a love incorruptible. Rather, love incorruptible is the manner of love infused within me by the abundant grace of God.

. . . and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. . . . God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Romans 5:5, 8 ESV)

Poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Spilled out into our very being. It’s the picture of something gushing out into an empty vessel. Empty vessels, that would be us without Christ. Spilling abundantly into us, that would be the Father spilling into us His love through the Son. Love incorruptible, that would be the heavenly substance running out into us.

The other reason I don’t think Paul’s closing words are a conditional statement is because of the type of love we are talking about. While the NKJV translates it loving in “sincerity,” the idea behind the word is that of something that is imperishable or immortal and thus, incorruptible. It is an eternal love. A love with unending existence. Don’t know that I can manufacture that type of love. But by God’s grace, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, I can be a receptacle of such love, and as such reflect something of that pure, everlasting love.

We love because He first loved us.

(1John 4:19 ESV)

And I know from “reading ahead” that, as the Ephesians eventually did, it is possible to “abandon the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4). Even for those who want to remain faithful, the love can wax cold. But I don’t think it’s because of what we stop doing as much as because of what we stop relying on — God’s grace.

I’m but an earthen vessel, possessing the treasure of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Having the love of God poured out into me by the Spirit of God. Evidencing that the surpassing power of imperishable love belongs to God and not to me (2Cor. 4:7).

Love incorruptible . . . poured out into jars of clay . . . good to the last drop. Amen?

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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A Wineskin in the Smoke

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Pete

Hovering over a couple of verses in Psalm 119 and chewing on where the songwriter turns when he’s all dried up; where he goes when there’s nothing left in the tank and the tank itself is starting to crack under the pressure.

My soul longs for Your salvation;
I hope in Your word.
My eyes long for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

(Psalm 119:81-83 ESV)

The psalmist is desperate for some saving (v. 81a). His eyes “grow heavy watching for some sign” (MSG) that the promises of God are really real (v. 82a). He’s at the point of asking God the “When?” (v.82b) and the “How long?”(v. 84a) questions. His enemies persecute him so relentlessly that he wonders if he can go on any longer (v.84b, 87a). They incessantly try to bury him, and he is not sure he can continue to endure. By his own admission, he is like a wineskin in the smoke.

Hung to dry within an ancient tent heated by fire, the wineskin is shriveled and blackened with soot. And, unless it is again filled with life giving liquid, it is in danger of cracking and crumbling beyond being useful. So too was the songwriter. Parched — if not physically certainly emotionally. Vitality ebbing. Sensing that his flexibility and adaptability to keep on in his current circumstance is almost at an end. So, how does he cope?

My soul longs for Your salvation;
I hope in Your word.
My eyes long for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

(Psalm 119:81-83 ESV)

I hope in Your word . . . I have not forgotten Your statutes.

If all you can do is hold on for dear life, then hold on to the word of God.

That’s why daily time in the Word is so important. Not just to check a box, but to establish in the “good times” a solid grip on where hope can be found when things are looking hopeless. To lean on the habit that reminds again of the promises. When you’re dried up and dying inside, to know that place where you can interact with the living God (1Tim. 4:10) through a living Word (Heb. 4:12) to find some living water (Jn. 7:38).

Who hasn’t known, to some degree at least, what it might feel like to to be a wineskin in the smoke? But it’s in that dried up, thirsty condition where the word of God can be experienced as life-giving refreshment.

Word of God speak! Word of God refocus! Word of God replenish! Word of God revive!

By His grace. For His glory.

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Afflictions and Unfeeling Fat

Posted on June 3, 2024 by Pete

On the road this morning, heading to a conference where I get to hang out with some faithful shepherds and their families for a few days. A real privilege for this guy.

So, this morning before getting on the road again, sitting in a Starbucks working through my reading plan and a couple of verses in Psalm 119 get me chewing as I’m sipping my Americano

The insolent smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;
their heart is unfeeling like fat,
but I delight in your law.
It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.
The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

(Psalm 119:69-72 ESV)

Afflictions . . . faithfully from God (Ps. 119:75b) . . . ultimately for our good. True statement? I’m thinking . . .

God is the maker of well-being and the creator of calamity; He is the Lord who does both these things (Isa. 45:7). So, if I’ve got some stuff happening in and around my life, if there’s a storm a-brewing, I know where it came from (as an old Southern Gospel song put it, “I know the Master of the wind).

But the calamity creating God is a good God who does what He does and allows what He allows for our good. For our learning. For our training. All for our flourishing.

But not gonna happen if my heart is unfeeling like fat.

Unfeeling like fat . . . noodle on that a bit.

An inert lump. Dead to the spiritual dynamics surrounding and active in our physical difficulties. Unresponsive to the heaven-sourced power that wants to be in play through our personal problems. Eyes not set on things above (Col. 3:1-3), ears deaf to Jesus’ wooing, “Come to me, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

Just to be clear, I’m not inviting afflictions, just as soon let them pass me by. But if a good God is going to stir things up for my good growth, then keep me from unfeeling flat.

Rather, let me bow and confess as needed. Let me trust and turn to Him who has promised to be in the boat with me through the storm. Let me learn. Let me grow. Let me say with the songwriter, It is good for me that I was afflicted.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Songs For The Sojourner (2014 Rerun)

Posted on May 31, 2024 by Pete

Read these thoughts from 10 years ago and smiled as I remembered the days when music came in the form of CDs to be downloaded rather than as something to be subscribed to and streamed. A lot has changed in the past 10 years. A lot of sojourning now in the rear-view mirror. But the “top rated” still exists. So does singing wherever the pilgrimage has taken me over the past decade. And the word of God continues as a steadfast songbook.

Yup, there’s a song in my soul. Phil Wickham’s too. If you have a few extra minutes, click here and check this out.

I have a fairly good-sized iTunes library of music. And in my library, I have a playlist I’ve called “Top Rated.” I’ve gone through all my albums and have put the best one or two songs from each album into the playlist. When I buy a new album, I will, at some point, select the song that has connected with me the most and add it also to the list. As such, it’s become my “go to” playlist. When I’m feeling kind of up . . . I’ll often listen to those familiar favorites. When I’m feeling not so up . . . I’ll go to these songs that I know have ministered to my soul in the past. When I need something playing in the background that I KNOW will be in tune with wherever I’m at . . . yup, “Top Rated.” The psalmist, it seems, had a “Top Rated” playlist too . . .

Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning.

(Psalm 119:54 ESV)

Working through Psalm 119 is always one of the favorite parts of my reading plan. Twenty-two readings . . . eight verses per stanza . . . one grand theme. The living Word of God. His laws . . . His testimonies . . . His commandments . . . His precepts . . . His rules . . . His statutes . . . His promises . . . all, says the songwriter, “are my delight” (119:24). And, as discovered this morning, they were also his songs. Songs for the sojourner.

By the very nature of being a sojourner, things are transient. Pilgrims don’t expect a lot of permanency. Even the house of those sojourning is temporary . . . something that can be packed up, picked up, and ported to wherever the next stop happens to be. The way of the sojourner often leads through deserts . . . sometimes encounters enemies . . . and once in awhile, finds a nice resting place beside some oasis. But there’s always an expectation, that until they reach home, the way of the pilgrim will be one of constant change and new challenges. It is then that pulling out the “familiar tunes” can be not only a blessing, but a great stabilizing force.

Such is the Word of God.

There’s no greater lyric, than the lyric breathed out by God Himself through holy men as they were moved by the Spirit of God. No greater melody than the rhythm of heaven pulsating from the precepts and promises of God. Appropriate for under-girding the soul when it’s soaring with wings of eagles . . . so helpful for lifting the soul when it’s mired in the muck. These eternal songs by divine revelation find their way on to our “Top Rated” and we sing them in the house of our sojourning . . . as we travel the pilgrim’s path.

Those who know me well know how easy I can sometimes get thrown off kilter. Don’t think it often shows itself outwardly, but things can go so upside-down so quickly on the inside. On my heels . . . lacking the predictability and stability that I so naturally desire . . . all a reminder that I’m not home yet. And so, “wherever I lodge” (NIV), it’s good to “hit play” on the songs of salvation. To open up in the morning the songbook of revelation . . . trusting the Spirit of illumination to remind me of the “old, old story” with familiar, yet fresh, insights from God’s Word.

Then begins the song . . .the making of blessed melody in the heart. Then, there rises the soul-soothing tunes of a faithful Father who has promised to always accompany us on pilgrimage. Then, explodes the symphony of grace . . . the movements of all that God has done . . . the compositions being written daily by mercies that are new every morning . . . and the anticipation of the crescendo that will be heard when the last trumpet sounds. All found in the Word of God . . . all found in His “Top Rated.”

Your Word has been my song . . . and will continue to be my song . . . in the house of my sojourning.

All by Your grace . . . all for Your glory!

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The Fame and The Name

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Pete

If you’re of my generation, then I’m thinking you might just be familiar with such famous duos as Abbott & Costello, Martin & Lewis, and perhaps even Astaire & Rogers. Noodle on it some more and you might come up with Batman & Robin, Kirk & Spock, and Bert & Ernie. Keep going and there’s Han & Chewy, Mario & Luigi, and Woody & Buzz. Music in your background? Then what about Lennon & McCartney, Sonny & Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel? Go bible, and it doesn’t take long to think about Moses & Aaron, Ruth & Naomi, James & John, Martha & Mary, and maybe Paul & Barnabas.

So why this walk down trivia lane? Another “famous duo” jumped off the page this morning as I was reading in 1Kings. A pairing that, while I thought I was pretty familiar with the passage, I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed before.

Who’s this pair I’m pondering? This duo that’s got me deliberating? This match on which I’m meditating? (That was kind of fun). Solomon and the LORD.

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

(1Kings 10:1 ESV)

Ask me what the story of the queen of Sheba was about and I’d have said that she had heard about Solomon and went to check out if the guy really lived up to his reputation. But actually, she heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD. She was not intrigued just by Solomon as a solo act, but also in how what Solomon did was tied to what Solomon believed. Interested not only in the king of Israel’s purported wisdom, but also wanted to know where it came from. Wanting not only to interact with Solomon’s greatness, but also with His God.

And she did.

And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. . . . Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel!”

(1Kings 10:6-7, 9a ESV)

The report was true . . . Blessed be the LORD your God!

Solomon and his God, the two were inseparable in the queen’s estimation. The king’s greatness was linked intrinsically with the LORD’s goodness. The king’s fame was to the glory of God’s name.

The Name. Isn’t that what makes all the difference? I’m thinkin’.

I read earlier, in chapter 9, about the difference the Name makes. After Solomon had dedicated the temple to the LORD, the LORD responds, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before Me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting My name there forever” (1Ki. 9:3). It’s the Name that set apart the structure as holy. Look upon Solomon’s temple and you couldn’t help but think great thoughts concerning Solomon’s God. Similarly, when the queen of Sheba heard the stories about Solomon’s success, she also heard the stories of Solomon’s Sovereign. When she encountered Solomon’s greatness firsthand, she gave glory to God firsthand.

Solomon would eventually become enamored with his own “press clippings” and go out, more and more, on his own, but for now he was part of a pair. Known in the context of being but one of the singers — the lesser singer — participating in a divine duet, his fame was tied to God’s name.

I can be part of a famous duo too (at least in heaven’s eyes).

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” ~ Jesus

(John 15:5 ESV)

“Take My yoke upon you . . . ” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 11:29a ESV)

Pete & Jesus. Jesus & Pete.

Hmm . . . has a nice ring to it.

All by His grace. Only for His glory.

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Inferiority Complex or Divine Awareness?

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Pete

Hovering over a couple of verses in Ephesians 3 this morning. Not the “money verses” that talk about who I am in Christ. Instead, I’m guessing, the mostly overlooked verses of who Paul thought he was for Christ.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of His power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

(Ephesians 3:7-8 ESV)

I am the very least of all the saints . . .

That’s Paul speaking. THE Paul. The APOSTLE Paul. The guy that heroes are made of. With the experiences legends are birthed from. The accomplishments great men are known for. And he says, “I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians” (MSG). I am the very least, less than the least, lower than the lowest.

Not the first time I’ve encountered such an assertion from Paul (1Cor. 15:9). Not the last either, in his letter to Timothy (1Tim. 1:15) he refers to himself as “the chief” of sinners (NKJV), the foremost (ESV). When Paul looked in the mirror he saw “Public Sinner Number One” (MSG).

Really. Is that how Paul truly saw himself? As the chief of sinners and the least of all the saints? Evidently.

But how? This is Paul. A Hebrew of the Hebrews. A sincere zealot for God. A repentant enemy of Christ become one of history’s greatest servants of Christ. A steward of the gospel, an ambassador to the Gentiles. A faithful, enduring, runner of the race though repeatedly persecuted and beaten on almost every lap. If ever there was someone atop the food chain when it came to followers of Christ, this was the guy.

So, was Paul suffering from an inferiority complex? Was he not able to see all that everyone else saw? Was he inclined to forget all that God had done in him and through him? Was he overly concerned with how others viewed him? Was he prone to beating himself up? No, I don’t think so. In fact, Paul tells the Corinthians, “With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.” (1Cor. 4:3).

No, Paul’s self-proclaimed “chief of sinners and least of saints” status wasn’t because he thought little of himself but because he thought much of Christ. He saw himself as so lowly because he regarded His Savior so highly. He was in a constant posture of humility because he abided with the One who alone is holy. Paul’s “low self-esteem” wasn’t due to an inferiority complex but due to a divine awareness.

How I need such a divine awareness. Not some winsome self-deprecation as I think about how far I’ve come, but a full-on, heartfelt contrition when I acknowledge and confess how far I have yet to go. Not some fake modesty but an authentic, faith-informed humility. Not just a disguised ego or a masked pride, but a divinely wrought, abiding awareness that my ability to sin is without boundary and that, if Jesus would die for me, He would die for anyone. If He came into the world to save me, He came into the world to save everyone.

Because Paul, with the mind of Christ, saw himself as the least, his “gospel capacity” was increased. If his sin did abound, then grace would more abound. If his debt had been forgiven in full, how could he not proclaim and extend equal mercy and grace to others in their sin. After all, if I’m the least, then everyone else is by definition more.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

(Philippians 2:3-4 ESV)

Big ask? I’m thinkin’ . . . But with God all things are possible. With Christ in me, His heart and mind are accessible. Not through some form of inferiority complex but because of a Spirit-formed divine awareness.

Realized only by His grace. Actualized only for His glory.

Amen?

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Divine Capacity (2011 Remix)

Posted on May 27, 2024 by Pete

Used to be that I’d often get an urge. A bee in my bonnet would compel me, something would go off inside me. Something that said it’s time to rearrange the furniture in a room. Most often it was driven by a perception that the room was looking overcrowded — that there was too much stuff in it, and it looked too untidy — and that, somehow, by rearranging the stuff I’d make it less crowded. Now my wife had a way too simplistic approach to an overcrowded or untidy area . . . take stuff out. Nah, too logical, too easy. For me, it was about rearranging stuff!

Now, I know (now more so than then) that it really all came down to capacity. Any given space can only hold so much. You can’t put a gallon of water into a two-quart container. You’re gonna need more space if you want to keep more stuff. The psalmist understood that too.

I will run in the way of your commandments when You enlarge my heart!

(Psalm 119:32 ESV)

The psalmist continues his impassioned plea to God for the knowledge and understanding of His ways: “give me life according to Your word” (v25); “teach me Your statutes!” (v26); “make me understand Your precepts” (v27); “graciously teach me Your law” (v29). But how does mortal man take in the mind of God? How can ways that are higher than our ways and thoughts that are higher than our thoughts possibly fit into our brains? There’s only so much capacity in these mortal minds. Rearrange all you want, without additional capacity it just ain’t gonna happen. It’s like trying to fit an ocean in a cup.

And so, the psalmist’s acknowledgement . . .

I will run . . . when You enlarge my heart!

I will soar when You provide the capacity for understanding Your ways. When You free my heart from that which clutters it . . . when You make broad and roomy pastures in which Your word may abide . . . when You prepare the soil such that it is ready to receive the planted seed and bear much fruit, then will I be able to take it in. Then will Your word be able to take me in. And then will I walk in the way You desire me to walk. No, then will I run!

This isn’t just a book sitting on my desk in front of me, it is the mind of God provided for the mind of man. It contains the things of heaven revealed to those on earth. And the ability to contain this vast storehouse of heavenly treasure is less about my intellect and more about my heart. The needed capacity for comprehension isn’t just about what’s between my ears, but it lies at the very core of who I am. It’s not about how smart I am but how prepared my soul is.

And apart from the work of the Spirit of God to enlarge my heart, I can try and cram as much as I want in there, rearrange it however I want, and it won’t make much difference — my life will still be untidy and encumbered. But oh, when God, through His Spirit, graciously provides the capacity, when He enlarges my heart, then watch me tank up and take off!

What a blessing to be able to be taught of God concerning His ways. What privilege to be illuminated through His Spirit concerning matters of divine revelation. Oh, that I might desire and cry out for the divine capacity to take it in.

Enlarge my heart, O Lord!

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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Seated and Sojourning

Posted on May 24, 2024 by Pete

Being a resident alien might just provide me with a bit of a spiritual advantage. My Green Card expires next year so I’ll have to renew it. The process itself will be a reminder that while I live and work (even if it’s now retired “work”) here, my citizenship is tied to a different place. An annoying reminder, perhaps, when it comes to going through the bureaucratic renewal process, but could be a welcome reminder, and pretty grounding, when it comes to my born-again residency perspective.

Noodling on a couple of verses from my readings this morning.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

(Ephesians 2:4-6 ESV)

Deal bountifully with Your servant,
that I may live and keep Your word.
Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of Your law.
I am a sojourner on the earth;
hide not Your commandments from me!

(Psalm 119:17-19 ESV)

Seated with Christ in heavenly places . . . a sojourner on the earth. Chew on that for a bit.

Where’s Jesus? The empty tomb is evidence that “He is not here, for He has risen” (Mt. 28:6). So, if I am in Christ Jesus, my life and being inextricably wired to His through the indwelling Spirit of redemption, regeneration, reconciliation, and repatriation, then, as Paul says, I have been raised up with Him.

Yeah, so Jesus is not here; but where is He? He was taken up into heaven (Acts 1:9-11) and is now “seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 8:1).

Okay. So, because of our union with Christ, if He has been taken up into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, then we too have been, as Paul says, seated with Him in the heavenly places. Right? And home is where the seat is. Who I am in Christ and where I spiritually reside through Christ is what determines my enduring citizenship — a citizen of heaven. What’s more, it is what defines my relationship to this world — a sojourner on the earth.

I am a sojourner. A stranger (perhaps stranger than most). A foreigner in this land. A temporary inhabitant. A resident alien on earth. Passing through in the anticipation of that day when my actual seat will be in a different place and I will be physically, as I am now positionally, set down with Him in the heavenlies. And, like my Green Card, renewing that reality every so often can have the benefit of grounding me in who I am and where I belong.

So, what renews that heaven-grounded reality? Engaging with my bible, like engaging with my Green Card renewal, is the reminder of where home truly is.

So, pleads the songwriter, “Deal bountifully with me, LORD.” Open my eyes to see wonderful realities in Your word. Hide not from me the glorious realities and reminders which are found in Your letters from home to me. For I am a sojourner on the earth, and I so need to remain tethered to my citizenship in heaven.

For it is there where You are, not here, where I find my tribe and my people. It is there, not here, where my identity is set and secure. There, not here, where my ultimate allegiance lies, and my life-directing authority is found. There, not here, where I am seated in Christ Jesus. My union with Christ the daily calibrator of my relationship to this world.

Seated and sojourning.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Lavished Upon Us

Posted on May 22, 2024 by Pete

Short thought this morning. Massive implications. Chewing on but three words, but it will be a meal for eternity.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight . . .

(Ephesians 1:7-8 ESV)

Lavished upon us . . .

I don’t hear lavished used a lot in my circles. My King James says, “made to abound”, literally to “superabound.” Hmm, not quite the same ring to it. I’m savoring lavished.

Lavished, literally to exceed a fixed number of measure. To overflow, to be over the top. To give in abundance beyond the ability to comprehend the abundance. That’s what it is to lavish.

And who’s done the lavishing? He has, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3).

Blessed us with how many blessings in the heavenlies? Every spiritual blessing.

Every spiritual blessing? Yup, every spiritual blessing?

Really? Yeah, really.

Sounds kind of lavish to me. Exactly!

And the grace lavished upon us is according to the riches of His grace? That’s what it says.

How rich is that? Pretty rich. It’s grace flowing in abundance from a God who is eternal and without measure. Contain the God who sources grace and then you’ll measure the riches of His grace. But you can’t do that.

Unmerited favor without measure? Uh, huh. Without measure.

And we’re the objects of His lavishness? Apparently. The riches of His grace have been lavished upon us.

Hmm . . . noodling on that.

Noodle away.

And that too by His grace, for His glory.

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Something or Nothing?

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Pete

Hovering over a verse in Galatians this morning — kind of an uncomfortable hovering.

Paul has been defending the gospel, the TRUE gospel. The good news that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). The good news that “God sent forth His Son . . . to redeem . . . so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!'” (Gal. 4:4-6). A work in our lives begun “by hearing with faith”, intended to be completed “by hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:2-6). New creations in Christ with a new identity in Christ. And that, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

But in defending the TRUE gospel, Paul also contends for TRUE gospel community. If the first four chapters are about how the gospel is defined, then the last two chapters are about how the gospel is demonstrated. The gospel is marked by freedom (Gal. 5:1,13). It is marked by walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25). And the realities of gospel freedom and Spirit leading are manifest through gospel community.

Freedom not as an opportunity to cater to self, but to “through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13). Led by the Spirit, bearing the fruit of the Spirit, so that we would “not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another” (Gal. 5:25). Rather, just as the gospel that saved us in the past dealt with our sin on the cross, so too the gospel that sustains us in our present is the gospel which deals with sin through community.

Brothers [and sisters], if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

(Galatians 6:1a ESV)

And the great hindrance to TRUE gospel community? It comes down to how we answer a question. Something or nothing?

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

(Galatians 6:2-3 ESV)

The gospel is messy business because the gospel, by design, is up to its eyeballs in sin. Jesus says so: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mt. 9:13). And while deemed righteous in Him, and while robed in righteousness through Him, until we are with Him, we people of freedom and the Spirit continue to battle recurring entrapment by the old nature (Gal. 5:16-17). Thus, from time to time — and more often than we’d care to admit — we get “caught in transgression”. Thus, the messiness continues. Thus, the gospel continues to be messy business. Thus, gospel community is gonna be a messy place. And if we think we’re above the mess, if we think we’re something, then we deceive ourselves and TRUE gospel community stops reflecting the TRUE gospel.

Instead, we are to think of ourselves as nothing. As Jesus did, we are to empty ourselves (Php. 2:5-7). Noodle on that for a bit and it gets a bit uncomfortable, doesn’t it?

I am a nobody who has been made somebody in Christ. But, says Paul, I am still to regard myself as nothing. For, it’s as I remember that I’m part of the mess and remember that through the TRUE gospel my mess was forever, and is forever, being dealt with, that I’m ready to participate in others’ mess and in TRUE gospel community. Engaging in others’ sin. Forgiving others’ sin. Helping others recover from their sin. But for those who think they’re something, they’ll “bite” others, “devour” others, consuming and being “consumed by one another” (Gal. 5:15).

Nothing. It’s the key to being something. And that something is found not in my consumption of, but in my participation in TRUE gospel community. Where what began by faith alone is completed by faith alone.

By grace alone. Through Christ alone. To God’s glory alone.

Amen?

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