risen WITH Christ?
Right smack in the middle of the exhortation that we call Colossians, Paul makes this statement, “If ye then be risen with Christ, see those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” That’s quite a statement. “IF”, starting out with the conditional clause “if” sure does add some emphasis on the following statement doesn’t it. Just think about the teenager saying to his parents, “IF you love me, you’ll get me a cell phone like everyone else.” Now, don’t let the absurdity of that statement throw you from the emphasis for which the “if” is used. Paul used it too, just like a pre-teen would, but with proper motives I assure you.
So then, “IF” what? Well, “IF ye then be RISEN WITH CHRIST.” Yet another HUGE statement. “RISEN WITH CHRIST”, could he have made a scribal error? Surely he didn’t mean that we are actually risen with Christ. I mean, those people reading his letter may not have even been alive when Christ resurrected, little on those of us reading today. So, how is someone RISEN WITH CHRIST? It seems to be the exchanged life theory that he introduced in Gal 2.20. Although we live, we do not, He does. And even though He lives, we still live somehow. If we read a little further He clarifies. As he continues to write the epistle, he stops to make an aside comment… in verse 3 he is talking about Christ and pauses to add the parenthesise, “who is our life…” Quite a statement. Christ IS OUR LIFE. Now, I know many of you have heard that before, but I doubt Paul meant it in the overly devotional lovey way that you probably heard it. He meant it literally. Christ…IS…OUR…LIFE…He is the actual life we life.
Remember, when we were redeemed, we were reconciled to God. That’s because we needed reconciliation. There was a problem at hand, and God was the one with the problem. (I don’t know where we get the idea that we are the ones with the problem and God has gone out of his way to help us with our problems. No, God had the problem with us! And then being the sovereign glory seeking God he is, he redeemed us to himself because there was no way we were going to do that ourselves. ) So, when we were brought back to God, how was that possible. We know that flesh and blood cannot enter into the presence of God (I Cor 15.50). So how are we “seated in heavenly places” at this time???(Eph 2.6 – note the tense of this verse is past) It’s because we have become one with Christ. He is our righteousness, he is our identity, we took his name, his identity, and became one with him just as a bride always does with her groom.
So, with this new-found identity, what are we doing with it??? IF WE ARE RISEN WITH CHRIST…how are we seeking things that are opposing him? I cannot be a devoted Marine, Soldier, or Sailor and pursue those things which come against my country. I cannot be a Father and seek those things that oppose my family. I cannot be Aaron Farley and seek those things that fight against the very existence of Aaron Farley. So if I am “with Christ” and “in Christ” how could I seek those things of the earth (where moth and dust doth corrupt – Matt 6.19). I can’t.
Let’s not forget, that friendship with the world is truly ENMITY with God. (James 4.4)
Looking Forward to Wednesday with You Guys.
Jesus – subject to the basest human condition
Hunger.
Everyone knows what hunger is. Everyone experiences it in increments of just a few hours each day of their lives. Few will pass a meal for any reason. Americans are probably just a generation away from widespread epidemics of obesity related deaths. The natural desire for hunger has become a slave-master to most. Fasting is all but disappeared from the Christian culture in America because of our insatiable appetites. Miss a meal? Hardly.
What is ironic about this whole issue is the purpose of hunger in the first place. Hunger is one of many natural desires God has placed in man for our betterment and to help us. General Graces, are those things that cause us to naturally do the things needed for survival. Hunger, sexual drive, our relational nature, and curiosity are a few examples. These are things that provoke us to pursue that which will continue and better our lives. So, what happens when one of these things becomes a controlling factor in our lives, abused instead of appreciated? That’s when we have rapists, stalkers, serial killers, criminal minds, and obese people. That’s right, I just compared those in the same sentence. To be controlled by any desire is sin. There is little difference between the rapist, drunk, and glutton. I do not mean to be harsh, but truthful.
In Matthew 4, Jesus goes into a wilderness for a period of time to fast. 40 days into his fast, Satan begins to tempt him. His first temptation is one that you and I would likely have fallen to: eat. Most can barely control their hunger past a 3-4 hour fast, imagine 40 days. Imagine having the power to eat something, and choosing not to. Jesus could have easily have turned that stone into bread. Easily. The act of changing that stone into bread, in itself, would have been no harm. However, it was the conditions in which that would have occurred that caused our Messiah to choose otherwise.
The Scripture lets us into the mind of Christ for a moment in verse 2 of chapter 4. We are told that he was hungry. He was in that state of mind when humanity will act the most irrational. Everyone understands that. If a thief steals for their own selfish desires, society agrees punishment should be great. If a thief steals because they are starving and merely trying to satisfy their hunger and will to live, that arouses a different emotion among society. That crime, is even often overlooked. Why? Because we all understand that. We can empathize with that situation. Christ was there…starving. With the opportunity to satisfy that hunger, and did not. What discipline. What control. What an example. May we all learn to use those natural desires God has placed in us for our own good, and not allow them to use us.
The Hebrews writer tells us that we do not have a “high priest” [Jesus] who cannot be touched with the “feeling of our infirmity” [the struggles we face as humanity], but was “in all points tempted” just like we are, only he did it “yet without sin.” To think of the humanity that Christ subjected himself to raging inside while Satan mockingly suggested he eat is mind blowing. To conceive that Divinity would ever be subject to humanity is staggering. Nonetheless, it is true. Even the basest of human conditions plagued our Messiah, and for that we should be ever thankful. He can identify with us. No matter what, he can. Let me compare it this way. I like to exercise. I enjoy getting tips from people at the gym or who I can see have made strides in their fitness. However, one thing I can’t stand is when some guy who has such a gut that he probably has not seen his toes for years tries to instruct me in how to obtain physical fitness. That doesn’t fly. Though I may listen politely, everything being said is passing right by me. Such is not the case with Christ, and the human-Spiritual life. He has been in that gym for longer than the gym has existed, and he is the fittest around. You can head his instruction, and feel confident, because you can see the results for yourself.
I leave you with this note from one of the wisest men I know, my father. As a young boy I was obese. My freshman year of high school I was probably 35-45 lbs overweight, and my sophomore year probably packed a few more on. One day I was enjoying a snack far too much, and my father lovingly spoke this truth to me, “Son, you need to eat to live. Not live to eat.” What wisdom. So should be the case in our spiritual lives. We should allow those natural graces to push us to live, not live to satisfy those natural graces. May God grant us the privilege to fellowship with Christ in his discipline. May the American church submit to the control of Christ, and leave the slave-master of itself.
Overcoming Laodecia
We know we live in this “Laodicean” age of the church (rev 3).
At times, it seems as though we are doomed to apathy and lethargy. Why? How? How do we counter this social beast that is by all practical observations too big to move. One man with a canoe couldn’t have turned the titanic. How are we to turn this age of ours? Do we just jump ship and give up? Just focus on those in our canoe? Surely not. But what then? God does say in that same passage that he will grant all those who “overcome” the opportunity to sit with him. So, how do we overcome? Is it simply in our own daily disciplines of winning those battles with sin and the world we live in? Is it overcoming self? the devil? Lukewarmness? What?
It is interesting to note the proper context from Rev 3.15. When God refers to those at Laodecia as being “neither hot nor cold” and says “I would that you were hot or cold”, he is not saying, “I wish you would just get HOT and on FIRE for me.” To explain this as an interpretation of these words is to do a discredit to scripture. Contextually and culturally looking into the text reveals that Laodecia had no water source of it’s own. Hieropolus and Colosse were the two nearby villages where the water was piped in through a system of aqua-ducts, to Laodecia. One of these towns was known for it’s natural hot springs, which were said to be therapeutic to the ailing body, the other was known for mountain spring water that was flowing at a chilled temperature, most refreshing. When God chooses this phrase, he is saying, “I wish you were good for something, but you serve no purpose.” Just as you and I today would like a “hot” tea, or a “cold” drink, each form of the same substance serves a purpose. Rarely will you find someone that rejoices in a room temperature drink. God wants his people to know their purpose and move that way! Maybe that’s how we overcome…discovering that purpose??? anyone reading this have any thoughts?
