Looking Up

When you're a Christian (or when you go to a church), a question that you most likely had asked of you before is, "What's your favourite Bible verse?" or "What is your go to verse?"

For me, my go to verse is Colossians 3:2. When I have nothing to write on cards, I write Colossians 3:2 (now you know...). This became my favourite verse when I was doing a Bible study for Colossians 3 for UWCCF and we had to memorize the chunk that we were studying. We didn't end up memorizing it all.

Colossians 3:2 speaks a lot to me as it can be summarized in two words: look up. Short and simple. Fix your gaze on Christ (things above) and not on earthly things. Of course that doesn't mean to stay in your bubble away from "the world". Just the opposite, Christ sent us into the world to redeem it (John 17:18). So as we serve in our daily mundane tasks, we must be reminded that our gaze is on Christ. Everything ordinary that we do is for Him and by the Spirit's power, for the glory of God the Father.

I was talking to someone yesterday and a topic on sanctification came about. Somewhere there I mentioned loosely the quote, "Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good." If you search the internet, you'll see lots of refutations on this and I would agree. The best refutation I heard a long time ago would be summarized like this by a pastor, the most heavenly minded person is the one who does the most earthly good.

So look up and redeem the world.

Bible Preservation

From Dr. James White on aomin.org (My highlights, bold, and colours):

In my debate with Bart Ehrman almost exactly a year ago the issue of Ehrman’s radical skepticism about our knowledge of ancient documents came up. I pointed out that given his standards, God could not have begun His revelation of Himself until 1949, when the photocopier was invented. Why? Because given his presuppositions, it would require that level of photographic copying to allow for the promulgation of God’s revelation. God couldn’t speak until we could guarantee an absolutely perfect chain of transmission! But such ignores the entire scope of the history of God’s dealings with His people.

Consider the example of the New Testament. Did the New Testament writers display a modernistic view of the validity and transmission of the Old Testament text? Or did they recognize that God had preserved the text in such a way that they could quote from the Greek Septuagint (the text known to their target audience) and still identify this translation as the Word of God? Surely, their use of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament raises all sorts of challenging, difficult questions. But you know what? I have never received greater benefits than when I have, in trust and expectancy, knuckled down to do the work to figure out those difficulties. I feel sorry for the modern believers who think that instant answers and easy solutions must be theirs right now! Microwave theology. True, valuable, long-lasting insights come through patient meditation and study, and only in God’s time. We are rarely patient enough to obtain such lofty understanding, and the confidence that comes there from.

But, someone is sure to respond, how can we trust the Bible if there are textual variants? To which I respond, the same way Jesus or Paul or Luke did. There were textual variants in the days of Jesus and the Apostles. Only if you errantly assume, as Ehrman does, that this artifact of the mechanism of God’s means of preservation is, in and of itself, fatal to the truthfulness of the text, can you come to the conclusion that all is lost. But there is no reason to join Ehrman in his radical skepticism.

Source: http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php/2010/01/05/inspiration-inerrancy-preservation/

1 Corinthians 12 - Spiritual Gifts

I did a Sunday school today on the topic of spiritual gifts from 1 Corinthians 12. Below are my notes. People may not understand it... but they're my notes.

"Wisdom"

• Position 1: Miraculous Gift
• connection with revelation concerning the work of Christ (Rm. 11:25-33; 1 Cor. 2:6-7; Eph. 3:1-10; 2 Pt. 3:15)
• to think this is practical wisdom is to neglect the fact that all believers have it (Eph. 1:8; Col. 1:9; Jas 1:5, 3:15, 17)

"Knowledge"

• Position 1: Miraculous Gift
• in connection with revelation and prophecy (1 Cor. 13:2)
• ability to grasp revelatory data (from wisdom) and convey it
• Position 2: Non-Miraculous re: Wisdom and Knowledge
• Starts and ends with "to each is given..." with "another..." to indicate these gifts are not all given to all Christians. Instead, it is to show that the miraculous and non-miraculous are sovereignly distributed. Therefore, no one is second class.
• Knowledge and Wisdom for miraculous position seems so closely linked with prophecy that it doesn't make sense to not call it prophecy
• Knowledge and Wisdom are common words, unlike "revelation and prophecy"

"Faith"

• Not saving faith (Eph. 2:8-9; Hb. 11:6)
• "Faith to remove mountains" (1 Cor. 13:2) - a hyperbole to prove a point
• God-given/supernatural ability to trust in God in trying circumstances (crisis and/or persecution)
• Trusting and having assurance of the promise of God's word
• Examples: Joshua & Caleb, Stephen (Acts 6:5), Hudson Taylor, George Müller

"Gifts of Healings"

• Instantaneous, organic/undeniable, successful/complete
• God-given ability to heal at the will of the healer
• Primarily for the unbelievers
• Objections to the view above: Mk. 8:22-26; Lk. 17:11-19; Jn. 9:1-7
• Reply: These delays are minutes. Not days or weeks, or more...

"Working of Miracles"

• Miracle vs. Providence (there is a difference)
• Miracles done through an agent by the power of God
• Another term: signs and wonders (Acs 2:43, 6:8; Rm. 15:18-19; Hb. 2:3-4; Moses, Elijah)

"Prophecy"

• Position 1: Fallible
• Infallible revelation to the prophet --> prophet messes up when speaking (fallible)
• Example: Agabus (Acts 21)
• Position 2: Infallible
• No distinction between OT and NT prophets (Acts 2 quoting Joel 2)
• Old Covenant and infallible prophets. New Covenant and fallible prophets...?
• Acts 21 says "Thus saith the Holy Spirit"
• Acts 28:17 Paul agrees with Agabus and Jews delivering to Romans
• Therefore prophecy is infallible speaking forth the words of God (forth and foretelling)
• 100% accurate (Dt. 13:1-5, 18:20-22)

"Distinguishing between Spirits"

• To distinguish truth vs. error (1 Jn. 4:1, 6)
• Possible to argue for  distinguishing even between evil spirits (Infirmity Lk. 13:11; Divination Acts 16:16; Mute & Deaf Mk. 9:25)

"Tongues"

• Real Language (Acts 2; 1 Cor. 14:21 quoting Is. 28:11)
• 1 Cor. 13:1 - Angel language is hyperbole. But even if it's real, it is not the norm.

"Administration"

• Only other time that uses a different variation of the word is Act 27:11 - pilot
• Rm. 12:8; 1 Thes. 5:12; 1 Tim. 3:4-5 (aka Manging, Ruling, Leading, Overseeing)

"Help"

• Derived from verb from Acts 20:35 - help, support (KJV)
• Service (Rm. 12:7; Acts 6:1; Rm. 16:1)

The book resources I used:

Systematic Theology - Wayne Grudem

Understanding Spiritual Gifts - Robert L. Thomas

The Dynamics of Spiritual Gifts - William J. McRae

Strange Fire - John MacArthur

Person

God is one Being existing in three Persons.

For me, "Being" is easy to understand. One what. That what is God. The essence of God is one. But "Person" is where I have trouble explaining to people, so in this post I hope to type out my understanding of "Person" to hopefully get my thoughts straightened out.

First, in reference to each Person of the Trinity, each are referred to as a who. Namely the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three who's of the Trinity.

Second, in saying that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are Persons is to say that they are each personal. They have a personality of their own, distinct from each other. What makes them a "Person" is that they are personal. All three Persons can be grieved, be lied to, speak, etc. And in speaking, they refer to themselves as "I" and "me." In contrast, a rock that contains the being (essence) of a rock is not personal as it cannot interact personally to other persons.

So in the one Being (essence) of God, there exists distinctively three divine personal who's (Persons). The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And all three share completely the one divine Being of God.

And that is as far as my mind can wrap around it.

All information taken from The Forgotten Trinity and rephrased it to my own understanding. 

Thankful

Got to eat breakfast and talk with my pastor about stuff.
Thankful for a pastor like him.

The Throne of Grace

It hit me recently that I am so privileged to be able to pray to God...
Hebrews 4:16 reminded me that Christians are privileged to draw near to the throne of Grace.

Near: By the blood of Christ, Christians are simul justus et peccator (at the same time righteous and sinners). We are legally righteous because of Christ, we are given the opportunity to draw near before God.

Throne: Implying that God is the King. Who sits on a throne. A humbling reality of what is actually taking place when we pray.

Thank you, Jesus.