Toby Sumpter

A Theology of Stuff (Advent Grab Bag #2) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on December 10, 2023

INTRODUCTION

One of the more puzzling lines in the Definition of Chalcedon is where it says, “as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the virgin, the God-bearer.” What does it mean to confess that Mary is the “God-bearer?” We should note that this title is carefully qualified by the phrase “as regards his manhood,” which comes immediately after in the original Greek. But there is a very important point being underlined about the personal nature of our salvation. The One born in Bethlehem is the Logos/the eternal Word of the Father who embraced His creation for us men and for our salvation.

The Text: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made…” (Jn. 1:1-14)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

“In the beginning” intentionally echoes Genesis 1, but the word “arxe” also means “preeminence, first, chief, principle, power,” and it’s immediately obvious that this “arxe” refers to something even “before” the beginning of Genesis 1, when the Word was with God and the Word was God (Jn. 1:1). That Word of God was in the beginning of Creation also, and that same Word made all things (Jn. 1:2-3). He is the source of all life and light, and He is the kind of light that darkness cannot comprehend or approach at all (Jn. 1:4-5, cf. Js. 1:17, 1 Tim. 6:16).

John was sent from God as a witness of that Light, the true Light who gives light and life to all men (Jn. 1:6-9). He was in the world and made manifest by His creation but unrecognized because of sin (Jn. 1:10, cf. Rom. 1:19-20). So He came to His own, but even His own people rejected Him (Jn. 1:11). But to those who received Him and believed in Him, He made them sons of God by the power of God (Jn. 1:12-13). And this was accomplished by the Word becoming flesh to reveal the glory of the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).

CHRISTOLOGY AS SOTERIOLOGY

Donald Fairbairn has pointed out that in the early church the focus on the Trinity and Christology was not unrelated to soteriology (the doctrine of salvation). For example, since Christ is the “only begotten of the Father,” salvation means being born again not of blood or the will of man but by the power of God (Jn. 1:12-14). What Christ has by nature in the Godhead (Eternal Son), He has become man in order to share with us in salvation (sons by adoption). As John Piper has put it, “God is the gospel.”

And we see this particularly highlighted in John: “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” (Jn. 6:57). “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:15). “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me… And will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter… the Spirit of truth… at that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (Jn. 14:11, 16-17, 20). Who was born of Mary? The Eternal Son, the Word who is God. As the hymn says, “Christ our God to earth descendeth.” Why does this matter? Because the very same life that Christ shares with the Father by nature, He came to share with His people by His Spirit.

UNION WITH CHRIST

The Definition of Chalcedon is clear that the divine and human natures come together in Christ “without confusion,” and so the Creator-creature distinction remains fixed. But precisely because Christ holds those natures together “without division, without separation,” by the power of the Spirit, that same Spirit is able to unite us in fellowship with the Father in Christ. This is no mysticism or merging of natures; this is a true covenant union in Christ. This is the power by which mere fallen creatures, become children of God, born not of blood nor the will of man, but the will of God, which is all grace. This is why the New Testament talks so much about our salvation “in Christ” (Rom. 6, Eph. 1, Col. 2, etc.).

APPLICATIONS

The Goodness of Stuff: Christmas celebrates God’s union with His creation. The Word who made all things became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. How did we behold the glory of the Father? In the flesh of Jesus Christ, in the stuff that He made. Christ made all things and made us to make things and enjoy all things as part of our enjoyment of Him. Sin distorts this, causing us to suppress God’s glory in creation and to idolize creation, but the answer is not to disdain creation or ignore it. The answer is to see every bit of creation as a burning bush, where we may see His glory and taste and see His goodness and worship Him.

So Christmas rightly celebrates the stuff that Christ made and the stuff He came to restore to its rightful glory. All of creation groans with the weight of our sin, but the heavens still declare the glory of God. And so we make our houses sparkle like the heavens with lights. And if Christ has given us bread and wine to remember Him and feed on Him and enjoy His life, all food has been given to enjoy as His gifts: steak and fudge and wine and eggnog and gifts. But think of all these gifts as tokens of the infinitely greater Giver.

Fellowship with the Father: Mary was an ordinary woman of extraordinary faith, and as such, she pictures what Christ intends to do by His Spirit. He intends to live in us, to share true fellowship with us: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 Jn. 1:3-4). This jyful fellowship is only maintained by confession of sin and the cleansing blood of Christ (1 Jn. 1:7-9).

Christ is re-making a race of men and women, who are more masculine, more feminine, more truly human: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). The center of this glory is in the Word read and preached, but it is that same Word that created all things and shines in all He has made. So see Him there, know Him, and love Him more.

The Politics of Christmas (Advent Grab Bag #1) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on December 3, 2023

INTRODUCTION

As is our custom, we began using the Definition of Chalcedon this morning for our Creed, which was adopted and published in 451 A.D. The purpose of the Definition was to further defend the full divinity and humanity of Christ from several heresies, while preserving the Creator-creature distinction.

All non-Christian societies are fundamentally what Peter Jones calls “oneist.” Oneism teaches that everything is essentially one, part of the same basic substance, and therefore oneism is pantheistic. Christianity is the lone religion in the world that teaches “twoism,” that there are fundamentally two different realities: God and everything else. This has profound implications for all of life, including how we think about politics and power.

The Texts: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:21-23).

“Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” (Ps. 102:25-27).

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXTS

The center of human rebellion is the refusal to acknowledge God as He truly is and that is “uncorruptible” and utterly unlike anything in creation, all of which is “corruptible,” and refusing to be thankful for this reality, people become foolish idolaters (Rom. 1:21-23). Likewise, Psalm 102 describes God as the Creator of all things in heaven and on earth, and the difference between the Creator and His creation is that creation perishes, wears out, and changes, but the Creator endures, remains the same, and has no end (Ps. 102:25-27). Finally, the Bible says there is only one God and one mediator between God and man: Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5).

THE COUNCILS & HERESIES

Leading up to the Council of Nicaea in 325, a pastor named Arius taught that Jesus was not fully God, but rather was a man who was very much like God. Arius taught that there was “a time” (so to speak) when the Son was not. He said, the Son had a beginning. Athanasius and others argued that Christ was fully God and was therefore of the “same substance” with the Father (“homoousias”). The later Arians would say that Christ had a “similar substance” with the Father (“homoiousias”). This really is a watershed issue. If Jesus is merely the highest created being, the most exalted creature, right next to God, then the Creator-creature divide has collapsed. Instead of the infinite chasm between God and His creation that the Bible teaches, there is a ladder, a hierarchy or gradation of “being” that may ascend to Godhead.

The Council of Nicaea concluded that Athanasius was correct and published the Nicene Creed which affirms that Christ is fully God and fully man, eternally begotten, “not made,” and of the same substance with the Father. The Council of Chalcedon came along in 451 and further nailed the coffin shut on Arianism (and other Christological heresies), insisting that the Divine and human natures come together in Christ “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.” While this might seem esoteric or pedantic, it really is glorious. It is saying that the Creator-creation distinction remains intact even in the one mediator between God and man. There is no hierarchy of being ascending and merging into God. There is only God and everything else, and Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and everything else, and in His person, those two natures are united “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation, the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union.”

CHALCEDONIAN POLITICS

The political ramifications for this are enormous. The tendency of all cultures dedicated to “oneism” is toward the Tower of Babel: consolidating global resources and power in an effort to ascend to Heaven, whether literally or simply by achieving heaven/utopia. This process always includes leaders claiming the authority of God/gods. In the ancient world, Pharaoh was the human representative of the sun god, Ra, and in Rome, Caesar was hailed as the divine “lord” and son of Jupiter. When the early Christians acclaimed Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of God,” this was in direct defiance of the emperor cult. Later, when the Roman Pope claimed to be the universal pontiff and exercised massive political power, it was somewhat based on the supposed authority to change bread and wine into the flesh and blood of God. Political power has often been exercised under the guise of unlimited divine power. But the Biblical religion has always insisted that all authority comes from God and is therefore “under God” and limited by God and His Word. While modern governments have not yet had the audacity to openly claim this divinity, this hasn’t stopped them from acting like it in their totalitarian claims on our property, income, children, and healthcare.

APPLICATIONS

What we are celebrating at Christmas is not only our eternal salvation but also freedom from every kind of tyranny, beginning with death itself, but also sin, the Devil, and all Satanic manipulation, oppression, and power grabs. The state is not God, nor is it the mediator between God and man. And no one can ascend to God or Heaven. The One born in Bethlehem, He is the eternal Son of God, the Lord and only mediator between God and Man. All earthly authorities answer to Him. Christmas means limited government.

And this is why the Kingdom goes forth as proclamation, baptism, communion, and worship. There is nothing that we can do to ascend to God in Heaven. There is no way for us to cross that chasm, and our sin only makes the distance greater. Only God can come to us, and so He has.

Holidays & Militant Contentment (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on November 26, 2023

INTRODUCTION

Holidays are challenging times for many reasons: routines are off, people in our houses, being in other peoples’ houses, challenging people, missing loved ones, or the things that aren’t right or good, and simmering beneath it all, you’re a corrupt sinner. Sometimes another contributing factor is the contrast of really good things and really hard things at the same time in different ways that tempts us to discontent, anxiety, frustrations, bitterness, or despair. But Christ gives the strong gifts of contentment, peace, and joy as He teaches you to rest in Your Father.

The Text: “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you…” (Phil. 4:9-13).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The overarching exhortation is to stand fast in the Lord and to have peace both in our hearts and minds and as well as with one another (Phil. 4:1-2, 7), and this continues with the exhortation to follow Paul’s apostolic example, with the promise that God’s peace will accompany that imitation (Phil. 4:9). Paul follows his own counsel to rejoice in the Lord, specifically for the recent gift he has received from the Philippians, knowing that it was something they were eager to do but hadn’t had the opportunity until then (Phil. 4:10). Paul clarifies that he wasn’t in a bad way without their gift since he had learned to be content in every circumstance (Phil. 4:11). He had learned to be poor and rich, full and hungry, abound and suffer need because He had the power to fulfill all of his duty through the strength of Christ (Phil. 4:12-13).

GODLY IMITATION

We noted last week that prayer with thanksgiving is a crucial part of dealing with anxiety (Phil. 4:6), as well as making lists of all the true, just, pure, and lovely things (Phil. 4:8). But you should add to this arsenal following the examples of other faithful Christians, beginning with Christ Himself: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21, Mt. 16:24). But one of the ways we do that is by following those who are following Him well: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1Cor. 11:1). We follow Paul and all of the apostle well as we study the New Testament in particular. But the New Testament also points us to the example of the Old Testament: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11, Heb. 11). We are also instructed to imitate faithful pastors and elders (Heb. 13:7). We do not trust in men, but if we trust in God, we can see His Spirit at work in His people, and there is great encouragement as we all pull in the same direction toward Christ (like in athletics).

MILITANT CONTENTMENT

Part of the example we need to follow is Paul’s contentment. Notice that he is extremely grateful for the gift he’s received from the Philippians, but he hastens to add that he wasn’t desperate for it. This is a hard line to walk: presenting requests and rejoicing greatly in their fulfillment but also complete surrender to the will of God because He knows best – rejoicing in the Lord always, even when He says no or not yet. This is only possible through deep faith in the goodness of God our Father. Jesus reveals this to us most clearly: Our heavenly Father feeds the birds, and we are more important than birds (Mt. 6:26). Our heavenly Father clothes the grass, and we are more valuable than grass (Mt. 6:30). Our Father knows all of our needs (Mt. 6:32), He is a more faithful Father than any earthly father (Mt. 7:11), and no good thing does He withhold from His people (Ps. 84:11). He who gave His own Son, will give us everything we need (Rom. 8:32). This means that when God says “no” or “not yet” it is better for us and better for the Kingdom (cf. Mt. 6:33). This is why Jesus prayed in His greatest agony, “not my will, by Thy will be done” (Mt. 26:39). And by submitting to the Father, Jesus crushed sin, death, and the devil and saved the world (1 Pet. 2:23-25). This is not apathy; this is militant contentment. Contentment makes us faithful servants and grants us maximum mobility for our King.

THE STRENGTH OF CHRIST

While this Christian calendar verse about “doing all things through Christ” is often misquoted and misapplied (as though it applies to absolutely anything you want to do), it is a gloriously comforting verse. It means that Christ gives the strength we need to do whatever He requires. He gives us the strength to resist temptation, and He always makes a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). He gives us the strength to obey: God works in us both the will and the power to please Him (Phil. 2:13). Christ Himself is our mighty armor in enduring suffering (1 Pet. 4:1). And what is it exactly that we arm ourselves with? The justice of God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:19-20, cf. 1 Pet. 2:23).

APPLICATIONS

Wise imitation vs. slavish imitation: We are seeking to cultivate a community of “like-mindedness” that isn’t woodenly rigid, inflexible, or disproportionate. We want to major on the majors and minor on the minors, extending true liberty without being naïve (Rom. 14, Gal. 2). Christian like-mindedness is truly a gift from the God of patience and consolation (Rom. 15:5). It comes from the consolations of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit (Phil. 2:1), and it consists of having the same love, one soul/spirit, and one mind (Phil. 2:2). How can we tell the difference? “The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” (Prov. 29:25). Surround yourself with faithful witnesses, but keep your eyes fixed on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2).

Meditate on Heaven: You know the old saying about the fellow who was so heavenly minded, he was no earthly good, but I think that cautionary tale is almost entirely misguided and false. To be truly heavenly minded is to maximize your earthly good. The problem isn’t with people thinking about Heaven, the problem is with people mistaking their idols and idolatrous delusions for Heaven. But the true Heaven, where Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand is what arms us for faithfulness here. “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God… Mortify therefore your members…” (Col. 3:1-5).

Anxiety & Thanksgiving (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on November 19, 2023

INTRODUCTION

We live in a world full of anxiety and stress. And far too often, Christians default to unbelieving assumptions, diagnosing their problems as circumstances, environment, diet, or chemicals. While sometimes material changes can help, God’s Word says our central need is Christ. In Him is a peace that passes all understanding, a peace that is a fortress for our hearts and minds.

The Text: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing…” (Phil. 4:

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

As Paul brings this letter in for a landing, he exhorts the Philippians to stand fast in the Lord and to be likeminded (Phil. 4:1-2), which leads to a series of four commands and a promise, with a final exhortation for doing so. The first command is a doubled: rejoice in the Lord always, and again, rejoice (Phil. 4:4). Obedience to that command goes a long way toward making your gentleness obvious to everyone around you (including your kids), which is the next command, but the foundation of that gentleness is the presence of the Lord: the Lord is near (Phil. 4:5). The third command is to be anxious for nothing (Phil. 4:6), which is greatly assisted by obeying the fourth command: to bring your requests to God with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6). Obedience to all of these commands brings with it the promise that the peace of God will be an impenetrable castle around your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). And Christians practice that joy and peace by meditating on all the true, lovely, and virtuous things (Phil. 4:8).

LAW & GOSPEL

Before talking about these commands in particular, we need to talk about what we should think about biblical commands in general first. There are two fundamentally different approaches to God’s law and commands. One approach says that if you obey God’s law, you can achieve righteousness, and be accepted by God. The other approach says that you cannot obey the law perfectly, and therefore you can only be accepted by God through Christ’s perfect obedience for you (Phil. 3:9, Gal. 3:10-13). The Bible says that the second understanding is correct: even if you obeyed most of the law but disobeyed at one point, you have broken the whole law (Js. 2:10). This is because breaking God’s law is personal defiance of the living God, and the same God who said not to steal, also said not to commit sexual immorality and not to lie (Js. 2:11).

So those who insist on trying to keep the law to achieve their own righteousness will be condemned by the law, but those who trust in Jesus Christ, are released from the demands of the law and accepted by God (Rom. 8:1). Christ is accepted in their place both as perfectly righteous and obedient and as the One who receives the penalty that we deserved for our disobedience (Rom. 8:2-3). And those who trust in Christ for all of this also receive His Holy Spirit who begins to work in us the power and desire to obey (Rom. 8:4-5). These two paths are called “works righteousness” and the “righteousness of faith.” Works righteousness is a treadmill of despair, but the righteousness of faith is God’s escalator carrying you to glory.

REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS

It’s important to begin with those two paths because if you are on the “works righteousness” treadmill, “rejoicing always” will seem like an impossible task. Then add “let your gentleness be known to all men” and “be anxious for nothing,” and it’s like somebody keeps dropping bricks into your backpack and pretty soon you might be ready to let something else be known to all men. Nobody rejoices always, much less is anyone ever gentle to everyone or never anxious about anything. These commands, like all the commands in Scripture, can only be received in one of two ways: either as raw law (“do this and live or fail and die”) or else as the righteousness received by faith alone (“Christ has done this for me, and His Spirit will work this in me”). One is a “got to,” and the other is a “get to.” One is the burden of a continual threat and a whip; the other is the grateful response to incredibly good news. The demand of the law condemns every infraction, but the righteousness of faith is first of all the announcement, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). And what is the believing response to that verdict from God the Judge? Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! Hallelujah, what a Savior! What’s the response? Rejoicing. Rejoicing in the Lord always. And when that saving God is near, God’s kindness and gentleness cannot help but be known to all men. All anxiety fades away.

PRAYER WITH THANKSGIVING

Being accepted by God for the sake of Christ is the foundation of an anxiety-free life. But God gives two additional tools here for fighting anxiety: thanksgiving and petition. The first step is thanksgiving. We are to make our petitions known to God with thanksgiving (Phi. 4:6). Sometimes prayers are just worrying in front of God, but thanksgiving is the God-ordained package we are to deliver our petitions in. Gratitude is what prepares us to actually present our requests. So whatever the trouble, whatever the worry, begin by thanking God for it. The same God who sent His only Son for you has allowed this trouble, this challenge in your life for your good. So thank Him. And then having honestly thanked God for the hardship, ask Him to take it, ask Him to deliver you, ask Him to change it. Present your request.

Christians are not people who do not notice problems or dangers. Christians are people who know what to do with all of those cares: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Pet. 5:6-7). In a strange irony, anxious people are actually being supremely arrogant. Anxious people insist on carrying their own burdens and refuse to cast them on the Lord. But your hand is not mighty enough; that’s why you’re so stressed out. That’s why your gentleness is not known to all men. But God’s hand is mighty; He can handle your cares and He cares for you like no one else. And the promise is that when you pray like this, God’s peace that passes all understanding will stand guard at your heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).

CONCLUSION: MAKE A LIST

The final exhortation is to make a list, to count, to log all the true things, all the honest things, all the just, pure, lovely, praiseworthy, and virtuous things. This is biblical therapy, if you like. How do you break bad habits of worry, or bad habits of any disobedient thoughts? Make a list of what to think about: beautiful things, true things, just things, praiseworthy things: the air in your lungs, refreshing water, sunrises and sunsets, chocolate, Psalms, good jokes, forgiveness.

God’s Open Doors (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #23) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on November 12, 2023

INTRODUCTION

Acts is about the continuing work of Jesus through His Spirit bringing the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Not only is Jesus doing this, but what we find is that He has also prepared the world for this: synagogues functioned as open doors for the gospel, but the Gentiles were also being prepared for faith. And Jesus continues to work this way, going ahead of His people, preparing the way, turning everything, even trouble and tribulation, into a door that leads to the Kingdom.

The Text: “And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked…” (Acts 14:8-28)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul heals a man in Lystra, lame in his feet from birth, and the city erupts acclaiming Barnabas as Jupiter and Paul as Mercury (Acts 14:8-12). As the priest of Jupiter was preparing a sacrifice in their honor, the apostles tore their clothes and interrupted the proceeding, urging the people to turn to the living God who made heaven and earth, and thus barely restrained them (Acts 14:13-18). Sometime after, the Jews from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium showed up in Lystra and stirred up a mob that stoned Paul and left him for dead outside the city (Acts 14:19). However, as the disciples gathered around him, Paul rose up and the next day he was able to go to Derbe before retracing their steps back through the very same cities he was previously chased out of: Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch, encouraging the saints and ordaining elders in every church (Acts 14:20-23). Returning to the region of Pamphylia by the sea, they sailed back to Antioch where they had begun their journey, and told the saints all that God had done, particularly for the Gentiles, and remained there for some time (Acts 14:24-28).

GODS IN HUMAN FORM?

It might seem strange or surprising that the people of Lystra see the healed man and immediately assumed that Paul and Barnabas are Jupiter and Mercury. But it is likely that they knew the legend of Baucis and Philemon told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, the story of the time Jupiter and Mercury came down in the form of two ordinary men and were refused hospitality until a poor, kindly couple took them in and fed them. The gods sent a flood to punish the Phrygian valley (not far from Lycaonia), and only the poor couple escaped to a mountain. The couple’s hut was spared and transformed into a glorious temple to Jupiter. The couple were made priests of the temple, and by their wish, later died at the same time, and turned into an oak and linden tree, where it became customary to lay garlands in their honor.

Whether driven by true fear/piety or a mercenary opportunism, the priest of Jupiter and the people at least had a story to point to when they came with their oxen and garlands to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:13). Of course the apostles object to being worshipped, but notice that they don’t contradict the cosmology. They don’t argue that no other supernatural beings exist or that they certainly could not appear as men. They do call that worship “vain/worthless” (Acts 14:15) and clearly call them to turn and worship the living God, the Creator of heaven and earth and Giver of all good gifts (Acts 14:15-17). It’s striking that we have our own “true myth” of the time two angels came to a city and were mistreated before receiving hospitality by the only faithful house, and only that family escaped to a mountain before judgment came upon that valley (Gen. 19). Furthermore, Daniel describes Michael and other angelic beings fighting with the angelic “princes” of Persia and Greece (Dan. 10:13, 20). Perhaps Jupiter and Mercury were real, fallen angelic “gods” that occasionally had shown up as men, and perhaps some good angels had prepared those cultures for the coming of the gospel.

SEVERAL OPEN DOORS

God tells His story in our lives and in history in order to prepare the way for His purposes. We see this in the healing of the lame man which is very similar to the beginning of Acts: “a certain man lame from his mother’s womb, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple” (Acts 3:2). Both of these healings erupt in significant responses for the spread of the gospel. While sin sometimes is the cause of poor health, often, as in the story of the man born blind, God assigns tribulation in order “that the works of God should be made manifest” (Jn. 9:3). What no doubt looked and felt like a brick wall for these men, was God’s door. Check for sin, but look for God.

Both men “leap up” when they are healed, and here in Acts 14, they seem to be near the gate of the temple of Jupiter (Acts 14:13). The parallels seem to confirm Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles (as akin to Peter’s ministry), but it also suggests that the pagan temples (despite all the paganism) had their own role to play in preparing for the gospel, as God gave them good gifts, rain, fruitful seasons, and food and gladness (Acts 14:17). They wrongly attributed these gifts to false gods, but the gifts were preparing them to meet the Giver: another open door.

When the Jews from Iconium and Antioch show up and stone Paul, this echoes the earlier murder of Stephen, which Paul had overseen (Acts 7:58). Surely, this was not lost on Paul. Not only is it miraculous that Paul survived, but then he rose up, went into the city, and was able to depart the next day for Derbe (Acts 14:20). What is also astonishing is the fact that he then turned around and retraced his steps through those same cities (Acts 14:21). It seems likely that Paul still had marks on his body as he encouraged the saints to continue in the faith, insisting that they must enter the kingdom through many tribulations (Acts 14:22). What was meant for evil, Paul immediately saw God working for good. Paul saw an open door.

APPLICATIONS

Almost everyone has some sense that nothing happens by accident. Even unbelievers will say things like that. But we really need to learn to turn it around: everything happens on purpose and this means that everything is sovereignly administered by the Triune God for our good (Eph. 1:11, Rom. 8:28). We need to learn to say about everything, “this is so I can go to heaven.”

The exhaustive sovereignty of God means that absolutely everything (every detail) has been prepared for us, and all of it is to prepare us for what is next and ultimately for the Kingdom itself, through many tribulations. Faith sees absolutely everything as an open door because Jesus is risen from the dead.