Christ Church

Fathers & Mothers

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INTRODUCTION

The US Congress recently introduced the rules for their new legislative session. They struck gendered familial terminology (i.e. father, mother, son, daughter, etc.) from the House’s rules for legislators. The recent events of our nation reveal our void of fathers and mothers. This is just one more effort by the godless to further erode the biblical structure for families.

THE TEXTS

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:14-15).

“But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Gal. 4:26).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXTS

When we think about Fatherhood and Motherhood we need to sweep out the clutter. These roles are not optional add-ons which you can discuss with the dealership. They aren’t social constructs which support the oppression of victims. They aren’t the evolutionary development of our species ability to babble some sounds and then linking them with our immediate ancestors. They aren’t interchangeable parts of machinery.

Your father and mother are earthly shadows of cosmic realities. God is your Father, the Church is your Mother. That is the evident in these two texts from the pen of Paul.

In Ephesians 3:14-15, Paul bends his knee to God the Father; every family derives its name from God’s Fatherhood. You don’t have family without fatherhood, and you don’t have any of it without God the Father and Creator. In Greek, you can’t say family (patria) without saying father (patera). In other words, God’s Fatherhood fills the world and fills our earthly families as the inescapable reality. In Him we live and move and have our being.

Furthermore, God has taken a bride for His Son, our Lord Jesus, and she is our Mother. Paul, while making the case that we are delivered from the bondage to sin which the mosaic Law revealed, he uses the imagery of Hagar and Sarah. Two mothers: one a slave, one a free-woman. Which one is your mother? Mother Kirk is a fertile mother, because she is marked by grace and thus life springs from her; whereas Hagar (the bond-woman/Sinai), brings bondage and death (Gal. 4:26).

CHILDREN OF PROMISE

Children who grow up without parents or with unmarried parents are faced with a deck of statistics stacked against them. With few exceptions, their lifetime income is significantly lower; their education level will not go as high; their likelihood of being abused and then abusing in turn shoots through the roof; their prospects are bleak by almost every metric. Children were not intended to exist in a covenantal void. Scripture is concerned with bastard children, which is why it placed heavy penalties on rape, pre-marital sex, and adultery (Cf. Lev. 18), as well as provision for the care of fatherless children (Deu. 16:11, Ps. 68:5).

So, if you are a father or mother, you must not think of your duty as being in a separate container from your marriage vows, and the consummation of those vows. You are a husband and a wife first. The potency of this covenantal love produces children. Your children are children of a promise, even as believers the whole family are children of the Promise.

COVENANT DUTY OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS

So Fathers are first husbands which are called to be faithful to their promise of loving and cherishing. Mothers are first wives which are called to faithfully fulfill their vow to submit and obey.

A father which exhibits for his children that he doesn’t beam with delight over their mother (Is. 62:5), isn’t attentive to her (1 Pt. 3:7), doesn’t shower her with love (1 Ti. 5:8) will teach them to railroad her (Pro. 10:1). Husbands love their wives practically by full bank accounts, full cupboards, full closets, and full wombs.

Mothers which run down their husband in front of the kids (2 Sam. 16-23), swerving the opposite direction he is leading (Eph. 5:22), or criticizing his leadership at every turn (Pro 21:19) is teaching her children to be lawless rebels. Wives respect their husbands by bearing his name, and being his glory; she demonstrates this respect practically by not being an indecipherable code to get into, but by being ready for him and responding to him in all spheres of their relations (sexually, directionally, financially).

Lazy, inattentive husbands and bitter, nagging wives are teaching the children more than just how to be unpleasant humans. A sin-riddled marriage is presenting a false Gospel, and marred understanding of God the Father, Christ the Son, and His Bride.

It’s vital that we see that Fathers and Mothers are cosmic categories. Husbands show their children how Christ laid down his life for the church. Wives show their children what joyful obedience to Christ should be. Not only are you teaching them about Fatherhood and Motherhood, but also the glorious Gospel of sacrificial love, responded to in joyful response.

COVERED IN SAWDUST & FLOUR

These covenantal duties are not pie-in-the-sky intangibles. Rather, these spiritual duties are earthy, and are covered in sawdust and flour.

In Scripture, fathers name; a fathers’ word carry great weight. Fathers provide and protect. Fathers represent God to their families and their families to God. Father’s correct and teach. Fathers sacrifice and intercede. Fathers rule and lead. Fathers head their home.

Mothers respond to this headship by being fruitful. Indeed without the Father, she cannot bear fruit. As the one who bears and nurtures new humans she is to be held in high honor. They are to be fountains of the sort of wisdom which might be worn proudly around the neck of their offspring (Pr. 1:8-9). They are to be industrious, and laugh at all the troubles which are around the bend (Pro. 31:25). Mothers give glorified life and nourishment that is provided by the Father.

ADOPTED AS JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST

In Reformed theology we generally emphasize justification and sanctification. We blast through the mega-phone that you are not saved by your works of righteousness, you are justified in God’s sight only because of Christ’s righteousness and death in your place. We exhort each other to holiness and growth in sanctification because God has set us apart to be a holy people. But we must not gloss over the fact that one of the terms which is frequently included in NT descriptions of salvation is adoption (Gal 4:4-7).

>God the Father, by the redeeming work of His Son, has delivered you from bondage to the law of sin and death. This isn’t like one cruel slave-master defeating another cruel slave-master, and your just caught in the crossfire. Rather, Paul tells us that you are no more a servant, but a son. In other words, you now have a share in the inheritance which belongs to Christ Jesus: resurrection life, everlasting joy, unending glory. You have been adopted as sons. Your Father in Heaven has given to Mother Kirk the Bread of Life and the Wine of Relief, and she has spread a table for the nourishment of her children. The children of grace and glory.

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Boldness When It Counts

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INTRODUCTION

One of our generation’s hackneyed cliches is the one about “speaking truth to power.” The problem with it is that we almost always get everything backwards, and use the phrase to describe anyone who says something that you agree with. But despite our misapplication of it, there really is an important truth there, and it is one we need to learn. What is boldness when it counts?

THE TEXT

“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19–20)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

When the apostle Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, he was an experienced minister. He had been converted in the early to mid-thirties, and he wrote this book in the early sixties (c. 62 A.D.). This means that when he was wrapping up this letter to the Ephesians, and he asks them (twice) to pray that he might speak boldly, to speak as he ought to, and to make the mystery of the gospel known, he is not asking for prayer because he gets butterflies or stage fright. The context of his request is that he is an “ambassador in bonds.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF BIBLE STORIES

When those who have the physical power to harm or imprison you, and you don’t flinch

Nathan the prophet rebuked David, and did so after David had already committed one murder in order to cover up his adultery. Nathan, without any weapons, came into the court and told David a story that made David pass a severe judgment on an unnamed man. Nathan then told him that he was that man. That was speaking truth to power.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told Nebuchadnezzar that their God could deliver them, but whether He delivered them or not, they were not going to bow down to his statue. The king in his fury commanded that the furnace be heated up seven times hotter than usual, and the three “rebels” to be thrown in. This happened, and the only things that burned were the guards who threw them in, and the bonds which had bound them. That was speaking truth to power.

When Ahab allowed his wife to murder Naboth for his vineyard, he was the king, holding all the power, and Elijah, an unarmed prophet, pronounced that a famine was going to strike Israel. Jezebel had brought in her fertility worship in order to help Israel “go green,” and Elijah spoke the word of judgment that was guaranteed to turn Israel into a crispy brown. That was speaking truth to power.

IMITATIVE COURAGE

One of the more important episodes in church history was the showdown between Ambrose of Milan and the Emperor Theodosius (reigned from 379 to 395 A.D). Theodosius was a professing Christian, but he was the emperor, and he also had a temper. Once there was an uprising in Thessalonica where a few of his officials were killed. The emperor responded by inviting the citizens of the city to the theater, as though he were going to show them a play, and then sent in his soldiers, who killed about 7,000 people without distinguishing the guilty and the innocent. After this, he came to Milan, and was going to come to church and partake of the Lord’s Supper. He was met by Ambrose, in the sight of all, who excommunicated him, and required him to do penance for his awful crime. This status lasted for eight months, after which the emperor was required to come to church with other penitents, prostrate himself on the ground, and publicly confess his sin. The whole thing resulted in important legal reforms, and that was speaking truth to power.

HOW TYRANNY WORKS

Many assume that the reason we need courage is simply because a tyrant can threaten to pull out our fingernails, and we wouldn’t like that very much. But that is not the place where tyrants draw the fullness of their power. Their threats have real potency when the people they threaten believe that they deserve to be mistreated. This is a function of guilt. A reservoir of guilt is a despot’s dream.

“For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20, NKJV)

And this is why a gospel of free grace is such a threat. It proclaims a message that results in no condemnation (Rom. 8:1), and when people are set free from their fear of condemnation and death, they are set free indeed.

SO BOLDNESS IS A FUNCTION OF FORGIVENESS

Boldness before men must begin with boldness before God. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19). Or: “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” (Eph. 3:12).

When God is in fellowship with a man, and the Holy Spirit has filled that man, then that man and God together outnumber everybody.

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
Would you stand boldly in the courts of human opinion? It might be your family, or your neighbors, or your town, or your nation. Will you stand boldly there? You must receive the grace of God in Christ first.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

Notice that grace—unmerited favor—is mentioned here twice. And mercy is mentioned once, and mercy is demerited favor. And so what is to be our demeanor as we approach the throne of grace? We are to come boldly.

Now how does that work? How can that work? The answer, the only answer, is the perfection of Jesus Christ. He is the grace we need. He is the mercy we need. He is the boldness we need. All that belongs to Him is now ours.

“For the Lord GOD will help me; Therefore shall I not be confounded: Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed” (Is. 50:7).

“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Cor. 1:20).

The Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect man, is your boldness.

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Unity in Two Forms

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Introduction

As the church of God grows and increases in the world, there will be problems that are associated with that increase. You cannot have growth in this fallen world without having the associated growing pains.

The Text

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1–3).

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–13).

Summary of the Text

The therefore in v. 1 is the hinge of the book. Because of all the grand indicatives, Paul says that we are to therefore walk worthy of our vocation (v. 1). We are to walk in patient humility, in meekness, and in love (v. 2), which is how we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit (v. 3) in the bond of peace. This is the kind of unity that is kept by personal godliness. It is the kind of unity that is disrupted by personal ungodliness.

After Jesus ascended into Heaven, He gave gifts to men. He did this, equipping the church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and then pastor/teachers (v. 11). They were given in order that the saints might be perfected, and the body of Christ might be edified (v. 12). The end result of this process of maturation and edification is that we all come into the unity of the faith (v. 13). This unity is not yet here, and it is not supposed to be here yet. A premature insistence on this kind of unity has been, ironically, one of the greatest sources of disunity in the church to date.

Two Sorts of Unity

The book of Ephesians is divided into two great sections. The first three chapters describe our position in Christ, and gives us scarcely anything to do. The only thing we can do with the great indicative statements there is to believe them. The last three chapters are filled with imperatives, with commands. These are the things we are to obey. They are commands, but they are commands built on the foundation of the first three chapters. And as the commands are grounded that way, so should your obedience be.

The fourth chapter contains a reference to two different kinds of unity, and consequently two different kinds of commands are associated with them. The first sort of unity is simply given by the Spirit, and we are commanded to preserve it. The second kind of unity is set before us as an eschatological goal, and we are commanded to strive for it, leaning into the long process of edification.

Two Paths

So we have two kinds of unity, and two paths are given for us to walk. For the first kind of unity, the task we have is that of preserving it. We already have it, and we do in fact have it here in our church community. The way to keep it that way, the way to preserve it, is the way of humble confession when you have done wrong, and humble forgiveness when you have been wronged.

The second path is the way of godly cooperation and competition. This may require explanation, so I will say a few words about that shortly.

Confession and Forgiveness

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). Remember the humility Paul urged earlier in our text. Patience. Love. Meekness. Humility. Deal with sin when you sin. And deal with sin when you are sinned against.

And in a community like ours, where so much good is going on, the great sin to guard against is the sin of envy and striving. “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; But who is able to stand before envy?” (Prov. 27:4). One of the more common manifestations of this is the idea that you can participate in the Moscow Christian community by means of hooky bobbing. That way you can get down the street without being associated directly with that Wilson character.

Cooperation and Competition

In the early church, the first thing that happened as they began to grow is that a conflict developed. “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration” (Acts 6:1). But because the church handled it in a godly and responsible way, selected godly deacons to oversee the work, what was the result? The result was more growth. “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

Many of you have heard me say that our congregation has grown to the size of a small town. I mean, look around you. And consider this number over against the total size of Moscow’s population. Not only so, but because of the Puritan hustle that is involved, we have all the problems that come with growth and multiplication, and we are going to continue to have them. With regard to Christian education, we are now an educational boom town—Logos School, Logos Online, Kepler, New St. Andrews, White Horse, Jubilee, and I am sure some others. Do you think there are any opportunities for cooperation and competition there? Why, yes.

When it comes to distributing the biblical worldview by other means (publishing, video, etc.), we have Canon Press, CCM, Gorilla Poet, Roman Roads, New St. Andrews, Blog and Mablog, and you get the picture.

And then a number of you—wanting to feed your families and all—have started a number of other ventures. We are talking about restaurants, realty companies, medical practices, software companies, light manufacturing, and so on.

Given this glorious set up, if a bunch of you don’t bonk heads, I will be greatly disappointed in you. But I will be even more disappointed if you don’t handle it the way Christian disciples are called to do. Whenever disciples quarrel on the road about who is to be the greatest, just remember that Jesus is just there ahead of us on that same road.

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