Christ Church

Savior of the World #2

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

INTRODUCTION:

Far too many Christians take a phrase from Luther without the faith of Luther. They do believe that this world is “with devils filled,” but have no knowledge of the “one little word” which fells the evil one. That one little word is cross. Christ is the Savior of the world—not only because He died for the world and for lost humanity—but because in His death He overthrew the reigning principalities and powers who had previously been in power. Tragically, many Christians believe that spiritual warfare is conducted as though Christ never died, or as though His death is irrelevant to that conflict. But this is not what the Bible teaches.

THE TEXT:

“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (John 12:31-32).

THE OLD WORLD:

Throughout the Old Testament we see a celestial and angelic government over the nations of men. The gods of the various nations are closely identified with those nations. For example, angelic beings stand behind the nations of Persia (Dan. 10:13) or Tyre (Ez. 28:11-16). General statements are made in which God is contrasted with these beings, and He is in another category entirely. “Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works” (Ps. 86:8). God was sovereign over such celestials then, but He exercised His sovereignty over and through them. They were, in some significant sense, mediatorial princes. In the Christian aeon, God has established just one Prince… and He is one of us, a man.

THE AGE TO COME:

The period of the New Testament is the time of transition between the reign of the celestial princes, and the dominion of man in Christ. “For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying: ‘What is man that You are mindful of him . . . For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:5-9). The author of Hebrews did not yet see the promise made to mankind fulfilled. Nevertheless, he does see the fulfillment as centered in Christ.

SOVEREIGN AND MEDIATOR:

Now an important distinction is necessary. God, by definition, has always exercised sovereign control over the world. The hair on every head has always been numbered. But in the accomplished mission of Christ, the cross and resurrection, God established a new mediatorial rule in the world. Christ as the eternal Word of God has always been sovereign. But in the Incarnation, God has established His Son as a new mediatorial Prince, and we are seated and enthroned in the heavenly places in Christ.

TRIUMPH:

We must remember the power of the conquering cross. This is how the New Testament describes it over and over again. If we miss this, we are missing a central part of the impact of the gospel.

Note especially the italics. “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him’” (1 Cor. 2:6-7).

What did these rulers not know? They did not know the cross would topple them, and glorify the saints. Jesus said, “… of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:11).

Paul exults in this conquest: “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15 ). A triumph included a public humiliation of the defeated after the battle was over.

What was the point of the cross? “… that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil . . .” (Heb. 2:14)

What Satan offered Christ in the temptation, Christ refused. But Christ refused because He planned to knock him down, and take the kingdoms of men from him. “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house” (Mark 3:27).

RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH:

This is why we worship and serve Jesus Christ. Who is He? “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev. 1:5).

Read Full Article

Surveying the Text: Mark

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

This is the shortest of the four gospels, but Mark uses a number of devices to make it fly by even faster. This is a gospel of now. This is a gospel that is quite effective in presenting us with a sense of vivid immediacy. Mark uses the historical present tense consistently, he uses abrupt transitions, and he uses the phrase and immediately (euthys) 42 times. Story grip is easy while reading Mark. And in this sense, the hand that grips is the hand that saves. So one of our tasks here is to bring this story to life.

The Text

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1).

Some Background on Mark

Let’s begin with the place of John Mark in Scripture. All the manuscripts we have of this book contain the name of Mark in the title. So what do we know of this man from the pages of Scripture? He was a relative of Barnabas—“Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas” (Col. 4:10). We also know that he was son of a certain Mary. “And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying” (Acts 12:12).

Although he was probably from the Dispersion (because of the Latin name Marcus), the family at least had a residence in Jerusalem. This also indicates some measure of wealth (along with the servant girl Rhoda). He worked with Paul for a time. “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark” (Acts 12:25). When they left Antioch, “they had also John to their minister” (Acts 13:5). This was on the first recorded missionary journey of Paul.

John Mark was the occasion for a falling out between Paul and Barnabas. “And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work” (Acts 15:37-38). The next verse records a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over this, resulting in them going in different directions. The good news is that Mark was reconciled with Paul later: “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11). And, “touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him” (Col. 4:10). We are not told who was right in the initial dispute; we are told that it was resolved.

Years later, we know that Mark was with Peter at Rome. “The church that is at Babylon

[probably Rome], elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son” (1 Pet. 5:13). As we can see, the relationship between Peter and Mark was very close. It is likely that Mark’s gospel is his rendition of Peter’s account of the life of Christ.

There are other places where John Mark’s presence is hinted at. A few passages in Scripture maybe applied to our writer, although we cannot be dogmatic about it. It is possible that he was the famous rich, young ruler. This Gospel is the only one to record the fact that when Jesus confronted the wealthy young ruler, he “loved him” (Mark 10:21). If this is Mark, then we may obviously conclude that the rich, young ruler was converted later.

He may also have been the one who fled the night Jesus was arrested. In Mark 14:51-52, we find the odd inclusion of an odd detail — a young man who fled naked at the arrest of Christ. This also may be John Mark. Otherwise, it doesn’t appear to have anything to do with anything. If so, it adds a nice touch to the story—the rich young eventually did give up everything.

And last, it appears that John Mark was at least initially in sympathy with the Judaizers. John Mark left the entourage of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey at the first opportunity after the gospel was preached to Sergius Paulus, a Gentile (Acts 13:13). This may account for the depth of Paul’s opposition to him (Acts 15:39).

We have just a few details about him from church history as well. The historical accounts concerning John Mark are remarkably consistent, and early. First, his nickname—the prologue of an early Latin version of the Gospel records that Mark’s nickname was “stumpy-fingers.” We can only speculate . . . my thought is that it was a lawn mower accident. As indicated earlier, his main source of information was the apostle Peter. This Gospel is written as a collection of Peter’s accounts of the works and teaching of Christ. We learn this from Papias (c. 60-130), bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, from Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215), and Irenaeus (c. 115-202), who was from Gaul. The church uniformly received this Gospel as apostolic precisely because of its connection to Peter. The early sources are also uniform in telling us that Mark was the founder of the church at Alexandria, and that he was the first bishop there. He died in 62 AD, and was succeeded there by Annianus.

The Son of God is Here

Mark begins his account with an unambiguous statement of the identity of the one is who preached in the gospel. In this setting, the title “Son of God” meant Deity to Jewish ears (John 5:18). We cannot know what Jesus did unless we affirm who He is. The words the beginning are reminiscent of Genesis, and we are hearing the account of a new creation.

Combine Mark’s use of the immediate with his three-fold testimony of the identity of Jesus—one at the beginning, one in the middle, and one at the end of the gospel. The pitch is set in our first verse. This is the gospel of the Son of God. But there are three

epiphanic moments. At the baptism of Christ, the Father says, “You are my
Son . . .” (Mark 1:11). On the Mount of Transfiguration, the voice from the cloud says the same thing again (Mark 9:7). And then, at the moment of His death, the same testimony is confirmed by the Roman centurion (Mark 15:39).

This is primitive gospel preaching. This is Peter’s recollection. This shows that the scope of Mark’s gospel is exactly parallel to the early apostolic message—a message that began with John the Baptist and concluded with the resurrection (Acts 10:36-43; 13:24-37). This is the message, and everywhere it is preached in power, it has immediate effects. Why wouldn’t it? It is an immediate gospel.

Put it all together. Christ is God and Christ is here, now. Will you follow Him?

Read Full Article

Our Father David (Father Hunger 3)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

Fatherhood is a gift, and it is based upon promise. It is not a reward, or a trophy. And when a man receives the gift of fatherhood as a gift, the result is that it is a gift to others.

The Text

“And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him . . .” (Mark 11:1-11).

Summary of the Text

Today is Palm Sunday, and we have a Palm Sunday text. We also have a text that points to something important about fatherhood. When Jesus came close to Jerusalem, He sent two of his disciples into a village ahead (v. 1). He told them that they would find there a colt that had not been ridden, and they were to untie it and bring it back (v. 2). If anyone asks about it, just say the Lord needs it (v. 3). Sure enough, this is exactly what happened (vv. 4-6). When the colt was brought to the Lord, the disciples spread garments on it, and Jesus sat on it (v. 7). The way before Jesus was strewn with garments and palm branches (v. 8). Those who went before, and those who came after, cried out, “Hosanna” and “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord” (v. 9). They also blessed the kingdom of their father David, and the one who came in the name of the Lord. “Hosanna in the highest” (v. 10). And so Jesus came into Jerusalem, came to the Temple, looked around, and because it was evening, He returned to Bethany with His disciples” (v. 11).

Our Father David

David here is described as the father of their nation, and the father of the coming iteration of the kingdom as well. What is this based on? There are several things to note. The first is that the kingdom promised to David was a promise of grace (2 Sam. 7:16-18). He was told that God’s mercy would not depart from his house, as it had with Saul’s. Later, David knew that his later behavior had forfeited this grace (Ps. 51:11). But, glory to God, inexorable grace cannot be forfeited. And this is why the perfect Son came as a son of David (Matt. 22:43-45). This is why He rode into Jerusalem as a blessing to the kingdom of David (Mark 11:10). This is why Mary was promised that her Son would be seated on the throne of David (Luke 1:32). And this is why Jesus, once He had been raised from the dead, was promised the sure mercies of David (Acts 13:34). This is right at the heart of the glory of the coming new covenant.

“Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers” (Jer. 33:20-21).

The Lord Has Spoken It

This plainly connects David with the Lord, the son of David, but how does it relate to you in the task you have of being a godly father?

“And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it” (Eze. 34:23).

“And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore” (Eze. 37:24-26).

Godly Fatherhood, A Gift and Not a Technique

In the Bible what receives grace? What receives a gift? It is faith. Where does faith come from? It too is a gift of God. How is this gift given? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).

You extend—because this is the way God runs the world—what you have received. If you as a father have received promises, you can extend promises. If you have received grace, you may extend grace. If you receive grace in nothing but a catechism sense (you talk about grace), but you extend nothing but law to the kids, this is revealing the central problem. What flows in is what flows out.

God has determined to save the world by His grace, and there is no other way it can be done. He saves individual sinners by His grace, which you all have experienced. But He also saves your generations—your children, and your children’s children, and their grandchildren—by His grace. He does this by and through the great son of David, the one who died for sinners. When you think “David” in this context, do not think “great Bible hero.” Rather think “adulterous murderer.”These are the sure mercies of David.

God knows our frame (Ps. 103:13-14). If we receive this information gratefully, we can know that we have by remembering our children’s frame. What flows in is what flows out.

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them” (Ps. 103:17-18).

Covenant keeping does not allow for grace and mercy at the periphery. Covenant keeping by faith sees and understands that grace and mercy are right at the heart of the matter.

Read Full Article

The Gospel and Thanksgiving

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

The gospel is good news for everyone, and this includes all those who have already heard and believed it. The gospel is food, not just information, and so when the gospel is declared rightly it creates and reinforces true faith. The gospel does not unsettle true faith. You are a congregation of God’s people, a congregation of saints. So if I address you this morning with a charge to believe the gospel, it is not because your faith in Christ is doubted, but rather because we must all believe the gospel, and we must do so always. At the same time, to encourage you—not unsettle you—I want to declare the gospel to you. Established saints will be strengthened by it, professing Christians (but unconverted) may be quickened by it, and unbelievers who are visiting us may be called to Jesus Christ.

The Texts

“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:17-22).

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Rom. 7:7).

Summary of the Texts

When a young man runs up (whom I believe to have been Mark himself), he asks Jesus the way to eternal life. Jesus points him to the law of God, giving him a list of the commandments from the second table of the law, all but one—the prohibition of covetousness in the Tenth Commandment. The young man answered that he had done well on all that. All that obedience and he still did not have eternal life! So Jesus tells him that one thing was still missing. He gives him an assignment that touches the nerve center of his ongoing disobedience to the Tenth Commandment. He went away sad, it says, because he had great possessions, which he wanted to keep.

Saul of Tarsus was another young Jewish man who was prepared for the gospel by that same Tenth Commandment. He would not have known sin except for the law. He would not have known lust if the law had not said “Thou shalt not covet.” The second table of the law can be summarized. The law leads us to Christ by posing the fundamental question, which is, “what do you want?”

Wanting and Thanking

We are told in Scripture not to let anyone beguile us with enticing words (Col. 2:4). We are told to overflow with thanksgiving (Col. 2:7). Thanksgiving and covetousness are therefore mutually exclusive. Being seduced or enticed by covetousness (by what you are wanting) is therefore not possible in a thankful heart.

The Arc of the Story

One of the reasons the doctrine of regeneration is so important is because the doctrine of generation is so important. God fashioned man out of the dust of the ground in the first place, but it was the breath of God that established us after His image. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). First God formed, and then God breathed. When God breathed the breath of life into our first father, it was then that he became a living soul, created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). This scriptural language of “image” is closely connected to the reality of generation. When Adam had a son, it was a son in his own image, in his own likeness (Gen. 5:3). This is language that plainly echoes what God had done initially with Adam. Adam had a son after his own image just as God had a son after His own image. In some sense, Adam was son of God by generation.

The way it was with Adam downstream was also the way it was with Adam one generation upstream (Luke 3:38). And keep in mind that Adam means man, or mankind. We may therefore read it as “mankind, the son of God.” Now when Adam sinned, what he was sinned. He was a son of God who sinned. This meant that a new form of generation was established. In some sense, the sons of God became sons of the devil. The mechanism that accomplished this was the mechanism of separating us, as a race, from the life of God. “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18). First there was generation, then degeneration, and then, for the elect, regeneration.

Here is the fundamental question behind each of these categories. Who’s your daddy? Never seek to define your identity apart from your relationships. When did we become sons of God? We were generated in His image when He breathed the breath of life into our first father. When did we become objects of wrath, children of the devil? When our first father took the fruit that had been forbidden to him, but which he coveted anyway (Gen. 3:6; 1 Jn. 2:16). When were we born again, when were we regenerated? When we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ in truth, moved by the Spirit to do so, and God the Father became our Father once again. In short, it happened when the central covetousness died, and the central thanksgiving was born. What is it to be born again? It is the death of covetous wanting, and the birth of thankful wanting.

The Grace of God’s Law

Theologians refer to the three uses of God’s law. But the first use refers to a revelation of God’s character, the righteousness of God that condemns the unrighteousness of man. With regard to the rich young ruler, we are talking about the first use. In order to come to Christ, the old man must die (in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, which is the glorious gospel). But do not grab the old man, and cut his fingernails, or give him a haircut. Do not arm wrestle with him. He must be crucified—his beating heart, which is wanting, always wanting, must die. When that man is raised in Christ, his grasping covetousness has been replaced.

Read Full Article