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The Father Seeks Worshippers

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The Text

“When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.4 And he must needs go through Samaria.5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink . . . “ (John 4:1-26)

Christmas Desires

While the Samaritan woman does not usually make the list for Advent passages, this story illustrates the deep longings of humanity and the One sent from God to satisfy these desires. This woman desired water, and Jesus offers water that provides eternal life. She wanted men, and Jesus reveals God as a Father. She sough to worship rightly, and Jesus explains that God is seeking her as a worshipper. The story of the Samaritan woman forms part of the larger story that begins at Christmas with the good news of great joy that the Father is seeking people to worship him in spirit and truth.

Journey to Samaria (vs. 1-6)

Jesus along with his disciples trek from Judea to Galilee in northern Israel. Verse 4 states that “Jesus had to go through Samaria.” In a practical sense, Jesus did not have to pass through Samaria. Many strict Jews avoided Samaria, but Jesus intentionally travels to Samaria and rests at a well outside Sychar.  Since it’s around lunchtime, Jesus sends all the disciples to the town for food. He arranges

A Samaritan Woman at a Jewish Well (vs. 7-9)

A Samaritan woman comes alone to the well to draw water. Culturally, most women draw water in the cool of the morning. Her arrival at noon reveals a clue of her situation. She’s on the outskirts of the Samaritan social scene. If the Samaritans shun you, you’re really hurting. Then Jesus asks the woman for a drink. She responds. “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?” About 750 years of hatred are bearing down on this request for a drink of water.

Living Water and Cracked Cisterns (vs. 10-15)

Jesus continues with his surprises, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that said to you ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water” (vs. 10). Notice that Jesus initiates with a known desire of the woman––water. This woman is an expert on the water in this well. She knows the stats. She knows the urban legend of Jacob. But this woman who everyday lugs her pot to the well knows the need and preciousness of water.

Jesus is offering the woman not something that can be put in  a bucket, but he is offering himself. Jeremiah the Prophet compares living water and cracked cisterns, “Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13-14). Living water is found in the Lord, and in him alone. But those who refuse to drink from this source must dig from their own cisterns that can hold no water. Jesus now identifies the cracked cistern of men that has left her soul thirsty.

Husband Thirst and Wrong Worship (vs. 16-22)

“Go, call your husband, and come here.” She becomes a linguist, “I have no husband.” Jesus confronts her spiritual thirst by pointing out that she has had five husbands and now a live-in boyfriend. The woman is dumbfounded that Jesus knows the details of her life and assumes he is a prophet (vs. 19). A prophet reveals a person’s place in the eyes of God and the way to make things right between God and man. The woman recognizes her sin and the necessity of repentance, but she has been worshipping wrong.

Worship the Seeking Father (vs. 23-26)

Worship of God is possible because the Father is seeking people to worship him. When was the last time this woman experienced a father? Over the years, she had experienced men as husbands, but not a father. God the Father is not distant or scornful but actively seeks to find people. God’s desire for you realigns the desires of your life. What does God want? He wants you to know him as your Father. He wants you to worship him as your God in spirit and truth. This woman has a deep thirst that can only be satisfied in the worship of the Triune God and by the work of the Triune God.

What does the Father want? A world of worshippers. And so the Father has sent his Son Jesus to a world full of people with messed up desires and wrong worship. This is the joyful announcement the angels shouted to the scruffy shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11) This great news of great joy came to the Samaritan woman. And we join in this celebration even now in the season of advent that the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the Desire of the Nations, has come.

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The Apostles Creed 20: The Resurrection of the Body

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction

We began by confessing that God the Father is the Maker of heaven and earth. This means, among other things, that the material created order is good. There is nothing wrong with being made of matter, and there is nothing wrong with being finite. The difficulty that has plagued our race since the Fall has been ethical and moral, and not any essential problem with matter. God likes stuff. He invented it. And this is why we look forward to the rsurrection of the body. We are not yearning to become ethereal spirits.

The Text

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.  He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Summary of the Text

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:42–44).

The apostle outlines a grand metaphor, comparing our present life to the time of seeds and planting, and the day of resurrection to the time of glorious harvest. Following the metaphor, seeds can look pretty nondescript—tiny, little dried up things. The comparison is particularly apt, because there is complete continuity between the seed and the plant that will come from it, and yet at the same time there is apparently a complete discontinuity in appearance.

The seed is corrupt, but the plant has no corruption. The seed goes down into the dirt in dishonor, and in the springtime of resurrection it comes up in glory. The seed is weak, the plant is powerful and full of life. The seed is natural, the resurrection plant is spiritual. This is because there is a body dominated by the soul (psyche) and there will be a body dominated by the spirit (pneuma). We currently live in our soulish bodies, our seeds. We will live in our spiritish bodies, in power, glory, and vibrant life.

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:20–21).

An Old Testament Hope

It is common for us to hear that in the Old Testament there was no real awareness of an afterlife. This is false, but we have to begin by acknowledging that in the Old Testament the resurrection is not as much in the foreground as it is in the New Testament. But it is plainly and evidently there. Let the New Testament tell us what can accurately be gleaned from the Old Testament.

Martha, an ordinary believer with just an Old Testament, knew that her brother would be raised on the last day. “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:23–24). The Pharisees were the orthodox party, and the Sadducees were the liberal party. “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both” (Acts 23:8). And in what they taught, Jesus said that they sat in Moses’ seat (Matt. 23:2), which means that they were hypocritical, not heterodox.

The Messiah would die and not see corruption (Ps. 16:10). Job knew that in his flesh he would see God (Job 19: 26). Daniel predicted the glory of the resurrection. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:2–3).

And right after our text, where Paul has taught us that our bodies are so many seeds, he takes us right back to Adam. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit . . . The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47).

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22). From the Fall to the Resurrection, human history is seedtime. And the seed nature of man has been evident to the faithful for millennia.

Rot and Rise

But let us bring this home. Look at your hand. A time is coming—at a rate of 60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day—when that hand will have no flesh on it. It will be the hand of a skeleton. You will die, and you will decay. You are full of life and plans and purposes now, just as the people living three hundred years ago were.

Now hear the gospel. As certain as that day of death is, it is just as certain that the day of resurrection is advancing toward us at the same rate of speed. In fact the day of resurrection is more certain that the day of death because there will be a generation overtaken by resurrection, a generation that will not have to experience death, but will rather be clothed in immortality.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25).

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The Apostles Creed 19: The Forgiveness of Sins

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction

One of the central features of the new covenant is the glorious reality of forgiveness of sins. In Hebrews 8, Jeremiah’s prophecy of the new covenant is quoted at some length (Heb. 8:8-12). But several chapters later, it is quoted again, but this time in abbreviated form. This abbreviation shows what aspects of the new covenant are being emphasized as central. There are two such aspects—they are the internalization of the law (Heb. 10:16) and the remission of sins (Heb. 10:17-18). It is therefore not surprising to find the forgiveness of sins included in the Creed.

The Text

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.  He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Summary of the Text

“And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:15–18).

The apostle Paul is recounting his conversion, and how the Lord Jesus appeared to him. He asked the Lord who He was (v. 15), and received the answer that it was Jesus, the one he was persecuting. Jesus then told Paul to stand up so that He could make him a minister and a witness, both of what he had seen and what he would in the future see (v. 16). The Lord promised to deliver him from the people and from the Gentiles, those to whom he was being sent (v. 17). As he preached to them, there would be three aspects to their coming into their salvation, which is described as “forgiveness of sins” and an “inheritance among the sanctified.”

Three Stages of Conversion

The first thing is that his preaching would “open their eyes.” The second is that they would be turned “from darkness to light.” The third is the transfer; they are moved from the power of Satan unto God. This is what it means to be ushered into the forgiveness of sins.

To have your eyes opened is here to be made aware of your need. A person in the dark who has had his eyes opened becomes aware of the fact that he is in the dark. But to be in dark despair is no solution; it is simply the awareness of the need for a solution. The second thing is to turn them toward the light, which is the gospel message. At this point they are made aware of the fact that they are in the dark here, but the light is over there. The third stage effects the actual change, where the person is moved from the dominion of the dark into the dominion of the light. That dominion of light is described as receiving forgiveness of sins, and the inheritance of the saints.

Intelligent Evangelism

Giving the gospel to people who have not had their eyes opened is like turning blind people toward the light. Giving the law to people without preaching grace is like healing a blind man down in the depths of a dark cavern. How would he know he was healed?

The holiness of God’s law, God’s righteousness, is what opens eyes. The message of Christ crucified and risen is what shines the light. When the person’s eyes are opened, then they should be turned. The last step is

What Forgiveness Entails

Forgiveness does not mean that God will now accept your excuses. Forgiveness does not mean that God has somehow lowered His standards. Forgiveness does not mean that things weren’t that bad to begin with.

Forgiveness, being grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has to be complete and total. You are cleansed. You are washed. There is nothing in between you and God. In the Book of Life, there is no asterisk by your name. If someone is forgiven at all, they are forgiven completely. There is nothing shaky about it. All your sins, past, present, and future, have had anvils tied to them all, and have been thrown into an ocean of mercy, there to drown at their leisure (Micah 7:19). In the resurrection, you will be at the eastern end of forever, and your sins will be at the western end (Ps. 103:12).

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7).

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14).

Freely You Have Received

Those who are recipients of God’s gifts truly are people who are prepared to give in the same way they have received (Mark 10:8). If we received forgiveness, but are surly when required to extend it, this demonstrates that we never really grasped the concept. A man who refuses to forgive is not a man who has had his eyes opened, or who has been turned from darkness to light, or from the power of Satan to the power of God. No, he is just a man who said that happened. We can see whether it happened or not in the forgiveness he shows.

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt. 6:12).

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14–15).

So is forgiveness of others a “work” we must perform in order to earn our own forgiveness? Not a bit of it. Rather, it is simply a recognition of the truth that when God rescues a man from drowning He does not leave him on the bottom of the pond.

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The Joy of Christ’s Increase

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The Text

“After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison). Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him’ . . .” (John 3:22-36)

Life in Community

We are part of the Moscow community which covers the spectrum of people from the Renaissance Fair to our Reformation Fest. Within this cultural hodgepodge there forms tighter communities––church community, school community, work community, family community. But what happens when one community appears to compete with another community? An unassuming statement like “I love our church community” can reveal competition, rivalries, envy.

A similar situation prompts our story in John 3 when some of John’s disciples vent their frustration about the upstart Jesus and his rival baptism ministry, “Look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” But instead of adding his own grumbles, John directs his disciples to truth that completes his joy––Jesus must increase, but I must decrease. John gives the guiding principle for a godly and joyful life and community. When you live with this mentality––Jesus must increase, but I must decrease, you enter into the life of the Trinity and discover complete joy.

Rival Baptizers? (vs. 22-24)

Jesus and his disciples depart from Jerusalem and begin baptizing. And we could rightly assume that John the Baptist would now retire from his job as the Baptist. Jesus has arrived and He can take it from here. But the passage says that John and his disciples continue to baptize in Aenon near Salim. There’s still water, there’s still people, there’s still time before he’s imprisoned and beheaded. How about this to reshape our thinking on retirement.

Ministry Monopoly (vs. 25-26)

A discussion arises between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. The discussion group comes to John to sort things out. But instead of presenting a question, they vent their frustration, “Rabbi, he who was with you across from the Jordan, to whom you bore witness––look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” They are wounded for John and concerned for his ministry. They thought they had set up a monopoly on the baptism market, and now they feel competition.

He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease (vs. 27-30)

John holds an open hand to his ministry knowing that it all has come from God in Heaven. And remember what he’s said all along––I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. John has not set himself up as a rival to Jesus and doesn’t let his disciples hoist him up on the pedestal either. In fact, his disciples are thinking about it all wrong. They shouldn’t regret Christ’s advancement but rejoices in it. That’s what John is doing. He’s like the friend of the groom on the wedding day beaming as he watches the groom laugh and hug and kiss his bride. The friend has done lots of work preparing this moment (setting up chairs, last minute ice-run, escorting Great Aunt Marge), and it all out of joy.

“Therefore this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” This seems like a backwards way to achieve joy, at least by the world’s reckoning but not in God’s world. The principle is that when Jesus increases, joy increases.

From Heaven and Not From Earth (vs. 31-33)

In the last verses of the chapter, John explains why we should rejoice in the exaltation of Jesus Christ. To begin with, Jesus is not from around here. Jesus has breathed the air at the summit of Heaven and has come down to earth and so has greater authority over man. But Jesus is not only different in superiority but also in substance than any other man. Man belongs to the earth, and as Paul says, “We have borne the image of the man of dust” (1 Cor. 15: 47-49). What do we look like when we share a family resemblance to Adam? We are selfish, envious, quarrelsome, murdering, drunkards and that just gets us a few chapters into Genesis. But 1 Corinthians 15 gives hope of a new image––of the man from heaven who is infinitely different from Adam or any of his earthy descendants.

Life with the Triune God (vs. 34-36)

In verses 34-35, we glimpse the life in the Trinity. Two present tense verbs reveal what the Father does 1)The Father is always giving to the Son the Spirit without measure and 2) the Father is always loving the Son. Giving and loving are central to the community of the Trinity.

Remember we are answering the question, “Why should we rejoice that Jesus increases?” Look at how the Father thinks of Jesus.The Father has sent Jesus from heaven to speak for God. The Father has given Jesus the Spirit in abundance. The Father loves Jesus. The Father has given all things into his hand. What’s the Father’s thinking? “My son must increase!” The Father then turns to the world and asks, “Do you agree?”

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Apostles Creed 18: The Communion of Saints

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction

As we turn to discuss the communion of saints, we first have to deal with how the term communion itself has been downgraded into something fairly mundane. We tend to think of something like community, and since there is a religious tint to it, we make that a nice community. But in our day, we also have the step dancing community, the ham radio community, the LGBT community, and so on. In our idolatry, we have come to believe that we are the tie that binds. But by all that is holy, we are not.

The Text

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.  He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Summary of the Text

“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 . . . But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:3,7).

As always, we must begin with gospel. That which was from the beginning, the Word of life, was in our midst (v. 1). This life was manifested to us, and the apostles bore witness to the eternality of this life (v. 2). Our fellowship is both vertical and horizontal, and only horizontal because it is vertical (v. 3). This is written so that our joy may be full (v. 4). God is light, and in Him there is no darkness (v. 5). It is not possible to have fellowship with Him while also having fellowship with darkness (v. 6). But if we have fellowship with the light, then we also have fellowship with anyone else in the light (v. 7).

And so this is what the communion of the saints means. Through the gospel, we have union with Christ. Because we have union with the bridegroom, this means that, of necessity, we have union with the rest of the bride. The unity of the saints flows from the head. The unity of the saints pervades the entire body of saints precisely because of their connection to the Lord. If we have fellowship with the Light, we have fellowship in the light.

Partaking

The Greek word in the Creed for communion is koinonia, and this is echoing the deep and profound meaning of this reality in the New Testament. You could translate it as fellowship, but for too many Christians, fellowship just means coffee and donuts. Communion is a bit better, but it still does not pack the wallop that koinonia does. The closest I can come is to render it as mutual partaking.

Reformed According to Scripture

Because this phrase came into the Creed a few centuries after the initial composition of it, and because there was so much misunderstanding in the medieval period about the nature of sacraments and saints, churches and so on, it is important for us to register our particular Reformed understanding of this. So permit me to quote the Westminster Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism on this, and I trust you will see the same vertical/horizontal emphasis that we find in our text.

“All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, by His Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with Him in His grace, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory: and, being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man” (WCF 26.1).

“What do you understand by ‘the communion of saints’?

First, that all and every one, who believes, being members of Christ, are in common, partakers of him, and of all his riches and gifts; secondly, that every one must know it to be his duty, readily and cheerfully to employ his gifts, for the advantage and salvation of other members” (HC.55).

Union with Christ is first, and then, as a necessary consequence, you find yourself loving those others whom Christ also loves, and loving those others who, together with you, love the Lord Jesus.

And All By His Spirit

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:15–16).

The biblical logic of partaking works in this way. We grow up into Jesus, and as a result of this, we find the body being knit together. This knitting is truly mysterious, like a child being fashioned in the womb. How and why does it work? How do all the parts know what to do? This is the mystery of a biological body, and the spiritual body works in a similar way, under the hand of our infinitely wise God.

And it is by no means limited to the people in this room, or to the people who have signed off on your denominational distinctives, or even to the people who happen to be alive at this moment. Those who have passed on before us are still connected to the Head, just as you are. That means that, while you must not pray to them, you also must exult in the body together with them. And as for your great, great grandchildren, they also have their place in God’s eternal purposes, and that place is where all of us must turn.

Again, always and forever, this is all about the Lord Jesus Christ.

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