Christ Church

Timothy and Epaphroditus 
(Philippians #9)
Christ Church on July 16, 2023
Read Full Article

Why “All of Christ for All of Life”

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

As God has called different ministries to various aspects of His kingdom work in this world, they have often been characterized by different tag lines or summary statements. William Carey, the father of modern missions, said, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” Desiring God says that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” Hudson Taylor is known for saying that “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” And we have summarized the emphasis of our ministry here with “All of Christ for all of life.” Depending on the context, we might add for “for all of Moscow,” or “for all the world.”

THE TEXT

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18–20).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Great Commission can be divided into three parts. The first is the declaration. All authority has been given to me” (v. 18). The second is the commandment. “Go ye therefore . . .” (vv. 19-20a). And the third is the promise— “I am with you always . . .” (v. 20b).

Because Christ has been given all authority both in Heaven and on earth, this means that this commission trumps the wishes of all others. We are given this task on the basis of the authority that has been given to Christ. We know that He has this authority of the strength of multiple passages. He has been given the nations as His inheritance, the ends of the earth for His possession (Ps. 2:8). He approached the Ancient of Days and was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that will never be destroyed (Dan. 7:13-14). The government will rest on His shoulders, and of the increase of that government there will be no end (Is. 9:6-7). In short, He has the authority to issue this command. 

The command is to go out and to do so on this basis. He says “Go therefore.” The basic verb is matheteuo, which means to disciple. Disciple the tribes, the nations, the ethnoi. No civic unit is excluded. This is to be done by baptizing them in the triune name, and by teaching them to obey everything Jesus said.

Then there is the promise. Jesus says that as we engage in this task, He will be constantly with us, even to the end of the age (v. 20). And we see elsewhere in Scripture that this does not exclude the “age to come” (Eph. 1:21).  

CONSIDER ALL THE ALLS

The word for all in this passage is pas. It is used four times. Jesus here claims to have all authority (exousia). He tells us to disciple all nations. He explains that this involves teaching them to obey all the commands He ever gave. And He concludes by telling us that He will be with us all the time.

This commandment is frankly staggering, and it is no surprise that the promise is attached to it. And even despite that promise, we still have a tendency to cook this commission in the reduction sauce of careful exegesis, and  

THE REASON WE ARE OVERWHELMED

The reason we are so often overwhelmed in our Christian lives, whether singly or when considering the church at large, is that we have reduced the monumental task to one that is bigger than we are, but one we still think we might be able to handle. But we can’t, because we are fighting in our own wisdom. The task is enormous. If we keep it that size, then we are going to have to look beyond ourselves to the power and strength of God. Christ gave the promise for a reason. After Isaiah said that of the increase of His government there would be no end, what else did he say? “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”

And this is why the statement of the great Thomas Chalmers is so pertinent. “Regardless of how large, your vision is too small.”

INTO THE CORNERS

Now “all of life” includes absolutely everything, and that can be scary. This means family life, education, economics, resource management, divorce law, sacraments, warfare, moon exploration, word processing, AI, robotics, watercolors, and the cooking of soufflés. If you think I am leaving anything out, just throw that in. So where do we start?

Not surprisingly, we start with your own heart. Repent of your sins. Look to Christ. Trust in Him as your only possible righteousness. From there it should move out to your family, and the principal and characteristic note there should be godly kindness. Not push-over kindness, and not intransigent harshness. Kindness. From that position, consider your vocation—scholar, merchant, tradesman, or other—and in that vocation seek to combine high honesty and peerless competence. 

As we learn to excel in what God has called us to, what happens? “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men” (Proverbs 22:29). Working quietly with our hands, on the task that is right in front of us, is God’s appointed method for getting us to fan out across the globe (1 Thess. 4:11). So the process should be heart > family > world. And you are equipped at every stage of this process when you appear before God, together with your family, on the Lord’s Day, in order to worship Him. 

Sin is off limits, naturally. But nothing else is.

CHRIST IS LORD

In a saner time, the word secular did not mean godless. Secular meant auto mechanics as distinct from singing psalms in worship—but secular did not mean godless. It did not mean unbelieving. The secular world was not an autonomous realm, but rather the realm of the kingdom outside the church proper. 

The sacred space is here, as we are gathered to worship God in the name of Jesus Christ. This is the day that is set apart, and this time is consecrated to sacred use. The bread that we break here is the body of God. But the bread that you break over lunch tomorrow is not polluted bread. You say grace over it. It is consecrated to secular use, in the name of Jesus Christ. And the same thing goes for everything you might touch. 

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

Read Full Article

The First Witness (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #11) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on

Introduction

Today we consider Stephen’s martyrdom and his message to the Jewish leaders, that might be boiled down to the simple quotation from Isaiah: “Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool, what house will you build me?” (Acts 7:49, Is. 66:1-2)

The Jewish leaders hated God, and this means that they used fastidious religious traditions to attempt to keep Him at bay. And so we too must be aware of this tendency in the Christian church. It is not enough that we be around the Word of God. We must listen and obey. We must humble ourselves and worship Him alone.  

The Text: “Then said the high priest, are these things so? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken: the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charan…” (Acts 7:1-60). 

Summary of the Text

The charge brought against Stephen was that he was speaking blasphemies against Moses and God, the temple and the law (Acts 6:11, 13). The high priest asked Stephen if this was true, and Stephen answers the charges with a lengthy summary of Jewish history, beginning with Abraham’s call in Mesopotamia, in the land of the Chaldeans (Acts 7:1-4). The overarching point of Stephen’s message is that God has never been bound permanently to one place: God spoke to Abraham before he lived in the Promised land, before he owned a single square foot of the land, and yet He gave him the covenant of circumcision and foretold the four hundred years of sojourning, including slavery in Egypt (Acts 7:5-8). Stephen traces the story of Joseph, envied by his brothers, but God was with him, all the way down into Egypt, providing for his family, according to the promise made to Abraham (Acts 7:9-17). 

When another king arose who dealt harshly with Israel, God raised up Moses who was rejected by his own kindred, but God spoke to him by an angel of the Lord in the burning bush, which was holy ground and he brought them out of Egypt (Acts 7:18-36). Moses foretold another prophet and spoke many good things, but the Jewish fathers rejected him, demanding the golden calf and worshiping other gods, turning away from the tabernacle that he built that was with them even unto the days of David (Acts 7:37-46). Solomon finally built God a temple, but God does not dwell in temples made with hands since He made all things (Acts 7:47-50). At this point, Stephen drives the point of his message home, calling the Jewish leaders stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears and like their fathers, persecutors of the prophets and rejectors of the law (Acts 7:51-53). When they gnashed their teeth and Stephen had a vision of Jesus standing at God’s right hand, they hauled Stephen out of the city and stoned him, laying their clothes at Saul’s feet, while Stephen prayed for their forgiveness (Acts 7:54-60).  

The Necessity of Debate and Collision

Stephen’s short ministry was characterized by debate, dispute, and controversy (Acts 6:9-10). It can be tempting to think that Stephen was being needlessly confrontational, but we should remember that the ministry of Jesus was much like this: three years of controversy, concluding with an early death. The gospel smells like death to those who are perishing, and those who bring that gospel are covered with that aroma (2 Cor. 2:15-16). And at the same time, controversy and debate is where the truth of the Word shines, confounding and infuriating some, but also softening and piercing others: it is the aroma of life for those who are being saved. There is even a hint of that here with Saul witnessing the murder of the first martyr. 

Resisting the Holy Spirit?

Here, Stephen charges the Jewish leaders with resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). And that may strike some as a strange thing to say. Who can resist the Holy Spirit? Isn’t this like saying they are resisting God? But this highlights the doctrines of predestination and reprobation. In fact, in our sinful state, all men resist God, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18), and it is only those whom God mercifully chose before the foundation of the word to save who cease resisting (Eph. 1:4ff). This doctrine is a stone of stumbling and rock of offence to those who are disobedient, “whereunto also they were appointed” (1 Pet. 2:8). To which the objection comes again: but if they were appointed to be offended and disobedient, who can resist God? And Paul answers this elsewhere: “Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and who he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” (Rom. 9:18-20) This is a doctrine of high majesty, clearly taught by Scripture, which shuts the mouths of men in humility or else drives them to gnash their teeth in fury. 

Jesus Standing

There’s a marked contrast between Jesus standing in Heaven and Saul standing outside the city overseeing the stoning of Stephen. It has been pointed out that in the apostles’ creed and many texts, Jesus is described as “sitting” at God’s right hand (e.g. Mk 16:19, Heb. 1:3, 10:12, Rev. 3:21), but here, at the climax of this story, Stephen sees Him “standing,” in a posture of intercession, like an attorney in a courtroom. The Jews thought they were conducting a trial of Stephen, but it was actually God who was conducting a trial of them. While they condemned Stephen in their sham hearing (thus condemning themselves), Jesus exonerated him while condemning the Jews. And yet, even then, at least one of those guilty Jews would become the answer to Stephen’s prayer, that God not hold their sin against them (Acts 7:60). 

Applications 

The sovereignty of God is what crushes the pride of man. The rejection of the sovereignty of God is ultimately an attempt to wrest some part of that sovereignty from God. The exhaustive sovereignty of God is the theological doctrine that destroys all totalitarianism. And it does this by humbling man in worship. 

It is precisely this humility that listens to the Word of God and obeys. It is this humility that tells the truth even when the truth will offend and infuriate. A Christian is someone who lives coram deo: before the face of God. But because of the mercy of God, this is a great joy and relief. Whatever the Father has for us is for His glory and that is our highest good. 

Read Full Article

Ministries of Word & Table (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #10) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on

Introduction

When God is at work, challenges arise from within and from without. Just as Jesus directed His disciples to feed the crowds that followed Him (Mk. 6:37), so too His Spirit leads His apostles to appoint men to address the needs of widows in the early church so that the Word can continue to multiply. 

The Text: “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 6:1-15)

Summary of the Text

Administrative challenges accompany the success of the gospel, and right on schedule a complaint arises from the Hellenists against the Hebrews that their widows are being neglected in the daily service (Acts 6:1). The twelve apostles charge the congregation to appoint seven men over this table service, so they can continue in the ministry of the Word and prayer (6:2-4). The congregation chose seven good men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and the apostles ordained them, and the word of God increased and the disciples multiplied (6:5-7). 

Stephen, one of the seven new deacons, was particularly gifted with words and wonders, and a party of opposition arose, which when they were unable to resist his wisdom, convinced some men to falsely accuse him of blasphemy (6:8-11). They successfully got many people and leaders stirred up and brought him before the Jewish counsel, and while many false witnesses testified against him, God made his face like the face of Moses (6:12-15). 

Serving Tables

This text has traditionally been understood as the origin of the office of Deacons. While the noun is not used, the verb is used twice: “ministration/service” (6:1) and “serve” tables (6:2). The office of apostle was unique for the first century (eye-witnesses of Jesus, authorized to write the New Testament, Acts 1:8, 21-22), their ministry was passed on to elders (also called bishops), particularly the ministry of the Word (e.g. Lk. 1:2, 1 Tim. 3:1-7, Tit. 1:5-9). While all Christians are called to a general ministry of “service” (e.g. Mt. 20:26-28, Rom. 13:4-6, 1 Cor. 3:5, 1 Pet. 4:10), the word is also used to describe an office for qualified men (1 Tim. 3:8-13) who assist the elders (cf. Phil. 1:1) in a ministry of serving at tables, which we understand to include assisting the elders with the administration of worship, caring particularly for the material/physical needs of those within the congregation as well as those outside. 

Controversy as Opportunity

We have already seen this, but Luke doesn’t want us to miss it: when the Holy Spirit it as work, there will be controversies inside and outside the church, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, controversy is an opportunity for the gospel to go forth. When this internal controversy arises, the apostles understand that they must not be distracted from their assigned task and therefore conclude God is leading them to appoint new leaders to oversee this need (Acts 6:2-4). And the result is clear: “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” (6:7). Likewise, we should be anticipating something similar coming with the controversy surrounding Stephen – more on that later (6:9). 

Like the Face of an Angel

Clearly, Stephen did his administrative work well, and in addition to those gifts, was also a gifted teacher and evangelist (6:8-10). Remember, the miracles of the first century were specifically given as confirmation of the Word of the apostles (cf. Mk. 16:20, 2 Cor. 12:12), but the thing that the Jews could not withstand was his wisdom with the Word (Acts 6:10). And while they brought all kinds of false words against him, his face had the authority of an angel of God, which reminds us of the face of Moses coming down from the mountain, having spoken to God face to face (Ex. 33:11, 34:29-35). Elsewhere Paul says that when Christ is preached in faith and received in faith an even greater light shines on our faces without a veil, changing us from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:7-18).

Applications

We are a growing community and congregation, and we should expect growing pains and needs. We want to preserve real community and personalism, but we should not resent wise administration. Large churches cannot pretend to be small churches. If you see a need, please say something. Just be aware that there are many moving parts to coordinate and sometimes the one who sees a need is gifted to fill it. But guard against all murmuring (e.g. 1 Cor. 10:10). 

We should expect controversy, including persecution, slanders, and lies, and we should expect many people to hear them and get caught up into them. And we should expect blessing to come with it: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” (Mt. 5:10-12).

The Word is the tip of our spear. Read the word. Share the word. This word is our glory. It is the glory of a Holy God who freely saves sinners. This is the greatest wonder – that God takes hearts of stone and replaces them with hearts of flesh – that men and women may be born again – and that wonder truly cannot be resisted. But when resistance comes to that glory, we should be praying for more opportunities to preach this good word, and regardless, please pray regularly for those called to this particular ministry (cf. Eph. 6:19-20).

Read Full Article

Authentic Ministry #1

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Lord willing, we are going to work our way through Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the letter we commonly call 2 Corinthians. We call it this because we only have two letters that Paul wrote to them, although there was likely another one.

THE TEXT

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 1:1–2).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Achaia, mentioned here is our text, is what we would call southern Greece. Northern Greece was known then as Macedonia. Corinth was built on the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Peloponnese was connected to the mainland. Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1; Acts 18:18) was the harbor that serviced Corinth on the eastern side of the isthmus, and another harbor (Lechaeumon) serviced it from the west.

The Corinth of classical Greece had been destroyed by the Romans in 146 B.C. and was left desolate for about a century. The Romans rebuilt it in 44 B.C. and wound up making it their capital of Greece. The city was influential and also sexually corrupt and decadent.

When Paul first came to Corinth (around A.D. 49-50), the city was around 80 years old, and had a population of about 80,000 people. The city was a nouveau-riche boom town, populated by merchants and other hustlers. The Corinthians were wealthy, and their wealth was seen in trade, in sports, and in entertainment. For example, the theater in that city held 18,000 people. Aphrodite was the goddess of the city, and at one time there were five temples in the area dedicated to her. According to Strabo, the earlier Greek temple to Aphrodite was staffed with a thousand sacred prostitutes, which may also have been the case with the new temple in the Roman era.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

And so to plant a church in Corinth was to plant a church in a key strategic location. This was an important city, and that meant that a church there was going to be an important church. This letter is going to be a robust defense of Paul’s authentic ministry, which had been challenged by spurious apostles. This is why Paul begins by saying that his letter is from Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ “by the will of God” (v. 1). The letter was also from Timothy, Paul’s co-laborer. It was addressed to the church of God in Corinth, not to mention all the saints throughout all of Achaia (v. 1). The next verse is the standard salutation—grace and peace from the Father and the Son. You have heard me indicate before that I believe the Spirit is not mentioned by name because He is the grace and peace.

DRAMA IN CORINTH

When Paul had first come to Corinth, he ministered there for about a year-and-a-half. Working together with Timothy and Silas, not to mention Aquila and Priscilla, the initial planting of this church was quite successful. You can read about this period in Acts 18:1-17. After Paul left, he went to Ephesus, then to Jerusalem, after which he returned to Ephesus. After a period of about three years, he wrote 1 Corinthians. This works out because 1 Corinthians was his first letter to them. Paul sent Timothy to Corinth for a visit (1 Cor. 16:1-11).

Timothy discovered that Paul’s enemies had been at work in Corinth, and had orchestrated a revolt against the apostle. Paul then determined to visit Corinth just briefly in order to address everything. That visit was a disaster, what Paul called his “painful visit” (2 Cor. 2:1). All kinds of stories were circulating about Paul, and many Corinthian Christians had rejected him as a result, and had gone after a “different gospel” (2 Cor. 11:4). Paul returned to Ephesus, wiped out, and sent Titus to Corinth with what he called his “severe” letter (2 Cor. 2:4-5). This missing letter is the original 2 Corinthians, while our 2 Corinthians is 3 Corinthians. Still with me? That missing letter called for the Corinthians to repent, and glory to God, most of them actually did. The bulk of the church came back to Paul’s side, although there was still significant clean up that had to take place. That is what is being addressed in this epistle, as Paul is making preparations to come to them for his third visit (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1). 2 Corinthians is cleaning up after the major battle.

AUTHENTIC MINISTRY

In this letter we find Paul’s most extensive defense of his apostolic ministry. He hatedtalking about himself, but he loved the gospel so much that if a defense of gospel ministry required it, he was willing even to do that. Paul tells the Corinthians in this letter that he had been flogged by the Jews five times (2 Cor. 11:24). The Mishnah tells us that the whip had three leather strands, and 13 strokes would be applied to the chest, 13 to one shoulder, and 13 to the other. This happened to Paul five times. That is 585 welts for the kingdom.

Why is Paul emphasizing this kind of thing? Had he given up on trying to impress the Corinthians? Wasn’t their problem with him the fact that Paul was so weak in his bodily presence with them (2 Cor. 10:10)? Yes, it was, but as Paul undertook to teach them the true meaning of authentic ministry, the authentic meaning of real ministry, part of that lesson included learning how God loves to showcase His power in the midst of weakness.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you” (2 Cor. 4:7–12).

So take heart, Christian. In Christ, faithful weakness is our superpower.

Read Full Article