Christ Church

The Day of the Lord (Acts of the Apostles #5)

Joshua Edgren on

INTRODUCTION

We saw last week that the gift of tongues was a marvelous blessing for those who had ears to hear. For believers, the point was all about the grace of God, and the wonderful works of God. But we also saw that for unbelievers, the reality of gibberish in the streets of Jerusalem was beyond creepy. If they had known the meaning of Scripture, they would have heard ominous music in the soundtrack. They were on the threshold of their doom.

We have seen how Luke set the stage for recording Peter’s sermon. In English, the sermon takes about two and a half minutes to speak, but it says later (v. 40) that Peter spoke “many other words” in the follow up. Given the nature of the case, it is important to take in all of Peter’s sermon at one go.

THE TEXT

“But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh . . . And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come . . . Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:14–36).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Peter stood up, and with a loud voice got the attention of these men of Judea and residents of Jerusalem (v. 14). He responds to the charge of drunkenness first. That cannot be it because, he argued, it was only around 9 am (v. 15). These events were actually a fulfillment of a prophecy from Joel (v. 16; Joel 2: ), which he then quotes (vv. 17-21). God is going to pour out His Spirit on all flesh—sons, daughters, young men, old men (v. 17), not to mention male and female slaves prophesying (v. 18). That is the first portent. The second portent is the disintegration of heaven, earth, sun and moon, leading up to the day of the Lord (vv. 19-20)—thunder, lightning, and blue ruin. In this context, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (v. 21).

Who will the Savior be? These men of Israel already knew that Jesus of Nazareth was attested by God by many miracles and signs (v. 22). The death of these Jesus, also not a secret, was not a divine misfire. Christ was crucified by wicked hands, but also in accordance with the settled plan of God (v. 23). God raised Him from the dead because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him (v. 24). This too was prophesied (Ps. 16:8-11). David saw the Lord, who was on his right hand, such that he would not be moved (v. 25). This was the source of David’s gladness and hope (v. 26). His soul would not be left in Sheol/Hades, and the Holy One would not see corruption (v. 27). The way of life is revealed, and it is joy in the presence of God (v. 28). Peter comments on this passage, saying that David could not have been talking about himself, because his grave was still right there in Jerusalem (v. 29). As a prophet, he was actually saying that a descendant of his would be raised from the dead in order to sit on the throne of David (v. 30), and that this had been sealed with an oath from God. The Christ would be killed, but would not decompose, and would rather be raised (v. 31). Jesus was raised, and all these men speaking in tongues were eye-witnesses of it (v. 32). This risen Christ, now ascended to the right hand of the Father, received the Holy Spirit from the Father, and poured Him out (v. 33). Again, this is not David—for how did David speak of his descendant? He called Him “my Lord,” the one seated at the right hand of God (vv. 34-35; Ps. 110:1). And this is why the entire house of Israel needs to be assured of the fact that God has made this very Jesus, the one crucified a couple months before in that city, both Lord and Christ (v. 36).

DECREATION LANGUAGE

One common form of prophetic declaration is something I call “collapsing solar system” language. The sun goes dark, the moon turns blood red, and all the stars fall like ripe figs in a windstorm. This language occurs frequently in the Old Testament, and there are a number of striking places in the New Testament where these places are cited and repeated. Bible scholars call this kind of language decreation language.

Many ordinary Christians, taking the Bible at face value, go out and look at the night sky, and because everything is still up there, they assume that these prophecies are yet to be fulfilled in our future. But this ignores what the language meant in the Old Testament.

The places are Joel 2:28-32 (cited here); Amos 8:9; Ezek. 32:7; Is. 13:10; Is. 34:4. What do these expressions refer to? Throughout the Old Testament, they always refer to the destruction of a city or nation. “The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw” (Isaiah 13:1). And the meaning of such expressions does not change in the New. Remember, the disciples had asked Jesus when the promised destruction of Jerusalem would occur, and part of His reply was to quote Is. 13 and Is. 34. It means the same thing. He was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, and not the dissolution of the space/time continuum.

Now we saw last week from Is. 28 that the gift of tongues was a portent of destruction for Jerusalem. And Peter’s sermon immediately following makes this explicit. Trouble was certainly brewing. He quotes a passage from Joel, and that passage had two elements. One was the Spirit being poured out voluminously on God’s people, and the other was the great cataclysm. In Peter’s message, these two elements were all of a piece. Pentecost in 30 A.D. and the Destruction in 70 A.D. were all the same event—the great and terrible Day of the Lord.

PREACHING THE RESURRECTION

We do not just preach that Jesus was raised from the dead. We also declare what it means that He was raised from the dead. The risen Christ pours out His Spirit promiscuously—not dispensed with a teaspoon. The risen Christ will visit terrible desolations on the city that murdered Him. The risen Christ offers terms to anyone who willing to call on the name of the Lord. Mercy is extended in the day of wrath. The risen Christ had been identified beforehand by God with miracles, but then betrayed to murderers by the glorious foreordination of God. The risen Christ was raised in accordance with what Scripture had said a millennium before. The risen Christ is on the throne of David, which is the throne of the world. And so it is that the risen Christ cannot be received as anything other than Lord and Christ.

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Two Layers of Meaning (Acts of the Apostles #4)

Joshua Edgren on

INTRODUCTION

In the second chapter of Acts, we have the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, resulting in the gift of tongues, a powerful sermon, and a massive ingathering of new believers. As we read about this stupendous gift of tongues, we might have the same reaction that the initial hearers did. What on earth does this mean (v. 12)?

THE TEXT

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language  . . . And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine” (Acts 2:1–13).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The day of Pentecost was one of the feasts of the Lord appointed in the Old Testament Mosaic calendar (Lev. 23:15). The Feast of Firstfruits was celebrated the day after the Sabbath of Passover week, and the Israelites were instructed to count fifty days after that day, which would end on the day of Pentecost (from the Greek word for fifty). This festival is also called the Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of Ingathering. It was a harvest festival. When that day arrived, the followers of Christ were all in one place, and were all in one accord (v. 1). And suddenly the room where they were all sitting was filled with a sound from heaven—like a rushing mighty wind (v. 2). Cloven tongues like fire appeared, and rested on each of them (v. 3). They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began speaking in other languages (glossa) as the Spirit enabled them (v. 4). Devout Jews were there in Jerusalem, coming from every nation under heaven (v. 5). We are not told directly, but the disciples apparently spilled out into the street because a multitude gathered as the report spread. All of them were confounded because they all heard their own languages (dialektos) being spoken (v. 6). They began to speak to one another about it because they could tell that all the speakers were Galilaeans (v. 7). How is it we are hearing our native tongues (v. 8)? The word again is dialektos. All the nations are then listed, 17 in all (vv. 9-11). The wonderful works of God are being declared in all these different tongues (glossa). They were astonished, but still in doubt about what it could all mean (v. 12). There were also some wiseacres, of course, who accused them of being drunk (v. 13).

TONGUES ARE LANGUAGES

The tongues here are not to be understood as mystical jabbering. These are languages, with grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. We can assert this confidently for various reasons. First, the people listening identified what was being spoken with the languages of their home countries (vv. 6, 8). Second, glossa and dialektos are words that refer to languages. We get our word dialect from the second one. Third, elsewhere the apostle Paul requires any such expressions in church to be translated (1 Cor. 14:13).

153 AND THE FEAST OF INGATHERING

There are 17 nations mentioned here, and 17 is the triangular of 153. This means that 17 plus 16 plus 15 down to 1 all adds up to 153. And that is the number of fish that were caught in John 21:11, when Peter was restored to ministry. And what was that ministry? He had been called to become a fisher of men (Mark 1:17). When Jesus had done a similar miracle for Peter, this overwhelmed him with his own sinfulness (Luke 5:8). So the fish were clearly emblematic of the coming haul at Pentecost. We also have the fact that throughout Scripture, the sea represents the Gentiles and the land the Jews. No one in the Old Testament is shown eating fish, but in the New Testament fishing (and the eating of fish) comes to the front and center.

The practice of encoding numbers in names (called gematria) was common in the ancient world. They could do this in a way that we cannot because they used the same symbols for letters and for numbers. We have Roman letters and Arabic numbers. But in Hebrew, the first nine letters corresponded to 1-9, the next nine were 10-90, and the last five were100-400. So?

Well, the prophet Ezekiel promised that the time of the New Covenant would be a time of glorious fishing. “And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many” (Ez. 47:10). The prefix En simply means spring, and so if we look at the numerical value of Gedi in Hebrew, we find that it is 17, and the value of Eglaim is 153. Ezekiel is talking about the salvation of the Gentiles under the figure of fish, swimming in living waters from the Temple, and he uses these two numbers. This means that we are justified in taking 153 as a symbolic number for the Gentile nations who will be brought into the kingdom of God—fulfilled here at Pentecost.

TWO LAYERS OF MEANING

Because these tongues were actual languages, one of the things meant would be the things that were being said. What the disciples were declaring were “the wonderful works of God” (v. 11). The languages meant what the languages were saying.

But what did the mere fact of this miracle mean?

“Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. In the law it is written, with men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord [Is. 28:11-12 (see also Dt. 28:49)]. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? [or drunk]” (1 Cor. 14:20–23).

For the unbelieving Jews, the sign of foreign languages in the streets of Jerusalem was a sign of pending judgment. You would not listen to the prophets who continually warned you in your own language (Is. 28:9-10), so maybe you will understand when you hear the languages of foreign soldiers in your streets. But for the foreigners who heard the wonderful works of God in their own language, this was the equivalent of prophecy, which was for those who believe.

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To Glorify Christ (Pentecost 2024)

Grace Sensing on

INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit has been active in the world since the creation of the world. He appears in the second verse of the Bible, for example, hovering over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2). In every era, God is always God. The Son of God is always the visible image of the invisible Father, and the Spirit is always the one who empowers and equips. Nevertheless, we do see a difference between the Old Testament and the New in this regard. The Spirit has always been the one ministering forgiveness, and cleansing, and power. This has always been his work. But in the Old Testament, His operations were much more surgical and precise. In the New Testament era, His operations are much more torrential. Water is always water, and while it would rain in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, the dam has burst. 

THE TEXT 

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1–4). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Pentecost is a Christian holiday, but it was also an Israelite holiday also, called by the same name. The word means fifty, and it occurs fifty days after the sabbath of Passover week (Lev. 23:16). It is also called the Feast of Weeks. In the English-speaking world, it has also been called Whitsun. It was a harvest festival, and so God waited to pour out the Spirit until it was time to harvest the first great crop of Christian converts. 

The Christians were already of “one accord” and waiting for power and authority, just as Jesus had instructed (Acts 2:1; Luke 24:49). There was a powerful sound, like a mighty rushing wind, but the sound was inside the house where they were (v. 2). Cloven tongues of fire appeared above each of them, and sat upon them (v. 3). These fire tongues (glossa) are described with the same word that is used in the next verse for the different languages. They were all filled with the Spirit, and began to speak in other languages (glossa here, and dialektos in v. 6). This is not so much a reversal of Babel, because they are still speaking numerous languages (Gen. 11:7), but it certainly is a reversal of the curse of Babel.

THE SPIRIT IN OUR MIDST

Theologians make a distinction between the ontological Trinity, the triune God as He is in Himself, and fully known only to Himself, on the one hand, and then the economical Trinity, God as He manifests Himself to us in this world. This of course is not a claim that there are two Trinities, but rather is a distinction between the Trinity as God knows Himself, and the Trinity as He reveals Himself to us. 

We know that Almighty God is one (Dt. 6:4). Christians are monotheists. Within the Godhead, there are three eternal Persons, all equal in power and deity. The Father is revealed to us as the source and origin. He is the Father. The Son is begotten by the Father, and is the only begotten Son of the Father (John 3:16). The Holy Spirit is called both the Spirit of God (Matt. 12:28) and Spirit of Christ (Phil. 1:19), and so we confess that He proceeds from both the Father and the Son. All together are the one true God.

All of this is of great practical importance. We pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus His Son, and we do so in the power of the Holy Spirit. All of our prayers function within the triune goodness of God. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). For through Jesus we have access to the Father by one Spirit. If I may use a homely illustration, the Father is the city we are driving to, the Son is the road we are driving on, and the Spirit is the car we are riding in. And all of it is happening within the one God, in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

But none of this is a pedestrian matter of getting us from “here” to “there.” The tongues are all from different places, true enough, but they are also all on fire. The thing that moves us is a Spirit of glory. 

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26). “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:14). 

MAKING MUCH OF JESUS

My father liked to tell a story that illustrated how the Spirit works to glorify Jesus Christ. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). My parents were friends with Corrie ten Boom, and one time they brought her to Annapolis to speak. My father had given one of Corrie’s books (A Prisoner and Yet) to a Jewish neighbor, who then got really excited when she found out that Corrie was coming. She asked if it could be arranged for Corrie to speak at her synagogue. That was worked out, and my father took her there and sat listening to her talk. One of his thoughts was that “if she says ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ one more time, we are not going to make it out of here.” And his point in telling the story was that when people are filled with the Spirit, they cannot help making much of Christ.

So we are not to come to the Spirit as though He were the destination. That is not what He wants. That is not His work. His work is to glorify the Son. We do not come to the Son as though He were the destination. That is not what He came to be. He said that He is the way (the road), the truth and the life (John 14:6). His work is to bring us to the Father. We honor the Spirit best by working with what He came to do. And so lift up the name of Christ, and our triune God will sort out everything else.

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Pentecostal Waters (Pentecost 2023)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

As we commemorate the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we not only remember that the Spirit was given to us. We also remember that the Spirit is given through us. The Spirit flows out from us to heal all of the sick places.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In Ezekiel’s vision, he is brought to the door of the temple where waters issue forth, run down by the side of the altar, and flow east (v. 1). The man with Ezekiel took him a thousand cubits east and this river was to the ankles, another thousand and the water was to the knees, another thousand and the water was up to his loins, and after another thousand it was deep enough to swim (v. 3-5).

On both banks of this river were many trees (v. 6). The man told Ezekiel that the river flowed down to the desert and eventually would reach the sea, resulting in the sea being healed (v. 8). This river would give life. There would be so many fish that fishermen would spread their nets and catch boatloads of various kinds (v. 9-10). While the river will bring healing and blessing, there are some marsh places that will remain unhealed (v. 11). Because the waters from the sanctuary feed the trees, they won’t die. They will produce new fruit for food and leaves that will heal like medicine (v. 12).

EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The temple Ezekiel sees is the Christian Church and the river flowing from that temple is the Holy Spirit. This becomes clear by considering two other texts closely associated with our sermon text.

In Revelation 22, right after John beholds “the bride, the Lamb’s wife . . . the holy Jerusalem,” he sees the river of life as Ezekiel did. It proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. On either side of the river, there is the tree of life, bearing fruit every month with leaves that were for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2).

The second text is John 7:37-39 where Jesus cried out on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, calling those who were thirsty to come to Him and drink. Christ said, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). John adds, ” But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39).

EAST OF EDEN?

A great amount of confusion comes because we do not know where we are. Many Christians think that they are still east of Eden. But God has said that in the day He cleanses His people, “they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden'” (Ezekiel 36:35). Ezekiel’s temple vision—a vision of the Christian Church remember—was full of Edenic imagery (cherubims and palm trees). After the fall, God set His cherubims at the east of Eden so that we could not get back to the tree of life. But Ezekiel saw the glory of God come from the east and enter into this New Eden (Ezekiel 43:2).

A RIVER OF LIFE

We may not be east of Eden. But there are some still out there in those desert places to which the river flows. Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that the muck of the marshes will climb their way up to the temple of God and pollute it. But water flows downhill after all. We have believed in Christ and just what He promised has come to pass. The Holy Spirit—the river of living water—flows out of our hearts to the world bringing fruit and healing with it.

FROM THE SANCTUARY

Knowing where we are is foundational. Knowing that the river is flowing is essential. But we must progress to see how this particular operation works. Christ is the source of this Living Water. We are not the headwaters. Christian living is diametrically opposed to the way one lives without Christ. Apart from Christ, all you have is the flesh. But Christians walk by the Spirit. We come to Christ and drink. Doing so, we find that water has welled up in us and flows from our hearts.

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come . . . Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

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Take Over the World (Pentecost 2023)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Paul’s vision for the church of Crete was not narrow in scope. He was’t just trying to get them to have more polite manners at the dinner table. This letter is an instruction manual for a culture war. Titus is tasked with laying the groundwork for conquering the globe with the Gospel. Crete may be a mess, but if the wind of God blows, the dry bones will live and move once more.

THE TEXT

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost […] Titus 3:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul’s movement of thought has gone from elders & their households specifically (1:6-9), to Christian households in general (2:1-10). He now broadens the circle a third time to encompass all Christians’ duties as citizens (3:1-3). Crete was the home of many mercenaries, as well as many busy harbors, which brought in all manner of riff-raff; the population of Crete was notorious for villainy. Christians were to live in stark contrast. They should live in mindful submission to the magistrate, eager in good works (v1), refusing to join the course banter & brawling of the unbelieving, and instead should be marked by gentleness coupled with harnessed strength (v2).

The dissolute life they (and Paul) once lived (v3), has been washed away by the kindness of God appearing (v4, Cf. 2:11-14). This salvation is “not by works” but by mercy, the two-fold mercy of regenerative washing & the renewing work of the Holy Ghost (v5). This mercy comes to us, in abundance, through Jesus Christ our Savior (v6). All the exhortations to good works throughout this epistle should be couched in this high-octane Gospel: justified by His grace (v7a). But this justification makes us heirs of God the Father & the eternal life which is found in His Son Jesus Christ (v7b, Cf. 1 Jn. 5:12, Heb. 7:16). The glory of the Gospel should cause those who believe it to maintain good works (vv8, 14); this point is clearly important because Paul repeats it once more in verse 14: “maintain good works, do not be unfruitful.” Believing in God, and being careful to maintain good works, is good and profitable unto mankind. This is how the church will subvert the ungodly world (v8b).

Paul then gives instructions as to what to do about the false teachers and division specialists who were bothering the church. Were he writing to us, he might says something like: “Don’t spend much, if any, time arguing in YouTube comment threads.” All these squabbles ––about Zeus’ birthplace (and if perhaps you were descended from him), or what specific angels did, or how thin you could slice the plain law of Moses––are all unprofitable (v9). Verse 10-11 gives us the only reference in the NT to a “heretick” and what to do about him: rebuke him a time or two, and then let him fall headlong into his self-deception (vv10-11).

Paul closes his letters with some final practical details, and final blessings of true Christian love and prayers for grace (vv12-15). One detail in this closing we shouldn’t overlook is that Paul expects Titus to get all this in place in enough time to be able to join him in Nicopolis by winter. Other men will take over what Titus’ began. An encouraging thought is found here, a true reformation doesn’t need a long time to get started, even while it will take generational faithfulness to sustain it.

ZEUS’ BIRTHPLACE

Some Greek mythology is actually at play in the background of this epistle. As the legend went, a cave on Crete was believed to be the place where Zeus’ mother hid him from his father, Cronus. Cronus had devoured all his previous children. But Zeus had been hid away on Crete, to be raised in secret. Once Zeus was strong enough, he overthrew his father, delivered his siblings from his father’s stomach, and then, by casting lots, the rule of Mt. Olympus was given over to Zeus.

Many on Crete believed that they were possible descendants of this Titan. Thus, the fables of lineage captured the social imagination. But along comes a rival story, a rival myth, and one that just so happened to be true. God the Father sent His Son. The Christ died in our stead, washed us with covenantal waters, and renews us by His indwelling Spirit. All of this means that those who trusted in Christ were made true heirs of the eternal life of God.

The divine life is yours; not by fables, but by faith. This Gospel is a potent story which upends dominant cultural narrative of their day. This divine life is yours because you have received a new paternity. In regeneration, God becomes Your Father. This takes place when you are washed in Christ & renewed by His Spirit. None of this is by your doing. It isn’t obtained your striving to get it from your Father. Rather, it comes to you by His grace & favor alone. Your Father is not a devourer like Cronus. Your Father gives you Himself, by giving you His Son (Cf. 2:14).

GRACE IN THE HARBORS

We might ask, why did Paul single out this island of scoundrels and scallawags as worth devoting some his best resources? The harbors of Crete were one of the main crossroads of the Mediterranean. Paul identified correctly that if these “lymph nodes” of commerce were conquered, it would have a disproportionate impact on the Gospel effort to take over the world.

But like the hymn puts it: not with swords loud clashing, or roll of stirring drums, but with deeds of love and mercy, the heavenly kingdom comes. This overthrow will come by the Christian church being vibrantly alive. The gracious gift of the Gospel is followed by the good works of the Spirit. As A.A. Hodge put it, “Grace in the heart cannot exist without good works
as their consequent.” We should also lay stress upon the fact that Paul’s vision is not an escapist mentality. He insists that these good works are to be done publicly, in the civil sphere, with an aim to bring about the total reformation of the culture of Crete.

God’s favor has been described & depicted in some wonderful terms throughout this letter: the kindness & love of God (3:4), the blessed hope (2:13), the hope of eternal life manifested in the preaching of Christ (1:2-3). Once this grace takes root in the harbors, it will overthrow empires. Paul’s strategy works at every level, from the individual to the empire. Where is the mess? That’s where God’s grace will appear, not to leave the mess as it is. Through Christ, abundance of grace is shed upon you. The Holy Spirit brings renewal. To use one example, the dead frost of winter gives way to the fresh life of spring.

WASHED & RENEWED

Dead men have dead works. The wicked men were subverting others’ households (1:11) because they themselves were subverted (3:11). Sin is self-delusion. Paul includes himself, “For we ourselves were once” this way. Every time you sin, you, in effect are the fool saying in his heart, “There is no God.” Jesus told the Pharisees that by rejecting him as Messiah (the anointed Prince), they were showing that their father was the devil. Sin is unfruitful. Sin is dead works. Sin is the result of being a descendant of Adam, and his capitulation to Satan. The Spirit comes, and brings life. He brings a second generation. A new paternity. Pentecost wasn’t followed by the idleness of corpses, but with the activity of New Birth.

Your baptism tells you two things. First, you once were dead in Adam; and so none of your righteousness will suffice. Secondly, it tells you that God is your Father. You are an heir. Regeneration is not a matter of subjective feelings, but of the objective work of the Spirit, which renews you. Christ washes you, the Spirit renews you, and the Father calls you child. You are washed in wave after wave of the free grace of God through Christ, and then the Spirit renews you day by day, week by week, to bear the fruit of God’s life in you. Baptized in Christ you can know that God is your Father. Renewed by the Spirit, you are told to get to work taking over the world with Christ’s abundant life.

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