Believers Armed and Dangerous

In God’s Name

What does it exactly mean when someone says they will do something “in God’s Name?”  Is this some sort of Christian magic word: if we use God’s name everything we say and do will be successful?  David used God’s name when he stood up against Goliath:

1 Sam. 17:45 (ESV) Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

Did David mean He not only could use God’s holy name to be successful but also must mention His name?  I don’t think so. He was warning Goliath he had the power and authority of the God of the universe behind him.

As in English, the word “name” has several meanings in both Hebrew and Greek.  In Hebrew, it can mean reputation as when Nimrod and his followers decided to build the Tower of Babel:

Gen. 11:4  (ESV)  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

These guys wanted to become famous, to make a name for themselves.  So name can just mean fame or reputation in Hebrew.

The same is true of Greek. The word name can mean power and authority as when we hear “in the name of the law.”

Acts 4:7 (ESV)  And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?

I want to pause here for a moment and make it clear that, of course, name in the Bible usually means just what we use it for most often, to identify a person, place, or thing:

Gen. 3:20 (ESV)  The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

The problem is when some folks believe a word must have only one meaning, one definition.  When we pray, we rightfully usually end with “In the name of Jesus” because Jesus told us to in John 14:14:

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Even here, asking in Jesus name is simply asking using the authority and power of Christ in our prayers.  It’s not some lucky token to assure our prayers.  We are praying to Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit asking for their power and authority to act on our behalf, so in effect, we are praying in the name of the Lord.

In the New Testament, God’s personal name, Yahweh, doesn’t appear in any of the more than 5,500 Greek manuscripts we’ve found.  God’s personal name wasn’t important for the early church, just His power and authority in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus taught us to pray to the Father or to Himself (Matt. 6:9; John 14:14).  So, those who believe we must pray in the actual personal name of “Jehovah” don’t have a leg to stand on. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses, being one of these groups for instance, have inserted the name “Jehovah” 237 times into the New Testament in order to uphold their claim they speak for Jehovah God.  Even though Jehovah’s Witnesses have done this arbitrarily, their New World Translation has Jesus mentioning “Jehovah” only 22 times.  20 of these are Old Testament quotes which contain God’s name and 2 times in Mark but never in prayer.  Even when Jesus taught us to pray, as mentioned earlier, He told us to pray using “Father” to address God the Father (Matt. 6:9).

Why is this important?

Knowing God’s name is not as necessary as knowing God.  If we understand doing things in the name of Jesus Christ or the name of the Lord, we are just asking God to give His power and authority to us to accomplish the task He has given us to do. 

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were great men of God yet never knew God’s personal name, and they seemed to get along just fine:

Exodus 6:2-3 (ESV) God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.

There’s no magic in the name.  In fact, the name “Jehovah,” for instance, isn’t really God’s name.  It was invented by a Catholic monk named Martini in the 13^th century.  God’s personal name is four Hebrew Letters, all consonants and no vowels: YHVH or YHWH are as close as we get to it in English.  The commonly used “Yaweh” is these four consonants with the vowels added to make pronunciation easier.

God’s name was considered too holy to be pronounced by the Old Testament Jews and by many Jews today, so it was never pronounced, only written.  The correct pronunciation was lost over the years.  Some think it was lost when the Roman general, Titus, destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem in 70 a.d.

So, we know to Whom we should pray: the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, or just use the general term “God.”  We can use the name Yahweh or Jehovah if we like.  The point is God wants to hear from us and wants to include us in His work.  Joining with Him to minister to others is to work in the name of the Lord.

Does God Use Evil Spirits?

I came across a passage in 1 Kings this week while researching something entirely different and have been intrigued by it since:

1 Kings 22:19-23 (ESV)  And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; ²⁰ and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ ²³ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”

It looks like “all the host of heaven” includes demons or evil spirits.  One of these spirits came before God to volunteer his malevolent service in the employment of God as the evil spirit he was – a lying spirit in the mouths of false prophets but still under God’s authority and to do His will.

Now, anyone who has read the book of Job knows even Satan is under God’s authority.  It’s the fact here in 1 Kings that someone volunteered to do evil and that God okayed it in the interest of His plan to overthrow King Ahab.

So I got to wondering about God sending evil spirits like this to do His work.  If God is omnibenevolent – infinitely good – and His plan is just and good, then why use an evil spirit to accomplish it?  “On top of this,” I thought, “what’s in it for the spirit?” 

I don’t have a clue what’s in it for the spirit unless he gets some unmentioned benefit or it’s just part of his nature he must favor God’s will.

I’m convinced the spirit God used in the above text is evil because it does something evil.  It speaks lies through the false prophets.  As Eddie, a friend of mine, likes to quote his mom: “Sinners sin.  That’s what sinners do.”  Well, I think that can be applied here.  Evil spirits lie.  That’s what lying spirits do.

Then I thought about why God might send an evil spirit.  Certainly in the above case, He wanted Ahab to believe the lies he so desperately wanted to believe and lose the battle.  I started to think God could use evil spirits in other ways as well.

So, I started to think of who else God might have sent evil spirits to.  “Well,” I thought, “There was the evil spirit God sent to torment Saul.”

1 Sam. 16:14-15 (NASB)  14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. 15 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.

This has always been an important passage personally to me.  In October of 1975, God sent an evil spirit to me.  That night, after my wife fell asleep, the spirit stood at the foot of our bed.  I couldn’t see anything, but I could certainly sense the evil that was present.  It stayed there for about an hour and scared me to death.

During the previous six months, I had fought God’s attempts at getting me to turn control of my life over to Him.  I had someone in control of my life when I was a child, and it was terrible.  I didn’t want to enter into a similar relationship with God in case I couldn’t trust Him.

The arrival of the evil spirit in my room allowed God to show me where my choice would take me if I made the wrong one.  It was clear a decision needed to be made. I had to choose eternity with either this guy or God.  I chose God as a result, and have never been happier.  So, sometimes God sends an evil spirit for good.  Perhaps He did this with Saul, but Saul “chose poorly.”

Why is this important?

There are things God does that seem out of place to us but are well within His character.  Evil is ungodliness, and God cannot be both godly and ungodly.  Being ungodly is not in His nature, of course.  Yet, evil speaks to many where godliness does not.  God may well allow evil to accomplish His purposes here on earth. As in my case and others, in fact, it may be necessary.

The Nazi’s murder of six million Jews during WWII is the epitome of evil, yet without it I doubt the nation of Israel would exist today.  God may well have used the Nazi evil to bring about His fulfilled prophecy.

As I’ve said in the past, I’m not sure exactly how much our lives here on earth rate in importance in God’s plan.  We are here to represent Him to others, to share His gospel, to live in a way that attracts the lost to His kingdom, but I’m not convinced outside of those exceptions whether it’s important to God that I die quietly in my bed on my one hundredth birthday or in an automobile accident at age fifty.  It is our next life that greatly concerns Him: whether I die as a believer and have accomplished my assigned tasks.

This is something for us all to think about.  God cannot sin, He can’t do evil things, but it seems He can allow evil things to take place under His control in order to further His divine plan.

The end of John chapter 6 is the aftermath of Jesus telling the folks who followed Him from His feeding of the 5,000 the day before.  It was obvious to Jesus most of these were looking for more free food, but He had told them He was the bread of life and they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood if they were to receive eternal life.  He also said in verse 62 that He was from heaven.  These sayings didn’t set well with the crowd, and many chose to leave and no longer walk with Him (vs. 66). 

Then Jesus turned to Peter and asked if the twelve disciples would desert Him as well, and Peter says something very interesting:

John 6:68-69 (ESV)  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

The word for “believed” is the Greek word for faith and faith comes by hearing the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17).  Peter also said the twelve had “come to know” Jesus was the Holy one of God.  How did they come to know?  They came to know by example, by the example Jesus gave of the character of God.

Many of us have loved ones who are lost to the world.  We pray for them and share God’s word with them.  Sometimes we have burned the bridges of communication with them by being overzealous in our witnessing.  I’ve done this to the point my brother didn’t want to hear anything on the subject of God from me for decades. The feeling of loss is terrible.

As Christians we look for more effective was to influence the lost to see the truth of the Gospel.  We most often use words in attempts to accomplish this, but this is only one facet of what Peter found led Him to the truth.  The second was the influence, the example of Jesus.

When we shut down people with our constant witnessing to them and are told to stop talking about our faith, what other ways can we try? 

There is a story I like called Mary’s Room.  Mary was born completely color blind.  She saw the world only in black and white.  At a young age, Mary learned about color, something she was missing, so she dedicated her life to studying color: the color red in particular.

By the time Mary was middle aged, she had learned all there was to know about the color red.  She had studied the reflective property of red objects, the frequency of red light waves, and so on.  About this time, she heard of a surgical procedure that would “cure” her so she might actually see red. 

After the surgery, Mary awoke to see a red rose in a vase beside her hospital bed.  She was overjoyed she actually saw red.  The question is did Mary learn anything new about the color?  Of course she did, but she couldn’t describe it to others who had never seen the color red.

How is this important?

As Christians, we have much the same problem as Mary in describing the change Christ brings to our life.  We have problems describing the indescribable.  We use words like “peace,” or “joy,” or “love,” but those words just don’t do our new life justice.

What Peter said about “coming to know” Jesus was the Holy One of God applies to how we should witness Christ.  God lives in us.  As Christians, we should display the qualities of Jesus in our daily lives and not just on Sundays.  When we’re at a family gathering and people see us acting impatient, intolerant, unkindly, they don’t see Jesus.  They see Jesus when we show His attributes exist now in us.

Gal 5:22-26 (ESV)  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Only when we display the fruit of the Spirit of God to those living in this broken and lost world will they see Jesus, will they “come to know” Him Who lives in us.  Maybe God can use us to rebuild those bridges we burned down. When we can’t give the Gospel, we must live the Gospel.

What Is Truth?

I once spoke with a bi-polar gentleman who was convinced John F. Kennedy was still alive.  No matter what I said, he wouldn’t change his mind.  I asked if he’d seen the McGruder film of JFK’s assassination, he had but believed it was faked.  I asked if he knew there had been an investigation which showed autopsy photos, testimony of people who were there, and forensics which prove beyond a shadow of a doubt JFK was dead.  He thought they were faked as well, and asked what would you expect from the very agencies who are trying to cover this up.  When I asked him for a motive, he said because the CIA has other plans for him.

When someone has accepted something as true beyond a shadow of a doubt, it is hard to convince them otherwise no matter the evidence.  They get into a circular reasoning cycle:  “I know it’s true because I know it’s true.  Never mind the facts.  Never mind the testimony.  I know it’s true.”  I find there is very little chance of reasoning them out of such a position because they often have not reasoned themselves into it.  Usually only the Holy Spirit can convince them.

The belief in various similar conspiracy theories has spread into the church especially in recent years.  The current events in Israel have sparked a deeper interest in eschatology – the last days.  Looking for signs of Jesus soon return can lead some to look for Satan under every rock, behind every tree.  Yes there are signs, but they shouldn’t lead us to look for signs that aren’t there.  That’s not our job as Christians. Believe what you want.  It’s a free country.  The problem comes when these conspiracy theories begin to spread through the church causing discord.

Prov. 6:16-19 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:

¹⁷     haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸     a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,

¹⁹     a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Discord in the church is a definite no no.  Our job as Christians is to serve Christ, share Christ, and live Christ.  Looking for and sharing unsubstantiated reports of unseen forces, government plots to control the world, and so on, take us away from our central tasks.  There is no doubt Satan is at work today but he loves distractions like these that take us away from our central task.  There are people who spend much more time looking into space men, strange creatures that once roamed the earth, and grand government plots to do who knows what to us rather than spending time studying God’s Word.  Unfortunately the discord they spread is contagious.  It draws some of us away from keeping our eyes on the Son of God and we turn toward the world for answers.

One way to prevent this, at least in our own lives, would be to check out the sources from which we hear these strange things.  A friend of mine said recently “I’m a skeptic at heart, but I’m open.  I’ll disbelieve until it can be proven.  Then I’ll believe it.”  I totally agree with this.

Why is this important?

Our Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, not the Way, the Rumor, and the Life.  When we spread rumors that are later proven wrong or even foolish, we are showing the world a different model than the Christian ideal.  We’re showing ourselves to be the nuts and blind believers they accuse us to be.  I, for one, don’t want to shame my Lord by spreading silly stories and false rumors.  People are watching us.  Let’s give them a portrayal of Jesus people we can be happy with and so will He.

Truth is arrived at by either personally experiencing the claim: “It’s raining outside,” or by hearing it from a trustworthy source, “God so loved the world that He gave His Son.”

The problem comes when we start to think all sources are trustworthy or all who agree with me are the only trustworthy sources.  Once we’ve placed our total trust in men, we have stepped away from God.  Pastors who know their stuff will tell you to question what they say because they are fallible.  We need to be willing to question all sources that come to us.  Scripture itself tells us to test all things yet we listen to something “interesting,” something that “tickles our ears,” and accept it as if it were true.

Satan represents himself as an angel of light, and some accept anything that sounds “lightful.” 

1 Thess. 5:21  but test everything; hold fast what is good.

1 John 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Eph 5:6-8  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become partners with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

The Greek word translated disciple is mathetes.  The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament says it means “more in the NT than a mere pupil or learner.  It is an adherent who accepts the instruction given to him and makes it his rule of conduct.”

Is that the kind of disciples we are?  Look at John 6:66-69:

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

These “disciples” were among the five thousand men (plus women and children) who were fed earlier in the chapter with two fish and five loaves.  They had followed Jesus because they had been fed physical food.  They were looking for more of the same and thought Jesus was a sort of food dispenser.  Jesus said rather that He was the bread of life, and they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood to gain eternal life. 

“Eat My flesh and drink My blood?”  This was the hard saying Jesus shared with the crowd and the saying that had caused them to turn back and desert Him.  The twelve stayed, though.  When asked  why they hadn’t left Jesus too, Peter answered where else could they go?  Jesus alone has the words of life.  He alone is the Holy One of God.

In reading this I began to think how much of a disciple I truly am.  When God tells me to do something hard, do I do that gladly?  When I read a convicting passage, do I turn to God or turn away to my fleshly desires?

A few blogs back, I pointed out that Jesus forced or coerced His disciples into the boat to cross the Sea of Galilee.  I think they could have refused.  Four of these men were experienced fishermen extremely familiar with the Sea of Galilee, yet they got into the boat and crossed over through a violent story.

How often in our Christian walks has God asked us to do something extremely difficult, something we know will be dangerous or cost us greatly?  When this happens, do we act like the disciples who turned away from Jesus because His sayings were hard, or are we like those who got into that boat while recognizing the severe trial they were about to face?  The latter is the type of disciple we want to be, the type we see in John 6:65-69, someone who can see no alternative but to do as we’re told or as we’ve been taught by the Holy Spirit.

Why is this important?

Too often I find myself with the crowd who turned their backs and walked the other way.  It’s a good thing we have a God Who is loving, forgiving, and longsuffering.  The times I run back to Him for forgiveness saying as Peter did: “Lord, to Whom shall I go?” are countless.

I find we still serve a God who accepts the prodigal with open arms, dresses him in a fine robe and places a ring on his finger.  We serve a God Who alone has the words of eternal life.

Then I remember I am to be a disciple, an adherent to the Word of God who accepts the instruction given to him and makes it his rule of conduct.

Little things can do big things. We started this blog in 2017, just seven years ago in June. Last year, we had 4530 views from 92 countries. This costs me a few hours per week and less than $100 per year for the web presence.

I wanted to encourage you if God has placed a ministry on your heart and you think it’s just some foolish simple idea, listen to God. Touch people’s lives in one way or another, God is anxious for you to succeed in His power.

Here is a list of the countries where this blog was read last year. You’ll notice some of these are countries where it is illegal to provide the gospel. I’m always blown away by how God can use unworthy people:

United States

Philippines

Canada

United Kingdom

Australia

India

Ireland

France

China

South Korea

Nigeria

Singapore

Kenya

Indonesia

Germany

New Zealand

Ghana

Netherlands

Sweden

Mexico

Brazil

Japan

Malaysia

Romania

South Africa

Uganda

Hong Kong SAR China

Czechia

Vietnam

Belize

Zambia

European Union

Saudi Arabia

Tanzania 3

Myanmar (Burma) 3

Bahrain

Spain

Puerto Rico

Georgia

Unknown Region

Taiwan

Hungary

Russia

Slovakia

Sri Lanka

Lebanon

Thailand

Cambodia

Denmark

Panama

Chile

United Arab Emirates

Ethiopia

Malta

Israel

Morocco

Trinidad & Tobago

Laos

Aruba

Poland

Honduras

Papua New Guinea

Finland

Uzbekistan

Uruguay

Ukraine

Belgium

Nepal

Argentina

Guatemala

Algeria

Dominican Republic

Turkey

Colombia

Bangladesh

Réunion

Eswatini

Greece

Iraq

American Samoa

Croatia

Jersey

Mauritius

Ecuador

Cameroon

Syria

Fiji

Guam

Lesotho

Albania

Italy

Egypt

Pakistan

Portugal

Who says Jesus is risen from the dead?  Let’s see.

Of course, the four gospels tells us of Jesus’ resurrection (Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-29)  and the book of Acts speaks of the risen Savior (Acts 1:1-11).

Peter speaks of Jesus resurrection in his first sermon in Acts 2:24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Every sermon in the early church was an Easter sermon.

Steven prayed to the risen Jesus in Acts 7:59-60 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Paul meets the risen Christ (Acts 9:1-9) and writes about Him (Rom. 8:11)  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The writer of Hebrews says Jesus is risen:  Heb. 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹ equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Apostolic Fathers:

Clement of Rome (circ. 80 a.d.)  “Let us consider, beloved, how the Lord continually proves to us that there shall be a future resurrection, of which He has rendered the Lord Jesus Christ the first-fruits by raising Him from the dead.” (1 Clement Chapter 24)

Polycarp (circ. 155 a.d.)  “But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false witness;”  (Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians chapter 2)

Ignatius (circ. 108)  Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, and was also of Mary; who was truly born, and did eat and drink. He was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate; He was truly crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. He was also truly raised from the dead, (Epistle of Ignatius to Trallians, Chapter 9)

Non-Christian Historian:

The Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, a contemporary of Paul, wrote this:  “At this time there was a wise man called Jesus, and his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. Many people among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have reported wonders. And the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day” (Antiquities 18.63-64, ca. AD 93 Agapian version).

Most Importantly

Jesus Himself claimed to have been raised in the same body that died on Calvary, not a spirit, not someone else created for this purpose.  Jesus left no room for misunderstanding this:

Luke 24:36-43 (ESV)  As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Why is this important?

There are people today who deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus even within what we might call Christianity yet they can hardly be called Christian if they deny the central miracle upon which our faith is based. 

1 Cor. 15:12-14 (ESV)  Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Since this coming Friday is Good Friday, I thought I’d share some Scriptures that mean a lot to me concerning that day:

Concerning Jesus, Col. 1:15-18 (ESV) says,  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Paul says Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and I got to thinking how we get an image from Someone Who is invisible.  Hebrews 1:3 says Jesus is “the exact imprint of [God’s] nature.”  The term is used of a signet wring and the exact impression it leaves.  It means what God is Jesus is.  In that way, Jesus is the image of God the Father: Identical in nature. Jesus told Philip, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.”

The next term we might misunderstand is that Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation.”  At first glance, we might think Jesus was the first one born of creation.  We know that can’t be what it means because the passage itself says Jesus created “all things.”  He didn’t create all other things or He would be one of the things created.  The passage doesn’t allow for that.  So, what can “firstborn” mean.

It turns out sometimes “firstborn” means just that.  Jesus is called Mary’s firstborn son in Luke 2:7.  However, “firstborn” means much more.  It means the preeminent one and that’s not always the first one born.  Manasseh is called Joseph’s firstborn and Ephraim his second in Genesis 41:51-52, but Ephraim is called the firstborn in Jeremiah 31:9.  In Psalm 89, David is called God’s firstborn but was the youngest of 8 sons, hardly the first one born.

No.  Firstborn means the preeminent one in the family or in a people, such as in David’s case, or in all of creation as with Jesus since He created it all and is before all things.  Jesus is also called the “firstborn from the dead” though He was certainly not the first to die and rise.  He Himself raised the son of the widow at Naim (Luke 7:11-16), Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:49-56), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44).  So, Jesus was not the first one raised from the dead but is the firstborn of the dead.  He is the preeminent over those who have died.

Col. 1:18 also says Jesus is the beginning.  What do you suppose that means?  The Greek word for beginning here is arche.  We use it in English to indicate the beginner of a building, the architect.  This simply indicates Jesus is the builder and designer of the universe.

Why is this important?

We’ve looked at how magnificent Jesus is.  He is God, the God of the universe, the God of creation, the God of all.  Now I think we should look at just what He did that we observe on Good Friday:

Phil 2:5-8 (ESV)  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus, the preeminent, awesome, omnipotent, omniscient God the Son, is the absolute authority over all of creation.  Yet this omnipotent God chose to step from the highest throne, empty Himself of His glory, and step into time and space in order to humble Himself by becoming flesh and allowing that flesh to die for you and for me.  How much greater sacrifice could there be for us?

One more point, though, in Philippians:

Phil. 2:1-4 (ESV)  So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

The short four verses before Philippians 2:5 tell us to have the same mind as Christ and to do that by encouraging, loving, doing nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but humbly counting others more significant than ourselves.  That’s the sort of observance Jesus would like to see on Good Friday and every day of our lives. 

Ex 4:21 (ESV)  And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

“How could God be so unfair to hold Pharaoh responsible for decisions he made after God forced him to have a hardened heart?”  Have you ever heard that?  I certainly have, and it has bothered me for years for the very reason stated.

Of course, I believe whatever God says or does is good since He Himself is the standard for good.  I just don’t understand the fairness issue.  Then last night I was in a discussion with some friends when the idea came to me I’d like to present here.  I must admit I haven’t checked it through yet, and I may need to come back and apologize for this.  After all, “New truth is almost always old heresy,” as a hero of mine used to say, but it is certainly a good explanation considering the nature of God.

We all have to deal with our pride at times and our competitiveness.  When we’re really good at something and have been on the top of our game for years we begin to think no one can do better.  Then someone comes along, usually an “outsider,” who is so much better than we are we can’t stand it.  It may be pride or it may be jealousy, but we just can’t stand that person. The better they are, the more we “harden” ourselves against them.

Imagine what it must have been like for Pharaoh to be the head guy, the ultimate god of his realm, for decades.  No one would dare challenge him, and certainly no one had more power than he.  Then this sheep herder (Moses) comes to Pharaoh and tells him he has a God greater than Pharaoh himself.  So much greater, in fact, if Pharaoh doesn’t yield to the wishes of this hick’s invisible God, he would be sorry.

Moses comes to Pharaoh and tells him his God says to let the Israelites go.  Pharaoh’s response is just what anyone might do.  He asks “Who is this God that I should obey Him?  In fact, let me show you what I can do.”  Then Pharaoh tells them they have to gather their own straw to make their bricks and still make the same number of bricks every day.  I’m sure Pharaoh thought that would be the end of it.  He’s a little angry, a little prideful, maybe even a little insulted this shepherd is trying to persuade him to release the Israelites, but he’s exerted his authority and one-upped the shepherd and his God. It’s done!

Pharaoh’s heart hasn’t hardened yet.  He’s a bit perturbed at the upstart hicks coming and demanding release of his slaves.  But now he thinks he’s dealt with the problem, and no one will mess with him again.

It’s when Moses and Aaron return we read God hardens Pharaoh’s heart.  Moses threw Aaron’s rod down and it became a snake. So, Pharaoh had his magicians do the same, but God’s snake ate the magicians’ snakes.  Pharaoh was one-upped.  Now Pharaoh has Someone who has more power than he.  The plagues begin and Pharaoh fights back every time being shown to be less powerful than the God of Moses.  This makes him angrier and angrier.  His pride has been destroyed and his authority challenged.

Why is this important?

Just as with you and me, when some newcomer show himself better at something than we are, better at something we think we are really good at, we are tempted to reject that person.  Like kids in a schoolyard, we might talk down the abilities of the person, try to show them up.  In effect, our hearts have become hardened toward them.

I believe it’s the same thing with Pharaoh.  He was the ultimate authority, the ultimate god. Then this God of a sheep herder comes up with all these tricks bettering him at every turn.  He became angrier and angrier with this God until there was no coming back to a reasonable response.  His heart was hardened and God, by His presence and His actions trying to persuade Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s ego caused him to hate Him to the point of madness. 

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart indirectly, not directly.  It was still Pharaoh who was creating the hardening.  God, simply by the fact He was greater than Pharaoh caused Pharaoh’s jealousy to harden his heart.  Naturally, God new it would happen and knew His actions would cause Pharaoh’s heart to harden, but it was Pharaoh’s free will to hate God which hardened him.

Rom. 9:14-18 (ESV)  What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Last week we looked at whether Jesus, the historic figure, existed.  We saw there was good evidence supporting the fact He did and, of course, still does.  The next natural step would be to ask if the “Jesus of Faith,” as liberal Catholic theologian, John Dominic Crossan calls the Jesus of miracles, the Jesus identified as God’s Son, the divine Jesus. 

How might we answer those who doubt the Jesus of Faith existed historically.

First we’d mention the existence of the church.  The church didn’t spring up in New Deli, Lower Eyelid, Montana, or some other far off land where people were ignorant of the divine Jesus.  No, the church began right in the very city where Jesus had been crucified and where His followers claimed He was raised from the dead: Jerusalem. And that church was formed only a few short weeks after Jesus’ crucifixion.  Imagine, if you will, someone trying to start a religious movement in Dallas Texas claiming the resurrected JFK.  It would never wash.  The Dallas locals had seen John Kennedy shot and knew he had been buried and stayed buried.  The early church in Jerusalem consisted of thousands of Jerusalem residents and foreign visitors who would know the story and if it were true.

Next, we’d point to the conversion of the apostle Paul.  He began as an enemy of the church arresting and possibly killing Christians.  In just a few moments, Paul was changed from an enemy of the church to one if its greatest evangelists. How do you suppose that happened unless what he said were true, that he had met the risen Christ?

Then we could bring to their attention the disciples: twelve men, eyewitnesses to the divine Jesus and His works, who all died a miserable or violent death (except for John) never going back on their story of the divine Jesus.

How about the Apostolic Fathers, the disciples of the disciples?  Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John, says the following showing Jesus as divine:

“Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal High-priest Himself the Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth, and in all gentleness and in all avoidance of wrath and in forbearance and long-suffering and in patient endurance and in purity; and may He grant unto you a lot and portion among His saints, and to us with you, and to all that are under heaven, who shall believe on our Lord and God Jesus Christ and on His Father that raised him from the dead,” (Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians, Chapter 12).

Ignatius, another of the Apostle John’s disciples penned this claim to Christ’s godhood as well:

For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost.  (Ante-Nicene Fathers: Volume I: The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus (Kindle Locations 3097-3098). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition).

Lastly, but certainly not the least of the sources is the New Testament documents.  Three of the four gospels were written by actual eyewitnesses to the ministry and resurrection of Jesus and bear testimony of what they saw. 

Each of the four gospels state Jesus is divine, equal with the Father, by using the term “Son of God.”  John tells us this term is equal to the term “God the Son:”

John 5:18 (ESV)  This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

So, the Jews and the disciples all recognized Jesus was claiming to be God.  Each of the gospel writers uses this term to describe Jesus: Matthew 14:33; Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 5:18.

Now, some will say many of these are biased Christian sources written long after the events took place.  To them I would ask, if you walked with a man for three years, if He told you He would die and then rise from the dead, and you saw that happen, would you not put your faith in Him and become a Christian?

Written later? We have copies of the gospels within 100 years of their writing including a manuscript of John’s gospel dated within 30 years of the original. Manuscript authority is strong for the New Testament.

The apostle Paul tells us the risen Jesus showed Himself to more than 500 people after His resurrection and challenges doubters to talk with them to verify his claims (1 Cor. 15:6).  In effect, Paul is saying “If you don’t believe me, check with these people!”

Why is this important?

Our faith is founded on fact.  These events happened in real time and space.  They are not just figments of the writers’ imaginations.  Except for John, each of the New Testament writers and other characters died a horrible death and never retreated from their testimonies.  Some preached the gospel message with their final breaths.  According to Church history, Bartholomew was skinned alive, Paul, Matthew, Lazarus, and James the son of Zebedee were beheaded. Peter, Philip, and Andrew were crucified. James the Just (Jesus’ half brother) was thrown down from the temple wall in Jerusalem then beaten and stoned to death. Mark planted churches in Egypt and was dragged to death behind two horses there. Thomas planted seven churches in western India and died from a spear wound but finished preaching first. Jude (Jesus’ half brother) was beaten to death in Persia. Luke was hanged from an olive tree in Greece at age 84, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot were martyred in Persia (no record of how).

These men all died holding the truth of Gospel of Jesus as most sacred and with a personal relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ. We should as well.