Grace - Contentment - Works

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all contentment in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
-2 Corinthians 9:8

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Paul is talking about a monetary collection for the church. He’s saying that giving has to come out of contentment, not begrudgingly or out of some sense of obligation. But the way he puts it here opens my eyes to something.

There’s a certain order he lays out. He says that first, God’s grace comes into my life in an abundant way. If I accept it and try to live by it, I will have contentment (or, sufficiency) in all things, always. But only living in God’s grace can bring this contentment. His grace drives contentment in all my situations and empowers me to be joyful with whatever I have, or don’t have. And this sense of contentment, in turn, enables me to abound in the good works of God.

If I’m not content, which comes through grace, I won’t be able to focus on the good works that have been prepared for me. Grace - contentment - good works. All of these things are promised to be abundant in my life, if I start by understanding and receiving his grace first. Once I do that, contentment will pave the way for me to walk in God’s plan, which abounds in good works - the work of God’s kingdom.

The Cunning Lie of Procrastination

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4

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Paul makes some things clear about the deception of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden here: that the serpent used “cunning” (literally: duplicity) to lead her thoughts away from a sincere and pure devotion to God. Paul then goes on to explain that the Corinthian church has been open to new definitions of Christ and the gospel, rather than resting on what they have known to be true and experienced through Paul and the ministry of the apostles. So Paul is talking specifically about lies that lead our minds away from a singular devotion to Jesus and his gospel.

But a principle can be extracted here, and it is speaking into a certain area of my life - that my thoughts determine my devotion to Christ. My mind is so important. And the biggest weapons against my mind are distractions and lies; this is the cunning that Satan uses not just to lead me astray so I will do bad things and be a naughty person, it’s to get me to pull away from a dependence on God. This was Satan’s tactic with Adam and Eve. It was the same tactic he used against Jesus in the wilderness temptation. It’s the same tactic he uses with every Christian, and every person on the planet. It’s done in our thoughts.

I met with a friend and mentor today who really helped me to see how important it is to control the procrastinator in me. It’s not just a matter of recognizing that laziness and procrastination is bad, it’s understanding how this part of me will be destructive to my entire life (ministry, family, finances, joy, etc.) if I fail to understand that this is a part of me that Satan is happy to control because it’s so closely tied to how I depend on God.

I’ve got to be more than aware of this cunning plan. I’ve to be active in getting it under a control. It’s not just me. I suspect my entire generation has been so successfully lied to by Satan that procrastination is an acceptable way to live in our culture. So many of my generation lives by putting things off until the last minute and then cramming everything to get it done, and we still get rewarded for the results. For instance, I hardly ever studied for tests, but after one night of cramming, I would get good grades. Or, I would never wear my retainer until the night before my orthodontist appointment and he would say I was doing great. As long as we get the result we’re hoping for, we can put as little amount of effort and stress into it and we’ll be okay with it because we now have so much time for “other stuff.”

The problem with this is, God is a God of order and planning. From the beginning of creation we see that God’s answer to chaos is bringing order (separating darkness and light, dividing the skies and the waters, seasons and cycles, and then creating a steward to take care of it all in an orderly fashion). Also, now that I have more responsibilities in life, I’m starting to see that this lie that has dominated my life is one of the major blocks to me experiencing life to the fullest. I can only recognize this through the renewing of my mind by the Holy Spirit, and I can only change this by the same power. May Satan lose his grip on this area of my life, and may God be praised by a new life I live, and by not passing this off to my children.

Know My Limits

• 2 Corinthians 10:13-18

        [13] But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. [14] For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. [15] We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, [16] so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. [17] “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” [18] For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

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Here Paul talks about other self-proclaimed “apostles” who have been teaching others about Christ, but were not actual apostles in the same sense as Paul, Peter, John, etc. Really, this is a passage about the danger of boasting, especially if you are boasting about something that you have no right to claim credit for, or if you are assuming a position of authority that has not been given to you by God himself.

Although the context is in boasting, I am drawn today to the “limits” that Paul speaks about. Even the apostles had limits in their authority. They didn’t see themselves as supreme authorities on anything, they were servants of a higher master - Jesus Christ. They had the authority to go into the world and proclaim the gospel of Christ, build his church, teach the word, reconcile fallen man to God (this is by no means an exhaustive list). Beyond that, they knew their place, and Paul defends this by stating that he wouldn’t go beyond what was commanded of him by Christ.

When it comes to “boasting in the Lord” it means to understand the difference between what you are able to accomplish on your own, and what is accomplished only because the Lord has empowered you to accomplish something. To understand this means to understand that there are things God has called me and empowered me to do, and things he has not called me to do, even if I am able to do them on my own. How do I go about discerning the difference?

For one, taking a cue from Paul here, the Lord needs to commend what I am doing. That will come through a number of things:

• Am I open with others about his calling? Do I give permission for others to affirm God’s commendation in my life?
• Are there people who are under the authority and influence God has given me? Are they receiving everything they need from what God is doing through me? Are they affirming God’s calling on my life?
• Do I achieve most of my work outside of prayer? When something is done and accomplished, do I have certainty that I trusted my steps to God, or did I take the reins?

I need to know my limits. I need to know that I can’t boast about anything if God did not guide me through it. I need to be in prayer more and rely on the Lord to empower me to achieve, and rely on the help he provides through his Spirit and through other people.

My Sufficiency

2 Corinthians 3:5-6
[5] Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, [6] who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

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Here Paul is transitioning between thoughts. He says that he (and the apostles) don’t need any commendation from others about the legitimacy of their ministry and their positions as apostles. There are some preachers in the area who are “peddling” (2:17) God’s word; these men “minister” for pay and for show, rather than in spirit and truth. Paul is now moving to talk about the supremacy of the gospel message in comparison to the Law of Moses, because it is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, rather than a ministry of a written code. But before he fully starts on this topic he makes one last statement about the position of the apostles and their role in God’s kingdom.

Certain men in that time and area would be great orators, great public speakers who could stir the crowds and win devotion. Rather than giving all the glory to God, they would relish in all the attention and make it as if their own giftings and hard work have gotten them attention, status, and wealth. But Paul says that he and the apostles can’t claim any of their position or status based on any of their gifts, talents, or credentials; all that they have has been given to them by the Spirit of God. One of the key words in these verses is the word “sufficient.”

The first use in verse 5 means to be “just above” an acceptable level. Paul is saying that whatever “sufficiency” they have was given to them by God to put them at a level “just above” acceptable. It’s like passing school with a minimum GPA of 2.0, which I know pretty well. But then in verse 6, the literal meaning of the word “sufficient” means “to make adequate; to make competent; to qualify one for a specific task.”

He’s saying that on his own credentials, he’s at best just barely adequate to be given a position as an apostle, but because this is given by God, the Holy Spirit has not just made him “barely” an apostle, but he has fully qualified Paul and the others as true apostles of God’s new covenant; the everlasting covenant of his Kingdom.

When I look at my own life and consider where I’m at, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s all from God. I graduated high school with a 2.something GPA, dropped out of college, never held a job for more than a year, never had any real artistic success, unable to man up and keep a stable relationship, my lack of qualifications goes on and on. But here I am today, 30 years old with a solid job, a wife, a young child with another on the way, able to rent a place to live without scrambling together the rent every month, I get to artistically reach over 1,000 people weekly through music and creative speaking, I have people looking up to me and desperately wanting me to succeed. I haven’t earned any of this by worldly standards! Are you kidding me?!

All that I have, including my position, has been graciously gifted to me by the Lord. The way he has unfolded the last 5 years of my life has been nothing short of miraculous. I’m reminded to look back today and be exceedingly grateful for where I am today, all because the Lord has chosen to put me on this path and I haven’t earned it with a single ounce of my sufficiency; but God has made me adequate, competent, qualified to be a minister in his Kingdom. What an honor. What a privilege. I am inspired to live well today, for the glory of the one who has given me all my adequacy, through his surpassing excellence, by his unbelievable grace.

Head Glory

1 Corinthians 11:3
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

The apostle Paul comments here on the natural authority that he has established between God and a married couple. It’s worth noting that this section of 1 Corinthians is directed towards husbands and wives, not men and women in general. From the beginning of chapter 11 through to verse 16 he is only referring to husbands and wives; so it wouldn’t be wise to apply this passage to all men and women in general.

He says that the “head” of every man is Christ, meaning Jesus Christ is the authority over a married man. Jesus ranks above him, as a head is above the rest of the body.
Then, in marriage, the husband has authority over the wife. Even Jesus Christ has someone in authority over him, God the Father. But before we dismiss this whole notion as absurdly authoritarian and closed-minded, let’s recognize that Jesus is equal to God in deity (John 1:1), but not in the roles they play. Jesus affirmed over and over again that God the Father had authority over him, yet he claimed that they were “one” (John 10:30), that they shared some kind of equality and their relationship was fair and filled with joy. Paul mentions the Son and the Father to draw a picture of this kind of authority, where there is equality, but also a certain order of authority.

The contention with this verse and with this idea shouldn’t be that it is unnatural or bad, but that men and women have been unsuccessful in making it work the way it was intended to. If husbands exercised the authority they have over their wives in the way God the Father exercises his authority over his Son, Jesus, marriages across the world would be fair and filled with joy, and we would all glorify God through the beautiful picture of marriage. Sadly, this just doesn’t happen. We’re fallen. No matter how hard we try, we wrong one another and use authority improperly.

Let’s touch on head coverings for a moment. In Paul’s day, Roman custom had married women wear a sort of covering on their heads. Whether it was some kind of veil, or scarf, or shawl, or hair design, or a fancy hat, I’m not sure. What I know is that Paul is talking about the cultural practice that shows the marital status of women. This is not the same practice that we have in 21st century America to publicly display marital status. If Paul were writing this letter to a church in North America, 2012 (which, in a way, he certainly did; but anyway…) he probably wouldn’t talk about head coverings, but would instead say that if a woman chooses not to wear her wedding ring in public she disgraces her husband and scorns the authority he has over her. The principle of male leadership in marriage remains, but the cultural expressions of how we identify married couples will vary and change across cultures and time.

Paul continues to unpack this argument, saying in verse 7 that “a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.” This term “glory” is better understood as “one who shows the excellence of” (ESV Study Bible). So verse 7 is best understood by saying, “(man) is the image of God and shows the excellence of God, but woman shows the excellence of man.” Paul is not denying that women are also made in the image of God, and he’s not saying that women don’t reflect God’s glory; again, let’s keep it in the context of marriage. Basically, if a marriage is operating the way it was designed to, people will see the wife and in her God-honoring lifestyle she will show the world that her husband has an excellence (or glory) to him that she respects and loves. Then, people should look to the husband and by the way he fairly leads his wife and worships God, he will show the world that God is excellent and glorious through the way he leads them both in marriage.

It really gets me looking at my own life and asking myself, “What am I doing with the authority God has given me as a husband?”, “Do I put Christ in his rightful place as the authority over me and my life?”, “Is my wife happy to speak well of me and bring me honor because of the way I lead her?”

Tough, challenging questions!

Lord, give me the eyes to see my life honestly and to adjust it courageously, not defending my flaws and weaknesses or covering up my sins. Show me what must change, and may I be found faithful to your word.

Hitting God

Numbers 27:13-14
When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.”

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When I think about sin, I usually think about the obvious things: stealing, lying, cheating, murder, rebellion against God. But “failing to uphold God as holy in the sight of the people” doesn’t usually make it onto that list. Moses rebelled against God by rebelling against the word of God. God gave him specific instructions about speaking to a rock so that water would come out of it; but instead he struck the rock in anger.

Why was this a big deal? The first time water came from that rock to give water for the people, God told Moses to strike the rock. But he also told Moses that he himself would be standing on that rock (Exodus 17:6). This is to show that God didn’t just make water come out of a rock, but that because he “stood” on that rock, he was the source of the water. This gives validity to what the apostle Paul mentioned when he said that this very rock was Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).

So the first time Israel drank from the rock, there was a sense of God taking a hit for the people. Even though the people grumbled against Moses and tested God, God in a sense took all that grumbling upon himself and produced something life-giving. There’s an element of sacrifice on God’s part, for his sinful and disrespectful people.

So with this in mind, the second time God tells Moses that water is going to come from the rock, he tells Moses not to strike the rock, but to speak to the rock. I presume that the Lord would once again be standing there on the rock as he was before, expecting Moses to speak, but instead gets hit twice.
Just FYI, if God tells you to open your mouth and talk to him, but instead you hit him, twice, that’s probably a sin.

Moses’ sin was disobedience to God’s command, but also, he treated God with great disrespect. He didn’t give him the due honor or reverence that God deserves, because he is holy.

So today, I’m left in a nervous discontent. I wonder, as someone who gets up on Sundays and teaches people about God, if I truly treat God as holy. Especially in youth ministry, where there’s a desire to be relevant, cool, and humorous, it can be hard to get the message across that God is a holy God; and you don’t treat him as anything but holy.

I’m left challenged by this. What needs to change in how I operate on Sundays? And what needs to change in my daily life as I try to show the world around me that I not only believe in God, but treat him as holy?

For Glory and Beauty

Exodus 28:2-3
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.

Exodus 29:35
“Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them,”
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Even though God had led his people into the wilderness, into barren desert land, when it came time for Israel to build a center of worship, God instructed them to do so in a specific way. Everything was to be made skillfully and beautifully. When it came to the garments of the priests, God says that they are to be holy garments “for glory and for beauty.”
As Israel travels through the wilderness, at the center of their camp would stand the Tabernacle, essentially - the throne room of God himself. All the beautifully crafted tents and ornaments are meant to display to Israel and all other nations that a King dwells in their midst. This was also common among other nations. Palaces were the most finely decorated buildings in any city, where the king lived. When other nations would travel abroad with their king, they had finely constructed tents and structures for the king to travel in. So Israel wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary in constructing all these things, but what was uncommon was that there was no mortal king sitting on the throne; the king Israel traveled with was the God of all things, personally dwelling with them.
It’s not wonder that God commands them to build fine and beautiful things for him to travel in. And it’s not about ego. He says that all these things are to be built for glory and beauty. Glory, that all people will see how holy he is. Beauty, that all people will see that the God of all things is not a temperamental, destructive god, but that he is full of mercy and lovingkindness.
God is worthy of being displayed as the most glorious and beautiful of all beings. This was part of Israel’s responsibility, to display God properly to all the nations. In the church, there’s no specific command to build ornate buildings or that God’s people should be finely dressed. But this certainly doesn’t imply that we don’t do anything to honor God with beautifully, skillfully made things. God is still just as worthy of his people displaying him as glorious and beautiful.
It’s a tragic thing that many people’s conception of churches is a beautiful chapel-type building, but with 20th century overhead projectors using transparencies and out of tune organs played by an elderly, deaf woman. God’s people should make it a priority to give their best in displaying him as a glorious king in the midst of their community. Now, to be fair, in some churches, all they can afford is an overhead transparency projector and an organ; that’s fine. God is not looking for a specific type of decor, but he certainly deserves the best efforts of those who are calling the community to come and worship the King of all kings. Yes, it is about the hearts with which we worship God, but there should also be a sense that everyone is doing their best to create a beautiful environment for all people to come to.
In Israel’s case, where did all that beautiful material come from to construct the Tabernacle? It all came from Egypt. They used material from another nation, an idolatrous nation, to construct the house of God and the instruments for the priests. There’s a lot of disagreement in the church in how much we allow the outside world to influence our church services. Some people don’t think that loud drums, electric guitars, concert lights, blue jeans, ornate sets, or iPads belong in a church. I understand their opinion (sort of), but from the beginning of Israel as a holy kingdom God has always used things of the world, from other cultures, and adopted and modified them for his people to use.
But one key we find in Exodus is truly important that maybe some modern churches will overlook. In Exodus 29:35 we see that the ordination process of the priests and their work took one whole week. They needed to be made holy and purified before they began ministering before the Lord. So in some regard, all the modern touches of church shouldn’t be implemented (such as lights, electric guitars, etc.) until the people understand that they are taking something from modern culture and devoting it’s use to be holy unto God. But if indeed hearts are pure, and the intention is to display God’s glory and beauty, I say bring on the lights and crank the distortion. It’s not about being modern or letting the culture dictate the church, it’s using the best the culture has to offer, but setting it apart as holy for the beautiful display of a holy God.