Down From His Glory

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down from his glory, Philippians 2, the form of God, the love of God

I do not think we on earth will ever fully grasp the awesome grandeur of our God. All too often we act far too familiar with Him by calling Him our friend, as well as dismissing the gravity of our sin (whatever its type) weighed against the enormity of His holiness. Jesus to us in the western world seems to have become a soft, “warm and fuzzy” sort of man, who is all about social justice and being non-judgmental. It is assumed that the God of the Old Testament was holy and harsh, but the God of the New Testament is permissive and meek and mild. And the two do not meet in the middle. However, in so believing, we miss the true power and nature of who Jesus was/is and what Jesus did when He as eternal God laid aside His glory and put on human flesh for us.

To even begin to catch a glimpse of the immense nature of what He did, let’s first take a look at two Old Testament passages of God’s glory.

“4Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures…22The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads…26And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. 27Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.” (Ezekiel 1:4-5, 22, 26-28)

“2Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.6Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”” (Revelation 4:2-8)

This is Jesus’ home. This is the realm from which He came to earth. And this very glory belonged to Him as well, as it states in John 1, “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men…10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him…” Colossians 1:16-17 in agreement states, “16For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” And to wrap this all together in a nice bow, Jesus prays in John 17, “5And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

Thus, Jesus shares such glory with the majesty and splendor of the God enthroned in Ezekiel and Revelation (as well as Isaiah 6 that was not quoted here). He is the One who measures the sky with His hands and holds the oceans in His hands (Isaiah 40:12), the One who sends the snow and the hail (Job 37), who rides the whirlwind (Nehemiah 1), and commands the stormy winds (Psalm 147) and calms the stormy sea (Psalm 107). This is our Jesus. This is the same Jesus who descended and took on human flesh, as Philippians 2 so powerfully presents when it says,”5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Think about that passage. He was in the “form” of God. This means that He was forever in the visible image/shape of God continuously, even while here, for the word is a present participle which implies continuous action. Thus the image of God did not cease while He here. Nevertheless, while He remained in the image of God continuously, He did not consider His equality with God something to be held onto tightly. In other words, He did not cling to His heavenly role, but rather, descended and made Himself of no reputation, which means that He divested Himself of His rightful dignity. He did not cling to His rights as an equal with God. Instead, He actively took upon Himself the essence of a slave. Even as He was in the visible shape of God, He also came in the visible shape of a slave. He had not existed as a human before, but became a human in every sense of the word. And not just any human but that of a humble servant. No one did this to Him. He brought Himself low, like a king in ancient times who would set aside His royal robes and put on beggar’s clothes for a brief period of time. Even so, Christ clothed Himself in a human body as a slave, and was obedient to the point of death on the shameful cross. Indeed, as Hebrews 12 so aptly says Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame because of the joy that was set before Him.

Jesus in all of His grandeur and majesty, robed in righteousness and splendor, surrounded by holy angels, a sea of glass before Him, majestic music permeating the atmosphere, and worshipful calls of “holy, holy, holy” echoing into eternity, laid aside His regal robes and all the beauties of heaven to come down here…for us.

As the old hymn goes,

“The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain:
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”

As we reflect on Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection and as we reread the Gospel story of Jesus and His love, let us remember the height from which Jesus came in order to die on our behalf that He might lead captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8), defeat and shame the principalities and powers of darkness (Colossians 2:15), fulfill the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17-20) and then nail the oppressive law to the cross (Colossians 2:14), “to preach good tidings to the poor . . . heal the brokenhearted . . . proclaim liberty to the captives . . . opening of the prison to those who are bound . . . to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD…” (Isaiah 61). And that year is still now. Jesus’ blood still atones, and he whom the Son has set free is still free indeed!

And let us not forget what the angels said in Acts 1:11 as Jesus ascended into heaven and disappeared in the clouds of God’s throne, “…this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus! The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”

Blessings in Christ,

Holy Light Ministries

Sources:

Bible Hub Interlinear

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, by Zodhiates

“The Love of God,” https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/The_Love_of_God/

Do Not Be Deceived: Christ’s Immanent Return for His Bride

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and then the end will come, Christ coming for His bride, Christ's Immanent return, Christ's Return, End Times, Harpazo, immanent rapture, Last Days, Matthew 24, Matthew 24:14, nations tribes peoples and tongues, return of the Lord, Revelation 7:9, the catching away, the gospel will be preached in all the world, The Rapture

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Matthew 24:14 states, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Regarding this passage there are those who are saying that Jesus cannot come in the rapture yet because the gospel of the kingdom has not yet been preached to all nations. They even add padding to this argument by quoting Revelation 7:9 which says, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands…” Those with this belief then state that not all people groups of the world have been reached, and therefore, Jesus cannot come yet. Maybe in ten years, but not yet.

On that note, there are two things that must be pointed out. Number one, the gospel will continue to be preached throughout the Great Tribulation period, and people will come to Christ. Many of those Tribulation believers will be beheaded for Christ during that time as well. As it says in Revelation 20:4, “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.”

Furthermore, angels in the heavens will declare the everlasting gospel as Revelation 14 clearly states, “6Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Secondly, when Jesus in Matthew 24 says “and then the end will come” He is not referring to the rapture of the Church, but rather, the end of the age which happens at His second coming. There is a difference. The rapture is when Jesus takes His Bride UP. The Second Coming is when Jesus and all His saints come DOWN. It is at His Second Coming that He sets His feet down on the Mount of Olives, wipes out those gathered for Armageddon, and sets up the Millennial kingdom (Revelation 19-22; Zechariah 14).

If we want to get a bit more detailed, let’s breakdown what nations, tribes, peoples and tongues actually mean. “Nation” is the word ethnos (1484) meaning a race practicing a common culture, and is used of the Gentile world. “Tribe” is the Greek work phule (5443) meaning a lineage of a common ancestor. It is used thirty-one times in the New Testament, and fifteen of thirty one occurrences are in Revelation. Each one of those fifteen times it is used in Revelation it is referring to the tribes of Israel. “Peoples” is the word laos (2992) meaning people, specifically, God’s chosen people, believers, whether the believing Jews of the Septuagint (the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament), the first Jewish Christian converts, or Christians in general. The word laos forms the root of the English word for laity. “Tongues” is the word glossa (1100) meaning languages that set apart each nation as separate and distinct. Thus, those before the throne in the scene of Revelation 7 are races sharing a common culture, the tribes of Israel, Jewish and Gentile Christian believers, and the languages of the races.

Interestingly enough, all nations and languages and dialects were represented on the day of Pentecost as seen in Acts 2. “5And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” Additionally, Colossians 1:5-6a, 23b says, “because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6which has come to you, as it has also in all the world…the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven…”

When we look back to Matthew 24:14, Jesus clearly stated that the gospel will be preached in all the world. The Greek word for “world” is oikoumene (3625) which means, “the inhabited earth.” HELPS Word-studies reveals that this word is very specific when it says, “3625 (oikouménē) literally means “the inhabited (land).” It was “originally used by the Greeks to denote the land inhabited by themselves, in contrast with barbarian countries; afterward, when the Greeks became subject to the Romans, ‘the entire Roman world;’ still later, for ‘the whole inhabited world‘”.” For the sake of context, in the days of the writing of Matthew 24, the word for world was taken to mean the civilized Roman empire.

Thus, God fulfilled His word on the Day of Pentecost, has been fulfilling it throughout Church history, is fulfilling it right now, and will continue to fulfill it during the Great Tribulation – His promise of spreading the gospel to every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. And then the end of the age – the second coming of Christ – will come. And this in no way conflicts with Christ coming for His Bride in what is referred to as the rapture/harpazo/the snatching away/catching away. It does not conflict because they are two entirely different things.

Thus, in response to those who use Matthew 24 and Revelation 7 to support their belief that Christ cannot come yet, have misunderstood what Jesus means by “the end” and have forgotten that the gospel will continue to be preached throughout the Tribulation period. Not only this, but even in the time of Peter and Paul, the gospel had already been preached to all nations and languages and creatures, even the whole world. This therefore, is not a valid argument.

Jesus’ rapture of His Bride is immanent. Nothing has to happen before He comes for His Church. When one looks at Matthew 24, Luke 17 and 21, and Mark 13 and sees in the news the very things that are written therein exploding on the world stage and before our very eyes, things that are heralds of the second coming, then one can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the rapture could happen at any second. We are that close. We are breathlessly close. He is near, even at the door. Let’s be ready!

Looking up,

Holy Light Ministries

References:

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates

Bible Hub Interlinear Online

HELPS Word-study from Bible Hub Online

1 Corinthians 6: Judging and Christians Taking Christians to Court

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1 Corinthians 6, christian judgment, christians judging other christians, lawsuits among christians, lawsuits between christians, right and wrong judgment, should christians judge, should christians take christians to court, the law of love, turning the other cheek

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So far we have learned about wrong ways to judge and right ways to judge. In I Corinthians 1-4 we learned how we are not to judge another’s stewardship of their ministry of the Word of God (so long as it is doctrinally sound). In other words, we are not to pass judgment on a minister’s presentation or communication style, but rather, are to leave that to God alone who is their Master. We are also not to pass judgment on each other’s way of communicating the Bible to each other. We all have a different style and are answerable to God alone.

But I must also remind everyone that this judgment does not apply to ministers teaching false doctrine, nor does it have to do with judging different Bible translations. We must be alert to the rampant deception riddling the Church, and we must be quick to shine the light of truth into these dark corners of Christendom. Furthermore, correct judgment and discernment concerning Bible translations is also essential in this day and age of great deception.

Then in 1 Corinthians 5 we learned that we are not to judge those sinning outside of the church. But, we as Christians are instructed to deal with habitual sins of every kindinside the church because sin spreads like yeast through dough, and God through Christ our “leaven-less” Passover sacrifice has made us sin-free, new creations in Christ. We are to live as imitators of Christ who are lights in this world, and thus are to through the word of God expose the deeds of darkness within the body of Christ in order that we might be pure and holy and undefiled.

1 Corinthians 6

Today we are going to explore one more area of right and wrong judgment as seen in 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. So, let’s take a look at that passage.

“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? 5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? 6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? 8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Setting the Scene

So, what is going on here? Well, one of the Corinthian Christians had been wronged, even cheated, by one of the other Corinthian Christians, and he had drug his fellow Christian to a secular court over the matter. This is not about a non-Christian versus a Christian. Paul does not address this dynamic at all. Let’s keep things very clear. A Christian brother had cheated a fellow Christian brother, and the cheated brother dragged the cheating brother to court.

This sounds completely normal in America today, for we are a very litigious society. Even in Paul’s day, this is what people could do when robbed or cheated or wronged in whatever way. They would take the offender, whether real or imaginary, to court and have a judge decide the matter. Even among the Jews of Jesus’ day, when one of them was even merely offended they could drag their brother before the Jewish authorities (the Sanhedrin) for judgment.

But instead of Paul commenting to the Corinthian Christians that this is completely normal, and oh how sad that brother so-and-so was wronged, and the wronged man has his rights, he blasts them with a sharp rebuke which he presents through “statements of horror… rhetorical questions…sarcasm…and [a] threat” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates, page 229). Paul perceives the depth of what really is taking place, for truly the “failure of the two men” involved in the lawsuit “is primarily a failure of the church to be the church” (The First Epistle to the Corinthians, by Gordon D. Fee, 230). Indeed, Paul is so aghast that he starts off with a “How DARE you!” statement. Really, it is difficult to translate these words accurately into English. But they are strong, and they are emotionally charged. And they express great horror, and could be translated as “the gall of such a man to do such a thing!”

We Are Called to Judge

Why is Paul so upset by this occurrence? To begin with, the Church was not to judge those outside the Church. The world was going to act like the world; their time of judgment has not yet come. Even the Jewish people, though ruled over by various empires, had judged their own people based on God’s laws (aside from being able to exact the death penalty when under Roman occupation). And now, as God’s people, Paul informs the Corinthians that Christians are not to drag one another before non-Christian courts with non-Christian judges. Why? Verses 2-3 answers this, “2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?”

Did you read what I just read? We will one day judge the world and the angels! We will. Seriously. So, if we are going to do all that soon and very soon, Paul is asking if they as Christians could not handle the smallest of earthly issues. Sarcastically, Paul points out that the Corinthian church thought of themselves as so wise and yet they were not able to judge even in the minutest matters of church business. For indeed, even the ones esteemed “least wise” in the church can do a better job to judge than a non-Christian judge in a non-Christian court!

Not only is this an absolute “shame” but Paul goes on to say in verse 7 that this equals “utter failure”. In the Greek this means that they have lost in every way; it is failure to the depth and breadth and height; it is failure through and through. And it is to their utter shame.

“7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?”

On the One Hand

On the one hand, they have failed because they have not turned the other cheek. When Jesus talks about turning the other cheek he is referring to offense. And Jesus taught that when we are offended, we are not to retaliate, but rather, are to quickly forgive and make amends as is within our power to do. Even so, Paul states through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is better to be wronged and cheated by a fellow Christian than to go to court among the non-Christians. It is far better to forgive and let go, than to defend one’s worldly “rights” against a fellow-Christian before a non-Christian court that will one day be judged by Christians.

On the Other Hand

On the other hand, the Christians of Corinth had failed in that there was still habitual sin among them in the form of cheating and wronging their fellow Christians. And the Church too had suffered utter defeat through this because they had appeared powerless and petty before a watching, sin-filled world. “In a church full of pride and arrogance, where “wisdom,”…was a watchword, “is it so with you that there is nobody among you who is sophos (“wise”), so that he/she might render a decision between the brothers?” (The First Epistle to the Corinthians, by Gordon D. Fee, 237). Why would anyone in the world want to become apart of such Christianity that was not walking in peace and wisdom and love, that was not any better than those in the world who were fighting and disagreeing and jockeying for power?

Thus, Paul goes on to remind them that they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; they are spotless; they are now sinless. However, as God said to Cain in Genesis 4:7, “sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” All of them (and the Greek is clear that it was “all” of them) had once been immersed in sins that Paul goes on to list, but he reminds them that they what they were they are no longer. They are redeemed. They are sanctified. It was imperative that they start living like it.

Application

American Christians are so into “things” and our rights. We are raised with this mindset. We are brought up with the American dream of financial success which includes lots and lots of stuff and lots and lots of vacations and lots and lots of fun. Hedonism and materialism are even treated as virtues in our society. We are a lot like Maureen O’Hara’s character in the movie, “The Quiet Man,” who is so consumed with needing her materialistic “things about her” that she nearly drives away the man she loves (played by John Wayne). And although the movie really is about a man overcoming his past and showing his wife the love that she needs, another message can be gleaned from it by Christians. For indeed, American Christians are too consumed by consumerism, and that is not a virtue. Rather, it is a failure of the Church to be the Church.

For, truly, it is better to be wronged by a fellow Christian than to go before secular courts in a lawsuit against a fellow Christian. But this truth is hard to swallow. But, it goes along the line of all that Jesus taught and lived by example. For was He not wronged? Was Jesus not unjustly tried and condemned? Was not Jesus unfairly crucified? Indeed, did not Jesus have more rights more than anyone else in all of time, and yet He did not defend those rights (Isaiah 53). Instead, He laid down His life, and lived and died with eternity in mind.

Incredibly, it is all about a change of perspective. For though we are raised with a worldly mindset, we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). We are called to have the same mind in us as that of Christ Jesus who though equal with God became a humble servant (Philippians 2). Amazingly, as Christians we have been given the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2). However, our modern, westernized Christian mentality tends “to be warped toward the values of this age rather than the age to come,” and we are in “great need of reformation” (The First Epistle to the Corinthians, by Gordon D. Fee, 238).

Again, this is a call for reformation in the Church, not the world. The world is going to act like the world. But, those in the Church have been made brand new, have been made sinless, and Christians are to act differently. And indeed, part of that difference is to be seen in how Christians are not taking fellow Christians to court, but instead, are evaluating each other, being held accountable by each other, and living out transformation and forgiveness in very real ways.

Sometimes this may mean that someone remains wronged, but the Holy Spirit through the inspiration of this passage says that this is better than dragging a fellow Christian before a worldly, secular, non-Christian court. For, one day, all Christians will stand in judgment of this world and of the fallen angels. Because of this, we are not to go to the world for judgment, but to one another.

Oddly enough, most Christians would not want their local church judging their legal issues against a brother or sister in Christ. They would rather trust a non-Christian judge to arbitrate than trust the members of their church. Yet, it ought to be the other way around. Why? Because we as Christians are not of this world. We are from a heavenly kingdom with a heavenly monarch. As such, we live under kingdom rules that are based in the Bible and the law of love that Christ said we are to live by in all matters. When we are wronged by a fellow Christian, the law of love has been broken, and this cannot be repaired by a secular ruling or through laws that are not kingdom laws. We must break out of the mindset that flawed worldly laws are an answer for disputes between Christians. We must get a revelation that only God’s laws – specifically of love – can actually resolve a dispute and even bring healing to those in disagreement. Often it is not even about being right. It’s about being loving.

All in all, Christians are called on to live in love with one another, for the world will know us by our love for each other (John 13:35). This is the law that we live under, and this is the law by which we must judge each other in all matters. We are not to drag one another to court over anything, but are to address these matters before the body of Christ that our case may be judged based on the Bible and love and not on man-made laws and worldly wisdom. After all, we will one day judge the world and the angels. It is time to practice and prepare for that day. If not now, when?

Jesus is coming soon. Let’s be ready.

In Christ,

Holy Light Ministries

Sources and Helpful Links

The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Bible Hub Commentaries and Interlinear Online

Paul: His Life and Teaching, by John McRay

The First Epistle to the Corinthians, by Gordon D. Fee

“Judging Without Being Judgmental,” by Wave Nunnally, https://www.jubileeministries.org/judging-without-being-judgmental-2/

1 Corinthians 5: A Time When Christians Are to Judge

Tags

christian sinning, habitual sin, judging as christians, new creations, sexual sin and the christian, sinning christians

freebibleimages.org

In the last article we began a study of right and wrong judgment based on 1 Corinthians. So far we’ve seen that we are not to judge the stewardship of someone else’s ministry (1 Corinthians 1-4). Now today, we are going to be looking at yet another wrong and right judgment. The wrong judgment is that of tolerating sin, and in the extreme is even proud of it. The right judgment takes loving action on behalf of the entire body of Christ as well as for the person involved in the sin. This is tough love that is often considered “judgmental”, but to God, this is true love and right judgment.

Let’s first take a look at the passage.

I Corinthians 5 (NKJV)

“1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles–that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner–not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.””

What Was Going On In Corinth?

1.) the Corinthians Christians (keyword is Christian), had among them one who was actively involved in sexual immorality.

2.) what made it even more appalling was the fact that the Corinthian Christians were proud to have this sinning Christian man in their midst. What made it worse was that it was appalling even to pagans.

3.) they had a lack of respect/understanding that God had made them holy through the Passover sacrifice of Christ. They had totally missed the point, and were not comprehending who they were in Christ.

4.) they had also misunderstood whom they were to judge and not judge.

A Case of Habitual Sin

“1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles–that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned…”

It is obvious from the Greek that the man is involved in habitual sex and cohabitation with his stepmother outside of marriage. Where the man’s father was is not known. The fact that the woman involved in the immoral situation is not addressed by Paul probably means she is not a Christian. Though the Corinthian community was well known for their promiscuous lifestyles, sexual orgies and sex vacations, this act of incest was unheard of even among such pagans and was frowned upon. However, the most horrendous part of this true story is that the Corinthian Christians were actually proud to call this man a brother in Christ when they should have been mourning and been in deep anguish and grief over this.

A Call for Unified Action

Paul then in verses 2-5 directly asserts the action that needs to be taken regarding this man by saying,

“…that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” This action is to be done in love; love for the Church, and love for this man. It sounds harsh. But even in the case of a broken bone that has not healed correctly, it often has to be re-broken. And in the case of cancer, one has to cut deep and do intense surgery for the good of the patient. The case of habitual sin in the church no different.

Furthermore, this type of judgment is to be passed not simply by the elders or a board of directors nor merely by the pastor himself, but instead, this is a judgment that is to be done by the entire church body. Why? Because it affects them all, and all of them are to be in unity regarding the removal of habitual, blatant sin. This is not to be done to someone who slips up once, maybe not even twice. This is ONLY to be done to one who IS habitually sinning and is unrepentant of that sin (Matthew 18). And this action is to be taken with great gravity, solemnity, grief and love, and not in any other manner.

New Creations

Paul goes on to explain that the Corinthians are new creations in Christ, that they have been washed clean by Christ their Passover lamb, and they have been made sinless. They are the righteousness of God in Christ. And as such, why do they glory in sin in their midst? He also explains how a little sin inevitably spreads like yeast, and that they are not to allow for this.“6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Fellowship with Habitually Sinning Christians

Paul had written to them in a previous letter (that is not in the Bible) about not associating with those living in sin, those actively participating in sin, and the Corinthian Christians had wrongly assumed him to mean that they were not to associate with non-Christians who were sinning. Thus, they thought they were to pass judgment on those who were worldly and outside the church. But, that is not what Paul meant.

Rather, Paul had written to them about not keeping company with those who call themselves Christians and yet are habitually sinning. In this case, it is the man who is living with and sexually active with his father’s wife. Furthermore, verse eleven states that there are other habitual sins that ought to lead the body of Christ to make a similar judgment. “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one do not to eat” (emphasis mine). Again, the operative word is “brother”. In other words, Paul is writing to Christians about not having close fellowship with other Christians who are actively sinning. The beginning of the verse “But now I have written” could be read to mean, “But what I meant was.”

What Sin?

To be more clear, let’s take a closer look at what each of these words mean.

A fornicator is one involved in any type of sexual activity outside of marriage. #4205 pornos which carries the meaning of sexual immorality for some kind of gain. It literally means “to sell”, and thus, to be enslaved. This could be for any type of gain, such as financial, emotional, promotion in business or employment, for the sake of security or positions of power or prestige.

To be covetous is to be greedy, (also referred to as idolatry in Colossians 3:5) and “means not just to desire what is not one’s own, but often carries the sense of carrying through on the desire to the point of defrauding or taking advantage of someone else” (commentary, page 224). From #4123, pleonektes “to be covetous” which is from 4122 pleonekteo that means “to take advantage of someone, defraud.” Literally, “to have more than another.” Thus, this person is always wanting more, even to the point of swindling others.

An idolater is one who not only worshiped idols, but one who went up to the pagan temples and celebrated pagan feasts. #1496, eidololatres. This Greek word is composed of two words, eidólon meaning an idol and latris meaning a hired servant. Thus, to be an idolater for whatever reason meant that one was in service to the idol and the god behind it. This was often done for the sake of business deals and financial transactions, prestige in the community, and favor among business leaders.

A railer “covers all forms of verbal abuse – to malign, revile, slander – and reflects the kind of coarse talk often associated with the rabble. #3060, loidoros, “railing, reviling.” Revile means to vilify others, to say harmful things about someone, to defame a brother or sister in Christ, to sully or ruin someone’s reputation through words.

A drunkard is one who gets drunk on alcohol and is also involved in the carousing associated with it. It is the word methusos #3183 and is from the word methe #3178 which carries a stronger meaning than merely that of drinking an alcoholic beverage. It has to do with drinking excessively and in this case, habitually. This is forbidden of Christians (Ephesians 5:18).

An Extortioner #727harpax, meaning “a rapacious person or animal such as wolves, ones given to

extortion or rapacity (gluttony or avarice).” This is done openly, not secretly, but with suddenness, unexpectedly and with force (from harpazo (726) meaning “to seize upon”).

These are those that God did not want His people to associate with nor to even eat with – in other words, they were not to share close, koinonia fellowship with them. When Christians came together on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) for the “breaking of bread” together which included the bread and wine of the Communion/Lord’s Supper, it was not a quick get together, but rather, was like a family reunion each time they came together. Aside from that, anytime in that society of Paul’s day that people came together to eat it was not rushed but was relaxed time of warmth and close fellowship. Thus, Christians who came together whether once a week on the Lord’s Day or whether they met at other times during the week in their homes, they were not to include in their koinonia meals those who were actively involved in sin.

Succinct Summary Regarding Right and Wrong Judgment Among Believers

Wrong Judgment: Judging the world for their sin. That’s not our job as Christians at this time. Later on we will sit in judgment of the world with God, but that is not our job now.

Wrong Judgment: We are not ever to judge habitual sin in the church as tolerable nor are we to condone sin as something that we can be proud of.

Right Judgment: Christians are not to allow for blatant, habitual sin to remain in the church, but instead, are to remove the leaven of sin so that it does not spread. For if habitual sin is allowed in the church, others will perceive it as acceptable and even Christian. As Christians making judgments regarding sin in the church is a right and righteous judgment that must be made in order for the church to remain the church, for Christians to remain Christian. For indeed, as verse twelve states, we are to judge one another where habitual sin is involved that endangers the holiness of the church.

Application

God is a holy God and has set Christians apart as holy unto Him. We no longer belong to ourselves, but to Him, and are here for His purpose. As new creations in Christ, we are to look like Him and act like Him. As such, we are not to be in friendship with those who profess Christ while living in an immoral manner, whether one who is greedy, covetous, defames another’s reputation, drinks to the point of drunkenness, extorts dishonestly or lives an immoral lifestyle (cohabiting, promiscuity homosexuality, pornography, watching movies that condone such behavior, etc). Christians are not to correct the unsaved regarding such avarice, but Christians are to correct those who are called Christian, even to the point not keeping company with them if they are unrepentant.

This may seem strident or unfeeling, but God is clear on this matter. Now, this does not give us free reign to judge incorrectly or in the wrong heart. This is not about “you’re wrong and I’m right” and finger pointing. Rather, this is about judging Biblically, grieving over sin, and walking in true love. Though those who coddle sinning Christians may do so thinking they are being loving and kind, what they are doing is the opposite of love, for it reinforces hell-bound behavior.

We tend to forget and cannot seem to grasp the holiness of our God and the holiness of His love, the all-consuming fire of His presence. We are a kingdom of priests, and as such, the priests of God are to be pure and untainted by the world. It’s not that we will never sin at all. It is that we are to be free of repetitive sin. We are sanctified and set apart for service to Him. We are to be holy as He is holy, without blemish, without wrinkle, wholly His, serving Him and not another master. For indeed, when a Christian is living in sin, their master is that sin.

Let’s more than keep this in mind. Let’s practice this truth, and pray about it if it seems overwhelming. Jesus is coming soon as the Lion of the tribe of Judah with fire in His eyes and a sword coming out of His mouth and feet like burnished bronze. He will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He is holy. Let’s be holy too. Yes, let’s be ready!

Holy Light Ministries

P.S. If you are still a bit perplexed as to the difference between right judgment and being judgmental, please refer to this article by Dr. Wave Nunnally entitled, “Judging without being Judgmental” https://www.jubileeministries.org/judging-without-being-judgmental-2/

Sources:

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/5-11.htm

The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates

Barne’s Notes on the Bible, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/5-11.htm

The Interlinear Bible: Hebrew-Greek-English, Editor and Translator Jay P. Green, Sr.

Bible Hub Interlinear/word study

“Acts of Worship – Partaking of the Lord’s Supper (Part 1),” by Bryan Hodge, https://bryanhodge.net/2012/09/19/acts-of-worship-partaking-of-the-lords-supper-part-1/

1 Corinthians 4: Judging God’s Ministers

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1 Corinthians 4, Christian judging, huperetas, judging christian ministers, judging pastors, judging the heart, stewardship of the gospel, When are Christians not to judge, When are Christians to judge

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1 Corinthians 4-6: “Right and Wrong Judgments”

Throughout our lives we make judgments such as what to eat, what not to eat, what to wear, what job to take, where to live, if someone had been nice to us or rude, what to say or not to say, whether or not to attend college, to be a Christian instead of a Buddhist or apart of another religion, and the list goes on and on indefinitely. We even go to court in order to get a judge to side with us regarding issues such as divorce, inheritance, and other disputes. Every day we make such judgments, and we never ever question it.

So, why is it that Christians have such a problem with the concept of judging? Have we ever wondered if there is a right way to judge and a wrong way to judge? Do we get too caught up in the semantics of everything that we cannot see the forest for the trees? Or is it that we have heard something so often over and over again like “it is a sin for a Christian to judge” that it has become the “gospel truth” without ever having investigated if the initial statement was even right to begin with?

In 1 Corinthians chapters 4-6 we will see in what matters Christians are not to judge and in what matters they are to judge. Chapter 4 is all about Christian ministers. Chapter 5 is about a Christian brother living in overt immorality. Chapter 6 is about a wronged Christian taking another Christian to a secular court for justice.

Sadly, in keeping with the our fallen nature and the enemy’s plan, we quit naturally judge what we are not to judge, and for reasons that differ from person to person we do not judge what we are to judge. This article will in particular cover chapter 4 and how we as Christians are NOT to judge. The two articles that will eventually follow this one will cover two areas in which we are to judge and must judge.

Wrong Judgment: Judging God’s Christian Stewards

First Corinthians 4:1-6 states,

“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged [anakrino, #350, “to discern, judge, examine or question in order to pass a judicial sentence, to inquire” in other words, to cross examine as in a legal setting– “judicially investigate” (under #2919 under Deriv.] of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge [anakrino] not mine own self.4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth [anakrino] me is the Lord.5 Therefore judge [krino, #2919, “To separate, distinguish, discriminate between good and evil, select, to form an opinion after considering the case”] nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure [an illustration] transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.”

So, what is Paul saying? He is explaining that he and Apollo and other apostles like them are “stewards.” Now, to begin with, a steward is a manager not an owner of a household. They specifically manage the finances, other hired help or servants, and other operations of the house so that it functions like a well-oiled machine. They were delegated this responsibility and were answerable to their master and to their master alone. A steward is not judged by his/her master based on charisma or what we might deem success, but rather are judged on whether or not they were faithful to the household and obedient to the master.

Now, of what was Paul a manager? The mysteries of God. But as Paul disclosed earlier, these mysteries are no longer a mystery but have been revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, the “mysteries of God” are the Gospel message. So, Paul is busy being a manager of the Gospel by making sure it remains pure, unpolluted and that no one tries to lay another foundation other than Christ, and as a steward of this Gospel is answerable to God ALONE.

Furthermore, it states in verse two that the quality that is looked for in a steward is faithfulness. The owner is not looking for what the world deems success, such as riches, fame, and charisma, but rather, the quality is that of faithfulness to God and the Gospel.

However, the Corinthians were beginning to question Paul’s stewardship and motives of the heart. As it says in verse three, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged [anakrino, #350, “to discern, judge, examine or question in order to pass a judicial sentence, to inquire” in other words, to cross examine as in a legal setting– “judicially investigate” (under #2919 under Deriv.] of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge [anakrino] not mine own self.” What Paul is saying here is that they have no right to question nor investigate the quality of his stewardship, and indeed, even he has no right to examine it for himself.

Verse four continues, “For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth [anakrino] me is the Lord.” Paul here states that he does not know of anything he’s done amiss thus far regarding his stewardship, but that does not really matter. What he thinks about his stewardship does not matter and what the Corinthians think does not matter. For, truly, it is God alone, the owner of the Gospel, who is and will look into this matter more fully and make a final decision. God alone will judge the heart of His stewards and the works they have performed in His name.

Paul says in verse five, “Therefore judge [krino, #2919, “To separate, distinguish, discriminate between good and evil, select, to form an opinion after considering the case”] nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” To begin with “judging nothing” does not in any way mean that the Corinthians were never to judge, but rather it does mean that they were to “stop reaching a verdict,” (NICNT, page 163), to stop forming an opinion regarding the quality of work of God’s ministers. The “hidden things of darkness” are not to be seen as something sinful. That’s not what is being spoken of here. Instead what is meant by “hidden things” are the unseen motives of the heart that will not remain hidden in the fiery presence of God, for our God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). It is the Lord who will bring to light by His holy fire the quality of each person’s ministry, in the proper time at the rewards ceremony as was seen in 1 Corinthians 3. Before that, the Corinthians were not to pass judgment on what alone is God’s right!

Fellow Rowers on the Same Ship

Not only are Paul and Apollos and other ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ stewards of the same master, but they are a particular type of servant called huperetas (#5257). This is not the usual word that Paul uses for slave/bondslave, doulos #1401, but is a specific type of servant. The Greek word “hypērétēs” literally means an “under-rower”, one “who mans the oars on a lower deck; (figuratively) a subordinate executing official orders, i.e. operating under direct (specific) orders.” This word came from those who were galley slaves chained to the oars of a Roman ship — like Charlton Heston’s role of Judah Ben Hur in the award winning 1959 version of the movie “Ben Hur”. These rowers were not only chained to their oar, but were chained together for the service of the captain of the ship. These were often condemned men. They lived if the ship stayed afloat. They died if the ship went down. This word was also used of officers who carried out orders unquestioningly.

The Corinthians who were the children of former soldiers and freed slaves and ex-sailors and who also lived on the Isthmus of Corinth and were familiar with the many ships and their crews that passed through, they would have understood this word all too well. Thus, Paul used this term under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for all who are named ministers of Christ are in effect chained together for Jesus, rowing His ship for His glory not their own, following orders for His name’s sake. In the words of Paul the apostle in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Practical Application

Now, how does this apply to us as Christians? We are not to judge the ministry of others and what each are doing for the Lord and the Gospel. Perhaps someone’s ministry has lots of flashy lights and loud, inspiring music; perhaps another’s ministry uses only old hymn books and a magnificent pipe organ; perhaps someone else runs a soup kitchen and extends the Gospel to the poor while they eat a hot meal; perhaps one pastor is very poetic and gives excellent speeches that thrill the heart and inspire the soul with the fragrance of spring accompanying his words, while another pastor is monotone, meticulous and laid back with the smell of library books, leather and a pipe about him, while still another minister is light and fluffy with words of encouragement and laughter and the feeling of sunshine wherever he goes, while yet another is all about the holiness of God, holy living, and being without spot and wrinkle and is perfumed with the very incense of heaven.

All in all, we Christians are not to question a minister’s nor one another’s stewardship of the ministry that God has delegated to us. We are not to judge their works nor their hearts nor how they are carrying out their God-given orders. We are furthermore, not to form an opinion or make a judgment, especially a nitpicking opinion of what God is doing for His glory through someone else. We don’t always need to have an opinion!

So long as what a person or minister is doing is Biblical and based upon the Gospel foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11), we as Christians are absolutely NOT to question or form an opinion about that ministry. If there is no habitual sin involved nor unbiblical doctrine nor false teaching or false prophecy, each person’s stewardship in ministry is between that person and God ALONE.

Sources:

The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Bible Hub Commentaries and Interlinear Online

Paul: His Life and Teaching, by John McRay

The First Epistle to the Corinthians, by Gordon D. Fee

“Have You Noticed the People Whom God Has Called to Help You?” by Rick Renner, https://renner.org/article/have-you-noticed-the-people-whom-god-has-called-to-help-you/

Benson Commentary, “1 Corinthians 4:1,” https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/4-1.htm

“Judging Without Being Judgmental,” by Wave Nunnally, https://www.jubileeministries.org/judging-without-being-judgmental-2/

Definition

HELPS Word Studies from Bible Hub, “5257 hypērétēs (from 5259 /hypó, “under” and ēressō, “to row”) – properly, a rower (a crewman on a boat), an “under-rower” who mans the oars on a lower deck; (figuratively) a subordinate executing official orders, i.e. operating under direct (specific) orders.” https://biblehub.com/greek/5257.htm

Valentine’s Day: Loving God

Tags

agape love, friendship love, John 21:15-17, phileo love, the world will know us by our love for one another

It is nearly Valentine’s Day, the day of love between people – romantic love. But the greatest love is not romantic love. We have read and heard over and over the incredible love that God has for us. Even today, we have caught yet another glimpse of God’s love for us, for while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And we all know John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This love of God is both breathtaking and overwhelming. God in His love gave that we might live holy lives of abundance in His awesome presence. A newer worship song says of God, “You didn’t want heaven without us; So Jesus you brought heaven down. Our sin was great. Your love was greater. What can separate us now?” That’s His love for us.

But, what about our love for the Lord?

An amazing passage of Scripture is that of John 21:15-17. The resurrected Jesus has just served a delicious breakfast of fresh roasted fish and baked bread to the disciples after they’ve been working all night on the Sea of Tiberias. Peter has already denied Jesus three times, the crucifixion has already occurred, and this is the third time that Jesus has appeared to the disciples in His resurrected body.

“Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

What is not seen in the English here is the use of two very different verbs for love: agape (25) and phileo (5368). Jesus asks Peter twice if Peter agape loves Him. Agape love when directed from a man to God has to do with love being respectful and reverential and faithful. Jesus is asking Peter if he reveres Him.

Peter responds to Jesus’ first two questions of “Do you Agape love me?” by responding, “Yes, You intuitively know that I phileo love You.”

Now, phileo is not agape. Phileo is friendship love. To love someone as a friend means that one has things in common with each other, common goals, interests, likes and dislikes. Because of so many things in common, a fondness and affection for each other is present.

But, had Peter phileo loved Jesus? God’s purpose in sending Jesus was to save the world through His sacrifice. Jesus whole goal in coming was to die for the sins of the world and then be resurrected that all through belief in Him might be saved both now and eternally. However, Peter had not shared this goal in common with Jesus but instead rebuked Jesus when Jesus told Him that He had to die on the cross, and Jesus had to address Peter as Satan, saying “Get thee behind me Satan.” Not only this, but Peter had three times in a row and in the same night denied that he even knew Jesus.

Finally, Jesus asked of Peter, “Simon, Son of Jonas, do you phileo love me?

This time it says that Peter was grieved and afflicted with sorrow because Jesus questioned what Peter had been adamantly claiming all along, and he felt the heaviness of the question. And so, with great emotion Peter states, “Lord, You intuitively know all things and You experientially know that I phileo love You.” In other words, “Lord, You know that I am now your friend.” Indeed, he was saying in effect that he had “adopted God’s interests as his own” (Zodhiates, #5368 III, pg 1445 — emphasis mine).

Agape is the word commonly used for the love of God toward man and of man toward God. God benevolently and graciously loves each person exactly how they need it even if they do not perceive that need, and each person loves God reverently and respectfully, remembering always that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

However, the word phileo to describe a person’s love toward God is very rare, and only occasionally does God call someone friend, such as Abraham (James 2:23). Indeed, “none of us . . . earn the right to declare ourselves friends . . . of God. He alone can declare us as such…” (Zodhiaties, #25 V, pg 66). On the other hand, we are commanded to Agape love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30; Matt 22:37). As born again, blood bought Christians we are called to reverence and respect and honor and esteem the Lord with all that is within us. More clearly, we are to respect God with our bodies, honor Him with our thoughts, reverence Him with our every breath, and esteem Him with our emotions.

But, are we His friends? What does it mean to be a friend of God? For that matter, what does it mean to be a friend? Do we care about what He cares about? Are His goals our goals, His purposes our purpose?

Jesus said in John 15:12-17 that a certain type of person is His friend. “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.” And John 13:35 says, “35By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus declares we are His friends, if we Agape love each other. Are we loving each other? Are we looking to meet each others needs? Are we doing what is best for each other? Are we regarding our fellow Christians? Are we paying attention to what matters to our brothers and sisters in Christ in our home, our church, our community? Are we Jesus’ friends?

As Valentine’s Day approaches, let us reflect on the Father’s great love for us and on Jesus’ great sacrifice for us. There is no greater love than this! No romantic love can even compare nor even come close to the Agape love of God! Let us also remember as Valentine’s day approaches that we are called to Agape love God too, to respect and honor Him with all that we are and in all that we do and say. And, may we also consider whether or not we share common goals with God, especially that of loving our fellow Christians. Are we friends with God? Can He this Valentine’s day truly call us friend? And more importantly, as the Day of the Lord draws near, are we loving our fellow Christians as Christ loved us?

1 Corinthians 1-3: We Are A Team

Tags

1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 2, competition among christians, epistle, eternity, i Corinthians 3, living with eternity in mind, we are God's building, worldly wisdom

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The Epistle of 1 Corinthians

The book of 1 Corinthians is called an “epistle” which means “letter” in the Greek. Ordinarily letters in Paul’s day were very short, much like the book of Philemon which is merely one chapter with twenty five verses. Epistles had a very definite form, starting with a greeting, then a prayer or thanksgiving, followed by the body of the letter, greetings from various people, and finally the conclusion with a signature of farewell. This same format is followed by Paul nearly every time, with only a few exceptions (like Galatians wherein there is no thanksgiving recorded). Furthermore, the author of a letter did not necessarily pen it for his/herself, but rather dictated it to an amanuensis (one who wrote down what was dictated).

The book of 1 Corinthians can be divided into 6 sections, but for the sake of the articles that will be written here, it will be divided differently. However, here are the major divisions of the book of 1 Corinthians.

*The Introduction (1:1-9)

*Issues brought to Paul’s attention by those of Chloe’s household (1:10-6:20)

*The questions about which the Corinthian church had written to Paul (7-15)

*The collection for the poor in Jerusalem (first part of 16)

*Paul’s travel plans (middle part of 16)

*Paul’s Conclusion with greetings and signature

The Church of Corinth

The Corinthian church was birthed among a group of people known for their alcoholism, sexual immorality, competitiveness, and covetousness. It was a city in which worldly wisdom reigned supreme, and that worldly wisdom taught one to be self-centered, the idolization of charismatic leaders, the great respect of the rich, greed was good, that sexual expression was acceptable whether married or unmarried, and that competition was essential to get to the top and one definitely wanted to be at the top.

But along came Paul, who in weakness, fear and trembling, presented the Gospel of Jesus not with smooth nor charismatic words, but rather, in a demonstration “of the Spirit and power” that the faith of the Corinthian converts would not be established “in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:3-5). Paul was no great orator nor politician nor philosopher who could captivate his audience with eloquence or humor.

And yet, the Corinthians who were so mesmerized by such speeches, were moved by Paul’s simplistic oral presentation of the Gospel message. Why? Because of the Holy Spirit moving among them and upon their hearts and because of a demonstration of the Spirit’s power in their midst. Signs and wonders accompanied the apostles wherever they preached, even as signs and wonders accompanied Jesus while He walked this earth, and these signs and wonders turned unbelievers to the one true God the Father and His crucified and resurrected Son. The Corinthian people had been touched deeply by this simple milk of the Gospel message and the moving of God’s power in their hearts and bodies, and they had converted completely.

However, it’s like that old saying, “You can take the man out of the country, but you can‘t take the country out of the man”. For, indeed, the Corinthians were so conformed to the likeness of this world, so immersed in worldly wisdom still that it proved nearly impossible to get “Corinth” out of the Christians.

First Corinthians 1:11-13 presents us with first problem of “Corinth” still being in the Christians. It reads, “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?”

The Corinthian people were very competitive people who were drawn to charismatic leaders. This was not just a Corinthian attribute but rather was seen in both the Greek and Roman world. Actually, around the globe and throughout the centuries both B.C. and A.D., the worldy wisdom of our fallen age has been very charismatic leadership focused. In America we idolized Hollywood stars, politicians, the British royal family, military heroes, even some flamboiant pastor/evangelists and the list goes on. Well, in Corinth they especially idolized those who spoke well. Even if the leader did not have much substance to what he said, if it was said well or in an entertaining way he was idolized.

But, Paul reminds them that their “faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (2:5), for they had not received, “the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God (2:12a) … the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (2:14). Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are no longer to be carnal, but are new creations in Christ, and thus, are spiritual. As Christians it is not about how we perfectly we look or how smooth we sound. Rather, it is all about the transforming work of Christ in each of us individually.

Corinthians 3

That being said, the Corinthians were still fixated on appearances, and were proud of it. First Corinthians 3 begins, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among youenvying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” (vs. 1-4). In other words, Paul is really slamming the Corinthian Christians for their competitiveness and worship of charisma. Essentially he calls them big babies who were still only able to drink milk. Oh, they were big boys and girls now and had teeth and should have been eating meat, but they were still fussing about baby things, fighting over baby toys, and slobbering about who’s better. And in this childish behavior, they were walking in worldly wisdom instead of godly humility.

Collaboration vs. Competition: The Building of the Temple

Now, worldly wisdom is based in pride, for it competes, tears another down in order to make oneself look good, and creates friction, arguments and division. Paul bluntly tells them that this is carnal and not the way in which a Christian ought to be living. God’s wisdom on the other hand, because it is based in love, creates unity and teamwork.

First Corinthians 3:5-9 says, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God…”

In other words, Paul and Apollos are not competitors but are on the same team, and God is the leader of that team. They are laboring together with God for a common goal and purpose. Thus, Paul states, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). The common goal is that of construction of a special building. Paul laid the foundation of the Gospel when he preached among those at Corinth, and no other foundation was to be laid at any time nor by anyone no matter how rich nor how popular they might be.

Not only this, but the Corinthians themselves are a part of this construction team, for Paul continues to say in verses 12-15 that,“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the DAY shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

So, not only are Paul and Apollos working on the team, the Corinthians are also on the team, and that team is working on a very important building project. They are working together and are to act accordingly because “the DAY shall declare it.” This DAY that is mentioned here is the DAY of the Judgment Seat of Christ wherein Christians receive their eternal rewards for that which they have done here on earth. This is not a day of judging whether or not one goes to heaven or to hell, but rather, is a rewards ceremony for Christians. Each Christian’s works will be tried in God’s holy, all consuming fire on that DAY, and this will determine the quality of the work we have done.

We Are The Temple

We are God’s construction team, and as a team we are working together to build God’s Temple. Isn’t that amazing?! We have a part in building His Temple! But, not only are we a team, we are the Temple that is being constructed. And even more specifically, as seen in the wording of the Greek, we are, the Holy of Holies of that Temple. The Holy of Holies is compartment containing the ark of the covenant behind the second curtain/veil and is the room wherein God descended in His cloud of glory and abode there in the days of Moses and the Tabernacle in the wilderness and in Solomon’s Temple that was overlaid with pure gold. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 is telling the Corinthians that they are now that Holy of Holies, and God was calling them to quit competing, and instead to be unified, even as the godhead –Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is unified.

Practical Application

Even in team sports the team ought not to turn on itself. However, sometimes even in team sports, the team builds up one team member over another, and this player outshines the others. This, is like what the Corinthians were doing, and it is not good for the team. In a movie about a basketball team called “Hoosiers,” a certain player really could shoot the ball well. But, the coach did not want this player to be the focus. He wanted all 5 players on the court to pass the ball a certain amount of times before shooting the ball. The coach wanted them to function as a team and not be completely dependent upon one player. He even went so far as to bench the “star” player in order to promote the unity of the other team members through obedience.

We as Christians are a construction team building God’s Temple, and we are the Temple of God. How then do we apply this? What we nail or screw or bolt into this building will one day be examined by God, and His examination will be intense and will determine what rewards we receive. But instead of using the usual construction materials such as nails or skrews, God says were are either building with precious stones and priceless metals or wood, hay and stubble. Now what kind of material would make a prettier structure? Stubble or rubies? Hay or emeralds?

In every word and deed we are investing in one another’s lives. That’s right. What you say or do counts as silver or gold or wood or stubble in another’s life.

Let us live with eternity in mind. A rewards ceremony awaits us at the judgment seat of Christ. Did we do things for God’s glory or did we do them so that we looked good? Did we do it for God’s name’s sake or did we do it so that we felt good? Did we do things lovingly or simply out of a sense of duty? Did we do something even if it was funny so that it made another look worse or feel bad? Did we vie to be better than another of did we compete for the applause of others? Let us therefore, “take heed” by looking inside at the attitude of our hearts, and consider why we are doing what we are doing or saying what we are saying. Indeed, let’s build with quality materials in one another’s lives, so that they will sparkle after the fire and last for all eternity.

1 Corinthians: Background

Tags

1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Acts 18:1-18, Corinthians Christians, study on 1 Corinthians, the apostle paul, the Biblical city of Corinth, the Corinthian people of Paul's day

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Though we are most definitely in the last of the Last Days and it is imperative that end times Scriptures be brought to light (for they are not being expounded on in most pulpits today, or are being misinterpreted and twisted), it is all the more imperative that God’s will for the Church be taught as well. For, Jesus is coming back for a Church that is loving each other, and that love does not look like the definition of love most often taught today. The American church and other churches of the western world are deeply riddled with excused sin, divisiveness, selfishness and unbiblical behavior. Furthermore, they are Biblically illiterate and thus the Holy Spirit cannot even convict — for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Corinth was a city much like our western world, even our American world, with its pleasure seeking, greed, covetousness, violent and sexual entertainment, and entrepreneurial entertainment. God’s awesome power intercepted the enemy and had overturned his plans with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Corinth, but the sin nature and worldly perceptions still clouded the minds of the Corinthian Christians. And thus, the Christians there looked more like the world instead of like Christ.

And that is where we are today — just before the trumpet sounds and Christ snatches away His Bride to meet Him in the air. We look like the Corinthian Christians who were misled into thinking that their worldly perceptions were Christ-like and their worldly reactions were godly. Thus, it is imperative to delve into the word of God to better understand how we should be living as opposed to how we are.

But before we can delve into the rich cuisine of the Biblical book of 1 Corinthians, we need to know a bit more about the city and its people. So, we are going to begin with a bit of very important historical information that will come into play as we go on to study the various chapters and topics of 1 Corinthians. This knowledge of the Corinthian environment will help us to better understand why the Corinthian people thought as they thought and were doing what they were doing.

Ancient Corinth

The city of Corinth had been established long before the time of the apostle Paul and had been a thriving commercial and idolatrous city of the Grecian world. It’s name is derived from the “currant-like” dried fruit of their own small, special grapes they shipped around the world. In the 6^th century BC (the 500s) the narrow piece of land near the city called Isthmus which means “neck” (called that because of its narrowness), made it thrive even more, for it was over this 3.7-5.3 mile strip that leaders unsuccessfully endeavored to build canals and successfully transported their ships across a carved stone track. That’s right, they pulled their ships for upwards to 5 miles across stone paving in order to reach the sea on the opposite side. Trade blossomed because of this route. For years before this special route was paved, sailors had braved the treacherous waters around the peninsula, but now they could save time, their ships and their lives by pulling their ships over the narrow piece of land near Corinth. It is actually because of the city of Isthmus that every other narrow piece of land in the world is called an isthmus, like the Isthmus of Panama.

The New Corinth: The Vanity Fair of the Roman World

Then, in the year 146 BC the city of Corinth rebelled against a young Roman Empire, and Rome razed the prosperous city to the ground. For over one hundred years, it was abandoned as well as the Isthmus. However, in 44 BC Julius Caesar called for the city to be rebuilt and to be dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite of whom he felt he was a direct descendant. Aphrodite was the patron goddess of sex, street walkers and prostitutes. In other words, Julius Caesar wanted to make Corinth great again; he wanted the city to be prosperous and to flourish once more, to be a place where people wanted to travel, trade and build a business.

However, and for whatever reason, no one wanted to populate the newly built city, and so Julius Caesar made offers to various people groups in his empire and eventually made a deal with freed slaves, retired sailors, former soldiers and legionnaires who agreed to start fresh in the city of Corinth. Those who moved to Corinth had no great family name or famous lineage or history. Instead, they made a name for themselves. And though they moved there as part of the lower class, they grew to prosper in various forms of business and trade, especially when the Isthmus was operational again and the Isthmian Games were reinstated around 7 BC and AD 3.

The Isthmian Games, dedicated to the god Poseidon, were second only to the Olympic Games, and had been around since 582 BC. These games, however, unlike the Olympics and two other games (as apart of the PanHellenic Games) were more violently competitive for they included wresting, boxing, and chariot racing. Those attending the games would stay in the nearby accommodations of Corinth. All in all, the new Corinth was a place of potential fame and prosperity for those who elsewhere were nothing and could accomplish nothing.

Corinth was founded by a lower class, crude people on the basis of ambition, competition, and the sex industry. The city was riddled with extortioners, swindlers, prostitution, alcoholism, and idolatry. Pick pockets were everywhere, drunkenness was rampant, people on sex holidays came regularly, and people trying to talk one out of their money seemed to be on every corner. In several excavated homes in Corinth large containers in the cellar have been found wherein large quantities of alcohol were stored so that the household would not run out. Like in Pilgrim’s Progress, Corinth was like the city of Vanity Fair. And as in America, Corinth was akin to Las Vegas, San Fransisco, and New York City all rolled into one.

“Corinthian”

The term “Corinthian” was known throughout the Greco-Roman world. The playwright Aristophanes coined the phrase, “Fast as a Corinthian” because of the Isthmus that became a speedy route for ships to cross over land. It meant one who moved quickly, or one who found the faster way to do something.

However, the term “Corinthian” was usually used in a derogatory manner. If one was a drunk in another city or country of the Roman world, they were not called a drunk; they were called a “Corinthian”. And if one was sexually immoral, they were not called sexually immoral, but rather were called a “Corinthian”.

The Corinthian Christians

Now, the apostle Paul enters the Corinthian scene, and I Corinthians 6:9-10 makes it clear that the Corinthians who converted to Christianity were former fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexual (abusers of themselves with mankind), thieves, excessively greedy for everything (covetous), users of foul, crude language (revilers), and extortioners. This is their background. This is their history up to this point. This will help us to understand what is being said in I Corinthians better. And it will most importantly express more potently the incredible, transformational power of almighty God in the life of those who believe in Jesus no matter who they are or what they’ve been or done.

Acts 18:1-18

Let’s now turn to Acts 18:1-18 to lay some ground work. Let’s read a bit about Paul’s evangelism to Corinth, of the opposition to the Gospel by Corinth’s new Jewish population, and the hope of salvation even for the debauched Corinthians.

“After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.7 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,13 Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.14 And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:15 But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.16 And he drave them from the judgment seat.17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.”

Brief Message

It says in verses 9 and 10 that God told Paul not to be afraid, which must have meant that Paul was afraid. So often I think when I read Scripture that the person in the Bible story was not afraid and was full of boldness, especially Paul. People can even think that he was extroverted and unfazed by difficulties or burdens or fears. But, Paul says of himself in 1 Corinthians 2:1, 3, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God…3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.”

The apostle Paul had come into a very polluted, idolatrous, sexually immoral, drunken, greedy city, and presented the Gospel with fear and trembling and in great weakness (possibly physical) to a group of excessively damaged people. Indeed, this city was unlike any city in which Paul had traveled (Paul, His Life and Teaching, by John McRay, pg 170). And on top of this, there were a new, large Jewish population intermixing in this Vanity Fair of the Roman world because of the Emperor Claudius’ law that had expelled them from the city of Rome. “It would undoubtedly have been the last city of all those through which Paul traveled that he might have expected to be receptive to the gospel” (Paul, His Life and Teaching, by John McRay, pg 170).

Applications

Two things we can take away with us today are these. Number one, God can use us no matter how fearful or weak we may be and no matter how impossible or evil a situation may seem. And number two, the power of the Gospel still changes lives no matter how corrupted or foul or hopeless they may appear.

As we begin our various studies from within the pages of I Corinthians, let us keep these two very amazing truths in mind! God’s empowering is greater than our weaknesses and fears and impossible situations, and the power of the Gospel instantly saves the gravest of sinners making them believers; and then patiently and persistently transforms those believers by the renewing of their minds.

God is doing a work among His people right now. The real revival and awakening is taking place right now in the hearts of His people worldwide. It is not a movement that is physically seen nor will fill stadiums or football fields, but rather, is a movement of the heart and mind, a radical renewal, and powerful transformation. He is preparing us for His return. Are you ready?

Sources:

Paul, His Life and Teaching, by John McRay

“Ancient Isthmian Games”

Ancient Isthmian Games

https://www.ancient.eu/corinth/

https://www.revolvy.com/page/Diolkos

https://www.revolvy.com/topic/Isthmian%20Games

Psalm 23: You Prepare a Table Before Me in the Presence of My Enemies

Tags

1 Samuel 21, David and the holy bread, holy priesthood, in the presence of my enemies, Leviticus 24, Psalm 23, Psalm 23:5, psalm 95:7, royal priesthood, the lord is my shepherd, the tabernacle, the table of shewbread, the table of showbread, the temple of God, thou preparest a table before me

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

How many of us right now are afflicted, troubled, and battle weary? How many are in the midst of tumultuous situations and cannot foresee the outcome? How many of us have been wounded, feel alone and/or feel banged up and bruised inside or out? A phrase is used in my family for such experiences. We say it feels like we’ve been hit by a Mack Truck (a Semi-Truck). Have you ever felt you were hit by one of those and you don’t know what’s next? Like a tidal wave just hit you, and you are disoriented and don’t know which way is up? It seems that the darkness has gotten darker, heavier, and thicker than ever, and the enemy is aggressively ensnaring the populace of the world. Like a vortex, evil is sucking all into its black hole, and even Christians are feeling the magnetic pull.

Enter Psalm 23:5. This is no ordinary passage. Psalm 23:5 bursts forth with incredible power. Beneath its surface is the personal experience and heart of David as well as the servant’s heart of Almighty God. Though countless numbers of Christians have memorized these very words and can say it by heart, the power of this verse (as well as the rest of it) have not fully been realized nor grasped by most. Understand it fully or not, God still applies it to our lives as the Good Shepherd, and causes us to experience it. But, oh the glorious riches of experiencing it with a better understanding!

Without further ado, let’s do our best to scratch the surface of the depth of these treasures. After all, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter,” (Proverbs 25:2). A major part of scratching the surface is a study in the various Hebrew words of this passage. I will place my full, unedited study at the bottom of the source list if you are interested. However, for the sake of everyone else who might get bogged down in these details, I will at present summarize my findings in a more condensed, reader-friendly version.

Thou Preparest a Table

To begin with, the one doing the preparing is the Shepherd. Not a servant nor an angel nor anyone else is doing the serving. Let’s not glaze over this, and quickly pass on to the rest of the passage. Let that sink in to our hearts. The Lord Himself is doing this. Is this not like John 13:1-17 wherein Jesus put on a towel, took up a basin of water, and washed the disciple’s feet? This is the servant-heart of God. This is the attitude of God who took on human flesh and dwelt among us, who cloaked His glory, and set His holy feet upon our sin-polluted earth (John 1; Philippians 2). The eternal Lord, Maker of all is the one who is setting things in order upon the table, even setting things in order for battle. For the term “to prepare” is actually one of military importance, and one which is often used in reference to getting ready for war.

The Shepherd is laying things in order upon a table, but it is not just any table. It is the table of the Tabernacle. This is inferred by the fact that households of David’s day did not commonly have tables in them, for the people actually reclined on the flood to eat. They did not sit in chairs at a table like we do in the western world. Only two types of tables are mentioned in Scripture: the table of kings and the table of the Tabernacle. Since David so often longs for the courts of the Lord and to forever dwell in the secret place and presence of God (Psalm 26:8; Psalm 27:4; Psalm 61:4; Psalm 84:1-3; Psalm 91; 2 Samuel 6), it is logical to assess that the table David is therefore speaking of in Psalm 23 is that of the Tabernacle. It seems reasonable that David, the apple of God’s eye, is writing of that incredible table of fresh, baked bread and frankincense sitting under the never ending, glorious glow of the menorah and endless ascent of sweet incense in the veiled presence of the eternal Most High God enthroned upon the ark of the covenant?

Leviticus 24:1-9 describes the articles in the holy place including the table before the Lord when it says, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.9 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.”

It is important to take note of two important things here. The first is that the one doing the ordering of items and bread upon the table is a priest, and the ones eating of the bread are the priests who are completely and wholly dedicated and consecrated to the Lord for His service alone. And secondly, the word “to set in order” is actually used of military actions such as setting weapons in order on the battlefield or getting everyone set up in battle array. It is the same exact word that David uses in Psalm 23:5 when he says that the Shepherd “prepares”.

The Back Story: David

This holy bread of the sanctuary is the very same bread that David received from Ahimelech the priest in 1 Samuel 21. It is there that we find David on the run, hungry, unarmed and afflicted with false accusations and the murderous plots of his enemies swirling all around him. He had come from being anointed by the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 16, to being ushered into the favor of King Saul, to killing Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, to being a celebrated military leader in Israel, to marrying the king’s daughter and being best friends with the king’s son, to suddenly being unjustly accused, feared, pursued, and murderously plotted against by King Saul. At the opening of 1 Samuel 21 we find David alone and on the run. He had no time to collect his weapons, no time to pack any supplies, no time to take any necessities, no ‘grab-and-go’ emergency bag.

“1Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”2So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 3Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”4And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”5Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day.”6So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away…10Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.”

Giving anyone this bread other than the priests was unheard of and never repeated. After all, this holy bread, called “most holy unto Him” (Leviticus 24:9), was for God’s sanctified priests alone. This incredible experience would have impacted David greatly, indelibly imprinting upon his heart the awesome generosity of our great God in a time of extreme and desperate need. And is this not what is being addressed in Psalm 23? Extreme need in the presence of overwhelming evil?

In the Presence of Mine Enemies

And this precious, perfect gift of life sustaining bread did not take place on an island retreat or in a quiet mountain lodge far away from all troubles, but instead and incredibly the Shepherd of Psalm 23 prepares this sumptuous meal in the presence of my enemies. Directly in front of those who are vexing and afflicting the sheep, the Shepherd sublimely and boldly arranges a satisfying meal. He is not hiding the fact that He is giving the sheep a delectable feast, but is actually flaunting it in front of those who hate the very sheep that He is feeding. And those who would steel, kill and destroy the sheep have to look on helplessly in horror at the sheep safely feeding under the protective care of the Shepherd.

Of Sheep and Bread

It is well-known by those who have sheep, that sheep have very poor eyesight. They cannot even see what is directly in front of them at times. “Sheep have their eyes set on the side of the head. They have a narrow field of binocular vision in front of their head and wide peripheral fields of monocular vision. The area in the back of the sheep’s head is a blind spot when their head is raised…With its head down in a grazing position the sheep can see in all directions…” (Sksheep.com). When their heads are up, they are as good as blind and in danger of enemies that are lurking all around them, and sheep have many enemies that would love mutton for supper. When they are not feeding, they are extremely dependent on their sensitive ears to aid them. And with those ears they are always listening for the voice of their Shepherd.

As with the sheep, so it is with us. After all, we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand (Psalm 95:7). And thus it can be said that we only see clearly when we are feeding on God’s word. After all, Jesus said we shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4). When we are not reading His word we are blind and in grave danger of the enemy of our souls who is there to steal, to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10), who seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Because our spiritual eyesight is so bad, it is imperative that we as Christians must be in His word constantly, and must also keep our ears perked up to hear His voice, to hear what the Spirit is saying (Revelation 2-3). For indeed, “…faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). In so doing, we will be made spotless and without wrinkle as Christ’s Bride with the washing of the water of the word (Ephesians 5:26). And the more we are in God’s word, the sharper our discernment between good and evil will be – in other words, even when things are unclear to everyone else thinks ‘what’s the big deal’ and that ‘everything is okay’, we will be able to tell even the slightest deceptive difference because we are skilled at both understanding and using God’s word in all situations. As Hebrews 5:12-14 teaches, “12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

We’ve Been Enlisted: A Kingdom of Holy, Royal Priests

Our enemies are out to destroy us, to eat every drop of us as sacrifices. Our enemies are on every side of us, roving about ravenously and relentlessly. And just like the little sheep we are boldly fed directly in front of our enemies, and our enemies can do nothing about it as long as we stay in tune with our Shepherd who is always watching over us protectively. In the midst of vexing, life-threatening situations and in front of our cruel enemies, God our Shepherd like a servant-priest lays out before us generous, satisfying, consecrated loaves of His word – even Himself who is the bread of life (John 6:31-33). And these loaves are intended only for God’s dedicated and set apart holy and royal priesthood, which is exactly what we now are in Christ (1 Peter 2). And thus we are wholly set apart for the service of God. As Romans 12:1-2 states, “1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

In the Old Testament, only a select group of people, namely the Levites through the lineage of Aaron, were called, anointed, and assigned as priests to the Lord. When Israel lived in the Wilderness with Moses and Aaron, the Levites and priests were the ones who lived nearest the tent of the Tabernacle, smack dab in the middle of all the tribes of Israel. Even if another tribe or a person from another tribe wanted to participate in this calling of the priesthood, they could not. We see this fact colorfully and dramatically portrayed in the stories of Numbers 16-17. The priests were anointed to minister before the Lord in the Tabernacle/Temple (Joel 2:17; 2 Chronicles 5:14; Deuteronomy 21:5; Exodus 39-40) between the ages of thirty and fifty; not younger, no matter how eager, and not older no matter how capable. “From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting,” (Numbers 4:23). They were called as servants of the people and of God. Their entire lives were dedicated to making sacrifices on behalf of the people and to minister before a holy God. They were also the ones who partook of the sacrifices that were offered on the altar of God, and were the ones who marched out first into battle.

That’s right. The priests often led Israel on the battlefield (Joshua 6; 1 Samuel 4; 1 Chronicles 20). In the passage of Numbers 4:23 quoted above, an odd statement is made: “all who enter to perform the service”. This phrase is a military term, literally meaning “to serve” and “to wage war” and has to do with assembling as an army for battle. They were seen as soldiers actively involved in the warfare of the Lord of Hosts. Thus, when the priests arranged the table and set in order things in the Tabernacle, they are said to be “performing the service” in a military sense. In other words, what the priests were doing in God’s presence no matter how common it might have appeared was in no way common. Their actions in the Temple were ones of battle in a very real war with the enemies of God.

Not only this, the priests were said “to do the work” of the Tabernacle. The Hebrew word “to do” is a term of bondage as a slave. On top of that, the word that follows is “the work” which has to do with hard bondage and the servitude of slaves. The priests were not only consecrated to God, they belonged to Him exclusively. He was their Owner. He was their Master. He was their Commander and Chief. And no matter how mundane their task may have appeared, it was actually anything but ordinary, for their service before God was of strategic military importance. When they baked the bread, arranged the bread, placed the frankincense on top of each loaf, ate the bread together, refilled the oil in the menorah, kept the light lit, took part in offering twice daily incense directly in front of the veil, they were involved in so much more than mediocre actions.

And Christians are now the Kingdom of holy and royal priests in service to our holy and awesome God. We who have believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection (Romans 10:9-10) have also through the Lord’s Supper partaken of Christ’s sacrifice (1 Corinthians 11), and in so doing, are the ministers in the Temple of God. As it says in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14, “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” With this understanding, it is now no wonder that the Apostle Paul called himself a bond servant/slave of the Lord (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1)! And James did too (James 1:1); and John did too (Revelation 1:1); Jude did too (Jude 1); and Peter did as well (2 Peter 1:1).

We as priests, however, instead of lighting the menorah and refilling the oil we are called “the light of the world” who are to always keep our lamps shining (Matthew 5:14-16), to shine out like lights in the universe (Philippians 2:15), and to set our lamps in “order” by having extra oil with which to fill them (Matthew 25). Instead of the Levitical priests keeping the incense continually rising before God on the altar of incense, we as Christians are to offer the incense of our prayers without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18). And finally we are to be about partaking of the word of God – the bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven, that by which we are to live. We are to be setting it in order by “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15-17), rightly interpreting and applying the word to our lives and the lives of others. Furthermore, the word of God is equated with not only bread but the sword of the Spirit by which we are to be praying always with all perseverance (Ephesians 6:17-18).

These are not innocuous, boring actions to be taken lightly. These are the actions of those in the military, priestly service of the King. When we believe and take on the name of Christ – even as the priests wear plates of pure gold with the words “holy to the Lord” upon their heads while serving in the sanctuary (Exodus 28:36) – we sign on for military service, and as the priests of God we are the soldiers of God commissioned with the high calling of continual prayer, continual shining, and continual reading and accurate application of God’s word. This is service for which all Christians are anointed.

Conclusion

The next time you read Psalm 23 and come upon the beginning of verse 5, remember the story of David to whom 5 loaves were given when he was in dire need and under the relentless threats of his very real enemies. It was in the midst of overwhelming and desperate circumstances that God prepared a table before him in the presence of his enemies, and ministered life and health to David’s body and soul to the vexation of those who vexed him.

As each of us endures various trials and tribulations at the hands of our spiritual and physical enemies who readily vex us with their taunts and torments, let us remember that the Good Shepherd serves us by setting in order before us Himself as the word of God and bread of life for our nourishment. He does this directly in front of our enemies who are also His enemies, for our good and to their shame. In so doing, He reminds us that He is the great High Priest who is the servant of all, who understands and has compassion on our weaknesses (Hebrews 4). He also is reminding us that we have been enlisted in the army of the priesthood of God, and we are now holy priests before Him, set apart, royal, partakers of the bread and sacrifice, marked upon our foreheads for His service, soldiers in His army, warriors in a very real spiritual war, and dearly beloved.

When the truth of this awakens in our spirits, we will never read this passage the same again. Indeed, we will never be the same again. I know I’m not.

In service to our soon and coming King,

Holy Light Ministries

Sources:

Mack Trucks website, https://www.macktrucks.com/

“Satan’s Days Are Numbered: Messianic Rabbi Zev Porat Preaches,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNs2adgR4gc

“Learning Hebrew: Qal Imperfect Verbs,” https://www.becomingjewish.org/pdf/qal_imperfect-hebrew.pdf

Quote: “The imperfect conjugation is used to express incomplete action and is usually translated as present tense (I walk) or future tense (I will walk). The imperfect also denotes habitual or customary action – past, present, or future tense. The imperfect may also be rendered as one of several modal values (would, should, can, etc.) which are suggested by context and syntax. The Hebrew imperfect does not have tense apart from context and syntax – just like the Hebrew perfect. The Hebrew imperfect denotes incomplete action, whether in the past, present, or future.”

“Learning Hebrew: Qal Participle,” http://www.becomingjewish.org/learning_biblical_hebrew/pdf/qal_participle-hebrew.pdf

“Chapter 15: Qal Imperfect…” https://hebrewsyntax.org/bbh2new/15_overheads_bw.pdf

Note: Qal Imperfect has “multiple translations” including, past, present, and future. However, when in doubt translate it as future. “When you don’t have context, translate it as future.” (Hebrew Syntax)

“Chapter 22a – Qal Participle,” http://hebrew.billmounce.com/BasicsBiblicalHebrew-22.pdf

Quote: “The Hebrew participle is a verbal adjective and, as such, shares features in common with both verbs and adjectives…As a verb, the Participle has stem (Qal) and voice (active or passive) and expresses some type of verbal action such as “running” or “studying.””

“Hebrew Word Study: Table,” https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2018/08/hebrew-word-study-table/

Quote: “I find it a little disturbing that every modern English translation will render the word shalachan as a table. Shalachan comes from the root word shalach. As a verb shalach means to send someone away, to lay a hand on a person. In other words to forcibly remove a person. Its very origins lie in the idea of separation…Tables for eating are really a Greek and Roman invention. Although wealthy Egyptians used pedestals for eating, the general rule was that people ate on the ground. What came to the mind of the Hebrew when they heard table was the table in the tabernacle where they placed the shewbread to show this separation from the cursed earth. In ancient times a table was used when chieftains would negotiate peace treaties. Here they would actually serve a drink or even a meal as a sign of good faith, in other words, they would not use the opportunity to poison each other. The table became a symbol of a desire to settle a dispute. Even today we talk about moving to the negotiating table. Thus the origin of the word shalak for table comes from the idea of separating one from each other’s differences.”

“Mystery of Mysteries – What is the Showbread?” https://www.hope-of-israel.org/showbred.htm

Quote: “Says the Critical-Experimental Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, the twelve loaves or “cakes” of the showbread were baked by the Levites, the flour being furnished by the people (I Chronicles 9:32; 23:29). Oil, wine and salt were the other ingredients (Leviticus 2:13). Each loaf was to be “two tenth deals” — that is, of an ephah. In other words, each loaf weighed about 13.5 pounds. Every Sabbath day hot new loaves were placed on the table and the old loaves were removed and eaten by the priests, except in cases of dire emergency (I Samuel 21:30-6i; Luke 6:3-4).

Declares The Odyssey of the Third Temple, by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the twelve loaves were baked in specific pans, in a specific fashion, and rested one on top of another with golden shelves separating one loaf from another to prevent their breaking. The table itself was of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, and weighed several “talents” — each talent being about fifty kilograms, or one hundred twenty pounds. Thus the table itself weighed several hundred pounds, perhaps about four-five hundred pounds!”

The Tabernacle, book by M.R. DeHaan

Quote: “The table of shewbread…stood to the north side of the holy place. It was made of acacia wood, and was overlaid with pure gold. It was three feet long, one and one-half feet wide, and two and one-fourth feet high. It had a golden crown or molding all around the outer edge to keep the twelve loaves of bread safely upon the table and to prevent them from falling upon the ground and thus being defiled.” (pg 91)

“Shewbread,” (Commentaries) https://biblehub.com/topical/s/shewbread.htm

“Jesus and the Table of Shewbread,” https://graceandtruth.me/2016/10/25/jesus-and-the-table-of-shewbread/

Quote: “No longer in the bright glare of the sun in the Outer Court of the Tabernacle of Moses, now we are in the room of gold. The Golden Lampstand is the only source of light here and casts the glow from its seven lamps over the Altar of Incense and the Table of Shewbread.”

“Leviticus 24,” from Gill’s Exposition, a commentary on Bible Hub,

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/leviticus/24.htm

Quote: “And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row,…. Two cups of frankincense, in each of which was an handful of it, and which were set by each row of the cakes, as Jarchi observes: that it may be on the bread for a memorial; or “for the bread”, instead of it, for a memorial of it; that being to be eaten by the priests, and this to be burned on the altar to the Lord, as follows: even an offering made by fire unto the Lord; not the bread that was after a time taken away, and eaten by the priests, but the frankincense.”

“Leviticus 24:7,” various Commentaries, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/leviticus/24-7.htm

“Shewbread or Showbread,” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/shewbread-or-showbread

“Frankincense: An Ancient Wonder Cure on the Verge of Extinction,” https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/how-use-frankincense-0010843

“What Are Frankincense and Myrrh?”

https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/botany/question283.htm

“Frankincense and myrrh also had medicinal uses. In the Papyrus Ebers of 1500 B.C., priests recommended both resins for the treatment of wounds. Other ailments they were once reported to cure include hemlock poisoning, leprosy, worms, snakebites, diarrhea, plague, scurvy and even baldness!”

“Exodus 27:3,” (Commentaries)https://biblehub.com/commentaries/exodus/27-3.htm

“Hebrew Word Study – Safely Home – Batzar,” https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2021/01/hebrew-word-study-safely-home-batsar-%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8/

Quote: “…the root is tsarar which means to be narrow or closed in. It also carries the idea of being bound up or in bondage.”

“Aramaic Word Study – Humiliate – Tsarar,” https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2020/09/aramaic-word-study-humiliate/

Quote: “The word in Aramaic for little one is zo’ra’ which comes from a Persian word for little or diminished, tender, and loved. On the negative side, it means to belittle and humiliate someone. Only the context will tell you if you use a positive or negative definition. It sounds like a child but it is not a word for a child, although it could be. It is used to describe someone who is childlike, innocent, and easily manipulated…The word vex in Hebrew is tsarar which is related to the Aramaic word zo’ra. Before Israel was to smite the Midianites and Moabite dead they were to first humiliate them…tsarar, humiliation. The Egyptians just died for murdering the Hebrews. The Midianites and Moabites not only died but suffered humiliation. Someone who causes a person to sin, to fall away, even to just stumble does worse to him than one who kills him.”

“Word Study – To See God’s Glory,” https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2014/01/word-study-gods-glory-2/

“Word Study – Face,” https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2016/02/word-study-face-%D7%A4%D7%A0%D7%94/

“Word Study – All Ye Host,” on Psalm 103 by Chaim and Laura of Chaim Bentorah, https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2015/12/word-study-all-ye-host-%D7%9B%D7%9C-%D7%A6%D7%91%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A0/

Quote: “Note it does not say heavenly host, just host. We assume this is the heavenly host because where else would you find a host. Well, let’s take a look at this word in the Hebrew and see. The word used is tsaba’. This is the word that is used for an army going forth to war. We do not have to consider this host as supernatural angelic beings. In fact, would it not make more sense to apply this to the Hebrew army as it march off to war. Surely King David would be commanding his men to praise the Lord as they go off to war…Somehow I just don’t believe David is wasting all this time in Psalms 103 telling us that the angels are praising God. I can assume that once more what do I care if the angels are praising God or not. What spiritual benefit do I get from reading about angels praising God. That is why I don’t believe these are reference to angels but to us in our various capacities as leaders, rulers, ministers, preachers, teachers etc. We are the ones who need to be reminded to praise God, not the angels, they don’t need some earthly king telling them to praise God.”

“Understanding Sheep Behavior,” Saskatchewan Sheep – Sksheep.com, https://www.sksheep.com/documents/Ex_Understanding_Sheep_Behaviour.pdf

The Entire Study and Unedited Version

Thou Preparest

Psalm 23:5 says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

To prepare (6186) means “to arrange or set in order” to “esteem” “estimate” “set in a row” and can mean to “set for battle” or to “array”. It can either be interpreted as both a present or future tense. Thus, the one arranging the table in this verse could be said to be doing it both right now and/or in the future. And let us take note that most importantly the one setting things all in a row on the table is the Shepherd Himself. This is not being done by an angel or a servant or anyone else. God is.

The Table

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

God Himself is setting things in order upon what is translated as a table (7979). This comes from a root (7971) that means “to send” “to stretch out”. Tables as we know them today were not a common household item in the Old Testament days. In fact, in the Bible, tables were only mentioned in reference mostly to the table in the holy place of the Tabernacle and the table of various monarchs. As for common people, tables with legs were rare. Most reclined on the floor for eating with a sort of mat “stretched out” in front of them.

Though many could say that the table set by the Shepherd is a king’s table of abundance, that is not the position to be taken in this article. In Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Ezekiel, and Malachi the term is most often used of a piece of furniture found in the Tabernacle, namely the Table of Shewbread. Furthermore, David longed to make his abode with God in the Tabernacle, to dwell in His presence forever (Psalm 26:8; Psalm 27:4; Psalm 61:4; Psalm 84:1-3; Psalm 91; 2 Samuel 6). Thus, when David wrote Psalm 23, would it not stand to reason that he again is writing of that incredible table of fresh, baked bread and frankincense sitting in the never ending, glorious glow of the menorah and endless ascent of sweet incense in the veiled presence of the eternal Most High God enthroned upon the ark of the covenant?

In Leviticus 24:1-9 we read, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.9 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.”

Notice the phrase “set in order” (6186) used in the passage above. As far as I’ve been able to assess, this phrase is not used in conjunction with any king’s table as mentioned in the Bible, but only with the table of the Lord in the Tabernacle. And notice too that the one setting it in order is a priest, and the ones eating of the bread are the priests who are completely and wholly dedicated and consecrated to the Lord for His service alone. Furthermore, and this will be important later on in this article, it also means, to “arrange a battle, i.e. draw up in battle order” such as in Judges 20:22 and 1 Samuel 17:8 and to “arrange weapons of army in order for battle” such as in 1 Chronicles 12:9 and Jeremiah 46:3. Even the word for “preparing” as we saw above had to do with setting or arraying for battle.

Here are some interesting facts about the table as related by different writers. “The table of shewbread…stood to the north side of the holy place. It was made of acacia wood, and was overlaid with pure gold. It was three feet long, one and one-half feet wide, and two and one-fourth feet high. It had a golden crown or molding all around the outer edge to keep the twelve loaves of bread safely upon the table and to prevent them from falling upon the ground and thus being defiled.” (DeHaan, pg 91).

According to The Odyssey of the Third Temple, by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, “The table itself was of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, and weighed several “talents” — each talent being about fifty kilograms, or one hundred twenty pounds. Thus the table itself weighed several hundred pounds, perhaps about four-five hundred pounds!”

On top of that,“… the twelve loaves or “cakes” of the showbread were baked by the Levites, the flour being furnished by the people (I Chronicles 9:32; 23:29). Oil, wine and salt were the other ingredients (Leviticus 2:13). Each loaf was to be “two tenth deals” — that is, of an ephah. In other words, each loaf weighed about 13.5 pounds. Every Sabbath day hot new loaves were placed on the table and the old loaves were removed and eaten by the priests, except in cases of dire emergency (I Samuel 21:30-6i; Luke 6:3-4)” (Mystery of Mysteries).

And though some commentators think the loaves were unleavened, they likely were not. I say this because, if they were unleavened, God would have called them that. God is very specific. The fact that He did not call them unleavened logically leads one to conclude that they indeed were leavened.

The Back Story: David

This holy bread of the sanctuary is the very same bread that David received from Ahimelech the priest in 1 Samuel 21. It is there that we find David on the run, hungry, unarmed and afflicted with false accusations and the murderous plots of his enemies swirling. He had come from being anointed by the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 16, to being ushered into the favor of King Saul, to killing Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, to being a celebrated military leader in Israel, to marrying the king’s daughter and being best friends with the king’s son, to suddenly being unjustly accused, feared, pursued, and murderously plotted against by King Saul. At the opening of 1 Samuel 21 we find David alone and on the run. He had no time to collect his weapons, no time to pack any supplies, no time to take any necessities, no ‘grab-and-go’ emergency bag.

“1Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”2So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 3Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”4And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”5Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day.”6So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away…10Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.”

Giving anyone this bread other than the priests was unheard of and never repeated. After all, this holy bread, called “most holy unto Him” (Leviticus 24:9), was for God’s sanctified priests alone. This incredible experience would have impacted David greatly, indelibly imprinting upon his heart the awesome generosity of our great God in a time of extreme and desperate need. And is this not what is being addressed in Psalm 23? Extreme need in the presence of overwhelming evil?

In the Presence of Mine Enemies

“Thou preparesta table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

And this precious, perfect gift of life sustaining bread can take place anywhere, but incredibly the Shepherd of Psalm 23 prepares this sumptuous meal before me in the presence of my enemies.

Interestingly enough, the Hebrew for “before me” (6440) actually has to do with one’s face, and more deeply, one’s character (Chaim Bentorah, “Face”). “Panai comes from a Semitic root panah which is…very complex. It means, presence, face, appearance, before, towards, regarding, to turn, approach even future events.” (Chaim Bentorah, “To See God’s Glory”). As you can ascertain (see), it is a word that means more than merely “before me”, although more often than not this is exactly how it is translated.

The word for “in the presence of” (5048) means “in front of, in sight of, opposite to” and comes from a root (5046) meaning “to be conspicuous,” “to stand boldly out opposite,” and “to declare or make known, to announce.” This means that the Shepherd is not hiding the fact that He is giving us a delectable feast, but is actually flaunting it in front of those who hate the very sheep that He is feeding.

“Mine enemies” (6887) is a participle which means “to bind, tie up, be restricted, narrow, scant or cramped,” “to suffer distress”. According to Bill Mounce in the book The Basics of Biblical Hebrew “The Hebrew participle is a verbal adjective and, as such, shares features in common with both verbs and adjectives…As a verb, the Participle has stem (Qal) and voice (active or passive) and expresses some type of verbal action such as “running” or “studying.”” Though participles predominately end in an “ing”, it can be translated as a noun when it is a substantive. I have noted in my study that throughout Scripture this same form is also translated elsewhere as enemies, adversaries, distress, labor pains, wind or water being bound up, and besieging. Furthermore, according to Chaim Bentorah, “…the root” of the word enemies, “is tsarar which means to be narrow or closed in. It also carries the idea of being bound up or in bondage.” So tied up in the meaning of “enemies” in Psalm 23 is that of afflicting, vexing, humiliating, and bondage.

Of Sheep and Bread

It is well-known by those who have sheep, that sheep have very poor eyesight. They cannot even see what is directly in front of them at times. “Sheep have their eyes set on the side of the head. They have a narrow field of binocular vision in front of their head and wide peripheral fields of monocular vision. The area in the back of the sheep’s head is a blind spot when their head is raised…With its head down in a grazing position the sheep can see in all directions…” (Sksheep.com). When their heads are up, however, they are as good as blind, and in danger of enemies that are lurking all around them, and sheep have many enemies that love mutton for supper. When they are not feeding, they are extremely dependent on their sensitive ears to aid them. And with those ears they are always listening for the voice of their Shepherd.

Is it not interesting that Jesus said to the tempter, ““It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ””? And in Ephesians 5:26 Jesus is said to sanctify His Church through “the washing of water by the word”. And in Romans 10:17 it states that, “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

As with the sheep, so it is with us. After all, we are of His pasture and the sheep of His hand (Psalm 95:7). And thus it can be said that we only see well when we are feeding on God’s word. When we are not reading His word we are blind and in grave danger of the enemy of our souls who is there to steal, to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10), seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Because our spiritual eyesight is so bad, it is imperative that we as Christians must be in His word constantly, and must also keep our ears perked up to hear His voice, to hear what the Spirit is saying (Revelation 2-3). And the more we are in God’s word, the sharper our discernment between good and evil will be – in other words, the more our vision will be healed. As Hebrews 5:12-14 teaches, “12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

The Point: A Kingdom of Holy, Royal Priests

Our enemies are out to destroy us, to eat ever drop of us as sacrifices. And just like sheep, our enemies are on every side of us, roving about ravenously. And just like the little sheep we are boldly fed directly in front of our enemies, and our enemies can do nothing about it as long as we stay in tune with our Shepherd who is always watching over us protectively. In the midst of vexing, life-threatening situations and in front of our cruel enemies, God our Shepherd like a priest lays out before us generous, satisfying, consecrated loaves of His word – even Himself who is the bread of life (John 6:31-33). And these loaves are intended only for God’s dedicated and set apart holy and royal priesthood, which is exactly what we now are in Christ (1 Peter 2). And thus we are wholly set apart for the service of God. As Romans 12:1-2 states, “1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

In the Old Testament, only a select group of people, namely the Levites through the lineage of Aaron, were called, anointed, and assigned as priests to the Lord. When Israel lived in the Wilderness with Moses and Aaron, the Levites and priests were the ones who lived nearest the tent of the Tabernacle, smack dab in the middle of all the tribes of Israel. Even if another tribe or a person from another tribe wanted to participate in this calling of the priesthood, they could not. We see this fact colorfully and dramatically portrayed in the stories of Numbers 16-17. The priests were anointed to minister before the Lord in the Tabernacle/Temple (Joel 2:17; 2 Chronicles 5:14; Deuteronomy 21:5; Exodus 39-40) between the ages of thirty and fifty; not younger, no matter how eager, and not older no matter how capable. “From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting,” (Numbers 4:23). They were also the ones who partook of the sacrifices that were offered on the altar of God, and were the ones who marched out first into battle.

That’s right. The priests often led Israel on the battlefield (Joshua 6; 1 Samuel 4; 1 Chronicles 20). In the passage of Numbers 4:23 quoted above, an odd statement is made: “all who enter to perform the service”. This phrase is a military term (6633), literally meaning “to serve” and “to wage war” and has to do with assembling as an army for battle (6635). They were seen as soldiers actively involved in the warfare of the Lord of Hosts. Thus, when the priests arranged the table and set in order things in the Tabernacle, they are said to be “performing the service” in a military sense. In other words, what the priests were doing in God’s presence no matter how common it might have appeared was in no way common. Their actions in the Temple were ones of battle in a very real war with the enemies of God.

Not only this, the priests were said “to do the work” of the Tabernacle. The Hebrew word “to do” is a term of bondage as a slave. On top of that, the word that follows is “the work” which has to do with hard bondage and the servitude of slaves. The priests were not only consecrated to God, they belonged to Him exclusively. He was their Owner. He was their Master. He was their Commander and Chief. And no matter how mundane their task may have appeared, it was actually anything but ordinary, for their service before God was of strategic military importance. When they baked the bread, arranged the bread, placed the frankincense on top of each loaf, ate the bread together, refilled the oil in the menorah, kept the light lit, took part in offering twice daily incense directly in front of the veil, they were involved in so much more than mediocre actions.

And Christians are now the Kingdom of holy and royal priests in service to our holy and awesome God. We who have believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection (Romans 10:9-10) have also through the Lord’s Supper partaken of Christ’s sacrifice (1 Corinthians 11), and in so doing, are the ministers in the Temple of God. As it says in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14, “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” With this understanding, it is now no wonder that the Apostle Paul called himself a bond servant/slave of the Lord (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1)! And James did too (James 1:1); and John did too (Revelation 1:1); Jude did too (Jude 1); and Peter did as well (2 Peter 1:1).

We as priests, however, instead of lighting the menorah and refilling the oil we are called “the light of the world” who are to always keep our lamps shining (Matthew 5:14-16), to shine out like lights in the universe (Philippians 2:15), and to set our lamps in “order” by having extra oil with which to fill them (Matthew 25). Instead of the Levitical priests keeping the incense continually rising before God on the altar of incense, we as Christians are to offer the incense of our prayers without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18). And finally we are to be about partaking of the word of God – the bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven, that by which we are to live. We are to be setting it in order by “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15-17). Furthermore, the word of God is equated with not only bread but the sword of the Spirit by which we are to be praying always with all perseverance (Ephesians 6:17-18).

These are not innocuous, boring actions to be taken lightly. These are the actions of those in the military service of the King. When we believe and take on the name of Christ – even as the priests wear plates of pure gold with the words “holy to the Lord” upon their heads while serving in the sanctuary (Exodus 28:36) – we sign on for military service, and as the priests of God we are the soldiers of God commissioned with the high calling of continual prayer, continual shining, and continual reading of God’s word. This is service for which all Christians are anointed.

Conclusion

The next time you read Psalm 23 and come upon the beginning of verse 5, remember the story of David to whom 5 loaves were given when he was in dire need and under the relentless threats of his very real enemies. It was in the midst of overwhelming and desperate circumstances that God prepared a table before him in the presence of those enemies, and ministered life and health to David’s body and soul to the vexation of those who vexed him.

As each of us endures various trials and tribulations at the hands of our spiritual and physical enemies who readily irritate us with their taunts and torments, let us remember that the Great Shepherd as our High Priest, sets in order before us Himself as the word of God and bread of life for our nourishment. He does this directly in front of our enemies, for our good and to their shame. In so doing, He reveals to us time and again that we are holy priests before Him, set apart, royal, marked upon our foreheads for His service, and dearly beloved.

The Misuse of Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10

Tags

1 Corinthians 10, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 9, Christian rights, End Times, Idolatry, Last Days, Meat sacrificed to idols, Romans 14

A web that was spun around and through the Body of Christ over the past few decades is now coming to light, and it is thick, strong, and sticky. It is a web that for a long time remained hidden in the shadows, but those shadows no longer exist. 2020 removed those shadows. And though the brooding darkness hovers overhead like a gathering storm, there is still light in the Body of Christ that is still exposing and confounding that darkness. What is troubling is that there are many in the Body, including the leadership, that remain entangled in that demonic web of deception, even now. But, I pray that their eyes will be opened to the truth that is there to set them free.

In recent days I have been reading of too many pastors and other commentators misusing the Scripture regarding meat sacrificed to idols in both Romans and 1 Corinthians in order to make a point about the vaccine. I even received an email (a bulk email) myself from a former pastor of mine. He, like a good many others, nearly always take the tact that the ones who are against something are of the weaker conscience, and those who are for something are of the stronger conscience. They then either conclude that we as Christians are to quit judging each other regarding gray areas OR we are to love each other OR both.

Romans 14:1-3 is often quoted, “1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him,” and 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 which says, “9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”

With those two passages they will then go on to make the point of application that we are not to judge one another’s choice to take the vaccine or not to take the vaccine. We are to love each other even when we do not agree on such ‘gray areas’. Taking the vaccine is violating the conscience of some believers, and Christians who have had the vaccine ought to show them compassion even if they do not understand. Plus, those who are not taking ought to be gracious with those who have. No matter whether one takes the shot or does not take the shot, the Biblical response is to be loving and compassionate. So long as what is done is done in faith and with thankfulness, then we must not condemn one another’s decision. Thus, the leadership are in the usual position of calling the Body to be non-judgmental and tolerant.

But, dear pastors and others who are using these passages to make this point, here’s the deal. The vaccine is not a non-judgmental gray area, nor is not taking the vaccine merely a matter of violating one’s conscience. Meat sacrificed to idols is a serious thing, and not to be taken lightly.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that it was merely a matter of conscience. How then should the “strong” Christians respond to the “weak”? Well, according to Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they ought not to have taken the vaccine in deference to those who are weaker. The Apostle Paul said that he’d rather go without meat his lifetime so as not to cause his brother to be wounded in his faith. How would the weaker brother be wounded in his faith? He/she would be wounded by either turning from Christ or would end up eating meat in unbelief and without thankfulness and thus, would be sinning. Therefore, those Christians at this present time who have taken the vaccine in faith and with thankfulness, ought to have forgone (waived) their liberty for the sake of those who are the so-called weak. It is quite clear from both passages that there are times when the strong are to give up their liberty for the sake of the weak. But, has this been called for in the Church? No, this is not taught. Instead, the strong to do what they want, the weak fall, and everyone is called on to plain and simply get along, even at the expense of truth.

And that is what the sticky web is all about: stifling the Truth in the name of being non-judgmental.

The Bible however, does not teach this. It is quite the opposite. The Body of Christ is taught to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with patience and sound doctrine. Second Timothy 4:1-4 says, “1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Furthermore, Jesus said that He is the Truth (John 14:6) and the Holy Spirit whom He sent to indwell us is called the Spirit of Truth (John 15:26).

The suffocation of truth is strongly linked to the spirit of antichrist as Daniel 8:12 reveals, “12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.”

So, what is the truth in the situation regarding the vaccine? Are Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10 actually applicable? Since “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works,” (2 Timothy 3:16-17), what are the true points of Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10?

Threefold Points of Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10

1.) What we eat with thanksgiving or what we do with thanksgiving is done unto God, and each of us will be accountable before God who is our Master. Thus, we are not to judge each other regarding non-holiness/non-salvation issues. If two believers differ on an issue yet neither one of them is going to fall into sin by giving in to something they cannot do in faith, then they are to agree to disagree and not despise each other. So, quit judging, and quit fighting.

2.) However, we are to judge (make a judgment call) whether or not what we are doing will or is causing another to stumble and fall by emboldening them to do something without thanksgiving and without faith. Everything we do is not only for God’s glory (because we are His servants) but is also done for the edification of our fellow believers. This takes selflessness and unadulterated agape love. It is better to go without than to cause another to sin because of your liberty.

3.) And finally, there is a warning to those who consider themselves strong and liberated and knowledgeable. These are to beware lest they fall. Christians are not to presume that they are spiritually safe no matter what they do and call it faith. No. Not only can such liberty lead to another believer falling, but can lead to that liberated Christian’s fall. Thus, it’s better to do without than to inadvertently commune with devils and commit idolatry.

Indeed, all of the advice that Paul gives in both Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10 is actually to the “strong” believer. They are the ones who are to give up their rights for the sake of the “weak.”

Is Partaking in Thankfulness and Faith Enough?

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul references the example of the children of Israel who had seen God’s wonders firsthand in Egypt, had seen the walls of water of the Red Sea on either side of them as they passed through on dry ground, who had drunk water from the Rock and eaten bread from heaven (manna), those same people broke off their jewelry and had a golden calf idol formed and called it Jehovah God. Even so, the Corinthian believers who were going up to the idol temples for business and fellowship and eating meat sacrificed to idols were not only causing their weaker brothers and sisters in Christ to stumble because of their liberty but were in danger of falling themselves.

How were they in danger of falling? I mean, wasn’t it permissible to eat meat sacrificed to idols? The Apostle Paul warns them that what they are doing in the idol temples when the meat was being sacrificed and then partaken of was actually communion with the devils behind the idols. And one cannot partake of both the Lord’s supper and the table of demons any more than the Israelites could worship a golden calf even if they did call it Jehovah God.

Were the Corinthians thankful for the meat in the idol temple? Yes. Were they eating it in faith. Yes. But their faith was as misguided as the Israelites who ate and drank and rose up to play around their idol, and as reprehensible and unacceptable as drinking blood or committing sexual immorality whether done in faith or with thankfulness or not. Partaking with faith and thankfulness is not always enough. Sometimes it is polluted no matter how you look at it. A little manure in a batch of cookies still taints the entire batch. Even if you eat it in faith and with thanksgiving you’re still eating baked goods with manure in them.

The same is true of the vaccine.

How so?

Did you know about the aborted fetal cells being used in the research for the vaccines? Did you know about the aborted baby cells that actually end up in the product? Is partaking of aborted fetal cells ever acceptable even if done with thanksgiving and the name of the common good?

Perhaps you say that aborted fetal tissue is not actually in the vaccine you’ve taken or will take, but aborted fetal cells were only used in the research for it and was necessary for the making of the vaccine. Really? Do you hear the defense you just used? How can something so immoral and reprehensible be deemed acceptable? How is it that leaders like Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson, Franklin Graham, numerous pastors and leaders around this nation and the world dare to shrug this off? Did you even know that countless little unborn children between the ages of 3-6 months old were extracted from their mother’s womb and then savagely sliced and diced by scientists in nothing short of an Occult ritual (think Molech/think Aztecs) for the sake of extracting the very cells that were used in vaccine research?

My point is this. To partake of this vaccine, is to partake of the sacrifice. For, is this not akin to what the Corinthians were doing going up in the idol temple? Is this not the same as partaking of the table of demons? After all, the baby was sacrificed on the altar of Science, used in the production of vaccines which in turn wound up in the serum of the vaccine which in turn is partaken of by Christians in their arm.

Did God ever approve of child sacrifice? No. Would God’s gift to His Church therefore be a vaccine that utilizes sacrificed fetal cell lines in any capacity?

The Web Ever So Skillfully Woven

This is not merely a matter of conscience. This is not a matter of free choice. This is not a matter of being non-judgmental. This is not about getting along even when we disagree. Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-9 cannot be applied here. This is not a gray area. Its’ not innocent like that! However, 1 Corinthians 10 can be applied to the situation at hand, for it seems that this is a case of misplaced trust and inadvertent idolatry. Oh the web of deception knitted with adept handiwork.

“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication…Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth,” (Revelation 2:14, 16).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ who are reading this, I am going to be very blunt with you right now. Please, please, do not allow the enemy to lull you into a false sense of security, thinking that with this vaccine all will return to normal. This is a trap, and is a way to get Christians to commit idolatry and partake of the modern meat sacrificed to idols – the vaccine.

Jesus is coming soon. Let’s repent and be ready.

In earnest,

Holy Light Ministries

Sources with quotes

• “COVID-19 Vaccine HEK293 Testing and Production Are Ethically Equal,” by Stacy Trasancos, https://cogforlife.org/2021/01/07/covid-19-vaccine-hek293-testing-and-production-are-ethically-equal/

“To summarize, if the in vitro lab test is part of the production manufacturing protocol, and it almost certainly is, then the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are no different ethically than the AstraZeneca vaccine or any other vaccine grown in fetal cell lines. In both cases, the production of the vaccine depends on the ongoing use of the illicit fetal cell line. To accept the vaccine means accepting the continued use of cells originating from an aborted child. Given the horrifying way aborted children are still being butchered for scientific research, this is not a time for complacency.”

“Moms have a saying about evil when kids want to argue that a little wrong should be okay. “It’s like poop in brownies. If I baked you a pan of brownies and told you that I accidently got some of the baby’s poop in the mix while stirring the batter, would you eat a brownie from the pan?”

Obviously, no. It does not matter if there is the tiniest smudge of poop, or if there is one or two bigger chunks, nobody is having it. In the professional realm, we call this “zero-tolerance.” A company that has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse, for example, is not going to engage in a debate about whether one case of employee abuse is acceptable while two or three would cross a line. None of it is acceptable.

To bring this idea into the COVID-19 vaccine and aborted fetal cell line debate, I propose that the pro-life community get back zero-tolerance of the evil of abortion. Stop arguing about whether testing is better than production and specifically demand that all testing and production be ethically performed. Then focus energy on demanding an end to the use of aborted children in research and an end to abortion absolutely. As the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith instruct, that should have been the guiding principle all along.”

• “Francis Collins: ‘Give God the glory’ for vaccines ‘but roll up your sleeve”, July 23, 2021, https://baptistnews.com/article/francis-collins-give-god-the-glory-for-vaccines-but-roll-up-your-sleeve/
• “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Interviews Dr. Theresa Deisher,” July 17, 2020, (the 12 minute mark explains 5-6 month old babies whose organs are harvested while they are still alive – that’s right, they are still alive when they are cut into for their beating hearts) https://www.bitchute.com/video/U2i5UzXj3hln/

“And you know what’s really alarming is that lack of outcry over human babies born alive at 5-6 months old so that their hearts can be attained beating. And they have to be beating to be used in the research that’s being done. If the heart has stopped beating it’s not useful. You cannot use it. And so these babies are delivered alive and their hearts cut out without anesthesia. I wouldn’t do that to a mouse.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at this point clarifies that this is a fetus that is 5 months old that is “live” birthed for this purpose. Dr. Deisher continues, “Their hearts are cut out. Or they cut through their faces to get good brain tissue.”

“Certain scientists will purchase the heart, another scientist would purchase the brain, and they purchase the legs, the eyes…the body parts are sold for research.”

• “The origin of the abortion-tainted vaccines, fetal cell line will sicken you – LifeSiteNews 1-12-21,” (interview of Pamela Aker by John-Henry Weston of Life Site News) January 14, 2021, https://www.bitchute.com/video/aogFUnP9C2O0/

“The spike protein by itself is in the words of one researcher ‘kind of floppy’. It doesn’t tend to keep its shape very well. And so scientists actually genetically engineered a spike protein that will keep its shape…and so this original design of this protein…they took that genetic information and they transformed cells to produce the spike protein…and that original experiment was done in HEK293 cells. So the spike protein that the vaccines code for was originally developed effectively in aborted fetal cells. And an additional way that the aborted fetal cells was used in the project is before they were going to inject this mRNA into a human being to see if you could get human cells to make coronavirus spike protein you would want to test that in cell culture, you’d want to test that in the laboratory because it’s a lot less expensive and dangerous than testing it in a human being…And so the cells that this was tested in were also HEK293 cells. And this has all been published in the literature…documenting that both of these vaccines used HEK293 in their testing…These also have to go through quality control testing…So the testing with these aborted fetal cells may actually be ongoing in the production of these vaccines.”

“There is a whole industry based on these aborted fetal cells in basic science research that I think people aren’t super familiar with.”

What is HEK293? Was it just one baby? And what about the other fetal cell lines such as WI-38, MRC-5, and PER.C6?

“For HEK293…people say ‘oh…there wasn’t documentation that that was an elective abortion…this is a bit disingenuous or ignorant on the part of these authors because in order to produce a viable cell line there’s a number of things that kind of go into that. And it is a very difficult thing to do…the number system that’s involved there (HEK stands for Human Embryonic Kidney) but 293 stands for…the 293rd experiment that this particular researcher did to develop a cell line. And that doesn’t mean that there were 293 abortions, but for 293 experiments you need far more than one abortion. And we’re talking probably hundreds of abortions.”

“Why couldn’t HEK293 have been just a spontaneous abortion? Why couldn’t it have just been a miscarriage? Because, you know, the hospital lost the documentation about this particular baby that was used to develop the cell line and so we don’t really know whether it was an elective abortion or a spontaneous abortion. Well, we have all the reason in the world to believe that it was actually an elective abortion that was done on purpose because the researchers who’ve been involved in this sort of thing have gone on record saying basically that you need to get that tissue within about 5 minutes of the abortion in order for it to be optimally viable. And if you wait an hour it’s useless…So this had to have been a baby that was aborted and they knew that that tissue was going to be used for research so they could get there within that 5 minutes to an hour window, preferably within the first 5 minutes in order to get that tissue preserved.”

(at 20 minutes and 40 seconds mark) “I was gonna say it’s even worse than that. Because – and this is where I always sort of issue a warning in case there are any little ears listening to me talk on a recording – because it’s a lot more graphic even that what I described. Because in a lot of cases the babies – because it is done on purpose for research purposes – so they will actually deliver these babies via Cesarian section. The babies are in some cases still alive when the researches start extracting the tissue, to the point where their heart is still beating and they are generally not given any anesthetic because that would disrupt the cells that the researchers are trying to extract. So, they are removing this tissue while the baby is alive, and in extreme amounts of pain. So, this makes it even more sadistic…likened to what the Aztecs used to do when they would consecrate their temples. They would literally rip out the beating hearts of the victims they were slaying on top of the temples and then sort of cast their bodies down the side. This is pretty much exactly the same thing that these researchers are doing.”

At the 17 minute mark she explains the cancer promoting “viral oncogenes” that “immortalize” (make it last longer) the aborted fetal cell line. And more info at about the 33-38 minute mark. “Oncogenes” according https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/viral+oncogenesis is the initiation of cancer, the development of a tumor. This is confirmed at the International Journal of Biological Science’s website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2999850/

At about the 37 minute mark addressing adverse reactions including autism: “… but also it makes sense when you think about it from natural law if you’re going to do something as heinous as inject into yourself the remains of somebody who was murdered there’s going to be a natural consequence to that. Like you can’t just do that and not have any negative effects.”

• “Forsaking God for the Sake of Science,” by Debi Vinnedge, (in this article the history of vaccines is laid out),https://cogforlife.org/2012/06/13/polioperversion/
• Children of God for Life website with many articles regarding vaccines, fetal cell lines, freedom of conscience, etc. https://cogforlife.org/
• “Covid Vaccines: ‘The Ends Cannot Justify the Means’,” December 11, 2020, https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/covid-vaccines-the-ends-cannot-justify-the-means?fbclid=IwAR2hzaOk4a-az1MElFnPVm9n43vIdVGxFe2Y_cMvf5viFeyxUELz5ODqR-Q

“those who knowingly and voluntarily receive such vaccines enter into a kind of concatenation, albeit very remote, with the process of the abortion industry. The crime of abortion is so monstrous that any kind of concatenation with this crime, even a very remote one, is immoral and cannot be accepted under any circumstances…We are living through one of the worst genocides known to man. Millions upon millions of babies across the world have been slaughtered in their mother’s womb, and day after day this hidden genocide continues through the abortion industry, biomedical research and fetal technology, and a push by governments and international bodies to promote such vaccines as one of their goals…Bio-medical research that exploits the innocent unborn and uses their bodies as “raw material” for the purpose of vaccines seems more akin to cannibalism than medicine. We also ought to consider that, for some in the bio-medical industry, the cell lines of unborn children are a “product,” the abortionist and vaccine manufacturer are the “supplier,” and the recipients of the vaccine are “consumers.” Technology based on murder is rooted in hopelessness and ends in despair. We must resist the myth that “there is no alternative.”… The Lord said that in the end times even the elect will be seduced (cf. Mk. 13:22). Today, the entire Church must urgently seek to be strengthened in the doctrine and practice of the faith. In confronting the evil of abortion, more than ever [we] must “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thess. 5:22). Bodily health is not an absolute value. Obedience to the law of God and the eternal salvation of the souls must be given primacy. Vaccines derived from the cells of cruelly murdered unborn children are clearly apocalyptic in character and may possibly foreshadow the mark of the beast (see Rev. 13:16).” (Bishop Athanasius Schneider is auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan.)

• “Catholic Conscience and the Covid-19 Vaccine,” Jan 19, 2021, https://www.crisismagazine.com/2021/catholic-conscience-and-the-covid-19-vaccine?fbclid=IwAR2hzaOk4a-az1MElFnPVm9n43vIdVGxFe2Y_cMvf5viFeyxUELz5ODqR-Q

“The most prominent cell line, called HEK 293, comes from an abortion performed in the 1970’s. It’s labeled 293 because that’s how many experimental attempts the researchers needed to get a working cell line. Therefore, though the abortion-to-experiment ratio is not precisely one-to-one, hundreds of abortions went into the project, even if they didn’t result in the working line.

HEK stands for human embryonic kidney. To harvest a viable embryonic kidney for this purpose, sufficiently healthy children old enough to have adequately-developed kidneys must be removed from the womb, alive, typically by cesarean section, and have their kidneys cut out. This must take place without anesthesia for the child, which would lessen the viability of the organs. Instead of being held, rocked, and comforted in the time intervening between their birth and their death, they have organs cut out of them alive.

There is no way that a spontaneous abortion could result in the cell line (as the kidneys cannot remain viable past the brief window in which they must be harvested) or that some brilliant researcher found a way for great good to come out of a rare tragedy by making use of a child’s body donated to science after it was aborted. The deliberate killing of an unwanted child (a little girl, in the case of HEK 293) took place in the tortuous manner it did precisely to obtain her organs for research. The harvest of her organs was the direct cause of her death, prior to which, she was a living child, outside the womb…”

“…The information about how HEK 293 was created may call vividly to mind the current scandal of Planned Parenthood, who is selling human tissue to the highest bidder, and performing abortions in specific ways to obtain organs and preserve their viability—for the right price. Put more bluntly, the abortion industry performs vivisections on viable, healthy, and well-developed living children for massive profit, on a massive scale. What we are seeing now is the explosion of an industry trafficking in children’s bodies, which began with experiments in the 1970’s, including those on which the available COVID-19 vaccines rely.”

• “The Ethics of HEK 293,” by Alvin Wong, MD. “https://www.pdcnet.org/C1257D43006C9AB1/file/5265B61D5497F52585257D94004802BB/$FILE/ncbq_2006_0006_0003_0077_0099.pdf

“To summarize, appropriation of evil in its strictest sense is not about contribut-
ing to, but about benefiting from evil. In cooperation cases, the obvious evil to be
done is prospective, while in appropriation cases the gravely wrong act has already
happened. However, the appropriator now becomes the principal agent (compared to
the cooperator, who remains an auxiliary agent), and is faced not so much with an
external and visible problem, but with a more internal and intangible one, of how to
justify his profiting from a grave evil already committed.” (pg 480, “The Ethics of HEK 293,” by Alvin Wong, MD. “https://www.pdcnet.org/C1257D43006C9AB1/file/5265B61D5497F52585257D94004802BB/$FILE/ncbq_2006_0006_0003_0077_0099.pdf

“Self-deception, the second moral hazard, occurs when the cooperator becomes
self-deluded about the nature of his or her own intentions in acting. Particularly
if working in very close quarters with the principal agent, it is very difficult for a
cooperator not to get swept up into the principal agent’s project in such a way
that he or she wills its success. If he or she is an employee of the principal agent,
the cooperator’s career advancement may very well be tied to such success.
Rather than candidly acknowledging a sea-change or a gradual shift in his or her
moral stance, the cooperator might simply develop an elaborate scheme of self-
deceiving rationalization instead… If another agent’s evil acts contribute in some way to our own objectives, par-
ticularly in an ongoing manner, it is difficult not to view them in a more positive light than we otherwise would. Moreover, it is tempting to accustom ourselves to the benefits that flow from appropriation that we would be inclined to decide against taking steps to eliminate the wrongdoing, if the opportunity presented itself… Similarly, self-deception about one’s motives is also possible in appropriation cases.” (M. Cathleen Kaveny, “Appropriation of Evil: Cooperation’s Mirror Image,” Theo-
logical Studies 61 (June 2000): 306 from “The Ethics of HEK 293,” by Alvin Wong, MD. “https://www.pdcnet.org/C1257D43006C9AB1/file/5265B61D5497F52585257D94004802BB/$FILE/ncbq_2006_0006_0003_0077_0099.pdf pg 482)

– A Voice for Truth web site:
https://avoicefortruth.com

– A Voice for Truth – Fetal Cells in COVIC-19 Vaccines:
https://avoicefortruth.com/covid-19-vaccines-using-aborted-fetal-cell-lines/

– A Voice for Truth – PDF containing list of vaccines using aborted fetal cells:
https://avoicefortruth.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-US-Aborted-Fetal-
Cells.pdf

– A Voice for Truth – Infographics:
https://avoicefortruth.com/information-sheets/

– A Voice for Truth – 25-page white paper PDF, Abortion, the Human Fetal Cell Industry
& Vaccines:
https://avoicefortruth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/White-Paper-Abortion-
Human-Fetal-Cell-Industry-Vaccines.pdf

More on the Passages of Romans and 1 Corinthians

Romans 14

The Christians in Rome were divided and debating certain issues, especially the eating of meat and feast days. Why? Likely because they were a mixed group of both Jews and Gentiles. The Jews were used to eating kosher foods and keeping certain feast days unto the Lord. They were likely stricter regarding what to eat or not eat, and would not touch meat from the marketplace that had been sacrificed to pagan gods. Instead, they ate only vegetables.

On the other hand, the Gentiles were used to eating meat from the marketplace that had been sacrificed in the pagan temples and knew nothing of the God’s Biblical feast days.

Both sides held strong convictions. Both sides ate their food thankfully. Both sides appear to have been secure in their beliefs. But, they were also harsh in their judgments of the other side, and drew in new converts to this fruitless, divisive dispute. Paul therefore makes it clear that each of them was the Lord’s servant, and they were here to please Him not people. Thus, they were to quit judging each other in these matters, for each will give an account before God (vs 11).

However, Paul states that Christians are to judge whether or not what they are doing is causing another to stumble or fall away. In this case, the Christian is not to let their “good be evil spoken of” (vs. 16) but instead are to avoid such liberty in order that they not cause another Christian be emboldened to do what they see as a sin, “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (vs 23). Thus, “It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak,” (vs 21). But this takes true selfless agape love – the style of love that regards another and perceives what is really going on in their brother or sister in Christ.

1 Corinthians 8-9

First Corinthians 8-9 is essentially the same as Romans 14, only in the case of the Corinthians the two Christian groups at odds were those who had “knowledge” that idols were nothing, and those who still felt that idols were very real. Yes, the knowledgeable ones knew there are principalities and powers who are also called gods (vs 5), but Lord God is all that matters for He is supreme over all (vs 4 and 6). Therefore, these knowledgeable believers not only boldly ate the meat but ate it within pagan temples precincts. This was not only their way of dining out, but was often where business was conducted. So, since they knew that idols were nothing and there is only one true God, they felt at liberty to eat in the pagan temples.

However, there were other Corinthian Christians who still believed idols to be very real. Did they think the meat was tainted by these gods? Were they superstitious? The passage is not clear. But, they did not want to go up to the idol temples, and to do so would have been detrimental to them spiritually.

Thus, Paul emphatically states to the “knowledgeable” Christians, “take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become[s] a stumbling block to them that are weak…when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ,” (vss. 9 and 12). Paul then goes on for twenty-seven verses giving himself as an example of sacrificing one’s rights for the sake of the Gospel. Christians of the Western world would do well to learn from Paul regarding giving up their rights for the edification of other Christians. But, that is another topic for another time!

1 Corinthians 10

First Corinthians 10 explains that Christians are not ever so strong that they cannot fall into various forms of temptations, and one of those is that of idolatry. Paul goes on to explain that the Lord’s supper which we partake of is a communion with believers as well as with Christ because that which we partake of, namely the bread and juice, makes us intimately connected with each other and Jesus our sacrificial lamb. Even so, Paul informs, that the pagans partake of their pagan altar and commune with the demons behind the idol, and he thus states that “I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?” (vss 20b-22). Though the Corinthians believed that all things were lawful for them because they were free in Christ, Paul made sure that they knew that not all was expedient (appropriate) nor edifying.

However, Paul goes on to explain that if one was buying meat in the marketplace, one was not to ask questions as to where it came from, but were to buy it and eat it thankfully. That being said, if one were invited to an unbeliever’s house for dinner, and someone there said to the believer that the meat had been sacrificed to an idol, the believer was not to eat the meat out of respect for the one who informed. But otherwise, one was to eat meat with thanksgiving and in faith, because God had blessed them with it.