Note: While attending the recent spring meeting of the South Central Classis,
I was convicted by the urgings of those who thought I should be publishing more
Figs. This is the first result of a new
resolution on my part to be more faithful in this. –CWP
Index
“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of
one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or
vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the
things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
(Php 2:1-5 AV)
It is the will of God that the church be of one
accord and of one mind. This is
possible because there is consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of
the Spirit, and compassion and mercy.
The church is the creation of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit so
there are plenty of resources available to the church to achieve the goal of
unity of mind.
But not only is the goal of unity identified in this
passage, the way of achieving this unity is also identified. The methodology of the Bible is as inspired
by the Holy Spirit as the goal that is set before us. The Holy Spirit does not call us to unity and leave us to our own
devices in order to achieve it. The
destination and the way to get there are both described in Scripture.
We are to be of one mind. It is a goal that seems absolutely impossible and vain even to
imagine in the modern world. This might
very well be because we have not properly examined how we are to achieve it in
the church.
What mind are we supposed to have? What is that one mind? The answer is right before us in the passage
above: it is to be the mind of
Christ. The mind of Christ is no
abstraction, but clearly defined in the passage that follows. Perhaps we will write further on this in a
later issue of Figs.
The Holy Spirit first of all describes the godly
mind: “Let nothing be done through
strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves. Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
1. Nothing
through strife. This word,
according to Vine, was used before New Testament times only in Aristotle and
meant a self-seeking pursuit of political office by fair means or foul. Paul used it to denote “courting
distinction, a desire to put one’s self forward, a partisan and fractious
spirit which does not disdain low arts.”
The pride that causes men to seek distinction and rule over their
brethren can only lead to strife and disruption in the church.
2. Nothing
through vainglory. This is
groundless self-esteem and self-promotion.
Jesus said that we are not to seek the chief seats, but to be content
with the place that God has put us. A
man’s gift makes room for him and the people of God will recognize our true
gifts without us having to campaign for them.
3. In
lowliness of mind we are to esteem other better than ourselves. “Lowliness of mind,” does not vaunt itself
in moral superiority over others as if more pure than others or more obedient;
it does not puff itself up and try to be more than it is.
4. Look not every man on his own things, but
every man also on the things of others.
Calvin says on this passage: “But by humility. For both diseases [strife and vainglory] he brings forward
one remedy —humility, and with good reason, for it is the mother of
moderation, the effect of which is that, yielding up our own right, we give the
preference to others, and are not easily thrown into agitation. He gives a
definition of true humility — when every one esteems himself less than others.
Now, if anything in our whole life is difficult, this above everything else is
so. Hence it is not to be wondered if humility is so rare a virtue. For, as one
says, “Every one has
in himself the mind of a king, by claiming everything for himself.” See! here is pride. Afterwards from a
foolish admiration of ourselves arises contempt of the brethren. And so far are
we from what Paul here enjoins, that one can hardly endure that others should
be on a level with him, for there is no one that is not eager to have superiority.”
“The things” of verse 4 is our translation of the
reflexive pronoun in the first case and
the definite article in the second. Literally, it means that we are not to be
fixated on anything of our own, but to be occupied with everything of others. This is the opposite of selfishness and the
desire for advancement and prestige.
In
the words of Jesus, we are not to seek to rule over our brethren, but to be
servants of one another. We should be
far more concerned about our fellow minister’s use of his gifts than in the
exercise of our own. The church is
often rent with strife and schism when people put their own agenda ahead of the
good of the church, even though they have convinced themselves that their agenda
is for the good of the church. “He that is first in his own cause seeketh
just; but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him.” (Pr 18:17 AV)
It
is this mind that promotes the unity of the church and the welfare of the
church. It is the very mind of Christ,
who “made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name.” (Php 2:7-9 AV)
The way of the cross is the way of Christ and the way of
glory. This is what God
predestined: His church is to be
conformed to the image of Christ. Or as
Paul put it in another place: “Yea, and
if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and
rejoice with you all.” (Php 2:17 AV)
“He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but
his neighbor cometh and searcheth him.” (Pr 18:17 AV)
Neither
Experiment Nor Museum
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren.” (Ro 8:29 AV)
“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until
Christ be formed in you,” (Ga 4:19 AV)
The
church is not to be an experimental laboratory for innovative and clever human
ideas and initiatives, but neither is it to be a museum to preserve old and
dying traditions It is the body of Christ and her ministers must call her to be
conformed to the Lord
Jesus.
Jesus Christ, the
only model for His body, the church.
This
is the inheritance of the saints. “Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” (1Pe 1:3-4 AV)
The inheritance is future and not past, although the promise is an
old one from the Garden of Eden.
In Christ is the fullness of all things: “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have
the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness
dwell;” (Col 1:18-19 AV)
If an old tradition is not contained in Christ, then it is
non-essential and may be changed when it no longer serves the church, and if it
serves the mission of the church to change it. The church should not be disrupted for innovation’s sake alone.
Israel went astray when the promise of Christ became obscure, when
they doubted the forgiveness of their sins, and when they turned to idols for
help because they no longer trusted in God and His promises of redemption in
Christ.
The church gets into trouble when the gospel of Christ becomes
obscure, when she doubts the forgiveness of her sins, and when she turns to her
own works and traditions for preservation, rather than to Christ.
The true distinctive of the church of Jesus Christ is her loyalty
and love for Jesus Christ, just as the promise of Christ was the true
distinctive of Israel. Israel’s
distinction did not lie in her faithful observance of ceremonies but in the
forgiveness of sins to which the ceremonies pointed. God had promised to put away their sins: “Come now, and let us
reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isa
1:18 AV)
Jesus didn’t introduce a new principle of religion when he said,
“But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
(Mt 9:13 AV) Isaiah had declared that
all their sacrifices and ceremonies were iniquity and worse than useless, if
they did not “Learn to do well; seek
judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
(Isa 1:17 AV)
It is true that the observance of the ceremonies of the Old
Testament were required to be meticulously observed, because of the promise to
which they pointed: the promise of Christ would be obscured if the ceremonies
were obscured. But Christ has now been
plainly set before us and ceremonial religion has been abolished: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or
in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Which are a shadow of things to come;
but the body is of Christ.” (Col 2:16-17 AV) The only ceremonies that remain are those which emphasize that
Christ is in heaven and is not to be sought on the earth, specifically Baptism
in water which speaks of the cleansing of the Holy Spirit, and the Lord’s
Supper, which speaks of the spiritual nourishment of the soul. In both, the carnal element must be
separated in our minds from the spiritual reality if we are not to lapse into
superstition. Jesus must be sought in
heaven or He will not be found at all.
The Truth According to
Godliness
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the
truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot
lie, promised before the world began;
But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is
committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior; --Titus 1:1-3
There
is a faith that pertains to the elect of God.
Only
the Lord’s sheep have this faith, and it involves the “acknowledging of the
truth which is after godliness.” The
elect of God did not invent the content of this truth, because this truth
originated in eternity, in the mind of God, who cannot lie. Even the apostle Paul himself did not invent
the Gospel, because he recognized that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, and
this apostleship was according “to the faith of God’s elect.”
Christians
are called the “elect of God.” This
means that they are the children of God by God’s election. If this means that God is chosen of them,
then Paul would have said, “According to the faith of those who elect
God.” This would not be true, of course, for they are Christians, not by their choice,
but by God’s choice. Hence, they are
called God’s elect. Faith is not the
cause of the election, but the fruit of it.
We are Christians, “Not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” as Paul says later in this same
epistle [Titus 3:5}
We are called to acknowledge this truth. We are not called to invent truth, or
imagine truth, or choose “our truth,” but to acknowledge it. “Acknowledge” has the idea of complete and
perfect knowledge. Men are called to
receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ as complete and perfect knowledge Of course this is beyond the reach of the
natural man. Paul says in I Corinthians
2: “Which things also we speak, not in
the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But 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.” This knowledge
and this understanding is the gift of God, and must therefore be according to
God’s election, for man will never choose it on his own.
This truth has been revealed to the world through preaching. God would humble man by bringing them to
the truth by the ministry of men, appointed by Him, to preach this great
Gospel. The Gospel was promised before
the world began. This great Gospel
began in the eternal counsels of the Holy Trinity, before God had ever created
the heavens and the earth. Even the
Lord Jesus, when He was on the earth, did not invent the Gospel. “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine
is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know
of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”
(John 7:16-17 AV)
There is no salvation apart from this truth. This truth is “after godliness.” The word godliness has the idea of piety or
holiness. Only the truth preached by
Jesus Christ and the Apostles is according to godliness and piety. Lying idols and doctrines do not bring
godliness and cannot bring salvation.
Lies may make people feel good, fulfilled, and very religious, but lies
cannot bring godliness or the salvation of the soul.
Every once in a while I get the urge to clean out my
garage. It doesn’t happen too often but
it came upon me the other day and I went through a bunch of boxes, transferring
their contents to trash bags, if I deemed the contents no longer needed, and
putting stuff I wanted to save into plastic containers.
I came across a number of issues of Saturday Evening
Post from the 1960’s. I lived
through that era. Those days were not
the “Good Old Days,” but I was struck with the difference in the way things
were viewed then than now.
I browsed through the June 25,1960, issue with great interest. The front cover was by John Falter, a
painting of Peachtree Street in Atlanta, prominently featuring a yellow
convertible, open, with the top down, and four headlights in the front, and
fins in the back. It was stopped at an
intersection with people crossing.
There was also a red Model A Ford pickup in the opposite lane. Trolley busses passed in both
directions. On the back cover Kodak
offered for $19.95 a “Brownie Starmeter” with a “sensitive ‘electic eye’ “ that
was “built right in!” so that perfect pictures could be obtained every time.
But it was an article on Nazi atrocities that made the
greatest impression on me. It was a
story about two young men who had parachuted into Czechoslovakia in 1942 in
order to kill the S.S. Gen. Reinhard Heydrich.
Heydrich was a brutal Nazi thug who ruled Czechoslovakia with clubs and
brutality. The Nazis tried to project
the myth of superman invincibility, and the Czech intelligence service thought
that the execution of Heydrich would help in the propaganda war and stiffen
resistance not only in Czechoslovakia but also in other parts of Europe. In 1942 it was not at all clear that Hitler
and the Nazis could be stopped.
The two Czech heroes, Jan Kubis and Josef Gabchik, tossed their grenade close enough to
mortally wound Heydrich and he would die several days later from his
wounds. The Nazis were furious. Kubis and Gabchik were hidden by relatives
for a number of days, but were finally betrayed by Sgt. Karel Curda who hoped
to gain money and protect his family from the Nazis. He was executed by the restored Czech government in 1946.
The Nazis vowed revenge.
The whole village of Lidice, a few miles outside Prague, would pay for
the crime of hiding and aiding Kubis and Gabdhik. I quote from the Post article.
All the men and
boys were taken from their houses, lined up against the wall of a barn and shot. All the women and children were piled into
trucks and driven off to concentration camps.
Then the Nazis razed the village to the ground.
The 173 boys and men were
buried in a pit. Those returning from
work in the mines were arrested and shot.
One escaped to the woods, but he, too, was arrested and shot. One man was in the hospital with a broken
leg, but he recovered in October. He
was then shot. Most of the women died
in the concentration camps. Eighty-two
children were killed; a few were adopted by German families and were located by
the Red Cross after the war.
The world reacted against
the Nazis over the horror of Lidice. A
Mexican village and an American town took the name of Lidice. People resolved that Nazism must be
destroyed. Allied crews painted
“Lidice” on the turrets of their tanks and “Lidice” was chalked on the
blockbusting bombs dropped from the skies by Allied bombers.
The article in the Post, written almost twenty years
after the tragedy at Lidice did not agonize over why the Nazis hated us so
much. There was no trashing of the
American military or the military of our allies. The moans of the morally bankrupt, “We have done things just as
bad,” were absent. It was a day when
America and the West could feel horror at cruelty and war on civilians. But we have become soft, perhaps, as we read
every day of bombs in buses, shopping centers, mosques, and airliners. Will we have our Lidice? I wonder.
We
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It is our desire that these little papers be used of the Lord to
bear witness of the truth as it is in Christ. Our only request is that they be
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Powell writes all articles, and they may be freely duplicated as long as
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invited to visit our website: www.trinityrcus.com. The website for Basket of Figs is http://basketoffigs.org
where you will find back issues of Figs and other delicacies.
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