The Pattern of Biblical Prophecy Requires a Spiritual Perspective

The pattern of Biblical prophecy is this: 

1.        All prophecy concerning Israel was fulfilled in Christ and the remnant of Jews that believed in him at the time of his appearing (Romans 9-11).  Because the Jewish nation did not receive him the covenant with physical Israel ended with the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD.  The Jews are now just another nation (kind of people) called to repent and believe in Jesus like everyone else (Acts 4:23-31). 

2.       Meanwhile, Christian believers are now the true circumcision (Romans 2:29 and Philippians 3:3) and Israel of God (Galatians 6:10), who inherit the promises given to Abraham (Galatians 3:15-29).  Christians are the spiritual temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) and the elect by faith in Christ (Romans 8:33, 2 Timothy 2:10, and Titus 1:1).  The transition from physical Israel to spiritual Christianity was extremely difficult for the early Church (Acts 15) and many today still do not understand it.  The confusing thing is that the New Testament uses Old Testament language to describe new things in Christ.  The use of Old Testament language tempts many to believe in a false continuity when in fact Christianity represents a radial break with Judaism.  That is why Paul says that we are justified by the Faith “apart from” works of the Law.  Accepting the end of the old covenant and the inauguration of the new one in Jesus’ blood is essential to understanding the Biblical world-view.  The rise and spread of Christianity, to the point, was predicted in Old Testament prophecy: 

“I saw in the night visions,

                and behold, with the clouds of heaven

                                there came one like a son of man,

                and he came to the Ancient of Days

                                and was presented before him.

                And to him was given dominion

                                and glory and a kingdom,

                that all peoples, nations, and languages

                                should serve him;

                his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

                                which shall not pass away,

                and his kingdom one

                                that shall not be destroyed.  (Daniel 7:13-14 ESV) 

3.       A distinctly Christian prophetic tradition now applies, which in the words of Jesus is quite simple, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”  (Matthew 24:14 ESV)  Note that Jesus said “this” Gospel of the kingdom.  He means the spiritual kingdom that he taught and proclaimed, not the Old Testament one that was lost when the Hebrews rejected Jesus (Matthew 21:33-44).  “Kingdom” is one of those old words that takes on a new meaning consistent with the paradigm shift occurring in Christ’s new revelation.  His kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36).  Flesh and blood cannot inherit it (1 Corinthians 15:50).  It is “not meat and drink but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). 

4.       In speaking of the end of the world we find an interesting parallel to the end of physical Israel.  Just as the ancient Jews were destroyed (except for the remnant named above) because they rejected Jesus so the world will be destroyed for the refusal of mankind to repent of both personal and systemic evil (except for a “remnant of mankind” (Acts 15:17) that are “called out” of the world to be saved, who flee the wrath to come): 

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.  (Revelation 9:20-21 ESV) 

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

                The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds. (Revelation 16:8-11 ESV) 

According to Scripture, this world is the kingdom and abode of Satan, who is the god of this world (Luke 4:5, 1 John 5:19, and 2 Corinthians 4:4); this world will be utterly destroyed (2 Peter 3:1-13) but we are not destined for wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10) and so we are strangers and exiles here (Hebrews 11:13-16and 1 Peter 2:11).  We are not to have any affection for the world (James 4:4-5 and 1 John 2:15-17) and should be detached in our dealings with it (1 Corinthians 7:29-31), though we may serve as good citizens of the society in which we live (Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17).  Christians are in danger of falling away because of worldly distractions (Matthew 13:22/Mark 4:19 and Mark 8:36/Luke 9:25) and if we are faithful to God we can expect trouble and persecution in this world (John 16:33 and 2 Timothy 3:12). 

5.       But this world of sin and evil will be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17, 2 Peter 3:13, and Revelation 21:1), inhabited by those that have purified themselves by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and because they loved not their own lives unto death (Matthew 16:24/Luke 9:23,  Romans 8:17, Philippians 3:10-11, and Revelation 12:11).  Those that die in faith, that is, faithful and enduring to the end, will be raised by the Lord to inherit eternal life when he returns (John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 15).  Therefore, Jesus commands us: 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

The Spiritual Danger of Antinomianism

The greatest hindrance to spirituality is lawlessness.  On the personal level that means carnality and the lack of discipline.  In a church environment that means believing, preaching, and teaching that law is contrary to grace.  That false doctrine is called antinomianism, trans-literally, against law.

Antinomianism is the Latinized word for what we find in the Greek New Testament: anomia, anomos and athesmos.  A word such these that begins with the prefix a- means the lack of something.  In this case it means the lack of law, one that lacks the rule of law in his or her behavior, and the lack of moral principles, respectively.  Just as a baby would starve for the lack of food or die of exposure for the lack of warmth, a child of God can suffer spiritual death for the lack of law and principles.

Since law is essential to faith development, that is, growing from spiritual infancy in the new birth to maturity in Christ, antinomianism is a form of religious abuse.  In cases of abuse the police do not need evidence of a physical assault in order to arrest a perpetrator.  Neglect is abuse.  Failing properly to feed and clothe a child, for instance, is considered a crime.  Likewise, failing to preach and teach that works are required for salvation is spiritual child abuse because whoever has not heard or been rightly taught that God requires lawful obedience has no chance of achieving spirituality.

“Not many of you should become teachers,” James wrote (3:1), “for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”   Whoever seeks true spirituality, therefore, ought to flee churches that do not tell the truth about salvation or growth in grace.  The doctrine of “faith alone,” for example, is especially heinous and condemns its adherents to a life of religious mediocrity.  James, again, wrote (2:24), “A man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”  Yet, there are many clergy that will gladly take our money in exchange for the false hope of an easy gospel.  And what we see today is that lawlessness in our Western, Christianized society is a direct result of antinomianism in the churches.

From a historical point of view, societies that suffer a lack of morality become chaotic and fail.  In fact, the difference between civilized people and barbarians is that barbarians do not follow rational principles of law and order.  Barbarians indulge carnal desires, demand what they want, and then kill, steal, and destroy to have it, which is the opposite of law and true religion.  No society can survive the constant breaking of the law or withstand those that do so in great numbers.  Likewise, public officials that do not respect the rule of law are considered despots.  Mob rule, also, is a form of tyranny.

 Similarly, division, confusion, and heartache results when churches are taken over by those that “want what they want,” having no regard for Scripture, reason, sound doctrine, good behavior, theology, or established traditions.  A serene and harmonious sanctuary established by God is the best place for experiencing growth in grace.  If one is redeemed and seeks a higher plane of existence, where there is love, peace, and joy, then law provides the pathway from sinfulness to spirituality.  From that source of grace flows a benefit to society, as leaven makes bread to rise, in the words of Jesus.

 Because both the liberal-progressive Social Gospel and American pop-evangelicalism are antinomian it is necessary to review those passages of the New Testament that might cause alarm and turn us away from such bad doctrine.

 First, the greatest injustice in the history of the world resulted from lawlessness: 

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:22-23 ESV)

 Second, the following verses condemn anomia, which is translated lawlessness and law-breakers: 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV) 

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  (Matthew 13:41-42 ESV) 

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28 ESV)

 Third, one sign of the end times is the increase of anomia, lawlessness.  Paul agrees with Jesus about overwhelming lawlessness and then adds the prediction of a lawless one that emerges, often called the Antichrist.  Also notice that lawlessness causes love to grow cold. 

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.  And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:9-14 ESV) 

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 ESV)

If the lack of law is evil and promotes evil then one might rightly ask what law applies.

 There are five laws in the Bible.  The first and most obvious one is the Law of Moses with its five books, the Pentateuch, centering upon the giving of the Ten Commandments and attendant legislation.  But the Law of Moses is passé and superseded by Christianity.  Its moral requirements make it over the wall into Christianity and its civil code has been the basis of Western jurisprudence since ancient times.  But the ritual law is obsolete and has passed away in deference to God’s revelation in Christ.

 The second law has been obscured by the heresy of antinomianism.  It is the Law of Christ (I Corinthians 9:21 and Galatians 6:2).  One can say that just as the Old Testament is about the Law of Moses and Judaism, the New Testament is about Jesus and his Law of Love.  But “love” that does not require behavioral standards is not love at all but permissiveness, a colossal lie of the devil that paves the way to personal destruction.  The New Testament is full of commandments and admonitions.  It is unreasonable to think that we can please God and be saved if we do not obey them.

 The third law is called the natural law and is found two places in Romans: 

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:14-16 ESV) 

Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. (Romans 12:9 ESV)

 The fourth law is the law of the secular state in which one lives.  Peter and Paul speak to this law in I Peter 2:13-17 and Romans 13:1-7, respectively.

 The fifth law is revealed also in Romans, a book that is widely misunderstood as giving credence to antinomianism.  In Romans we find the following, which is the true Roman Road of Salvation and depends on the law as a rational sense of morality (incorporating both natural and divine law).  But this law is fulfilled by following the Spirit.  It is called the Law of Faith (Romans 3:4) and the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2).  It follows a simple formula:  righteousness is required but we are carnal; therefore God in Christ has provided a way for us to fulfill the law and thus be saved: 

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. (2:6-8) 

But I am carnal, sold under sin … I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am!  Who will save me from this body of death? (7:14 and 23-24) 

God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit ...  If by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body we will live. (8:3-4 and 13)

The Law of the Spirit is the same as the Law of Faith because faith is required to do what the Holy Spirit leads us to do, that is, to follow Jesus in death and resurrection.  Jesus calls us to die to sin and self in his name and for his sake so that God can raise us up in him.  The essence of Christianity is to grow in grace by the transforming power of the cross, which purifies us.  Law provides the objective standard for determining our pilgrim’s progress and spiritual growth toward ultimate salvation.               

Being familiar with law in all its forms, therefore, John, the Beloved Disciple, provides a working definition of sin and contrasts it with the real righteousness that we find in Jesus: 

Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous. (I John 3:4-7 RSV, emphasis mine) 

If the Son loved righteousness and hated lawlessness (Hebrews 1:9), if it is lawlessness from which the Savior redeems us (Romans 4:7, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17) then how did antinomianism arise? 

It was a misunderstanding. 

Peter explains it in his second letter: 

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:15-18 ESV)

The Purpose of Spiritual Formation

The purpose of spiritual formation is to make us like God.

To know what God is like we must read the Gospels for in them we find Jesus, who is the Son of God, who said that to see him is to see the Father, and who did what he saw the Father doing and said what he heard the Father saying.  Knowing this, Paul wrote that Jesus was the image of the invisible God.  So, the purpose of spiritual formation is to become conformed to the image of Christ, becoming Christ-ian, because Christ is like God and is God.

What did Jesus do?

One of the things Jesus did was to perform extraordinary miracles.

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Luke 7:18-23 ESV)

Notice that Jesus did not answer the question of his identity directly.  Following the Socratic Method he pointed to evidence that could be used by John in Aristotelian fashion to draw his own scientific conclusion, allowing John to make his faith stronger by using his own mind to figure it out rather than being told in a dogmatic fashion.

The evidence provided were the various miracles that Jesus facilitated.  Jesus acknowledged that it was God at work in and through him to do those wonderful, amazing, loving things for people.  Ultimately those miracles were used as signs by the disciples to confirm that Jesus was the Christ.  They were God’s imprimatur upon his being, authenticating his authority.

The supernatural nature of Jesus was from beginning to end a display of consistency, from his virgin birth to his being raised from the dead, and in the means being consistent with the end: a supernatural being that visited us did supernatural things among us.  As we become supernatural beings in spiritual formation then there should be a testimony to that reality in the miraculous things that go on around us.

How does that happen?  What mechanisms of the universe did Jesus use to bring that about and can we honestly say that we are like him and thus spiritual if we cannot ourselves do similar things?  Jesus himself said that if we believed in him we would do the works he did and even greater ones.  How?  The cause/effect relationship between Jesus and his miraculous power resides in the kind of person he was, a few elements of which we might consider.  The answer to how it happened is this: God blessed him with miracles because God was pleased in him because of what he did toward God.

First, Jesus was a righteous man.  He had no sin and was confident in being free of sin.  He challenged his detractors, for instance, to show where he had any sin.  He spoke against sin and wanted people to live righteously before God.

One might panic at this point and say, “Yikes!  I have a thousand sins!  How can I ever qualify for miracles with all these sins attaching to me?”

The answer is simple: forgiveness.

John wrote, I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Therefore, let us confess our sins, allowing the Spirit to reveal them to us, until we feel clean and confident of being righteousness.  IN that same letter John also wrote (3:21-22), “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”

Likewise, spiritual formation understands the doctrine of holiness, which says that we can be free of sin by obedience to God’s commands.  Romans, chapter 6 explains that our baptism symbolizes death to sin and arising to the righteous life that God intends for us.  It signifies a radical break with the past.  These are key passages from that pivotal chapter:

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. [13] Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness … Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17] But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, [18] and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness … now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Romans 6:12-13, 16-18, and 22 ESV)

The linear pattern is clear: conversion -> obedience -> sanctification -> eternal life …

And being qualified for God’s blessing in a supernatural existence like that enjoyed by Jesus, who loved to help people in miraculous healing and deliverance.

Second, Jesus was a man of prayer.  Scripture tells us that he often went by himself to desolate places, away from the crowds and his own disciples, to be alone with God in pray.

What did he say?  How did he pray?

We have glimpses of that from the Garden of Gethsemane, where someone overheard what he was saying in his last private moments on earth.  It must have been Mark because his dad and the others were a ways off and/or asleep!  Whoever it was saw a man in anguish of soul.  Jesus was called the Son of David.  We know of his physical descent in the royal lineage.  But what if it also means the spiritual heritage that we find in the Psalms, where David is likely to say anything to God in open, honest, earnest prayer?

Third, Jesus sought to please God and not man.  We see this in how controversial he was.  He openly criticized the religious hierarchy and authorities, for instance, confronting them in a number of ways, sometimes nose to nose in what seem like shouting matches (see John 8:12 and following).  He interfered with them making money, at one point physically attacking their storefront operations.  “You cannot serve God and Mammon,” he said.  So, he was free of the constraints and limits often placed upon people because of denominational affiliation or institutional loyalty.

Did Jesus love his religious heritage and fellow Jews?  Of course, he loved them like his mother.  We often speak of Jesus as the embodiment of the Suffering Servant, meaning Israel.  But is it not Mary, the obedient Jewish girl, who better represents the people that bring him forth into the world?  “Salvation is from the Jews,” he told the Woman at the Well.

Likewise, Jesus did not derive his support from the religious establishment but several women followed him and contributed to his needs out of their own resources (Luke 8:2-3) – because they believed in him –  because he helped them in miraculous ways, like Mary Magdalene, out of whom he cast seven demons.

So again, we see how things come full circle by way of explanation, the material support comes because of the spiritual power and not the other way around.  Our religious institutions are often designed to provide the finances for ministry when the model of Christ is that the supernatural existence draws to it the things needful for the body.

Another way that Jesus sought to please God and qualify himself to receive miracles was rejecting man-made teaching and tradition in exchange for what Scripture actually says.  Consider this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, noting toward the end, again, the place of money:

                The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

                “‘This people honors me with their lips,

                                but their heart is far from me;

                in vain do they worship me,

                                teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

                You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

                And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mark 7:5-13 ESV)

In conclusion, Peter and John had achieved a level of spiritual formation to make their existence among the people miraculous.  They did what Jesus did, and became like Jesus as true servants and ministers in Jerusalem.  They went to the temple one day and encountered a man that was lame, begging for money.  Peter answered him, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”  He went walking and leaping and praising God.

The Essence of Spirituality

The essence of spirituality is to be like God.

Jesus said that God is spirit and, speaking of the resurrection, Paul wrote that Jesus became a life-giving spirit.  Similarly, Paul wrote that we no longer know Christ according to the flesh, acknowledging that he did come in the flesh but is no longer experienced that way.  Combating the Gnostic heresy John wrote that Jesus came in the flesh, though John is dualistic, the one who recorded the Lord’s words about God being spirit and we must be born again in the Spirit.

Many years ago a church official accused me of being an idolater for worshiping Jesus as God, co-equal with the Father and the Spirit in Trinitarian faith.  Fearing the same sin of idolatry Wolfhart Pannenberg, in JESUS, GOD AND MAN, stated that nowhere in Scripture is the Holy Spirit portrayed as a physical being.  Of course, Luke and others wrote that the Spirit came in the form of a dove.

But it is not idolatry to worship one that was briefly a man and then became a spiritual body that defies the laws of physics, though he still interacts with them via miracles.  It is not idolatry to worship the Spirit with the Father and Son, if the Spirit only briefly appeared for our sakes to anoint Jesus for ministry.

My point is that flesh, physicality, this material world is transitory.  Its form is passing away and our bodies will soon enough lie moldering in the grave.  Being God, it was not natural for Jesus to come in the form of sinful flesh.  We see in the Gospels his irritation with it and his desire to return to the Father.  He wanted the disciples to be glad that he was going home.  He promised that we would join him if we endured to the end.  If we are faithful he will raise us up to receive our spiritual bodies, too!

Hallelujah!

Since the carnal existence that we now share is transitory we must see this life as preparation for the next, becoming as much like God as possible now, at least to begin the process.

We are already spiritual beings, made in the image and likeness of God.  But because of sin that image is marred and we can hardly see our true selves.  But we begin to see, become enlightened, when we begin to discount the flesh and value the spiritual aspect of our nature.

I recently counseled a 50+ year-old man that has struggled with alcohol since he was 14.  Now the ravages of time, compounded by pollutions both of mind and body, has left him deeply depressed, suicidal, and asking questions that needed to be answered long ago.

He asked me why he has suffered so much.  I told him it was to demonstrate body/soul dualism and how the soul is more important than the body.  He was taken aback.  He had never heard that before, though he has been to church and AA meetings too many to count.

See, the body can become wracked with pain.  It can drive a man crazy with pain.  There is pain of heart and mind, as well, because of its association with the body.  But spirit is not touched by pain because it is not physical and has no need.

The way, then, to become more like God, more spiritual, is to have less need.  God needs nothing.  If one can contemplate that and relate to it as a beginning point of prayerful meditation then one can begin to develop a spiritual perspective.  Then the strength, peace, love, and joy of our freedom in Christ begins take root and will, in time, to bloom and grow, almost effortlessly, as the green grass springs forth and the flowers of the field open to the heavenly light.

Paul and James Reconciled

The biggest problem with the Church in America today is antinomianism, believing that works are not required for salvation.  Antinomianism takes both liberal and evangelical forms born of misunderstanding.

Confusion results from the apparent conflict between Paul and James in the New Testament:

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. (Romans 4:2 ESV)

VS.

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.(James 2:24 ESV)

What is the explanation for these seemingly variant words?  How might these statements be reconciled?

The answer is quite simple.  The men are employing two different frames of reference.  Paul is thinking polemically, arguing against the circumcision party and Judaizing teachers that harassed him and his new converts among the Gentiles.  He uses Abraham as the exemplar for a class of people, the new Gentile Christians for whom he is the apostle and chief spokesman, justifying their access to covenant grace in terms of the big picture of God’s unfolding purpose in salvation history:

[Abraham] received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, (Romans 4:11 ESV)

Note the plural “to them” in Romans 4:11 just above.  Paul’s statements about justification by faith and not by works have a narrow and specific meaning within Paul’s polemical argument: Christianity, which includes believing Gentiles, supersedes Judaism as the new way of righteousness from God.

James uses the singular “a man” because he speaks to personal salvation.  James uses Abraham as the model and example of an individual whose saving faith must be completed by works.  His conclusion is clear: no works means a faith that cannot save.  The works required are found in the New Testament.  To believe in Jesus means to adopt his religion and obey his commands.  Therefore, one must be careful to do everything the New Testament says in order to be saved, all else being equal.

 

Greek Philosophical Suppositions of the New Testament (Rough Draft)

In fulfillment of prophecy (Daniel 8:21, 10:20, 11:2, Zechariah 9:13, and I Maccabees 1:1-7) and for hundreds of years before Christ the Jewish people were Hellenized, that is, profoundly influenced by the Greek language and culture. Hellenization was resisted by some but Jesus likely spoke Greek, quoted the Greek Old Testament, known as the Septuagint (LXX), and the New Testament was written in Greek.  In John’s Gospel it says several times that Jesus escaped threats to his life because it was not time for him to die.  But when Greeks wanted to see him he exclaimed, “Now is the Son of Man glorified,” and spoke of his death as the planting of a seed that would produce much fruit (John 12:24).

The ancient Greeks are known for Philosophy, that is, the love of wisdom.  Philosophy arose about 500 years before Christ; it criticized the polytheistic and mystery religions of the ancient world, putting forth belief in one virtuous God, and the laws that proceeded from his rational mind (Romans 1:20).  When Alexander the Great encountered the Jews in 331 BC he discovered that he and the High Priest in Jerusalem had dreams about each other (Josephus, ANTIQUITIES, xi. 8, §§ 4-6), so Alexander worshiped the God of the Jews and offered sacrifice in the temple.  He allowed the Jews to live in peace, following their own laws.  Many Jews then began to study Philosophy and saw that it was compatible with Judaism.  When Jesus and Paul were boys, for instance, Hillel ran two rabbinical schools in Jerusalem, with about 500 students each, one devoted to traditional Jewish interpretation of the Law, the other devoted to a philosophical exposition of the same .  From a reading both of Philosophy and the New Testament it is obvious that Jesus and the apostles adopted and adapted Greek rational categories and moral theory, making Christianity a philosophical religion, able to transmit the truth of God to a world-wide audience, again in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy (Daniel 7:13-14, and Revelation 5:9 and 7:9).  This was in accordance with God’s plan for the fullness of time (Acts 17:30, Galatians 4:4, Ephesians 1:10, and 2:11-12).

The advantage of a philosophical religion is that it transcends the parochial boundaries of Judaism with its cultic practices confined to the temple in Jerusalem and reliance on ethnic descent.  Jesus spoke, for instance, of God being able to raise up children of Abraham from rocks on the ground (Matthew 3:9) and of his body as the Temple (John 2:19-22).  Jesus is for Christians both High Priest and Sacrifice (Hebrews 6:20 and 10:1-22), following a philosophical method of conserving moral substance in various forms.  Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God/heaven rather than the kingdom of David/Israel (Acts 2:22-32 and Galatians 6:16).  Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people), warned us not to heed “Jewish myths and the commandments of men that reject the truth” (Titus 1:14).  He said the Law was abolished (Ephesians 2:15).  Hebrews says the Law is obsolete (8:13) and set aside because it is weak and ineffectual (7:18).  This represents the ascendancy of Philosophy within Christianity, and Christianity superseding Judaism as the only true religion.

However, we must deal honestly with an objection found in Colossians 2:8, a warning against “philosophy and empty deceit.”  That verse has three qualifying clauses, “according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ” (cf. Galatians 4:8-9).  I assert that there is a philosophy that is “according to Christ,” and thus, holy tradition and used by the Holy Spirit.  We see it in the words of Jesus and the apostles.  What Paul specifically criticized was bad philosophy, the “debaters of this age” (I Corinthians 1:20), like Carneades, a Skeptic, who famously argued both sides of an issue on consecutive days in Rome.  In the New Testament the sophist and debater are excoriated along with the scribe and Pharisee, because by the time of Christ both Judaism and Philosophy had fallen into error and disrepair.  Our goal is to put forth Christian philosophy that is legitimately seen in the New Testament, sanctified by Jesus, who revived and perfected knowledge and vital piety in his day.

Greek philosophers believed in cosmological/philosophical dualism and its moral counterpart, the natural law: one ought to reject evil, seek and do the good (see Romans 12:9b); these form the suppositional basis of Christian theological orthodoxy.  In the chart below are described the classical categories of good and evil used in the New Testament.  For example, Paul spoke of carnal and spiritual being at war with each other (Galatians 5:17).  Likewise, the mature Christian is ready for spiritual meat because he has trained his faculties to distinguish between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14).  Good and evil are the stems from which all other concepts sprout.

So I present the chart below.  Each good above the line, which we should seek, has a corresponding opposite in what is evil below, that which we should avoid.  These concepts are easy to understand, if we will, because Western society is built upon them.  But remember, the supposition is not the conclusion.  God was incarnate in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from the curse of our below the line existence, raising us up in him.  Christianity, therefore, represents a modified or mitigated dualism because it foresees an ultimate triumph of good over evil (I Corinthians 15), which begins now (II Corinthians 5:19, Colossians 1:20, and Hebrews 6:1-6) and will be concluded at some point in the future (Matthew 24:14).

References are from the Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

+24 God (the ONE, Creator (Father and first cause)):  Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Malachi 2:10 & 15, I Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:6, and I Timothy 2:5

+23 Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Risen Lord:  Matthew 28:6/Mark 16:6 and Acts 1:9, Philippians 2:7-11, Ephesians 1:20, and Hebrews 9:15 & 12:24,

+22 Perfection, TELEOS, (end, finished, intended goal):  Matthew 5:48, I Corinthians 13:10, Colossians 3:14, Hebrews 2:10 & 10:1, I John 2:5 & 4:17-18

+21 Existence, Being, or Consciousness; I AM (Supreme Being):  Exodus 3:13-14 and John 8:58; Colossians 1:16 & Revelation 4:11

+20 Life, Eternal Life:  Luke 6:9, John 1:4, 3:16, 5:21 & 24, 6:1-71, 10:10, Acts 3:15, Romans 2:6-7, II Timothy 1:10, Jude 1:21, I John 3:14, and Rev. 2:7

+19 Truth:  Luke 1:1-4, John 1:14 & 17, 4:23-24, 8:32, 14:6, 16:13, 18:37-38, Romans 1:18 & 25, 2:8, II Cor. 4:2, Ephesians 4:15, 21 & 25, and I Tim. 3:15

+18 Freedom:  John 8:32 & 36, Acts 13:39, Romans 6:7, 18, 20, 22-23, 8:2 & 21, II Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 2:4, 4:26 & 31, 5:1 & 13, I Peter 2:16

+17 Angelic, Angels, the Heavenly Host:  Matthew 1:20, 4:11, 13:39, Luke 1:26 ff., John 1:51, Acts 6:15, Hebrews 1:4-13, Jude 1:9, and Revelation 8:2

+16 Reason (32x in the New Testament):  Matthew 25:2, Colossians 2:18 and James 3:17 (Romans 12:1 KJV, logikos, “reasonable service,” & I Peter 2:2)

+15 Light, Enlightened (with Knowledge), Renewal of Mind:  Matthew 4:16, 10:27, John 8:12, Romans 12:1-3, 13:12, II Cor. 6:14,

Ephesians 4:18, 5:8-9, 13-14, I Thess 5:5, I Timothy 6:16, Hebrews 6:4, James 1:17, I John 1:5-7, 2:8-10, Revelation 21:23-24 and 22:5

+14 Law:  Matthew 5:17-18, 23:23, Romans 2:12-15, 3:31, 7:12, 14 & 16, 8:2-4, 7, 13:8 & 10, I Corinthians 9:20-21, Galatians 5:14, 18 & 23, and 6:2

+13 Faith:  II Corinthians 4:17-18, 5:7 and Hebrews 11

+12 Inner Man:  Luke 17:20-21 KJV, Romans 2:29 and 14:17, II Corinthians 4:16, and Ephesians 3:16

+11 LOGOS, “Word” of God (Divine Order/Purpose/Harmony in the Universe):  John 1:1 & 14, I Jn 1:1, and Rev 19:13; Lk 19:42, Jn 16:33 & Heb 12:11

+10 Permanent:  Matthew 19:16 & 29, 26:41, John 4:14 & 12:25, II Corinthians 3:11, 4:17-18, & 5:1, Galatians 6:8, Hebrews 6:17-18, 7:24, and I John 5:20

+9 Spirit/Soul, Spiritual:  (spirit 408x in NT, Holy Spirit 91x) Luke 1:35/Matthew 1:18, Matt. 10: 20 & 28, Mark 1:8/John 1:33, John 3:6, 4:24, 6:63, (8:15), 19:30, Rom 2:29, 8:3-13, 14: 17, I Cor 5:3-5, 15:44-46, II Cor 11:4, Gal 4:3 & 9, 5:13-6:8, Eph 3:16, 6:12, Phil 3:3, Col 2:11, and James 2:26

+8 Eternal forms of the good (Platonic):  John 6:27, (John 7:24), PHIL 2:6, Hebrews 10:1

+7 Energy (in the Greek energeia (8x in Paul) and dunamis (power, 119x in NT)):  Colossians 1:29 and Hebrews 1:3

+6 The Ideal:  (Matthew 19:10, and John 11:50 & 18:14), Revelation 21:22-23

+5 Abstract, Noumenal, Right:  John 2:21 (“justification by the Faith” is an abstraction for polemical purposes in Paul)

+4 Universal:  Daniel 7:13-14, Matthew 24:14, Acts 2:5-11, 11:1 & 18, Romans 3:29, and Revelation 5:9 &7:9

+3 Real, Substance (Plato’s Image, Paul’s IKON):  Romans 2:28-29, I Corinthians 8:4, Colossians 2:17, and Hebrews 8:5 & 10:1

+2 Things Above, From Above, Of Heaven:  (Heaven 231x in NT), Matt. 4:17 & 5:34, John 3:12, 31, 6:32, 8:23, I Cor. 15:47-49, Galatians 4:26,

Eph. 1:10, 4:6 & 9-10, Col. 1:20, 3:1-2, and Heb. 7:26, 9:23-24, and James 1:17, 3:15 & 17,

+1 Good:  Matthew 3:10, 7:11-19, 12:35, 19:16-17, John 5:29, 10:11, Romans 2:6-11, 7:19, 12:9 & 21, 15:14, II Cor. 5:10, Hebrews 5:14, and III Jn. 1:11

-1 Evil:  Matthew 7:11-19, 12:35, John 5:29, (10:11), Romans 2:6-11, 7:19, 12:9 & 21, II Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 5:14, and III Jn. 1:11

-2 Things Below, Of Earth, Worldly:  Matt. 18:7, John 3:12, 31, 8:23, 18:36, I Cor. 1:26, 7:33, 15:47, II Cor. 1:12 & 17, 4:4, 5:1, 10:2-4, Eph. 1:10, 4:9-10, Phil. 3:19, Col. 1:20, 3:5, Titus 2:12, Heb. 9:1, James 3:15 & 4:4, II Peter 1:4, I John 2:15-17, and Jude 1:19

-3 Shadow:  Matthew 4:16/Luke 1:79, Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 8:5, 10:1, and James 1:17
-4 Particular:  I Timothy 1:4, and Titus 1:14
-5 Concrete, Phenomenal, Appearances:  John 2:21
-6 What’s Expedient:  Matthew 19:10, and John 11:50 & 18:14; Revelation 21:22-23
-7 Matter, the Elements/Elemental, Earthen Vessel:  II Corinthians 4:7, Galatians 4:3 & 9, Colossians 2:8 & 20, and II Peter 3:10 & 12
-8 Apparent forms (Aristotelian, formal cause), signs (77x in NT), appearances:  Matt 23:27-32, Mark 16:12, Luke 3:22, John 5:37, 6:26-27, 7:24, I Cor 7:31, Phil. 2:7-8, II Timothy 3:5, and (Hebrews 10:1), also Romans 8:28, 12:2, Galatians 4:19, and I Peter 1:14; Luke 1:4, Jude 1:5
-9 Body, Flesh, Carnal:  Matthew 10:28, 16:17, 26:41, Luke 12:4, John 3:6, 6:63, 8:15, Romans 6:6, 7:24 & 8:13, 7:5,14, 18, 25, 8:3-13, I Corinthians 5:3 & 9:27, 3:1-3, 5:5, 15:50 II Cor. 5:6 & 8, Galatians 5:18-6:8, Ephesians 6:12, Colossians 2:5, II Peter 1:13-14, and James 3:15
-10 Temporal, Passing Away:  Matthew 24:35/Mark 13:31, I Corinthians 7:31, II Corinthians 3:11, 4:17-18, 5:17, I John 2:8 & 17, and Revelation 21:1 & 4
-11 Chaos, Confusion, War:  I Corinthians 14:33; Romans 7:23, James 4:1-2, and I Peter 2:11
-12 Outward Situations and Circumstance:  II Corinthians 4:16 and Hebrews 11

-13 Sight:  Luke 17:20-21 KJV, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold,

the kingdom of God is within you,” and II Corinthians 4:17-18 and 5:7

-14 Sin:  (“Sin is lawlessness.” (I John 3:4)), Acts 2:23, II Thessalonians 2:3, 7-9, II Peter 2:8 and 3:17
-15 Darkness (Ignorance):  Matthew 4:16, 10:27, Luke 6:23, John 1:5, 3:19, 8:12 & 12:46, Acts 26:18, Rom 13:12, II Cor. 6:14, Eph 4:18, and I John 1:5-7
-16 Passions (Desire, Emotion):  Romans 2:2, Colossians 2:18, Ephesians 4:17-24, Titus 3:3, James 4:1-3, I Peter 1:13-16, 2:11, 4:1-5, and II Peter 3:1-8
-17 Demonic, Hellish:  (Devil 35x and Demons 48x in NT) Matthew 13:39 & 23:15, I Timothy 4:1, James 3:15, and Revelation 16:14
-18 Slavery, Bondage, Oppression:  John 8:34-35, Romans 6:17, 8:15, I Corinthians 7:21-23, Galatians 2:4, 4:3, 26 & 31, 5:1, Titus 3:3, and II Peter 2:19
-19 Lies, Illusion and Delusion, False Witness:  Matthew 7:15, 26:59-60, John 8:44, Romans 1:25, II Corinthians 4:2, II Thess. 2:11, and Ephesians 4:25
-20 Death:  Matthew 4:16, John 5:24 & (8:51), Romans 6:10, 13, & 23, I Corinthians 15:21, 26, 54-56, II Cor. 3:7, II Timothy 1:10, and Revelation 21:4 & 8
-21 Nothingness, Utter Destruction:  I Corinthians 1:28, 13:2-3, Galatians 6:3, Hebrews 11:3, II Peter 2: 17, Jude v. 13, and Revelation 9:11
-22 The Imperfect, which passes away, childish, partial, and immature:  I Corinthians 13:8-11
-23 Satan, the Anti-Christ:  Mark 1:13, Luke 10:18 & 22:3, Acts 26:18, II Thessalonians 2:9, and Revelation 12:9
-24 Ultimate evil exists in multiplicities:  Mark 5:9&15 and Luke 8:30; (many) Matt 3:7, 6:7, 7:13 & 22, 24:11, Mk 15:3, Lk 10:41, I Jn 2:18, 4:1 and II Jn 1:7

The Faith vs. Works Principle in Paul

There is no doubt that Paul uses a principio argument with regard to faith vs. works as the means to achieve salvation:

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

                 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

                                and whose sins are covered;

                 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:1-8 ESV)

In order to understand this passage we must assume like Paul a broad perspective and narrow scope.

First, it’s broad perspective can be explained in terms of salvation history, that is, the movement of God away from Judaism, a parochial and traditional religion, to Gentile Christianity with it universal appeal.  Those that resisted change have been called the circumcision party or Judaizing teachers.  They were also called dogs!  But in his polemical argument against the Jews, Paul focused on receiving circumcision as the symbol of converting to Judaism.  Therefore, in the immediate context of his principio argument above we find the following verses:

 

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.  He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.  (Romans 4:9-12 ESV) 

This passage also determines, second, the narrow scope of his principio argument, which is the question of whether the new Gentile believers should follow the law.  In other words, should they become Jews?  Paul’s answer is simple.  Abraham was not circumcised when he was chosen.  He received circumcision, the work at issue, only after he believed and was reckoned as righteous.  In this way Abraham became an example, as Paul said, the father of all that experience God as he did: sequentially to trust and obey.

Now, in order rightly to apply this “no works” principio argument in preaching and teaching we must exercise intellectual discipline.  It is a logical fallacy to apply a polemical argument about salvation history to the personal discipleship of an individual Christian.  Paul used the example of Abraham to make an argument that justifies admission of believing Gentiles as a class in the unfolding historical plan of God.  But it would be wrong to take that argument and apply it in reverse order to individual people.  Paul said, for instance, stepping back from his argument with the Judaizers: 

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.  (Galatians 5:6 ESV) 

So, Paul envisions on the personal level a faith that works.  Likewise, he is not against the moral law but sees it as essential to salvation for the individual: 

He will render to *each one* according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life … For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the *doers of the law who will be justified* … For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the *righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled* in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  (Romans 2:6-7, 13, and 8:3-4 ESV, emphasis mine) 

One might be tempted to say, in light of the immediately argument above, that pneumatology replaces legalism or works righteousness in Christianity.  But “legalism” often gets a bad rap!   “Works righteousness” is a canard used by anti-Catholics that do not understand the broad perspective and narrow scope of the no works principle in Paul.  In truth there is nothing in the New Testament to say that an individual Christian ought not to work, pursue righteousness, or obey God’s holy word.  In fact, obedience is required and conditions met in order to receive the Spirit: 

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:37-38 ESV) 

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”  (Acts 5:32 ESV) 

The "no works" principle then applies only to arguing for the independence of Gentile Christianity in the broad perspective, admitting that Gentiles had not been in covenant previously and could not point to any works of the law that qualifies us.  Gentile Christians are justified by the Faith “apart from” works of the law (Judaism) as a mere function of historic reality.  God forgives us Gentiles for past sins (Romans 3:25) and invites us to enter covenant relationship through the blood of Jesus.