Category: Hear From the President

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I guess we’ve all experienced times of desperation when we cried out to God to intervene. Perhaps we prayed for a miracle, only to find that our prayer was seemingly to no avail when the miracle did not come. But I also guess most of us have experienced the joy of seeing the healing of a person we prayed for. I know a lady, who following prayer for her healing, had her missing rib grow back. The doctor told her, “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!” Many of us, I’m sure, have been comforted and encouraged knowing others are praying for us. I’m always encouraged when people tell me they’re praying for me. In reply I usually say “Thanks, I’ll take all the prayer I can receive!”

A misguided approach

Whether our experiences with prayer have been negative or positive (and we’ve likely had both), it’s important to remember Karl Barth’s observation: “The most certain element of our prayer is not our requests, but what comes from God: His response” (Prayer, p. 66). But it’s easy to misinterpret God’s responses to our prayers when he does not answer the way we expected. It’s easy to fall prey to the mistake of viewing prayer as a mechanical process—treating God as if he was a cosmic vending machine where we submit our requests and he automatically gives us the desired “product.” This misguided approach, which is little more than an attempt to bribe God, often involves using prayer as a way to gain control of situations we’re powerless to control.

The purpose of prayer

Prayer isn’t about trying to get God to do something that he doesn’t want to do—it’s about joining God in what he is doing. Prayer isn’t about trying to control God—it’s about acknowledging that God has everything under his control. Barth explained it this way: “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of our uprising against the disorder of the world.” In making this statement, he was acknowledging that we who are not of the world are, in prayer, joining God in his mission to the world. Rather than taking us out of the world (with all its disorder), prayer joins us to God and to his mission to save the world.

Because God loves the world, he sent his Son into the world, and when we pray with minds and hearts open to God’s will, we are placing our trust in the One who loves the world and loves us—the One who can see the end from the beginning and who can help us see that this present, mortal life is the beginning, not the conclusion. That sort of prayer helps us see that the world is not as God wants it, and it changes us so we can be agents of hope here and now in God’s present, unfolding kingdom.

When the opposite of what they pray for occurs, some people leap to the deistic conclusion that God is distant and uninvolved. Some even abandon belief in God altogether. Such was the case for Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptic’s Society. He lost faith in God when his college sweetheart was severely injured in an automobile accident. With a broken back and paralysis from the waist down, she was permanently confined to a wheelchair. Michael believed that because she was a really good person, God should have answered prayers for her healing.

God is in control

Rather than being a way to control God, prayer is humble acknowledgment that God is in control and we are not. In his book, God in the Dock, C.S. Lewis explained it this way:

Most of the events that go on in the universe are indeed out of our control, but not all. It is like a play in which the scene and the general outline of the story is fixed by the author, but certain minor details are left for the actors to improvise. It may be a mystery why He should have allowed us to cause real events at all, but it is no odder that He should allow us to cause them by praying than by any other method. [Christian philosopher Blaise] Pascal says that God “instituted prayer in order to allow His creatures the dignity of causality.” It would perhaps be truer to say that He invented both prayer and physical action for that purpose. He gave us small creatures the dignity of being able to contribute to the course of events in two different ways. He made the matter of the universe such that we can (in those limits) do things to it; that is why we can wash our own hands and feed or murder our fellow creatures. Similarly, He made His own plan or plot of history such that it admits a certain amount of free play and can be modified in response to our prayers. If it is foolish and impudent to ask for victory in war (on the ground that God might be expected to know best), it would be equally foolish and impudent to put on a [raincoat]—does not God know best whether you ought to be wet or dry?

Why pray?

Noting that God ordained prayer as a way for us to commune with him, Lewis explained in his book Miracles that God already has accounted for our prayers. The question then is this: Why pray? Lewis replies:

When we are praying about the result, say, of a battle or a medical consultation the thought will often cross our minds that (if only we knew it) the event is already decided one way or the other. I believe this to be no good reason for ceasing our prayers…. The event certainly has been decided—in a sense it was decided “before all worlds.” But one of the things taken into account in deciding it, and therefore one of the things that really cause it to happen, may be this very prayer that we are now offering.

Did you get that? God may be “answering” in response to a prayer he already knew you were going to pray. The ramifications of this are both thought-provoking and exciting. It tells us that our prayers are important; they matter. Lewis continues:

Though shocking as it may sound, I conclude that we can at noon become part causes of an event occurring at ten a.m. (Some scientists would find this easier than popular thought does.) The imagination will, no doubt, try to play all sorts of tricks on us at this point. It will ask, “Then if I stop praying can God go back and alter what has already happened?” No. The event has already happened and one of its causes has been the fact that you are asking such questions instead of praying. Thus something does really depend on my choice. My free act contributes to the cosmic shape. That contribution is made in eternity or “before all worlds”; but my consciousness of contributing reaches me at a particular point in the time-series.

Prayer matters

What Lewis is saying is that prayer matters—it always has and always will. Why? Because our prayers give us opportunity to join God in what he has done, is doing, and will do. Though we don’t understand all the ramifications of how science, God, prayer, physics, time and space, and things like quantum entanglement and quantum mechanics all work together, we know that God has determined such matters. Further, we know he has invited us to participate in what he is doing. Prayer is a big part of that participation.

As I pray, I often think of myself handing over or entrusting my prayers to God, knowing that, somehow, he will take and weave them into his good purposes, one way or another. I believe that God works together all things (including our prayers) for good in accordance with his glorious purposes. I’m also reminded that whenever we pray we are joining Jesus, our great High Priest, in his prayers of intercession. He takes our prayers, sanctifies them and shares them with the Father and the Holy Spirit. For that reason, I don’t believe there is ever an unanswered prayer. Our prayers join our Triune God in his will, purpose, and mission—much of which was determined before the foundation of the world.

While I can’t explain exactly why prayer matters, I trust God that it does. Therefore I’m encouraged when I hear that people are praying for me, and I hope you are encouraged knowing that I pray for you. I’m not doing so to try to control God, but to express my praise for the One who has all things under control.

Grateful that God is in control and that prayer matters,
Joseph Tkach

PS: For a previous Weekly Update letter on the practice of prayer, click here.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

One reason I greatly enjoy the conferences in our fellowship is the opportunities they afford to share meals and conversation with people I don’t often get to see. At a recent U.S. regional conference, I enjoyed discussing Albert Einstein’s historic work with meteorological scientist Michael Anderson, a friend and GCI elder from Connecticut. I mentioned how I’m enchanted by Einstein’s well-known statement that “God does not play dice with the universe.” I also noted to him my amazement that Einstein’s predictions about our visible universe, made over 100 years ago, have been verified by science through empirical measurement.

Gravitational waves

One of Einstein’s predictions was that there are speed-of-light gravitational waves traveling through space. Einstein considered them too small to be measured and thus unverifiable.

Though Einstein was right about the existence of gravitational waves, he was wrong to think they would never be discovered. In fact, they were recently detected and measured by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) via its two installations in Louisiana and Washington. LIGO analyzed and merged multiple sources of light, using technology that is able to detect distortions one million times smaller than the width of a hydrogen atom. LIGO’s measurements suggest that these gravitational waves originated with a cataclysmic event in the primordial universe.

The realm of God

Given amazing discoveries like gravitational waves, some scientists wonder if there is a timeless dimension holding together our time-bound universe. Though the scientific community in general does not accept that idea, God’s revelation, centered on Jesus, tells us of a timeless dimension that the Bible refers to as eternity (I like to call it the realm of God). In musing on how something of that realm is revealed to us by God’s creation, David (who I imagine to be the first rap artist) wrote this:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
(Psalm 19:1-4)

Inner space and the limitations of science

Utilizing ever-more amazing technology, science continues to learn about the outer and inner realms of created space. Recently, scientists looked into the hidden recesses of inner space by examining what is left after smashing sub-atomic particles. With discoveries like this, some say humankind may be near the limit of what can be understood about the universe. Another friend and fellow GCI elder, John Meyer, alerted me to an article [1] featuring the work of Dr. Harry Cliff, a particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Dr. Cliff says we can’t go further in our understanding of the universe because “the laws of physics forbid it.”

Concerning what he calls “the two most dangerous numbers in the universe,” Dr. Cliff notes that if either was only minutely different, nothing would exist. The first number pertains to the strength of the Higgs field (see below), and the second with the repulsive force of the dark energy that accelerates the expansion of the universe. (I must interject a thought here: perhaps Dr. Cliff and others should ask where those two numbers originated and how they became firmly set in relationship with the universe.)

Following discovery of the Higgs boson—the so-called “God particle” [2] by a team of scientists (including Keith Baker, another friend and GCI member in Connecticut), attention turned to the Higgs field [3], the strength of which is a bit of a puzzle. When particles move through this field they gain mass and become protons, neutrons and electrons, which comprise all matter. The Higgs field runs on a constant, very weak energy level. As Dr. Cliff notes, “The Higgs field is just slightly on—it’s not zero, but it’s ten-thousand-trillion times weaker than its fully-on value.” This “weakness” defies current scientific understanding. (Could it be that many scientists engaging in the philosophy of science refuse to see that God has the Higgs field under his control?)

In The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What is the Question? [4], physicist Leon Lederman explains the discovery of the Higgs boson using a parody of the tower of Babel:

The issue is whether physicists will be confounded by this puzzle or whether, in contrast to the unhappy Babylonians, we will continue to build the tower and, as Einstein put it, “know the mind of God.” …The whole universe was of many languages, and of many speeches. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Waxahachie, and they dwelt there. And they said to one another, “Go to, let us build a Giant Collider, whose collisions may reach back to the beginning of time.” And they had superconducting magnets for bending, and protons had they for smashing. And the Lord came down to see the accelerator, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, “Behold the people are unconfounding my confounding.” And the Lord sighed and said, “Go to, let us go down, and there give them the God Particle so that they may see how beautiful is the universe I have made.”

In reference to his second “dangerous number” (concerning dark energy), Dr. Cliff admits that science has extremely limited understanding. “The best idea,” he said, “is that it is the energy of empty space itself—the energy of the vacuum.” Noting that dark energy should be “10¹²⁰ times stronger than the value we observe from astronomy,” he concludes that theoretical physics has a real and quite mysterious problem:

We may be entering a new era in physics. An era where there are weird features in the universe that we cannot explain. An era where we have hints that we live in a multiverse that lies frustratingly beyond our reach. An era where we will never be able to answer the question “Why is there something rather than nothing?”

It’s unlikely that physicists will break through these limits without expending massive amounts of time and money. The collider in Geneva used in discovering the Higgs boson likely is not up to the further discoveries necessary to verify as yet unverified scientific theories. But some theories seem to be, in principle, beyond scientific verifiability. For instance, in order to verify the theory of multiple universes (the “multiverse”) we would need to get outside of our own and exist in another universe where the physics of it would be incomparable with that of our own (since that’s what makes it another universe)!

Including God in our thinking about the universe

Why was Albert Einstein so advanced in his thinking? I believe it is because he included in his thinking the reality of a creator of the universe. Though some claim he was an atheist or agnostic, it’s clear that Einstein did not exclude God from his thinking the way many scientists do. His metaphor that God does not play dice with the universe continues to cut through mysteries concerning the universe that baffle many scientists. Yes, Einstein was not able to adequately describe God’s role in creating and sustaining the universe, but then, neither am I, except to say that I know God as creator of both nature and science, the latter being our ability to understand, at least to some extent, the wonders and mysteries of the created universe.

Natural science is fundamentally about discovery, which includes coming to realize that we lack explanations for many of the things we observe about the natural world. God, as yet, has not made these things known to us, nor has he allowed us, so far, to invent the means of research and development by which we may yet come to know. But more than that, if the original and continuing agency of the living God is essential to answering, Why is there something rather than nothing?, then the study of nature alone can never fully answer that question. This is so because God is not nature, nor is he a part of nature. As early church teachers such as Athanasius realized, Only God knows God and only God reveals God (see 1 Corinthians 2:11).

C.S Lewis put it this way: we should not expect to find the author of a book in the book of his own creation (although he could have written in something of himself as one of the characters of the book!). While nature seems to continually point beyond itself, the natural sciences are unable to go beyond their inherent limits to find answers to the kinds of questions they raise. The natural sciences require a higher level of explanation than they can ever deliver, since nature is not God, and science restricts itself to the study of nature.

Looking beyond the natural sciences to theological science

Acknowledging this limitation of science is important in that it helps us understand that if we are to have an ultimate explanation for nature (and for science itself), we will have to turn to a higher, more comprehensive level of explanation. Our study of nature (of inner and outer space in particular) has, seemingly, brought us to the point where we must recognize that nature raises questions that, in principle, science is unable to answer. Therefore we must look beyond the natural sciences to answer the very questions that this field of study raises.

In searching for answers we must examine theological science, which seeks knowledge from the study of the historical and personal revelation of God which comes through Israel and culminates in Jesus Christ, God’s ultimate self-revelation. Holy Scripture is the record of that revelation which affirms a kind of “multiverse,” consisting of two realms—the heavenly and the earthly. While we cannot exist outside our own universe and reach into another, we have received from that other heavenly “universe” of God his own revelation. The Author himself has broken into our universe and provided us the ultimate explanation for why there is something rather than nothing: the agency of our Triune God, who is the creator, sustainer and redeemer of this universe.

Amazed by God, his creation, and revelation,
Joseph Tkach

____________________

Note: all public domain pictures are via Wikimedia Commons.

[1] See the article at http://www.businessinsider.com/the-end-of-physics-as-we-know-it-2016-1. To watch the TED talk with Dr. Cliff referenced in the article, go to http://www.ted.com/talks/harry_cliff_have_we_reached_the_end_of_physics#t-705970.

[2] For more about the Higgs boson particle, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson.

[3] For an explanation of the Higgs field, go to http://www.fnal.gov/pub/science/inquiring/questions/higgs_boson.html.

[4] See the referenced book at https://books.google.com/books?id=-v84Bp-LNNIC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Dear child of God,

Though I was only 12 years old at the time, I have vivid memories of my father and grandfather being very pleased with me because I had gotten straight A’s on my report card. As a reward, grandpa gave me a rich-looking alligator hide wallet and dad gave me a $10 bill to put inside. I recall both saying they loved me, and that they were pleased I belonged to them. I also remember taking money out of my piggy bank, combining it with the $10 from my new wallet, and exchanging that money for $1 bills so my wallet would look full of cash. I knew it would make me feel like a millionaire at the penny candy store!

I still remember those gifts every June as Father’s Day draws near (it’s celebrated the third Sunday of June in many countries). That memory gets me thinking about my dad, my grandpa, and our heavenly Father’s love. But there is more to the story.

Not a week passed after I was given the wallet and cash before I lost both. I was grief-stricken! They must have fallen from my back pocket while I was at a movie theater with friends. I searched high and low, retracing my steps. I continued searching for several days, but the wallet and cash were nowhere to be found. Now, some 52 years later, I still feel the pain of that loss—not because of the monetary value involved, but because as gifts from my grandpa and dad, they held great sentimental value. What’s interesting is that the grief lasted only a short time, but the fond memories of the love expressed toward me by my grandfather and father have endured.

Though I appreciated their generous gifts, I cherished the love expressed by my dad and grandpa. Isn’t that what God wants for us—to cherish the depth and richness of his unconditional love? Jesus helps us understand the depth and breadth of that love in his parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. These parables, recorded in Luke 15, demonstrate the heavenly Father’s passionate love for his children, and show how God enjoys finding those who are lost. In doing so, these parables point to the incarnate Son of God (Jesus) who came to find us and take us home to his Father. Jesus not only reveals the Father to us, he reveals the Father’s desire to come to us in our lostness and bring us into his loving presence. Being pure love, God never stops calling our names with his love.

As Christian poet and musician Ricardo Sanchez wrote, “The devil knows your name but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin but calls you by your name.” The voice of our heavenly Father comes to us by his Word (Jesus), through the Spirit. The Word judges the sin in us, overcoming it and sending it away (as far as the east is from the west). Rather than condemning us, the Word declares God’s forgiveness, affirms us and sanctifies us.

When our ears (and hearts) are attuned to the living Word of God, we are able to understand his written word, the Bible, as God intends—and he intends that it convey the message of his love for us. This is made clear in Romans chapter 8, one of my favorite passages of Scripture. It begins with this declaration: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV). It then ends with this powerful reminder of God’s never-ending, unconditional love for us: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV).

We are assured that we are “in Christ” (we belong!) as we listen to the voice of God in Jesus, who said this: “When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:4-5 ESV). We hear our Lord’s voice and follow him as we read his words and know that it is him talking to us. Reading Scripture helps us know we are in relationship with God because that is his desire, and this reassurance brings us closer to him. Through Scripture, God speaks to us, affirming his love by confirming that we are his beloved children. We know it is God’s voice we are hearing when we are led to express love toward others, and as we experience increased humility, joy, and peace—all of which we know originate with God, our Father.

Knowing that our heavenly Father is calling our names as his beloved children motivates us to live as Paul described in his letter to the church in Colossae:

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17)

God’s voice leads us in the direction of his always-present fatherly love—a love poignantly celebrated by comedian Michael Jr. in the Father’s Day video embedded below. Some of you will remember that Michael Jr. entertained us at one of our international conferences several years ago.

On Father’s Day (and every day), let’s remember that our heavenly Father created us in order to love us. As the loving Father that he is, he wants us to hear his voice so that we can live the abundant life that is ours in relationship with him—knowing that he is always for us, always with us, always loving us.

Always remember that your heavenly Father has given everything to you in and by his incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. Unlike the wallet and the cash that I lost those many years ago (they were temporary), God’s gift to you (and me) is permanent. Even if you momentarily lose sight of his gift, your heavenly Father is always there—knocking, seeking, finding you (even if you are lost), so you may fully appreciate and experience his gift of unconditional, never-ending love.

Wishing you all Happy Father’s Day,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Some Christians are in the habit of using strange-sounding phrases like, “The Lord spoke to me,” “my prayer language,” “God gave me a word of knowledge,” “the Lord put a burden on my heart,” and “God gave me the anointing.” I’m not saying such phrases are wrong, nor is it my intent to mock them, but I do want to point out that the use of such Christian “in-speak” tends to detract from biblically accurate communication. In this letter I want to focus on the use (and misuse) of the phrase, the anointing.

In Scripture, the word anoint typically is used to refer to a way of confirming a special work that God is doing in or through a particular person. People are anointed for healing, in preparation for burial, and when being consecrated (commissioned) as a king, priest or prophet. When a priest or prophet would anoint someone to commission them for leadership, a transfer of authority (and thus power) to the one being anointed is sometimes noted. But it’s important to note that the one performing the anointing was not in control of that power—the anointing was not the equivalent of a dying king passing their rule on to a successor. Rather, the person who was anointing the king, priest or prophet was setting them aside in a public way to confirm that God truly had called that person into a particular leadership responsibility. For example, when the prophet Samuel anointed David, he was commissioning him as king, not transferring the Holy Spirit to David.

In Psalm 139:7-12, David shows that God is present everywhere (he is omnipresent). This means that the Spirit is not some sort of force under our control that we can transfer from one person to another through anointing. Moreover, Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is not a “force” but a “person”—he speaks (Acts 13:2), is grieved (Ephesians 4:30), and has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11). By remembering that the Spirit is an omnipresent, divine person, we guard against false teaching, including the misuse of the word anointing.

Sadly, the word anointing is frequently misused. On the one hand it’s misused in referring to subjective experiences like “pins and needles” feelings. On the other hand, it’s misused to refer to a transfer of power (“receiving the Spirit”) akin to being given another helping of mashed potatoes! This wrong-headed thinking concludes that the Spirit is not present until hands are laid on a person, or that a person cannot have the Holy Spirit abiding in them until some action is completed apart from believing in the Son. These conclusions are badly mistaken—God does not fragment himself! Moreover, God’s being and doing is not conditioned (dependent on), nor determined by, for example, the use of our hands in a prayer. We can’t claim to be “alive in Christ,” and that he resides in us, then turn around and claim he is somehow not in us. The apostle John put it this way: “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for he gives the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34 NASB).

It may surprise some folks to learn that anointing does not involve a tangible transfer of power as if anointing is like plugging a television into an electrical wall outlet. The Spirit’s power is not a commodity to be purchased, traded, exchanged or accessed like a physical form of power. Moreover, there is no such thing as the receiving of a single, double, or triple portion of the Spirit as though receiving him is like scooping extra servings of food onto a dinner plate. The Bible never has Jesus or any of his apostles teaching that we can receive such an “extra portion.” What we do find in Scripture is a sorcerer named Simon being rebuked by the apostle Peter for trying to buy a portion of the Spirit’s power (Acts 8:9-24).

At this point, some might be wondering about the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 2, and the account of Pentecost in Acts 2. Let’s take Elisha’s story first. You’ll recall that the Jordan River was parted for Elijah and Elisha’s benefit:

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” (2 Kings 2:9-10)

Elisha’s request was made in accordance with the legal terminology of Deuteronomy 21:17, which specifies that the firstborn was to receive pî šnayim (“a double share”) of his patrimony. So Elisha was not asking for a double portion of Elijah’s anointing, but for a double portion of his spirit, meaning to be heir to Elijah’s office and gifts. Here is a case of misreading what is actually said in Scripture through an overly literal interpretation. If someone says “you’re pulling my leg,” you know what it means—you haven’t literally grabbed his leg.

In Acts 2, Luke tells us what happened on the day of Pentecost following Jesus’ ascension. There is no reference in that account to people receiving a “portion” of the Holy Spirit. Nor does Luke tell us that there was a transfer of power from one person to another. Rather, he notes that God audibly and visibly set apart those who were there through the outpouring of the Spirit. The word anoint is not even used in that account, though we may legitimately view it that way since the anointing came directly from God. As Luke notes, everyone heard Peter’s sermon in their own language. The skeptics accused the participants of being drunk (in our day, a few attempt to interpret this as being “drunk in the spirit,” but the text does not support any such idea). Peter set them straight:

These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:15-18)

As Peter noted, this event was a fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus had instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem and they were blessed in doing so. It was the birth of the New Testament church.

Ultimately, the one who is supremely the anointed one is Jesus himself. His title, Messiah, is derived from the Hebrew word for anointed, and means “the anointed one.” “Christ” is the same title in Greek, derived from the word for anointee. In Scripture, Jesus Christ is portrayed as fulfilling in a full and final way the three anointed offices of prophet, priest and king. While in the Old Testament only special persons were anointed for God’s service, in the New Testament all believers receive the anointing by the Holy One (1 John. 2:20). God fulfills his plan for us by adopting us as his children by the work of Jesus in the Holy Spirit. That’s a true anointing—our sharing in Jesus’ own anointing, by the Spirit, who he sends to us in the name of the Father.

In the name of the Father, Son and Spirit,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Genesis is perhaps the most debated book in the Bible, largely because its purpose and nature are often misunderstood. Fundamentalists and evolutionists alike claim that Genesis conflicts with science. But Genesis makes no attempt to address many of the questions that are the concern of modern, evolutionary science. The purpose of the creation narratives in Genesis (there are two, as I explain below) is not scientific but theological (with philosophical and religious implications). The creation narratives reveal who the creator God is, what kind of relationship he has with his creation, and his ultimate purpose for his creation. Science has other concerns.

Evolutionary creation?

The creation narratives of Genesis do not give detailed descriptions of the mechanisms involved that explain exactly how creation came about or unfolded. The descriptions are not “scientific” (as we would say today) in that way. But that does not mean they are inaccurate about what they do explain. Unfortunately, many of the scientists in the ongoing debate make claims that are largely philosophical rather than strictly scientific. Scientist Richard Dawkins (one of the so-called new atheists), a vocal contributor to the debate, is a prime example. His arguments, rather than being about material aspects of creation ascertained by the scientific method, are philosophical claims involving speculative logical inferences about God, religion and evil made from selected scientific information. That being said, a right understanding of Genesis does not rule out the possibility that God has (at least in part) used evolutionary processes to advance his creative purposes.

The creation narratives in Genesis leave room for theistic evolution (others prefer the term evolutionary creation), by which God oversees evolutionary processes in bringing about his purposes for creation. God’s oversight of and intervention in his creation comes, ultimately, in and through Jesus Christ. Since Genesis and the rest of Scripture do not specify the means God used (and continues to use) in creating, we are free to adopt the best scientific theories available that do not contradict the theological claims of biblical revelation.

Why the Genesis creation narratives?

Because the purpose of the Genesis creation narratives is fundamentally theological, they rule out the claims of atheism, polytheism, deism and dualism. In fact, the Genesis creation narratives likely were written to address those who had heard of and possibly believed in the creation myths taught by the polytheistic religions of Babylonia, Akkadia and Egypt. Evidence for this is seen in the many similarities between the Genesis creation accounts and the Babylonian creation myth known as Enûma Eliš. One of those similarities is that both begin with a watery chaos.

Unfortunately, some skeptics go too far in what they make of these similarities, claiming that the author of Genesis merely changed the Babylonian creation myth to make it about the God of Israel. But in making that claim they fail to account for the crucial differences between the biblical and the polytheistic creation narratives. Genesis gives us a theological explanation of who God is quite different than that of the pagan myths. Whereas Genesis tells the story of the creation of humanity by the one God of Israel, Enûma Eliš tells the story of creation through many gods, who in turn give birth to several other gods who grow up to be quite a rowdy bunch (much like humans!).

Concerning the differences between the Genesis creation narratives and the Babylonian creation myth, Victor Hurowitz (in Is the Creation Story Babylonian?), wrote that it is “patently untenable” to speculate that the biblical authors simply took Enûma Eliš and “applied it to YHWH.” [1] As Hurowitz and others have noted, the character and purpose of the one creator God presented in Genesis is entirely different from the gods of the polytheistic creation myths. Consequently the depiction in Genesis of God’s relationship with humans is entirely different than the relationship between the gods and humans depicted in the pagan myths.

Reading Genesis rightly

Adding to the complexity of understanding Genesis is that it contains two creation narratives in its first few chapters. Current debates about Genesis often overlook this, along with three other facts: 1) the creation narratives are small parts of the larger whole of Genesis, 2) the focus of Genesis is not creation but the nation of Israel, 3) Genesis is part of the Pentateuch and the entire Bible, giving it a much larger context than is typically acknowledged.

It’s also important to note that Genesis must be read through ancient eyes rather than modern ones. These different “lenses” assume different things and ask different questions. Reading with ancient eyes requires that we become aware of our modern perspectives that mainly want to know how things work and how to use things for our purposes. Modern “scientific” explanations insist that we don’t need to know anything about any agent involved in creation, but only the mechanisms of the natural world. It also insists that there is no need to know the ultimate purposes of those things that exist—only how to use them for our own ends. In our modern era, these philosophical assumptions determine what constitutes scientific explanation, thus reducing the search for knowledge by asking essentially technological questions.

Reading Genesis rightly also requires that we understand what the original audience expected from stories such as the creation narratives. Ancient readers would not have looked to Genesis to learn how creation works at the natural, material and causal levels. Instead, they would have wanted to know about the agent(s) responsible for creation and its ultimate purpose or destiny.

Rather than trying to make Genesis answer modern, very constricted scientific questions it was not designed to address, we should ask, What questions was Genesis actually designed to answer? Genesis reveals theological truths about the agency behind creation and its purpose. It does this in fairly straightforward ways that do not require logical inferences and speculations about what is written.

For example, no passage of Scripture directly states the age of the universe. Trying to determine the date of creation from the Bible requires interpolating from what the biblical authors say about other things. But such interpolations (logical inferences) do not lead to truth. That is why the church, when it began to debate the improper question of the age of the universe, was unable to come to agreement. Those who contributed to the debate offered only unprovable theories based on unprovable assumptions, generated by logical inferences using biblical information provided for very different purposes! An example is the work of Bishop James Ussher who claimed to have calculated the exact date of creation based on inferences from biblical genealogies.

Another key issue in reading Genesis rightly is being able to identify the literary genre of the text. Tremper Longman III, professor of biblical studies at Westmont College, makes that point in his book, How to Read Genesis: “No reading of the book [of Genesis] can proceed without making a genre identification. Most people do it without reflection, a dangerous procedure since an error in this area results in fundamental misunderstanding of the book’s message” (p. 23).

Ultimately, the only way to rightly read Genesis is to read it through the “lens” of Jesus Christ—carefully accounting for his life, death, resurrection and ascension. In his Gospel, Luke tells us that, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to [his followers] what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). Jesus then said to them, “‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). Luke then tells us that Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). It is Jesus—who he is and what he has done—that informs our understanding of Genesis as well as the rest of the Old Testament (and, indeed, the whole of Scripture).

The importance of seeing the whole picture

In Genesis: the Movie, Episcopal priest and scholar Robert Farrar Capon explains the book’s title and purpose:

[My purpose is to] help people stop reading the Bible as if it were a manual of instruction in religion or spirituality or morality or anything else and to start watching it as a film, presented to you by the Holy Spirit, who is the movie director. When you watch a movie, you don’t stop 10 minutes into the film and try to decide what it means. You cannot fairly say anything about the movie until you have seen the whole movie and hold it in your mind as an entirety—as a whole piece. And that is what needs to be done with the Bible. It has to be seen as one thing. So I’d like people to see biblical inspiration, not as a matter of word-by-word inspiration, but as scenes in the movie the way the director wants to show it to you, that is, scene-by-scene.

I think Capon is on to something here. If we don’t see the whole picture of the Bible, it’s easy to derive inaccurate meanings from passages that we are pulling out of the context of that one “movie.” It’s when we see what the Holy Spirit as the movie director is doing that we pick up the clues woven into the text. Capon’s book helps us understand not only the purpose of the book of Genesis, but how the whole of Scripture is integrated around the core of God’s ultimate plan of redemption in Jesus Christ.

Reading Genesis in the light of Jesus

I’m glad to say that my dear friend John McKenna (pictured at right) is writing a book that will offer important incarnational, Trinitarian perspective on Genesis. It will explain that Moses, the author of Genesis, was the great prophet who lived at the beginning of Israel’s history. It will note parallels between Moses and Jesus, referencing, for example, Deuteronomy 18:15 (KJV): “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” Recognizing Moses as a prophet significantly impacts how we read Genesis.

John will also explain that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are “primordial prophecy” with the first chapter relating to the cosmos as first created or developed, and the second through the eleventh chapters relating to the earliest ages of history. John will explain that the remainder of Genesis is “ancestral prophecy”—telling the story of inheritance.

Please join me in encouraging Dr. McKenna to finish this important book, and also join me in reading Genesis from the perspective of who Jesus is and what his plan is for all humanity. After all, as Paul says in Colossians 1:15-20, everything was created through the Son, for the Son, and to be inherited by the Son of God. In the Old Testament, we see God’s faithfulness displayed in what he was doing to prepare the world for the Incarnation of the Son of God, leading to the redemption of all humanity in and through Jesus. It is in this light that Genesis is rightly read.

Rejoicing in the goodness of our Creator who is our Redeemer,
Joseph Tkach

PS: To read more on this topic, we recommend Three Views on Creation and Evolution, and Four Views on the Historical Adam. The latter book has a helpful chapter by Denis Lamaroux on evolutionary creation. Also click here for a related Surprising God post by Gary Deddo.

---

[1] Quoted from Exploring Genesis: The Bible’s Ancient Traditions in Context, a free e-book from the Biblical Archaeology Society. Here is an extended quote from Hurowitz’s chapter in that book:

As recent scholarship is making clear, simplistic comparison between Enûma Eliš and the biblical tradition—as if the Bible were directly dependent on Enûma Eliš and it alone—is patently untenable.… In light of all this and more, it is impossible to accept today in a simplistic manner the claims… that the biblical authors took the Babylonian Story of Creation, that is Enûma Eliš, and simply applied it to YHWH, God of Israel. The specific parallels are fewer than originally thought and even the best ones are not entirely certain. (pp. 11-12)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We’ve just completed the fourth of seven 2016 US regional conferences with the theme, Renewal: building on the foundation of Jesus. Jesus said he would build his church (Matthew 16:18), and he continues to do just that. Though some say Christianity is declining and dying, the opposite is true. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, the world’s Christian population is projected to grow from 2.2 billion in 2010 to 2.9 billion by 2050, meaning that nearly one in three people on earth will be Christian by mid-century. What excites me is that some of that growth will occur within our fellowship, Grace Communion International.

The wide spectrum of Christianity has three main branches: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant. The Protestant branch, of which we are part, has multiple denominations, with some self-identifying as evangelicals. When asked, I explain that GCI is part of the evangelical community. Some ask what it means to be evangelical. Let me explain.

The term evangelical comes from the Greek word euangelion, which is used in the New Testament to refer to the good news (gospel). Evangelicals focus on proclaiming the good news about the salvation brought to sinners by Jesus Christ. An emphasis on the person and work of Jesus is thus essential, as is an emphasis on the importance of the Bible. Evangelicals are a vibrant, diverse group devoted to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Evangelical believers are found in many denominations and churches, bringing together Reformed, Holiness, Anabaptist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and other traditions.

When I say GCI is evangelical, I mean that in a theological sense. This is important to note because the term evangelical is often used in a sociological sense to refer to a large and diverse social-political grouping. Journalists often use the term in describing groups at the fringe of evangelicalism.

As most of you know, GCI became a member denomination of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) in 1997. I currently serve on its Board of Directors. The NAE was founded in 1942 and has grown to include more than 40 denominations, as well as universities, para-church ministries, publishers and independent churches. Knowing that the definition of evangelical has been confused (even misused), the NAE initiated a study in partnership with Lifeway Research to refine the definition of what it means to be evangelical. The result determined that an evangelical is identified by strong agreement with the following four statements:

• The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
• It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
• Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
• Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.

Though some who are part of the current Trinitarian renewal movement might word these statements somewhat differently, it should be noted that both Karl Barth and T.F. Torrance were happy to use the word “evangelical” in its theological sense.

In 1997, Don Argue, NAE president at the time, announced WCG’s (now GCI’s) acceptance into membership with this statement: “We see the dramatic changes that have occurred among our friends as God’s continuing efforts to bring renewal and revival for His glory.” This was a moment of qualitative growth for GCI and our growth (qualitative and quantitative) has continued.

In 2007 GCI had about 36,000 members worldwide (most in the US). Today we have nearly that many outside the US alone. While we have been staying even in numbers in the West (USA, Canada, Australia and UK), we have been on a growth spurt in Asia and Africa. In the West, though we have gained members and planted new churches, that growth has been offset by the number of people who have died or discontinued attending for a number of reasons, including relocating to areas where there are no GCI congregations.

In previous Weekly Update letters I’ve highlighted GCI’s rapid growth in Mozambique. Many of you have joined me in celebrating what the Holy Spirit is doing there. We are also celebrating wonderful growth in Togo and Tanzania where dozens of churches are joining us and new churches are being planted (click here to read a report from Kalengule Kaoma). There are other developments in the works that I hope to be able to share with you soon. By God’s grace, GCI is moving forward!

Please keep Kalengule and his family in prayer. He travels to some hard-to-get-to places. Also pray for our other mission developers as they continue to follow where the Spirit leads in spreading the good news in far-flung parts of the world. Living and sharing the gospel is our motto and mission, and that is what being evangelical is all about.

Celebrating what God is doing in and through us,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Next Sunday (May 22), many Christians will observe Trinity Sunday in celebration of God’s triune nature. Knowing God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is cause for great joy and thanksgiving!

As I think about God, I’m struck by his great mercy, seen clearly in Jesus’ prayer from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Though Jesus’ prayer included the religious leaders who betrayed him, the crowd that shouted “crucify him,” and the soldiers who nailed him to the cross and cast lots for his clothing, there was much more involved. Jesus’ prayer revealed the very heart and mind of the Trinity to forgive all humanity with our broken relationships, distorted identities, depravity and sin.

Included in Jesus’ prayer were all people of all times and in all places. By assuming human nature through the incarnation, thus joining himself to all humanity, the eternal Son of God, in the person of Jesus, became the second (final) Adam (Romans 5:17-19). As Jesus spoke his brief prayer on the cross, his life-blood was poured out for the pardon of all people. At the moment he expelled his final breath, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies (with its mercy seat) from the forecourt of the temple, tore from top to bottom. It was as if the Father, coming from eternity, tore through the curtain of time and space to embrace his returning prodigal children in reconciliation.

My finite brain struggles to understand our great and merciful God—to “comprehend the incomprehensible, know the unknowable, and fathom the unfathomable” (as a professor of mine once said). God transcends time and space (he exists simultaneously both inside and outside time), yet he invites us to be with him in his eternity. Though he is spirit—without physical attributes and invisible to our mortal eyes (Romans 1:20, Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 1:17, John 1:18)—God is intimately involved with us through his incarnate Son and by his Spirit.

To help us relate to him despite the fact that we are unable to comprehend his invisible attributes, Scripture uses anthropomorphisms that speak of God as having eyes (1 Kings 8:29), ears (Psalm 34:15), hands (Hebrews 1:10), mighty arms (Psalm 89:10), a face (Numbers 6:24-26) and feet (Psalm 8:6). These anthropomorphisms convey truths about God’s attributes: his omnipotence (being all-powerful, he is able to do whatever he wills in harmony with his good and perfect nature and character), his omnipresence (being everywhere present, there is nowhere he is not), and his omniscience (knowing all things immediately, simultaneously, exhaustively and truly, there is nothing he does not know).

Though God in his transcendent glory is beyond human comprehension, he is not a prisoner of that transcendence—he knows how to reveal himself to us, and has done so brilliantly in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. In and through Jesus, who is the full and final revelation of God, we know God as Triune, thus recognizing God as living and dynamic in his eternal internal relationships (as Father, Son and Spirit); and in his external relationships (with his creation). In and through Jesus we come to know the loving and merciful God who was willing to become as we are so that we may become like he is (as famously stated by Athanasius).

This truth about God, seen in Jesus, was preserved for us by the apostles in the New Testament. Relying on their testimony, early church teachers and leaders (men like Athanasius, Basil and Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzus) identified errors being taught concerning God’s nature. What they held to be true was summarized in written form in the early church creeds, which maintained 1) the unity (oneness) of the being of God; 2) the eternal existence and internal relations of the three Persons of God; and 3) the total equality of the three Persons in divine nature, authority and attributes. All three “dimensions” must be affirmed as simultaneously true in order to remain faithful in our witness to who God has revealed himself to be. If the unity or oneness is denied, we fall into the error of trithesim. If the eternity and divine relations of any of the three Persons is denied, we fall into modalism (the teaching that God is only one Person who then appears in three different “modes”). If one of the Persons is regarded as less divine or more divine than the others, we land in subordinationism.

A form of subordinationism was taught by Arius, a leader in the church in Alexandria, Egypt. He taught that God created a special angelic-like created being called Jesus, who God sent to redeem us. It became obvious that sending a creature instead of coming himself to save us speaks of a God who was unwilling or unable to be involved personally with his creation (Arius asserted that God was unable to be incarnate because his being was very different from created beings). This false teaching does not align with Scripture, which declares: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14); “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19); “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9 and see Hebrews 1:1-6).

Athanasius, an early champion of the Trinitarian faith, understood the revelation of Scripture. Knowing Jesus’ teaching and Paul’s writings, he opposed Arius’ error by teaching that only God himself can redeem humanity because a created being does not have that ability. Athanasius focused on Jesus’ declaration (recorded in John’s Gospel) concerning his oneness with the Father, and that he only did what he saw the Father doing. Athanasius concluded that God had to be involved in everything Jesus was and did. He reasoned that in Jesus, the Son of God (remaining fully who he was) became completely human so that we could be fully redeemed—only God himself is capable of truly redeeming humanity and reconciling us to God as his beloved children. So God himself—the whole Triune God—is our Savior (1 Timothy 1:1, 2:3, 4:10; Titus 1:3-4, 2:10, 13, 3:4; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 25). God did not send someone else to do the job for him—it was a job that only he could do.

The doctrine of the Trinity celebrates not only who God is, but also what the triune God has done, is doing and will do. I like the illustration that God is doing major surgery on humanity. God is a heart surgeon who operates without material scalpels, syringes and machines. God is performing heart transplants without a medical team—changing our hearts and even giving us new hearts that are perfect toward him. God is giving us a share in Jesus’ own sanctified human heart. Notice God’s promise:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—is truly great and great in mercy. Knowing this leads us to give special emphasis to celebrating the Trinity as we gather for worship on Trinity Sunday.

Celebrating the Trinity this week and always,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The beginning of life has always amazed me. The fact that God designed life to start from something as small as an egg cell (ovum), united in the womb with an even smaller sperm cell (spermatozoon), is remarkable to say the least. At the moment of that union, known as conception, cells begin to multiply and a human life begins to take shape. Based on recent research, some scientists now refer to the moment of conception as the spark of life.

The term spark of life has been used over the years to convey several meanings. In her book Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body, Frances Ashcroft notes how electricity drives all we think, feel and do by moving through the ion channels in the membranes of the cells in our body. Because of this phenomenon, doctors are able to use an EKG to measure the electrical activity of our heart. This phenomenon explains how we discern a particular substance (like a chili pepper) as being hot. It also explains how a blood-sucking vampire bat detects the body heat of its prey (like the heat coming from your big toe as it protrudes outside the protective mosquito netting!).

Conception: the spark of life

Recent research concerning the spark of life comports with what Christians have believed for centuries—life begins at conception. Formal teaching of this belief goes back at least as far as the fourth-century writings of Basil the Great (one of the first and best theologians of the Trinity).

Though it is common to refer metaphorically to the “fireworks” that accompany conception, researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago recently have shown that another kind of fireworks occurs when the egg and sperm unite, forming a zygote. As shown in the artist’s illustration above and the amazing video below, at the moment of conception a flash of light occurs as a zap of energy is released around the newly fertilized egg. Though scientists had seen this phenomenon in other animals, the Northwestern researchers were the first to see it in humans. The flash occurs when the sperm cell enters the egg, triggering an increase in calcium, which then releases zinc from the egg. As the zinc shoots out, it binds to small molecules that emit fluorescence. In a press release, one of the researchers shared her excitement in this discovery: “To see the zinc radiate out in a burst from each human egg was breathtaking.”

video on YouTube at http://youtu.be/u-ZpXOQsYQI

Light and life

I love this discovery because it serves as yet another parable in nature pointing to God, the unseen Source of the light and life of the world. From antiquity there has been a recognition that there is a relationship in the natural world between light and life. This association was used by the biblical writers to point to the deeper and unseen reality of the gracious relationship between God and his creation. The nature and quality of this relationship was fully and finally revealed in the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ, beginning with his conception in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit as she received and freely submitted to the invisible Word spoken to her by the angel of God. You will recall Mary’s response: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38 KJV).

The apostle John wrote this about Jesus: “In him was life; and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). In John’s Gospel, “light” is used 16 times to describe the work of Christ. Jesus is not merely a light, or another light among many. Rather, he is the only Light and the true Light (John 1:9). In claiming to be the Light of the World, Jesus was clearly declaring himself to be the Messiah. Since one of the names of the expected Messiah was light (Isaiah 60:19-22), there could be no question about his self-identification.

Knowing who Jesus is should, perhaps, make the discovery of the phenomenon of the flashing spark of light at conception a bit less surprising. Jesus is the life-giver and it is as though he gives an approving wink at each moment of conception. And since Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, he will finish what he starts in each of us as we return a loving response to him, growing up in him and receiving from him a share in God’s own kind of life, that is, eternal life.

The theme of light goes all through the Scriptures and is even used to describe God’s throne in the book of Revelation:

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. (Revelation 4:1-5)

Yes, life does begin with fireworks. But God apparently has more fireworks in store for us as we celebrate life in the Trinity for all eternity. I look forward to seeing the fireworks display!

Rejoicing in the spark of life,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I see motherhood as one of God’s greatest creations. I was reminded of that recently when pondering what to send my mother and mother-in-law for Mother’s Day. I thought back to how my Mom would often remark how blessed she was to be a mother to me and my two sisters. She said giving birth to us gave her another level of appreciation for God, which I didn’t fully understand until I witnessed the birth of my own children. I recall marveling how Tammy went so quickly from the pain of childbirth to the awe of holding our son and daughter. Over the years I have continued to be awed by a mother’s love, which I confess differs in some ways from my love and the love I experienced from my father.

Given the depth and power of a mother’s love, it’s no surprise to me that the apostle Paul would use motherhood to illustrate important points about God’s covenant with humanity:

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. (Galatians 4:22-26 ESV)

As you know, Abraham (Abram) had two sons by two wives. His son Isaac was born of his wife Sarah (Sarai), a free woman, and his son Ishmael was born of his wife Hagar, a slave woman. According to ancient law and custom, the status of the mother affected the status of her son. But there is another significant factor about these two births. Ishmael was born the ordinary way, requiring no miracle and no promise of God, but Isaac was born as the result of both a miracle and a promise.

As Paul explains, these details tell us something significant about God and his purposes for all humanity. Since Sarah was beyond childbearing age, God miraculously intervened to fulfill his promise in bringing life out of her barren womb. As a result, Isaac was born, and thus Abraham, Isaac and Jacob became patriarchs of the nation of Israel. It’s important to note that all three had wives who were barren, necessitating God’s miraculous intervention for this lineage to occur—a lineage that led, ultimately, to the incarnation of the eternal Son of God. Note T.F. Torrance’s comment:

The supreme instrument of God for the salvation of the world is Israel, and out of the womb of Israel, Jesus, the Jew from Nazareth—yet he was no mere instrument in the hands of God, but very God himself, come in person in the form of a servant, to work out from within our limitations and recalcitrance, and to bring to its triumphant completion, the redemption of mankind, and our restoration to fellowship with the very life of God himself.

We see Jesus prefigured in the story of Isaac. Isaac’s birth was of supernatural intervention, while Jesus’ birth was of supernatural origin. Isaac was offered up as a potential sacrifice, while Jesus was the actual (and willing) sacrifice of atonement that reconciled humanity to God. There also is a parallel between Isaac and us. Isaac was born of God’s promise and supernatural act, while we have been given new (supernatural) birth of the Spirit, being made to share in Jesus’ own sonship (John 3:3, 5). We, therefore, should not live as children of bondage, as if our relationship to God was mediated by a written, external law. Rather, through the mediation of God’s Son incarnate, Jesus Christ, and by his Spirit, we have been adopted into God’s family and have an eternal inheritance and hope.

In Galatians 4, Paul puts the old and new covenants in perspective. He points out that the old covenant had its origin at Mount Sinai and those under its legal arrangement (the Law of Moses) were slaves, not members of the family, and thus had no promise of receiving an inheritance. Just as Hagar brought forth a slave son, so too did the Law. In contrast, the new covenant reached back to God’s original covenant promise to be Israel’s God and for them to be his people, and through them bless all the families of the earth. This fulfillment was God’s covenant of grace. As Sarah brought forth a free son born into the family, so too does grace. Grace brings about the adoption of children. These children really belong to God. As part of God’s family, they have an eternal inheritance through their connection by grace with the eternal Son of God.

Paul makes another contrast in Galatians 4: Hagar stood for “the present” (first-century) city of Jerusalem—a city enslaved to Rome and in slavery to the Law—both offering no hope of citizenship or inheritance. But Sarah stood for “the Jerusalem above,” the mother of all the children of grace who belong to God and who have an inheritance. And that inheritance is far more than just a certain city. Our heavenly city, which one day will come to earth (Revelation 21:2), is “the city of the living God” (Hebrews 12:22). This heavenly Jerusalem is our home—it’s where we have our true citizenship. As noted in Galatians 4:26 (ESV), “The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” We are free to live as children of the Father because we are joined to the Son by the Spirit.

I thank God for Sarah, Rebecca and Leah—the three matriarchs of Israel who began the lineage that would lead to Jesus. Though these women were far from perfect, God used them, along with Jesus’ mother Mary, to bring forth the incarnation of the Son of God who, by the Spirit, makes us sons and daughters of God. This Mother’s Day, let’s praise our covenant-making God for his good gift of motherhood, thanking him for all mothers, including our own mothers, mothers-in-law, and wives. Motherhood truly is a sign of God’s natural and supernatural, life-giving goodness.

Thanking God for motherhood,
Joseph Tkach

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Controversy arose following the Super Bowl this year when the losing quarterback stormed out of a post-game press conference. Though some defended him as an ordinarily humble person, others accused him of being immature and arrogant. That got me thinking about humility, so I googled the word and found several definitions. Common to all was the idea that humility means having a modest or low estimate of one’s importance or rank. As Christians, we understand that being humble means refusing to put others down in order to elevate oneself. It means being thankful for the gifts and talents God has given us, and even more thankful for what God has given others (Philippians 2:3 ESV). That being said, humility should not be equated with tearing oneself down, or with low self-worth.

As a gift of the Spirit, humility is an attitude of the heart that reflects the reality that we belong to and have our being in Christ. Our life in and with him is not about self-actualization through acquiring better personal skills and competencies. In humility we remember that all good gifts are from God and the goal of those gifts is always love. Therefore, in humility, we love all people as the beloved children of God they are, understanding that they too struggle to live out who God created them to be. With that humble mindset, how can we possibly think of ourselves as superior to others?

As we go through life we will observe limitations and vulnerabilities in others—some will be highly visible; others more hidden. Hopefully, seeing our own limitations and vulnerabilities, we will understand that only God is in a position to judge. Only he knows the struggles others face; only he knows how far they’ve come and how fully they have responded to him. We realize that we see only what is right in front of us, not what has been, what is, and what will yet be.

Humility comes from honestly looking at ourselves with eyes wide-open, seeing that we, like everyone else, are persons on a journey who have not yet arrived. God is not finished with any of us—we are not yet fully ourselves, for our true selves are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Self-generated attempts at perfection typically are wrong-headed, self-righteous strivings. In contrast, humility concerning our limitations leads to glad affirmation that any good we do is because of what Christ has done for us and what the Spirit is working out in us.

Arrogance, pride and vanity: the antithesis of humility

C.S. Lewis noted that when we are in the presence of God and his goodness, all arrogance, pride and vanity vanish and the result is “to forget about yourself altogether.” According to Lewis, a truly humble person “will not be thinking about humility—he will not be thinking about himself at all” (Mere Christianity, “The Great Sin”). Arrogance, pride and vanity are about comparing oneself to others in order to measure and prove one’s superiority. Vain people think about themselves a great deal. Carly Simon sang about such people in the hit song, “You’re So Vain,” which proclaimed to one (or perhaps more) of her less-than-humble boyfriends: “You probably think this song is about you!”

With some notable exceptions, the Pharisees thought about themselves a lot, granting themselves special status and privileges while self-righteously criticizing and condemning others. Sadly, there is a bit of Pharisaism in a lot of Christianity. But those who are humble see others through the compassionate eyes of God. Isn’t that what Jesus did in his encounters with the woman at the well, the woman with the issue of blood, and the blind man? Because of Jesus’ attitude toward these “outcasts,” the arrogant, self-righteous Pharisees plotted to have Jesus killed.

The humility of the triune God

Occasionally you’ll hear some people proclaim that God is not humble—that being God, he justifiably seeks after his own glory. But the truth is just the opposite. In the communion of the Trinity each of the divine persons seeks the other’s glory, not their own. Jesus, who is God among us, said, “I do not accept glory from human beings” (John 5:41); and, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me” (John 8:54). My point is this: God, revealed to us in Christ, is the ultimate picture of humility. God’s humility is so huge that he took humanity into himself in the person of Christ. In his divine freedom, God was pleased, for our sake, to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus, and through his death on the cross, reconcile to himself all things in heaven and earth (Colossians 1:19-20). Note how Paul extols the immensity of God’s humility seen in Jesus:

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:4-8 ESV)

Our participation

The eternal Son of God demonstrated the humility of God by becoming human and enduring on our behalf the most painful and shameful form of death. Paul then goes on to describe how followers of Jesus are to respond:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…. (Philippians 2:12 ESV)

Paul is not teaching salvation by works. He is noting that we respond to the free gift of salvation by living out the humility of Christ in all our relationships. Salvation is not about us or our accomplishments. It’s about realizing that all we have and all we are is because of God’s love for us. He gave us gifts for building relationships, gifts that enable us to participate in the work he is doing; gifts that enable us to serve, affirm others and love others. What Paul is telling us is that because we are saved, we are enabled to participate in working out the implications of our salvation by diligently using the gifts we have been given to help others see what their Savior has done for them. This call to participation in what God is doing becomes clear as Paul continues his thought:

…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
(Philippians 2:13 ESV)

We cannot make ourselves more like God—only he can do that, and he does so by changing our desires and actions, by getting us to be more outward-focused and less inward-focused. CAD Director, Greg Williams, addressed this in a recent letter of his in Equipper: “God does not force us to enjoy the gift of salvation and to share the good news with others, but he enables us.”

The incomprehensible greatness of God is seen in the humility of the Trinity. The Trinity is humility in action as seen in these statements from Scripture: “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand”—the Son has come “not to do my will but the will of him who sent me”—the Spirit “will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears.” Humility is central to the divine nature of the Trinity, and Christ has invited us to participate in that nature as we are in communion with him. Along those lines, note this from the apostle Peter:

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Here participate translates the Greek word koinōnos, which indicates fellowship, communion, sharing, partaking of, and partnering. As we participate in God’s divine nature, Christ’s own humility is being worked out in us. Peter challenges us to take full advantage of this gift. So, let’s do just that—let us put on the humble mind of Christ, esteeming others better than ourselves. That mind is the image of God that we want to share with others, for that humility points to God’s own glorious character.

Participating with you in Christ’s own humility,
Joseph Tkach