INTRODUCTION
\nWhat does God want?
\nSounds like a simple question, but if you give it a bit of thought, it\u2019s really not.
\nWhy? Well, for starters, you have to know who\u2019s asking the question. People will ask it for a lot of different reasons. Is it a cry of anger from someone in pain? Perhaps it\u2019s a barely audible whisper that surfaces from deep sadness. Is the motivation curiosity? Or is it just prompted by the desire to reflect and think deep thoughts? It\u2019s not difficult to see that giving the right answer depends on why the question is being asked.
\nSince I\u2019m the one asking the question, it\u2019s easy to clear that up. But first let me tell you what isn\u2019t motivating me. I\u2019m not asking the question because I don\u2019t know the answer. I do. In fact, I know the answer for everyone, at least in terms of the answer God himself would give with respect to all of us. And that\u2019s precisely how I\u2019m asking it. I\u2019m asking it to help you think about some important things. When I ask, \u201cWhat does God want?\u201d I\u2019m really asking: What does God want when it comes to every person in the human race? What does he want when it comes to me and my life and to you and your life?
\nBefore I get to the answer, it\u2019s pretty obvious that the question is a religious one. Questions about God naturally get filed in that folder. I\u2019ve raised the question and will answer it because I\u2019m inter-ested in God. Most people still are, though they aren\u2019t interested in church. That\u2019s fine, since you don\u2019t need the latter to talk about the former. I\u2019m not a pastor or priest, but I\u2019ve made a career out of studying the Bible (yes, that\u2019s actually possible). So since I\u2019m the one asking, my answer is going to be a biblical one. That narrows the focus a bit more. My goal will be to explain how the Bible would answer the question \u201cWhat does God want?\u201d
\nNow for the answer. It\u2019s simple. He wants you. That might surprise you. You may doubt it. That\u2019s okay. But it\u2019s the right answer. To be honest, though, it isn\u2019t enough of an answer. You can\u2019t get a sense of how amazing and profound the answer is by just that one sentence. You need some context to appreciate how much love is behind it. There\u2019s actually a long, remarkable story behind the answer.
\nSince that\u2019s the case, this book is not only about what God wants, but it\u2019s about things God wants you to know. Yes, he wants you, but for you to appreciate that and (hopefully) feel the same way about God, you need a little context.
\nThat, of course, is my job. We\u2019ll start with God\u2019s story. There\u2019s a lot of tragedy in it, but none of that ever changed God\u2019s mind about you (or me, thankfully). Once I\u2019m done telling the story (it\u2019s not the whole book, so if you\u2019re not an avid reader, you\u2019re in luck) I\u2019ll drill down on some parts of the story that are especially important. But if you only read the story section, you\u2019ll get the answer to the question we started with. I\u2019m guessing, though, that you\u2019ll want to keep going. I hope you do. It\u2019s good stuff.
\nBefore we jump in, I have one disclaimer. If you\u2019ve spent a lot of your life in church, you might think you already know the story. You certainly know parts of it, but I can guarantee there will be some surprises. Unfortunately, the thing that most often gets in the way of the wonder of the story is religion. Sometimes church and denominational preferences become more important than the story. That\u2019s not the case here.
\nEven though I\u2019m assuming some readers are familiar with the Bible, I\u2019m confident you\u2019re going to encounter new truths and new ways to think about old truths. And if you\u2019ve never been in a church or heard much about the Bible, you\u2019re the perfect reader. There\u2019s nothing to unlearn or re-learn. It\u2019s all fresh. Either way, I think you\u2019re going to experience the thrill of discovering what God wants\u2014and why.
\nPART I
\nTHE STORY
\nCHAPTER ONE
\nGOD WANTED A FAMILY
\nThe earliest thought I had about God was not an invisible dad in the sky. God was a creator, a distant power. I presumed he knew about me and everyone else, but I had no idea what he was thinking (or if he was thinking) about me or the other people in the world. I didn\u2019t doubt he was there\u2014not like a real presence in the room sort of thing. Instead, God was more or less a detached observer whose attention I might get from time to time (maybe when I was in trouble). I didn\u2019t think of God as out to get me, mind you, or that he didn\u2019t like me. For my part, I accepted that God was real, and I had no reason to think he was hostile. But that was it. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.
\nI had a lot to learn about God. Since I wasn\u2019t seeking him I assumed he wasn\u2019t seeking me. If someone had asked me, I think I would have said God had better things to do. I would have presumed that I wasn\u2019t doing anything (good or bad) that deserved much attention.
\nI was wrong. God was seeking me. I just didn\u2019t know it. I know now that God sought me because it\u2019s his nature to seek us. He\u2019s committed to us.
\nHow do we know these things about God? (That\u2019s a question I\u2019m going to ask more than once, so look for it!) Let\u2019s start with ourselves as an analogy. It\u2019s normal\u2014part of our nature\u2014to care about the things we make, especially if they required serious effort or were the result of concerted thought. We are naturally going to be angry or resentful when someone mocks, belittles, destroys, or claims as theirs something we made, achieved, or thought of first. Not feeling those things would be abnormal.
\nWe feel this way because of who we are by default. We\u2019re self-aware. All of us have an inner life, the life of the mind. We use our intelligence for what we want and will bring us pleasure, not what will bring us pain and loss. We act intentionally, not randomly or without purpose. We are guided by our rationality and intuition.
\nIllustrations of why all this is on target are numerous. Even the things we think have the least significance are done intentionally, guided by some point of reason. We brush our teeth because we don\u2019t want cavities or bad breath. We get up because we want to keep our job (or even better, because we have something fun to do). We turn left instead of right because we have a place to go. On those occasions when we might do something that could be called irrational (like flaming someone on social media who may never see it or care), it\u2019s still because we want some desired outcome (to feel superior or \u201cteach them a lesson\u201d). And even when we do something unpleasant it\u2019s with the thought that it\u2019ll be good for us in some way. Why else go on a diet? We are by nature purposeful, not purposeless, beings.
\nAgain, the opposite of these things would signal a psychological or emotional anomaly.
\nThe God of the Bible shares this profile. God does what he does to enjoy what he\u2019s done. God didn\u2019t create humanity because he lacked something. He wasn\u2019t lonely, as though he was incomplete or needed company. God needs nothing because \u2026 well \u2026 he\u2019s God. He created things to enjoy the work of his own hands, so to speak. And the things he cares about most are those he made to be like him, \u201cin his own image\u201d as the Bible says (Gen 1:26). That would be you and me.
\nWHERE OUR STORY BEGINS
\nOur story\u2014the story of why God wants us\u2014begins with the biblical idea that God is our Maker. Although we can\u2019t completely comprehend that, the bottom line is that we\u2019re here because God wanted us here. God doesn\u2019t act randomly. He acts with purpose. When he created humankind he wasn\u2019t trying to fill some deficiency in himself. Given the fact that he didn\u2019t need us but still made us, there\u2019s only one rational explanation for why he created us. God wanted us to exist in order to enjoy us (and to have us enjoy him in return).
\nBecause God created us, the Bible refers to him as our \u201cFather\u201d and people from Adam onward as his children.1 That\u2019s why the Bible uses the language of family to describe God and his relationship to us. That\u2019s no coincidence.
\nBut I\u2019m getting a little ahead of myself. To really understand the context for family-centered language in the Bible, we need to go back to the time before God made the earth and the human race. It may surprise you, but God wasn\u2019t alone then, either. That\u2019s another reason why we can be sure he didn\u2019t create us to heal his own loneliness.
\nThe Bible tells us that before God created us he had already created other intelligent beings. The Bible calls them \u201csons of God.\u201d We call them angels. The Old Testament book of Job tells us that the sons of God \u201cshouted for joy\u201d when God laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:4\u20137). They were already present and watching.
\nThink about the phrase: \u201csons of God.\u201d The same Hebrew term translated \u201csons\u201d can also be translated more inclusively as \u201cchildren.\u201d2 What does a phrase like \u201cchildren of God\u201d imply?
\nFamily.
\n\u201cChildren\u201d is a term you\u2019d use when family is the subject of conversation. In the case of Job 38:4\u20137, the family is a heavenly or supernatural one. God is Father to the intelligent beings he creates in the unseen realm.
\nThe fact that God already had a supernatural family helps us understand his motivation for the creation of Adam and Eve, the first humans in the Genesis story. God wanted a human family in addition to his supernatural family. Incredibly, the story of Eden tells us God wanted his two families to live together in his presence. This means that, just like the angels, humans were originally created fit for the presence of God himself.
\nBut how do we know all that? (There I go again). Let\u2019s take a look.
\nThe first book of the Bible, Genesis, begins with creation. God had done a lot of creating by the time the story gets to people (Adam and Eve). The story unfolds with God creating plants, insects, flying creatures, and land animals. None of those creatures was capable of having a relationship with God. They could not converse with God. They could not share their thoughts with God or express their appreciation to him. Members of a family relate to one another\u2014they interact on an intellectual and emotional level. They form companionship bonds. As spectacular as plants and animals are, they couldn\u2019t play the role of children. They weren\u2019t family. That\u2019s what God really wanted. He needed to create something like himself.
\nIMAGERS OF GOD
\nAfter God had filled the earth with all kinds of plants and animals, he still had work to do. God decided to fashion new creatures \u201cin his image\u201d and \u201cin his likeness\u201d (Gen 1:27). They would be his earthly family.
\nThe \u201cimage of God\u201d is an important concept in the Bible. Human beings were created to be like God. Think of the \u201cimage\u201d of God as a verb and you\u2019re on the right track to understanding the idea. We were created to image God, to be his imagers\u2014to represent him.
\nWhat does it mean to image God? Genesis 1:27\u201328 gives us the answer:
\nSo God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, \u201cBe fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.\u201d
\nGod could have taken care of his world just fine. He\u2019s God. Nothing is beyond his ability. But instead God created an earthly family. His children would assume his role in managing and maintaining his creation. They would be understudies and partners. Imaging God means being God\u2019s representation on earth. God tasked humans with doing a job he could just as well have done himself. But he wanted his children to participate. God\u2019s business would be family business. Eden was not merely God\u2019s home; it was God\u2019s home office. We were created to be God\u2019s co-workers.
\nGod made sure the people he made could do the job of imaging him on earth. He shared his attributes (his qualities and abilities) with them\u2014things like intelligence and creativity. The Bible tells us that humans are a lesser version of who God is. He made us to be like him so we could participate with him as co-rulers and co-caretakers in his new world.
\nImaging God is an important concept for several reasons. It gives each of us a secure, profound identity. It was God\u2019s original desire that every human being would be his child and partner. That is how God looks at people. It\u2019s also how we ought to think of people. God wants every one of us to consider each person a sibling. We all have the same status as imagers of God whom God wants in his family. Racism, violence, manipulation, and coercion were not part of God\u2019s design for humanity. They are the evil result of rebellion and sin. God hates what sin has done to people he loves. That\u2019s something we need to remember when we think about our own moral failures and those of others.
\nImaging God also gives us purpose. We have a mission. Every person, no matter how small or weak or short-lived has some role to play in someone else\u2019s life. Every task we set our mind to that honors God and our fellow imagers becomes a spiritual calling. In God\u2019s mind, the role of a pastor, minister, or priest is not superior to any other calling. How we live either blesses fellow imagers, reminding them of what life and harmony with God must surely be like, or curses them. What we do matters\u2014and most of the time in small, unspectacular ways.
\nAll of this is why I answered my opening question the way I did. What does God want? He wants you. He wants a family. He wants co-workers. He wants you to know who you are and why your life has value to him.
\nBut we\u2019re just getting started. There\u2019s a lot more to the story. Life in our world\u2014and perhaps even in our own house\u2014doesn\u2019t conform to God\u2019s vision. Something happened to ruin it all. The heartache would be so great that God almost decided to give up on humanity.
\nCHAPTER TWO
\nGOD STILL WANTED A FAMILY
\nIn the last chapter I made the point that God equipped people to image him on earth. He did that by sharing his attributes (his qualities and abilities) with them. As wonderful as that was (and is), it\u2019s where things get interesting\u2014and scary. One of God\u2019s qualities is freedom\u2014what we often call free will. If you\u2019ve ever wondered why there\u2019s evil in the world, here\u2019s the Bible\u2019s answer.
\nREBELLION #1
\nWhen God made the decision to share his attributes with his children, he knew what it meant. God knows everything, so he understood clearly what would happen. God had made the same decision earlier with the heavenly family he had created. They have abilities like intelligence and freedom, too. They got those gifts from their Creator.
\nSooner or later God knew that his gifts would be either misused or abused. He knew full well that, though his children (in the spiritual world and on earth) were like him, they were not him. They were less than him. They were imperfect, whereas he is perfect. At some point one (or more) of his children would either make a horrible mistake or act in thoughtless self-interest, rebelling against something God wanted done (or not done).
\nThat\u2019s precisely what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve rebelled. They violated God\u2019s command to not eat from one of the trees in the garden. They sinned and lost eternal life in God\u2019s presence. Every human born thereafter was born outside Eden, estranged from God. The apostle Paul summed it up well: \u201cThe wages of sin is death\u201d (Rom 6:23).
\nThat tragedy was brought on by an even earlier rebellion. One of God\u2019s supernatural children decided to dishonor God\u2019s decision to have a human family by tempting Eve, hoping God would destroy her and Adam. He came to Eve in the form of a serpent (Gen 3:1\u20137). The Bible refers to the serpent as Satan and the Devil (Rev 12:9). He succeeded in getting Eve to sin, but failed when it came to getting rid of humanity permanently.
\nThere are some deep truths here, the first of which answers a question everyone asks at some point in life: Why is there evil in the world? Evil exists in the world because God decided he wanted to create beings like himself. I don\u2019t mean that God has an evil side. Rather, I mean that God rejected the idea of creating humans as robots or pre-programmed computers made of flesh.
\nThat last point is important. Our likeness to him had to be authentic. Without the genuine freedom to make real decisions we simply would not be like God. God is no robot, and we were made to be like him. Without genuine free will, we cannot authentically love God or obey God. If decisions are pre-programmed, they aren\u2019t really decisions. For decisions like love and obedience to be authentic, they must be made against a truly possible alternative.
\nThe result of all this is that evil exists because people abuse God\u2019s wonderful gift of freedom and use it for self-gratification, revenge, and the mirage of autonomy. This abuse began in Eden.
\nBut God was not taken by surprise. He had anticipated evil. He foresaw what would happen and planned accordingly. God did not destroy his human children for their rebellion. Instead, he would forgive and redeem them. The Bible makes it clear that God saw what was coming and had a plan of forgiveness and salvation in place before the rebellion even happened\u2014from \u201cthe foundation of the world\u201d to be precise (Eph 1:4; Heb 9:26\u201310:7; 1 Pet 1:20).
\nThe plan of salvation would ultimately require God becoming a man. We\u2019ll get to that part of the story soon enough. But long before that climactic event there was a price to pay for what happened in Eden. God banished Adam and Eve (and, therefore, their descendants) from his presence. Eden was no more. Instead of eternal life with God their father, humanity would now look forward to death (Rom 5:12). That\u2019s what separation from the source of life\u2014God\u2014ultimately costs.
\nIn effect, God kicked his children out of his house. But that was a better outcome than what the serpent had hoped for\u2014human destruction. God wasn\u2019t giving up on his plan to have a human family, but rebellion had a cost. God also punished Satan. Having brought death into God\u2019s world he became lord of the realm of the dead, what would later become known as hell.
\nNO BACKUP PLAN
\nYou might wonder at this point why God didn\u2019t just scrap the whole plan for having a human family. After all, God allowed free will, knowing it would lead to sin and thousands of years of human misery in the form of violence, neglect, selfishness, and a host of other awful things humans are capable of inflicting on one another. Perhaps your own suffering, or the suffering you see all around you, might even make you wish God had just destroyed everything.
\nBelieve it or not, God understands that feeling. He sees the evils you see and infinitely more. None of it is the way he wanted things. But, you say, he\u2019s God\u2014can\u2019t he just overrule all of it? It\u2019s not that simple. Think about it. God can only eliminate evil in our world if he eliminates all the ones who do evil. In other words, God can only end evil if he wipes out all of us. Everyone sins (Rom 3:10\u201312) and, like the Bible says, \u201cfall short of the glory of God\u201d (Rom 3:23). So sure, God could do that. But he doesn\u2019t. He loves humanity too much for that to be an option.
\nAll this boils down to an amazing truth: While God knew what making us like him would lead to, the result was preferable to not having a human family at all. God sees the sin and misery in our world and knows its cause. It hurts him. God is so consumed with love for his human children that he will not turn away from his original ambition. There\u2019s no plan B. There is only Plan A. Despite foreseeing the rebellion that would come in Eden and all the failures and sins that would follow\u2014including our own\u2014God still longs for a human family.
\nWhat happened in Eden was only the beginning of the story. God had kicked Adam and Eve out of his house (Gen 3:22\u201324). He cursed the serpent (Gen 3:14\u201315) and cast him away from his presence (Isa 14:12\u201315; Ezek 28:16). The message was forceful and simple: rebellion would be punished. You\u2019d think everyone would get the message. Not so. Things got even worse.
\nREBELLION #2
\nYou may have heard somewhere along the way that the Bible teaches the world has so much evil in it because of humanity\u2019s fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. That\u2019s only partially true. After the tragedy of Eden there were two more episodes that plunged humanity further into the depths of depravity and chaos.
\nThe first of these is described in Genesis 6:1\u20134, arguably one of the stranger incidents in the entire Bible. (Trust me, I\u2019ve written whole books on it). The story is about how some of God\u2019s supernatural children (the \u201csons of God\u201d) wanted to imitate God by producing their own human children to image themselves. They decided to use human women (the \u201cdaughters of man\u201d) for that purpose. This made them rivals to God, their own heavenly father. Rather than be happy with God\u2019s desire to have humans become members of their family, they decided they wanted to be overlords of their own humans. That wasn\u2019t what God had in mind. God wanted a family, not slaves.
\nThese \u201cangels that sinned\u201d (2 Pet 2:4) transgressed the boundary between heaven and earth. They \u201cdid not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling\u201d (Jude 6). God sent them to hell as a result (2 Pet 2:4\u20135; Jude 6), but the deed was done, and it had disastrous consequences. Look at the two verses that follow the Bible\u2019s recounting of this rebellion:
\nThe LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (Gen 6:5\u20136)
\nThink about that. Every intention in everyone\u2019s heart was only evil continually. God regretted he had made humanity; the thought grieved him.
\nThis is the very definition of depravity and the sorrow it brings. The first supernatural rebellion led to humanity losing everlasting life with God (which is bad enough). This rebellion took the effects of sin to another level, accelerating human self-destruction. God felt deep remorse over the way things had turned out. Humanity had been permanently damaged.
\nThe Bible tells us that God could see no other solution but to send the flood to wipe out humanity (Gen 6:17). It\u2019s important to notice that the flood story never says God was angry. It only says he was heart-stricken over what was going on. God had decided to give humans freedom. He couldn\u2019t take it away since doing so would mean they would no longer be like him\u2014they\u2019d no longer be truly human. The only choice was to start over and put an end to what the rebellious sons of God had caused.
\nOnly one man was said to be righteous in God\u2019s eyes\u2014Noah (Gen 6:9). At least there was one. God would take it. He would move ahead with his plan to have a human family.
\nGod told Noah to build an ark (a large ship) so that he, his family, and multitudes of animals would survive. But God still held out hope that, as deep as human depravity had become, that his human children could be with him. Mercifully, he gave Noah 120 years to prepare for the flood (Gen 6:3) and tell people what was going to happen so they could turn from their depravity and be forgiven (2 Pet 2:5).
\nIn the end, people wouldn\u2019t listen. They refused God\u2019s gracious warning. Once again, God\u2019s children turned their backs to him, as they were free to do. Is it any wonder God\u2019s heart was so broken? At least there was Noah and his family. After the flood God repeated the original commands he had given to Adam and Eve (\u201cBe fruitful and multiply and fill the earth\u201d; Gen 9:1). God was starting over with them. He made a covenant with Noah that extended to all humankind (Gen 9:8\u201317). A covenant is a promise or pledge. This covenant was one-sided; it was all about God\u2019s promise to never destroy humanity (Gen 9:11). Amazingly, God still wanted a human family.
\nNot as amazing\u2014but still pretty incredible\u2014the abuse of God\u2019s goodness would continue. A third rebellion followed the flood. This one would frame the rest of the biblical story, and show, again, God\u2019s unconquerable patience and love.
\nREBELLION #3
\nLike the stories of Adam and Eve and Noah\u2019s flood, you may have heard of the Tower of Babel. If not, that\u2019s okay, because even most church-goers don\u2019t realize what really happened there.
\nThe story of the Tower of Babel is found in Gen 11:1\u20139. After the flood God wanted Noah\u2019s descendants to multiply and spread out over the earth. Like Adam and Eve, they were to be God\u2019s co-workers to maintain creation. Instead of doing that, they gathered at a place called Babel and built a tower to their own glory (Gen 11:1\u20134).
\nThat\u2019s the familiar version of the story, but its real significance is found in two unfamiliar verses in another biblical book. Here they are:
\nWhen the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD\u2019s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. (Deut 32:8\u20139)
\nThese two verses tell us that one of the judgments at the Tower of Babel was the division of humankind. Up until this point in the story, God was dealing with humanity as a collective whole. That changed at Babel. Human beings would be segregated by language and geography.
\nEven worse, God divorced himself from humanity. Fed up with human defiance of his will, God assigned the nations of the earth to other members of his supernatural family\u2014the sons of God. This was a different group than those who transgressed before the flood. God couldn\u2019t kick humanity out of his house. He had done that already back in Eden. He had promised not to destroy humanity after the flood (Gen 9:11), so there would be no repeat of that disaster. So what else could he do? He essentially said, \u201cEnough! If you don\u2019t want me to be your God, I\u2019ll assign you to some of my heavenly assistants.\u201d
\nThe fallout of this judgment took many forms. We aren\u2019t told how long it took, but the Bible tells us that the supernatural sons of God assigned over the nations did a lousy job. They became so corrupt (Psa 82:1\u20135) that God had to judge them, too. He would one day take away their immortality and take back the nations (Psa 82:6\u20138). For our purposes here, God\u2019s frustration left him childless in terms of having a human family. He\u2019d had it. He\u2019d given up. Well \u2026 not quite.
\nGOD\u2019S PERSISTENT LOVE
\nGuess what happened right after the Tower of Babel catastrophe? God appeared to Abraham (originally called Abram), an old man married to a woman (Sarah) who was beyond the age where she could have children. God made a covenant with Abraham. He promised the old man and his wife that they would have a son. God would do a miracle. Their son would be the beginning of a new family for God on earth (Gen 12:1\u20139; 15:1\u20136; 18:1\u201315).
\nHaving allotted humanity to the oversight of members of his heavenly host, God wanted to begin anew with a family of his own with Abraham. Abraham believed God\u2019s promises (Gen 15:6). He didn\u2019t have to earn God\u2019s interest or favor. It was God who had chosen Abraham to start over. The relationship between God and Abraham started with God. Abraham believed.
\nAfterward, the covenant relationship that began with God\u2019s call and Abraham\u2019s faith was commemorated with the physical sign of circumcision (Gen 17:1\u201314; Rom 4:1\u201312). Abraham\u2019s entire family followed his example (Gen 17:23). Bearing this sign marked the descendants of Abraham as the people whom God wanted as his family. Circumcision would be a sign to the women of Abraham\u2019s lineage, too. Since they were to marry only within the extended tribe, they would be reminded of how their people had been supernaturally created from Abraham and Sarah when they decided to have their own children.
\nIt\u2019s important to realize that God\u2019s covenant with Abraham was based on belief in God\u2019s promises\u2014faith. God didn\u2019t approach Abraham because he\u2019d found a man who was a good rule-keeper. Salvation is not based on behavior. We cannot earn our salvation. If that was the case, then God would be in our debt by virtue of our performance. He\u2019d owe us something in response to our achievement. Think of how absurd that sounds. Rather, Abraham and his descendants showed their belief in God\u2019s promises by observing the sign of the covenant. It was an outward way to show where their loyalty was.
\nThe apostle Paul used Abraham as an example of believing loyalty (Rom 4:1\u201312). Abraham believed and was accepted by God before he obeyed any rules. The rules were about showing he believed. They did not replace belief. Belief (faith) was the one essential thing. Loyalty to that belief\u2014to that God\u2014is something we\u2019ll talk about later. Today we call it discipleship. Belief and loyalty are two distinct things. They are related but not interchangeable. The same is true of salvation and discipleship.
\nPromising Abraham a son (and through him, the start of a new family that would grow into a great nation) was God\u2019s second covenant after the disaster of Eden. The first had been with Noah. Both were designed to preserve his dream of having a human family. But these covenants weren\u2019t just about God not giving up. They were also about extending the offer of everlasting life to people. God had not given up on humanity. He couldn\u2019t stop loving people. God still wanted a human family.
\nGod kept his promise to Abraham. He and Sarah did indeed have a son (Isaac; Gen 17:19\u201321; 21:1\u20137). Abraham\u2019s extended family would become known as \u201cIsrael,\u201d the name most frequently used in the Old Testament for God\u2019s human family (Gen 32:28; Deut 32:9; Isa 44:1). But what about the people from the other nations, the ones God had assigned to the sons of God after the Tower of Babel rebellion? They are called \u201cGentiles\u201d in the Bible, a short term that means \u201cnot from Israel.\u201d And despite what happened at Babel, God did not forget about those people.
\nNot only would God start over yet again with a new people (Israel), but he told Abraham that his descendants would someday be a blessing to the other nations God had forsaken (Gen 12:3)! Many years later, Jesus, who was from the family of Abraham, would be the particular descendant who would bring all the nations of the world back to God (Gal 3:16\u201318, 26\u201329). Before Jesus arrived on the scene, Gentiles could join God\u2019s family by choosing to reject all other gods, believing in Him, and taking the sign of God\u2019s covenant.
\nA lot of time passed between the time of Abraham and Jesus. Israel\u2019s own history as \u201cthe Lord\u2019s portion\u201d (Deut 32:9) wasn\u2019t a pretty one. They were God\u2019s people, but sadly, perhaps predictably, their loyalty failed. The darkest hour was yet to come.
\nCHAPTER THREE
\nGOD WAS BETRAYED BY HIS FAMILY
\nThe history of biblical Israel was a long, meandering affair filled with both triumph and tragedy. God wasn\u2019t surprised. He knew what to expect with people. He\u2019d always known what he was dealing with.
\nWEARING OUT YOUR WELCOME
\nGod let Abraham know that the future of his descendants was going to be difficult. He was honest. He told Abraham, \u201cYou can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years\u201d (Gen 15:13, NLT). That was the bad news. God provided some hope: \u201cBut I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions\u201d (Gen 15:14).
\nSure enough the descendants of Abraham, now led by his grandson, Jacob, whose name God changed to \u201cIsrael,\u201d eventually wound up in Egypt under the thumb of Pharaoh (Exodus 1). They\u2019d gone there with God\u2019s approval to avoid a famine (Gen 45:5\u201311). Where they went wrong was that they didn\u2019t return to the land God had given to them after the famine was over. They stuck around in Egypt way too long.
\nWhile in Egypt the Israelite nation grew numerically, so much so that Pharaoh got paranoid about being able to stay in charge of the country (Exod 1:8\u201310). He put them to forced labor and exterminated new babies if they were boys (Exod 1:14\u201316). But God intervened and made them grow even stronger (Exod 1:8\u201321).
\nAll told, Israel spent four centuries in Egypt under harsh conditions. Eventually God intervened and preserved the life of a baby boy named Moses. God engineered circumstances so that the baby was raised in Pharaoh\u2019s own house, right under his nose (Exod 2:1\u201310). Moses led a life of privilege but one day committed a capital offense, murdering a man in a fight that began as a defense of a helpless Israelite. He fled Egypt to escape justice.
\nMoses found a new life in a desert place called Midian. God met him at Mount Sinai in a burning bush, an encounter that would change the history of his people and the world (Exod 3:1\u201315). God sent Moses back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh. He was to demand the release of God\u2019s people. God promised to protect Moses and empower him (Exod 3:16\u201322).
\nThe rest of the story is one of the most famous in the world. Even if you\u2019ve never read the Bible you\u2019ve probably heard of it or seen one of the movies about it. God sent plagues against Egypt and its gods when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go (Exodus 7\u201312). God used Moses to force the release of multitudes of Israelites from Egyptian bondage. He parted the Red Sea to save them when the Egyptians decided to chase them into the desert to slaughter them (Exodus 13:17 through Exodus 14). The crossing of the Red Sea is far and away the most spectacular miracle of the Bible. But it wasn\u2019t showmanship. It was about preserving a people. God wanted his family.
\nLAW AND LOYALTY
\nEventually God brought his people back to the place where he had originally spoken to Moses. There he gave the Israelites his laws\u2014the Ten Commandments. He made a covenant with them. It\u2019s important to realize that Israel was already God\u2019s people before the Ten Commandments were given. God had referred to the people as his family when Moses confronted Pharaoh (Exod 3:7, 10; 4:23; 5:1; 6:7; 7:4). The laws weren\u2019t about earning a place in God\u2019s family. Israelites were already God\u2019s family.
\nWe need to unpack this distinction. It\u2019s pretty important. Rather than earning a place in God\u2019s family, God gave his people laws to show they wanted to be in the family. God\u2019s laws were about showing God they weren\u2019t going to be disloyal and align themselves with some other god. Being loyal believers would allow God to use the Israelites to minister to all the other nations like \u201ca kingdom of priests\u201d (Exod 19:5\u20136). God wanted humanity in his family. He was starting with one group\u2014Israel. If they were loyal believers, they would be a blessing to all the other nations (Gen 12:3).
\nThere\u2019s one more angle to understanding this covenant. God\u2019s laws also weren\u2019t about being good enough to make God love them. God already loved Israel (Deut 7:7\u20138). He had supernaturally enabled the elderly Abraham and Sarah to have a child from which Israel, in time, would come. Having a family was the whole point. God didn\u2019t create a list of rules so they\u2019d qualify as family. They were his family. God\u2019s laws were designed to help his children avoid other gods and live happy, peaceful lives with one another, not to improve God\u2019s disposition toward them.
\nTrue to form, God would not dismiss their free will. He just asked that they believe in him\u2014who he was, and that he had created them out of love\u2014and forsake all other gods. Any member of Israel could forsake God\u2019s love if they wanted. They could choose not to believe. They could choose to worship some other god. As we\u2019ll see, many did just that.
\nOnce the Israelites left Mount Sinai (where God gave them the law) God led them in the form of a man (an angel) to the Promised Land (Exod 23:20\u201323; Judg 2:1). Along the way the people constantly complained about not having enough food and water. God provided (Exodus 15:22\u201327; 16:1\u201330). They had to fight for their lives against lethal enemies in the land. God saved them from destruction (Deuteronomy 2\u20133; Joshua 11\u201312; Psa 136:10\u201324; Acts 13:19).
\nTHE DOWNWARD SPIRAL
\nYou\u2019d think that after God brought Israel into the land, the Israelites would have felt an overwhelming love for God\u2014that their believing loyalty would be at an all-time high. Not so much. Instead they decided co-existence with evil could work. They refused to drive idolaters (people who worshipped other gods with idols) out of the land. It\u2019s like the Israelites knew nothing of the past, how rebellion brings disaster. Their disloyalty and lack of love for God led to this demoralizing scene:
\nNow the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, \u201cI brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, \u2018I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.\u2019 But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.\u201d (Judg 2:1\u20133)
\nGod had to judge his people \u2026 again. He basically said, \u201cI\u2019m out of here. Let\u2019s see how you do on your own since you don\u2019t want me.\u201d We\u2019ve seen that before. And, as we\u2019ve also seen before, God\u2019s people did very badly without their God being present with them. And since we\u2019re rehashing history, God\u2019s response also looks familiar\u2014he kept coming back to Israel to lift them out of trouble. We all know people like that. Maybe you\u2019re one of them. You stick to helping someone because of love, even to the point that it seems irrational. And if you think about what God was doing, it does seem insane. But God wants a human family even when he\u2019s unwanted. His love defies logic.
\nThe whole biblical book of Judges, from which the scene above was cited, is about a seemingly never-ending cycle of spiritual rebellion, the suffering it brings, crying out to God for help, and God coming back in love. That cycle persisted for a few centuries. It reached a climax of sorts when the people within the nation of Israel demanded that Samuel, a priest and prophet, anoint a king to rule them.
\nNot surprisingly, the people\u2019s choice for a king (Saul) was an unmitigated disaster. You know things aren\u2019t going to go well (or ought to know) when your choice for a king has to be dragged out of hiding to take the job (1 Sam 10:22). Eventually God chose David to replace Saul. David was a moral mess, but he was better than Saul. He never showed disloyalty or lack of love for God. He broke a number of God\u2019s moral laws, but he repented and never worshipped another god. For that reason God made a covenant promise with David that said only his sons could be legitimate rulers of Israel.
\nThis covenant was about creating a dynasty for David. God would only consider one of his descendants the legitimate king. Sadly, the rest of Israel\u2019s history in the Bible\u2019s story included a lot of men who had the right lineage that were otherwise unfit to be king. God had to remove a lot of David\u2019s descendants because they were disloyal to him, choosing to follow other gods. A descendant of David inheriting the throne was supposed to love God as well as have the right family history. This is why every king was supposed to keep a copy of God\u2019s laws with him (Deut 17:18; 2 Kings 11:12). He was to be the most excellent example of a loyal believer.
\nDavid\u2019s son, Solomon, was the greatest king in Israel\u2019s history (if land holdings and wealth are the litmus tests). Sadly, his believing loyalty in the true God wavered. He sacrificed to other gods and had a series of political marriages that brought the worship of other gods into Israel (1 Kings 11:1\u20138). In other words, Solomon began a cycle of spiritual compromise and rebellion that led to national ruin.
\nTHE FINAL BETRAYAL
\nAfter Solomon\u2019s death ten of the twelve tribes revolted against his successor (1 Kings 11:41\u201312:24). The kingdom of Israel was divided into two parts by tribes and geography. God\u2019s family was now a broken home, so to speak. It\u2019s pretty sad that many kings during the period that ensued had never even seen a copy of God\u2019s laws (2 Kings 22:8\u201313).
\nThe northern part of the divided nation (the ten tribes that rebelled politically) immediately plunged themselves into spiritual rebellion (1 Kings 12:25\u201333). Instead of showing believing loyalty to the God who had given them the land and supernaturally brought them into existence, most of Israel betrayed God. This is why the prophets who roamed about the countryside preaching during this time compared the spiritual rebellion to \u201cplaying the whore\u201d and spiritual adultery. It was a vivid analogy. The southern part of the country (two tribes) went into spiritual rebellion more slowly. But gradual sin is still sin.
\nAbandoning God never goes well. As the Bible says in one place, \u201cbe sure your sin will find you out\u201d (Num 32:23). As he had done at other times, God let his people exercise their freedom and pay the consequences. In 722 B.C. the northern part of the nation was eventually overrun by a people I like to call the Klingons of the Old Testament\u2014the Assyrians. If the Lord of the Rings is more familiar to you than Star Trek, think of the Assyrians as the hordes of Mordor.
\nI like the analogies because the Assyrians had a well-deserved reputation for cruelty. They scattered the ten tribes all over the ancient world, breaking up families and robbing them of everything they owned. The two remaining tribes in the southern part of the nation were conquered by the Babylonians a little more than a hundred years later (586 B.C.). Thousands of Israelites were forcibly exiled to Babylon.
\nLet\u2019s be honest. If God had forgotten about his people at this point we\u2019d understand. They had rebelled time and time again for well over a thousand years since the time of Abraham. It\u2019s hard to avoid the conclusion they got what they deserved. But that isn\u2019t how God works.
\nRather than just calling it quits God decided that he still wanted a human family. But getting his people\u2014and the rest of humanity\u2014back into his family required a change of tactics. God had made a series of covenants with his people. But people are, obviously, mere humans. They fail \u2026 a lot and with predictable regularity. The rest of humanity had been assigned to supernatural beings (the \u201csons of God\u201d; Deut 32:8) that had by now become enemies of their creator, the God of Israel. Things were complicated.
\nGod had a two-part solution to all this. When the last children in God\u2019s family were on the verge of exile, God prompted two prophets (Jeremiah and Ezekiel) to tell people that they were not completely forgotten. God would make a \u201cnew covenant\u201d with his children, one marked by the coming of his Spirit (Jer 31:31\u201334; Ezek 36:22\u201328). There was a new day coming.
\nBut the \u201cnew day coming\u201d didn\u2019t address the question of how God could honor the older covenants without scrapping or changing them. A lot of Israelites rejected God and worshipped other gods. They showed their contempt for him by breaking his laws. This grieved God. He wanted to honor his promises but so many of his children were seduced into worshipping the gods of other nations.
\nThat was the path of death. Remember, because of what had happened in Eden every human being was destined to die and not have eternal life unless they turned to the true God and believed in his love and promises. Far too many Israelites forgot all that. They couldn\u2019t just pick and choose gods whenever they felt like it from a spiritual buffet. They had to believe in the true God and keep believing.
\nThe situation was especially problematic when it came to Israel\u2019s kings. God had promised David that his heirs would inherit his throne, but many of them turned away from him. God couldn\u2019t ignore this lack of believing loyalty. He also couldn\u2019t just scrap his promise. That would be like admitting the whole thing was a bad idea\u2014and a God who knows everything can\u2019t have a bad idea.
\nSo how could God honor his promises to a people who had rejected him and who were estranged from him? They needed new hearts. They needed his presence to guide them. What was needed was a descendant of Abraham, and of David who could be the ultimate king and perfect imager of God. That descendant also needed to overturn the curse of death on the human race. But how could a mere human conquer death? He\u2019d have to be God as well. How was all that supposed to work?
\nNo problem.\u2026
\nCHAPTER FOUR
\nGOD JOINED HIS HUMAN FAMILY
\nChristians know all about the coming of Jesus. They know he was miraculously birthed by Mary, a young girl who was a virgin (Matt 1:18\u201325). The wider culture is familiar with the image of baby Jesus in the manger, especially in Christmas decorations. Several old, but still popular, Christmas songs celebrate how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about a messiah.
\nTHERE\u2019S MORE TO JESUS THAN THE CROSS
\nThe entire focus is typically on Jesus being born into the world to eventually die on the cross. He would be the means of forgiveness for our sins and thus, our entrance back into God\u2019s family (John 3:16). In other words, when most Christians think about Jesus, they have the cross in mind. That misses something.
\nThe fact that God became a man in Jesus gets a little lost in the focus on the cross. Most Christians don\u2019t realize that it was necessary for God to become a man for many reasons: to fulfill all the Old Testament covenants and to overturn the results of the supernatural rebellions we talked about earlier.
\nThe hope that human beings could still one day be with God forever was kept alive by God\u2019s refusal to eliminate humanity or scrap the plan. He kept returning to humanity, offering them forgiveness and a relationship with him. God wanted them to believe and show they believed by living in harmony with him and each other. But God\u2019s children rejected him at every turn. It\u2019s as though every time God said \u201cYou can still be with me\u2014believe that and then show me where your heart\u2019s at,\u201d the problem got worse. The Bible uses the analogy of wandering sheep with no shepherd to describe this propensity (Isa 53:6; Matt 9:36). That\u2019s pretty much on target.
\nAs I noted at the end of the last chapter, God\u2019s children needed new hearts and God\u2019s presence to help them believe. They needed a means to be saved from themselves and from a destiny that didn\u2019t include everlasting life with the God who loved them. There had to be a way for God to honor his covenant promises, to reverse the curse of death, and to help his people continue in their faith.
\nGod\u2019s solution to these problems was radical. He had to become a man. He had to join the human race. This is where Jesus enters the story. Jesus was God become man (John 1:1, 14\u201315; Col 1:15\u201320; 2:6\u20139). He was the solution to every one of these obstacles.
\nOnly by dying on behalf of all humanity could the curse of death upon humanity be reversed. That meant such a death had to be followed by a resurrection, something only God could accomplish. Jesus was the solution for what happened in Eden.
\nRemember God\u2019s covenant with Abraham? God had supernaturally intervened to enable Abraham and Sarah to have a son. That was the beginning of the nation of Israel. God told Abraham that one of his descendants would bless the nations God had forsaken at Babel. But how could a mere man do that? Only God himself could be the loyal descendant of Abraham who would fulfill the promise of that covenant to bless the nations outside Israel. Jesus was that descendant of Abraham (Matt 1:1; Luke 3:34). He was the promised offspring who would release people in the divorced nations (\u201cGentiles\u201d) from other gods so they could rejoin God\u2019s family (Gal 3:16\u201318; 26\u201329). Jesus was the solution for fulfilling the covenant with Abraham.
\nJesus was also a descendant of David, so he was the rightful king (Matt 1:1; Luke 1:32; Rom 1:3). Jesus was the solution for fulfilling the covenant with David. He had the right ancestry and was perfectly loyal to God. He never disobeyed God. He never committed any sin (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22). The fact that he never sinned also meant he was the perfect example of the purpose of God\u2019s law and the covenant made at Sinai. Jesus was the ultimate imager of God (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). He is the illustration of how to image God; God wants us to conform to Jesus\u2019s example (2 Cor 3:18; Col 3:10). As we\u2019ll see later, that\u2019s also what being a disciple means (1 Pet 2:21).
\nGod becoming a man is a difficult idea to grasp. God could become a man because he is more than one person. God is three persons who are completely the same in their nature. The Bible uses the terms \u201cFather\u201d, \u201cSon\u201d, and \u201cHoly Spirit\u201d to distinguish these three persons. Christians call the result of that labeling the Trinity. \u201cGod the Son\u201d became a man as Jesus (John 1:1, 14\u201315). Theologians call that the incarnation, a term that means God coming \u201cin the flesh.\u201d Jesus would be the only human God the Father could rely on to fulfill the covenants.
\nYou might recall that I mentioned earlier that God knew \u201cfrom before the foundation of the world\u201d that he would send the Son, Jesus, to bring people back into his family (Eph 1:1\u201314; 1 Pet 1:20). The amazing thing is that the Son was willing to become a man, be tortured, and die so that God could have a human family. Here\u2019s how one section of the New Testament describes the conversation:
\nWhen Christ came into the world, he said [to God the Father], \u2018Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me.\u2026 Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book\u2019 (Heb 10:5, 7).
\nIt\u2019s a good thing that God the Son was willing to be born as Jesus. Not only were the covenants at risk, but overcoming all the misery caused by supernatural rebellions was at stake as well. We need to understand that those rebellions required God becoming a man\u2014because God joining his human family set the stage for the coming of the Spirit.
\nFIXING MORE THAN THE FALL
\nBecause God became a man in Jesus, he could die. That was important because death could only be defeated by resurrection. You can\u2019t have resurrection without a prior death. Since Jesus was also God he had the power to bring himself back to life (John 10:17\u201318). Since the death of Jesus was God\u2019s plan, God knew from before the foundation of the world that he would raise Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:23\u201324, 32; 3:15; 10:40; Gal 1:1).
\nBecause of the resurrection, our distance from God was bridged. Death was overcome. Those were the effects of the rebellion in Eden. The Adam and Eve problems, caused by the temptation of the serpent (Satan), were solved. Everyone who believes that Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection provided forgiveness of sin and everlasting life will be in God\u2019s family forever (Rom 4:16\u201325; 8:10\u201311; 10:9\u201310; 1 Cor 6:14).
\nOnce Jesus rose from the dead he had to return (\u201cascend\u201d) to heaven. Jesus ascended to heaven and took his throne next to God the Father (Mark 16:19; John 20:17; Col 3:1; Heb 12:2). This was a precursor to sending the Holy Spirit, who would indwell believers (Acts 2:33; Rom 8:9\u201311). Jesus had to leave so the Spirit could come (John 14:25\u201326; 15:26; 16:7; Luke 24:49).
\nThe coming of the Spirit was the fulfillment of the new covenant described by Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jer 31:31\u201334; Ezek 36:22\u201328). It would be the Spirit who would provide victory over depravity (Gal 5:16\u201317), and whose works would be \u201cgreater\u201d than Jesus\u2019s own (John 14:12). Jesus knew his death and resurrection were key to the new covenant coming to pass. This is why at the Last Supper Jesus told the disciples that his blood was \u201cthe blood of the covenant\u201d poured out for them (Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20). Once Jesus ascended back to heaven and the Spirit descended to earth, humanity was not helpless against depravity.
\nThe bottom line is that for God to clean up the problems with having a human family\u2014the perpetual failures and rebellions\u2014he had to become a man and fulfill all the terms of the covenants himself.
\nThink about my original question in this book: What does God want? He wants you. And he sent his unique Son to earth as Jesus to fix the problem of death and sin, to fulfill his covenants with humanity, so he could bring you home forever. God joined the human family. There was no other way. There are a lot of reasons why the gospel has nothing to do with our behavior\u2014earning God\u2019s love and salvation. This is the biggest of them. It\u2019s insane to think our imperfect behavior could ever be adequate. The coming, death, and resurrection of Christ would never have been necessary if we could earn salvation.
\nSATAN AND HIS MINIONS: DUMB AND DUMBER?
\nThere\u2019s one more twist in this story that I don\u2019t want you to miss. You may have wondered something. I know I did (more than once). If the death and resurrection of Jesus overturned the effects of what the serpent (Satan) had done, and impeded the wickedness that permeated the world, and amounted to taking away the authority of the defiant gods of the nations, why in the world would Satan and the other evil spirits ever kill Jesus? It seems blazingly stupid.
\nThink about it. The key to everything in God\u2019s plan was Jesus\u2019 death, because you have to have a death in order to have a resurrection that overcomes death. And Jesus could not have gone back to be with God the Father if his mission was not accomplished\u2014which means the Spirit could not have come to deal with depravity. If Satan and all the other powers of darkness had just let Jesus alone, God\u2019s plan would have failed. Are they supernatural idiots?
\nI\u2019ve written a lot about this topic. It\u2019s fascinating. The New Testament actually answers this question. In talking about the good news (\u201cgospel\u201d) of Jesus that he preached, the apostle Paul said:
\nBut we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Cor 2:7\u20138)
\n\u201cRulers\u201d is a word Paul used elsewhere for evil members of the spirit world (Eph 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16). The point is simple: Satan, demons, and the rival sons of God didn\u2019t know what God\u2019s plan was. For sure they knew who Jesus was when he started his ministry. They called Jesus the \u201cson of God\u201d and \u201cson of the Most High\u201d (Matt 4:1\u201311; 8:29; Mark 1:12\u201313, 21\u201324; 3:11; Luke 4:1\u201313, 31\u201337; 8:28). The Old Testament made it pretty clear that God still wanted a human family to rule with him just like the original idea of Eden. Satan and his buddies could have guessed Jesus was here to get that ball rolling. But they had no idea how. The logical thing in their view was to kill him. But that was the key to everything. God played them like fools.
\nIt\u2019s easy to chuckle about how much smarter God was than any of his supernatural enemies. But let\u2019s not miss the point. God joined humanity not to make Satan or demons look silly. He did it because he wanted you in his family. He needed no other motive. You were enough.
\nBut there\u2019s still more to the story. Jesus did his part. We need to take a closer look at the Spirit\u2019s role for a simple but significant reason\u2014it\u2019s directly tied to our roles in helping God recruit as many people as possible back into his family.
\nCHAPTER FIVE
\nGOD PURSUES HIS FAMILY
\nAs I noted in the last chapter, the coming of the Holy Spirit was the fulfillment of the new covenant described by Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jer 31:31\u201334; Ezek 36:22\u201328). The Spirit\u2019s ministry in each believer makes victory over depravity possible. Think of it as a slap in the face to the fallen sons of God. But it\u2019s an even more direct assault on another set of supernatural villains.
\nThe Spirit\u2019s arrival launched an infiltration campaign against the sons of God to whom God assigned the nations he divorced (Deut 32:8)\u2014the supernatural beings who defected from serving God and became corrupt, abusing the people under their dominion (Psalm 82).
\nJesus knew all that. We habitually miss it in our reading of the New Testament books that come after the resurrection (i.e., the book of Acts to the end, the book of Revelation).
\nTHE BEGINNING OF THE END
\nJesus\u2019s departure put the coming of the Spirit into motion (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7; Luke 24:49). While the resurrected Jesus was still on earth, he told his followers what was coming right around the corner:
\nAnd while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, \u201cyou heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.\u2026 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.\u201d (Acts 1:4\u20135, 8)
\nIf you keep reading the book of Acts it doesn\u2019t take long to figure out what Jesus was forecasting. Once he leaves (Acts 1:9\u201311) the Spirit arrives in (literally) a blaze of glory in the next chapter.
\nWhen the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1\u20134)
\nThe rest of the account tells us that the Holy Spirit enabled the followers of Jesus to speak in all sorts of languages. They were telling the story of Jesus\u2014his death and resurrection\u2014to Jews from all over the world. \u201cJews\u201d was the name given to the Israelites in foreign lands, who had been scattered all over the world in exile back in Old Testament times. The Jews who heard the followers of Jesus preaching to them in their own language were descendants of Old Testament Israelites. They had come to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the holy feasts on the old Israelite religious calendar.
\nThe people in Jerusalem who knew who the followers of Jesus were thought the whole public display was drunken madness. It just wasn\u2019t possible that all of a sudden these men could speak in other languages. But then the apostle Peter laid it all out for them. Honestly, did more than that\u2014he let them have it:
\n\u201cMen of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: \u2018And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below.\u2026 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.\u2019 \u201cMen 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\u2014this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.\u2026 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.\u2019 \u201d (Acts 2:14\u201319, 21\u201324, 33)
\nPeter was telling them what they were seeing with their own eyes, and hearing with their own ears, was a miracle caused by the arrival of the Holy Spirit of God. He told them God had sent his Spirit to tell them what had happened. The messiah had come, been killed, had risen from the dead\u2014and they needed to believe. The result of Peter\u2019s explanation was stunning. Three thousand people \u201ccalled upon the name of the Lord\u201d for forgiveness and were saved (Acts 2:41).
\nThis is usually the point in the story where the preacher moves on (or backward) to talk about the cross. That\u2019s all well and good, since the cross and the resurrection had led to this moment. But again, we\u2019re missing something very significant about the story.
\nSUPERNATURAL INFILTRATION
\nRemember, what happened in Acts 2 was about the coming of the Spirit. The arrival of the Spirit was the crucial element of a new covenant\u2014a new set of promises God was giving to humanity. Many Christians don\u2019t realize that this also meant God was launching a spiritual war to reclaim not only Jews who had rejected Jesus but also Gentiles, people from the nations he had rejected back at the Tower of Babel. God was in pursuit of his family, and it didn\u2019t matter where his children lived. He wanted them and would find them.
\nThe passage we just read in Acts 2 tells us the Spirit came with wind and fire (Acts 2:2\u20133). Fire and \u201cburning smoke\u201d were common elements in visions of God\u2019s presence in the Old Testament (Exod 13:21\u201322; Ezek 1:4, 13, 27). God at times came in a \u201cwhirlwind\u201d (Isa 6:4, 6; Ezek 1:4; Job 38:1; 40:6). Jews who heard Peter\u2019s message and saw the coming of the Spirit with their own eyes knew the day of salvation had come.
\nThink about what happened in this scene. Three thousand Jews, living abroad in the nations where their ancestors had been scattered, had come to Jerusalem for a religious feast day. They witnessed the coming of the Spirit and heard about Jesus, the messiah, and what he had done. They believed in Jesus. They became Christians, his followers. What do you suppose they did next?
\nThey went home.
\nWhy does that matter? Because now the lost, divorced nations had three thousand evangelists planted in them. They were like secret agents, embedded in hostile territory held by other gods. They would be God\u2019s initial means to multiply the size of his human family. They were the first wave. Their mission? The same one Jesus had given to his disciples: the Great Commission. Christians know the verses well:
\nGo 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. (Matt 28:19\u201320)
\nBut again, something is missed. That\u2019s the Great Commission all right. But I skipped verse 18, the one that\u2019s usually skipped when people talk about our mission to evangelize. Here\u2019s the full statement of Jesus with something important in bold:
\nAnd Jesus came and said to them, \u201cAll 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.\u201d (Matt 28:18\u201320)
\nDid you catch that? Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. The authority in heaven part is pretty easy to understand. Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Col 3:1; Heb 12:2). But what does the \u201con earth\u201d part mean? This is easily missed. His ascent\u2014which naturally had to follow his resurrection\u2014marked the end of the authority of those who held power on the earth up to that point. Who was that? The fallen sons of God, appointed over the nations when God divorced them (Deut 32:8).
\nYOU\u2019VE GOT NO BUSINESS BEING HERE
\nThe implication is that the resurrection and Jesus\u2019 return to heaven meant that the authority of the rebel sons of God was now null and void. They no longer had legitimate dominion over the people in those nations. Salvation was not just for Israelites (Jews), even though the messiah was a descendant of Abraham and David. Jesus was the messiah for everyone, and rightful lord of every nation. The resurrection, ascension, and coming of the Spirit marked the beginning of the end for the fallen sons of God. They had lost their legitimacy.
\nThis is why the New Testament associates the resurrection and ascension with the defeat of the supernatural powers of darkness. When God \u201craised Jesus from the dead\u201d (Col 2:12) our sins were not only forgiven (Col 2:13\u201314), but \u201che disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him\u201d (Col 2:15). Recall that \u201crulers and authorities\u201d are terms Paul uses of the supernatural fallen sons of God who became the evil gods of the nations in Old Testament times (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:13).
\nThe \u201crulers and authorities\u201d is a favorite expression of the apostle Paul to describe the defeated powers of darkness. After he rose from the dead, Jesus went \u201cinto heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him\u201d (1 Peter 3:22). When God raised Jesus and seated him at his right hand, Jesus was placed \u201cfar above\u201d the rulers, authorities and powers, \u201cnot only in this age but also in the one to come\u201d (Eph 1:20\u201321). In that age to come Jesus will \u201cdeliver the kingdom to God the Father\u201d after destroying every ruler, authority, and power\u201d (1 Cor 15:24).
\nPaul saw the resurrection and ascension as marking the beginning of the end for the fallen sons of God that had been allotted to the nations. It\u2019s no surprise, then, that he also linked that thought with the salvation of Gentiles, the people of the forsaken nations. The resurrected Jesus and the Spirit would release the Gentiles from dark powers who enslaved and abused them (Psa 82:2\u20135).
\nRecall that God had appeared to Abraham right after dividing the nations at Babel. He told Abraham that through him and his descendants, all those nations would one day be blessed. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, knew that promise well. He wrote that Jesus \u201chad confirmed the promises\u201d given to Abraham and his descendants \u201cin order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy\u201d (Rom 15:8\u20139).
\nPaul wasn\u2019t done there. He was fond of quoting the Old Testament to show that God never gave up on the Gentile nations. He had wanted them in his family all along. Paul knew that the messiah, called the \u201croot of Jesse\u201d in the Old Testament (Jesse was king David\u2019s father) \u201cwould arise to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope\u201d (Isa 11:10). Paul knew that the forsaken nations would one day worship the true God (Psa 117:1).
\nThis program\u2014a campaign of spiritual warfare\u2014was launched when the Spirit came and 3,000 people believed in Jesus (Acts 2). Those new believers went back to their home countries. The gospel of Jesus infiltrated the nations under dominion of hostile supernatural powers. The Bible refers to this as the growth of the \u201ckingdom\u201d of God. As people turned from the corrupt, evil gods that could not offer them everlasting life and become members in God\u2019s family, God\u2019s kingdom grows. One kingdom diminishes; the other expands.
\nThe kingdom of God is therefore already here in some sense \u2026 but not completely here in another. Not a moment goes by that God stops pursuing the children he loves and wants. His unseen hand is everywhere, in every circumstance, influencing and empowering his children to grow his family. One day God\u2019s plan will reach its peak. Everything will come full circle. The end of the story will be the one its Author had in mind all along.
\nCHAPTER SIX
\nGOD IS WITH HIS FAMILY FOREVER
\nI ended the last chapter with a firm grasp on some obvious points. Christ is risen. All those who have put their trust in what he did on the cross and his resurrection as the only means of salvation will have everlasting life. But while we are already members of Christ\u2019s kingdom (Col 1:13), that kingdom has not yet come in its fullness and finality.
\nThe same is true of the defeat and destruction of Satan and various fallen sons of God. It is already in progress, but not yet realized. Satan has no claim\u2014no ownership, no power of death\u2014over any member of the kingdom of God. We belong to God through Jesus, and Jesus conquered death so that we might be resurrected to everlasting life with him and God the Father (Rom 6:8\u20139; Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 6:14; 15:42\u201349). Nevertheless, \u201cthe prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience\u201d (Eph 2:2) is alive and well today.
\nLikewise the powers of darkness have been dethroned. But they have not surrendered. They resist, fighting a losing battle. Every person who embraces the salvation offered by God through Jesus is \u201cdelivered \u2026 from the domain of darkness and transferred \u2026 to the kingdom of God\u2019s beloved Son\u201d (Col 1:13). As the kingdom of God grows, the kingdom of darkness diminishes.
\nIt\u2019s easy to get lost in the still-present evil and suffering of the world instead of looking to the future. Sometimes it\u2019s hard to remember that Jesus \u201cgave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father\u201d (Gal 1:4).
\nThe Bible doesn\u2019t condemn this dilemma. It\u2019s honest about it. \u201cThe whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth\u201d waiting \u201cwith eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.\u2026 [T]hat the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God\u201d (Rom 8:18\u201321).
\nTHE STORY\u2019S EXCLAMATION POINT
\nIn what remains of the story, I want to focus on the amazing ending. Every great epic has a memorable ending, you know. The biblical story is no exception. (If you\u2019re expecting harps and clouds get used to disappointment).
\nWe tend to process the final act of the Bible\u2019s story in terms of what we get. For example, we\u2019ll have everlasting life, not death. That\u2019s exciting, but \u201ceverlasting life\u201d doesn\u2019t really say much. It\u2019s just a description about duration, not quality.
\nQuality of everlasting life emerges more in our minds when we process the end of the story as life in a new, global Eden. The book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, completes the story with Edenic imagery (Rev 21\u201322). God is there. Heaven has returned to earth. Jesus is there. The tree of life is there. This Eden is actually better than the original Eden. Evil has run its course. There is no rebellion waiting to explode into the world. Creation is therefore perfectly optimized. There is no disease or death anywhere in the plant, animal, or human experience. There is no predation or violence. It\u2019s like nothing we\u2019ve ever experienced.
\nThe \u201cEden angle\u201d gets us closer to what the Bible itself emphasizes at the climax of its story. The passage from Romans 8 I included above adjusts our thinking just a bit to bring the real pinnacle of God\u2019s plan: \u201cthe revealing of the sons of God \u2026 the glory of the children of God.\u201d Yes, the creation groans to be made new, but that deliverance is linked to the glorification of God\u2019s human family.
\nIn other words, we are the end game to what God has been doing. Our status as his children permanently fit for his presence and present with him permanently, is the forefront of the Bible\u2019s story. Where we live is just scenery (no doubt spectacular). The book of Revelation\u2019s final vision of the new Eden makes this point for me when it begins the final scene this way:
\nThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, \u201cBehold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.\u201d
\nEVERLASTING IDENTITY
\nThe \u201cthe revealing of the sons of God \u2026 the glory of the children of God\u201d is a way of saying that we will someday be transformed and made like Jesus. As the apostle John said, \u201cBeloved, we are God\u2019s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is\u201d (1 John 3:2). The same thought is expressed in other ways:
\nFor those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Rom 8:29)
\nBut our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Phil 3:20\u201321)
\nOur destiny is to become completed imagers of God in the manner of the ultimate image of God\u2014Jesus. That\u2019s already in process: \u201cAnd we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another\u201d (2 Cor 3:18). The Bible finishes our story with resurrection and transformation. We are raised to everlasting life and given a glorified body, akin to the one Jesus had after his resurrection. Paul refers to it as a \u201ccelestial body\u201d (1 Cor 15:35\u201358).
\nMy favorite passage about our final destiny and glorification is a little more obscure. It\u2019s a scene in the book of Hebrews where Jesus introduces us to God and God to us. Jesus stands before God and \u201cthe congregation,\u201d the heavenly sons of God. He confesses boldly that he feels no shame in having us as siblings in the family (Heb 2:11) and then says to God and the supernatural members of the family: \u201cI will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.\u2026 Behold, I and the children God has given me\u201d (Heb 2:12).
\nThis is your ultimate destiny\u2014becoming a permanent, legitimate member of God\u2019s family. In the end, you belong in God\u2019s family. It\u2019s what he\u2019s wanted from the very beginning. That is what the whole creation is yearning for.
\nEVERLASTING PARTNERSHIP
\nHave you ever had a conversation about what life in the new creation (heaven) will be like? I\u2019ve heard lots of people describe it as an endless worship service, or endless Q & A session with Jesus, or a glorified church meet-and-greet. (That last one frightens introverts like me).
\nWhile we could infer some things by imagining what life in a perfected Eden might entail, the Bible doesn\u2019t say a whole lot about the experience. What it does say defies the sorts of guesses listed above. \u201cThose who overcome,\u201d enduring in their faith in Jesus, will receive \u201cauthority over the nations\u201d (Rev 2:26). Jesus will have them \u201cto sit with me on my throne\u201d (Rev 3:21). We will one day \u201cjudge angels\u201d (1 Cor 6:3).
\nWhat do these phrases mean? We can start by asking who rules the nations now? The answer is the fallen sons of God allotted to the nations at Babel. In other words, the nations at this moment have not yet been fully (or even mostly) reclaimed by God. The expansion of the kingdom of God is a gradual process as we\u2019ve noted\u2014a process \u201calready\u201d begun but not yet complete. When the process is complete at the end of days, believers will \u201cjudge angels\u201d\u2014we will pass judgment on the fallen sons of God by replacing them. We will rule the nations with Jesus our king\u2014and brother.
\nWhenever I speak about this idea I get certain inevitable questions: What tasks will we have? Will some believers have more authority than other believers? Will I be another believer\u2019s boss? How can we all be rulers? Do our works dictate who is over whom?
\nThese are all understandable questions from people who live in an imperfect, fallen world. Our perspective is tainted by the flawed, damaged world we experience. But the Bible doesn\u2019t portray our final destiny as a boss-employee relationship. It\u2019s a father-child relationship. We, God\u2019s children, work with him alongside our siblings, whether human or divine. We image God together now the way we were intended to do. And the brother we all look up to most is Jesus. All of God\u2019s children have been made like him, the ultimate imager of our Father.
\nThe point is that our rule in the new Eden isn\u2019t about hierarchy; it\u2019s about family partnership. When all the family members are glorified, the need for supervisory hierarchy disappears.
\nTo be honest, we just can\u2019t conceive anything like this. We live in a corrupted world. God wants us\u2014he wants you\u2014to experience life with him the way he intended it to be. And someday we will. As the Bible says:
\n\u201cNo eye has seen, no ear has heard,
\nand no mind has imagined
\nwhat God has prepared
\nfor those who love him.\u201d (1 Cor 2:9, NLT)
\nSUMMARY AND PREVIEW
\nNow you know what the Bible is really about. It\u2019s an amazing story.
\nYou\u2019re probably wondering where we go from here. There are some important concepts to think about in light of the story.
\nEarly in the story, I wrote this about Abraham:
\nThe apostle Paul used Abraham as an example of believing loyalty (Rom 4:1\u201312). Abraham believed and was accepted by God before he obeyed any rules. The rules were about showing he believed. They did not replace belief. Belief (faith) was the one essential thing. Loyalty to that belief\u2014to that God\u2014is something we\u2019ll talk about later. Today we call it discipleship. Belief and loyalty are two distinct things. They are related but not interchangeable. The same is true of salvation and discipleship.
\nThat paragraph is our road map the rest of the way. The phrase \u201cbelieving loyalty\u201d will be our guide. Let me illustrate:
\n\u201cBELIEVING\u201d
\nIn the next section, we\u2019re going to talk about the gospel. We\u2019ll talk about what it is and isn\u2019t. We\u2019ll learn what it means\u2014what the content of the gospel is according to the Bible. That\u2019s important because believing the gospel is how we become members of God\u2019s family. It\u2019s how we are saved. Salvation is by faith. It is the way God has provided salvation, the path he has created for joining his family. That all centers in what Jesus did.
\n\u201cLOYALTY\u201d
\nIn the last section of the book, we\u2019re going to learn about discipleship. \u201cDisciple\u201d is a term that means \u201cfollower.\u201d Being a disciple of Jesus means following him\u2014imitating him. Jesus said \u201che that has seen me has seen the Father\u201d (John 14:7, 9). Jesus lived in a way that showed he loved God\u2014that he was loyal to his Father and his plan. Discipleship is how we show we love Jesus and love God. It\u2019s not about earning God\u2019s love. It\u2019s how we thank Jesus for accomplishing God\u2019s plan to save us. It\u2019s not about replacing or supplementing what Jesus did for our salvation. It\u2019s how we show we believe in what he did for our salvation (James 2:14\u201326).
\nAs I said earlier, belief and loyalty are two related, but distinct things. They are not interchangeable. The same is true of salvation and discipleship. We believe the gospel for our salvation. We show loyalty to our Savior by being his disciple.
\nPART II
\nTHE GOSPEL
\nCHAPTER SEVEN
\nWHAT\u2019S THE GOSPEL?
\nIt may sound odd to ask that question at this juncture. We\u2019ve just spent a good bit of time walking through the story of the Bible, the story of how God wants us in his family. We join that family by believing the gospel.
\nI\u2019ve discovered that a lot of people who attend church don\u2019t really understand the gospel. Some can\u2019t articulate it. Others who can express it coherently often struggle with truly surrendering to its simplicity. They suffer inside over truly believing that the gospel is all that\u2019s necessary for everlasting life.
\nSome of you may wonder what I\u2019m talking about. I\u2019m willing to bet, though, that as I explain what I mean, you\u2019ll either see yourself or someone you know in what follows.
\nWe\u2019ll start by defining the gospel. I\u2019ll ask some questions along the way that are important to consider for clarity. We also need to talk about what the gospel isn\u2019t. When we get to that part of the conversation, you\u2019ll see what I mean by the struggle I mentioned.
\nWHAT\u2019S THE GOSPEL?
\nIt\u2019s fairly easy to define what the term \u201cgospel\u201d means. The biblical word \u201cgospel\u201d refers to the message of salvation. The English word \u201cgospel\u201d is a translation of a Greek word (the original language of the New Testament) that referred to a reward given to someone who brought good news. Hence you\u2019ll often here the term \u201cgospel\u201d equated with \u201cgood news\u201d\u2014the good news about the message of salvation.
\nLet\u2019s think about that. It might feel like we learned something. I suppose we did, but we didn\u2019t actually learn the thing we needed to know. It\u2019s nice that we can now define a term. But we actually haven\u2019t said anything about the content of the message of salvation. We\u2019ve defined what the word \u201cgospel\u201d refers to, but not what the gospel actually is.
\nSo let\u2019s talk about what the gospel means. What is the content of God\u2019s offer of salvation? What are the details of the good news? And why is it good news? The word appears almost 100 times in the New Testament so we ought to be able to figure this out.
\nThe apostle Paul probably talks about the gospel message more than any other New Testament writer. He uses the word \u201cgospel\u201d for the message he preached about Jesus:
\nNow I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you.\u2026 That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Cor 15:1\u20134)
\nPaul defines his message, the gospel, elsewhere:
\nPaul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God \u2026 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith.\u2026 (Rom 1:1\u20135)
\nThe content of the gospel\u2014the good news\u2014emerges clearly in these passages. Here are the elements:
\n\u2022\tGod sent his Son \u2026
\n\u2022\tWho was born in the line of David \u2026
\n\u2022\tAs the man Jesus Christ \u2026
\n\u2022\tWho died for our sins \u2026
\n\u2022\tWho was buried \u2026
\n\u2022\tAnd who rose from the dead \u2026
\nThese items are the content of the good news. Let me describe them again here in light of the bigger picture of the story we talked about earlier:
\nThe Son of God became a man. He suffered and died on the cross so that our sins would no longer keep us out of God\u2019s family. He rose from the dead so that we could also overcome death and be with his Father, our Father, the only true God, forever.
\nLet\u2019s probe that a bit. If this is the good news, why is it good? Lots of reasons. It\u2019s good because our salvation doesn\u2019t depend on our own performance. You don\u2019t see anything about your amazing track record or having a clean rap sheet in those passages. The content of the gospel is not about what you\u2019ve done, or might do, or need to do. It\u2019s about what someone else did for you. That\u2019s good news for all of us, because none of us is perfect. None of us pleases God all the time. None of us is fit to live in his family and be called by his name on our own. We have to be made acceptable to God. The content of the gospel tells us how that happens.
\nNotice that Paul described his ministry of telling people the good news as \u201cbringing about the obedience of faith.\u201d He wanted those who heard his message to \u201chold fast\u201d to what he said. How do you \u201cobey\u201d the gospel? Get baptized? Give money? Behave well? Don\u2019t be a jerk? Help the poor? Those are all worthwhile things, but No. God wants \u201cthe obedience of faith.\u201d You obey the gospel by believing it.
\nDid you also notice that Paul didn\u2019t say \u201cthe obedience of comprehension\u201d? We may not completely understand things like God becoming a man in Jesus, or how the resurrection could happen. That\u2019s okay. God doesn\u2019t demand we figure it all out and then get back to him to take a final exam. He wants belief. Understanding why these things are rational can wait.
\nThe content of the gospel is God\u2019s offer to forgive you and give you a permanent place in his family. His offer shows his love and kindness. The Bible sometimes uses the word \u201cgrace\u201d in the place of those terms. Since there is no greater power, God wasn\u2019t coerced into the offer. No one is twisting his arm. He offers you salvation because he wants you. All he asks is that you believe.
\nThat is the good news of the gospel.
\nWHY DO WE NEED THE GOSPEL?
\nYou might think I answered this already. I sort of did, at least in a roundabout way. But in light of my experience in Christian circles, I need to be blunt.
\nWhy do we need the gospel? Because without it we have no hope of everlasting life with God. Zero. We are estranged from God because of sin. Believing the gospel is the remedy.
\nThe Bible describes our predicament in several ways. Jesus said he was here to \u201cseek and save the lost\u201d (Luke 19:10). By nature we are \u201cdead in trespasses and sins\u201d (Eph 2:1, 5) and \u201cungodly\u201d (Rom 5:6). We were \u201calienated from God\u201d (Eph 4:18) and \u201chostile\u201d toward him (Col 1:21), because we were his \u201cenemies\u201d (Rom 5:10). It\u2019s not a pretty picture.
\nThe biblical story we walked through explains why we are what we are. We aren\u2019t born into the family of God. We\u2019re outsiders. Yet God wants us in the family. Lacking God\u2019s nature, we abuse our intelligence and freedom to get what we want, often harming others in the process. We live in self-destructive ways. When we don\u2019t image God and we break his laws, when we violate, manipulate, and otherwise abuse others, we sin. We are by nature sinners\u2014self-absorbed and rebellious. \u201cAll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God\u201d (Rom 3:23).
\nIt\u2019s easy to read that and be depressed or angry. But the good news of the gospel story is that God knew all that and loved us anyway. It\u2019s also useful for a reason that may never have occurred to you. It\u2019s what makes the gospel entirely different than any other religion\u2019s teaching about salvation. Every other religion either denies sin is a problem or says the solution is human performance\u2014repeating rituals, saying prayers, observing religious days, or otherwise being good.
\nTo be blunt, only the gospel is honest about the human situation and human inability to do a thing about it. Other religions in effect lie to you\u2014they tell you that you can fix the problem of your own distance from God, or that you don\u2019t have a problem. The gospel is the only truth that tells you God had to provide the solution and did. The gospel is transparently honest. It tells you the truth even though it hurts. That shows love. Lying to you isn\u2019t love.
\nARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO BE SAVED?
\nI more or less just answered this, but I want to approach the question from a different angle.
\nGod offers forgiveness, salvation, and everlasting life with him for free. It\u2019s not something earned or deserved. In fact it cannot be earned or deserved. What\u2019s required is belief, or faith\u2014putting one\u2019s trust in God\u2019s promise and the completeness of what Jesus did.
\nBut believing the gospel means not believing other teachings or ideas about salvation. The Bible says that there is no other way of salvation. Think about it. Why would God the Father send his son Jesus to die such a horrible death on the cross if there were any other way for you to enter Heaven? The Son had to become a man and death had to be overcome. This was the only way, and believing in God\u2019s plan is the only way of salvation. There is no person besides Jesus who can save (Acts 4:12). Jesus himself put it very bluntly: \u201cI am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me\u201d (John 14:6).
\nThere\u2019s no ambiguity there. No one becomes a member of God\u2019s forever-family except through what Jesus has done. You don\u2019t add the gospel to other beliefs. It is exclusive. Believing the gospel means turning away from other beliefs. That\u2019s one aspect of what the Bible calls repentance. There are others, but they\u2019re best addressed in the next part of our conversation.
\nWHAT THE GOSPEL ISN\u2019T
\nOur discussion about the content of the gospel makes it clear that the gospel is about what Jesus accomplished on our behalf. Everlasting life, salvation, is a gift given to those who believe in what Jesus accomplished on our behalf.
\nOur culture tries to muddle this clarity. It offers self-improvement or vague \u201cspirituality\u201d as substitutes. But the biblical description of the gospel defies such things. The gospel (and salvation) has nothing to do with personal enlightenment, \u201clooking within\u201d on a journey of self-discovery. The gospel is not about exploring ideas from a spiritual smorgasbord. These are intellectual or psychological efforts and activities. They aren\u2019t the gospel.
\nBut these sorts of \u201calternative gospels\u201d are the easy ones to detect and eliminate. There\u2019s a much more difficult hurdle that impedes many people from resting in the simplicity of the salvation God offers.
\nI suggested earlier that a lot of people you\u2019d meet in church struggle with the gospel. The reason is because they are caught in a performance trap. You or someone you know may be able to define the term gospel, and perhaps even the content of its meaning. But the idea that believing what Jesus did for you is the sum total of what\u2019s necessary for everlasting life just doesn\u2019t seem right. Surely we have to do something. Otherwise, how could we deserve it?
\nIf you comprehend the Bible\u2019s story and the content of the gospel, you should grasp immediately that we don\u2019t deserve what God offers. And that\u2019s a struggle for many people. We want to feel like we\u2019ve earned the good things we have. We don\u2019t want to be a charity case. It feels wrong to get something good without having worked for it, at least a little.
\nGuilt distorts thinking in even more subtle ways. It can paralyze our ability to see the gospel as the unconditional gift it is. Guilt is what drives some people to justify a gift by concluding it\u2019s deserved because of something they did for the gift-giver at some point. And if they can\u2019t convince themselves of that, they determine to do something after the fact to make themselves feel deserving of the gift.
\nGuilt blinds us to the love of God shown in the gospel. Ultimately, we must come to grips with how self-centered this thinking is.
\nThat may sound harsh, but hear me out. Working hard to make someone else think you have value requires you to focus on yourself. You can\u2019t be focused on someone else when the goal is to make another person think you are worthy of their attention or love. We want to feel good about ourselves (i.e., we legitimately deserved something so we aren\u2019t taking what doesn\u2019t belong to us). We also want others to feel that way about us, too (i.e., we want others to give us something because of the way we make them feel about us).
\nThe gospel strips this away and casts it aside. It exposes us, demanding naked humility. It insists the focus be entirely on God and Jesus. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a hard pill to swallow for so many. It doesn\u2019t let us take any credit.
\nWhat it comes down to is that the gospel cares nothing about what you do, but cares everything about who you already are. You\u2019re human. You are the object of God\u2019s love and plan from the very beginning. None of that requires performance. It just is.
\nBecause we\u2019re sinners living in a fallen world, we\u2019re locked into thinking no one would love us if they really knew us completely, inside and out. Consequently, we can\u2019t imagine God loving us since there\u2019s nothing about us that escapes his attention. He knows every thought, word, impulse, and deed. The guilt that creates within us, and the normalcy of our conditional relationships, make the unfiltered love of God for us in the gospel hard to accept. From our perspective, it doesn\u2019t make sense.
\nI should say at this point that I\u2019m not suggesting that people who hear the true gospel and embrace it with all sincerity aren\u2019t really saved. I honestly believe that they believe and are in the family of God.
\nWhat I\u2019m describing is the soul-crushing internal life many of those believers are still living. Their guilt has transformed the love and grace of the gospel into a performance-centered, merit-based experience. They begin to wonder if God still loves them like he did the moment they understood the gospel and believed it. They look at the sins they commit as believers as reasons for God to be unenthused and ambivalent toward them. They are convinced they can\u2019t measure up to God\u2019s expectations and wonder if they \u201cbelieved enough\u201d or perhaps didn\u2019t really believe at all when they thought they did.
\nThe sad truth is that many genuine Christians live tormented, defeated lives, not because of the gospel, but because of the way their guilt has distorted the clarity of the gospel. When they read Scripture they see only their sins and failures. Every sermon is an indictment (and shame on preachers who preach with that as their main intention). The spectacular wonder of the story gets lost and forgotten.
\nSalvation is not about performance. It never was, never will be, and never can be. We can do nothing to put ourselves at the level of God, to make ourselves fit for his presence. We lack God\u2019s perfect nature. We are like God, created to image him, but by definition we are less than God, and God knows it. That\u2019s why his solution was Jesus, not you.
\nIt\u2019s absurd to think we can bridge that gap or fill that void by doing this or not doing that. God never learns anything new about you when you fail. He\u2019s known you all along and still loved you right where you were and are. Romans 5:8 says it best: \u201cGod shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d Did you catch that? While we were still sinners. You do not need to perform at a sufficient level to prod God into loving you. If you give that some thought, it\u2019s really good news. God is never disappointed with you, because He never has false expectations of your behavior. God has loved you all along. \u201cFor God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life\u201d (John 3:16).
\nWe can boil this down to two thoughts. Salvation\u2014membership in God\u2019s family\u2014cannot be earned. It can only be received, by faith (belief). God offers it because he is gracious and loving. There is no other reason, nor can there be.
\nPART III
\nFOLLOWING JESUS
\nCHAPTER EIGHT
\nWHAT\u2019S DISCIPLESHIP?
\nThe gospel is intended to be transformative. Anyone who has embraced the gospel \u201cis a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come\u201d (2 Cor 5:17). What does that actually look like?
\nYou may recall the answer to this question. Earlier I said that a disciple was a follower\u2014specifically a follower of Jesus. I defined \u201cfollowing\u201d as imitating or imaging Jesus. Being \u201cconformed to the image of Jesus\u201d is our ultimate destiny (Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18; Col 3:10).
\nOur motive for imitating Jesus is not to make God love us so he\u2019ll let us into heaven. God already loved each of us \u201cwhile we were yet sinners\u201d (Rom 5:8) and were God\u2019s \u201cenemies\u201d (Rom 5:10). We get to heaven\u2014we become part of God\u2019s family\u2014when we believe the gospel. On our own we are lost, in need of a Savior (Luke 19:10), alienated from God (Eph 4:18). When that was our situation, God loved us. He didn\u2019t wait until we cleaned up our act to love us.
\nOur motive for imitating Jesus is also not to keep God loving us so we\u2019ll be saved in the end. That which cannot be achieved by performance cannot be lost by performance. Salvation has nothing to do with our own worth or merit. It has everything to do with what someone\u2014Jesus\u2014did for us. \u201cFor our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God\u201d (2 Cor 5:21). We can take no credit for salvation. Jesus gets all the credit.
\nTHINKING CLEARLY ABOUT DISCIPLESHIP
\nWe need to think carefully about how all that applies to discipleship.
\nBecause of the performance trap I talked about earlier, we need to have a clear grasp of the fact that salvation and discipleship are not the same thing. Many believers unconsciously begin to add their own works or performance to the gospel because of guilt for their sin. The result is spiritual bondage, not the abundant life Jesus wants us to have (John 10:10; 2 Cor 1:5; Eph 3:20).
\nSalvation is a gift given to us by God when we believe the gospel. It is undeserved. Nevertheless, God offers it to us despite our sin and hostility toward him. Discipleship is something we do as a result of believing the gospel. We imitate Jesus to show our love for him and for God. Jesus was the ultimate imager of God, so we want to live the same way.
\nThere are a lot of reasons to live like Jesus\u2014to live a holy life. Earning God\u2019s love isn\u2019t one of them. Salvation doesn\u2019t cost us anything; it\u2019s free for all who believe the gospel. Discipleship, however, does cost us something. Following Jesus is often not easy. Being a disciple requires making choices\u2014to love and honor God, to treat people for what they are\u2014fellow imagers of God that he loves and wants to bring into his family through the gospel.
\nThink about Jesus\u2019s own life. It wasn\u2019t easy. As the Bible says, \u201cChrist also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps\u201d (1 Pet 2:21). Jesus lived a life of sacrifice. He put God first, followed by his \u201cneighbor\u201d (everyone else):
\n\u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.\u201d (Matt 22:36\u201340)
\nJesus lived this way not so God would love him or be happy with him. God loved Jesus already, long before he ever came and \u201cdid works\u201d (performed) to fulfill the covenant. He loved Jesus \u201cbefore the foundation of the world\u201d (John 17:24).
\nFollowing Jesus can be hard. Since no believer is like Jesus when they first believe\u2014and since it\u2019s just hard to live like Jesus consistently\u2014every disciple needs to have a change of heart (what the Bible calls \u201crepentance\u201d) about his behavior. I know I did. There were things I had to stop doing, and things I had to start doing. But none of that was to make God love me. He already loved me.
\nJesus did what he did because he loved God. So must we. Jesus lived a certain way to help others believe in him and God\u2019s plan. So must we. Jesus knew why he was on earth\u2014how he would die a horrible death on our behalf. But he also trusted God\u2019s plan and power. He would rise from the dead and be with his Father once more.
\nWe must have the same eternal perspective. This world isn\u2019t our real home. It\u2019s temporary. The next one is permanent. Because of what Jesus did we will inherit everlasting life in that world, leaving this one behind. The goal of our lives should be to show our loyalty and gratitude to the one who saved us, and help others enter God\u2019s family.
\nWhat if we fail? What if we sin? We will do both. God knows that. He knows humans pretty well! He knows who we are. But he already loved us before we had the slightest interest in doing anything to love him back. He loved us when we were his enemies\u2014\u201cwhile we were yet sinners\u201d (Rom 5:8). God loved us before we were in his family. Why would he love us less, or stop loving us, now that we\u2019re in his family? When we sin and fail, He forgives us. He wants us to believe that and get back to imitating Jesus.
\nWHY LIVE LIKE JESUS?
\nI said a moment ago that there are a lot of reasons to live like Jesus, but earning God\u2019s love isn\u2019t one of them. What are those reasons?
\nFirst, sin is self-destructive and harms not only us, but those around us. In my own extended family I\u2019ve seen the effects of alcoholism, drug addiction, and infidelity. It\u2019s obvious that these things destroy lives. It should be equally obvious that the things the world\u2014the unbelieving culture\u2014offers for pleasure and self-gratification are temporary and have no enduring value. The culture tells us to \u201clive life\u201d to gratify our own \u201chappiness\u201d regardless of the misery our decisions create. It offers no eternal perspective. It beckons us to live only for the now. There is no higher calling. The Bible exposes this mindset for what it is:
\nDo not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world\u2014the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life\u2014is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15\u201317)
\nSecond, and in many respects the opposite of the first, living a godly life blesses others. The truth is that the way we live and think either blesses other people or curses them. Jesus served people and was a blessing to them. Pursuing a lifestyle driven by self-gratification and self-absorption isn\u2019t fulfilling. Every super market tabloid offers examples of that reality. Blessing people not only reflects Jesus, but leads to personal fulfillment. Your life matters when it\u2019s lived in service to others.
\nThird, a godly life allows us to be a consistent witness for the gospel. If people look at our lives and don\u2019t see any distinction from the unbelieving world, and don\u2019t see a life lived in service of others, they won\u2019t find the gospel believable (or at best they\u2019ll be confused). They will see our lives as a contradiction of the message of Jesus. In other words, people will expect us to live like Jesus, the person we say loves them. That\u2019s not unreasonable. The alternative is hypocrisy, and no one appreciates hypocrisy.
\nLiving a godly life isn\u2019t about earning a place in heaven. It\u2019s not about putting God in our debt because of the \u201cspirituality points\u201d we\u2019ve racked up. Passages like these have an altogether different focus:
\nI appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:1\u20132)
\nBut God\u2019s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: \u201cThe Lord knows those who are his,\u201d and, \u201cLet everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.\u201d Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Tim 2:19\u201321)
\nSo if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 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. (Phil 2:1\u20138)
\nThese passages give us some idea of how we should live, but we still haven\u2019t gotten to the specifics of discipleship. How does a disciple live? What does a disciple do? Fortunately, Jesus and his original disciples, the first Christians, made that clear. Jesus never told his followers to do something he didn\u2019t do himself\u2014and showed them how to do it. They in turn followed his example and taught others to do the same in the early days of the fledgling church.
\nCHAPTER NINE
\nWHAT DOES A DISCIPLE DO?
\nIt might surprise you, but Jesus didn\u2019t command his disciples to do that many things. His vision for loving God and others wasn\u2019t complicated. But the things he did command them to do are profound and life-changing when put into practice. We\u2019ll start with the most important point of being a disciple.
\nDISCIPLES LOVE GOD, THEIR NEIGHBOR, AND EACH OTHER
\nWe already know how Jesus summed up a life dedicated to God. The greatest commands were:
\nYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matt 22:36\u201340)
\nJesus did these things. He told his disciples, \u201cI do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father\u201d (John 14:31). How did Jesus show he loved God, his Father? He obeyed God. He fulfilled God\u2019s plan for him. He also told them, \u201cAs the Father has loved me, so have I loved you\u201d (John 15:9). Jesus asked his disciples to do the same, as his comments on the two greatest commandments make clear.
\nJesus went further by using himself as an example. He told his disciples to love each other as he had loved them. When they did that, they\u2019d be obeying him and pleasing God. He said to them:
\nGreater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (John 15:13\u201317)
\n\u2026 [J]ust as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34\u201335)
\nLove for God and love for each other are, according to Jesus, the fundamental, indispensable marks of his disciples. Jesus did not see these two commands as in any way contradictory. They were not in tension. They were two sides of the same coin. They were inseparable.
\nBut how do we love people? The highest expression is giving one\u2019s life: \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends\u201d (John 15:13). This is what Jesus did for us:
\nFor one will scarcely die for a righteous person\u2014though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die\u2014but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:7\u20138)
\nShort of this ultimate expression, I can\u2019t think of a better description than 1 Cor 13:4\u20137. It pretty much says all that needs to be said. Here are the characteristics of love from that passage:
\n\u2022\tLove is patient
\n\u2022\tLove is kind
\n\u2022\tLove does not envy
\n\u2022\tLove does not boast
\n\u2022\tLove is not rude
\n\u2022\tLove does not insist on its own way
\n\u2022\tLove is not irritable
\n\u2022\tLove is not resentful
\n\u2022\tLove does not rejoice at wrongdoing
\n\u2022\tLove rejoices in the truth
\n\u2022\tLove bears all things
\n\u2022\tLove believes all things
\n\u2022\tLove hopes all things
\n\u2022\tLove endures all things
\nYou\u2019ll typically see points in this list on cards at Valentine\u2019s Day or romantic swag. That\u2019s fine\u2014we ought to love our spouse or that person we hope might become our spouse. But 1 Cor 13:4\u20137 isn\u2019t really about romance. This is the way we should treat people in general. Whether they recognize it as love is irrelevant. God will see and know.
\nSome of those statements need to be read in context of other statements in the list. For example, \u201clove believes all things\u201d must be balanced with \u201clove rejoices in truth.\u201d We cannot isolate \u201clove believes all things\u201d to conclude love believes false or evil teaching. In like manner, \u201clove hopes all things\u201d doesn\u2019t refer to hoping for evil against someone. But in general, the list is easy to understand\u2014and a daily challenge to live out.
\nOne more point before moving on. It\u2019s crucial to realize that basically everything that follows in what discipleship means extends from this first command of Jesus: \u201cAs I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another\u201d (John 13:34\u201335). Loving each other\u2014loving people\u2014is the central point of orientation for the other things disciples do (pray, fast, give, fellowship, etc.). All these other things are expressions of this fundamental command.
\nDISCIPLES TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER
\nThis element of discipleship is an outgrowth of loving one another. Taking care of each other means being in and nurturing community.
\nAs more and more people came to embrace the gospel in the days following Pentecost (Acts 2:1\u20134), they became part of a growing community that would be called the \u201cchurch\u201d (in their case, the one at Jerusalem). In the New Testament this term didn\u2019t refer to a building or an official organization. The New Testament tells us that the church in Jerusalem was notoriously poor. They didn\u2019t have a building to meet in (and there were thousands of new believers; Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14). They didn\u2019t have any official legal status, so believers were persecuted (Acts 3:11\u20134:31; 5:17\u201342).
\nIf \u201cthe church\u201d wasn\u2019t about a building or an organization that had legal status, what did it mean? How did the followers of Jesus sustain themselves? They formed a tight, self-sacrificing community. Too often in modern churches we use the word community to describe something more similar to a group of people who share an interest\u2014like being fans of a sports team or mutual supporters of a good cause. That falls far short of what New Testament community was. The New Testament church community was a family.
\nWhat\u2019s the difference between family and a group of people who bond together because of a mutual interest? Lots of things. Would you expect someone to give you money to pay your rent or groceries just because you liked the same baseball team? Would you expect someone to give you a job or fix your car just because you voted for the same person, or ran in the same 5K race to raise money for a cause? Of course not. But you would expect help from family members (or at least that\u2019s the way family\u2014blood relations\u2014is supposed to work).
\nThat\u2019s what the early church was like. Here\u2019s a glimpse:
\nSo those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:41\u201347)
\nThis passage doesn\u2019t describe communism or socialism. It doesn\u2019t describe any political system. There\u2019s nothing in the passage about a government or the State giving direction or using coercion for the behavior you see. It was entirely voluntary. It describes the behavior of a healthy, normal family. Families meet the needs of their members. This one just happened to consist of thousands of people.
\nThis is a picture of what disciples do. They nurture community. They love one another and support one another like a family would do. That means sharing resources. For some believers that may mean money; for others it may mean time, or a service, or a skill. Basically, community does what needs to be done for those in the community.
\nYou might wonder, with so many people involved, how this community could know each other. Believers would gather together in the temple (which usually caused conflict with the Jewish leaders, but was good for evangelism) and met \u201cfrom house to house\u201d (Acts 2:46; 5:42). This means that \u201cthe church\u201d in Jerusalem, the original Christian community, was actually a network of smaller communities. People in smaller numbers within the community were the first line of support and acknowledgment of new believers.
\nThese communities were the entry points for new believers. The Christian community was for people who had embraced the gospel. Each community participated in the discipleship of its members and, in certain ways, believers in the wider, larger community. What did this look like?
\nThe first thing that usually happened was to baptize new believers (Acts 2:41; 8:12\u201313; 10:47\u201348; 16:15). Baptism was a public act (it was observed by witnesses\u2014other community members) to identify with Jesus and his followers. It signified several things, among them that your sins had been forgiven because of what Jesus had done on the cross and that you now had new life (Rom 6:1\u20134; 2 Cor 5:17). Baptism was the first step to entering into the life of the community. The persons being baptized acknowledged their faith in Jesus, and the witnesses acknowledged their commitment.
\nWhen communities of believers met together, they discovered needs. If they could meet the needs of people in their small community, they would do so. This allowed believers who met needs to imitate Jesus. For those who were helped, they learned in \u201creal time\u201d how to live like Jesus. When needs were greater than the small community could meet, the wider family of believers was there to help. It was for this wider coordination of ministry that the apostles, the original disciples of Jesus who were leaders of the fledgling Jerusalem church, appointed helpers (\u201cdeacons\u201d) to organize the \u201cdaily distribution\u201d (likely, of food) throughout the entire community (Acts 6:1\u20137).
\nOne of the practices of the earliest churches in this regard was to hold a feast in connection with remembering the \u201cLord\u2019s Supper\u201d (1 Cor 11:17\u201334). The \u201cLord\u2019s Supper\u201d was a memorial celebration of the Last Supper, when Jesus told the disciples that his body and blood would soon be given for them. Jesus told them that giving his life was a fulfillment of the \u201cnew covenant\u201d (Luke 22:20). The description of the feast at the Lord\u2019s Supper says the same thing (1 Cor 11:25). The Lord\u2019s Supper was a way to remember what Jesus had done. Jesus had told his disciples to do it \u201cin remembrance of me\u201d (1 Cor 11:24\u201325). It was also another way to make sure the poor in the believing community were taken care of.
\nDISCIPLES FELLOWSHIP
\n\u201cFellowship\u201d is a New Testament word that describes the activity of the believing community. Taking care of each other is part of biblical fellowship, because when believers meet together, needs can be discerned and met. That said, we need a short discussion of fellowship to talk about other things disciples do.
\nMany Christians today equate \u201cfellowship\u201d with having fun together. For sure doing fun things together strengthens relationships. Enjoying the company of people builds bonds. But that really isn\u2019t biblical fellowship in the sense of becoming disciples.
\nThe basic difference between doing fun things together and biblical fellowship is that fellowship isn\u2019t just about spending time together. It\u2019s much more intentional.
\nThe goal of fellowship is ultimately \u201cbecoming one mind\u201d around Jesus so that we can \u201chave his mind in us.\u201d In others words, the goal of fellowship is discipleship. A couple verses from Philippians capture the idea:
\nOnly let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. (Phil 1:27)
\nSo if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.\u2026 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. (Phil 2:1\u20132, 5)
\nWhat does it mean to have the mind of Christ and then to be of one mind as a community of believers? Does it mean everyone believes the same things down to the last detail? No. The Bible speaks of unity, not uniformity. A better way to understand \u201cbeing of one mind\u201d is that every member of the community is pursuing the same goal: to be like Jesus. The goal is harmony, not unanimity, in pursuing Christ-likeness and living in community together as believers.
\nEarly believing communities engaged in a number of activities to build toward this goal. They prayed, fasted, worshipped, and studied the Scriptures. Since all of those activities are things disciples do individually as well as together, I\u2019ll talk about each one separately as we continue.
\nDISCIPLES PRAY
\nIn simplest terms, prayer is talking to God. But that needs some thought. Doesn\u2019t God already know what we\u2019re thinking? He does. So why pray? Prayer isn\u2019t for informing God. Prayer is a way we can show God (and others) that we depend on God. It is a way to express that we want God to act, that we aren\u2019t relying on ourselves, or that we cannot find a solution ourselves. Prayer fosters our own sense of dependence on, and security in, God alone. In that sense, prayer is worship. The same is true for prayer in groups.
\nIn Luke 11:1 the disciples, referring to John the Baptist and his followers, asked Jesus, \u201cLord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.\u201d Jesus\u2019 response is the now famous \u201cLord\u2019s Prayer\u201d (Luke 11:2\u20134; cp. Matt 6:9\u201315). It is important to note that Jesus didn\u2019t tell the disciples what words to pray in the Lord\u2019s Prayer. Rather, he told them to pray \u201clike this\u201d (Matt 9:9). He was giving them a model. We don\u2019t need to use formulas or special words to talk to God. Just talk to God. Also, prayer should never be done for show (Luke 18:9\u201314).
\nThere\u2019s nothing in the Lord\u2019s Prayer that God isn\u2019t already aware of. Again, prayer isn\u2019t about filling in gaps in God\u2019s knowledge. Rather, the Lord\u2019s Prayer is laced with things like worship and honor of God (\u201challowed be your name\u201d), obedience to God\u2019s will (\u201cyour will be done\u201d), forgiveness (\u201cforgive us our debts as we forgive others\u201d), and requests to be delivered from temptation and evil (\u201clead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil\u201d). Prayer is something that is designed to align our hearts with God\u2019s lordship of our lives and build an attitude of dependence on him.
\nThe Bible is filled with prayers, both individual and corporate. If you read them you learn that prayer is also a means by which we can pour out our feelings to God\u2014anger, grief, love, etc. God isn\u2019t learning anything when we do that. We learn to submit to him, believing he is good and knows best, and asking God for help. Jesus said God would indeed answer in the wider context of his wise will. In other words, God\u2019s answers may not always be what we want, but God knows everything else that\u2019s going on in the course of all human experience and behavior, and is working his greater plan. God may also answer in an unexpected way.
\nThe prayers of the Bible are also not self-focused. Most of their content is aimed at blessing others or asking God\u2019s mercy upon others. Paul\u2019s letters habitually include prayers for those to whom he\u2019s writing. Prayer is not always, or even mostly, about expressing our own needs and wants.
\nJesus prayed frequently. He followed his own teaching that prayer should be persistent (Col 4:2\u20136, Luke 18:1\u20138). Jesus didn\u2019t get every prayer answered\u2014which was acceptable to him, since he was more concerned that God\u2019s will would be done (Matt 26:36\u201346). This is an important reminder about prayer. Jesus taught that God would answer when we pray (Luke 11:9\u201313), but we cannot assume that God would answer the way we want if we are disobedient to him or not in concert with his own will (James 4:3; 1 John 3:22; 5:14).
\nDISCIPLES FAST
\nFasting may be unfamiliar to many readers. Generally, to \u201cfast\u201d from something means to abstain from that thing. To \u201cfast\u201d from food means to go without eating. This is the kind of fasting we see most often in the Bible, though not always. Jesus fasted (Matt 4:2). He presumed the disciples would follow his example and warned them to not be hypocrites when they did so (Matt 6:16\u201318). Fasting isn\u2019t about drawing attention to yourself. It\u2019s between you and God.
\nFasting isn\u2019t merely about abstaining from food. You can fast from all sorts of things in whatever manner you want. Jesus wasn\u2019t recommending a strategy for losing weight. He has something else in mind when he fasted and when talking about fasting. While the Bible contains many instances of fasting, there are no specific rules. Paul noted that married couples might fast from sex (1 Cor 7:1\u20135) to devote special attention to a matter of prayer.
\nBut why do it? Paul\u2019s words in 1 Cor 7:5 about couples agreeing to abstain from sex for a time give us an indication: \u201cDo not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer.\u201d Fasting is a spiritual practice designed to help us focus on prayer. How does it do that? Perhaps an example helps. If you decide to fast from food for a day, whenever you\u2019re hungry you are reminded to pray. Your fasting is a reminder and directs your attention to the reason you decided to fast.
\nAnother way to think about fasting is to ask what distracts us from prayer or, more generally, our walk with God. The answer might be our phones, television, or some hobby. These are all things we can set aside for a time (\u201cfast\u201d from) to bring our minds back to God and prayer.
\nEarly church communities fasted so as to collectively focus on prayer (Acts 13:1\u20133; 14:23). In the Old Testament, community fasting was also a way to show collective sorrow for sin and repentance (Jer 36:6; Joel 2:12).
\nDISCIPLES WORSHIP
\nYou might think worship is easy to define or understand. Well, it is and it isn\u2019t. We too often equate worship with what happens in a church service, mainly the music. That isn\u2019t worship, at least in terms of how the Bible defines it, though music and song were part of Christian gatherings (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16). Another propensity in our culture is to think of worship as an inner-directed mystical feeling or experience. That isn\u2019t worship either. There are a number of passages we could think about, but let\u2019s look at two:
\nI appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:1\u20132)
\nJesus said to the Samaritan woman: \u201cThe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.\u201d (John 4:23)
\nWe\u2019ve already talked about the first one in our discussion of living a holy life. How do you worship God? Live like Jesus. Don\u2019t be conformed to the world\u2014its values and self-gratifying pursuits. That is worship. True worship is thus a matter of the heart.
\nThe second passage is interesting for a specific reason. Jesus told the woman that God is seeking people to worship him. Worship is therefore not something that originates with us. We are invited to respond to God\u2019s goodness and love. How and where we do that can vary. We can do this individually, with or without music, within or outside of a church service. We can also do that corporately, in fellowship with other believers.
\nWhen believers meet together in fellowship they \u201cstir one another to love and good works\u201d (Heb 10:24\u201325). In other words, they prod each other to spiritual worship\u2014imitating Jesus. They praise God for his goodness, love, and providential presence in their lives (Acts 2:46\u201347; James 5:13). Praise included singing songs and making music (Matt 26:30; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), but is unmistakably linked to holy living \u201c\u2026 approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God\u201d (Phil 1:10\u201311).
\nWe cannot lose sight of the fact that our \u201cspiritual worship\u201d of God is intrinsically tied to the way we live (Rom 12:1\u20132). It\u2019s not about a thirty-minute experience at home or in a church. It\u2019s about a life oriented by, and directed to, God.
\nDISCIPLES CONFESS SIN AND ACCEPT GOD\u2019S FORGIVENESS
\nOne of the things a disciple has to come to grips with as soon as their journey of following Jesus begins is that they will fail. None of us is sinless like Jesus (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:21\u201322; 1 John 3:5), nor can we hope to be. The Bible is clear on this point. The disciples sinned (Mark 14:30, 68, 72). One of them, John, wrote later in life:
\nBut if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:7\u201310)
\nIt\u2019s wonderful to know, though, that our membership in God\u2019s family is not due to our performance. Our good works cannot put God in our debt. He never owes us everlasting life on account of any merit we might think we have. Our performance (or lack thereof) did not move him away from us. God loved us \u201cwhile we were yet sinners\u201d (Rom 5:8). Consequently, we must remember that since salvation could never be gained by moral perfection, it cannot be lost by moral imperfection.
\nIn light of our imperfection, the true disciple of Jesus must stay focused on the kindness and love of God. Look again at the passage from John\u2019s letter. It tells us exactly what to do when we fail God, either by doing something that isn\u2019t consistent with imitating Jesus, or leaving something undone that is consistent with being like him: \u201cIf we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d
\nWhen we sin and fail, we must acknowledge it. That\u2019s what confession means. We must not hide, excuse, or rationalize our sin. God wants us to admit it. Why? We need to be humbled. We need to remember that salvation is about what someone else\u2014Jesus\u2014did for us, not what we earn. Confession acknowledges that we are children of God because of Jesus. We can be sure that our sin will not separate us from God; we will not be kicked out of the family (Rom 8:31\u201339). God knew before we embraced the gospel that we were flawed. It\u2019s not something that surprises him. It doesn\u2019t change how he feels about us.
\nAn obvious question then is why we should care about sinning. The New Testament disciples came across that attitude in people. The apostle Paul brought it up in his letter to the Christians in Rome:
\nWhat shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?\u2026 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 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. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 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? (Rom 6:1\u20132, 12\u201316)
\nNotice that the Bible doesn\u2019t say \u201cGod forbid, don\u2019t sin or God won\u2019t love you anymore!\u201d Rather, the concern is returning to the bondage of self-destruction. So, on one hand, we will sin, but on the other hand, we should avoid sinning. This struggle is something the apostle Paul knew well (Rom 7:7\u201325), yet he was a remarkable follower of Jesus. The New Testament alerts us many times that there is a war going on inside us. Our hearts want to follow Jesus, but our unperfected selves want self-gratification and pre-eminence in how we live (1 Pet 2:11; James 4:1).
\nAs we seek to follow Jesus, it\u2019s a good idea to, so the saying goes, to \u201ckeep short accounts with God.\u201d The idea is that when we fail, we should be quick to confess it and thank God for his forgiveness. We should remember what our sin cost Jesus. We should keep following him in loyal love, being grateful that he went to the cross \u201cwhile we were yet sinners\u201d (Rom 5:8) so we could be his brothers and sisters.
\nDISCIPLES STUDY THE BIBLE
\nIn the early church, believers would listen to the apostles\u2019 teaching and study Scripture. Paul and other missionary-apostles did the same thing when they started churches elsewhere (Acts 2:42; 4:2; 5:42; 17:10\u201311; 18:11; 20:20). This was the more common method of learning the Bible in the New Testament era because most people did not have their own copy of the Bible. Many believers could also not read. Even though we are part of a literate culture and have access to the Bible, we can benefit from learning in community.
\nLearning the Word of God is necessary for following Jesus. How else can we learn about sin (behaviors and attitudes to avoid) and Spirit-filled living (the way we should behave)? Scripture teaches us to \u201cto put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness\u201d (Eph 4:22\u201324). When we become part of God\u2019s family through faith in the gospel, the Spirit indwells us (1 Cor 3:16\u201317; 6:19\u201320; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:22) and helps us live fruitful lives:
\nBut if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal 5:18\u201324)
\nDisciples learn and live out the Word of God in their lives. This is how Jesus showed he loved God\u2014he obeyed God\u2019s will. Community is a significant help in doing that. In a community we come into contact with mature believers who have followed Jesus many years. We can learn how their lives changed as they learned to \u201cput off the old and put on the new.\u201d We can go to them for encouragement when we struggle in our pursuit of being like Jesus. They can remind us of God\u2019s love and forgiveness. They understand, since every Christian struggles to turn from sin and do what\u2019s right (1 John 1:5\u201310). Even the apostles struggled against sin and doing what was right (Rom 7:7\u201325; Gal 2:11\u201314). Community means accountability, empathy, and encouragement as we seek to be more conformed to the example of Jesus.
\nDISCIPLES SUFFER
\nThis element might surprise you, but it\u2019s clear in the New Testament. Jesus told his disciples:
\nIf the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: \u2018A servant is not greater than his master.\u2019 If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:18\u201320)
\nThis is where believing loyalty is really tested. It\u2019s one thing to learn that we need to have a change of heart on how we live. It\u2019s quite another to be following Jesus and suffer for it. The apostles suffered for following Jesus (Acts 5:41; 9:16; 21:13; 2 Cor 11:22\u201329). Holding on to faith is a theme throughout the New Testament (Rom 8:17\u201318; 2 Cor 1:3\u20137; Phil 1:27\u201330; 1 Peter 3:13\u201317). Peter, one of the original twelve disciples, had seen Jesus suffer and been imprisoned for his faith (Acts 12:1\u201319). He wrote to believers who had been displaced and scattered by persecution:
\nFor what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Pet 2:20\u201323)
\nEnduring suffering requires us to remember that the gospel does not promise ease in this life, but an everlasting place in God\u2019s family in the life to come. This world is not our real home.
\nDISCIPLES MAKE MORE DISCIPLES
\nWhile loving God, our neighbor, and each other is the most important aspect of being a disciple, the most important thing disciples do is make other disciples. This was the task Jesus commanded his followers just before he ascended to heaven. For that reason it\u2019s called the Great Commission:
\nAnd Jesus came and said to them, \u201cAll 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.\u201d (Matt 28:18\u201320)
\n\u201cMake disciples of all nations.\u201d That was a big part of the story of the Bible. The authority of the supernatural powers that have enslaved the nations has been taken away. God wants his children, his partners\u2014disciples of his Son, Jesus\u2014to share the good news of the gospel everywhere. God wants as many people in his family as possible. Our task is to tell the good news, live it out in front of them, and bring them into the family of God\u2014and teach them to do the same.
\nHow do we do that? We share our faith\u2014how we came to believe the gospel. It\u2019s amazingly simple.
\nFirst, tell people about your life before you believed the gospel and embraced the forgiveness of God through Jesus. People enjoy stories, especially about other people. Why? There\u2019s always something in a person\u2019s story that connects to our own story. When you tell someone about your life before understanding the gospel some detail of your life will be familiar to the person you\u2019re talking to\u2014and maybe a lot that\u2019s in your story will connect with them.
\nSecond, tell them why hearing and believing the gospel was a turning point for you. Usually this has something to do with forgiveness for our sins. It\u2019s wonderful to know that despite the things we\u2019ve done to ourselves and other people, God still loves as and wants us so much that he offers us salvation. Then share the story of how God sent Jesus so that we could be forgiven and have everlasting life with him\u2014the thing God has wanted from the beginning.
\nThird, tell people about the impact that believing the gospel and being forgiven has had in your life. Tell them what it\u2019s like to know God\u2019s forgiveness, love, and promise of everlasting life. Tell them how it\u2019s changed your perspective on who you are and why you\u2019re here. Tell them how embracing the gospel has changed you.
\nSome people may want to see proof of a changed heart. That\u2019s normal\u2014and an opportunity to imitate Jesus. This is one of the important reasons to live a holy life. Jesus loved and served people. People want to be loved and look for authenticity in other people. Responding to people the way Jesus would is powerful. They will notice. They know when someone loves them or not. They know when you put them ahead of yourself for the sake of the message of the gospel. Not everyone believed Jesus. Not everyone will believe in the gospel when you share it with them and treat them like Jesus would. But many will.
\nIMPORTANT NAMES AND TERMS (GLOSSARY)
\nTerms included in this list do not include terms explained in the course of the book. Items capitalized and in boldface are included in the glossary.
\nAbraham\u2014The man God chose to be the forefather of the people who would become known as Israelites or Jews.
\nActs\u2014A book in the New Testament about the history of the first Christians.
\nAdam and Eve\u2014The first two humans (a man and a woman) God created.
\nAngels\u2014Supernatural beings who serve God and assist believers in Jesus. The original Hebrew and Greek terms translated \u201cangel\u201d in English Bibles mean \u201cmessenger.\u201d The term \u201cangel\u201d is therefore a job description\u2014it describes the role of a member of God\u2019s heavenly realm who takes messages to people from God. See the \u201cSummary of Supernatural Terms\u201d following the glossary for more detail.
\nApostle\u2014A Greek term meaning \u201csent one.\u201d There are different kinds of apostles in the New Testament.
\nAscension\u2014Jesus\u2019s return to heaven after his resurrection.
\nAssyrians\u2014Historic enemies of Israel from Northern Mesopotamia
\nBabel\u2014The ancient city of Babylon, located in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).
\nBabylonians\u2014Historic enemies of Israel from Southern Mesopotamia.
\nBeliever\u2014Someone who embraces or has believing trust in the Gospel.
\nBible\u2014A collection of 66 ancient, sacred books, written by men guided providentially by God. The first 39 books are known as the Old Testament, followed by 27 books referred to as the New Testament.
\nChrist\u2014A Greek word meaning \u201canointed one\u201d; equivalent to \u201cMessiah\u201d and a title for Jesus.
\nCovenant\u2014An agreement between two parties. In the Bible God makes covenants with humanity in which he extends promises and blessing to them. Covenants may or may not have conditions.
\nCross\u2014The means of the execution of Jesus. The Roman cross was an upright pole with a cross-beam on which victims were tied or nailed and left to suffocate after torture. In the New Testament, \u201cthe cross\u201d also refers to the place where sin was paid for and Salvation secured for all who believe the Gospel.
\nDavid\u2014Israel\u2019s second king, whom God promised an everlasting dynasty. The Messiah would come from this dynastic lineage.
\nDepravity\u2014A term related to Evil and Sin, though it often refers to the extent and frequency of evil thoughts and behavior.
\nDevil\u2014Another name for Satan and the Serpent. See the \u201cSummary of Supernatural Terms\u201d following the glossary for more detail.
\nDisciple\u2014As a noun, someone who follows Jesus by imitating his life and obeying his teachings; as a verb, \u201cto disciple\u201d someone is to teach them to follow Jesus.
\nEvangelism\u2014The enterprise of spreading the message of the Gospel by various means.
\nExodus\u2014(1) The name of the second book in the Bible; (2) a term describing the ancient nation of Israel\u2019s escape from slavery in Egypt.
\nEvil\u2014Whatever God deems morally or ethically bad, harmful, and offensive to him or his creation.
\nFaith\u2014Believing trust (in someone or something).
\nFall\u2014The Sin of Adam and Eve in Eden and its ensuing implications.
\nForgiveness (of sin)\u2014When God pardons someone from their offenses and wrongdoing against him. When God forgives, any penalty owed to him is canceled. Related concepts include Grace, Mercy, and Salvation.
\nGarden of Eden\u2014The place in God\u2019s original created world where Adam and Eve lived. God was also present in Eden.
\nGenesis\u2014The first book of the Bible.
\nGentile\u2014A term describing anyone who is not part of ethnic Israel; i.e., \u201cnon-Israelite.\u201d
\nGod\u2014In the Bible, when this term is singular and capitalized, it refers to the unique, ultimate, and incomparable Supernatural being who created all that is and who loves humankind.
\nGodhead\u2014The Trinity; the three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) of the one incomparable God.
\nGospel\u2014The message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
\nGrace\u2014When God offers or gives us what we do not deserve; God\u2019s kindness.
\nGreat Commission\u2014The mission given by Jesus to his followers to spread the Gospel and make disciples throughout the world.
\nHebrew\u2014(1) Another term for \u201cIsraelite\u201d; (2) the language in which the Old Testament was originally written.
\nHoly Spirit\u2014The personal Spirit of God, equal to him in essence.
\nIsaac\u2014The son of Abraham born of Sarah.
\nIsrael\u2014(1) The new name of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham; (2) the Old Testament nation begun by God through Abraham and Sarah.
\nIsraelites\u2014Members of Abraham\u2019s lineage; members of the nation of Israel.
\nJacob\u2014The son of Isaac and, therefore, Abraham\u2019s grandson. His name was later changed to \u201cIsrael\u201d.
\nJesus\u2014The Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, but who was also fully God. God became a man as Jesus to enact God\u2019s plan for the Salvation of humankind from Sin.
\nJews\u2014Another name for \u201cIsraelites,\u201d the people descended from Abraham. In ancient times, this was a term given by foreigners to the remaining two tribes of Israelites sent into exile.
\nKingdom of God \/ Christ \/ Jesus\u2014The rule of God through Christ on earth with believers. The New Testament presents this kingdom as present and in progress, but awaiting its ultimate fulfillment.
\nMercy\u2014When God withholds from us the judgment we deserve.
\nMessiah\u2014A Hebrew term that means \u201canointed one.\u201d It refers to the ultimate king from David\u2019s lineage who would bring salvation from sin and liberation of God\u2019s people from their enemies. In the biblical story, Jesus was the messiah. The Greek equivalent of this Hebrew term is \u201cChrist.\u201d Hence \u201cJesus Christ\u201d is \u201cJesus, the messiah.\u201d
\nMoses\u2014an Israelite born during the bondage of Israel in Egypt whom God chose to empower to lead Israel out of that enslavement.
\nMount Sinai\u2014The mountain where God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, and the place where God gave Israel the Ten Commandments.
\nNew Testament\u2014The 27 books following the Old Testament. Their content concerns the life and ministry of Jesus, the history of the first Christians, and the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D.
\nNoah\u2014The man whom God considered righteous at the time of the flood. God instructed Noah to build an ark (a large ship) to save himself, his family, and wildlife from the great flood.
\nOld Testament\u2014The first 39 books of the Bible. Their content is chronologically prior to the birth of Jesus.
\nPaul\u2014An Apostle of Jesus whose ministry focused on Gentiles (non-Israelites).
\nPeter\u2014One of Jesus\u2019s original twelve Disciples.
\nPromised Land\u2014A term applied to geographic Israel, the place God promised to Abraham as the location where his offspring could settle. Before it was occupied by Israelites, this land was referred to in the Old Testament as Canaan.
\nPowers of Darkness\u2014All supernatural beings hostile to God\u2019s plan for his world and human family. See the \u201cSummary of Supernatural Terms\u201d following the glossary for more detail.
\nResurrection\u2014(1) Generally, the conquest of death by new life after death; (2) in the New Testament, a reference to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead bodily three days after he had been executed on the Cross, or the future rising of all believers to everlasting life on a new earth.
\nSalvation\u2014The deliverance of someone who believes the Gospel from their estrangement from God due to sin. In salvation, one\u2019s sins are forgiven by believing the message of the Gospel. Salvation restores the believer to God\u2019s family.
\nSarah\u2014Abraham\u2019s wife whom God supernaturally enabled to conceive a child.
\nSatan\u2014A name given to the serpent in Eden who deceived Adam and Eve. Satan was the first supernatural being in God\u2019s creation that rebelled against God. Satan is God\u2019s arch-enemy in the New Testament. See the \u201cSummary of Supernatural Terms\u201d following the glossary for more detail.
\nSaul\u2014Israel\u2019s first king.
\nSerpent\u2014The enemy of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Bible later calls the serpent the Devil and Satan. See the \u201cSummary of Supernatural Terms\u201d following the glossary for more detail.
\nSin\u2014Any act or disposition that rebels against, or contradicts, God\u2019s standards of righteousness, morality, and ethics.
\nSolomon\u2014One of the sons of David. Solomon inherited the throne after David\u2019s death.
\nSon\u2014In the Bible, \u201cthe Son\u201d (capitalized) refers to the second person of the Trinity, who became a man in Jesus.
\nSons of God\u2014In the Old Testament, supernatural beings either in the service of God or who rebelled against God. See the \u201cSummary of Supernatural Terms\u201d following the glossary for more detail.
\nSpirit of God\u2014Another term for the Holy Spirit.
\nSpiritual warfare\u2014The struggle against Sin and hostile Supernatural forces that oppose the operation of the Great Commission. See the \u201cSummary of Supernatural Terms\u201d following the glossary for more detail.
\nSupernatural\u2014A term referring to that which transcends or falls outside the natural (physical, material) world and universe. A \u201csupernatural being\u201d refers to a being that is a spirit being who by nature is disembodied.
\nTen Commandments\u2014The initial ten moral laws given to the Israelites by God after the Exodus from Egypt.
\nTrinity\u2014The three persons of the Godhead; the biblical doctrine that God is one but exists eternally in three persons.
\nSUMMARY OF SUPERNATURAL TERMS
\nThe Bible presents us with a variety of terms for those beings who inhabit the spiritual world. Christian tradition has often merged these terms, creating confusion. I\u2019ve devoted much of my academic career to these matters, and would invite anyone interested in the subjects of angels, Satan, and evil spirits to read (in this order):
\n\u2022\tSupernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World and Why it Matters
\n\u2022\tThe Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible
\n\u2022\tAngels: What the Bible Really Says About God\u2019s Heavenly Host
\n\u2022\tDemons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness
\nThe first of these books is like this one\u2014it\u2019s not designed to be an academic discussion. The other three books are academic in nature (lots of footnotes and detail). There are thousands of notes and references in these books drawn from scholarly resources to support the content.
\nFor the present, it may be helpful to review or summarize the supernatural world referenced in our presentation of the story of the Bible.
\nThe Bible teaches that there is an unseen world\u2014a world of spirit beings. These beings do not by nature have bodies, though they can assume physical form. The spirit world is \u201csupernatural\u201d\u2014a world that is of a different nature than the physical world and beyond (\u201csuper\u2014\u201d) the natural, physical world.
\nGod is a member of the spirit world, but is superior to it as its creator. God alone is uncreated and eternal. He created all the other spirit beings that inhabit the spiritual world just as he created all life in the world we know (i.e., the physical, material world).
\nThe Bible describes the members of the spirit world with a variety of terms (e.g., Rom 8:38; 1 Pet 3:22). I\u2019ve introduced some of them in this book. Some of these terms are job descriptions\u2014ways of describing what a spirit being does. \u201cAngel\u201d is one example. The term means \u201cmessenger.\u201d All that said, in the Greco-Roman culture of the New Testament, \u201cangels\u201d also became a term for any member of the heavenly host who had not rebelled against God. The term \u201cdemon\u201d became the label for all who did rebel, despite the fact that \u201cdemon\u201d had a variety of meanings in the ancient world.
\nThe descriptive phrase \u201csons of God\u201d is a family term that reminds us that God is the Father (Creator) of spirit beings. The term means more than that, though. I discuss the phrase in Supernatural and The Unseen Realm at length. \u201cSons of God\u201d refers to a high rank in God\u2019s \u201clabor force.\u201d It is drawn from the language of how a king\u2019s children in the ancient world received high positions of responsibility. In the biblical story, the \u201csons of God\u201d were assigned to rule the nations God had judged at Babel\u2014a job that was more important than merely delivering messages (the task of \u201cangels\u201d).
\nOriginally, all the members of the spiritual world were loyal to God. Things didn\u2019t stay that way. As we read in this book, God shared his qualities with the members of the spirit world when he created them. One of those qualities was free will. Some of the members of the spiritual world exercised their freedom in rebellion against God\u2019s wishes and God\u2019s human family. Collectively, all spirit beings in rebellion against God and his people are the \u201cpowers of darkness.\u201d Nevertheless, the Bible distinguishes God\u2019s spiritual enemies during the course of the story of God\u2019s desire to have a human family.
\nThe Bible describes three such rebellions. The first occurred in the Garden of Eden. One of the members of the spiritual world wanted to undermine God\u2019s desire to have a human family. In the biblical story that figure came to Eve as a serpent and deceived her. Later in the Bible labels like \u201cSatan\u201d (a term that means \u201cAdversary\u201d) and \u201cDevil\u201d (a term that means \u201cslanderer\u201d) became names for this original rebel.
\nLater in the biblical story some of the heavenly sons of God rebelled. They transgressed the boundary between the spiritual and physical world. The short book of Jude describes their sin as \u201cnot staying within their own position of authority.\u201d Church tradition eventually came to (imprecisely) call these rebellious sons of God \u201cfallen angels\u201d to describe their \u201cfall\u201d from holiness, or \u201cdemons\u201d to denote their wickedness. This despite the fact that the Old Testament never uses \u201cangels\u201d or \u201cdemons\u201d of the rebels of Gen 6:1\u20134.
\nLastly, the \u201csons of God\u201d to whom the nations were assigned after the Tower of Babel episode became corrupt at some point of their assignments. Psalm 82 is all about their judgment. These territorial entities are the basis for the supernatural \u201cprinces\u201d associated with nations in Daniel 10, as well as the \u201cprincipalities\u201d, \u201crulers\u201d, \u201cauthorities\u201d, \u201cthrones\u201d, and \u201cpowers\u201d Paul wrote about in various passages (e.g., Eph 6:11\u201312). All these terms speak of geographical dominion, and so they are appropriate to describe the situation that emerged after Babel in the biblical story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INTRODUCTION What does God want? Sounds like a simple question, but if you give it a bit of thought, it\u2019s really not. Why? Well, for starters, you have to know who\u2019s asking the question. People will ask it for a lot of different reasons. Is it a cry of anger from someone in pain? Perhaps … <\/p>\n