To the Glory and Praise of God

In this post, I seek to define worship in a very rudimentary way. Certainly worship is much larger than can be described in a couple paragraphs, but I want to give a couple thoughts regarding its definition. The Wesminster Shorter catachism summarizes the entire topic of worship as it asks its first question, “What is the chief end of man”¹. The response is simple: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”² Thus, worship is expressly tied to God’s glory.

Jonathan Edwards also helps to understand this idea when he writes,

God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. God made the world that he might communicate, and the creature receive, his glory . . . both [with] the mind and the heart. He that testifies his having an idea of God’s glory [doesn’t] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation [i.e., his heartfelt commendation or praise] of it and his delight in it”³.

At its basic meaning, worship is ascribing honor and worth to the one being worshiped. Worship is not for the benefit of the worshiper nor directed at the worshiper. Rather, worship is the response of God’s people to the person and work of the Trinity. As Frame writes, “worship ‘in Spirit and Truth,’ then is Trinitarian worship – worship that is aware of the distinctive work of the Father, the Son and the Spirit for our salvation.”⁴ Worship is foundational to the vertical relationship between the worshiper and the worshiped and therefore important to the life of believers.

1. http://www.reformed.org/documents/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/documents/WSC_frames.html [↩]
2. Ibid. [↩]
3. http://www.apuritansmind.com/jonathanedwards/JonathanEdwards-Miscellanies-Happiness.htm [↩]
4. Frame John. Worship in Spirit and Truth. (Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing,1996.), 7. [↩]

When you think of worship, what comes to mind? Probably for a christian two things immediately are given as an answer. The first being music (and by extension the worship service) and second being the time when a bunch of people who gather in a place to hear someone speak something about some book called the Bible. Both of these views are popular, but neither takes into account the teaching of scripture. These next posts will deal with worship begining with the question” what is worship?”

In order to answer this first question, we must first deal with the above misconceptions of worship. First, worship is not limited to music, although music is an important aspect of worship. Rather, Paul indicates in his letter to the Ephesians that they are to build one another up with songs. Second, worship is not just a social gathering. Many treat the Sunday service as nothing more than a social event, even if that event is to hear a sermon.

Both of these events have a singular goal in mind: to build up the believers so that they are equipped for the work of the ministry. Worship is not an activity of a believer, rather it is their total attitude in every setting of life.

After graduation at Northland International University, I have been traveling with my parents and sister to her home in South Dakota. While here, I have opportunity to take in the local sights.

This morning, My parents and I visited Mount Rushmore. While not my first time to visit, it was the first time that I had clear view of the enormous sculptures. On my previous visits, it was dark, cloudy, and miserable as my family tried to distinguish the faces of the four presidents.

However, today was an amazingly beautiful day! We were finally able to see the mountain in the splendor of the morning sun.

Among many of the amazing facts about the mountain is that the sculptor Gutzon Borglum chose the exact spot that the monument rests to catch the morning light.  The incredible planing and the multitude of scale models and prototypes is staggering, but through all of the trial and error Borglum created on of the most recognizable landmarks of American history.

While the human race indeed can create works of art that are stunning in complexity or sheer size, God’s created works far surpassing the finite works of human beings.

From Genesis 1 and the creation account, the vast heavens, the masses of land, animals, plants, and everything else is declared to be the direct creation of God. Not only did he create it, but the quality of all of it was “very good.”

Not the least of God’s creation is human kind. In Psalm 139:14, the writer, David, states that he (any by extension every other human being) is fearfully and wonderfully made. In the providence of God, the human being is treasured by God and is special to Him. Perhaps because humans are created in the image of God, He takes delight in these creatures. It is  God’s delight in His creation (though defiled) that we should look back to our creator. And just like a mountain carved to reflect the images of great men of history, we should reflect back the image of the great God who created us.

What we believe about God dramatically shapes the way that we live. All of us are theologians because we all have thoughts about God. These thoughts shape our lives and mold us into the people we are. The atheist rejects the evidence of a creator God and he or she becomes the ultimate arbitrator of truth and morality. The pantheist sees god  in every object. The polytheist believe that the gods fight petty wars among themselves just as humans do. Each of them however forms the thoughts and actions of the people who hold them.

The Theist alone looks to God’s own revelation of Himself for his or her theology. They contend hard with the words of scripture which claim to be spoken directly by Him.

Theology is not difficult because we don’t have God’s words: we have them collected and preserved in the Bible. Theology is difficult because we are fallen and finite beings. Sin distorts our view of God reflected in scripture and we naturally “suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18) about God.

Our theology must be guided by scripture. This is true, but we must also recognize that our nature makes looking at the scripture correctly difficult. For this we must have the one who wrote the scripture enlighten us to understand what He revealed. This is percisely what Paul prays for in Ephesians 1.

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

While many pastors focus on the imperative to “be kind” and its attendant “forgiveness”, often overlooked is that the ultimate motivation for us to forgive other fallible human beings lies in the forgiveness that we ourselves received from God.

Forgiveness is not not found necessarily in words, but is demonstrated. Love for fallen human beings motivated God to forgive us through the work of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-6).  While much can be said about God’s forgiveness, our forgiveness of one another for things mundane or critical should be motivated by that same thing which motivated God: Love!

The apostle Paul used a term that is often translated “tenderhearted” to describe the compassion of a person as he or she looks at the plight of another. That strong, intense focus on the one who wronged us should move our focus to how we have wronged God and yet he still forgave us.

Forgiving others is not our first thought when we are wronged. It is not natural for us to forgive. In fact, it is impossible to forgive another human being in the same way that God forgave us unless we forgive in Christ. It is Christ’s redemption work that provides the foundation for us to forgive one another.

Therefore, since God forgave us much we are able to forgive others much for their inconsistencies, failed promises, and pain they caused us (and hopefully others will forgive us for our own failures as well.)

A friend of mine posted this quote earlier today:

“Had God consulted us for wisdom we could have given him a more workable plan, something that would attract the sign-seeker and the lover of wisdom. As it is, in his own wisdom he left us out of the consultation.” (G. Fee on 1 Cor. 1:21-25)

Classical usage of the term σφραγίζω (to seal) essentially means to identify a belonging with its owner.¹ In this sense a seal would be a mark denoting ownership of a particular object or thing. Previously in this passage, God has chosen a group of people and has predestined them for adoption. God’s mark of ownership of these people is the Holy Spirit². A second aspect of sealing is that of protection. Owners who mark their property will seek to protect what is theirs. O’Brien relates the relationship of the sealing of the Spirit with the promise of full possession of the inheritance: “by giving Gentile believers the Spirit, God ‘seals’ or stamps them as his own now, and he will be protect [sic] them through the trials and testings of this life until he takes final possession of them on ‘the day of redemption’”³

How does one receive the seal of the Spirit? The seal is not given because of some act done by a believer. Walvoord notes that the act of sealing is entirely accomplished by God. It is never commanded or set as a goal for believers to reach⁴. However, the passage states that when the Ephesians heard the truth of the gospel and believed, they were sealed. The relationship between belief and sealing is not antecedent. The sealing occurs at the same time as belief and not some time after⁵.

Paul uses legal terminology to describe the relationship of the Holy Spirit to a believer. He is said to be the ‘guarantee’ of the believers inheritance. The term ἀρραβών (ernest [kjv]) is a Hebrew transliteration which literally means “an advance transaction that guarantees the validity of a contract or a full purchase price down payment, first installment, pledge”⁶ As Grudem describes it, “When God gave us the Holy Spirit within, he committed himself to give all the further blessings of eternal life and a great reward in heaven with him.”⁷ The Holy Spirit is only part of God’s inheritance to believers. Romans gives a broader look at this picture by showing that believers have the firstfruits of the Spirit and eagerly await for the final stage of salvation: the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:23). This is the inheritance of which the Holy Spirit is the first down payment⁸.

While the believer is sealed by the Spirit and marked out as God’s possession, believers can also grieve that same Spirit (4:30). The imperative found in this verse give ample motivation for the preceding and following imperatives (“Let the thief no longer steal…[4:28]” , “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths…[4:29]” , “Let all bitterness… be put away from you [4:31]” , “Be kind … [4:32]” , “Be imitators of God [5:1]” , “walk in love [5:2]”). This reference to irritating the Holy Spirit by these acts can possibly be traced back to Isaiah 63. Israel had rebelled and grieved the Holy Spirit in spite of all the blessings they had received⁹. It might be said that “Paul issues a warning to this new community [the church] not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ‘as Israel had done’ in the wilderness (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-11), the more so since they have been sealed by that same Holy Spirit until the day of redemption (4:30)¹⁰.

The last phrase in 4:30, “by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” might suggest purpose, but a reference to time might be more in view¹¹. The two are closely related. Certainly a purpose of the day of redemption includes a time principle. However, Hoehner suggests that two phases of redemption exist. One is the day “that sets believers free from sin” and a second that “occurs in the eschatological future when Christ comes for the saints, setting believers free from the presence of sin.”¹² Whenever the day of redemption is to occur, believers have been sealed and will experience the fullness of God’s intention for them.

1. Hoehner, 238 [↩]
2. Hoehner notes that many identify the Spirit’s act of sealing with baptism. He notes that this is a confusion of the ministries. Baptism refers to placing a believer in the body of Christ while sealing refers to God’s mark of ownership of a person. [↩]
3. Peter T. O’Brien. The Letter to the Ephesians.(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1999), 120. [↩]
4. John Walvoord, 157 [↩]
5. O’Brien, 119 [↩]
6. Timothy Friberg, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 75 [↩]
7. Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 791. [↩]
8. Millard J. Erikson. Christian Theology. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 1010. [↩]
9. God bringing up the children of Israel from Egypt comes to mind. Isaiah in 1-6 recounts that God desired to help, but no one available. [↩]
10. O’Brien, 347 [↩]
11. Hoehner, 632. [↩]
12. Ibid. [↩]

Note: These are just some thought as I have been studying the book of Ephesians. I may decide to release part a part two to follow up.

The term μυστήριον (musterion – mystery) occurs six times in the letter to the Ephesians. In new testament literature it refers to the kingdom of God (Mark 4:11), the resurrection / rapture (I Corinthians 15:51) and the incarnation (I Timothy 3:16). Both Colossians and Ephesians use the term in relationship to the Church and particularly to the act which brings the church into existence: reconciliation. This post seeks to examine the content of the μυστήριον in Ephesians and how it relates practically to a believers life¹.

The basic meaning of the word μυστήριον describes Greco-Roman secret rites or teachings especially in the religious realm. There was a certain reluctance to divulge these secretes in historic times². Some commentators suggest the term was borrowed from these ancient mysteries and given a Christian twist. While heathen mysteries were guarded closely and never revealed, the mystery of Christ is freely divulged to all people³ . Others note, however, that there is no need to assume that Paul had “the heathen mysteries in his mind when he used the word.”⁴ It is therefore necessary to examine Paul’s usage in Ephesians to determine the meaning in this aspect.

The first use of the word in 1:9 is that the mystery concerns God’s will and what the Father has planned to accomplish. This plan was conceived before the creation of the world (1:4) and contains His plan to bring all things into their proper place. Fulfillment of this plan ultimately takes place in the fullness of time⁵ .

The second use in 3:3 and 3:4 describes this mystery as one that can only be made known by direct revelation of God. God revealed this mystery to Paul, the human agent. Paul wrote about the mystery previously in a few words⁶ about the admission of the gentiles into the new body called the church (1:9; 2:11). The genitive τοῦ χριστοῦ if taken objectively would indicate that the mystery is about Christ⁷ . Abbott notes that others have taken it as an appositive or an identification of this mystery with reference to Colossians 1:27⁸.  However, there is a major difference between them: Ephesians is “the mystery of Christ” while Colossians is “the mystery is Christ in you.” It seems proper to understand that the mystery is about what God is doing through Christ and has now been made known to believers through Paul.

The content of the mystery in Ephesians is that the Father has united two groups of people into one. The will or plan of God has already been mentioned in 1:10: to unite all things in Him. Chapter two describes the what this uniting entails. Prior to the believers salvation, their former lifestyle was thoroughly flesh oriented (2:1-3). However, God provided the opportunity for salvation by faith (2:4-10). Paul points out that two groups exist. The distinction between these two groups is that one was near and one was a far off (2:11,12)⁹. The resulting third group of people who have brought near are identified as “living stones” who are forming a temple as a dwelling place of God (2:19,21).

The final two references to this mystery are practical applications flowing from the understanding of God’s plan. The latter part of chapter 5 deals with the responsibilities of the husband / wife relationship to properly reflect the relationship of Christ and His church. The point of the marriage relationship to the mystery of which Paul speaks is that the two people (husband and wife) become one new person in marriage. Verse 33 is the summation of the responsibilities: the husband must love his wife as Christ loved his church and the wife is to submit to the husband and the church is to be under the authority of Christ.

Paul’s final request is that the believers would pray that God would give him opportunity to declare the mystery which has already been discussed (6:19).

1. Author’s Note: I will finish this in a part two [↩]
2. BDAG, 661. [↩]
3. T.K. Abbott. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians and Colossians., 15 [↩]
4. Ibid. [↩]
5. Harold Hoehner. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. (Grand Rapids :Baker Academic, 2002), 219. Literally the phrase is plural (“the fullness of the times”). As Hoeher notes, the only other time that this plural phrase is used is in Luke 21:24 where it refers to the fullness of the times of the gentiles when Messiah would rule the earth. Paul presents in 1:11 what this Messianic rule will look like. [↩]
6. Ernest Best. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians. (Scotland : T & T Clark Edinburgh, 1998), 302. An alternate view is common relating to the meaning. These view the meaning here Paul (or whoever the author might have been) had previously written another letter to the Ephesians, possibly Galatians or Colossians. A major difficulty about this view is that Paul could not have been sure that the Ephesians had already received these letters. Also, the context and the meaning of the word does not force one to look outside the current correspondence. [↩]
7. Hoehner, 437. [↩]
8. Abbott, 80. [↩]
9. Those who are near and far are separated by the “middle wall of partition”. Christ abolished this wall in his flesh. The identification of this wall is the Mosaic law with its commandments and ordinances. Those who were given the Mosaic law are those who are “near” and those who are outside of the nation of Israel (gentiles) are those who are “far” [↩]

As part of the requirements for my degree with a pastoral emphasis, I must complete a 9 week internship under the supervision of a senior pastor. I have chosen to do my internship at my home church as this might be the last time I have opportunity to spend an extended length of time with my parents. I also love the scenery from around the area and even cursed beauty is still marvelous!

One of unique aspects of my particular situation is that I am working with three churches and a summer camp during the 13 weeks that I am home. This presents challenges as I try to plan events with the various pastors. I had been invited to watch the youth group minister in the evening service at a fourth church, but after the morning service and lunch, I had forgotten all about it. Planning is a must if I am going to accomplish all the necessitites along with the other things I want to do myself.

Most of my responsibilities for the past week have been preparing for sermons. Nothing too different from the standard research that I would normally do for a sermon. I spent the day last Sunday (May 17) with Pioneer Peak Baptist Church and preached in the evening service. The sermon was the first time I preached Philippians 2:1-4 speaking about the unity the church has in Christ. Wednesday I preached from Romans 12:1-2 focusing specifically on the command to have our minds transformed. Both messages God has used to challenge the way I think about the church and the way believers should relate to one another.

Monday I visited the nursing home. Pastor was away, but a good friend of mine filled in and brought the challenge.

My home church is just about finished with a building project and will need to be moved into the new building by the end of the month. I spent some time over there cleaning saddened by the fact that I was not able to be there for most of it’s construction. The additional space will help the church with its Sunday school program as well as the potential ministries that might be down the road.

Being home has been one of the most encouraging aspects of the internship so far. It has been several years since I took a break from my “normal” life and do something different. My parents and I had dinner together yesterday which was something that I had looked forward to for most of the past 12 months.

As a (Lord willing) future pastor, I am constantly amazed at the work in which God had called pastors to do. One of those aspects is that of preparing the sermon. The command given to Peter in John 21:17 and later to pastors through the Peter in I Peter 5:2  is to tend to the flock of God by feeding the sheep.

The meal is the Word of God and it provides nourishment to the hungry soul. It is the bread of life in written form and it satisfies. The pastor (shepherd) then must take care on how the meal is prepared. If the meal is really only the thoughts and ideas of the pastor himself, the flock will go hungry because it is not the food that the people need. The pastor is only able to provide food out of the storehouse of God’s word.

Last Sunday, I was notified that I would be preaching in the morning service. I was already prepared with a sermon that I had finished the night before, but I had been studying out of Philippians and wanted to preach out of the book. On that Sunday evening, I looked at the passage and meditated on it for the evening. The text I had chosen was Philippians 3:1-11. As the text flowed past my eyes, an outline and a thought process emerged. “This is great,” I thought. However, as I thought more and more on the words of God, I realized more and more the depth of that passage.

When it finally came to write out my meditations and research on paper, the task was daunting! The trite outline that I created was pale in comparison to the depth of the passage and I spent a major part of the morning rethinking about how to present this text to people who are starving for the word of God!

Constantly, as I read through the text in my mind again and again, I wanted to experience what Paul had experienced.

And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Phil 3:9

Paul had just rejected everything that he was according to the flesh and everything that he had done according to the flesh as refuse, unworthy to please God. He realized that the only way to please God is through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The more I read those words, the more I desire Christ’s righteousness! I recognize day by day that my righteousness is insufficient and will never be accepted by God apart from faith in Christ.

I am not talking about being un-regenerate, but as a person who has been gloriously saved from sin and adopted by God into his family, I realize the need to live rightly in this family so that God will be pleased. It is the same righteousness that saved me as a sinner that I need as a saved person to please God.

All of this has been on my heart for the week and I know there is not enough time on Sunday to preach everything that God has laid on my heart! However, my desire is to stir within those to whom I am speaking a desire to know Christ.

God has shown me several lessons this week about the ministry which I believe he has called me to participate in. First, my heart preparation for the message must begin at the beginning of the week. How else is the pastor to feed the sheep if the food he is serving is stale and not fresh in his own life? Malnourished shepherds probably mean malnourished sheep.

Second, Even though I had a sermon already prepared, and even if I do not preach this sermon that God has laid on my heart, just by being involved in the intense responsibility of its preparation has lifted my heart and prepared my for the Sunday service.

Finally, as I sit in my office, reviewing the sermon that I spent the last several hours typing out, I realize that as a pastor this is not just a once a month occurrence, not even a once a week occurrence, but it is going to be a several-times-a-week occurrence and that I must be prepared at all times.

While the ministry will be tough and difficult, I know God will supply his strength to bring me through every step of the way.