The State of the Church
January 25, 2012
This past Tuesday, I unintentionally delivered something of a state of the church address in the middle of the Men’s Bible Study. We took the entire evening to talk about Acts 9:31 where Luke tells us,
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
We talked about how, by God’s grace, the Lord has been pleased to bless our congregation with peace, along with growth in grace and godliness (or to put it in Luke’s language, “being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit”). We also talked about how the Lord has been pleased to grow and multiply our congregation over these last two and a half years and not just by adding more children to our number! Though he certainly has done that, hasn’t he?
I took the time in the Bible study to reflect on (without mentioning any specifics whatsoever) how life together as a church isn’t or hasn’t always been perfect. We are a congregation of sinners, and so there have been hard times and challenges in the life of the church. Sadly, sometimes there hasn’t been peace between members. Sadly, sometimes tearing down rather than building up has taken place. Sadly, sometimes there has been walking in the fear of the world rather than in the fear of the Lord. And sadly, sometimes there has been a pressing need for the Holy Spirit to pour out his comfort in greater measure.
I don’t think that we do ourselves any great favors by hiding these realities. Denying these realities almost seems tantamount to denying our need for God’s grace. We need God to constantly and graciously be at work in our body. And in his kindness and goodness and mercy and love, he is. It was through no accidental act of providence (as if those exist) that our congregation was named Grace Baptist Church of Arlington. We need God’s grace and God has poured out his grace among us.
We have peace as a body because God has been gracious to us to give us peace with him and each other. We are being built up through the Word and prayer and the ordinances because God graciously works through them. We walk in the fear of the Lord because God graciously motivates us through his love displayed in the vicarious life, substitutionary atoning death, and vindicating resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. We enjoy the comfort of the Holy Spirit as we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit by the resurrection power of Christ.
So here is the state of Grace Baptist Church of Arlington: God has been gracious to us, he is being gracious to us, and he will be gracious to us. Praise God for his past, present, and future grace.
“The State of the Church” is a post from the Grace Baptist Blog by Mike Law
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Under Blog, Church, Grace Happenings, Reflections
A Brief Reflection on the Incarnation
January 11, 2012
As we come out of a season in which we spent some time meditating on the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and as we move into a series in the gospel of John (which opens meditating on the incarnation of Jesus Christ), I thought that it might be valuable to think through the immense theology of the incarnation. J.I. Packer notes in his book Knowing God that the incarnation might in fact be the greatest mystery of all. Packer writes,
“But in fact the real difficulty, the supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us, does not lie here [in the atonement, the resurrection, or the Gospel miracles] at all. It lies not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of Incarnation. The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man — that the second person of the Godhead became the “second man” (1 Cor 15:47), determining human destiny, the second representative head of the race, and that he took humanity without loss of deity, so that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as he was human.” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p.53)
In John 1 the apostle stresses Jesus’ humanity and his divinity. We see his humanity stressed by the word “flesh,” and we see his divinity stressed by John’s use of the phrase “and the Word.” When you connect those phrases, as John does in John 1:14 by saying, “the Word became flesh” we have quite clearly a description of the theanthropic person – that Jesus had two distinct natures united in one person.
Very early on, John defines what he means by the Word and the flesh. With his use of “Word,” John alludes to a period of time before the creation of the universe where the Word was not only in fellowship with God, but that the Word was God. John does not leave it at that for he goes on to say that the Word became flesh. In this John is stressing that the Divine Logos (the Son and Second Person in the Godhead) took to himself human nature. This is an important point for John. In fact, throughout John’s gospel this will be an emphasis, and it will become especially clear for in John’s passion narrative he would describe how the spear would pierce Jesus’ flesh. John is at pains to communicate Christ’s full humanity throughout his gospel, and especially in John 1.
But perhaps you wonder how should this effect your tomorrow. Recognizing the truth that Jesus is fully God should guard us from diminishing him, and positively encourage us to worship him. We should always remember that this man Jesus is our Lord, and we are to love him, obey him, and bow before him in humble praise. Still, recognizing the truth that Jesus is also fully man should bring us great comfort and encouragement, for our Lord and God has walked more than “a mile in our shoes.” He has known the trials and struggles of this life. He knows the fallen world that we have endured in pain and sorrow. Every word that falls from his lips comes from the mind and heart of our Redeemer and Friend. Jesus is not a person you want to reject or neglect, because he is fully God and fully man, he is a person that you want to come to know and love more and more each new day.
“A Brief Reflection on the Incarnation” is a post from the Grace Baptist Blog by Mike Law
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Give Ear
January 4, 2012
Sometimes we fail to recognize the interdependent nature of much of theology. In other words, while one doctrine may be distinct from another that does not mean they are unrelated. That seems fairly obvious when we think of the doctrine of the Trinity and the Doctrine of the Second Person of the Trinity. There is clearly a connection between the two. The same can be said of the doctrine of Scripture, and in this instance we could even say that the attributes of Scripture stand or fall together. The authority of Scripture, its clarity, its necessity, and sufficiency all depend upon one another and are intimately related to one another. So let’s think about those attributes for a moment.
The Bible itself claims that all of the Words of Scripture are God’s personal words to his people, and if they are God’s words they are authoritative words. On several occasions throughout the Old Testament, we read the words “Thus says the Lord.” This formula is not merely some simple statement that God is going to inform his people of something interesting. It may in fact inform, but more often than not, the declaration “Thus says the Lord” comes to the people of Israel with ethical demands. The Lord has said, and now his people must do. Similarly, in the New Testament, Jesus makes his words a test of discipleship. In John 12:47-48, Jesus declares that his words will judge his hearers on the last day. If his words will judge, then certainly they contain the authority to do so. Similarly, those whom Jesus commissioned to bear witness to his saving work also speak and write authoritatively calling the young churches into action.
Like the attribute of authority, the Scriptures also testify to their clarity. It must be said that this does not mean that everything in Scripture is equally clear, but this refers to those things that are necessary to be believed for salvation. We see this in 2 Timothy 3:15 where Paul reminds Timothy that the Scriptures can make us wise unto salvation. Moreover, in Psalm 19:7-9, we’re told that the Scriptures make wise the simple. And in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, parents are instructed to teach their children God’s word. That would be a very odd command if the word of God was not clear. No, the Word of God is clear, it is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path. It clearly shows us the path of following the Lord Jesus Christ in faith.
God’s Word may be authoritative and clear, but is it necessary? Protestant Christians have not only taught that Scripture is necessary, but they have taught that Scripture is most necessary. General revelation (creation and the image of God in man) is not enough. It is insufficient to bring us to a saving knowledge of God. If it is necessary for us to believe God’s word of promise in order to be saved, then it is necessary for us to have that word from God. And praise God that we do!
The final attribute of Scripture is often classified as sufficiency (or perfection). The Bible contains all that we need for life and godliness. It is a perfect and complete treasure of heavenly instruction. If the Bible lacked perfection or did not sufficiently or fully communicate God’s will to us, then its authority wouldn’t be absolute. One of the strongest claims of the Bible’s sufficiency is found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 where we’re told that the Scriptures have been provided so that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work.
When considering the attributes of Holy Scripture and why they stand or fall together, it is important to remember precisely what is being considered – just how it is that the Bible functions in relation to the believer, the church, and the Holy Spirit. In sum, when we believe God’s Word by the grace and power of the Spirit we are brought into fellowship with Christ. If God’s Word is to be believed, then it must possess the authority to issue the call for us to believe. If the Word does possess that authority, then what it is calling us to believe must necessarily be clear. Such authority and clarity actually presupposes the fact that the Word is necessary for faith and life. If the Word is necessary for faith and life, then it must also be sufficient for faith and life.
In order for sinners to be saved it is necessary for God to speak authoritatively, clearly, and completely (sufficiently/perfectly). If God does not speak in this way, then there is no hope of salvation, but the glorious good news is this – he has. This is not just some abstract idea that has no connection to your life. As you read God’s Word this week in your quiet time, or as you study God’s Word in your Bible Study, or as we gather to hear from God’s Word on Sunday morning we can rejoice that we are reading, studying, and hearing God’s personal Word to us. May we all, as Psalm 49:1 says, “Give ear.”
“Give Ear” is a post from the Grace Baptist Blog by Mike Law
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