Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Rants from the Fig Tree

The Glory of Man

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.”  Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 1 Pet 1:22-25

Peter is quoting from the deeply prophetic Isaiah chapter 40 which among other things contrasts the greatness of God with the apparent weakness and yes- the relative insignificance of man’s life on earth. Hence the featured image for this post is titled “The Pale Blue Dot”. It is a photo of Earth taken on February 14, 1990, by the Voyager 1 space probe from 6 billion kilometers or 3,728,227,153 miles away. Carl Sagan noted that every human being who has been born has lived and died on this “mote of dust”. 

I was in Rocheter NY in 1990. I can’t find myself anywhere. Job 38

Obviously, the God whose love power, and sovereignty are beyond our comprehension loved us enough to save us from His wrath Eph 2:1-3 or we wouldn’t be here. Those in Christ Jesus are saved and afforded the right to BECOME sons of God. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Rev 3:5, 1 John 5:11-14 We are new creations in an ongoing process of transformation Rom 12:1-2 for the purpose of being conformed to the image of His Son Jesus. Rom 8:29

That means I’m not done yet. Neither was Paul.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:13-16

We must keep in mind that not only did He redeem us from the wages of sin which is death, Rom 6:23 God is in the process of redeeming all of His creation. The Gospel of Salvation is fulfilled. The Gospel of the Kingdom is not. We miss the big picture entirely if we make the Gospel just about ourselves. That’s not snark directed at the self absorbed but an exhortation to stop selling ourselves short. We must be mindful of the fact that God’s endgame is a wedding and a return to our original state in the Garden of Eden with the added benefit of receiving the right to eat from the Tree of Life. Rev 22:14.

Still, would it surprise you to learn that most cultures, especially the middle eastern ones in which the Bible was written are not based on the individual? So consumed with ourselves, our rights and well being are we in the West that we read the Bible as if it were written about us as individuals rather than for us as His bride, the church. There’s a world of difference. In any case, your true identity is not about you being you. It’s about you being a part of His body that in turn is becoming a spotless bride in preparation for the wedding. Rev 19:6-9

This is where and when the fullness of our identity will be found.

That being said, any real understanding of our identity requires that we examine Adam and Eve’s original state of identity before the Fall. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Gen 2:25 Sin was born when the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…Gen 3 Immediately they sought to cover themselves with fig leaves. Suffice it to say that the door to sin was opened with the eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The first fruit of sin that is the seed of all other sin was

the birth of self-centeredness.

Self-centredness is the root of guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Before the fall from grace, Adam and Eve were so completely focused on God and His plans that guilt, shame, and condemnation did not exist. They didn’t even know that “nakedness” was a thing. Where they previously walked in perfect intimacy and union with Him, their newly gained knowledge of good and evil created a distinction and separation between themselves and God. That separation has continued to widen over time.

The world in which we live today is the exact opposite of the prefall Garden.

It’s not that we weren’t already narcissistic. But the advent of the smartphone took our inherent narcissism to new levels. Where we previously recognized narcissism as a character defect, it has become so imbedded in the collective psyche that today it’s a character strength and a cultural norm.

Narcissus from Greek Mythology fell in love with his own reflection.

Still, we may not recognize it as narcissim because the failure to fall fully in love with one’s own reflection is often labeled as low self-esteem resulting from not feeling “seen and heard”. We wonder why anxiety and depression are so far off the charts and try harder to affirm ourselves, each other and especially our children. “If only they knew who THEY are!” we say. Yet denying self – not affirming self is the first step in God’s plan for our freedom after we are saved. “Do as thou wilt” and self affirmation are Satan’s. How ironic that one’s birthday is regarded as the highest day of celebration on the Satanic calendar.

Here’s a quick reminder before I proceed. God is Good. God loves you. He desires the best for you. His plan “A” is that one day you will rule and reign with Him. Rev 20:4-6

Moving on…

Still, so many believers struggle to comprehend how an obsession with one’s identity in Christ could become narcissistic. Those who begin to grasp it often make the mistake of plumbing the depths of guilt, shame, and condemnation never realizing that this is just another form of self-obsession. If only we could grasp that narcissism and self-loathing are just opposite sides of the same coin.

If only we’d realize that Jesus’ command to deny self, Mat 16:24 (to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with, to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s interests) is the first step after salvation on the path to freedom. That Jesus loves me is not expressed in His affirmation of me. But rather in His desire that

I be free from the bondage of me.

If that seems paradoxical or confusing, then consider that Jesus who was perfect and blameless conquered Satan, sin, and death by becoming the biggest loser in the eyes of the world.  He was beaten more severely than any human being before, since, or ever will be, and still remain alive. Then He died a criminal’s death on the cross. His was the most brutal and shameful form of public humiliation. It was completely counterintuitive to everyone’s worldview both then and now including that of His disciples. After all, how could losing a fight make one a winner?

And yet it is exactly what gave Him all authority. 1 Pet 3:18-22

The Kingdom of Heaven is upside down to the world where the least is the greatest Mat 23:11, Luke 9:48 and losing is gaining. Mat 16:25 Biblically speaking success looks more like people maligning us than praising us. Luke 6:26 We should be honored to be found worthy of being called the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things 1 Cor 4:13 and a bit terrified to be placed on a pedestal and celebrated as distinguished and wise.

One of our biggest challenges as Westerners is that we don’t do well with the tension of paradox. We want a clear delineation of boundaries. Am I this or am I that? The idea that we exist as both the offscouring of all things and Abraham’s seed, – heirs according to the promise. Gal 3:29 boggles our mind, will and emotions otherwise known as our soul and our flesh. On the the other hand, if we are able to embrace the paradox we soon realize that our newfound identity in Christ is but spiritual milk which is foundational. The foundation is important but it’s not the finished work. 1 Cor 3. The context of our new identity is that he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Cor 5:14-21

Yes you are a new creation.

Just keep it in context. 

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Col 3:3-4

This is in reference to the Blessed Hope, Titus 2:13 not an over realized eschatology and misinformed interpretation of the Lord’s prayer.

…On Earth as it is in Heaven…

Once again, just as a pickle can not return to a cucumber, if you have truly given your life to Jesus and have been baptized, the old man is dead and you are a new creation. “New creation” looks like a sperm penetrateing an egg or a seedling penetrating the soil. A lot of seedings today are desperately trying to affirm themselves as giant red woods. The DNA blueprint is there. But there’s a lot of maturing to do. Hence there is a reason why Jesus framed the fulfilment of the Gospel of the Kingdom in the context of childbirth. Mat 24:3-31 The point here is that none of us are finished works. If indeed you have believed, and given your life to Jesus you are a newly formed creation. Take your last big gulp of milk believe what the word says. “God loves you!” Now pursue solid food that leads to maturity. Maturity is the the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Eph 4:11-16 

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Phil 2:12

Again our purpose here is not to lambast the self-obsessed. This is the default state of all as a result of the fall. If guilt shame and condemnation remain it is not an identity problem. It’s a flesh problem. We are still carnal. Either we aren‘t born again, we have unconfessed sin, or we are simply walking in the flesh.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Rom 8:5-6

How do we do that?

Start by not listening to teachers apart from the whole counsel of God and the Berean approach to verifying the truth. Acts 17:11 Our hope is not in this world 1 John 1:15-17 but in the final revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Titus 2:13 Holy Spirit with whom we are sealed is just a down payment on our future inheritance, Eph 1:14. Our true and full identity will only be realized in our appearing with Him in glory. It will be made manifest when we are fully conformed to the image of His Son. Rom 8:29 That said, it will only be realized in the context of a unified bride, Eph 4:13 without spot or wrinkle. Eph 5:27 We will be assured that we have arrived when we cease our painful and fleshly Rom 7:13-25 struggle because we see Him face to face and know Him even as we are known. 1 Cor 13:12 In the meantime we are growing. We know in part, we prophesy in part, we see as in a glass darkly.

The dark image we see in the mirror is our identity.

Finally, the wrong emphasis always produces wrong foundations. Milk-fed flesh eventually results in jealousy and strife rooted in a culture of celebrity. Today, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos”  looks like “I follow Bill, or Todd or Justin or… We divide because we are building on different foundations never considering that the teachings of our favorite preachers might be destined for flames. 1 Cor 3:9-15…If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire...We glorify man and vicariously glorify ourselves by proclaiming and defending our tescgers teachings as if they were our own. 1 Cor 4:7 We do it because it’s easier to let others think for us. We read books about the Bible by our preferred celebrity teachers and quote them as if we are quoting scripture itself. Is it any wonder why the body of Christ continues to be blown about by every wind of doctrine? Is it any wonder that we remain so anxious and confused all the while striving to deny the vapourous nature of our lives James 4:14 and the truth that

“All flesh is as grass And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.”

Only the word of the LORD endures forever.

That is why He has magnified His word above all His name. Psalm 138:2

Build on that.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Undisappointing Hope

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 1 Pet 1:13

Have you ever been disappointed that God did not do what you thought He promised to do? I can’t begin to count the number of prophetic words I have heard that never panned out. Or the number of people who made major life decisions based on prophetic words that later proved false. Some react by taking an extreme cessationist view. They begin to despise all prophecy in defiance of God’s word. 1 Thess 5:20-21 Others engage in cognitive dissonance. They deny the word was wrong believing that to do so would represent a lack of faith on their part. Still others rationalize by pointing to external circumstances or another person causing it’s manifest fulfillment to be delayed. This is also in defiance of scripture. Deut 18:22 Still others albeit fewer these days take a balanced, biblical view. 1 Cor 13:9-12

We prophecy in part…

Perhaps the biggest cause of failed prophecies is a misunderstanding and misapplication of hope.

The Trump Prophecies

You get the idea.

Most people in and of the world today view hope in the context of something they want to happen but may not. “I hope I find a spouse”. “I hope I get that job or that car.” I Hope Donald Trump gets re-elected.” But biblical hope is not a roll of the dice. Biblical hope is a guarantee. Paul calls it an anchor.

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Heb 6:17-20

Hope is not “My desire be done in Jesus’ name”. Hope is God’s immutable word that His will shall be done. Isa 55:11 He will fulfill His eternal promises regardless of our circumstances here. That we live abased or we abound Phil 4:12 in this life is ancillary.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t be grateful. Rather false hope breeds ingratitude and sometimes narcissism. If we think that God’s purpose and plan are to bless us with success, “nice things” and never-ending comfort while so many others suffer then our hope is in the flesh and we are soulish at best. That doesn’t mean we solve the problem by giving all our stuff away. It also doesn’t mean that we don’t. Mat 19: 21-30 The issue is; what hinders us? We may enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise every Sunday. Psalm 100:4 But do we understand what Paul means by the hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain?

Hope is prefaced by girding.

Both men and women in Peter’s day wore ankle-length robes. Hence they would gather the hem and fasten it to their waste with a belt. Girding applied if they were walking, working, or preparing for battle. We see a similar theme in Ephesians 6.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth… Eph 6:13-14

Loins refers to the generative, procreative part of the body. Peter is referring to the generative and procreative aspects of our minds. The mind is the seed bed of transformation. Rom 12:1-2

In the midst of our girding Peter exhorts us to be sober. Sober- nḗphō is one of my favorite words in the Bible. Sober means to abstain from wine, be discreet, watch, be calm and collected in spirit, be temperate, dispassionate, and circumspect. “Dispassionate” might sound counterintuitive in a faith stream that emphasizes joy. However, joy is chará – calm delight. Peace, patience, and self-control are fruits of the spirit that attend and complement joy. Gal 5:22 Dispassionate means our emotions take a back seat. We gird the loins of our minds by submitting and subjecting our feelings to His word until our minds are renewed. Any experience of genuine joy is contingent upon this renewal.

It is by a sober act of will that we STAND, not retreating or advancing as we resolve not to be conformed to this world and instead subject our entire being to His truth. Girding is preparation to persevere while our character is transformed. Character is the soil in which comprehension and assurance of the blessed hope grow.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Rom 5:1-5

Hope misunderstood and misapplied results in despair.

Biblical hope requires surrender and consecration but never disappoints.

1 John 2:15-29

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Deeper

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 1 Pet 1:1-2

How often do we read over passages in the Bible, especially the introductions of books, and take for granted that we comprehend their breadth and depth?

The sprinkling of blood has its roots in the penalty of death established by God in Gen 2:17 and the incurring of that penalty in Gen 3:1-6. While unbelievers often cite the death of Jesus as justification for their perception of God as harsh and abusive, Genesis chapters 2-3 establish Him as the author of objective truth and moral law. As such His law is perfect. God can not violate His own absolute truth and moral law that governs all of His creation. If He did it would no longer be absolute. If that sounds confusing imagine for a moment what life would look like if the “Law of Gravitational effect” were relative. What if the absolute moral law against raping and killing children were relative? Hence God set the shedding of blood or death as the consequence for the only potential sin in the beginning. If we consider that the first sin birthed the potential for all sin in the introduction of relativism (did God really say? Gen 3:1) that caused the Fall, then we begin to have the right perspective of the grace offered to us through Jesus’ final sacrifice on the cross. After all, God might conceivably have destroyed everything and simply started over.

Then again, quitting is an admission of failure – an act of fallen human will, not God’s will. An omnipotent, omniscient God can not fail or give up.

The sprinkling of blood is a sacrificial act of faith as described in Heb 11:28 and has its roots in the first sacrifice offered by Able. Gen 4:4, Heb 12:24 Then the first Passover in Exodus 12:21-27. The literal sprinkling of the blood was not some archaic Old Testament ritual devoid of meaning for us today. It was a 4000-year type and shadow of Jesus who was offered as a propitiation for our sins. Rom 3:24-25, 1 John 2:2

Propitiation is hilastḗrion an atoning victim, or “The Mercy” Seat which is the lid of the “Ark of the Covenant” in the Temple.

Moses sprinkled the atoning blood of God’s covenant with Israel on the people in Exodus 24:28. It’s depth is further elaborated in the details of the first Tabernacle Exodus 25-30. The final and most sacred foreshadowing act happened once a year. This was the atoning sprinkling of blood upon the Mercy Seat Lev 16, Heb 9

Today the Mercy Seat is Jesus, the thrown of Grace to which we now boldly approach for help in our time of need. Heb 4:16

This was only possible through the final sprinkling of blood upon sin in John 19:32-34, artistically depicted in the movie The Passion of the Christ.

But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. John 19:34

The final sprinkling included blood and water. The blood of Jesus was the propitiatory death on our behalf, the final sacrificial offering and sprinkling of blood on the Mercy Seat, and the fulfillment of the Gospel of Salvation. The water represented new life, a new type and shadow of what is to come in the fulfillment of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Rev 22:1

If you regularly attend The Acts 17:11 Bereans Bible Study then you know we barely scratched the surface when we studied the Tabernacle. Here I’ve knocked a few proverbial paint chips off the wall to reveal a peephole into depths unknown. Peter is referring to all of this and more in four words in the first two verses of 1 Peter 1. This is not the first time Peter has addressed his audience comprised of both Jewish and Gentile believers in Asia Minor. More than likely many of them had also heard from Paul when he journeyed to Ephesus. Hence Peter may have rightly assumed they were familiar with the breadth and depth of his words. The same can not always be said of contemporary believers. Are you struggling to find God’s power in your life or worse, tempted to deconstruct and fall away completely? Consider the possibility that you have never been rooted and grounded. Eph 3:17-18 Consider the possibility that you are not as wise as you thought, Rom 1:22 that immaturity might be your issue. Eph 4:11-14 Or worse, consider that you meet one of the criteria listed in Mark 4:1-20. If that is the case then don’t deconstruct.

Go Deeper.

Maranatha