Don’t get puffy

1 Corinthians 8:1 “…Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”

1 Corinthians 13:4 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up…”

Below is an excerpt from Dustin Benge writing about the church where he grew up. It was his family church for generations, with his relatives were buried in the nearby cemetery.

“The pastor preached from the KJV, visited the sick, and called unbelievers to repentance. We sang from the Heavenly Highway Hymnbook. I heard the gospel, was saved and called to preach in this church.

“When I began theological education, I quickly became puffed up with pride thinking I knew much more than everyone in this little southern church who were not as ‘intellectual and I was.’ Many years later, I came to realize that these faithful farmers, miners, teachers, truck drivers, veterans, and homemakers genuinely loved the Lord, the gospel of Christ, their neighbors, and desired to obey the Bible faithfully.

“…we must never dismiss those who faithfully serve the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Accursed from Christ

I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ

Romans 9:1-5 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

This text expresses a sentiment (an impulse, a desire) of the heart of the not possible – that Paul might be accursed, devoted to destruction, in the stead of his kinsmen.[i] It is reminiscent of Moses’s intercession for his people, “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:32). Matthew Henry writes, “Being about to discuss the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, and to show that the whole agrees with the sovereign electing love of God, the apostle expresses strongly his affection for his people.” His affection for his people is even more striking when we see the animosity of Paul’s people for him.

The religious Jews’ attitude and actions toward Paul.

After the young persecutor (Acts 9:2; 22:19) was converted on the road to Damascus, religious Jews[ii] began to persecute him and continued throughout his ministry.

• Jews at Damascus tried to kill him. Acts 9:22-25 
• Jews in Jerusalem sought to kill him. Acts 9:28-30
• Jews at Antioch Pisidia had Paul expelled from the region. Acts 13:45-50
• Jews at Iconium stirred up an attempt to stone Paul and Barnabas. Acts 14:1-5
• Jews from Antioch Pisidia and Iconium persuaded the people at Lystra to stone Paul. Acts 14:6-7,19
• Jews at Thessalonica caused an uproar, and Paul and Barnabas were sent away for their safety. Acts 17:1-5
• Jews from Thessalonica stirred up trouble in Berea. Acts 17:13-14
• Jews at Corinth brought Paul before the judgment seat of Gallio. Acts 18:12-13
• Jews at Ephesus spread an evil report against Paul. Acts 19:8-9
• Jews in Greece tried to accost him. Acts 20:2-3
• Jews at Jerusalem assaulted Paul with the intention to kill him. Acts 21:27-31
• Jews at Jerusalem rejected his testimony and called for his execution. Acts 22:22-23 
• Forty Jews at Jerusalem bound themselves under an oath with a curse to kill Paul. Acts 23:12,30
• Jews accused Paul in legal proceedings before the governor, Felix. Acts 24:1-6
• Jews informed Festus against Paul and asked he be brought back to Jerusalem. (Paul was still in Caesarea.) Acts 25:1-3
• Jews from Jerusalem come to Caesarea to (falsely) accuse Paul. Acts 25:6-7
• Paul related how they caught him and sought to kill him, and why. Acts 26:20-22

Paul’s attitude and actions toward the religious Jews.

God gave Paul an unique apostleship to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13), but he always loved and preached to Jews as well.

• Paul preached Christ at Damascus. Acts 9:20-22
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Salamis. Acts 13:5
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Antioch Pisidia. Acts 13:14-16
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Iconium. Acts 14:1
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Thessalonica. Acts 17:1
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Berea. Acts 17:10
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Corinth. Acts 18:4
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Ephesus. Acts 18:19
• Paul preached in the synagogue at Ephesus (again, when he came back). Acts 19:8
• Paul preached repentance and faith to the Jews (as well as the Gentiles). Acts 20:21
• Paul claims he did nothing wrong to the Jews. Acts 25:10
• Paul preached repentance and turning to God. Acts 26:20
• Paul preached to the Jews in Rome. Acts 28:17,23

Biblical considerations and conclusions

• Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
• Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
• 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
• 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
• Romans 8:35-37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
• Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Without question, Paul was a better man than I. Paul was called of God, he endured persecution from the beginning of his calling until the end, he was faithful to his calling in much tribulation, and he never lost his love for those who hindered and persecuted him. Who couldn’t use a dose of that? Many American Christians, under the first sniff of opposition, quickly lose their love for their enemies, for their fellow-citizens, and for their kinsmen according to the flesh. “Help us, O Lord our God… Help us, O God of our salvation.”

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[i] αναθεμα, rendered accursed, (used here and in Acts 23:14, 1 Corinthians 12:3, 1 Corinthians 16:22, Galatians 1:8-9), signifies that which is devoted to destruction (damned, under a curse), and is equivalent to the Hebrew word חרם, cherem.

[ii] I struggled to find an apt description of these Jews. I chose this term because Paul described them as having a zeal toward God, but not according to knowledge. It was not all Jews that persecuted Paul. The apostles and most early disciples were Jews as well. Paul was a Jew himself, and he calls his persecutors his “kinsmen according to the flesh.” Certain zealous Jews who adhered to the Old Testament and rejected Jesus as the Messiah are those who opposed Paul.

The Final Deliverance

2 Timothy 4:6-18

As Paul closes his epistle to Timothy, he charges him before God to preach the word and fulfill the ministry to which he is called. Paul then reflects on his own ministry that is soon coming to a close.

In his reflections, Paul declares a satisfied end and a sublime expectation. He sees his own activities as a good fight, a finished course, and a kept faith. He had “kept back nothing...taught…publickly, and from house to house…testifying…repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ…” and had “not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Cf. Acts 20:20-27.) He knew his labor was not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58) and had a hope founded on the resurrected Lord whom he preached (1 Corinthians 15:19-20). A crown of righteousness awaits him, and he has no regrets (v. 8). “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21.)

In his reflections, Paul interjects disheartening incidents and day-to-day activities. Though the apostle sees his expected end just over the horizon, he will continue to “finish the course” until its conclusion. He desires a visit from Timothy, with Mark, in his lonesome estate. Only Luke of his co-laborers is currently present, and even one of them, Demas, has left the faith to fulfill his love for the world. He asked Timothy to bring simple items, inquiring after a cloke and some reading materials. Paul cites Alexander the coppersmith as an opposer of the truth and warns against him.

In his reflections, Paul concludes the surety of God’s deliverance (who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; 2 Corinthians 1:10). God had stood with him (against Alexander, for example), and he will continue to stand with him. Paul trusts God’s deliverance and preservation. The final deliverance may look like the defeat of death to the world – but the final deliverance will be the best!

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? … thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A hope and a future

When our children were graduating High School, Jeremiah 29:11 was a popular verse used with graduation cards, gifts and so forth. It may still be popular. The text, probably quoted from the New International Version of the Bible, reminds graduates that God has “plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

While this Scripture is true and still speaks to us today (Romans 15:4), the contextless verse often “says” to the reader “God has a great future for me” (with “great” meaning “what I want and expect”). The context straightens the meaning out for us, which is deeper and fuller than the “verse on a card” or “verse on a cup” approach. Here also is the reading from the King James Version of the Bible:

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,[i] saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The words of verse 11 are part of the prophecy of Jeremiah “to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Jeremiah 29:1).  Prophets rose up in Babylon to speak falsely in Jehovah’s name (Jeremiah 29:21). Among those who remained in Jerusalem, Hananiah said that within two years God would break the yoke of the king of Babylon, bring back those who had already gone into captivity, and restore the vessels of the Lord’s house to the temple (Jeremiah 28:2-4). Into this lie Jeremiah must speak the truth. Not only will this not happen, but those who are still at Jerusalem will also go into captivity! The yoke will not be broken in two years, but Israelites will remain captives in a strange land for seventy years.[ii] Do not spend the next two years expecting to come home, but settle down for the long term in the land where you are – “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” (Jer. 29:7). This is the context and meaning in its context – God knows the thoughts and plans he has for Israel (Cf. Isaiah 55:9). Those to whom he has not revealed those thought are liars (Romans 3:4). The Lord has thoughts of peace and prosperity in their future. Even their captivity, though a judgment, is for their good (Jeremiah 24:5). Their history is not concluded – it has a future – and there will be an ending in fulfillment of their expectations.[iii] God knows – he does not forget what he purposes to do.

To us this speaks today, within the context of Jeremiah and the general principles taught in the Bible. We look not for the fulfilling of all our desires. We know not all the thoughts God has, but we know that even in the midst of that which is disappointing, depressing, and distressing, God is working all things for good to them that love him, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).  

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[i] “I alone” – not the false prophets who pretend to speak for me.

[ii] This had already been expressed by Jeremiah, as recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12.

[iii] The “expected end” must be understood in the context of God’s work among his people Israel more than applied to individuals. The current generation – “the elders which were carried away captives” – would never return to their homeland, but their hopes could be fulfilled in their children and grandchildren (Cf. 1 Chronicles 22:7; 1 Chronicles 28:6).

Faithful unto death

...be thou faithful unto death (Rev 2:10)

Faithful. Amidst the little we know of Joseph the husband of Mary, "faithful" is one word that can be attached to him with some degree of certainty. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much (Luke 16:10). Joseph was faithful to Mary. He was faithful to God. He was faithful to his family.

Faithful to Mary.
As her betrothed husband in waiting, Joseph was faithful to Mary. He maintained her purity (cf. Luke 1:34, e.g.) and his own. They did not engage in sexual relations before they were married. After discovering what (under normal circumstances) would have been betrayal of their betrothal, Joseph was disposed to act kindly toward his betrothed and not put her on public display (Matthew 1:19). As a new husband, Joseph protected Mary's virginity and Jesus's identity as a virgin born son by not consummating the marriage until after the birth of the Son of God. Like Joseph, many men have been called upon to raise some other man's child. Unlike any men, Joseph was called to raise God's child. This calling would include being the subject of gossip and innuendo. The "mathematicians" of Nazareth could certainly count the days from Joseph and Mary's marriage until the birth of her son! (Cf. John 8:41)

Faithful to God.
At least three times in Joseph's life he was visited by an angel with a message from God. Each time he faithfully obeyed. When Joseph considered putting Mary away for an act of infidelity, an angel presented the facts of a conception from God and not a man. This required Joseph to believe the unbelievable. But he believed and obeyed God, and took Mary to be his wife. After the birth of Jesus, an angel warned Joseph that the child Jesus's life was not safe in Bethlehem. Possibly not yet well settled after being displaced from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Joseph nevertheless believed God and uprooted his little family to life in a foreign country. There they must stay until they hear from God again. After Herod's death, Joseph received his third message from God in a dream -- return to Israel. And return he did. Each time God spoke in a message, Joseph responded in faithfulness. 

Faithful to his family.
In all these incidents and more, we view a man who was a family man, faithful to his family. It was Mary who was chosen of God to bear the Saviour. In effect, Joseph was chosen as well. Joseph looked out for his wife. He looked out for the welfare of Jesus. He looked to the physical needs of his family, by working to supply for them (cf. Matthew 13:55). He looked to the spiritual needs of his family, by bringing them up according to the law of the Lord. Jesus was circumsised on the 8th day and given His name (Luke 2:21). They went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover (Luke 2:41). In only one recorded incident might Joseph be charged with not carefully fulfilling his duty as a parent, when Jesus was 12 years old and stayed behind in Jerusalem (Luke 2:43). But even then the Bible seems to place no condemnation, for Jesus was going about His Father's (God's) business.

Sometimes a man is called to a supporting role that is behind the scenes, out of the limelight and requires the faithfulness of decrease rather than increase. As Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, as His role "increased" the role of Joseph decreased. No longer needed is the man to care for his pregnant bride or her little newborn son. Whatever happened to Joseph as he fades into the background and then out of the picture, we may not know. But we may know this. When he is painted in the picture, when God tells us what he did, we find a man who was found faithful.

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

"Wife-as-Sister," an Abrahamic problem

Abram/Abraham* lived as a monotheist among polytheists, a worshiper of the one true God in a world of idolaters. In the time of Abraham, nations worshiped many gods. These gods were usually viewed as responsible for particular geographical areas and political borders. Abraham's father and family were idolaters (Cf. Joshua 24:2-3), but Abraham knew one God. As he traveled from Ur of the Chaldees and throughout the land to which this one God called him, he did not change his gods. He did not shift his allegiance as he crossed various geo-political boundaries. Abram worshiped and served Jehovah, a God who knew neither geographical boundaries nor political borders. Abraham’s God was the same whether he was in Ur, Haran, Bethel, Egypt, Gerar or any other place God led him. Through His calling and leading of Abraham, God demonstrated His sovereignty -- His jurisdiction not just over Abraham and his family, but over all of the families of the earth.

Abraham was a man of great faith, but he was also a man of recurring weakness. One of his weaknesses was fear for his life and his safety. This is vigorously demonstrated in two separate "wife-as-sister" scenes in his life. At these times, Abraham represented Sarah as his sister rather than his wife. Sarah was a beautiful woman and they were in a strange land. Abraham feared that a powerful leader might kill him in order to take Sarah as wife. Among some who hold a low view of inspiration, these two incidents are conflated as one. Close examination of Genesis 12 and Genesis 20 indicates that these accounts are distinct events and not a retelling of the same event with more detail or from a different perspective. There are distinctions or differences that are hard to account for if we accept the Bible as inspired and truthful. For example, in Genesis 12:10-20 the participants are named Abram and Sarai. Chronologically this happens before God changed their names. In Genesis 20:1-18 the participants are named Abraham and Sarah. This happens after God changed their names, as recorded in Genesis 17. The geographical locations are different. This first wife-as-sister scene occurred in Egypt with Pharaoh the king. The second occurred in Gerar and with Abimelech the king. Gerar is in the south of Canaan, nowhere near Egypt (Genesis 10:19). The gifting is different. Pharaoh gave Abram gifts before he knew that Sarah was Abram's wife (12:16). Abimelech gave Abraham gifts after he discovered that Sarah was Abraham's wife (20:14-16). The discovery is different. In Egypt Pharaoh discovers that Sarai is Abram's wife when considering the cause of the plagues (20:18). In contrast, God reveals the truth to Abimelech in a dream (20:3). There are differences in the stories to such a degree that it leaves no possibility of these two incidents being the same. Interestingly, the same "wife-as-sister" ruse was perpetrated by Isaac upon a later king of Gerar (Cf. Gen. 26:1-11; the "name" Abimelech is a royal title used for various Philistine kings).

Why is Abraham (and Isaac) passing off his wife as his sister? The reason given in the text on both occasions is fear for his life, or self-preservation. See Gen. 12:11-13 and Gen. 20:11-13. This was Isaac's reasoning also (Cf. Gen. 26:7). Regrettably, in each case these scenes of presumption and deception follow directly after God's appearances and assurances. How weak we are. Praise God, His strength is made perfect in weakness. It was not altogether unreasonable for Abraham to think he could be killed for his wife. Ancient Egyptian texts preserve records of kings who took wives from husbands as they pleased. The beloved king David made Uriah pay for his wife with his life (though through a series of intrigue David did not initially intend). Even today in the United States some cult leaders take their followers' wives and make them their own (though usually without killing the husbands). Know, then, that this was a real fear and not an imagined one. We are not told what was going on in Abraham's mind, beyond fear. Perhaps he thought he could control the situation so that it would not degenerate into adultery and polyandry. The deception portrayed Sarah as an unmarried woman -- one in the absence of her father and in the presence of her brother. Marriage custom would have dictated that the suitor (in these cases, Pharaoh and Abimelech) ask permission from the brother to betroth and marry this unmarried sister. (Cf. Gen. 24:29- 60 for this custom of brotherly involvement among Abraham's people.) Abraham perhaps thought himself positioned perfectly to act as the older brother and deny the suitor. Regardless of what he thought, the plan was flawed. It fell apart. In both cases Sarah came precariously close to marriage. Both cases required their rescue by God.

Why does God record such an uncomplimentary chronicle of Abraham (and Isaac). First, this hints to us that we are reading a divine record rather than a human one. Were I to record the history of my family, I would acknowledge our failures, but certainly would not exhibit them in bold detail for the entire world to gaze upon. Second, though God never emphasizes these flaws in the New Testament, He records them for examples to and warnings for us. He preserves them for our learning and our admonition. So, what should we learn?

God's purpose is sovereign, immutable and inevitable. God chose a man -- Abram. He chose a family and a nation -- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel. God chose them and not others. Therefore, we cannot dismiss the importance of these individuals. But the success God's purpose was not dependent on these individuals. God's purpose depends on God. God fulfilled His covenant promises despite the falls, flaws and failures of the patriarchs. God's blessings were furnished to Abraham despite his mistakes. Gods calls, God blesses, God leads and God sanctifies. In the end Abraham may be well remembered not as a faithless failure but as the faithful father of the promised seed, both physical and spiritual. And through him all the nations of the earth are blessed.

God's dominion is over all of the families of the earth. God chose Abraham and led him to a new country. Abraham was not out of God's jurisdiction when he entered the lands of those who worshiped other gods. Neither were those who worshiped other gods out of God's jurisdiction! Abraham went to Egypt. The Egyptians worshiped a multiplicity of gods. But when the plagues come it is not his own gods with whom Pharaoh must deal -- they are no help -- it is the God of Abraham, the God of heaven and earth Who adds plagues and removes them. Abraham sojourned in Gerar. The Philistines worshiped false gods such as Dagon, Ashtoroth and Beelzebub. But it was not his gods who warned him, not his gods to whom Abraham prayed, and it was not his gods who healed his land. The same may be said of other lands, as God's dominion demonstrably extends over Bethel, Hai, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, Bela (Zoar), Horeb, Salem, Mamre and others. This is a fundamental biblical concept, and necessary to understanding Jehovah’s dealings with mankind.

*For simplicity I have defaulted to the use of "Abraham" and "Sarah," though strictly speaking they should be called "Abram" and "Sarai" in references before God changed their names.

Anna, a prophetess

Luke 2:36-38 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

5 things about Anna the prophetess:
She was old (84+7+ca.14=ca.105) verse 36.
She was a widow (had been a widow 84 years) verse 37.
She had been faithful in youth ("from her virginity") verse 36.
She had been faithful in marriage. ("lived with an husband") verse 36.
She was faithful in old age ("served God with fastings and prayers")  verse 37.