The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures (3) - Late Additons and Hard Passages

Some passages may have been added later by a different author. That does not matter, provided the Holy Spirit wanted them included. Mark 16:9-20 and John 8:1-11 are good examples. They are absent in the earliest manuscripts, which suggests that they were either added by a different author later or copied from a different piece of writing by the original author. Neither passages adds anything that is not stated elsewhere in the scriptures. They are inspiring passages, so I am certain that the Holy Spirit wanted them there.

When dealing with hard passages, I do not focus on the problems, but ask what the Holy Spirit is saying. I ponder his reasons for putting the passage in the scriptures. This has lead to many interesting insights.

When considering a controversial modern issue, my first thought is to ask, “What has the Holy Spirit put in the Bible to deal with this issue?” This usually leads to some interesting insights.

A good example is the modern dispute about genetic engineering. Most people would just assume that the Bible has nothing to say, because genetic engineering did not exist in the biblical world. I actually found some interesting teaching in the book of Leviticus. The author did not understand the full implications of what he was writing, but he was giving insights into how we should deal with this difficult issue.

The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures (2) - Differences

Some people worry about difference Jesus words being recorded differently in different gospels. We should remember that preached almost every day for three years. He would repeat the same message numerous times using slightly different wording each time. The different gospels just record the version spoken on different occasions. The Holy Spirit provided these different versions so that we can get a fullest possible understanding of Jesus message.

Translation was also an issue. Peter’s response to Jesus question about who he was is recorded differently in different gospels.

The Christ of God (Luke 9:20)
You are the Christ (Mark 8:29)
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt 16:16).

The most likely reason for these differences is that the gospels were written in Greek, whereas Jesus and Peter spoke in Aramaic. The Holy Spirit often needed slightly different Greek versions to get the full meaning of what was spoken in Aramaic. We should be glad for the fuller insight this provides.

The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures (1)

I take a fairly simplistic approach to the scriptures. I just assume that the Holy Spirit got everything that he wanted into the book.

He gave the authors lots of freedom. Their writing style reflected their personalities. They put in lots of personal stuff and bits of their family history that are not very important. However, the Holy Spirit ensured that they got the key stuff right.

The actual text was written by humans, so understanding the objectives and culture of the author may sometimes be helpful for translating and interpreting the Bible. For example, it is helpful to understand that Matthew used the expression Kingdom of Heaven because he was writing for Jewish readers.

My key question when interpreting the scriptures is “What is the Holy Spirit saying in this passage?” This question leads to real insights.

The Holy Spirit's meaning is not limited to the understanding of the author. The Holy Spirit sometimes put ideas in the author’s heads that they did not fully comprehend. They sometimes thought they understood what they were writing, but the Holy Spirit was using them unwittingly to communicate something they did not understand.

False Hope, True Hope

The people of Jesus time were praying that God would take his power and reign, that he would become king. They hoped that he would exercise his sovereignty and rescue them. “You are the King of the world. Why don’t you come and be king, so the world can be put right.”

They were totally disappointed with Jesus. He came as King and Messiah, but not as they expected. They rejected his deliverance, and eventually Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.

Most modern Christians have the similar hope. They want Jesus to return and put the world right. They will be disappointed, because Jesus has already done everything that he could do, when he died and rose again.

God is invading the world, not by Jesus returning, but through his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is capable of doing everything further that needs to be done to restore peace and blessing to the world. He just needs willing people to work through. He needs people to trust in him, rather than looking for a vague future hope.

True Justice

Mark Rushdoony talked recently about true justice.

The real objective is righteous (righteousness = justice in scripture). Justice is the righteousness of God. It cannot be defined in terms of right or left, or political definitions.

Grace, mercy, judgement and our responsibility, must be defined in terms of God’s word. If we fail to do this,
grace becomes entitlement

• mercy become welfare
• judgment become a political decision.

Our responsibility is now directed toward a vaguely defined good society, rather than to a godly society.

Beast Day?

People celebrating Independence today may actually be worshipping the terrible beast of Daniel's vision.

After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time (Dan 7:7,8,23-25).

This frightening kingdom devoured the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing everything that stood in its way. This is a description of a powerful military empire that will dominate most of the earth.

Not Europe
Most biblical commentators say that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the European Union transforms into a super-state, like a restored Roman empire. There are real problems with this view. Disagreement between the EU members means that they will be unlikely to hand over full sovereignty to the European parliament. Europe is economically weak and its population is declining. European military forces are very limited and the anti-war sentiments of the population would make a military build-up difficult. Therefore, if this prophecy is being fulfilled in our time we need to look outside Europe.

A Union of States
The most obvious interpretation of the beast with the ten horns is that a number of independent nation states hand over their sovereignty to become part of a single united nation. One third of these nations refused to hand over their sovereignty and are forced to join under threat of military force.

America is only once place where this has happened in recent history. The thirteen states that gained independence from Britain were each independently governed, autonomous nation states. They joined together to fight for their independence, but they remained politically independent. After the war of independence, these nation states came together and established the United States. They created a federal system in which they handed over very limited powers (mostly defence) to the federal government. All other powers were retained by the states.

We sometimes get confused by the use of the word state in this context. These states were not provinces of a greater state, but independent nations that gave some power to a federal government. Because they joined freely, many states considered that they could also withdraw from the Union. At the beginning of the civil war, the southern states attempted to withdraw from the Union and establish a separate confederacy.

The civil war was primarily fought over the right of these states to secede from the Union. The army of the twenty northern states (two thirds) destroyed the armies of the 11 southern states (one third). The victory of the union forces enabled them to maintain the union, eliminating the power of the states to secede. This opened the way for a gradual shift of power to from the states to the federal government.
During the following century, the United States became the most powerful nation in the entire world and the states are now just provinces of this greater entity.

Commentators are looking for a powerful confederacy of nations. They forget that a powerful union called the "united states" already exists. Daniel saw a group of nations (ten horns) joined together to become one nation (a single horn). At first the federal government had very limited power (a little horn). The federal government defeated a group of states that tried to withdraw from the union (three horns) and then the federal government became very powerful (little horn becomes large beast).

The numbers ten and three should not be taken literally. Ten symbolises completeness, indicating that all the states joined freely. The number three indicates that 3/10 of the states would be defeated in their attempt to secede. The number also symbolises God. At the time of the civil war, the southern states were the more godly, whereas the northern states were dominated by a heresy called Unitarianism.

Ten minus three is seven. Seven symbolises divinity. This indicates that the conquering states would take attempt to take on sovereignty that belongs only to God. The beast attempts to "try to change the set times and the laws". This is a reference to a rejection of God’s laws.

Since the civil war, the United States government has become increasingly secular and humanistic. The Supreme Court has forced through a separation between church and state that has shut the influence of Christianity out of the corridors of power. Whereas the thirteen original states had laws directly based on the bible, American law is now dominated by pragmatism and humanism.

More at Terrible Beast.

Rushdoony on the State

Thus the true church in every age has a mission to the state, to proclaim the fall of Babylon, to declare to the state that civil government can endure only under God and in obedience to His word, that every attempt of civil government to become as god, to be the purveyor of grace and of paradise, is damned and doomed. The cleansing of civil government and the indictment of it by the word must be the task of the church in every age.

Rousas Rushdoony in Thy Kingdom Come, p.178.

Rushdoony and Radical Libertarianism

Rousas Rushdoony wrote,

Few things are more commonly misunderstood than the nature and meaning of theocracy. It is commonly assumed to be a dictatorial rule by self-appointed men who claim to rule for God. In reality, theocracy in Biblical law is the closest thing to a radical libertarianism that can be had (Roots of Reconstruction, p.63).

Chris Ortiz has explained that Rushdoony describes theocracy as a "radical libertarianism" because morality is lived out and scrutinized around a minimal state, or civil government. In this sense, Rushdoony is truly libertarian, as set over against those seeking only to get civil government out of the bedroom and their stash of pot:

The state in Scripture is a minimal institution, and so too is the church as an institution. The rule of God's law is essentially through the lives of men as they apply their faith, and as they create tithe agencies to govern various areas and needs. Where faith wanes, then theocracy wanes (Systematic Theology p.1141).

Foreshore and Seabed

The foreshore and seabed has become a political issue again in New Zealand. A ministerial panel declared that the existing legislation should be repealed.

My article called Ahab and the Foreshore is still relevant.

Rushdoony and Government

Rousas Rushdoony was very clear that we should not try to re-capture or take back existing institutions. We should create alternative institutions. He put most of his efforts into doing this for educations.

We must apply the same approach to politics. We should not try to take back the existing institutions, as the Christian Right have done. We should creat alternative institutions, that can eventually replace them.

Christians should start building an alternative justice system in their local communities. If their judges provide good justice, people will bring their cases to them. (In New Zealand, we can use the second clause of the Treaty of Waitangi as basis for an alternative justice system).

The biblical pattern is the law at the top, self disciplined men at the bottom and a system of appeal courts in between (Gary North - Unconditional Surrender, p 140).

Rousas J Rushdoony

In my view, the most important theologian of the twentieth century was Rousas J Rushdoony (1916-2001). In his Institutes of Biblical Law (Craig Press 1973), he clearly demonstrated that God’s law provides the best standard for an orderly society. He single-handedly set about restoring God’s law to his rightful place. He wrote,

Authority can come from God or the people. If God is the source of authority, his word should prevail. If the latter is true, the will of the people should be done.

Despite his wisdom, Rushdoony missed out on one key point. He did not understand the role of judges in implementing the law. The reason for this blind spot was that he believed that the US constitution was an inspired document. He believed that restoring the principles of the constitution would lead to the implementation of biblical law. His son-in-law Gary North proved in Political Polytheism that the constitution was actually the work of men who were opposed to God, so Rushdoony’s faith in the constitution was unfounded. This error prevented him from seeing that honouring God’s law was not enough. We also need a system of godly judges to apply that law.

Despite this blind spot, his knowledge of God’s law was colossal. Anyone who wants to understand God’s purpose for law and government should read his writings.

Ruling with Jesus?

Most Christians believe that Jesus will return to rule the world. A couple of important apostles will set at this left and right hand. We expect to be further away from the throne, but we will be their ruling the world with Jesus. This is the vision of James and John.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory" (Mark 10:35-37).

Just as James and John were disappointed, Christians with the same hope will be disappointed.

Jesus kingdom is completely and totally different from the vision of James and John. Jesus made this very clear in his response to the disciples.

those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant… the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…" (Mark 10:42-45).

Christians who expect to rule with Jesus in the same manner as the rulers of the Gentiles will be disappointed.

Solomon

Solomon was supposed to teach the nations the wisdom of God.

Look at our great laws. You should try them.

Solomon did not share the law. When the leaders of the nations came to see his wisdom, he took their gods, their daughters, and their idols, but he did not teach them God’s law

Solomon forgot his father's great poem (Psalm 119).

Apostolic Way (6) - New Testament Way

Jesus spelt out a very clear strategy for evangelism and church growth.

• Go where the Holy Spirit is moving
• Seek the person of peace
• Get established in a house
• Heal the sick
• Preach the gospel
• Make disciples
• Establish a Church
• Train elders
• Go out again

Jesus gave us a very clear strategy and promised that it would be effective. Unfortunately, for the last 2000 years, Christians have consistently and deliberately refused to adopt it. In fact, the church has consciously done the opposite of what Jesus said. For a long time the goal has been to get people to come to the church to hear the gospel. The problem with this approach is that in many cultures, most non-Christians will not come into a church service.

Even the house church movement has ignored Jesus strategy. Unbelievers are still expected to come to the homes of the church members, which is the opposite of Jesus approach.

Jesus never said we should get people to come; he always said the church should go to where the people are (Matt 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). The advantage of the New Testament way outlined here is that the Church goes to where the people live. They will see real hard-core Christianity being lived out in their living room or in the house next door.

Implementing Jesus strategy will require a radical change in the mindset of the church. Unfortunately, other strategies will not be successful.

Jesus was willing to leave a brilliant worship service in heaven and come and live in this doghouse of an earth. He was the prototype apostle. He needs people who will follow his example.

This series of posts are excerpted from my book Being Church Where We Live.

Apostolic Way (5) - Aim for the End

Apostles will start the new Church with the end in mind. The first priority of the apostolic team will be to get to the stage where they can appoint a team of elders from within the new Church to take over its leadership. Most of their energy will go into those whom they expect to become elders. The apostolic team will intensively disciple them and start to replicate their ministries in them. They will focus on developing a team containing the full range of ministries.

People with influence are important because they are likely to become leaders in the new Church. A person of peace is less likely to have a lot of personal problems that need to be sorted out before they can grow into leadership. A person with both influence and a peaceful spirit should have potential to become an elder.

The ideal is for the apostle to live with the person of peace. This would increase the intensity of their discipleship. They would see everything the apostle does and be able to join in all the apostle’s activities. Having an apostle, and perhaps a prophet, living in their house will also provide a high level of spiritual protection. These benefits will help the person of peace grow very fast.

The apostolic team will not be concerned about gathering a large number of new converts. They will be busy with those who have leadership potential, so they will not have time to disciple a large number of new converts. They will not want a lot of new converts until some of the first batch of local Christians is ready to disciple them.

A work is ‘unfinished” until local elders have been appointed (Tit 1:5). When a local eldership team is in place, it will be easier to bring people into the Church.

Apostles will not be interested in church buildings. Their focus will be on growing to the point where they are able to send out apostles again, so they will not waste time and resources on buildings. Sending out apostles and starting new Churches is more important than a place to meet. The members of the apostolic team will usually rent their houses, as they will want to be free to move on when the time is right.

Apostolic Way (4) - Healing the Sick

Once contact has been established with the person of peace, the apostles should look for opportunities to heal the sick. Jesus said,

When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you' (Luke 10:8,9).

An apostle has authority to heal the sick, so someone should be healed, when the apostolic team moves into the new neighbourhood. The healing will often crack the neighbourhood open.

At Malta, Paul prayed for Publius’s sick father and he was healed (Acts 28:8-10). The whole island came and were healed (many would have been saved). The proconsul in Paphos believed the Gospel, when he saw a sorcerer struck blind by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:8-12).

When people in the neighbourhood hear about the healing, they will be curious. Many others will come wanting to be healed. The apostles will take the opportunity to share the gospel and pray for them.

In most cultures, a crowd will gather. The apostle or the evangelist will preach the gospel and pray for the sick. God will confirm their preaching with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20). Jesus regularly used this method.

The apostolic team will disciple the new Christians, teaching them to live in obedience to Jesus. They will mould them together into a Church, based in the home of the person of peace. The new Church will become a community in which the life of Christ is visibly demonstrated. As households are converted, they will be drawn into this community. Seen from this perspective, becoming a Christian is joining part of a Christian community.

Apostolic Way (3) - Stay in a House

In most cultures, the apostles would go and live in the house of the person of peace. Jesus said,

Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. (Luke 10:7).

Jesus had said the same thing to the twelve when he sent them out.

Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town (Luke 9:4).

Paul and Barnabas went to stay with Lydia. Paul went to stay with Publius. Ideally an apostolic team would accept customary offers of hospitality and stay in the house of the person of peace.

In western cultures, staying with the person of peace or influence might be too intrusive. The apostle should rent or buy a house as close as possible to the person of influence, but they would still have their meetings in the home of the person of peace.

If the rest of the apostolic team are single, they could stay with the apostle in his house. If they are married, they should find houses close by.

The apostolic team will focus their chosen locality. They will build a spiritual stronghold and form a Christian community, in which they share and care for each other. This will be a tremendous witness to the people who live around them.

Apostolic Way (2) - Person of Peace

When they move to the chosen location, the apostles should try to establish contact with an influential person or “person of peace” in that place. Jesus commanded the seventy-two to stay in one home and not go from house to house.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them,… When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you (Luke 10:1,2,5-6).

He had said something very similar when he sent out the twelve.

Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you (Matt 10:11-13).

The Holy Spirit will lead the apostles to a “worthy person” or “person of peace”. This is someone who is open to the gospel and who has contact and influence with other people in the area. Sometimes that person might be a Christian with a burden for their neighbourhood. The new Church will usually meet in their house.

Paul often went to the local synagogue to identify the worthy person. This was how he and Barnabas started a Church in the house of Lydia.

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us (Acts 16:14,15).

Lydia was the person of peace and influence and the first convert in Philippi. Paul and Barnabas established a church in her house.

Sometimes the person of peace or influence will be a town official or key business person. Publius, the chief official of Malta welcomed Paul into his home (Acts 28:7). Lydia was a successful businesswoman. In Paphos, the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God (Acts 13:6,7). Winning a person in authority for Christ will open the whole neighbourhood or village up to the gospel. The Person of Peace will have influence in their neighbourhood and potential to become an elder.

The fact that he person is at peace may be a sign that the forces of evil are not strong in that locality. This will make it an ideal place to establish a spiritual stronghold.

Apostolic Way (1)

Jesus gave very clear instructions about the way that an apostolic team should do its work (Luke 10). When they are sent out into a new area, they should seek God to find the right neighbourhood.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go (Luke 10:1).

Jesus appointed the seventy-two and sent (literally apostled) them out. They went everywhere he was going to go. Now that Jesus has gone and the Holy Spirit has come, apostles should go where the Holy Spirit is about to go. Being in Jerusalem is pointless, if the Holy Spirit is moving in Antioch.

Some neighbourhoods and nations are spiritually tougher than others. Jesus said,

When you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near' (Luke 10:10,11).

Apostles should not waste their efforts where they are not welcome. They should move on and find a place where the Holy Spirit is moving. Antioch was a good example of such a place, but apostles initially missed out on the opportunity (Acts 11:20-24).

Always a Mixture

A Christian community will always be a mixture. We must not try to exclude non-Christians from our local communities. We actually want unbelievers living among us so we can bless them, and so they can see the benefits of the Christian life.

We must not force unbelievers to live by Christian standards. Forcing people who have not experienced the love of God to love each other is pointless. However, we can expect the unbelievers among us to live by the standards of the law. If they rob or assault people, we should expect them to make restitution. If they refuse to make restitution, or refuse to give up theft and violence, we might need to ask them to move out of our community.