Wisdom and Knowledge: 1 Corinthians 12. 8-10

Wisdom and Knowledge: 1 Corinthians 12. 8-10
Summing up so far...

* From the Old Testament: Who is the Spirit? He is and always has been God at work, powerfully personally, and creatively.
* From the Spirit in the ministry of Jesus: What does the Spirit do? He wants to come in power to make us clean and to equip us to extend God's kingdom.
* What are gifts? God-breaths, graces that make the Spirit's presence noticeable.

So let's look at the gifts - the things the Spirit does - in greater detail...

Paul speaks about gifts, five times. There are two lists in 1 Cor 12; another in Romans 12, a different one in Eph 4; then in 1 Cor 7.7 he uses that word "Charismata" (gracelets) to refer to the ability to be happily single or to be happily married. See the chart to sort out the 23 gifts mentioned - as some are mentioned more than once.

1 Cor 12. 8-10	1 Cor 12. 28-30	Rom 12. 6-8	Eph 4.11	1 Cor 7. 7
	apostles,		apostles,
	prophets,		prophets,
			Evangelists
			Pastors
	teachers	teaching	teachers
wisdom
knowledge
faith
healing	gifts of healing,
miracles	miracles,
prophecy		prophecy
distinguish between spirits
	helping
	administration
tongues	various kinds of tongues.
interpretation of tongues
		service
		exhortation
		Contributes
		leads
		acts of mercy
				Celibacy
				Marriage

Then there is the Old Testament where the spirit's gifts include prophecy, interpreting dreams (Gen 41.38 Joseph), administering justice (Num 11.17); leadership (Jdg 3:10)  ; wisdom (Num 27:18  Deu 34:9) , craftsmanship (Exodus 31. 3)  strength (Jdg 6:34)  and military skill (Jdg 13-14). We are dealing with the creative God, and we shouldn't tie down what he does by his Spirit to a little list of gifts.


What we will do then is look at the gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 12, beginning today with the first two which are "Word" gifts.
Paul speaks of a "word of wisdom2, and a "word of knowledge2.  In keeping with what we said last week that the gifts are not so much our personal possessions that we carry around with us, but rather are god-breaths that show the Spirit is at work, Paul says here some have a word of wisdom, some a word of knowledge.  It's not the wisdom or knowledge that is the gift; it is the occasion when it is used for the building up of the Church.


Wisdom can include the wisdom of creation/creativity.  The craftsmen in Exodus 31 were described as having "Wisdom".  It is a skill-gift.  In the Bible, wisdom is never neutral!  It's wither or earthly and devilish - or God-given: See James 3. 14-17; 1 Cor 3. 19
In the Bible, "Wisdom" is always about what to do, not just about theory.  Think about the Proverbs: they are about the practicalities of life
Pro 3:30  Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
Pro 6:10  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber.
Pro 11:12  Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.
Pro 14:34  Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
Pro 17:28  Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.


The word of Wisdom is a practical application of the truth of God's Word, to real life so we know what to do in a difficult situation.


An example of this in the ministry of Jesus is in Matthew 22. 16-22. Some people came to Jesus with a trick question: "Should we Jews pay taxes to the Romans or not?"  If he said, "Yes, he would be seen as a traitor to the Jews. If he said "No," he would be seen as a troublemaker by the Romans.  Jesus cut through all that with a word of wisdom: "Whose picture is on the coin?"  Caesar could claim what had his mark on it; but god claims what bears His image, so all people should put God first.


James 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.


Knowledge.  There were people in the Greek world called "Gnostics" - who believed that there was a secret knowledge you needed to achieve union with God.  For the "Gnostics" that was all about getting your soul freed from your sinful body, and about the use of the stars, or getting help from a variety of spiritual beings. Gnostic ideas were a threat to the Church: some Christians were taken in by Gnostic teaching, and a lot of Paul's writing aims to deal with these errors.  But Paul isn't afraid to use the word "knowledge" - insisting that God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2. 4)   When he is talking about a "word of knowledge", this is what he means.  A special, Spirit-inspired insight into the great theological truths of the Christian faith.  Not a new doctrine.  Not some secret knowledge about angels or star signs.  Just this: a fresh understanding of one of the big truths, one of the core doctrines of the faith.  


Now I know lots of Christians believe a "word of knowledge" is what happens when someone has God-given information about someone else. Maybe at a healing service someone will know something quite specific.  "There's someone here with tennis elbow and God wants to heal you."  That's a perfectly valid thing to happen.  If God gives you something like that then it's right to share it.  But that is not a word of knowledge. It's probably more like a word of faith or prophecy.   We'll come to that next week.


Arnold Bittliinger says, "The word of knowledge consists of the old message spoken in the new situation in such a way that it still remains the old message."


We see Jesus using the word of knowledge in Matthew 5. See verses 21-22.  Here he quotes the "Old Message" from the law: "You shall not murder". He then speaks that into the new situation of the Kingdom: "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment."  Compare verses 27-28.   The old message is "You shall not commit adultery," but in the new situation Jesus says  " everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart"


So how can we apply this?  We can all benefit when God gives someone a word of wisdom or of knowledge.  They can help us understand and apply our faith. And any of us can receive a word of wisdom or knowledge. In order to move effectively in these gifts and benefit from them, there are two things we need to do.  Spend time walking with Jesus in prayer.  And saturating ourselves in God's word.


© Gilmour Lilly August 2011

The Spirit and the Gifts 1 Corinthians 12. 1-11

The Spirit  and the Gifts 1 Corinthians 12. 1-11

Corinth was a city known for its wild, self-centered and pleasure-seeking lifestyle. Against that background, the letters Paul wrote tell us that the Corinthian Church found the "Gifts of the Spirit" exciting: the idea of speaking in new languages, loud, sensual worship, maybe some miracles, appealed to their sense of individualism, their taste for the spectacular.   You would think, if Paul had any sense, he would advise these immature Christians to leave these supernatural things alone: "Just  focus on Jesus and don't bother with the Holy Spirit."  But he didn't. Far from it. He couldn't and wouldn't, because the work of the Spirit is central to the Good News.  The only Christianity Paul and the early Church knew, was supernatural, Spirit-empowered Christianity.  He wants the Corinthians, despite the mistakes they have been making, to appreciate the amazing things God wants to be doing in their lives.  The principle remains true today, that the answer to abuse of the gifts is not disuse, but correct use.   The gifts came with the package.  

But What are they? 
Paul doesn't actually use the word "Gifts": he uses 5 different words for the so-called gifts of the Spirit in the first seven verses of this chapter. We look now at the words Paul uses, to get some handle on how God wants the gifts to operate in our lives.  It's a bit of a Greek lesson, but Paul says "I don't want you to be ignoranit" about this area so it will help us to get a handle on the facts...

Dandelion seeds.
Picture by Alex Valavanis

1. Gifts are  "Pneumatika", they are Spirit-breaths (v1)
That is what the Corinthians were seeing and hearing around them in their worship: Something that had the immediacy and authority of being a "God-breath", a word or touch from heaven.  If we want to use our gifts we need to begin with "god-breaths". What is God wanting to breath through my life?

2. Gifts are "Charismata"; they are "gracelets" (v4)
The next word Paul uses is related to the word for "Thanks" and the word for "Grace".  Theses gifts are little graces, little freely give, freely received favours from God. They are an outworking of the amazing grace God has shown us in sending Jesus to save us from our sin.  If we want to use our gifts, we need to remember they're gracelets: they come by grace, and they should show God's grace to others, bring his joy to the lives they touch.

3. Gifts are "diakonia"; they are services (v5)
They lead us not just to feeling good. They're intended not to take us to ministry. They're not just for leaders. They're for servants.  They're for those who are willing to "serve at table".

4. Gifts are "energemata"; they are abilities or activities (v6)
They go at least a little beyond the natural. They are energies: energy is something working inside us.  I don't know how the Spirit works inside people to produce his gifts. But I know that is what he does.  Sometimes he takes what we naturally have; sometimes he enables us to see what we naturally couldn't.  And the amazing mixture of the abilities we started with, and the power of God, produces real gifts of the Spirit.

5. Gifts are "Phanerosis".  They are visible evidence. (v7)  This is the word from which we get "phenomenon" - which simply means something that we can see or hear or touch.   So gifts are a manifestation or exhibition of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts make the spirit's presence noticeable.  When people use their gifts, the presence of the Spirit is evident in worship. When you use your gifts, the presence of the Spirit is evident in your workplace.

Who is given them?
To each.  Spirituals, gracelets, services, abilities, exhibitions of the Spirit are given to each one.   Nobody is excluded.  Nobody is too old or too young. Nobody is not clever enough, or not spiritual enough.  The evidence of the spirit being at work is given to everyone.  God has placed, is placing and will place within your life, breaths of his Spirit, graces, services, energies that are evidence of his Spirit being at work. Find out what they are and use them.

What are they for?
The common good.  So everyone can profit from them.  Not just for you to enjoy. Not to build you up but to build other people up.  It's that simple, I have very little to add to hat Paul has already said here.

How do they come?
They operate by the spirit. (1 Cor 12. 8f). Paul uses three different words for our English word by.  Now these three words all point to the origin of all these gifts being the Holy Spirit. But they are different and their differences point to or suggest something of the breadth of how the Spirit works.

 1. Through, by means of the Spirit.  The Spirit therefore is the original source, for the gifts.  And whether your gift is wholly supernatural, or whether your gift is a musical one that grew as you did Grade exams, its ultimate source is the Holy Spirit.  It will only touch the lives of other people, if the Holy Spirit is using it.  We need to think outside the box as we recognise the Spirit.

2. According to (the Rules of) the Spirit.  He determines who gets what! (verse 11) And he will not contradict himself. He will not inspire someone to curse the Name of Jesus.  He will always want to say, "Jesus is Lord!"  He will always desire to operate his gifts within character that is like Jesus. We need to respect the Rules of the Spirit;

3. In, resting in, the Spirit. The Greek word "in" is about rest.  Time and again, in discovering our gifts, and in using our gifts, we will need to stop struggling, and just say "Over to you, Lord!"  We keep coming back to this, no matter how experienced we are in the things of the Spirit: we rest in him and we pick up again his resources.  

4.  Finally, ...  Paul says (1 Cor 14. 1) "earnestly desire/Be eager to have/Set your hearts on spiritual gifts.  Zealously desire them."  Desire the gifts. Request. Ask. 

As we do, the Spirit will show himself. His work will be seen.


© Gilmour Lilly August 2011

Jesus - man of the Spirit....Luke 4. 14-30

Our story begins with Jesus "Coming back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit" - but where's he been? What has been happening to bring him back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit?  Let me tell you what happened....Jesus has been in the desert. But before that he's been to the Jordan River where he was baptised, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him. Be even that is not where Luke's story of Jesus, man of the Spirit, begins...

The Spirit and his birth. See Luke 1. 35. At the point at which the "New Creation" began to impact the world, when Jesus the eternal son of God, became human, when Jesus who had always been there with the Father and the Spirit, became a growing embryo in Mary's womb, the Holy Spirit was at work.   That's the fundamental background to everything. Jesus wasn't just an ordinary person who was made special because the Holy Spirit came to him... He was and is God... but...

The Spirit and his baptism. After he had been baptised, and was in prayer, (and Luke stresses both of these) the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus with a visible sign that looked like a dove. In a way that reminder of the language of Genesis 1. 2, the spirit hovers over the life of Jesus to equip him for the ministry that he had accepted. When Jesus came back to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" it was the outworking of this experience at his baptism, when the Holy Spirit came in power upon him.   But there's more.... Jesus wasn't coming straight from the Jordan, where the Spirit came in power. He was coming from the desert...

The Spirit and his inner life.  Verse 1 tells us, "The Spirit led Jesus in the desert", in the wild place, for forty days of fasting, prayer, discipline.  In the desert - without going too deeply into the temptations and their significance (which would be another sermon) - Jesus faced questions about his identity (twice the enemy challenged him "if you are the Son of God") and his motivation (the enemy offered him the "kingdoms of the world") and dealt with these through God's word. He is clean and confident.

So now, Jesus has arrived back in his home region and is ready to begin his ministry, healing the sick and announcing Good news, at Capernaum... then turning up at his home town, Nazareth, and doing what he had always done, going to synagogue on the Sabbath.  People have heard about him. He's recognised as a man and as a preacher, so he is given the scroll of Isaiah the prophet to read; he finds Isaiah 61 and reads it...   (Luke being a Greek quotes from the Greek Old testament, which is slightly different. That's why Isaiah 61 doesn't quite match Luke 4. 18)

The Spirit and his mission.  The Spirit who rests upon Jesus, anoints him "to preach Good News to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to proclaim the acceptable year of he Lord"...  (The year of Jubilee, when land was passed back to the people who originally owned it. )  What does that all mean?  Isaiah was very much concerned with the coming into the world of someone he often called "God's Servant", the Messiah, who would bring "God's rule". A new age for god's people in all their suffering and struggles and anew age for the world... So when Jesus read these words, and then began to say, "These words are fulfilled here today..." he was announcing that the work of the Spirit in his life is about bringing the Kingdom.  That was his mission. Two things about this Kingdom;

First, it would comfort the disturbed.  It was going to bring healing to broken individuals; it was going to bring healing to broken relationships; it was going to bring healing to a broken world.  The Kingdom, then, as to bring physical healing, material provision, freedom from spiritual and political oppression, and a restored relationship with God.

And it would disturb the comfortable... Initial reactions, it seems, were positive, to this new young preacher.  (v. 22)  People are nodding their heads - but they are also beginning to get a bit offended: "we know who he is. We ken his faither... these are big claims for the carpenter's lad" The people are surprised, impressed, rattled, all at the same time.  Jesus goes on to challenge their comfortable assumptions about the Kingdom: it's not going too be quickly proved by a few miracles. And it's not going to be a cosy little club for a chosen few. It's for the nations. They are now so rattled that they want to run him out of town, to stone him as a heretic... but he slips away from them... It's almost a parable of Jesus and the gospel's relationship with the Jews - beginning at home in Judea and then going out to the far-off places.

So Luke, writing to the Church far away from Judea, brings the story of Jesus and their experience of the Spirit together. He is saying something about Jesus. They can understand Jesus in the light of what the Spirit has done in their lives. And he is saying something about the Spirit - they should expect of the Spirit in their own lives to do what he did in the life of Jesus...

A new Creation.  The Spirit of God has to be at work whenever a man woman or child connects with God, trusts Jesus, commits to following him.  HE speaks. He nudges us to realise we need to trust Jesus... He takes hold of us and loves inside us when we reach that point of trust.

Coming in power...If the Spirit could come and empower Jesus who was God the Son after all, how much more do we need to welcome the Spirit coming in power upon us.  We need the Spirit - the breath of God - to hover over our lives to release his gifts in us.  When we are ready to commit to serving God, and in a place of dependent prayer, we can ask God to send his Spirit into our lives, to fill us and to give us power.

Inner Cleansing.  The Holy Spirit is concerned about your inner life.  EH is not just concerned about producing dramatic powerful things: he is concerned about heart surgery. HE is concerned about your inner life. He is concerned about your identity. That's why Paul insists that he is the Spirit of Sonship. Do you know who you are in Christ? Do you have confidence that you are a child of God?  What motivates you? What keeps you going and makes you want to serve Jesus? These are things the Holy Spirit wants to do in you.  He works with god's word in your inner life to make you clean and confident. If you want the Holy Spirit in your life, if you want to be filled with the Spirit, if you want to grow in your gifts, you need to be prepared to let the Holy spirit work in that inner place: even if it means he's leading you in the desert.

The Kingdom  The Holy Spirit is not just given so we can have nice feelings. He's not just given so we can have impressive gifts.  He's not even just given so we can experience deep stuff from God. He is here to anoint us to preach good news to the poor... so we can take our part in bringing the Kingdom, the reign of God, to our society.  That means to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.  During the last week we have watched as a horrible drama unfolded on our TV screens just a few hours drive away. We may pride ourselves in saying "They were English riots not UK riots" but we all know our society is in a mess. We all know about young people getting legless in Rosyth on a Saturday evening. We all know about addictions, about suicide. We all know about sectarian violence, sexual abuse. We all know about prejudice, we all know about greed. We all know about unemployment, job insecurity, cutbacks, about bankers' bonuses.  The answer to our world is the Kingdom of god.  Not just "Hey, you're a sinner and Jesus died to save you!" but "How can we be good news to the poor? How can we proclaim Jubilee? How can we bring freedom to people who are tied up in webs of crime, addiction, and materialism?   How can we challenge those who are comfortably coexisting with the brokenness in our world?"  The spirit of God wants to take us out into our community, our broken society, to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.


© Gilmour Lilly August 2011

Acts 8:26-40

Although the Church was commissioned to take the Gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, Philip was the first to do this.   We often call him Philip the Evangelist. We could call him Philip the Obedient; we could call him Philip- the pioneer, Philip the fearless, Philip the Traveller. When persecution happened and loads of Christians left Jerusalem, Philip ended up in Samaria. And he said "Samaria's fair game..."  He was breaking new ground, sharing the good news with Samaritans.  He was right in the middle of the flow of the Holy Spirit. He was seeing powerful signs, wonders, deliverance, and people being saved. ("Great joy in the city" is code for the saving effect of the Kingdom.)  Philip was in the middle of a really exciting time of revival. Then the Lord's angel said, "Leave town, Philip". And I can imagine Philip saying, "Lord, look at what is happening here.  Loads of people are being converted.  The Church is growing.  You've been at work; the Apostles are happy. I'm right at the middle of things, using my gifts and you want me to walk away from all that?

Obedience to the Holy Spirit.  
It gets worse... " Go out into the desert..."  And Philip could well be saying, "But Lord, I'm an evangelist. I tell people the good news. How can I tell people the Good News if there are no people to tell?"  But Philip went out into the desert. He knew the revival was God, not him; he knew that he needed to remain in the place where the Lord had called him to be. And right now, that was in the desert.  So he goes. And the Spirit goes, to lead him in the next adventure in mission.

Discovering the Mission.  
In the desert, at this moment in time, not weeks later...in God's perfect time, as Philip walked down that deserted road, wondering, "What does God have for me to do out here? Did I make a mistake" he hears the jingling of harness, the sound of hooves, and a chariot overtook him...("All right for some...") Then the Holy Spirit spoke: Get after it and hitch a lift". (If you're going to hitch try to get picked up in a Mercedes or a Rolls Royce) - and the passenger was a rich African guy... (it so happens he was Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Candace of Ethiopia!)  It doesn't get better.  For Philip the pioneer, he's hitching a lift to the ends of the earth!   Wonderful. From that point on, note, Philip didn't need any prompting from God. He knew what to do. He discovered the Ethiopian was reading the Bible, reading Isaiah 53. The guy was curious, exploring spiritual truths and realities. All he needed was for someone to explain to him, as we were learning this morning, that the "Lamb" of Isaiah 53 is Jesus. This is the mission. This is the next stage.  And Philip is ready to journey with him, and on that journey tell him the Good News.  The Good news, the Kingdom of God, the Lamb slain - for not just Samaria, but the ends of the earth. A complete outsider. A gentile; an African. A guy with a black skin.  You heard it here first, people, from Philip.  Where are your surprising outsiders, who are puzzling over spiritual truth, interacting with holy stuff?  How are you going to get alongside?  How are you going to announce the good news about Jesus? Do you know what the good news is? What will be the possibilities for the mission going to exciting new places, through your surprising outsider?

Ready to respond
The African guy was not just "Curious". He was receptive. He was ready to make a personal commitment to Jesus.  He knew enough about the Christian Faith to know that the way to sign up was to be baptised.  To jump in that water. And he was ready to jump. Isn't that an exciting place to be in mission? Working with receptive people, who are ready to jump in the water.

Becoming a Christian is personal but not private. When the African guy was baptised, he was saying to everyone in his retinue, his bodyguard, his personal servants, "I am now trusting Jesus." It was no secret.   And when he was baptised, he was saying, "I am part of the community of faith, the Church.

When will we as Baptists begin to take baptism seriously? When will we allow it to be what the New testament wants it to be, which is the appeal to God for a clean conscience, the clear, public statement at the beginning of a person's Christian life, that says "I am trusting Jesus to wash my sins away and I am one of his people, part of the Church.

What is to hinder me from being baptised? Well, if you trust in Jesus, nothing. Not being only twelve; not being mentally handicapped; not the need for a course of study first.  No wonder the guy was rejoicing when he went on his way.  That word "Joy " is code for the work of the Holy Spirit in passages like these.  He went on his way, empowered by the Holy Spirit - to the ends of the earth, to serve Jesus in his home continent of Africa.

Mission to the margins
So Philip also travelled: the Spirit just transported him to Ashdod or Azotus, a coastal city. And he worked his way up the coast toward Caesarea, on the margins, all the while proclaiming the Gospel. Maybe not always seeing spectacular results. But it's interesting that in Peter took to travelling with the Gospel. He found saints in Lydda (Acts 9. 32),. and  Joppa (Acts 9. 38).

We read about Philip's revival and we kind of want to say, "That would be nice!  We'd like some of that, please Lord! Why doesn't that happen in Scotland?"   I don't want to suggest that there's some quick fix, or some formula that will bring people into the Kingdom in their thousands. We all have family members whom we long to see coming to trust in Jesus.  It was still hard work for Philip, and it will be hard work for us.  But I believe that s we are prepared to break new ground, we will discover people who are curious. And as we journey with them, we will find that some of them are ready to respond to Jesus. And as we are ready to welcome and receive them, baptising them and teaching them, they go on their way rejoicing; and we go on our way, too, delighting in being part of God's mission in the margins.





© Gilmour Lilly August 2011

Genesis 1. 1-5 The Spirit in the Old Testament

George Washington's early life is characterised by the story of the Cherry Tree: he damaged the bark with a hatchet so badly that the tree died.  It illustrates honesty and courage as a child that continues to be part of Washington's character as he grew to be a man of integrity and piety. A story from someone's early life serves to demonstrate something about their character. So I want us to learn about the work of the Holy Spirit, and we begin at the beginning - in Genesis 1.  The very first time the Holy Spirit appears in the big story of God, his world and his people.

Genesis 1. 2:
 "The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

Isn't that amazing. Right at the very beginning of everything, before the beginning of time itself, God's word tells us the Holy Spirit was there.  And right from the start there are things we can learn about who he is and what he does....

Who he is... The identity of the Spirit.
The Hebrew word Spirit is "Ruach". It is the same word that can mean breath or wind. Both breath and wind are "air in motion".  The word "ruach" describes energy, power: it may be gentle as your breath, or strong as a hurricane, but it is never standing still. The idea of the Holy Spirit NOT doing anything is foreign to the Bible. He is active; he is powerful.

He is called the Spirit of God.  This is the Old Testament's most common way of talking about the Holy Spirit.  Remember that the OT had no concept of the "Trinity" as we have: no idea of God as "Three-in-one".  All they understood was the "One"... and sometimes, when they were describing a situation where God was at work, they spoke about "The Spirit of God."   That is really important too: the Holy Spirit is not just power that comes from God; he is not just from God: he is God. All that God is, the Holy Spirit is.  That doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit is just another way of taking about God. He is God. People talk about the Trinity, and sometimes illustrate the Trinity by talking about ice, water and steam as all being the same stuff: water, H2O. That illustration doesn't really help that much: water can become ice; ice can melt into water. But the Father doesn't become the Spirit; the Son doesn't become the Father: they are all God - one God not three - but each is a distinct person. So in Genesis 1. 3 we find that God says "let us..." There is a conversation taking place within the Trinity, the three-in-oneness of God. and the Spirit is part of that conversation because he is perfectly God

And conversation points towards the third thing to note about the Spirit. He's not just something that comes from God. And he's not a force or energy. He has power but he is a person.  He is part of that conversation.  He has character; he has personality. He feels; he speaks. He is a person.  Jesus says, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)  That is true, but the Old Testament wants us to understand that God is personal.  And the Holy Spirit, breathed out by the father, the Holy Spirit, God in motion, is personal as well as powerful.

What he does... The Activity of the Spirit.
Genesis 1. 2 tells us the Spirit of God was "Hovering over the face of the deep."  The word hovered can mean brooded, or relaxed, or moved...

That means literally, continued brooding over it, as a bird does, when hatching eggs. How did the chaotic shapeless empty universe become one full of order and life?  The Holy Spirit.  Brown Driver and Briggs say he "ripened" the shapeless universe until it was ready for creation to start.  That is one of the things the Holy Spirit does. He hovers like a nesting bird.  He relaxes, stretches out and rests over what he creates. The earliest mention of Holy Spirit gifts were in the realm of understanding dreams (Genesis 41. 38) and of making things (Exodus 28. 3; 31. 2)

The Holy Spirit, then, is supernaturally creative.
* In the world, he is hovering, resting over what is good and positively creative, in science, in the arts.
* In your life, he is creative. He is hovering. He wants to make something good, orderly, beautiful, from your life.  He has some brilliant ideas for you that you can't begin to imagine.  He wants to release your creativity. There are abilities he placed in you that he wants to ripen so they can hatch out! He has gifts for you.
* In the Church, he is creative.  He is hovering, looking to see the Church and its witness take shape in creative, adventurous ways.  He wants to relax over the life of the Church and see the church becoming a purposeful, beautiful, living fruitful universe.

I wonder, what the power of the Spirit wants to create in you, in me, in us?

One last thing about what the Spirit does.  After the hovering brooding of the Spirit in verse 2, Genesis tells us in verse 3 that "God said..."   The creativity of the Spirit, works along with the creative influence of the word of God. God says... and things happen. "Let there be light."  We can barely begin to imagine a universe without light. Imagine being in a place that is completely dark. A moonless night in the middle of a forest, miles away from any town.  And when God says, this astounding force that is both energy and matter, that will eventually enable life to exist on the planet, just begins to exist. How mind-blowing is that?   And the idea of that energy had been there in the mind of God for all eternity. It took only an utterance: two Hebrew words "Yehi or" or "Be light!"  And that idea becomes a physical reality. It's the power of the word of God.

And the Spirit works with the word. He doesn't just "brood" on his own. He works along with the Word.  He always works with the word.  The creative things that the Sprit does, are regulated by the word. They are executed by the word.  And the Spirit inspires, breathes and empowers and uses the word of God in Scripture in preaching and in personal ministry.

So the spirit of God is "God in motion."  He is powerful, personal, and perfectly God. We welcome him with awe and reverence and love and faith. And the creativity of the spirit is associated with the Word of God.  We expect him to do new things, to hatch vibrant God-revealing new creation in our lives - and to do it hand in glove with the Word of God.

© Gilmour Lilly July 2011

Ephesians 6. 10-24: "Spiritual Warfare"

Finally... we come back to the story of how the Church started at Ephesus. Paul was teaching the wee group of Christians and loads of people became Christians.  There were healings and people set free from evil stuff in their lives. I won't go into the details, but something happened that made everyone know that Jesus was bigger and stronger than any other spiritual force. More people became Christians and brought all the rubbish to do with their old lives, books about magic, horoscopes, tarot cards, and burned them. Then the guys who made and sold little statues of the local goddess Diana , realised they could end up going out of business and started a riot

... From the very start at Ephesus the church had been in the middle of a battle, and, as Paul writes, the battle continues: he is "in chains" (v20) for his faith in Jesus. The Battle continues for us, too.  We are called upon to take our stand, and to wrestle (hand to hand) and to resist

The problem... Some of us would rather bury our heads in the sand and ignore what god's word says about a spiritual battle. "Isn't it more important to just follow Jesus than to bother about the devil?"  Some people aren't too sure whether they believe what the bible says about spiritual warfare. Some people would rather pretend there is no such thing as spiritual warfare.  When I was a kid we an encyclopedia, which had an article on "snakes", which had one or two black-and-white photos: I was almost afraid to touch these in case I got bitten.  Some of us might feel a bit like that about spiritual warfare. If we open the book the snake might jump out of the page and bite us!  OR we are tempted to think, as my Grandpa would say, "let sleeping dogs lie!"

Montgomery

But are not to sit around being afraid that we might get eaten up by the enemy. Paul says "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might" or in the CEV "let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong."  I'm told that when Field Marshall Montgomery was appointed to lead the 8th army in North Africa, he said, "After having an easy war, things have now got much more difficult." Someone said, "Cheer up" and Montgomery said, "I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about Rommel!"  I like that.  When Jesus walked the road to the Cross, he could have said "After an easy war, things are going to get much more difficult - not for me, for the devil."  We need to be confident in our General. Jesus is bigger than the enemy, and he is able to lead us into victory.

So how are we to stand, resist, and wrestle? How are we actually to conduct this warfare in such a way that, at the end of it, we a re still standing?

Firstly, know your enemy.
Another story about Montgomery. When he was conducting the North Africa Campaign in 1942-3, he had a photograph of the German General Rommel in his HQ.  We need to know one or two things about our enemy.
1. To be aware we are in a battle, - not just with human nature or with the Roman Empire or Jewish religion, it's not just Blood and flesh, but with what Paul calls "Spiritual hosts
2. They are "Spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places".   Right through Ephesians Paul is aware of what he calls principalities and powers (Eph 1. 21, 2. 2, 3. 10)
3. Take your stand against the Devil's schemes.  Schemes are methodias. What does that sound like? Methods.  A method is literally a road together, a round about rout, a work-around.  What are his methods?  The main battlefield is the mind; he uses our thinking in a number of ways.
Beliefs... doubting or distorting God's word; thinking we know better than God's word; doubting whether God could really love me.
Attitudes: wanting what isn't mine; resentment and not forgiving; hating other people;; or living in fear.
Doing:  our actions can affect our minds. If we mess with drugs including alcohol, we mess up our minds. If we mess about with occult stuff - including Horoscopes, Tarot, Ouija boards, séances, we open up our minds to the enemy. Sometimes weird things happen to people, randomly: feeling there is someone in the room for example.  Now some of these things sometimes involve tricks or co-incidences.  But sometimes they don't.  And even if they do involve tricks, they are still Satan's methods to get you playing around with things that will pull you in.  Leave well alone!

Secondly, be equipped.
This is mentioned twice: verses 11 & 13.  And it is God's armour. It is the same stuff that God shows when he goes to war against the enemy...The armour is described:
1. The belt of truth, v. 14   A well-fastened belt was essential if a Roman Soldier was going to be able to move quickly and freely.  It is truth, integrity, honesty that makes us able to do that.   God's word is truth.  We have on the belt of truth when we are reliable, faithful people who don't just talk about the Bible as truth but who live truth-filled lives.
2. The breastplate of righteousness, v. 14 . The Roman soldier had a metal waistcoat that protected his heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Righteousness means doing what is right.  It encompasses our concern for purity and poverty. Purity means the stuff you watch on TV or films, and whether you care what other people watch. Did you know that 20% of all eight-year olds in Britain have seen nudity online? It means the jokes you tell. It means the language you use. Poverty means that we care about the fact that ten million people are starving in Africa.  There are just over 5 million people living in Scotland.  Righteousness wants to respond to that because it's not right that so many should starve in our world.
3. Readiness given by the gospel of peace, as shoes for your feet.  v. 15  Grab the gospel: the good news of Jesus is bad news for Satan, for sin, for death.  We need to grasp the Kingdom of God, and go where the gospel wants to go, and know the changes that the Good News of Jesus produces in our lives. As we do that, we are getting ready for the spiritual battle. The Good news, the Gospel, is about the Kingdom. The Gospel is about the fact that the world was in the grip of evil, it was all full of suffering, and god did something to rescue the world, to heal the suffering and forgive the wrong.
4. The shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; v. 16.  This is the last in a list of things to do.  "Faith" is like the big shield that roman soldiers used. It was covered with leather which would be soaked before going into battle; then if the enemy fired burning arrows, the tips doused with tar and set alight, these would be put out when they hit the damp shield.  When all of a sudden the enemy throws things at us, whether they are doubts or temptations or suffering, it is our faith that keeps these things from harming us.
So there are four things to hold on to: honesty, right living, Good news and faith. And there are two things to receive as gifts from God
5. The helmet of salvation. God has already rescued you from being an enemy prisoner.  If you are a believer you are already seated in the heavenly places in Christ.   If you have received that salvation, you are saved and safe.
6. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, v. 17 That's the only thing we have to fight back with.  We need to take as God's gift, his word.  To learn it; study it, and to tell the Good news to others.  It's the Spirit's sword.  We don't sue it on our own. We use it in the Spirit's power; and as we do, God uses his Word to change his world.


Lastly, Pray! 
We stand wearing the armour; and take our stand by praying in the Spirit... not just our own ideas and thoughts, but knowing the Holy Spirit is leading us and helping us as we pray.  This sums up what Paul has already taught in this letter: we have access to talk to God by his Spirit (2. 18); we are built into a place for God to live, by the Spirit (2. 22); the Spirit fills us (5. 18)... so we keep alert, we pray, we persevere, we support others in service and witness, through our prayers. Paul says "pray for me."  So Pray for me as your pastor. Pray for those who work in cross-cultural mission; pray for those who have special opportunities because they are the only Christian at home or at work.

© Gilmour Lilly July 2011

Ephesians 5:21 Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.

Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ.

This is a passage of Scripture that we struggle with, for various reasons.  For some it seems oppressive, re-enforcing an intolerable and cruel regime, or calling us back to the dark ages, before the idea of human rights was developed. For others it's too easy, reinforcing our stereotypes.  For some of us it may seem irrelevant: if you're unattached, parentless and don't have a job, what does teaching about marriage, parents and masters have to say to you?

Well, let's start at the beginning.  Let's remember that Paul says "Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ."  The scope of this for believers is pretty well universal.  Husbands, wives, kids, parents, slaves, masters, pastors church members: Traveling apostles (or the BU of Scotland) and local church, teachers and prophets, worship band and congregation, team leaders and team members...  "Submit yourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ."  It's relevant to all of us.

Please note that Paul actually says "Submitting to one another." It is in fact a continuation of Paul's description of what flows from being filled with the Spirit: Speaking in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; rejoicing; making melody in your hearts to the Lord; submitting to one another... It's part of the "Spirit-filled life", part of the overflow into a joyful, abandoned, praising life: the very next thing Paul thinks of is "Submitting to one another.  There is a theological content to this.  Submission is not only an outworking of the renewing work of the Holy Spirit in you life; it is also the outworking of other spiritual truths...


Out of reverence to Christ. Literally "in the fear of Christ".  It is because we live in a reverent fear, an attitude of the utmost respect, that we submit to one another.  In fact when Paul gets into the specifics, the "household Code" of practical instructions, each one is rooted in truths about God and our relationship with Him: thus...
1. Wives, submit to your husbands as you do to Christ...
2. Woven into the teaching about husbands and wives is teaching about Jesus and the Church. Paul says the Church is the bride Jesus loves and for whom he sacrificed himself and died.  Marriage, from the very earliest days of human life, is and has always been a picture of the love Christ has for his Church. Even before Jesus died for the Church, the union of a man and a woman has existed as the picture of the relationship between Jesus and the Church.
3. Children, obey your parents in the Lord.   The command to obey one's parents is the only one of the ten that has a promise attached.
4. Slaves, respect your masters. It's Christ you're serving.   Masters, in the way you treat your slaves, remember that you and they both serve one master, Christ.

So this is not just a matter of pragmatism, doing what works; it is not juts something that exists so certain people has to obey certain other people; it is not just a way of having a harmonious church or family life.  Submitting to one another has its roots in the work of the Spirit, and in our relationship with God who is father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The rest of the submission passage - with its teaching on husband-wife, child-parent and master-slave relationships, is the outworking of this single sentence: "Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ."  ... In every case there is a two-way traffic. It is not about maintaining the dominance of husbands, fathers and masters.  Submission is meant to be mutual.  It's about relationships.  You're not living in obedience to God's word is all you do is turn these verses into a set of rules and regulations. They are about bringing some structure into the relationships we build with one another.  All Paul says in verse 22 through to chapter 6 v 9, is an outworking of verse 21: Submitting to one another...  Whatever relationships we are in - and in some of them there may be a clear about who is responsible for what - the starting point is the same: Be subject to one another.

And submission is a radical matter. There is a weak-strong dynamic in each of the practical examples Paul gives.  Paul in fact challenges the way society thinks.

About Gender
Remember Paul lived in a society that was strongly male-dominated and sexist.  The Roman Empire tolerated the abandoning of baby girls: one Roman citizen working away from home wrote to his wife: "I am still in Alexandria. ... I beg and plead with you to take care of our little child, and as soon as we receive wages, I will send them to you. In the meantime, if (good fortune to you!) you give birth, if it is a boy, let it live; if it is a girl, expose it." (In other words, put it outside, either to die of cold or starvation, or be raised to be a slave in someone else's household.)  And in that male dominated society, Paul not only tells the woman to work out her submission to Jesus in her relationship with her husband; he also tells the Husband to submit to his wife - in the sense that he is to love her with the same kind of love that Christ showed for the Church when he died on the Cross.  Guys, if your wife has problems submitting to you, it's either because you have problems leading, or you have problems loving. Try making a sacrifice, giving something up, and see what happens!

About generation and seniority
Children, obey your parents. Parents, do not exasperate your children. The word "children" refers to relationship rather than age, but you can narrow down the age range of the people Paul is talking to here.  They are old enough to know that they are  "in the Lord" but young enough to be still receiving education and having their minds formed by their fathers.  In the Roman world, it was a father's job to teach his children the basic life skills including reading, writing and using weapons.   The idea of children having any rights at all is a comparatively recent one.  Paul busts the generation barrier by addressing children and fathers, and giving them each responsibility for working out what it means to be a disciple. It works both ways and Paul radicalises the parent-child relationship, not by taking away the structure of submission but by giving both parent and child responsibilities.

About financial behaviour.
Slaves, obey your masters as you would obey the Lord. And masters, do not be harsh with your slaves because they are your Christian brothers.  What Paul says about the relationship between a slave and a master - and in particular the fact that they both serve the same master, really lit the blue touch paper under the institution of slavery.  Yes, - despite the natural injustice of one human being becoming the property of another - Paul doesn't say as Charles Finney did that Christians should not have slaves.  But what he said totally subverted and radicalised the way a Christian thought about slavery so it would never be the same again.

In each case the STRONG - the husbands, the fathers and the slave-owners - have a responsibility to care for the weak.

And in each case, being the WEAKER party does not take away your responsibility. Wives, children, and slaves are to submit to their husbands, parents and masters.

None of that means that we should tolerate injustice. We should speak up for justice; we should defend human rights and engage in politics.  But we do so with respect for the person on the other side of the dispute.  Whether you're a worker, a Council tenant or a benefit claimant, whether you're the boss, the official or the First Minister, you need to treat the person on the other side of the counter with dignity and respect.  That's the radicalism of Paul and Jesus; the upside-down Kingdom that is prepared to be different to the way the world is.

© Gilmour Lilly July 2011