Tag Archives: Paul

Paul got there first

27 Saturday May 2017

Posted by in Biblical Counseling, Colossians, Hope, Psychology, Theology of Biblical Counseling, Uncategorized

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“We aren’t built to live in the moment”:

What best distinguishes our species is an ability that scientists are just beginning to appreciate: We contemplate the future. Our singular foresight created civilization and sustains society. It usually lifts our spirits, but it’s also the source of most depression and anxiety, whether we’re evaluating our own lives or worrying about the nation. Other animals have springtime rituals for educating the young, but only we subject them to “commencement” speeches grandly informing them that today is the first day of the rest of their lives.

A more apt name for our species would be Homo prospectus, because we thrive by considering our prospects. The power of prospection is what makes us wise. Looking into the future, consciously and unconsciously, is a central function of our large brain, as psychologists and neuroscientists have discovered — rather belatedly, because for the past century most researchers have assumed that we’re prisoners of the past and the present.

Paul got there first, Colossians 1:3–8 (ESV):

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

Paul anchors the faith and love exhibited by the church in their forward expectation.

Background on a riot at Ephesus

05 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by in Acts, Greek, Greek Translation, Uncategorized

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Temple-of-Artemis

Acts 19 records a riot in Ephesus. The work of Paul in Ephesus led to a decline in the idolatrous worship of Artemis. The worshippers of Artemis took great offense at the declining worship of their goddess and proceeded to riot; but like all riots, “most of them did not know why they had come together.”

Antipater says the beauty of that temple outshone all other wonders of the world:

I have gazed upon the towering walls of Babylon, where chariots raced;
And upon the Zeus of Alpheus
And upon the hanging gardens
And upon the Colossus of the Sun
And upon endless work for towering pyramids;
But when I saw
The divine house of Artemis,
They all did fade away:
Apart from Olympus itself,
The sun never gazed upon such a sight.

 

Greek Anthology, Book IX, number 58.

Here is the record of the riot:

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Why didn’t Paul take a salary at Corinth?

06 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by in 1 Corinthians, Elders, Ministry, Uncategorized

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One aspect of the ancient world that we need to keep in mind as we read these verses is the fact that it frequently operated on the basis of informal “patron-client” relationships. In such relationships, a “have” (patron) supported a “have-not” (client) materially. The have-not did not earn or merit such “grace.” The patron or “have” did it for other reasons, such as the prestige of being noble or various other favors a have-not might render. In return, the have-not, the “client,” returned whatever honor or service was appropriate.

In some parts of the Roman Empire, the newly rich would compete for status by accruing as many clients as they could.3 Such clients might be expected to come to the patron’s house once a day and do whatever menial tasks the patron required. In return they would get at least one meal that day along with the possibility of future help. The entanglements of patron-client relationships provide us with a good explanation for why Paul on principle did not receive material support from the churches where he was ministering. He would take support from churches elsewhere, such as the support he received from the Philippian church while he was at Thessalonica (Phil. 4:15–16). But he refused support from the cities where he currently served.

Kenneth Schenck, 1 & 2 Corinthians: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2006), 136.  Commenting on 1 Corinthians 9

Stephan’s Speech as Legal Argument/Story Part 3 (and a theory of Hebrews)

23 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by in Acts, Exodus, Hebrews, Uncategorized

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The perplexing aspect of Steven’s speech comes in the movement from verse 50 to 51. The entire section reads as follows:

Acts 7:44–53 (ESV)

44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49  “ ‘Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is the place of my rest?

50  Did not my hand make all these things?’

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

The trouble here is not the Temple as an idol per se (see Sweeney, J. (2002), “Stephen’s Speech (Acts 7:2-53): Is it as ‘Anti-‘Temple’ as Is Frequently Alleged?”, TrinJ 23, NS, 185-210). I don’t think it lies in attacking the crowd because of the Temple. Jesus nowhere decried the Temple per se. 

When we look at the structure of the speech: proposed savior-rejected savior in the context of the people being returned to the land to worship God, we have to see the temple as somehow aligned with Jesus and also tied to the rejection of Jesus (which Stephen contends — and which leads to him being stoned to death): These people rejected, Jesus just as their fathers had rejected Joseph, Moses, and God (by idol worship).

The accusers draw this precise correlation as quoted in Acts 6:

 

Acts 6:13–14 (ESV)

13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”

This of course seems to derive from John 2:

John 2:18–21 (ESV)

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

And Mark 14:

Mark 14:57–58 (ESV)

57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ”

So the destruction of Jesus = the destruction of the Temple (in some manner) goes back to Jesus.

Saul was present and the writing of Hebrews:

This leads to something more speculative. The language in this section parallels themes and allusions used in the book of Hebrews. Here are two examples. First Acts 7:44 quotes Exodus 25:40, that the temple was to be built “according to the pattern that he had seen”. This verse is quoted in one other place in the NT, Hebrews 8:5, where the writer draws a connection between the heavenly tabernacle:

Hebrews 8:1–5 (ESV)

8 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

Notice also that the heavenly tabernacle is not made by man (which is a point raised by Stephen). In Hebrews 9:11, the heavenly tabernacle is explicitly said to be not “with hands”.

Stephen’s speech also concerns itself with the wilderness rebellion. The accusation of Stephen’s speech is that his audience has not changed from the wilderness rebellion. And, the wilderness rebellion is a constant theme of the Hebrews.

Finally, Hebrews draws an explicit line between Jesus and the Temple, even referring to the veil in the temple as his “flesh” (Hebrews 10:20).

More parallels could be drawn between Acts 7 & Hebrews at the level what was written. But, there was a man Saul (soon to be Paul) who was present at Stephen’s murder. This event must have been formative for Paul, because Luke records it.

This speech which drew Jesus and the Temple together must have had a profound effect upon Paul. And, while most at present would deny Paul was the author of Hebrews, it is commonly granted that Hebrews was written by someone in Paul’s orbit (I tend toward Luke as the author of Hebrews myself).

Thus, we have a tentative theory of development (and yes, I unquestionably hold to plenary verbal inspiration): Jesus (John 2); false accusation (Mark 14); false accusation (Acts 6); development (Acts 7); unwritten process of development Saul-Paul-Luke (?) – culmination of the doctrine (Hebrews).

Shepherd’s Conference, 2016; Nathan Busenitz, Session #5What is success in ministry?

10 Thursday Mar 2016

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Shepherd’s Conference, 2016; Nathan Busenitz, Session #5

What is success in ministry? 
Since the Second Great Awakening, it has been measured in terms business like success: crowds, money, “decisions”.  That cannot be how the Bible defines it, because one can have money and lear jets and be a ministry failure.
Success is not per se bad. Rather, it is how one defines the desired goal.
How should ministers measure success?
R. Kent Hughes defines this in terms of faithfulness — which will be developed here: 
Hebrews 11

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-

38 of whom the world was not worthy-wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. http://esv.to/Heb11.32-38
This does not look like “success” in any way we would normally consider such things. But from God’s perspective, their lives were a success because they adhered to Jesus who is the ultimate measure of success.
Church history is filled with Christians whose faithfulness to their Lord and master was worth the loss and ridicule of this world.
Jeremiah spent his ministry being rejected by the people to whom he was sent; compared with Jonah who had a massive response. Yet, Jeremiah was a greater success.
Consider Moses

Being faithful means that we may not be well received. But suffering for him is nothing compared to the glory which awaits those who are his.
Paul is the example of this sort of faithfulness.
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

9 Do your best to come to me soon.

10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.

14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.

16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!

17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.

21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. http://esv.to/2Tim4.1-22
Paul is writing to Timothy at the outset of his ministry. Therefore, Timothy had to be reminded of the true meaning of ministry success.
Note three contrasts in this passage which contrast true and false success (worldly vs. biblical).
First, a contrast in the motivation for service (vv. 1-5)

False teachers are lead by a desire for approval and gain of this world. True success is measured by faithfulness to God’s approval

You will give an account. John Knox burst into tears upon hearing this passage. 

As for the size of your church, it will be enough when it comes time to give an account. 
Be motivated by the knowledge that one day we will give an account.

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. http://esv.to/2Cor5.6-10
Second,success is measured by heaven’s approval:
Paul guarded the purity of the gospel and never wavered. Therefore, he eagerly looks forward to his coming to his reward: verse 8. 

The true measure of success is faithfulness to Jesus.
Well done my popular, cool, clever, coy servant — is not how Christ greets us.
Ad. Judson writing a father asking for his father’s hand in marriage:

I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure for a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death?


Can you consent to all this for the sake of Him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?”
This is the kind of perspective I want to have in my ministry. 
Third, the faithful minister is willing to enjoy suffering if that is what is entailed in faithfully serving Christ (9-13)
While we often consider Paul’s charge at the beginning of this chapter, we rarely consider Paul’s circumstance in making this charge.
If my ministry ended in Paul’s place, would I think my ministry ended in success?
Examples from church history: 

Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon
If that is not elite enough company, here we have the apostle Paul: abandoned, rejected, imprisoned.
Fourth, Paul’s support [missed his precise title]
The Lord strengthened me.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.(Phil. 4:13). Paul
Paul was able to stand because he was supported by Christ.
Second, Paul’s confidence is placed in the Lord’s sovereignty: whether we live or die we are the Lord’s.
Third, he remembered his goal: bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.
To live is Christ, to die is gain.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. http://esv.to/2Cor4.16-18
Fourth, he could find joy in any circumstance, because in his loss Christ was being glorified.
To God be the glory. 
Rather than becoming discouraged in the midst of this circumstance, he was encouraged by God’s glory.
Application
Suffering is no sign of failure [in ministry] as long as we are faithful [to Christ].
Timothy needed to take these matters to heart to have a successful ministry.
Paul’s life (according to tradition) was ended by beheading (as a Roman citizen). 
Paul was greeted with Well done my good and faithful servant
Only what is done for Christ will last.

Books & Ministry

19 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by in Ministry

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Paul was inspired, but he wanted books: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2015/04/17/paul-was-inspired-yet-he-wanted-timothy-to-bring-him-books-to-read/

A review of Dangerous Calling:

From a Reformed standpoint I did want the sacraments to be addressed in the book. One of the most fruitful areas of study for any minister is to study the doctrine of the sacraments. They are entirely absent from the book. Although I am to administer the sacraments, I am as part of Christ’s body ‘to feed on Christ in your heart by faith with thanksgiving’, and, in the words of the Westminster Larger Catechism, I am to ‘improve my baptism.’ Tripp has this wonderful line that ‘If Christ is the head then all of the rest is just body’. I just wish he had applied it to this area.

http://www.reformation21.org/featured/dangerous-calling-confronting-the.php#sthash.5crQxT2B.dpuf

Levy might also have pressed forward on the issue of the use of the term ‘ministry.’ Rereading Bannerman, it is clear that in the context of Christianity, the word ‘ministry’ is best restricted to that pertaining to Word, sacrament and discipline. That keeps it connected to biblical qualifications, office-bearing, and accountability. The danger, of course, is that this could fuel the rise of a new priestly caste within the church, though that seems hardly the most pressing problem today. Rather, the failure to restrict the term has led to a democratic free-for-all where anybody doing anything for the church (i.e., anybody who professes to be a Christian) has a ministry. And when a word means everything in general, it means nothing in particular. Thus, the linguistic stage is set for the downplaying of word and sacrament. And when we name ‘ministries’ after ourselves, we surely point back to ourselves and not to the one in whose name we claim to minister.

http://www.mortificationofspin.org/mos/postcards-from-palookaville/bannerman-take-two-when-the-levy-breaks#.VTMMS8ad7dk

Gathercole Read All 1658 Pages

29 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by in N.T. Wright

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Wright is brilliant, maddening and, as in the case of Paul and the Faithfulness of God, able to write extremely long books:

Let me begin by stating the fact that most obviously strikes the recipient of a copy of Paul and the Faithfulness of God (henceforth, PFG): it is 1658 pages long. At one point, probably about a third of the way or half-way through, I had a feeling which – unprompted – interpreted itself in words similar to those of John Newton’s Amazing Grace: ‘When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun | We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, as when we first begun’. I felt at this stage at the book that, having read hundreds and hundreds of pages, I still had as many to go as I did when I first begun. One of the chapters is over 250 pages. But I did make it all the way through to what I assume was the George Herbert allusion at the end. –

Someday, I hope to have the time myself

 

Biblical Counseling, Anxiety Part Two

24 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in affliction, Biblical Counseling, Fear, Meditation, Obedience, Philippians, Prayer, Resurrection, Thomas Manton

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(This is the second part of a lesson on anxiety).

COUNSELING PROBLEMS AND BIBLICAL CHANGE

BIBLICAL SOLUTIONS FOR ANXIETY, PART TWO

 WHEN THE BIBLE DOESN’T WORK

The “go-to” text for anxiety is found in Philippians 4:6

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 (ESV)

The faithful and trusting Christian prays, Dear God take away my fear and fix my trouble. He then lays down to sleep, but only tosses and turns throughout the evening. Come the morning, he feels tired and anxious and complains that somehow the promise of Philippians 4:6 “doesn’t work.”

  1. A Serious Charge

Now it would be a serious charge if a promise of God truly failed. However, as we shall see, using Philippians 4:6 like a magic-charm does a grave disservice to Scripture and has needlessly troubled the faith of many broken Christians.

The impulse to trust the promise is correct. Trouble in not in the trust or in the promise. The trouble stands in the misunderstanding of the promise.

  1. A Mistaken Charge

Let’s consider our problem. First, note something about the text. It should shows up in the fourth chapter, which means it was preceded by three chapters. It is in the sixth verse of the four chapters. It is followed by 15 verses in the fourth chapter.

Let’s say you bought an assemble-yourself piece of furniture from Ikea. You lay the materials out on the floor. You take out the manual, turn to the fourth page, go down a bit on the page, read one line of instruction, perform that step, close the book and step back.  You wanted a desk, but instead you have a plastic clip attached to a piece of wood.  You complain that the instructions “don’t work”.

When we pluck a single verse from an entire letter, we should not be surprised if it does not “work”. The trouble is even greater: The verse concerns the matter of “prayer”. The Scripture says a great deal of prayer which help inform our understanding of this command. As we should know, “prayer” entails more than a mere recitation of words.

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Paul and Saul

13 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by in Acts, New Testament Background

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In Acts 13:9, we first learn that Saul is also Paul. The circumstances for the new name are curious, Paul is first referred to as “Paul” in connection with the story of Sergius Paulus:

7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?:

Witherington, in his excellent commentary on Acts, argues that Saul’s name as “Paul” “probably rules out the idea” that Paul’s name has something to do with Paulus. I’ll let Witherington speak in a moment. I would merely add that the comment “who was also called Paul” does not necessary tell us when Saul was first alternatively known as Paul. Luke’s language is as ambiguous as could be on the point in question, there is no verb in the phrase, “Σαῦλος δέ, ὁ καὶ Παῦλος ” (But Saul, the and/also Paul — in a painfully wooden translation; better, “Saul who is also Paul”). Now Saul could also been known as Paul since birth. But if that is so, why did Luke wait until this point to raise the matter?

Paul Barnett in Jesus & The Rise of Early Christianity writes, “Moreover, Paul may have changed his name at this juncture, not only to mark the conversion of Serguis Paulus, the first Roman governor to embrace the faith of Christ, but also to acknowledge the patronage and protection of the Paulii family in Pisdia” (279).

In addition, this was not the firs time Saul/Paul would have interacted with Gentiles (Peter had already opened a mission to the Gentiles. In fact the name is noted in connection with Paul’s interaction with a Jew.). The point is not definitive in any direction.

With those questions (I am agnostic on the topic), Witherington writes:

The second name conundrum arises at v. 9, where for the first time we hear of Saul also being called Paul. As Barrett astutely puts it, this does not represent a change in name, but the identification of an alternative name.168 Luke’s way of putting it probably rules out the idea that Paul borrowed the name of the proconsul. It is probably right to say that Luke has introduced the name at this juncture because now Paul will be dealing with Gentiles and will accordingly want to use his Roman name in doing so. Presumably Paulus was the apostle’s cognomen, though it may have been his praenomen or even a nickname or supernomen, for “paulus” in Latin means little.169

fn 168: Cf. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. 81; Barrett, Acts, vol. 1, p. 616. As Ramsay suggests, these alternative names would be used according to what audience Paul would be addressing, or, more to the point, according to what locale he was visiting. Part and parcel of a κατα γενος approach to history writing meant one was sensitive to the nuances involved in a change of ethnic or geographical setting. Luke is signaling that henceforth Paul would primarily be in regions where his Greek (or Roman) name would be apropos.

fn. 169: Acts 13:9 surely has the same intent as in 12:12, where an alternative name is in view. Cf. Leary, “Paul’s Improper Name”; Hemer, “The Name of Paul”; and my Conflict and Community in Corinth, p. 5 and n. 12. Leary notes a reason why he would not have wanted to be called “saulos” in the Greco-Roman world, a word that refers to the wanton way of walking of prostitutes. Only Luke tells us Paul’s Semitic name, but some possible confirmation that it is correct is that Paul says he was of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil. 3:5).