The Paradox of Peace

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  --Romans 16:20

Well, friends, there is no going back now.  I have signed a contract with a publisher, and my book Facets of Grace should be available in bookstores, on Amazon and for Kindle in about 90 days.  Hoping for July 1.  Praying for a wide audience, not so as to increase my royalty checks (though that would be nice--I can't lie), but that the God of grace would use my humble musings to touch someone, to encourage them, and to perhaps lead them to Christ.  I hope that you will pray with me toward that end.

Now I feel impressed to begin a new project, this time on Peace.  Transitioning from Grace to Peace should be easy.  Paul said in Romans 1:7, "Grace and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ."  In this way, he bridged the gap between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians who lived in Rome.  Let me explain.  The traditional Christian greeting among Gentile Christians, especially those with Greek influence, was to say "Grace to you."  Whenever they met another Christian on the street or in the church, they would say "Grace to you."  Usually, the other person would answer, "And also to you."  In this way there was fellowship among the brethren.  Even today, many Catholic and Orthodox Christians continue this greeting.

If you were raised in a Jewish household, the standard form of greeting was to say, "Shalom", or Peace.  In this verse, Paul differentiated the greeting from the traditional Jewish one by adding, "from our Lord Jesus Christ."

It seems that in our world today, peace is needed now more than ever before.  There are Christians being persecuted and imprisoned in North Korea and Iraq.  The Islamic State can be seen beheading Christian believers on CNN.  The wars and rumors of wars are a reminder of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:6: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."  Note what he said.  Don't freak out about wars, even ones that may be happening on your own soil.  Don't be alarmed.  God is still in control.

Many in the world today believe that peace is the absence of conflict.  They see organized religion as a source of much of that conflict.  That is why you see bumper stickers that say "Coexist" where each letter is representative of a religious or new age symbol.  To often in our country, anger is focused on Christians.  Somehow, the thinking goes, if we "Bible thumpers" were not so dogmatic and narrow minded, there would be less conflict in our world.  These folks argue that the so-called "militant wing" of the Muslim faith is a small percentage of the followers of Islam, so those who are beheading Christians on the news aren't to be lumped in with more moderate followers of the "religion of peace".

What a shame that these people are buying in to a lie from the pit of hell itself.  I saw a statistic recently that said even if only 5% of Muslims fall into the "militant" category, that is still millions of people bent on the destruction of Israel and the destruction of America.  In fact, I have heard it said that the eschatology (study of end times or of last things) of the Q'uran closely mirrors that of the Bible, but with a different hero.  What Christians would call the Antichrist is hailed in the Q'uran as the great Mahdi, or Guided One, who will rule the earth for 7 years and bring peace through subjugation of all peoples.

That is why the promise of Romans 16:20 is so great.  The God of peace will not bring an absence of conflict.  No, the God of peace will crush Satan underfoot, and He will use you and me to do it.  Read the verse again.  "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."  The grace of God is given to those who stand up to Satan and his evil forces.  Peace, then, is not the absence of war and conflict.  It is the calm assurance of the warrior that he or she is on the side of good and of right.  Peace of mind in the midst of a conflict.  Peace in the heart of a warrior.

May God grant you that peace.  May He grant you the grace to stand against the evil one.

Prophetic Keys in Scripture

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. --Matthew 16:19

Every Christian has a principle spiritual gift, one that they practice and perfect, one that is seen most often in their spiritual walk.  Mine, I believe, is teaching; although I am starting to focus on a secondary gift of giving.  I have heard it said that each of us may be given multiple spiritual gifts; some may be primary, others may be secondary, and still others may be tertiary--so far removed from our individual temperament and experience that we would never dream of exercising or even experiencing it.

Romans 12 lists seven spiritual gifts.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let  him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.  --Romans 12:6-8

If I did a personal inventory, and placed those seven gifts in order of use in my own life, I would place teaching at the top, and prophecy at the very end.  The other five may be placed in different rankings, depending on the day, the circumstance, or my mood.

Let me reiterate--of the seven spiritual gifts in this list, prophecy is dead last.

I know of some people who believe they have the gift of prophecy.  Some of them speak in terms so general that they could be speaking of anyone, in any place, at any time.  On the other hand, some are so specific to a place and time that they cannot be denied as either God-inspired, or very, very coincidental.

A friend of mine, who leads our small-group Bible study, is fascinated by modern-day prophecy.  He has recommended a web-site, "The Elijah List", and I have begun skimming through some of the entries.  As I said, some appear straight from a positive thinking seminar, similar to a Zig Ziglar presentation.  Others are more specific, and I have no way of checking their veracity.  Remember, the way to recognize a true prophet of God is that 100% of what they say comes true.  If someone you see claims to have an 80% or 90% veracity rate, they are not of God, because God knows everything.

Not all prophets predict the future.  Their role is not always "foretelling", but it is always "forth-telling".  That is, proclaiming the truth of God.  More on this later.

Anyway, my friend and small group Bible study leader knows the names of all the so-called prophets that are regularly printed in The Elijah List.  Some he likes more than others, because he can identify more with their writing style, and the subject matter.  I, on the other hand, could not tell you the name of one modern-day prophet.  It just doesn't interest me.  My friend has said that many of the prophets of today share a theme of "alignment"--that is, God is working in many ways, in disparate parts of the world, and in opposing politics and policies, to bring about His perfect will.  He believes that "a matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (see Matthew 18:16 and Deuteronomy 19:15).  If many are testifying of this spiritual phenomenon, then it must be so.

This past Wednesday night, I was in the small group study, and was listening to him say "alignment", and I saw a vision.  It was like a dream, but I was awake and my eyes were open.  I saw a diagram of a lock; when the key was inserted, the tumblers were pushed up by springs to differing heights, being limited by the contours of the key.  When the key was fully engaged, the tumblers were at different heights, but the lock swung open, because there was a straight line near the opposite end of the tumblers.  It was something like this:

You see that when the tumblers are all aligned, the lock can be opened.

Not only did I see this vision, I heard the words, "The key is the Word of God.  When fully engaged, God's Word can open up the floodgates, or solve an ancient mystery."

To be sure, I have had visions and phrases pop into my mind like this hundreds of times in the past.  Usually, it was when I was studying to prepare a lesson, or to write this blog.  I had always associated it with the gift of teaching.  However, when I shared my vision and context with the group, my friend (who loves to read and hear prophecy), exclaimed, "I receive that!"  He treated it as a prophetic word, not so much foretelling, but forth-telling a biblical truth.

Maybe prophecy and teaching aren't that far removed from each other.  Perhaps they are associated, like the gifts of encouragement and leadership, or of giving and showing mercy.  I do not want to be puffed up, and become big-headed.  I do not want to dare to think that God has opened up a direct channel to me, and that I have now become His spokesman to the world.  I only think it is interesting that as I surround myself with like-minded believers, their traits (or gifts) might rub off on me.  It could also happen to you.

So all day today I was meditating on the message of "keys" and the words of God.  I was drawn to Matthew chapter 16.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  "But what about you?" he asked.  "Who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose will be loosed in heaven."  --Matthew 16:13-20

In this passage, Peter said something profound.  Jesus reminded the disciples that it was not Peter that had come up with this idea on his own; rather, God had blessed him with it.  You will recall that Peter later exhibited the gifts of healing and of teaching the Word.  But he also had a vision, a dream in which unclean animals were lowered from heaven on a sheet.  God told him that nothing He had made was unclean.  This vision and these words led to opening up the message of the gospel to the Gentiles.

Jesus also told Peter that He was giving him the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Did this mean that Peter stands at the gates of heaven now, deciding who will get to go in?  No.  We are all recipients of these keys, because the keys are the Word of God.  When properly used, they can show sinful man the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  When the Word of God is rejected, these same keys will lock them out of God's presence, because men will stand condemned by the very words that we preach to them.

Above all, do not quench the Spirit.  "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy."  (1Corinthians 14:1)

THAT!

Every Christian has a testimony of grace.  We all have our individual story of how God pursued us with mercy and love, so that when we acknowledged Him as Lord and Savior, we could trace the hand of God that brought us to that point.

This week I have been meditating on this verse.  Ephesians 2:8 shows how God's gift of grace leads us to salvation.  The above is from the NIV; many of us first memorized it from the KJV: "For by grace you have been saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."  Let's take a broad view--God has given us the saving grace we need, so that by faith we accept it, and thus we receive His salvation.  Think of it as a mathematical formula:

(His)Grace + (our)Faith = Salvation

But the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.  And it is all because of that one word, the pronoun "that".  (Or, in the NIV, the more specific "this").

What does "that" refer to?  When I look in the Amplified version, they seem to imply the word "that" refers to salvation:

For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith.  And this [salvation] is not of yourselves--of your own doing, it came not through your own striving--but it is the gift of God.

I can see how they would make that connection.

There are other commentaries that seem to underscore the idea of "grace" is what the "that" refers to.

So then, grace, that is to say, the gift of God, and faith, stand with one another, to which two it is contrary to be saved by ourselves, or by our works. Therefore, what do those mean who would join together things of such contrary natures?--Geneva Study Bible

But I seem to recall from my English lessons (way back in the Stone Age) defining the term "that" as

used as a function word after and to indicate emphatic repetition of the idea expressed by a previous word or phrase <he was helpful, and that to an unusual degree>

So the translators of the oldest and most reliable English version of the Bible put the word "that" in close conjunction to the word "faith", meaning that is is not our faith.  We cannot take any credit at all for our own salvation.  It is all a gift of God--even our faith.  Look at 1 John 5:4: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith."  Here we know that "our faith" overcomes the world, because it is born of God.

Please don't misunderstand me.  I don't think that God predestines some to become His children, and some to burn in hell.  "It is not His will that any should perish."  I do think that some people can more easily grasp the faith that God offers, and thereby tap into the grace He offers.

Many scholars say that the Greek word  τοῦτο is gender neutral, and the Greek word for "faith" is feminine; therefore it cannot possibly relate back to the most recent idea "faith"; it must certainly relate back to "Saved".  However, some tend to disagree.  Note this excerpt from Gill's Exposition Of The Entire Bible:

----- (I asked the following question from a Greek and Hebrew professor:

"In this verse, to what does the word "that" refer to? Adam Clarke, Wesley & company say that it is neuter plural and "Faith" is feminine hence it cannot refer to faith, (Such an admission would destroy their theological system.) However "Grace" is also feminine as is "Salvation".''

His reply was:

"Here you ask a wonderful theological/exegetical question to which I can only give an opinion, and not a definitive answer. The problem is that there is NO precise referent. Grace is feminine. Faith is feminine. And even Salvation (as a noun) is feminine. Yet it must be one of these three at least, and maybe more than one, or all three in conjunction. Since all three come from God and not from man, the latter might seem the more likely. However, it is a tautology to say salvation and grace are "nor of yourselves," and in that case it certainly looks more like the passage is really pointing out that man cannot even take credit for his own act of faith, but that faith was itself created by God and implanted in us that we might believe (i.e. the normal Calvinistic position). In which regard the whole theological issue of "regeneration preceding faith" comes into play. So, that is basically my opinion, though others obviously disagree strenuously, but from an exegetical standpoint, the other positions have to explain away the matter of the tautology.''

Whether you accept the reply or not, it is sufficient to show that the Greek is not as definitive in this verse as some scholars would have you believe. Editor)

Notice the play on words--the term "tautology", which has as its root word the Greek word  τοῦτο (and thus is the focus of our little study here), means

tau·tol·o·gy

tôˈtäləjē/

noun

1. the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style (e.g., they arrived one after the other in succession ).

   synonyms:

   pleonasm, repetition, reiteration, redundancy, superfluity, duplication "avoid such tautology as "let's all work together, everyone, as a team" by saying simply "let's work together""

   • a phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words.

     plural noun: tautologies
   • LOGIC

     a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form.

"Every word of scripture is inspired by God", and understanding every word in this particular verse (Ephesians 2:8) leads us to an appreciation that God has given us everything necessary for salvation.  If you meet someone who says, "I just don't have enough faith to believe in Jesus," tell them that faith is a gift, and God offers it to them, if they are willing to put aside their skepticism.  Christian apologist Ravi Zecharias has said, "God has put enough into the world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing. But He has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason or observation alone."