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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established November 2008 Published
Weekly on Friday
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
Hello, and welcome
to HBS.
I want to begin by
thanking you for your faithfulness to God and His word.
We ended our Bible
lesson last week at Philippians 1:21 where Paul stated: “For
me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” This declaration from Paul was not a
cliché. Paul dedicated his life to
serving the Lord Jesus Christ, and as he had opportunity to all men including the Praetorian Guard and Caesar himself. We also recognized the fact Paul was as human
as any one of us, but unlike those folks who permit their circumstances to knock
them off course Paul stayed the course set for him demonstrating his
selflessness and single-mindedness regarding the gospel of grace:
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was
raised from the dead according to my gospel (Ephesians 3:1-7):
Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word
of God is not bound (2 Timothy 2:8-9).
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed (surrounded) about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and
let us run with patience the race that is (what) set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our
faith; who for the joy that was (what) set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).
********
Please
open your Bible at Philippians 1:22-24 and let’s read the passage once at least.
But if I live in
the flesh, that is the fruit of (from) my labour:
yet what I shall choose I wot (know) not. For I am in a strait
betwixt (between; in the space that separates two persons or things) two, having a desire to depart, and to be
with Christ; which is far better:
Nevertheless to abide (to bear or endure patiently) in the flesh is more needful for you (Philippians).
Previously
in verse 1:21 Paul said, “…to live is Christ, and to die is gain” a statement that stands in
stark contrast to the brethren who preached Christ even of envy and strife
and of contention (1:15-16) or the
improper motivation.
In
verse 1:22, he follows that statement with this “But if I live in the flesh, that is
the fruit of my labour: yet what I
shall choose I wot (know) not. Said differently this verse might read, “But should I continue living this will
result in spiritual gain (fruit) from
my labor for the Lord; yet which of the two I prefer I’m undecided.”
Paul
has an important decision to make and both of them are desirable. If you’re
thinking Paul is uncertain about which way to go then you are right. On the one hand he could choose life which
presents the possibility of producing fruit
for the Lord. On the other hand, he
could choose dying which ultimately means he would then be home with Christ in glory (Philippians
3:20; Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 2:11-12).
He considered this the far better
choice for him, but then to abide in the
flesh (or to go on living) is more
needful (necessary) for the
Philippians and the other Grace Churches.
What
does Paul mean by fruit? I’m glad you asked. According to our Apostle Paul one aspect of fruit is encouraging and nurturing a
Christ-like character in the body of Christ.
Let’s all turn to Galatians 5:23-26 because this is where Christ-like
characteristics or the fruit of the
Spirit are revealed in plain language: But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance,
against such there is no law. And they
that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of
vain glory; provoking one another, envying one another.
Love is the first fruit of the Spirit because it is from
this well-spring all Spiritual fruit
flows. I remind the group Paul and his
like-minded brethren preached Jesus Christ crucified out of love for the Lord and their fellow man,
which is the proper motivation. Regarding
love Paul wrote: Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love;
good will toward all), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so
that I could remove mountains, and have not
charity, I am nothing (1Corinthians 13:1-2).
I
am reminded of a Bible passage from one of the twelve that applies here. Let’s all turn to 2 Peter 1:5-8. Here Peter urges the brethren to develop 7
Christ-like qualities:
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor (what) unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Two
terms are common in these two passages: love and self-control. To exhibit these
Christ-like character traits in your
daily walk with the Lord means to
bear spiritual fruit in your life
(Ephesians 4:1-3). I follow that thought
with this thought, right character results in right conduct.
As each true Believer lives a life of
service to the Lord and to their neighbor, they produce fruit for the Lord:
For this cause we
also, since the day we heard it, do
not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the
knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk
worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being (what) fruitful in every good work, and
increasing in knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:9-10).
So,
as we all grow in knowledge of the Lord, we learn what pleases Him and our fruitful works become aligned with that
knowledge. When Paul said he was torn
between the two possibilities of dying
and being with Christ or living on
(remaining), he said that living
would result in fruitful labor or good works:
For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto (what) good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
(do what) walk in them (Ephesians
2:10).
But
there’s more; those who respond, in faith, to the gospel of grace are fruit themselves. In Romans 1:13, Paul said he longed to go to
Rome to have some fruit as a result of his ministry
there: Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed
to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit
among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
Adding to this, in 1 Corinthians 16:15-16, Paul characterized the conversion of the household of Stephanas as the firstfruits of Achaia:
I beseech you,
brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of
Achaia, and that they have addicted
themselves to the ministry of the saints,) That ye submit yourselves unto such,
and to every one that helpeth with us, and
laboureth.
True
Believers may also bear fruit with
their lips, that is, by thanking God
and offering praise to His name
continually: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to his name. But to
do good and to communicate forget not:
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased (Hebrews 13:15-16).
I
have one more to share with you.
Believers also bear fruit
when they give financial support to the ministry. Paul designated the collection of money from
the Grace Churches in Macedonia and Achaia for the poor saints in Jerusalem
fruit:
But now I go unto
Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For
it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for
the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It
hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers
of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal
things. When therefore I have performed
this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain (Romans 15:24-28).
Let’s
go to verses 1:23-24, but before we examine them I want y’all to consider this
question. “Have you ever been caught between the horns of a dilemma?” Have you
ever been in the place where you’re faced with two important decisions and you
can only choose one? Let’s be
clear. I’m not talking about whether to
have bacon and eggs for breakfast or French toast. The example I’m about to offer is more in
line with Paul’s quandary. You only have
enough cash on hand to 1) pay the heating bill or 2) purchase groceries for
your family because the cupboard is as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s
pantry. Now let’s read the following
Bible passage in that light:
…For I am in a strait
betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is
far better. Nevertheless
to abide in the flesh (remain) is more needful for you.
The
word “strait” means: narrow;
close; difficult. Paul’s saying he’s
hard pressed. He feels as though he’s hemmed in on both sides. A
traveler making their way through a narrow passage, with a wall of rock on either
side, unable to turn this way or that, but only move forward would use this
expression.
Paul’s
saying, “I want to live for Christ Jesus,
and yet, I want to die and be with Christ.”
We’re not talking about a bad decision here. Paul’s two
desires actually make this a good dilemma.
If you’ll study his decision carefully, you’ll note it is between choosing
Jesus Christ (in life) and Jesus Christ (in death). Are you still with me? I don’t want to lose you in the explanation. Paul said both decisions are desirable.
“…having a desire to depart…” Focusing on the word desire, we find it is translated from the Koine Greek word Epithumia (ep-ee-thoo-mee’-ah), Noun,
Feminine, Strong’s Greek #1939, meaning:
eagerness for; a passionate
desire, or longing. So, Paul used
this word to express the idea of longing or
a strong desire.
Paul,
an educated man, chooses his words carefully.
From the statements “having a
desire to depart” and “to live is Christ and to die is gain” we learn Paul believed
physical death was not the end of his story.
Once again, Paul’s dealing with facts. Eternal life with the Lord is his
reality; it was not fanciful
thinking. We arrive at this point
because of his usage of the word “gain”
for one. Seldom, if ever, do people refer
to their death as a positive experience, but Paul did. If you
know your scripture, then you
understand Paul had a unique perspective of heaven. We pick up on this truth in 2 Corinthians
12:2-4 where Paul mentions an event related to heaven, in third-person.
I knew a man in
Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or
whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the
third heaven. And I knew such
a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,
which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Paul
isn’t sure what happened. This means he
doesn’t know if he was carried bodily into paradise
or if his soul left his body and made the trip solo. Paul stated he was caught up into paradise
(the third heaven – Revelation 2:7) and heard unspeakable words, which
it is not lawful for a man to utter
and this is why we’re here. Several
books and movies have appeared on the scene in the last 15-20 years. One book you may be familiar with is by John
Piper, a Baptist pastor, titled “90 Minutes in Heaven” a true story of Death
and Life” 2004, per his book. After his
car collided with a semi-truck, he was pronounced dead. However for 90 minutes he visited what he
believes is heaven, where he hears beautiful music, meets old friends, and
experienced bliss, before miraculously coming back to life. People believe what they want to believe, I
tend to lean towards what the Bible says.
Scripture reports Jesus Himself saying, “If they do not hear Moses and the
Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead”
(Luke 16:31).
Then
there’s our Apostle Paul who clearly stated he was in the third-heaven (where
God is) and I note he did not stop and write a book about this experience. Instead, Paul said it is not lawful for a man to utter, “or speak of those things he
heard and saw. One other thought worth
mentioning is someone who said they had visited heaven and returned is reporting
a new revelation from God. Jesus
Christ clearly said in Revelation 22:18, “For
I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,
If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the
holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Now
some people believe this passage only refers to the book of Revelation,
however, in my opinion I believe you can apply this stern warning to the entire
Bible.
I’ve
happened upon one of those biblical “bunny trails” I often speak about, but I
don’t want to veer too far off the course I’ve set for this Bible lesson. I thought y’all would benefit from this
information and that’s why it’s here.
One final note, the people who write about their near-death/heavenly
experiences may not be telling an
untruth. They may believe these things
actually happened to them. The point I’m
making is that’s not the truth we’re to look for. Although these things may be entertaining, there
is only one power of God for salvation, and that my
friends is the gospel of grace:
For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).
For the kingdom of
God is not in word, but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20).
For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall
live by faith
(Romans 1:17).
Thus
the Truth we’re to seek is found in the Bible and not in someone’s personal
chronicle or some Hollywood production.
Getting
back to Paul, he was granted temporary access to heaven, so this may assist our
understanding about his personal perspective of eternal life. He was under house arrest, waiting to hear if
the verdict would be thumbs up or thumbs down.
So, it’s quite likely Paul’s indecisiveness stemmed from his unique
knowledge of heaven and the things he heard and witnessed there. But then he’s also aware of reality, or the
here and now, for there was much work (labour) to be done:
And let us not be
weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do
good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:8-10).
We
know Paul longed to take God’s gospel into Spain for instance (Romans
15:24). A lot of people assume he did titling
it his fourth missionary journey, but there’s no record of this trip in the
Bible, so I leave such things alone.
What’s abundantly clear is Paul’s undecided about two desirable decisions
“a desire to depart, and to be with
Christ; or to abide in the flesh. In next week’s lesson we’ll learn which path
he chose.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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