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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)
Welcome to HBS.
“Do all things without murmurings (whispered complaints) and disputing (disagreements): That ye may be blameless and harmless, the
sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (generation), among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of
life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain,
neither labored in vain” (2:14-16).
Today we pick up
right where we left off last week and if a title was necessary I’d call it
“Stop Being Argumentative: Part II.” In
verses 2:15-16 our Apostle Paul gave the saints in Philippi reasons why they’re
to “put off” murmurings and disputing.
********
Please
open your Bible at Philippians 2:15b.
It’s
been rightly said “First impressions are lasting,” so what do you suppose would
happen if an unbeliever saw professed Believers walking hand-in-hand with the world-at-large, that is, overly
ambitious, argumentative, self-indulgent (lacking
self-control in the pursuit of personal interests) and incapable of getting
along with one another? Would you say
they’d be eager to join such an assembly or eagerly seek an exit?
Paul
said they were to be “blameless and
harmless sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse
nation…,” which means some of these folks were not blameless and harmless some were living in carnality. So Paul’s urging them to turn from that unfruitful
activity so the Lord can use them in a greater way. Simply said, they could not effectively
preach (herald) the gospel of peace to the lost when there was so much visible
unrest in the church. Paul wanted these
Believers to practice or live out what they were supposedly preaching because their
wayward activity dishonored the Lord Christ Jesus and the gospel of peace:
“But now
in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood
of Christ. For He Himself is our peace,
who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is,
the law of commandments contained
in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,” (Ephesians 2:13-22).
Here
Paul’s saying the good news of peace with God is when the Lord Jesus Christ
shed His divine blood for the sins of all, two types of enmity (extreme hostility
between enemies) were overcome. The enmity between God and lost mankind and
the enmity between dissenting groups
(the Jews and the Gentiles) was
brought to an end (Romans 10:12; Galatians 3:28). The Lord Jesus Christ became our peace.
The
word “crooked” in verse 2:15 means: bent,
curved; winding in moral conduct, devious.
A sociologist rightly labeled our present culture as narcissistic and
self-indulgent, which means nothings’ changed since the first century. According to Greek mythology, Narcissus was
an attractive young man who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of
water. Today this word is used to mean
excessive self-love.
Wouldn’t
you say this attitude or mindset characterizes our society today? Have you ever tried to be friendly with someone
who is only concerned about themselves, what they have to say, and gets visibly
upset when you try to chime in? Your
concerns, interests, and feelings are unimportant. These people seek to be the center of attention
at all times because they are in love with themselves. In referencing the last days, Paul addressed the issue of excessive self-love,
among other things, in his second letter to Timothy:
“But know this,
that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without
self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong,
haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of
godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:2-5a).
Contrast
that worldly attitude with Paul’s spirituality
in Philippians 4:10-13:
“But I rejoiced
in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again;
though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need,
for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased (humble), and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and
to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.”
The
generation in Paul’s day was “crooked”
in the sense of being wicked
(Galatians 1:4; 1 Corinthians 2:6-8; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Titus
2:12), so what’s changed, yes, I know; but here Paul’s saying their wickedness
was exceedingly grievous because they were departing from the truth. What does this mean? I’m glad you asked. It means to distort or twist the Word
of God (2 Peter 3:14-18). One truth they distorted was the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and their denial made
them “perverse” (obstinate, stubborn).
As
I said, nothing’s changed; people are still ditching the truth for whatever
sounds good to them. For instance, a
movie titled The Da Vinci Code was released some time ago and in it they
perverted the scriptures implying Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene,
with whom He had children. They go on to
say before His death He made her the leader of the church. One word describes this distortion of the truth and that is “wickedness.” There is no basis of fact whatsoever
historically or biblically for this movie or its content. Yet, the world-at-large
has accepted this fantasy as a plausible explanation of the life of Christ.
This
leads me back to Paul’s statement in 2:15b-16:
“among whom (i.e. the
crooked and perverse nation) ye
shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may
rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in
vain.
Never
underestimate the importance of light
in a darkened world. Permit me to
illustrate: after spending several weeks
at sea, the destroyer I served on was attempting to enter the port at
Charleston, S.C. at night during a raging storm. The ocean was treacherous and visibility was
near zero. If it were not for the
lighthouse beacon on shore, our only visible navigational point of reference,
we wouldn’t have been able to safely plot a course through the channel. Because this light was there and working our ship and its crew were brought
safely home. In short, this light served
its purpose.
Here
Paul’s saying in the midst of the prevailing darkness (corruption) of the world’s
systems the Philippian Believers were to “shine
as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life.” Paul wanted these saints to walk in the truth
so they could effectively share it with a lost and dying world. The Word
of life Paul’s speaking of is the gospel of grace (Ephesians 1:17-23). It’s a “shining
light” in the midst of a troubled sea.
The Grace that saves is the Grace that leads us home:
Your word is a lamp
to walk by, and a light to illumine my path (Psalm 119:105).
For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast. For we
are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Therefore do not be
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me
in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has
saved us and called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time
began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus
Christ, who has abolished
death and brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel, (2
Timothy 1:8-10).
One
of the things we learn from these Bible passages and this teaching is all true
Believers are to be out amongst unbelievers.
I’m sure that information shocks a great many. However, how else will they hear God’s good
news if not from those who have taken it to heart, that is, believed?
How then shall they
call on him in whom they have not believed?
and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher? And how shall they preach,
except they be sent? as it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad
tidings of good things! (Romans
10:14-15)
Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creature;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled
us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of
reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed
to us the word of reconciliation. Now
then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we
implore you on Christ’s
behalf, be reconciled to God. For He
made Him who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians
5:17-21).
The
ministry of reconciliation refers to
the good work (Ephesians 2:8-10) Believers have been called to do and the
message they declare which is: the unsaved can have a restored relationship
with God through Jesus Christ: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
Reconciliation means when we accept
and believe the gospel of grace by faith (alone) God the Father does not count our trespasses against us. The righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ is imputed to all those who believe. As Believers the message we have been
given to share with the lost world is Christ died for all so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
The reason we find the word might
placed here in the text is because people
must choose Jesus Christ, but they might not. If you choose
Christ, believing He humbled Himself and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross for you, then you
are reconciled to God. If you choose to remain in Adam or your
natural sinful state then you are not reconciled to God. Thus, Bible scholars identify the Doctrine of Reconciliation as “The
Great Exchange.”
In Adam I have death.
In Christ I have life.
In Adam I am a sinner with the world.
In Christ I am a son of God apart from the world.
In Adam I have condemnation.
In Christ I have justification and consolation.
In Adam I am in bondage to the world.
In Christ I am set free to live for God.
In Christ I have life.
In Adam I am a sinner with the world.
In Christ I am a son of God apart from the world.
In Adam I have condemnation.
In Christ I have justification and consolation.
In Adam I am in bondage to the world.
In Christ I am set free to live for God.
Let’s
go to verse 2:16b.
“…that I may
rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain,
neither labored in vain.”
Our
Apostle Paul declared “That, according
as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1
Corinthians 1:31). When did Paul expect
to “glory in the Lord?” The
answer is at The Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ. One day future Paul desired he might “glory in the Lord” because the
Believers at Philippi had responded to God’s call to share the gospel no matter the season, i.e. in good
times and in bad (1 Corinthians 3:14, 9:18; 2 Corinthians 5:10) with
unbelievers.
The
word "rejoice" is Kauchema (kow’-khay-mah), Noun Neuter,
Strong’s Greek #2745, and it means: to
boast or a ground for boasting; to glory.
Here Paul uses this word to express the idea he may rejoice (to
experience joy and gladness in a high degree) in the day of the Christ.
Don’t
overlook the word “may” here. There’s a chance he may not. Paul desired more
than half-hearted service from these folks, in fact, they should serve others
as though they were serving the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Why?
So they would not suffer loss of reward at the Judgment Seat of
Christ. Paul prayed for these Believers and
labored diligently among them. But if
they failed to put into practice what he had taught them he said his ministry
at Philippi would be in vain.
Some
people incorrectly teach the day of
Christ, as Paul used the term here, to mean the Second Coming of Christ
(Revelation 19:11-21). And that’s not
what Paul means to say. Both the Apostle
Peter and our Apostle Paul had something to say about “the last days.” However,
Peter’s writings are directed to the nation of Israel primarily, while Paul’s
epistles concern the Body of Christ in the Dispensation of Grace. These are two distinct programs of God and
they are not to be combined.
If
you’ve studied Paul’s writings, then you understand even though he received the
Revelation of the Mystery from the risen Lord, there’s no information as to how
long the Church Age will continue. I’ve
heard this present age labeled “God’s
Parenthetical Period.” This does not
mean it’s an afterthought of God, as though God’s plan and purpose for mankind
isn’t working out. This means the Revelation of the Mystery about
the Body of Christ, and other mysteries related to God’s Grace, were kept secret in the mind of God since the foundation of the earth. It remained a secret until God chose to reveal it to Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9;
Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:1-3).
It
remains a mystery. No one knows how long
the Dispensation of Grace will last not even Paul and he wrote the majority of
the N.T. God’s Prophetic Program has its
“times and seasons” and its “signs.” And if you noticed, in the O.T. the LORD
God was very specific about periods of time and associated events, but the Body
of Christ has none of that. When Paul refers
to the last days, he writes
generally about the deterioration of society’s morals or the conduct of man
without the Lord Jesus Christ in their life.
When
you read Paul’s writings, it’s evident he expected the Lord Jesus Christ to
return in his lifetime. Please turn in
your Bible to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2:
Now, brethren,
concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our (here Paul includes himself in the future)
gathering together to Him, we ask you,
not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by
letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means;
for that Day will not come
unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of
perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that
is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God.
This
passage of scripture speaks of “our
gathering together to Him” Paul does not say we’ll meet when the
Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth. Paul
had much to say about the Lord’s return, specifically that the Grace Age would end
when Jesus Christ comes for the Church, a.k.a. the Body of Christ. This will occur before the time of God’s
wrath:
Behold, I tell you
a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the (one)
trumpet will sound, and the dead
will be raised incorruptible, and we shall (all) be changed (1
Corinthians 15:51-52).
For God hath not appointed us (the Body of Christ) to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who
died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).
For this we say to
you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming
of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep (poetic term for those Believers who have died) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then
we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord. Therefore comfort one another with
these words (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).
Paul
had no idea the Dispensation of Grace would extend 2,000 years out future and we’re
still counting. But he consistently
instructed the members of the body
from his day onward to wait patiently for the Lord to come and take them to
heaven (Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Titus 2:13). He called the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" the "day of Christ,” referring to the
Rapture of God’s Church. Again, Paul
could not have expected the Church Age to last very long because when he wrote
about it he included himself saying “we
shall not all sleep,” and “we shall all be changed…”
At
the Lord’s Second Coming He will come to the earth, literally, on the Mt. of
Olives, the very place He left it in glory at His Ascension:
Now when He had
spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received
Him out of their sight. And while they
looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up
into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from
you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go
into heaven” (Acts
1:9-11).
And his feet
shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before
Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst
thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great
valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it
toward the south (Zechariah
14:4).
Clearly,
these are two separate events; one is designated for the church, that is, the Body
of Christ and the other pertains primarily to the nation of Israel, in that
order.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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