Tag: faith

Beginning in the End

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, InspirationLeave a comment

Each time I set out from a trail head to hike, I cannot help but think of a rabbinic expression, “the end is caught up in the beginning.” It is to that spot, where my Jeep is parked, that I will return several hours, and many miles later – to end where I began.

First to the beginning.

In Genesis 2:7 we read,

וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאָדָם, עָפָר מִן-הָאֲדָמָה

“And the Lord God formed the man from the red dirt of the ground.”

Genesis 2:7, 21-22 are a closer look at the creation narrative of man found in Genesis 1:26-27. The Lord formed Adam with His hands from the red dirt of the ground, and, as the Torah says,

וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו, נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים

“And he breathed into his nose, the breath of life.”

The Lord put his life – divine breath – into the formed Adam; and from there the Adam, created in the “image and likeness” of God would rest in that divine breath.

In Genesis 2:15 we read,

וַיִּקַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-הָאָדָם; וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן-עֵדֶן, לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ

“And the Lord God took the man, and set him to rest in the Garden of Eden, to work and protect it.”

Three points:

1. Man was set in a condition of rest in the Garden – breathing the breath of the Father – Adam rested in the midst of creation, just as the Father rested in Genesis 2:2 – imitation.

2. Man was to work the Garden, as man cannot rest without the counterpart of purpose, yet the work – divine service – was not yet toil, as the Garden willingly responded to the care of the gardener.

3. Man was to guard the Garden. From what? The serpent (Gen. 3:1). Original sin is known as the sin of Adam; not because he did not stop Eve from falling for the scheme of the serpent, but he failed to guard the Garden and keep the serpent out. Thus, having fallen from that lofty position, Adam himself would be kept out by the cherubim who would now guard it (Gen. 3:24).

This is the beginning of Adam, man, humanity, and to this beginning man returns.

Now, to the ending.

Messiah Yeshua/Jesus called out to humanity, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

Those responding to the call of Messiah are, in the same pattern of Adam, formed, more precisely, reformed by the outstretched hands of Messiah, the very one who walked with Adam in the “spirit of the day.” Messiah then breathes on those who are His own (Jn. 20:22), giving them new vigor and power in this renewed life.

Just as the Lord set Adam at rest in the Garden, in Messiah our souls are at rest, even in the midst of labor and service, no longer toiling spiritually. In Him, we find these three points:

1. As Messiah has rested, or seated, from the work of salvation, we are thus set in His rest, imitating Him in that condition in the inward man.

2. As the author of Hebrews tells us, those ceasing from their own works of righteousness have entered His rest (Heb. 4:9-11), and in that rest we do the works prepared for us beforehand by the Father (Eph. 2:8-10) – the creation then becomes a partner with us in the work of the Lord, and groans with us in anticipation for the final redemption (Ro. 8:23).

3. Now, we are to guard, as Paul writes, “As the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua” (Phil. 4:7). Guard against what? Take every thought – not belonging to the inward garden – captive (II Cor. 10:5) to the obedience of Messiah, and guard against, as Paul writes, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you are able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).

For those resting in Messiah, the guarding cherubim have stilled their swords, as we are “seated in Him in heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6). For it is by “grace through faith” in Messiah that we now share in, serve, and protect this new creation – for we are new creations in Him.

The end is caught up in the beginning, so as new creations we 1) rest, 2) serve, and 3) protect, what the Lord has set us to, to His glory (I Cor. 10:31).

We have our work yet before us (Eph. 2:8-10), may He be glorified in it.

Be well. Shalom.

He Will Delight…

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, InspirationLeave a comment

In Zephaniah 3:16-17 we read, “On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem, ‘Have no fear, O Zion, do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your God is in your midst – a mighty Savior! He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing.’” And in Psalm 66:4 we read, “All the earth bows down to You, and sings praises to You. All sing praises to Your Name. Selah”

The Lord spoke to Moses on Sinai in much the same way that He did with the apostle John on Patmos regarding history future, the Lord takes Moses to history past. As John observed what would happen in the unfolding of time, Moses looked back to the beginning of time, and the beginning of a song: a song that is still being sung today.

Genesis chapter 1 is Hebrew poetry; specifically, it’s a song. We have the beginning of each verse, “and God said,” and we have the refrain, “there was evening and morning…” The song begins by telling us that “in the beginning” God created life from nothing (Gen. 1:1; cf. Heb. 11:3). The Holy Spirit fluttered like a dove over the still void and empty nest (Gen. 1:2); and God began to speak, by His Word, what was conceived in His mind.

The Word would speak, and because He has agency/authority (John 1:1-5), as He spoke the Holy Spirit fluttered – knit – the matter (devar/word) together.

Within the Godhead, the Father, Son and Spirit sang to, delighted in. and loved each other as community; and as creation was ordered in community, the Lord delighted in it, and He saw that it was good. With each new day the Lord was speaking community among different kinds into being, delighting in the relationship of that community.

Finally on the sixth day, the Lord, by consultation within the Godhead, created man (Adam) in their image and likeness (Gen. 1:26), to be His image bearer in creation, and experience community with Him and human kind (Gen. 3). He delighted in our formation. He delighted in the work of His hands in forming Adam, but was heart broken by sin.

Why are we so moved by the sight and sound of nature? While I love cities and towns, and all they have to offer, I am most at peace and inspired in nature, exactly where this thought was conceived. We are so moved because nature is still singing its praise to the Lord, as noted above. We are drawn to it, not just on a level of heart and mind, but of soul, the very formation of who we are.

Yet, we are locked out of the fullness of that song in the natural man – of the creational chorus singing praises to the Lord. The song of creation is praising God, and saying “Our God delights in us!” But the natural man cannot sing this. Why? (Ro. 8:5-8).

The Gospel of John echoes the gospel of Genesis, “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made through Him, and apart from Him nothing was made that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it” (Jn. 1:1-5).

The Word of God – the Son – took on the matter that came to be through Him (Col. 1:16), and he became flesh, the final Adam (I Cor. 15:45). He enfleshed all the types in history past that Moses was shown on Sinai recorded in the Torah; as Messiah said, “He wrote of me” (Jn. 5:46-47). With His advent, Heaven delighted over Him, the Father delighted over Him, and creation obeyed Him; but fallen man denied him, rejected Him and buried Him.

This was the deconstruction of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. When Messiah was nailed to the Cross, He, as the Word spoke, but nothing happened: “My God, My God!” No answer from the Father or Spirit for the first time in eternity. On the Cross He was made void, and He was emptied. He sought the Presence of God, but the Holy Spirit did not flutter over Him, as He did at His baptism (Matt. 3:16).

Yeshua, the Word of God, had to be deconstructed so that we could be reconstructed (II Cor. 5:21). In Him you have, or you can be, been reconstructed, born-again, and the Lord will sing over you, as Zephaniah wrote, and He sings “Tov Ma’od!” “Very Good.” Then, as the Lord delights in our recreation, we praise Him.

The ache of our heart is to hear from our Father “very good, I delight in you my child.” Until we hear that, we are void and empty, but He reformed us, though His Son, Yeshua; and He, the Word made flesh, speaks into that void and fills it up: “I came that they may have life and life abundant!” (Jn. 10:10).

When Messiah was deconstructed to open the way for our reconstruction, He did so for us to enter into the community of creation praising the Lord, as we can now cry out, “Our Father delights in us, He loves us!”

My friends, remember the words of the prophet when you are feeling down and out, overcome and undone, “He will dance for joy over you with singing,” as He delights in His Son and us, the Bride.

Be well. Shalom.

Friendship

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, Inspiration1 Comment

When we study the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles, we note rather quickly that the apostles did not always get along. They disagreed. They contended for favor. They mocked and grew frustrated with each other. Yeshua knew that in His absence, they could potentially divide what He had united.

In John 15:17 we read, “These things I command you, so that you may love one another.”

We don’t often realize it, but the human – from our earliest stages of development – must be taught, reminded and corrected about how to treat the human other. When your children were young, do you recall telling them to “be nice,” or “share”? What you were actually doing was teaching them how to be a friend.

Messiah, in John 15:17, is laying a foundation of friendship among those who will carry His message to the world; a world that will not be a friend to them, in fact, it will hate them (Jn. 15:18-19; cf. Jas. 4:4). His foundation allowed for the dynamic of human relationships.

The human heart longs for friendship; it is, after all, consistent with our design, having been created in the “image and likeness” of the Godhead dwelling in perfect communion.

The Scriptures have much to say about the nature of friendship:

The wounds of a friend are faithful (Prov. 27:6). Their counsel is sweetness (Prov. 27:9). A friend sharpens our countenance (Prov. 27:17). “A man with many friends may be harmed by them, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24).

Unlike the family we are born into, friendship is a choice. Remember the words of Messiah, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (Jn. 15:16). The beauty of this choice is that He chose us with our imperfections. He didn’t wait for us to be: perfect, totally reformed, well-dressed, well-mannered, agreeable. He chose us as we were; and by communion with Him, He changes and ultimately perfects us (Ro. 8:28-29).

Messiah was mocked for the friendships He kept, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds” (Matt. 11:19). Why would Messiah be a friend to tax collectors and sinners? Why did He desire to be a friend to you?

Let’s consider some Hebrew words that are translated “friend” in order to gain a broader perspective on friendship.

1. רע, from “see,” rendered as neighbor, companion and friend.

2. חבר, fellowship, friendship, to be knit together.

3. אהב, love, friend.

4. ידיד, friend.

So a friend is someone you see, spend time with, have affection for, and with whom you share kindness, even stress.

While חבר reveals to us how the lives of friends are “knit together” like a tapestry, the final word that I shared above explains how that is accomplished. ידיד, simply means “friend,” however it is formed by combining two words that create a beautiful visual.

יד + יד = ידיד, (yad + yad); יד means “hand,” so the picture of friends are those living “hand in hand.”

I appreciate what Tim Keller writes about friendship, “Friendship is a deep oneness that develops when two people, speaking the truth in love to one another, journey together to the same horizon.”

The Basis of Friendship is:

1. Covenant – with the Lord and others. Part of the stipulations of covenant with the Lord is that we will reach out our hand, see above, to neighbors, strangers, brothers, tax collectors and sinners, etc.

2. Time and Consistency.

3. Connectedness and Presence.

4. Sacrificial (Jn. 15:13) and Careful.

5. Honesty – truth in love.

6. Counsel.

In messianic faith, our friendships are an outgrowth of the friendship we have with Yeshua. What did Yeshua say? “You are My friends if you do what I command you” (Jn. 15:14). This is a conditional statement. We must do what He has commanded: love one another; love the stranger, neighbor, enemy; do to others what you would have them do to you (Matt. 7:12).

He is the covenant Lord. It may sound strange to our ears, but He has the authority to set conditions of our friendship/relationship with Him. Friendship with Yeshua is only possible because of His redemptive work on the Cross that has torn the curtain blocking intimacy with God. The grace of forgiveness begins, maintains and keeps His friendship with us, and others.

Yet, Yeshua was able to share friendship with sinners because of His intimacy with the Father. Communion with Yeshua is the avenue by which we develop friendships and relationships with the lost, and ultimately fulfill our calling in His commission (Matt. 28:18-20), without relaxing our grip on His hand, or His grip on ours.

Be well. Shalom.