LEARNING IS DISCIPLESHIP

I saw a list of words on the church bulletin the other day. I was happy to see the first word on the list was “learn”. That is what disciples do.

 

In Jesus’ day, disciples were people who followed a teacher around and learned from him. A revered rabbi would have young men that followed him around. He would talk as they walked. He would sit and teach when it was really important. His disciples would learn his teaching and put it into practice.

 

Churches sometimes come up with funny lists of the things when they say they want to make disciples. But the primary thing must be teaching. A person cannot follow Christ if he does not know him, and he cannot know him unless someone teaches him from the word of Christ.

 

Jesus did this. He told men to follow him. Then he taught them. Sometimes he preached to large crowds, as with the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5-7) Sometimes he let them watch while he ministered to people. At times, he taught only the twelve apostles (Matthew 10), especially when it was crucial. He told people to take his yoke upon them and to learn from him. (Matthew 11:29)

 

Right before Jesus ascended to heaven, he told his disciples to carry on the mission of discipleship. He told them to go into all nations, baptize them, and teach them to observe all that he commanded them. (Matthew 28:19-20) In other words, preach the gospel to the lost, baptize those who believe, then teach them all that Jesus said so that they could follow him also.

 

The apostles were faithful to the mission. Acts 2:42 tells us what the first believers practiced when they gathered. First on the list is “they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching”.

 

Paul’s letters in the New Testament are his teaching to those believers to keep them obedient to Christ with correct doctrine.

 

The Church must teach Christ’s followers. Those who teach must be true to God’s word. And believers must develop a spirit of eagerness to listen and learn.

 

Disciples are learners.

TRAVELING

I have been traveling in my job the last week, so I did not teach Bible Study Sunday. Therefore, I did not have a lesson to post.  I meant to post another study but did not get the time. I apologize. More studies will follow. Stay tuned.

LEARN

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CHRIST IS SUPERIOR TO ANGELS - PART 2

In verses 8-9, Hebrews shows that Jesus is not only the Son, but also Lord or king. He has an eternal throne and scepter. These are both symbols of royalty.

This verse refers to Psalm  45:6-7, the fifth Old Testament reference. This is a wedding song or poem. It is written from the view point of the bride of the king. It may have been read or sung at royal weddings in Israel.

But the writer of Hebrews applies it to Christ. And we indeed have seen Christ referred to as the bridegroom and the church as the bride in several places in the New Testament. Ephesians 5:25-27 is one example. The Bible’s last vision, John’s vision in Revelation 21-22, shows that the New Jerusalem is the church descending onto the new earth in purity and beauty described as a bride.

Psalm 45:6-7 focuses on the eternal reign of the Messiah. It states that Jesus, the Lord, will reign forever. That is what it means when it says your throne is forever. The Psalm says it is God’s throne, which to the Jew would mean the throne of the Father. So, the writer of Hebrews applies this to Christ and again asserts that Jesus is God. The writer of Hebrews specifically states that the Father spoke those words to the Son (“but of the Son he says” in verse 8). Revelation 22:3 says that, in the New Jerusalem, the Father and the Son will sit on thrones there and we will worship Jesus. The focus of redeemed humanity in eternity is worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The characteristic of Christ’s reign is righteousness. Verse 8 says the scepter of his kingdom is the scepter of righteousness or uprightness. Below is the scepter of Tsar Boris.

A scepter is an ornamental rod or staff. It is a symbol of royalty. It may contain jewels or a representation of the family arms. 

Here is a picture of Queen Elizabeth at her coronation. Notice that she holds her scepter in one hand and an orb in the other. They are both symbols of royalty.

 

But for Jesus, the scepter is righteousness. His kingdom is about righteousness, for he was righteous in eternity as God, he lived a righteous, sinless life on earth and lives righteously forever in heaven since his ascension. Not only that, but his righteousness is imputed (credited) to us when we place our faith in him.

Jesus loves righteousness. He willing did everything his father commanded during his life on earth. He lived to bring glory to the Father. The Father loves righteousness and the Son loves righteousness.

If we love Jesus, we must also love righteousness. We should strive to be like him and live a righteous life. We should honor not ridicule those who are righteous.

The opposite is also true. He hated wickedness. He hates wickedness. The Father hates sin. He cannot tolerate it. No sin is allowed in heaven. Those who practice sin and have not been redeemed cannot be in heaven. Revelation 22:15 says “outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood”. Revelation 21:8 says “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death”.    Romans 1:18 says “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” John 3:36 says “…whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
            As Christ followers, we must hate wickedness also. If you rejoice when evil triumphs or wickedness abounds, you are not like Christ.

Then the writer goes on to say, because Jesus loved righteousness and hated wickedness, and so perfectly reflected the character of the Father, the Father anointed him with the oil of gladness beyond all his companions. (9) I believe “companions” here refers to the angels. The Father anointed Jesus as the Lord and King. Anointing is the sign that God has chosen someone to rule. For example, Samuel, God’s prophet, anointed David as king. You can read about that in the book of 1st Samuel. 

The Father anointed Jesus as Lord over all things. The one whom the Old Testament said would come and reign was called the "Anointed" or the "Anointed One". The Hebrew word is מָשִׁיחַ or “mashiyach” (using English letters). We transliterate that into English as Messiah. If we simply translated it, we would say “Anointed One”. The Greek word for Anointed One is Χριστός. Using English letters, it is “Christos”. We transliterate it to “Christ”. We might lose a little meaning by doing this (transliterating rather than translating), forgetting that he is the Anointed One, anointed by the Father to be Lord and King over all things, including even the angels.

Verses 10-12 tell us again that Jesus is eternal. This is a reference to Psalm 102:25-26, the sixth Old Testament reference. Jesus created the earth and heavens (heavens meaning sky and space), meaning he was there before the world. He existed in eternity before our time began. That is also what John meant in John 1:1, when he wrote “in the beginning was the Word”.

In contrast, angels are not eternal. They evidently do not die. But they were created. So they have not existed forever. Jesus, on the other hand, is eternal and therefore has the superior existence.  

This creation will end, as verse 26 says. Peter wrote that the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved. (2 Peter 3:10) But Jesus the Son will endure beyond the end of the world and its remaking.

He will change the world, but he will not change. (12) This trait of God is known as “immutability”. Jesus is immutable. That means he does not change, as  God the Father does not change. In Malachi 3:6, God says “For I the LORD do not change…” At the end of this book, the writer says “Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever”. (Hebrews 13:8) It is another way of saying this same truth.

Verse 13 restates the fact that Jesus will reign at the Father's right hand until all enemies are conquered. He sits in the exalted position at the Father’s right hand. He is king. He is lord. This is the seventh and final Old Testament text, Psalm 110:1. This Psalm is the Old Testament passage most quoted in the New Testament.

 Peter used this same text in his first sermon in Acts 2:34. He concluded from this that God made Jesus both Lord and Christ. He is Christ, the Anointed One or Messiah. He is also Lord, or ruler over all. So Jesus has an exalted position as son, but also as Lord. I think "Lord" is the name above all names.

The Greek word translated “lord” is “kurios”. "Kurios" has three different meanings or uses. First, it can just mean "sir", a term of respect. Second, it can mean a slave owner. Paul often called himself a slave, in Greek a "doulas". A doulas served a kurios.

But the third usage is the imperial usage. It refers to a sovereign. In the Greek version of the Old Testament, the translators used kurios to translate Adonai. The name Adonai was reserved for God. When the Psalmist wrote "oh LORD our Lord, how majestic is your name", he wrote literally "Yahweh" our "Adonai". He is king or Lord over all. That is why the early Christians would die rather than say "Caesar kurios" or Caesar is Lord". Polycarp was killed for this. Instead they would say Jesus is Lord.

In contrast to the Lord are the angels in verse 14. They are ministering spirits to help us, we who will inherit salvation, meaning we who believe. For example, an angel was sent to get Peter out of prison in Acts 12:7. God sends them to help us. They are helpers. Jesus is Lord, Son and king.

Jesus is superior to angels. We are not to worship angels. We are to worship the Lord.  

Here is a practical example for you from the book of Revelation. In Revelation 19:10, John fell down at the feet of an angel to worship him. But the angel would not let him. The angel said he was a fellow servant. But, Revelation 1:17, John came into the presence of the risen Lord Jesus and fell at his feet. Jesus did not rebuke him, he just told him not to be afraid.

So, we worship Jesus the son of God and our Lord. And, we heed the warning that begins in chapter 2, not to neglect our salvation.  

JESUS IS SUPERIOR TO ANGELS - PART 1

JESUS IS SUPERIOR TO ANGELS

HEBREWS 1:4-14

The first three verses of Hebrews state that Jesus is greater than all. Verses 4 through 14 prove that he is greater than angels. The purpose is not to degrade angels, for they are special and important. The purpose is to exalt Christ even over these amazing creatures.

So, first, let us consider what we know about angels. First, they were created before man and are a higher order of being than man. Hebrews 2:9 tells us that when Jesus became a man he was made lower than the angels.

Second, angels are spirit beings living in heaven (Mark 13:32 – “the angels in heaven”). They may appear in human form on earth. For example, angels on the way to destroy Sodom appeared to Abraham as men. (Genesis 18) But in Matthew 18:3-4, the angel may have appeared more in his spiritual form, appearing powerful and glorious.

Third, there are many of them. In Daniel’s vision of the “Ancient of Days”, he saw thousands and ten thousands times then thousands (myriads) serving God. (Daniel 7:9-10) John used this same language in Revelation 5:11. They do not marry. (Matthew 22:30) So, their number probably does not ever increase.

Fourth, there are different kinds of angels. We know of Seraphim and cherubim. We read of thrones, dominions, principalities, powers and authorities. For example, Ephesians 6:10 says our battle is not against flesh and blood, meaning men and women. Rather, we fight against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil. So, evidently, the fallen angles, which we call demons, are also organized into structures of authority. This passage also indicates that angels are more powerful than we, so we cannot fight them without the full armor of God.

Fifth, angels worship God. We see this in the visions of Ezekiel, Daniel and John. They also act as messengers and they accomplish tasks God sends them to, such as destroying Sodom or ministering to Jesus after his temptation.

Therefore, we conclude that angels are magnificent creations of God and, since the Son is exalted over them, he is highly exalted.  

Another relevant fact for us is that the Hebrews believed that God brought the law, or Old Covenant, to Moses and Israel through angels. See Acts 7:51-53 and Galatians 3:19. So, the superiority of Christ over angels also signified the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. Therefore, they should not return to the Old Covenant. Some even worshipped angels. (Colossians 2:18)

The remainder of Hebrews 1 develops the theme of the superiority of the Son over the angels. It does so by comparing Jesus' exalted status or position as Son compared to the status of angels as servants.

The writer uses Old Testament passages to accomplish this. Just as he gave seven reasons for the superiority of Christ in the prologue (introduction), he uses seven Old Testament passages to establish the superiority of Christ over angels.

The first one appears in verse 5. This is a quote of Psalm 2:7, which was about God's Anointed. It was recognized by the Jews as a “Messianic Psalm”, meaning it spoke of the future Messiah.  There God the Father refers to the Messiah as his son.

Psalm 2:7 reflects the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 7. In that passage, God promised to build a house for David that would not end. The kings of Israel would come from him, including the great king who will reign forever. Of their relationship, God said “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.” This is first a reference to Solomon, but Scripture shows its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. The picture in Psalm 2:7 is David as a witness to the decree of the Father to the Son saying “you are my son”. The New Testament writers show that this son is indeed Jesus.

Paul preached a sermon to the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia. This is recorded in Acts 13. He was preaching to Jews. He told them the promises of God to the Jews of the Old Testament were fulfilled by Jesus. Here he refers to Jesus’ resurrection as the fulfillment. Later Paul would write that the Father declared Jesus the Son of God by the power of the resurrection. (Romans 1:3-4)

 Begotten here does not mean the Father married and had a son with a woman. This is what the Mormons teach. But the members of the Trinity have existed for all eternity together. We call Jesus the second person of the Trinity. There is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So, the sense here is that the Father appointed him as his son to accomplish his will in redemption. The NIV tries to capture this by saying “today I have become your father”. This decree seems to come at a set point in time, for it says “today I have begotten you”. So, there seems to be a sense that when Jesus came into the world (his incarnation), or in anticipation of it, the Father appoints Jesus as his Son.

The Father to Son relationship is an analogy to help us understand it. It has in mind the relationship where the son of a king is sent somewhere to accomplish the king’s will. Jesus himself said the Father sent the Son. He gave him in John 3:16. He sent him. (John 15:22) And Jesus told the Father he accomplished all the work the Father gave him to do. (John 17:4) And then he was ready to return home to his Father. (“I am coming to you” in John 17:13). The parable of the tenants also illustrates this idea. (Matthew 21:33-41)   

The second Old Testament reference, which is in the last part of verse 5, is a direct quote of 2 Samuel 7:14. So the writer got to that verse both indirectly and directly.

So, the point the writer makes is that Jesus is greater because he is the son and angels were not.  

Then, just to make sure you got the point in the comparison, he said when the Son came into the world (incarnation), the Father told the angels to worship him. This is the third Old Testament reference. He refers to Psalm 97:7. There the Psalmist tells angels to bow down to him. Your version will say “gods” instead of “angels”. (The Hebrew word is “Elohim”.)  The Greek version said “angels” not “gods”. The Psalmist actually refers all the way back to The Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43. And angels did worship him when he came into the world. Luke 2 shows us angels worshipping at the birth of Christ. Revelation 5 shows angels worshipping the ascended Son in heaven. Verses 11-14 describe it.

Then, in contrast, in Hebrews 1:7, he says angels are servants. This is the fourth Old Testament reference. He called them "winds" and "ministers of flame". They carry messages and execute God's judgments. This is a reference to Psalm 104:4. That Psalm speaks of the majesty of God. He is so majestic, he makes angels serve him. Angels seem majestic to humans, so God must be very majestic.

What the writer of Hebrews is doing is saying “look at the scripture”, meaning the Old Testament. The very thing you are thinking of returning to testifies to the superiority of Jesus.” And in doing so, he applied scripture referring to God as referring to Christ, thus making the statement that Christ is divine. He is God.