The apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome is one of the most widely-studied books of the entire Bible. Whether it’s the so-called “New Perspective of Paul” or questions about Paul’s primary purpose in writing the letter, the debates are far-reaching and, frankly, never-ending. It is one of the richest and most magnificent books of the New Testament, though the focus is often on the first eleven chapters. Through these eleven chapters Paul beautifully illustrates and proclaims the gospel of Jesus. Chapters 12–16 are often skimmed over, filled, as they are, with instructions that may not seem so very connected with chapters 1–11. This is a mistake for 12–16 are also filled with rich and wonderful theology as the foundation for the various instructions.

Chapter 12 begins with an instruction to offer to God our spiritual sacrifices, for the death of Jesus ended the need for God’s people to go to the temple in Jerusalem. When Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, he sat down at the right hand of the Father, indicating his work was finished—and so was the need for more flesh-and-blood sacrifices. Rather than bulls and goats, we now offer our lives to God. We are “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1–2).

Paul then instructs the Christians in Rome to offer themselves as living sacrifices in practical ways by using their spiritual gifts in service to one another (Romans 12:3–8). These are gifts of grace, the very same grace that offers mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We don’t often think of spiritual gifts in this way but spiritual gifts are truly grace gifts. The word for grace is “charis” and the word for spiritual gift is “charisma”—things freely bestowed by God. Just as Jesus Christ has been given for his church, so each one of us has been given to the church. While each follower of Jesus has spiritual gifts, these gifts are actually given to the church through the individual.

Then Paul describes the right behavior of those who follow Jesus:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

Romans 12:9–17 ESV

As I read through these various commands from the apostle, I understand why John Piper spent eight years preaching through this book and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones famously (infamously?) took thirteen! Each one of these instructions is a rich demonstration of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Let’s focus on just one: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

The gospel of Jesus unites his people together in love in a way that nothing else can. A shared ethnicity can unite people, but it does not create love and commitment to one another. Being around those with similar interests or similar educational backgrounds or similar socio-economic statuses make for less awkward interactions, as it offers many shared perspectives, but these similarities do not produce commitment to one another. Our common confession does, in fact, produce love and commitment to one another: Jesus is Lord.

What does it mean to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep? Quite simply, it means that the joy of our brothers and sisters in Christ is our joy, and the sorrow of our brothers and sisters in Christ is our sorrow. We hurt with one another and we celebrate with one another. Because we are a transformed people, when our family hurts we hurt and when our family celebrates we celebrate. Let me offer a concrete example.

Recently the United States House of Representatives passed a bill to make “Juneteenth” a federal holiday. It now awaits the Senate and then President Biden. On January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” became the law of the land and by executive order all slaves were freed. However, this legal declaration did not mean slaves were suddenly able to enjoy their new legal status as free men and women; a war was being fought over this very issue. Two and a half years later, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas with his Union troops. He arrived on June 19, 1865 and issued General Order Number 3, which read in part,

The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.

Major General Gordon Granger, General Order Number 3

As news of their new-found freedom spread, so did the celebrations. The former slaves in Texas began to commemorate this day every year on June 19—often called “Juneteenth”. These original celebrations were often community celebrations as many would gather together to share dishes, with many get-togethers centered around barbecue pits. Just as many of Israel’s holy days centered around feasts, so Juneteenth is a celebration centered on feasting, and these celebrations continue today and are, in fact, growing in popularity.

So what does this have to do with Romans 12? We should rejoice with those who rejoice and we should weep with those who weep. We must acknowledge the injustices perpetrated both historically and presently and we must celebrate the advances in freedom. Romans 12:9 tells us to abhor what is evil. We must have a vehement dislike for—hate—what is evil, and chattel slavery and systemic injustice are evil.

It would be unloving to ignore the ignominies of the past and present and it would be unloving to fail to rejoice that all men and women are free to work and prosper as they are able. We must not rejoice blindly as many injustices are still being overcome, but we can and should as followers of Jesus be aware of and even celebrate days like Juneteenth.

A couple weeks ago I preached a sermon in our “Ancient Faith / Modern Church” series called “We Believe in the Holy Catholic Church”, for Jesus is present in his fullness in our gathered assembly, which makes us the whole church, or the catholic church. In that sermon I mentioned that since there are 10,080 minutes in a week and since we gather together for just 120 of those minutes, we only honor Jesus in that assembly. I said that we can and even should honor others for their service or for their sacrifice, etc., during those remaining 9,960 minutes. In our gathered assembly we observe Easter and Christmas and Pentecost, etc., but we reserve our national and cultural holiday observance for the remainder of our week.

What this means is that it is good for us to rejoice with those who rejoice, and that includes recognizing the significance of Juneteenth. There is no biblical requirement to celebrate the Fourth of July or Memorial Day or Labor Day or Thanksgiving Day, yet as part of our shared cultural heritage we often do. Slavery and the abolition of slavery and the struggle for freedom is also part of our shared cultural heritage, so it is good for us to celebrate the news of freedom.

Feasting is a significant part of celebration. Just as Israel feasted at Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks, etc., we feast on our nation’s holidays such as Independence Day and Thanksgiving. For followers of Jesus feasting is a significant reminder of what is to come: the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV

The work for justice in this world continues yet we celebrate the justice that is already here, for slavery has long been abolished. So, too, God’s work of salvation continues yet we know we will celebrate its fullness when the Lord Jesus returns. The truth is that in this life we live in an “already/not yet” reality. Our salvation is already here, yet it is not here in its fullness. Jesus is already Lord but not everyone recognizes this—yet. We must celebrate both the already and the not-yet and for us as followers of Jesus, this means we celebrate the abolition of slavery and we recognize the fullness of freedom is not yet here. One day we will celebrate the Holiday of holidays when our Lord returns and we feast with him as he brings the fullness of our salvation, but let’s not forget the smaller celebrations along the way.

When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians he promised to send Timothy to them (1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:11). First Corinthians was a difficult letter for Paul to send as things in the church in Corinth were not well. There were divisions in the church threatening the unity the Spirit gives (1:10–17; 3:1–23). They were proud of sexual immorality in the church, thinking they were sophisticated and progressive for allowing it (5:1–13). They were taking one another to court (6:1–11). They were confused about marriage and human sexuality (7:1–16). They were insisting on their rights to the harm of their brothers and sisters in Christ, to the point of participating in pagan feasts (8:1–13). In addition to rebuking and correcting them for these things he answered a number of questions they had sent him, questions about culturally appropriate attire (11:1–16), questions about the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), questions about spiritual gifts (12:1–31), about orderly and proper worship (14:26–40). They were confused about the resurrection of the dead, with some thinking it had already taken place (15:1–58)! In short, the church in Corinth was a mess and Paul sent a very frank and very firm letter to rebuke them and to teach them and to encourage them.

It is probable that when Timothy visited Corinth on behalf of the apostle, he returned to Paul with dire news: the situation had actually worsened. The details are a bit fuzzy but it seems that Paul interrupted his travel plans and visited Corinth to make the necessary corrections in person (2 Corinthians 13:1). Paul did not find this visit pleasant:

For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you.

2 Corinthians 2:1 ESV

After this visit he wrote another letter to them, a letter that has not been preserved in the canon of Scripture:

For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

2 Corinthians 2:4 ESV

Though he had written difficult things to them, and though he had delivered painful words to them in person, it is clear that Paul loved the people of Corinth. In chapter 7 of 2 Corinthians he wrote some truly beautiful words to them:

Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

2 Corinthians 7:2–4 ESV

Paul calls them to make room in their hearts for him and for Timothy. He says he did nothing wrong with his stinging words, yet he is quick to say he is not condemning them. That is, by calling them to love and affection he is not suggesting they have neither, and then he reminds them of his and Timothy’s love and affection for them: “you are in our hearts, to die together and live together”. What a beautiful proclamation! Though they had experienced painful moments, Paul declares he’s sticking with them no matter what! He goes on to write this:

But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

2 Corinthians 7:6–10 ESV

The same God who comforts the downcast—those who struggle to cope—has comforted Paul and Timothy. He’s saying that he and Timothy were struggling to cope with the pain and the pressure of caring for others. They felt the weight of spiritual leadership and they felt the sting of their own words to the Corinthians, yet when Titus had visited Corinth and reported back to Paul, they were comforted, for his report was of the Corinthians’ repentance. It had taken some time, as it often does, yet God granted repentance and though Paul’s words had grieved them, this grief led them to repent.

When he writes that “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation” it is unlikely that he means salvation in the technical sense of eternal life with the Lord. The word was a common word that referred to deliverance from calamity. If your boat capsized and another boat rescued you, you received salvation from a savior in another boat. Here Paul likely means salvation in this sense: they were rescued from a life of anger and bitterness and un-repentance. Through their repentance they were experiencing a newness of life—salvation.

Too often we think of repentance as a thing you do when you first believe. You acknowledge your sins and perhaps confess them publicly, and then you move on. The truth is that a life of following Jesus is a life of continual repentance. When an airplane pilot plots his course, he must continually make course adjustments throughout the flight, and the longer the flight, the more and the larger the adjustments may be needed. Flying isn’t as straightforward as aiming a plane toward its intended destination. Winds are constantly changing and shifting so a pilot must respond in order to remain on target. So it is with following Jesus. It is easy to begin to drift and when we recognize the drift we must make a course correction. We do not merely say, “Oh, I’m off course! My bad!” and then continue on. Repentance is not simply apologizing or even confessing the sin. Repentance is a continual course adjustment. If you hurt someone, for example, an apology is appropriate, but true repentance seeks to change the behavior by seeking what is causing that behavior in the first place. To say this another way, repentance is first internal and then it becomes outward.

A while back Jim shared in a sermon about getting angry when coffee filters stick together. This story resonated with me as I find myself getting angry at little things: stubbing my toe or my hands slipping when trying to open a jar or when another driver dares try to pass me too closely or—and this one is a doozy—when something slips from my fingers and I am forced to bend down and pick it up. None of these things is worthy of anger! True repentance on my part is not merely acknowledging the sinfulness of my thoughts and often words spoken in frustration, but digging deeply to find what is happening in my heart that leads to these micro-outbursts. In my case, it comes down to pride: how dare life frustrate me. I should live a trouble-free life! I spend so much time serving the Lord, so why hasn’t my stupid lawnmower started after three pulls? Three pulls!

Genuine repentance seeks to change the outward behavior, but merely changing the outward behavior is not repentance. I must confess the sin in my heart and I must pursue the Lord to quell my pride that I might seek his face in those moments of frustration and only by trusting in him and seeing his glory even in the small difficulties life throws at me can I truly repent. As I grapple with the pride in my heart I find these adult temper-tantrums begin to come less frequently.

While the anger grieves me, the pride I recognize inside of me grieves me even more. Paul says godly grief is what produces repentance while worldly grief produces death. That is, a grief that is grief at getting caught or being exposed or failing to keep the facade up is a worldly grief that seeks to hide one’s sinfulness and seeks to repair one’s image in the eyes of others. Godly grief comes from the Holy Spirit and enables us to recognize the true source of our sin. While it may express itself externally through words or actions, it is always, first and foremost, a heart problem. True repentance acknowledges what lies deep below the surface, and submits it to the Lord. This is only possible because of the beauty of the gospel of Jesus. We never had righteousness anyway, save for the righteousness granted to us by Christ. Let’s all seek to own this for ourselves, to be freed to acknowledge our shortcomings and sinfulness, so that we may live lives of continual repentance.

We’ve been working our way through the Apostles’ Creed on Sunday mornings, examining what has been believed “everywhere, always, by all” Christians. (See here for more about that.) Last Sunday we looked at the Creed’s claim that “We believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints”. (You may watch or listen to the sermon here.) While many Protestants find themselves uncomfortable with the term “catholic” it is our word and we should reclaim it.

We saw on Sunday that when we assemble in the name of Jesus, Jesus is present fully, which makes our church the whole church. Each church that assembles in the name of Jesus is the whole church, the holy catholic church. Assembling in the name of Jesus is something a local congregation does which means that the church Jesus promised to build has always existed in local, concrete assemblies. Since each church is the whole church—having the full presence of Christ—what is the relationship between local churches? Miroslav Volf put it this way:

Confession of faith not only distinguishes the church from the nonchurch, it simultaneously connects every church with all other churches.

Miroslav Volf, “After Our Likeness: the Church as the Image of the Trinity”

Our catholicity is seen in our willingness to receive all who confess Jesus is Lord and in our connection with all churches that assemble in the name of Christ. A common argument against Protestant churches by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox apologists is that Protestantism is “fractured” for having so many denominations and associations of churches. This does not deny our catholicity, however! Local churches may associate and identify with other churches as they see fit. A local church can even submit itself to the authority of a denomination or other church without giving up its essential nature as a true church. Submission to another church (for example, the one in Rome) or connection to other bishops (as in Eastern Orthodoxy) cannot be a requirement for ecclesiality, however. An assembly that assembles in the name of Christ is a true church and is, therefore, the whole church.

At New City we pray regularly for our sister churches in our immediate area. Some are Christian Reformed and some are Reformed. There’s a Baptist church and a Presbyterian church. I meet with the lead elders from these churches regularly to pray for them and their churches. This reveals the lie that having differing views on issues such as baptism demonstrates fracturing and disunity among God’s churches. Our unity is in the core of our faith (as contained in creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed), and in the presence of Christ in our assemblies, for these churches assemble in the name of Jesus.

This does not mean the differences are irrelevant. For example, at New City we understand baptism as being the public profession of faith by which a person is received into a church’s membership while most of our sister churches in the area have a different understanding of baptism and so they baptize the infants of believers. This does not destroy our unity with them, for our unity is grounded in Jesus Christ. Again, this doesn’t mean our differences are irrelevant. While we can engage in evangelism and outreach with our brothers and sisters at Fourth Reformed, if we merged into a single congregation, what would we do when a person comes to faith and repentance and wants to be baptized? Would we get a cup or a tub? What if this new believer has children? There are practical reasons to remain separate churches, but these practical differences do not divide us, for when that church assembles in the name of Jesus they are the whole church for Christ is present in their assembly, and when we assemble in the name of Jesus we, too, are the whole church.

Because we believe in the holy catholic church, we must welcome and receive all who confess with us that Jesus is Lord. These are no mere words that must be uttered, as if they were some sort of secret passcode. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:3, no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. This means that only a Spirit-empowered life can live out this confession. We must welcome all who say by the Spirit that Jesus is Lord.

While many argue that Protestantism violates the unity of God’s church, the truth is that Protestantism actually demonstrates the unity of God’s church in all its diversity—provided we practice our catholicity by welcoming all who share our confession. It would be foolish to think that we at New City have every theological detail correct while any church who disagrees with us is in error. One day we will all have the details correct, but that day is the day the Lord returns, and so far that day is not yet today. God is simply too big and too vast for any individual church or group of churches—no matter the size—to claim it has all the details nailed down. All true churches that assemble in the name of Christ receive the faith that has been handed down, even as they disagree on secondary matters. As Vincent wrote in the fifth century,

Moreover, in the catholic church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. For that is truly and in the strictest sense “catholic”, which, as the name itself and the reason for the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent.

Vincent of Lérins, “The Commonitory”, 2.6

To welcome all who share our faith requires humility, for many may disagree with us on finer points. We are limited in our understanding of God and his Word and so we have different views on things like baptism and communion and church governance and spiritual gifts and even the role of the law of Moses in the life of believers (we will cover these exact issues in this current sermon series!). Rather than our differences showing disunity, these differences demonstrate our unity, for our unity is in Christ. Because Christ is our righteousness, theological precision is not. We are going to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ on the new earth for all of eternity. Why on earth would we not extend that fellowship to them now?

When God brought Israel out of Egypt and then placed them in the land he had promised Abraham, his intent was that he would be the King of Israel. The people would be largely self-governed, for if they would keep the law of Moses, God would protect them and cause them to prosper. If they would keep the law of Moses there would be little need for formal structures of government as there would be justice and righteousness everywhere. The people did not keep the law of Moses.

Throughout the book of Judges the people turned away from the God of Israel to worship the gods of other peoples. This resulted in their suffering as God removed his protections and blessings from his people. Inevitably the people would cry out to God and he would deliver them, often through “judges”. These judges are not the sort we’re familiar with, though they would administer justice, often in the form of military victory over those who oppressed the people of Israel. One such judge was a man named Gideon. In Judges 6 we see a familiar pattern that results in the need for a judge like Gideon.

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.

Judges 6:1 ESV

The Midianites, though distantly related to the Israelites as they, too, were descended from Abraham through his second wife Keturah (see Genesis 25:1–4), they were particularly cruel to Israel. Judges 6 says they “would devour the produce of the land and…leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey” (Judges 6:4). In the midst of their suffering the people cried out to God for a deliverer, and he gave them a man named Gideon.

Gideon struggled with faith and with doubt. (Who among us doesn’t!?) When the angel of the Lord appeared to him he questioned why God would allow all these things to happen to his people (6:13). He asked why he would be the one to rescue Israel (6:15). He needed a sign that God would actually rescue Israel (6:17). Though God had been clear, he asked for another sign that God would actually save his people—the famous “fleece” (6:36). Actually, he asked for this sign twice (6:39). Despite his struggle with doubt and his lack of faith, God was patient and kind with Gideon and promised to rescue his people from Midian through Gideon’s hand. To show that it was God and not Gideon who was doing the rescue, God had him reduce his army substantially. A great number returned home, leaving 22,000 (7:3). This was still too many and eventually the number was reduced to just 300 (7:7). Gideon defeated the Midianites and the people of Israel were rescued, and they were all grateful to Gideon:

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

Judges 8:22–28 ESV

The men of Israel want to make Gideon king, yet Gideon tells them and the Midianites he had just conquered that he would not rule over them, for the Lord should be the King of Israel and of the whole world. Then he asks for gold earrings, and the weight comes to 43 pounds! (Gold is currently worth about $1900 per ounce, making Gideon an instant millionaire in today’s dollars.) He took this gold and made an ephod, or breastplate, out of it, though it is likely that ephod is just a stand-in for a full idol. The ephod was likely placed on the idol. The narrator indicates this by pointing out that “all Israel whored after it” and that “it became a snare to Gideon”. It is likely that this ephod / idol became a source of income for Gideon as people would pay to see it and/or worship it. The text goes further, however.

Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Judges 8:29–32 ESV

Jerubbaal—Gideon—lived in his own house, had 70 sons, many wives, and though he had many wives he decided he also needed a concubine. Reading this with our 21st-century eyes may cause us to miss what an Ancient Near Eastern reader would catch immediately: whereas Gideon refused to be king, he immediately began acting as one. He insists that only the God of Israel should be king, yet he immediately politely requests gold, which is really more of the imposition of a tax! He sets up a cult center with an idol for worship. He establishes a large harem but calls them “wives”. These are the actions of Ancient Near Eastern kings!

Verse 28 ends with these words: “And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.” While this is what the people cried out to God for, this rest was not a blessing, for Israel continued to long for other gods. The peace and prosperity brought through Gideon and his hypocrisy only enabled the people to pursue false gods, and with his death their pursuit of idolatry grew even more:

As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.

Judges 8:33–35 ESV

The problem with a largely trouble-free life is such a life enables us to forget how desperately we need God. Prosperity can obscure our utter dependence on God for every breath we take. Smooth sailing can mask the dangers of the water beneath. A life of ease obscures the hard work faithfully following God requires. The problem with an easy life is this: it causes us to begin to suspect that our lack of trouble is either a sign that God is blessing us for being as we are, or that God is okay with us as we are. God’s blessings are always in spite of us, and are always based on his goodness and grace, and we must never confuse this to be a stamp of approval on our sinfulness.

The reality of it all is that in times of blessing and prosperity we must be more vigilant to remain faithful. When times are hard, and we are forced to rely on God, it’s easy to think that if God gets us through that difficulty that maintaining that steadfast faith will, well, just happen naturally. A life of faith and of faithfulness is not natural. It’s supernatural. We must pursue it. We must seek after God when times are good as well as when times are bad. The only difference between the two times is our awareness of our need for him.

We often mistake what a true blessing is. In 1841 British preacher Joseph Philpot preached on the so-called “prayer of Jabez” in which Jabez asks God to bless him. Philpot’s understanding of this prayer is vastly different from the more recent book by that name. In that sermon he argues that while good health, money, and even a good reputation are seen as blessings, they are often very real curses for these things tend to cause us to trust less in God, to seek the creature rather than the Creator. He then said this:

4. But there are apparent curses which often are real blessings. A languishing, AFFLICTED STATE OF HEALTH, so trying and so painful to the flesh, often proves in God’s hands a real blessing. It tends to make the world bitter, pulls down airy visions of happiness sought outside of God, brings solemn thoughts into the soul, and weans the heart from idols. Not that it can do any one of these things, but the Lord uses it as his instrument.

5. So POVERTY is often made a real blessing to a child of God, by being a means of keeping him dependent upon the God of providence as well as the God of grace, and thus leading him into that close waiting upon the Lord, and crying and sighing to him for deliverance, which none but the poor can know. And when the answer comes, he blesses and praises him with joyful lips, and feels a gratitude and love which is in proportion to his former trials.

Joseph C. Philpot, “The Prayer of Jabez”, preached in 1841

In seasons of plenty, whether good health, abundant financial resources, or good relationships, be intentional to recognize that this is from God, and praise him for it while striving to continually trust him in the midst of it. In seasons of suffering and trials and difficulties, cry out to God, trusting in him and in his goodness. Ask for strength and wisdom and perseverance. Also thank him for the reminder through the suffering that he is in control and he is worthy of our trust. Come what may, it is always a good time to live in faith while praising God for who he is.

Last Sunday we looked at the ascension of Jesus, which worked out quite well given that last Sunday was Ascension Sunday—the Sunday after Ascension Day. Since Easter is always on a Sunday and since Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after his resurrection, Ascension Day is always on a Thursday, yet many churches celebrate the ascension on the following Sunday. In that sermon we saw that the ascension of Jesus was no mere postscript. It was not the epilogue after the big climax of the story, much like the wedding of Aragorn and Arwen at the end of “The Return of the King”. You gotta wrap up the loose ends of a story, right? That is not what the ascension is. The ascension was the coronation of King Jesus where he ascended to heaven in a cloud to sit down at the right hand of God, having all authority in heaven and on earth and under the earth. As we saw, this exaltation of Jesus was not granting the Son of God glory and honor that he never had. Rather, it was granting this glory and honor to the God-Man who will forever be God and Man, united in one divine Person, the Son of God. By entering into the Father’s presence on our behalf, having lived and died for the sins of his people and now risen from the dead, Jesus, the eternal God-Man, ushers us into the presence of God for all eternity. (If you missed this sermon, you may watch and/or listen here).

Throughout our series in the Gospel According to John, we saw that the work of Jesus was always directed toward granting us life in God. The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians,

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

Salvation is the liberation from sin and death and evil. It is redemption, for God has purchased us out of sin and death to be a people for his own possession. Salvation transfers us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son (Colossians 1:13). As Paul says above, salvation is the life of God living in us. Peter wrote more about this in his second letter.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3–8 ESV

It is God’s divine power that saves us and transforms us. This comes with “precious and very great promises”! Then Peter says something strange: “so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature”. As Hilary wrote in the fifth century,

Just as God stepped out of his nature to become a partaker of our humanity, so we are called to step out of our nature to become partakers of his divinity.

Hilary of Arles, Introductory Commentary on 2 Peter

God the Son took on the form of a human—he participated in what it means to be human—so that we could participate in the life of God. We don’t become God, for that is impossible. We will always and ever be mere creatures, yet we are being transformed into something amazing. Bede explained it this way:

The greater your knowledge of God becomes, the more you will realize the magnitude of his promises. When God blesses us, he changes our very being so that whatever we were by nature is transformed by the gift of his Holy Spirit, so that we may truly become partakers of his nature.

Bede, On 2 Peter

Too often we limit salvation to a change in status. It becomes a ticket to a destination. One is either saved and therefore headed to heaven at death, or one is not and ends up in hell. There is a sense in which this is true, only the destination is not heaven, but God himself (just as hell is less a destination and more the absence of God for eternity; see 2 Thessalonians 1:9). Rather than a ticket to the afterlife, salvation is a divine rescue from death and a steady movement into the life of God. As Bede put it, God’s incredible promises are such that we are transformed in our very being by his Holy Spirit. We often refer to this process as sanctification. God is working to set us apart for himself, that we would reflect our status before him more and more. When he justifies a person through faith in Jesus, that person receives the status before God as holy and pure, yet God works in the life of that person to make him or her actually holy and pure. This process of sanctifying takes a lifetime, and it is the work of God in us through his Holy Spirit. We participate in the life of God!

Notice, however, that these precious and very great promises of God come with a command:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

2 Peter 1:5–7 ESV

Because God’s promises are precious and very great and because God has granted us to partake of the divine nature, to be infused with the very life of God in increasing measure, we must make every effort to add to our faith. As Paul put it in Philippians 2:12–13, we must work out our salvation, knowing that it is God who is working in us to do this. God is the author of salvation, and salvation is his work of granting us life in him, thereby transforming us to be like him. This is why Paul could write about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5; where the Spirit is, his transforming activity is, and his transforming activity makes us more like God, thus we become more loving and joyful and patient and kind and good and faithful and gentle and self-controlled. While this is the fruit of God’s work in us, we must also work, as Peter instructs us. We must make every effort to supplement our faith by pursuing those qualities that reflect who the Lord is and what he is like. Leo summarized this well:

Realize your dignity, O Christian! Once you have been made a partaker of the divine nature, do not return to your former baseness by a life unworthy of that dignity. Remember whose head it is and whose body of which you constitute a member!

Leo the Great, Sermons 21.3

God has rescued us and claimed us as his own. Through Jesus we are adopted into the family of God, which grants us an incredible dignity. Because we share in God’s divine nature, we must begin to look more and more like him and less and less like what were once were.

This brings us back to the ascension of Jesus. By him ascending to heaven as God and Man, we are able to be united with God. Jesus sent us his Spirit to dwell among us, that we might receive that “power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The Spirit’s work in us is to transform us as we partake in the divine nature. Realize your dignity, O Christian! Leave behind your former way of life, for that is not what ought to characterize a son or daughter of the King of kings. Together, let’s pursue our identity in Christ by making every effort to become what we are in Christ. Let’s pursue the risen and ascended Jesus.