One of the strangest stories in the Bible is that time a man is mocked by a group of teenagers for being bald and a couple bears come out of the woods and maul 42 of them. While this story is often quoted by men who have that most masculine feature of male-pattern baldness, there is a significant point behind the story. While it initially reads as a petty use of power, it emphasizes something far greater. Here’s the story.

He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.

2 Kings 2:23–24 ESV

The ESV renders this as “small boys”. In the Greek version the same word is used in Genesis 37 to describe Joseph, who was 17 at the time. In the Apocryphal work Tobit, Benjamin is described with this word when he was 19 years old. Though it says “small boys” don’t think young boys who shouldn’t know better. They know full well what they are saying, and what they are really saying is significant. But first, let’s look at the background.

As Israel and later Israel and Judah wandered far from God by violating the covenant, God sent them prophets. Rather than primarily predicting the future, prophets called the people and its leaders to repentance and faith in the God of Israel. One of the greatest prophets was Elijah.

At the beginning of 2 Kings, Ahaziah was king of Israel and fell through a lattice on his roof. He sent messengers to inquire of the prophets of Baal. At the end of 1 Kings Ahaziah was described as doing “what was evil in the sight of the Lord” as he worshiped and served Baal, thus his desire to hear from Baal’s “prophets” as to whether he would recover.

As Ahaziah remained unable to get out of bed, Elijah was sent to Ahaziah’s people to deliver a prophetic message. That message was simple: Ahaziah won’t recover. His fate was sealed. He had completely and thoroughly angered the Lord and would not listen to the God of Israel, and the outcome of this rebellion would be his death. Thus Elijah’s message was one of doom.

The messengers did not know he was Elijah. When they returned to Ahaziah and told him what the man said, he wanted to know his identity. They didn’t know his name so this is how they described him:

He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

2 Kings 1:7–8 ESV

The phrase “he wore a garment of hair” likely means he himself was hairy. The Greek version makes this clear: he himself was “a hairy man”. Many men wore animal skins as clothing, so this alone would not have identified Elijah, but hairy? When they told Ahaziah that, essentially, some really hairy dude said Ahaziah wouldn’t recover, he knew it had to be Elijah.

The king sent men after Elijah to take him to Ahaziah by force, but fire from heaven came down and consumed all 50 of them. Then he sent another 50 and they, too, died. When he sent yet another group of 50 soldiers, the leader pleaded with Elijah for his life. The Lord told Elijah to go with this man and his soldiers to the king. He then told the king to his face that he was going to die for his final act of rebellion when he sent to inquire of the prophets of Baal. Shortly after this he died.

Elijah, however, would not die. Ever. He had a young protege named Elisha. Elisha, too, was a prophet. The Lord sent Elijah to Bethel and while Elijah wanted Elisha to remain behind, he refused and accompanied him on his journey. Prophets from Jericho met them on the way and revealed that Elijah would be taken away that very day. Yet more prophets would reveal the same thing. On the way Elijah would transfer his prophetic office onto Elisha. Thus Elisha would speak for the Lord.

Later that day Elijah was taken up to heaven in chariots of fire and a whirlwind. To demonstrate the Lord had appointed him in Elijah’s place, Elisha performed a miracle by transforming an undrinkable spring into fresh, clean water. Then we come to the text in question. As he is walking into Bethel a group of young punks came out of the city to jeer at him, and the central thrust of their jeering was to highlight Elisha’s baldness. Whereas Elijah had been hairy, Elisha had no hair. They were essentially saying, “You ain’t Elijah, and you ain’t no real prophet!”

It would be easy to think the problem was their rejection of Elisha, but the rejection is far greater than this: they were rejecting the one who appointed Elisha to this task! Through their taunting these punks were rebelling against the God of Israel. There is little doubt they were on Ahaziah’s side and worshiped Baal. Their jeering and taunting was rebellion on a cosmic scale.

Compare this to David when he had been anointed to be king after Saul. Though he had ample opportunity to seize the throne, he refused. He would not lay a hand on Saul for Saul had been anointed king and though God had later rejected Saul as king and had Samuel anoint David, David would not go against God’s initial choice of Saul. He would wait patiently for the Lord to remove Saul and give the kingdom to David.

These youth are rejecting God’s chosen successor to Elijah. While Elisha would never be as great as Elijah, just as Joshua would never be as great as Moses, to reject the one God placed in that role is an act of rebellion against God himself. While it’s entertaining to cite this passage when people point out one’s lack of lush locks, the issue is far greater, one that we must all heed.

The truth is that submission to proper authority is submission to God himself. The same God who raised up Pharaoh raised up Moses and the same God who raised up Saul raised up David. Further, the same God who raised up Donald Trump also raised Joe Biden.

If we recognize that God governs his world and is sovereign over the appointment of kings and over national elections, we must recognize our responsibility is to submit to proper authority. As the apostles said in Acts 4, there may be times when we must choose to obey God rather than men, but how many of us ever face such a choice? Without such a choice, Scripture is clear: God expects us to obey our leaders. Think of Paul’s words to the Roman Christians in Romans 13.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Romans 13:1–2 ESV

To resist those in authority over us is to resist what God has appointed. The youth in 2 Kings 2 were doing this. It is a serious thing to square up against the one true God and try to throw hands with him by rebelling against the authority he delegates to others. You’d have a better chance against 57-year-old Mike Tyson—and you have no chance against 57-year-old Mike Tyson.

It is clear we must submit to the governing authorities, for this is the direct command of the apostle. But do we have to like them? No, but another apostle has a word about this.

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

1 Peter 2:13–17 ESV

Peter says to honor the emperor. At the time he wrote this, the emperor was Nero, who was not honorable. Notice he prefaces this direct command with “for the Lord’s sake”. Believers should be subject to those in authority for the Lord’s sake. He says “this is the will of God” and we must live “as servants of God”. We don’t honor the emperor because the emperor is honorable; we honor the emperor because God is always honorable. In fact, he says we honor everyone, for God is always and ever worthy of honor.

Sadly, as the number of unwanted text messages I’ve been getting from the two political parties indicates, we have entered the election season, though the election is more than a year away. Here is where we can have a direct impact on others for the Lord’s sake. If we approach the various local, state, and national elections coming from the perspective given us by Scripture, we can honor the Lord and live according to his will by honoring those he raises up.

I am not suggesting God voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and then for Joe Biden in 2020. I am saying that in God’s providence, these men were elected and whether you like them or not, our joy and hope is not rooted in who wins elections and which party gains a majority in Congress. Our joy is rooted entirely in our confession: Jesus is Lord. He is Lord whether Democrats are in power or Republicans are in power or the currently fastest-growing third party, the American Solidarity Party, is in power. Our hope is rooted in Christ, not in American politics.

As the election cycle begins to ramp up and the subsequent rhetoric from both parties ramp up, let us remember the most important election of all took place before the foundation of the world. Let us not participate in name-calling. We must not, to use the Elisha story, say to an elected official, “Go up, you baldhead!” for by doing so we might find ourselves squared up against God.

At the end of the day—including next year’s election day—we must demonstrate we, as followers of the Lord Jesus, trust in God’s sovereign providence over his good world, a providence that may allow petty and even evil rulers to assume power over entire nations. The church of Jesus has survived the presidencies of George Washington and John Adams. It has survived the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. The church of Jesus has survived Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and Barack Obama and Donald Trump. It will survive Joe Biden’s presidency and whomever eventually replaces him.

In the coming year, let’s live above the fray, above the rhetoric, above the oftentimes hysterical claims about what will happen if the other party wins. Let’s live out our united confession that Jesus is Lord and thereby demonstrate to the world that our hope is rooted in Christ who is coming to reign forever, and not for a four-year term.

Let’s participate in our system of government and let’s vote for the candidates we believe would best serve our nation’s interests, but let’s do so trusting that God is sovereign over all, and it is him we place our trust. Let’s show the world our faith is in Jesus, not a name at the ballot box.

Last Saturday a group of men from the church arrived at Jacque’s place to load up a moving truck and take all her belongings to her new home where they would unload it. This was after numerous other men and women helped clean and paint her new place. The help she was given was an act of love and service to our dear sister in Christ. When Peter says those whose spiritual gifts are speaking gifts speak the very words of God and those whose spiritual gifts are serving gifts serve with the very power of God, this is what he means. God was at work through the church’s exercise of its various spiritual gifts as the church helped her move.

On the way home my son asked me whether the church serving Jacque with its various spiritual gifts in such a practical way were “just as important” as what I do on Sundays. (Because, apparently, I only work on Sundays… Kids.)

Over the last few years we’ve seen a great emphasis on what it means for New City to be the church. An essential component of being the church is serving the Lord and one another with our spiritual gifts. Some gifts are “out front”. For example, my spiritual gift cannot be exercised without being seen. Others are behind the scenes. When Rachael exercises her spiritual gift and organizes and prepares for the Nursery, few see it. When moms and dads drop their kids off at the Nursery on Sundays they recognize and immediately benefit from her and the Nursery workers’ service, but it is less visible. To be the church requires that each member of the body of Christ functions properly.

This doesn’t answer the question, however. We must first define “important”. Using Paul’s metaphor of the body it’s not hard to recognize the importance of one’s entire body. I don’t know what I would do without my fingers, though I could still walk and move about without them and I could still think and reason and communicate—although typing would be impossible. If I were to lose my sight I could still type but how would I correct the numerous errors? How would I edit? How would I know where on my screen to type? Some body parts have an immediacy that others do not. I could not live without my heart but I could live, though in a greatly reduced capacity, without my hands.

To answer the question whether serving one another in tangible ways like helping a sister move is just as important as preaching and teaching God’s word, we must define “important”. In this context, “important” means “necessary for full flourishing”, for no one wants a body that operates in a reduced capacity. Could the church survive without serving one another? Yes? Sort of? But we have to look at quality of life, and this is key. It could survive in the sense that it continues to operate and look like the body of Christ, but without all the spiritual gifts functioning, we must ask whether it truly is the body of Christ or a mere look-alike. Let’s consider the apostle’s words in Ephesians.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

We’ll look at this text much more closely in our upcoming sermon series in Ephesians, but for now recognize the people he names here are gifted people given to the church. Their role as they serve according to their particular giftedness is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Who does ministry? The saints. The people of God. He doesn’t mean ordained clergy here. To be sure, among those gifted persons given to the church are ordained clergy, but that’s not who Paul means here. Certain persons in the church are gifted so as to build up the body of Christ as they equip the church for the work of ministry. They help the church mature in Christ. Then Paul uses his body metaphor again.

We are to speak the truth in love, he says, and thus grow up into him who is our head. Notice closely what he says about the body growing. God gives the church gifted people who are given to build up the body of Christ, with the aim that the body is no longer childish and immature—children. Speaking truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Christ—and here’s the critical part—from whom the whole body makes the body grow. Did you catch that? Paul packs a lot of nuance into this, so let’s unpack this a bit by breaking it down into multiple statements rather than Paul’s long, convoluted sentence.

We speak truth to one another. This truth is the truth of God in Christ—the gospel. It is the good news of who he is and what he has done. The result of speaking truth in love is our maturation as followers of Christ. We leave behind childish immaturity and become adults. We grow up into Christ as our head and we his body.

His body is joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped. Jesus’ body is full and complete, lacking nothing. Each part is necessary to hold itself together. Your fingers don’t stay attached on their own. You have bones and ligaments and muscles and various tissues that keep your body together. Paul is referring to a local church and asserts that each local church has various bones and ligaments and such that hold that local church together. He means the members of the church.

Follow his thought. A local church is made up of gifted individuals who serve the body by helping the body grow up in Christ, for the whole body is held together by all the parts the Lord has given it. No body is made up of one or even several parts, but is a complicated whole in which each part is necessary for the body to grow and flourish properly. Jesus promised that he would build his church, his body. He is the one who causes growth, but Paul gives us the means he uses to cause it to grow.

We speak the truth in love and this causes each one of us to grow into spiritual adulthood as we grow into Christ. It is from Christ the whole body is held together with all its parts, and then, “…when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love”.

Paul didn’t say when the important parts are working properly. In 1 Corinthians 12 he refers to the “presentable” and “unpresentable” parts of the body. There are parts we can show in public and there are parts we would never show in public. Some spiritual gifts are public and seen by all. Others are not. Paul did not say that when the publicly exercised spiritual gifts are working properly the body of Christ grows. Some gifts perform services that benefit a handful of people while other gifts benefit many more people. He didn’t say when those parts that have the biggest impact work properly the body grows. He didn’t say when those parts that have an official office in the church are working properly, as if ministry were limited to elders and deacons.

Paul says when each part of the body is working properly, the Lord Jesus uses the church to cause his body to grow. It is only when each part is working properly that growth can truly happen. This brings us back to the question: is helping a sister in Christ move just as important as preaching and teaching God’s word? Let me answer this more strongly than a simple yes: helping a sister in Christ move is as necessary as preaching and teaching God’s word.

You may wonder how that is. If you were to ask Jacque how the help she received helped her, I promise you she would tell you of the Lord’s faithfulness and how her faith has been strengthened by the church serving her. She would tell you how sure she is the Lord will continue to provide for her and care for her through his people. She would tell you how deeply encouraged she is by a such a simple act as lifting heavy furniture and moving it for her.

Paul says, essentially, I could preach and teach all I wanted but without the body serving according to its giftedness, that is, without each part working properly, the body of Christ won’t grow. It may get bigger! There are lots of churches that get larger on the strength of its preaching and teaching, just as there are lots of churches that get larger on the quality of its music and the spectacularity of “worship experience”, with lights and fog machines and zip lines and all sorts of things. In such churches the emphasis tends to be on numerical growth over everything else. As Edward Abbey said many years ago, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”

The growth Paul refers to is not merely numerical growth. He means the intended outcome of discipleship: presenting to the Lord mature followers of Jesus. He told the Philippians that as he neared his own death he desired their spiritual maturity so that on the day of Christ his work as an apostle will not be shown to have been in vain. In other words, if they would not mature in Christ—grow—then his work would be in vain. The intended outcome of the work of ministry is spiritually mature followers of Jesus.

Here’s the thing, New City. I have a role in this maturation. You could even say a significant role for I have been set apart vocationally to this end. This doesn’t make me more important than any other member. It’s rather like the old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The body of Christ only grows when each part is working properly. This requires that each one of serve the Lord and one another with whatever gifts we have been given. Each one of you has a role in this maturation as well. Each one of you is essential for this church’s growth.

Whether you pray for others or you serve in the Nursery or you share financial gifts with those in need or you walk alongside one who is hurting or you urge greater faithfulness in those who struggle with faithfulness or you teach or lift heavy furniture, you speak the Lord’s words or you use the Lord’s strength to build his church. This is the way the Lord Jesus designed his church, just as he designed the human body.

There is one more point to consider. Just as each one of us must serve others, so we must allow others to serve us. We tend to find it much easier to be the one giving and the one serving and the one speaking, but do we allow those who encourage others to encourage us? Do we allow exhorters to exhort us by calling us to greater faithfulness? Do we allow ourselves to be taught and corrected? Do we allow others to serve in practical ways when necessary? Do we receive the spiritual gifts given to the whole church by receiving them as the words of God and the power of God in our lives? New City, it is only when each part is working properly, and part of working properly is receiving properly, that this church can truly grow.

I was recently asked about fruit of the Spirit as Paul describes it in his letter to the churches in Galatia. The specific question was whether unbelievers bear fruit of the Spirit. Can they have real, genuine peace and joy, etc.? First, Let’s take a look at this fruit. In Galatians Paul instructs the believers there to walk by the Spirit. If they walk by the Spirit of God they will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Then he lists “the works of the flesh”.

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

He says the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit for these are not things the Spirit desires to produce in people. Each of these in his list is against God’s character and are poor reflections of God by those who bear his image. Because these characteristics are counter to God’s character, they cannot come from the Spirit. The Spirit, working in the lives of believers to whom the Spirit was sent produces characteristics that demonstrate God’s actual character.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

Notice the fruit is singular. It is not as though the Spirit produces joy in one person and kindness in another and this other person gets more gentleness and faithfulness but not a lot of peace. To be fair, we all tend to struggle in one or more of these areas so it may seem as though the Spirit of God is producing more patience in you, for example, than kindness, but this is only from our perspective. The work of the Spirit is to produce all of these things in us, hence it is the singular fruit of the Spirit.

This fruit is simply the outcome of the Spirit’s work. When a tree produces an apple, the apple is merely the outcome of everything the tree has been doing since last producing apples. It drew water up through its roots and through photosynthesis produces the energy the tree needs to convert carbon dioxide into the carbon forms such as cellulose it needs to grow more branches and a thicker trunk and deeper roots and leaves which produce still more energy and provide still more carbon. All of this takes place to produce the apple. Everything it does it does to produce the apple which contains seeds necessary for reproduction.

So it is with the Spirit. The Spirit is ever at work in us, often long before we see any fruit, yet the intended outcome of the Spirit’s work is the production of the Spirit’s fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Before we see any measurable growth in these areas the Spirit has been at work forming us, shaping us, causing our roots to grow more deeply and enabling us to, in a sense, “absorb” more of the Spirit’s power as the Spirit works in us. All of this is to produce the Spirit’s fruit.

This fruit of the Spirit is really Christ-likeness. Whether we exhibit love or joy or peace or patience or kindness or goodness or faithfulness or gentleness or self-control, we are really showing others what the Lord Jesus is like. Consider what Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome about God’s purposes for his people.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Romans 8:29 ESV

Notice God’s purpose is for us to be conformed to the image of his Son, the Lord Jesus. In a truly remarkable statement to the Corinthians he describes how this conforming happens.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

When Moses would enter into God’s presence he had to wear a veil. We, however, enter into the Lord’s presence directly in our gathered assembly and when we do, we are beholding the Lord, and notice the outcome of this: through this beholding, we are being transformed into that same image “from one degree of glory to another”. That simply means “little by little” or “bit by bit”. We are not transformed all at once. As we look to Christ, the Spirit of God is at work in us, transforming us ever so slowly and often imperceptibly, yet steadily and inexorably. Paul uses a divine passive: we are being transformed. We aren’t transforming ourselves. This is the work of God in Christ through his Spirit. The Spirit of God transforms us from one degree of glory to another. That is, as the Spirit is working he is producing fruit in us, and that fruit is making us look like Christ.

This doesn’t mean we are entirely passive, however. Over and over again the Scriptures tell us how we ought to live. In Ephesians 4:1 Paul tells them that because of all that God has done for them in Christ, they must “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”. That ain’t passive! He told the Philippians they must have the mind of Christ. That is, they must think and act like he did in a truly profound way: he didn’t insist on his rights but pursued what was best for others. He wrote this to the Colossians:

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:12–17 ESV

Here he gives them very active commands, things they must do. To be sure, these things are only possible because the Spirit of God is ever at work in them, yet they must not sit by and just assume transformation is going to come. They—we—are to be directly engaged in pursuing righteousness. Here is our hope: by pursuing righteousness as the Spirit of God works in us and transforms us, we will actually become more like Christ. This is the fruit of the Spirit, which is to say, this is the outcome of the Spirit’s work in us. Our confidence is Paul’s declaration to the Philippians: “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”. Until that day, God is ever at work in us, producing his fruit in us, for this makes us look more and more like Jesus.

Now back to the question. Can people who are not believers have joy and peace or any of the fruit of the Spirit, or is fruit of the Spirit something only believers can possess? We must remember that every single human being bears God’s image. This is why every single human being, regardless of sex or age or ethnicity or physical or mental capability or any other metric is valuable and worthy of dignity. Whether a person does so properly or not, every single human being represents God to all other humans. Clearly some are lying in how they portray God for they gratify the desires of the flesh. This does not mean a sinner is as bad a sinner as he or she could be. “Total depravity” doesn’t mean as evil as possible. It means that everything a person is or does is affected by sin.

Because every person bears God’s image, he or she still, even in some small way, can reflect God accurately. Of course a person who is not a Christian can be patient or experience joy or be gentle or show self-control. The difference is this: a Christian has the Holy Spirit. Just as an apple tree is going to produce apples, so the Spirit of God is going to produce fruit. While an unbeliever may exhibit traits that to some degree accurately reflect God’s character, the Spirit will work in a believer’s life in a way that, albeit slowly yet inexorably, produces the Spirit’s fruit, and that fruit is the transformation of that person from one degree of glory to another.

There are lots of people in this world whom we would generally consider to be good people. They are patient and kind and generous. They are hard-working and fair and just. They are great folk to work and live next to. As I’ve said a number of times, the only currency God accepts is faith. Hard work is great, but God does not accept hard work as righteousness. Being kind to a coworker in the break room is great, but God does not accept kindness as righteousness. He only accepts faith. Through faith God sends his Spirit and his Spirit works to bring about real, lasting righteousness that comes from faith.

One thing we must remember is this happens in community. Our culture is highly individualistic and we tend to think of following Jesus as just “Jesus and me”. Over and over again the Scriptures emphasize that following Jesus happens in community. Spiritual growth and maturation happens in community. The fruit of the Spirit is produced in community. This is the process of discipleship. When we make disciples we are, first and foremost, seeking to form Christian character—Christlikeness—in people.

Too often we think of discipleship as some sort of program, with a curriculum to go through, that if you can cite chapter and verse or you become conversant in the latest theological debates then you’re growing in spiritual maturity. Christlikeness is not formed through information. Spiritual formation is character formation. Just think of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are character qualities. Anyone can learn information. Only the Spirit of God produces this fruit in ever-increasing measure in God’s people.

When we at New City say our mission is simple, we mean it: “Making disciples. Period.” We are striving to form Christian character in one another, to help one another become like Christ. This is the work of God in Christ through his Spirit. He is ever at work to produce his fruit in us, and the outcome of that fruit is we become like Jesus.

This Sunday we’re taking a look at Paul’s instructions for worship in the gathered assembly in 1 Corinthians 14. As we will see, spiritual worship—worship led and empowered by the Spirit of God—builds up the church, is intelligible or readily understood, and is orderly rather than chaotic. The latter does not require a strict liturgy but it does mean there must be some order to the service. This was a problem in first-century Corinth. Their worship services were chaotic and were not building up the church and were not intelligible. Paul seeks to correct this in chapter 14 of his letter.

In the midst of this correction he strengthens his point about orderliness by making a statement about women and speaking in the assembly. This statement has been interpreted so rigidly by some as to prevent women from even praying out loud in the gathered assembly and has been utterly dismissed by others as to completely ignore the apostle’s instructions. Here is that text.

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

1 Corinthians 14:29–35 ESV

There it is. “Women should keep silent in the churches.” Pretty straightforward, isn’t it? Not really. Sometimes saying what the Bible says is not the same as meaning what the Bible means. We saw this in our series in Joshua. Over and over again God told Israel to “devote the Canaanites to destruction”. Israel was said to have killed them all, man, woman, and child, putting them to the sword. This follows God’s own instructions in Deuteronomy 7 where he told Israel when they entered the land they were to devote the people to complete destruction. Then he immediately told them to not marry any of them, either. Either that last part was completely and utterly superfluous, or “devoting them to complete destruction” does not mean the literal killing of every man, woman, and child. What we saw in that series is the concept of Ancient Near Eastern warfare rhetoric, which is similar to sports today wherein a coach may tell his team at half-time to go out in the second half and “rip their hearts out” or “let’s get out there and kill these guys”. Harsh? Aggressive? Yep. Criminal? No. We readily recognize the hyperbole in these statements just as the Ancient Near Eastern Israelites understood the warfare rhetoric of putting “every man, woman, and child to the sword” meant overwhelming victory in which only those who insisted on armed aggression against Israel were killed.

When Paul says women should keep silent in the churches we can either understand this literally, as in a woman is not allowed to utter a single word out loud, or we can try to see what he really meant. We know he cannot mean they are not allowed to utter a single word because he writes earlier about women speaking in the assembly! In chapter 11 he gives instructions regarding men and women praying and prophesying in the assembly. In the first century it was culturally appropriate for a woman to pray or prophesy out loud with her head covered and for a man to pray or prophesy with his head uncovered. If in chapter 14 he means a woman is not allowed to utter a single word then his instructions for them to pray and prophesy are absurd. It’s like telling someone it’s illegal to rob a bank but when you rob a bank, here’s how to do it properly!

It should be clear, then, that Paul’s direct statement—the women should keep silent in the churches—is not as obvious as the immediate language would suggest, much like Joshua’s Ancient Near Eastern warfare rhetoric. So how are we to make sense of this? Context, and understanding the meaning of words. Let’s start with the words.

Paul uses the word translated “keep silent” a few times in this chapter. In verses 27–28 he writes about those speaking in tongues and says if there is no one to interpret what is being said, those speaking must “keep silent”. That is, they must be self-controlled and refrain from speaking. In verses 29–30 he writes of prophets who speak in the assembly and says when someone shares in the assembly, the others must weigh what is said. That is, they must evaluate whether it were from the Lord. Then he says if another wishes to speak, the first should “be silent”—same word. The first must be self-controlled and refrain from speaking. This brings us to the context.

Paul is explaining that corporate worship reflects an essential characteristic of God: order. He is not the God of confusion but of peace, or of rightly ordered things. When he first created the world it was out of order, chaotic—formless and void. God creates order out of chaos. This is his point in verse 31 when he says the Corinthians can all prophesy “one by one”—in an orderly fashion. Rather than speak over one another, one must refrain from speaking so as to allow another to speak. Then we come to the verses in question.

He begins with, “As in all the churches”. He’s saying that this is the rule in every church. It is not an instruction that is specific to the church in Corinth, much like his statement in 1 Timothy where he says that it is his practice to restrict the authoritative preaching of God’s word to those to whom the responsibility is given. There he says women are to remain quiet, not as a general rule for the gathered assembly but regarding teaching and preaching in the gathered assembly, which is the responsibility of elders. Despite what some assert, this is not his solution to a unique problem in Ephesus where Timothy was. Rather, it demonstrates Paul‘s ecclesiology, for Paul does this. (For more information on this text, see this sermon.)

The context is key to understanding this. His prohibition of women speaking is not an outright prohibition against speaking anymore than instructing those who speak in tongues and who prophesy to stop speaking is a complete prohibition against speaking in tongues and prophesying. He clearly cannot mean that. Saying that women should keep silent is in the direct context of orderliness in the gathered assembly. During their worship times the church assembled together and people shared, and this time of sharing included prophetic messages.

By the way, don’t think of prophecy as predicting the future. He says in verse 3 that those who prophesy build up the church, encourage the church, and console or comfort the church. He doesn’t say they tell the church its future. The gift of prophecy is simply hearing from the Lord and communicating his truth to others in a way that builds them up, that encourages them, and that comforts them. At New City we see this during our extended prayer time. If you’ve heard God speak to you during this time in which we share and pray for one another, you’ve heard a prophetic word from the Lord.

Paul says that in this particular context, that of the church sharing and speaking to one another words that build up and encourage and comfort, what is said and shared must be weighed by others. He says the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. What is shared must be weighed, or it must be determined whether it were a word from the Lord. This is because “God is not a God of confusion but of peace”. As is the practice in all the churches of God’s people, women should refrain from speaking at this point. Here’s the tricky part. What is the equivalent of the women being silent? It is being in submission to their husbands. If a woman were to speak at this point she would not be in submission to her husband.

It’s not hard to imagine probing questions being asked when the church shares in this way. Paul is speaking directly to the issue of husbands and wives in the gathered assembly sharing together what could be private and even intimate information. Anthony Thiselton is especially helpful here. He cites New Testament scholar Ben Witherington in this quote (emphases are in original).

With Witherington, we believe that the speaking in question denotes the activity of sifting or weighing the words of prophets, especially by asking probing questions about the prophet’s theology or even the prophet’s lifestyle in public. This would become especially sensitive and problematic if wives were cross-examining their husbands about the speech and conduct which supported or undermined the authenticity of a claim to utter a prophetic message, and would readily introduce Paul’s allusion to reserving questions of a certain kind for home. The women would in this case (i) be acting as judges over their husbands in public; (ii) risk turning worship into an extended discussion session with perhaps private interests; (iii) militate against the ethics of controlled and restrained speech in the context of which the congregation should be silently listening to God rather than eager to address one another; and (iv) disrupt the sense of respect for the orderliness of God’s agency in creation and in the world as against the confusion which preexisted the creative activity of God’s Spirit.

Anthony Thiselton, New International Greek Testament Commentary, 1 Corinthians

This makes the most sense of Paul’s emphasis on order in the gathered assembly. When Paul instructs women to keep silent it is in the context of publicly sharing and, just like those who would speak in tongues or who would prophesy, they must maintain proper order and decorum. Not everything that can be said should be said and not everything that can be shared should be shared. There’s a time and a place for everything. This is why he adds that a wife can have that more private conversation with her husband at home—a more appropriate place for private and even intimate conversations!

It comes down to this: a woman may certainly speak in the gathered assembly. She can share stories of God’s faithfulness and share prayer requests and pray for others and offer words of encouragement and comfort. She can read Scripture and serve communion and even lead the church in singing. In short, a woman can do anything a man in the church can do. The only real restrictions are those responsibilities restricted to the council of elders, which are restricted for all who are not elders. Anything a man who is not an elder can do a woman can do.

This was Paul’s meaning. Saying what Scripture says is not always meaning what Scripture means. When this particular Scripture says women should not speak in the gathered assembly, it means they may not disrupt the ordered nature of the worship service any more than a man can. Anyone who uses this text to silence women is twisting Scripture.

As we’ve seen throughout our sermon series on the Holy Spirit, every single believer is gifted and called to serve with that spiritual gift. We need every man and woman present and active in the church, serving according to his or her giftedness. This includes proclaiming the gospel of Jesus to one another through singing and sharing and praying and reading Scripture and prophesying to one another. As one scholar put it, spiritual gifts don’t come in pink and blue. So long as “all things are done decently and in order” in the gathered assembly, God, who creates order out of chaos, is glorified in our worship, and that worship necesssarily includes womens’ voices.

(Note: This article was originally published on June 17, 2021. It has been updated with a video.)

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.

The United States has made “Juneteenth” a federal holiday. 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 years 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 100 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 9,980 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.