Ethan R. Longhenry's Blog, page 35

Preaching in Acts: Peter Before Cornelius

It was something everyone in the first century took for granted: the Israelites were the chosen people of their God. If one wanted to follow their God, one would have to become an Israelite. When some began proclaiming that God had fulfilled all of His promises to His people through Jesus of Nazareth, the message was proclaimed among Israelites alone. And then a Roman centurion saw an angel; Simon Peter received a vision from Jesus. Momentous acts took place which meant that nothing would ever be the same again. God was truly doing something new in Jesus; the world would never be the same.

At some point within the first decade after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, an angel visited Cornelius, an Italian God-fearing centurion residing in Caesarea: his prayers had been heard by God, and he was to call for Simon Peter in Joppa to hear all the Lord had commanded (Acts 10:1-8, 30-33). As Cornelius’ emissaries traveled, Simon Peter prayed his noontime prayer and entered a trance: he saw a sheet of ritually unclean animals descend from heaven, and heard the voice of the Lord telling him to kill and eat. Peter replied that he had never eaten anything unclean; the Lord Jesus told him he should not call common (or unclean) that which God had cleansed. This happened three times, and almost immediately afterward, the emissaries from Cornelius arrived where Simon Peter was staying (Acts 10:9-18). The Spirit prompted Peter to go with them, and he did; Peter was recognizing that God’s concern was less about the cleansing of food and more about the cleansing of people (Acts 10:19-23). Peter and a delegation of Jewish Christians from Joppa came to Cornelius and found him and many of his family members and friends (Acts 10:24-27). Peter established how this meeting and association went against the custom of the Jewish people; Cornelius recounted how had seen the angel and had called Peter to hear what the Lord had commanded him, and wished to hear what Peter had to say (Acts 10:28-33).

Peter began preaching by setting forth what he had learned by these recent revelations from Jesus: God does not respect persons, but those in any nation who fear Him and work righteousness may be found acceptable to Him (Acts 10:34-35). Peter then declared the word God sent to the children of Israel, considered tidings of peace by Jesus the Christ, the Lord of all: Cornelius et al had heard what had been made known throughout Judea regarding what God had accomplished through Jesus of Nazareth, how after John’s baptism Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power and went about doing good, healing those oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:36-38). Peter affirmed his witness of what Jesus did among the Jewish people and in Jerusalem, that He hung upon a tree, and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day (Acts 10:39-40). In His resurrection Jesus did not appear to everyone, but to His chosen witnesses, the Apostles, with whom He ate and drank after His resurrection (Acts 10:41). In the resurrection Jesus charged the Apostles to preach to the people how He was appointed by God to judge the living and the dead; the prophets bore witness how through His name all who believe would receive remission of sins (Acts 10:42-43).

While Peter was speaking these final things the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and all of his associates (Acts 10:44-46). Peter recognized what this meant: God was certifying that these Gentiles were to be accepted into the faith as Gentiles, and ought to receive baptism in water, since they had received the Holy Spirit just as the Apostles had on the day of Pentecost (Acts 10:47-48).

Peter’s proclamation to Cornelius and his associates reflects the “hybrid” nature of his audience: as a God-fearer, Cornelius would have some familiarity with the Hebrew Bible and Jewish customs, yet he remains a Gentile, and one representing the pagan oppressive power from the heart of the pagan oppressive power at that. Peter could take for granted that Cornelius has already heard about Jesus of Nazareth and what God accomplished through Him. Peter expected Cornelius to already grasp the expectation of the Messiah as the Anointed One, spoke of crucifixion as “hanging from a tree,” in terms of Deuteronomy 21:22-23, and identified the forgiveness of sins in Jesus as the fulfillment of what the prophets spoke, affirming the prophets as a witness of Jesus alongside the Apostles. And yet Peter felt compelled to explain in greater detail the nature of Jesus’ resurrection: how it could be that only some saw Him, and not everyone; the demonstration of His physicality in eating and drinking after the resurrection; the charge Peter had to proclaim this message as given by Jesus in the resurrection; and the imminent judgment, a theme which would be proclaimed to Gentiles frequently (cf. Acts 17:30-31).

Peter would never be the same after his interaction with Cornelius: he now understood how God worked to save not only physical Israel, but all the nations, in Jesus, and would constantly refer back to these events to justify the inclusion of Gentiles who had come to faith in Christ (Acts 11:1-18, 15:7-11). The proclamation of the Gospel to the Gentiles changed everything for early Christianity: the Gospel was more acceptable to many Gentiles than to Israelites, and much of the New Testament is written to explain how God was in the right to welcome in Gentiles into the fold, and how it had always been His purpose to do so (e.g. Romans 1:16-11:36, Galatians 1:6-5:16, Ephesians 2:1-3:12). The world would never be the same: the message of Jesus the Christ would not be restricted to a small group of people, but could be spread to anyone of any nation, and so it has for almost two thousand years. Christians today find salvation when they believe in Jesus, confess His name, repent of their sins, and are immersed in water in Jesus’ name just as Jewish Christians and Cornelius were saved so long ago.

In Peter and Cornelius we see the hand of God at work, but also the importance God places upon His followers proclaiming the Gospel to others. It would have been far more efficient for the angel to have proclaimed the Gospel to Cornelius and his associates, but it was not God’s purpose for him to do so. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all worked diligently to arrange for the meeting of Peter and Cornelius, and demonstrated God’s purposes in Christ when the Spirit was poured out on Cornelius and his associates. In this way the Jewish Christians would be hard pressed to deny that God had accepted the Gentiles as Gentiles; yet in this way we also see how faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ, and such hearing requires one to go and preach (Romans 10:12-17). The Apostles have passed on and do not go about preaching the Word; all in Christ are now charged to go and bear witness to the Apostles’ witness to every creature (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15). May we give thanks for God’s merciful provision of access to the promise of faith in Christ, follow Jesus as Lord, and proclaim His salvation to all!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Epicureanism and the Modern World

Philosophy is one of those things, like theology, which a lot of people consider arcane and mostly irrelevant to life. And yet, as creatures who seek meaning and purpose in life, every human has a philosophy, as well as a theology: everyone has some view about the way life ought to be lived, just like everyone has some opinion about the nature of God, or the lack thereof. We thus do well to consider: what are the principles of the operating philosophy of a good number of people in the Western world?

We have heard much about postmodernism and relativism, and many people do approach the world, their opinions, and other people in postmodern and relativist ways. Nevertheless, neither postmodernism nor relativism provides a framework for how one ought to live; they question our certainties and our approach. To understand how many in the Western world live, we will have to look elsewhere.

Materialism defines the basis of belief for a good number of people, however consciously accepted: all that exists, or at least all that matters, is that which exists in this material universe (or in additional universes beyond our perception). Many do still believe in a non-material, “spiritual” realm; functionally, however, a good number of such people carry on as if the “spiritual” realm had little to say or do about their lives. A lot of people look to science, or scientific-sounding endeavors, for guidance about what to believe about themselves, their origins, and their destiny. It proves challenging to find meaning and purpose in a scientific, materialist worldview: meaning and purpose become defined by attempting to live the best possible life in ways that cause the least harm to others and proves to be as enjoyable as possible.

In short, many modern Westerners have become Epicureans, whether they know it or not.

Epicureanism is a Greek school of philosophy begun by Epicurus around 300 BCE. Epicurus was a materialist and believed the universe to be composed of “atoms” which collided with one another randomly. Epicurus did not necessarily deny the existence of the gods, yet believed they were as subject to chance and fortune as anyone else, and thus were not involved in this world. Epicurus was very much against all forms of superstition and belief in divine intervention; life is what you make of it, and is not based in fate or the capriciousness of divine impulses. Epicurus thus believed that pleasure was the greatest good: not the pursuit of hedonistic desire but a modest, sober, disciplined life pursuing knowledge. Such a life, Epicurus believed, would limit fear and pain, and achieve ataraxia, a position of peace and calm. Epicurus developed his philosophy to stand against the Platonists; future generations would stand more in contrast with the Stoics, and it is not for nothing that the Apostle Paul would dispute with both Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens in Acts 17:18. Epicureanism was one philosophical school among many in the Greco-Roman world; it gained some adherents, but the Epicureans would eventually fall short in the philosophical battle with the Neo-Platonists, and Epicureanism did not survive the collapse of the Roman world.

Ever since the Enlightenment the Western world has prepared fertile ground for the development of modern Epicureanism. A good number of people accept the premise that “science” has defeated “faith” in the contest for the “hearts and minds” of people today. Modern Epicureanism thus follows its ancient ancestor in accepting only the legitimacy of the material world and a conviction that any attempt to find meaning or purpose in the universe is a futile endeavor. The goal remains to avoid pain at all costs and to find some kind of inner peace through exploration of self and the world. Yet modern Epicureans, on the whole, reject Epicurus’ views on what makes for pleasure, and have substituted hedonism, the pursuit of the satisfaction of our basic impulses.

Very few people today will admit that they are modern Epicureans, and yet a good number of their ideas about what life should be about align with Epicureanism. People today will tell you that their goal is to be happy. Happiness, to them, will involve great food and drink with great people, a satisfying sexual life, and a comfortable life with modern amenities. In all things they try to avoid pain and discomfort: they say they are against causing pain and discomfort to others, and that is true as long as it does not lead to much discomfort for them. In truth, anything and everything which might begin to cause any pain, discomfort, or duress is dispensed with very easily, and that is as true for relationships with people as it is with things.

As Christians we must recognize the Epicureanism around us for what it is. We do well to see how its conclusions make sense to those who have accepted its primary premises. We must resist the modern delusion that the Epicurean viewpoint of the day is the only one that makes sense or can “work” in modernity; it is not true, and it really does not even work for most people.

In truth life is full of disappointment, pain, and difficulty. A life which exists only to pursue pleasure and avoid pain proves shallow and futile, and ultimately does not satisfy. The days will come when life will no longer be as pleasurable, and pain will not be easily avoided (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:1-7). We should value other people for more than just the benefits they provide us, for do we not want people to value us above and beyond what benefits we may provide for them (cf. Matthew 7:12)? Has anything of value or benefit to humanity ever come without some discomfort, distress, or pain?

Yet the fundamental difficulty with Epicureanism is in the limitations of materialism: the universe displays the handiwork of an Intelligence beyond itself (Romans 1:18ff). Humanity is more than happenstance from all sorts of atomic collisions; furthermore, that which makes life worth living, beauty, truth, and meaning, are things which cannot be synthesized or analyzed according to the scientific method. As Christians we must insist on the faith based on the life, death, resurrection, ascension, lordship, and imminent return of Jesus of Nazareth as providing the best explanation for the beauty and ugliness of creation, that which is true hope, joy, and contentment, and the foundation of the best philosophy of life for mankind (Colossians 2:1-11).

Almost no one enjoys pain, distress, or difficulty; nevertheless, life is experienced and growth takes place through trials, difficulties, and tribulations. Epicureanism cannot truly explain life as it is lived in this creation; modern man, in his Epicureanism, is attempting to escape the limitations and challenges which bedevil him. We do better to understand how, in Christ, the way of the cross leads to resurrection and new life and hope. Let us resist all forms of Epicureanism in life, and proclaim the Gospel of the Crucified and Risen Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Works of the Flesh: Sexually Deviant Behavior

The Christian, in his or her walk with God, is called upon to embrace certain character traits and practices and reject others. A compact yet significant list of many of these traits and practices are included in Galatians 5:16-24:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.

Christians are to embody the fruit of the Spirit while avoiding the works of the flesh. We do well to explore the nature of the works of the flesh so as to avoid them and the fruit of the Spirit so as to manifest it.

The list of the “works of the flesh” begins with “fornication” in the American Standard Version; the term is also variously translated as “sexual immorality” (ESV) and “immorality” (NASB; the King James Version and its offshoots begin the list with “adultery,” yet such is not found in the best manuscripts, and would be covered under “sexual immorality” anyway). The Greek word is porneia, defined by Thayer as:

1) illicit sexual intercourse

1a) adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.

1b) sexual intercourse with close relatives;

1c) sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman;

2) metaphorically the worship of idols

2a) of the defilement of idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices offered to idols

“Illicit sex” is perhaps the most pithy yet accurate translation of porneia; I prefer “sexually deviant behavior”: while clunky, it does well at delineating exactly what is under the purview of porneia without casting a wider net.

Porneia, in a “literal” sense, is that which one would do with a porne, or prostitute (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:13-20): sexual activity disconnected from covenant relationship between a man and a woman whom God has joined. The range of activities which came under the purview of porneia include adultery, bestiality, same sex sexual relations, pederasty, sexual acts with children, and thus any kind of sexual behavior which is outside of the bounds of marriage (Hebrews 13:4; cf. Jude 1:7).

We also can see how porneia is the opposite of what is approved in marriage through Jesus’ use of porneia as the “exception” of the general condemnation of divorce in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9. No other action or behavior could justify separating what God has joined; in porneia, the offender is becoming “one flesh” with one to whom God has not joined him or her, and this terribly violates the sanctity of the marriage bed.

To this end we can understand how porneia is translated as “illicit sex” or even “sexual immorality,” although we must keep “sexually deviant behavior” in mind, since one can imagine sexually immoral thoughts or feelings that are sinful yet do not rise to the level of porneia (cf. lasciviousness, Matthew 5:28, Galatians 5:19). “Immorality” is too broad of a translation. In modern parlance “fornication” is defined as “sexual activity before marriage”; since people in the ancient world tended to marry at a very young age, strict fornication was not as significant of a concern as was adultery. By extension, fornication would fall under the aegis of porneia; attempts to suggest that pre-marital fornication would justify a later divorce, or is the only justification for a divorce, prove misguided.

The Apostles manifest great concern regarding sexually deviant behavior in their exhortations, and for good reason: sexual immorality was so prevalent in the ancient pagan world as to be considered the norm. Fraternization with prostitutes and female companions was part of feasts and banquets; Christians would be seen as odd and strange for not participating in such behaviors. To this end the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem exhorted Gentile Christians specifically to avoid sexually deviant behavior (Acts 15:20, Acts 15:29, Acts 21:25). Paul would often mention sexually deviant behavior first when going through a list of sinful behaviors (1 Corinthians 5:9, 11, 6:9, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5), demonstrating his strong concern regarding the matter. Even though the Christians in Thessalonica were walking so as to please God, Paul felt compelled to exhort them unto sanctification, which he associated strongly with avoiding sexually deviant behavior (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).

In 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 Paul set forth his most systematic denunciation of sexually deviant behavior. Corinth was (in)famous for its heritage of sexually deviant behavior surrounding the Aphrodite cult in the city. Paul exhorted Christians to avoid sexually deviant behavior: it is the sin one commits against oneself. Those who are joined to Christ should not become one flesh with a prostitute. Christians are temples of the Holy Spirit, and are no longer their own, but have been bought with a price. Christians thus ought to glorify God in their bodies.

God made human sexuality as a good thing to be enjoyed in its proper covenant relationship. Outside of marriage sexual behavior de-humanizes. Many voices in the world exalt and glorify sexual behavior outside of marriage; a world which has rejected the existence of God will almost invariably make a god out of sexuality, the transcendent experience which they most associate with the divine (Romans 1:18-32). The number of souls who will be eternally lost on account of their lust for sexually deviant behavior will most likely be terribly high. Sexuality is good in its proper context, but it makes for a terribly disappointing goddess.

As Christians we do well to remember that there is much more to life than sexuality, and to seek to glorify God in our bodies. There will be no need for sexuality in the resurrection; the relational intimacy we will enjoy with God in Christ will be far greater than anything found in sexuality (Matthew 22:30, Ephesians 5:31-32, Revelation 21:1-22:6). Sexually deviant behavior may be tempting for a season, but it cannot deliver on its promises, and leads to pain, misery, regret, and ultimately death (cf. Proverbs 5:3-23). May we trust in God in Christ, flee from and avoid sexually deviant behavior, and obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Babel and Civilization

Few things prove as dangerous as “givens,” those things which we just automatically assume are the way things should be and which are good. Yet everything in this creation has a dark side because of the corruption of sin. Civilization is one such “given.” In the modern world we certainly enjoy our “creature comforts,” advances in health, science, and technology which allow for us to live comfortably and thrive. Many among us enjoy urban or suburban life. When humans build on a piece of land they call it “development”; land left as God made it is called “undeveloped.” We might enjoy the outdoors and living “in the wild,” but only recreationally. In history, moments of cultural production are “golden ages of civilization”; periods of difficulty and the breakdown of civilization are seen as “dark ages.”

We might assume that civilization is seen in Scripture as fondly as it is among people today. If so we are in for quite the surprise! The first man to build a city is not Adam, nor Abel, nor Seth, but Cain (Genesis 4:17). Those who developed the tools of technology, instruments of metal and mirth, were Cain’s descendant Lamech’s sons (Genesis 4:21-22). Nimrod, called a “mighty one” on the earth, was associated with the many cities of Mesopotamia, and he built what would become Assyria (Genesis 10:8-12). Throughout the rest of Biblical history those associated with the “great civilizations” of the ancient Near Eastern and Classical worlds, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, would each in turn oppress the people of God.

God, meanwhile, made man and put him in a garden (Genesis 2:3-28). Abel was a shepherd; many of the mighty people of God would either be shepherds or own many animals (Genesis 4:2). God called Abram out of “civilization,” from Ur of the Chaldees, the greatest city of its time, to live in the relative backwater of Canaan (Genesis 12:1-3). Abram chose well to remain in Canaan, while Lot suffered greatly for choosing the plain around Sodom, a city full of wickedness (Genesis 13:9-13). Throughout the Bible value is placed on living off the land; the only city which receives great commendation is Jerusalem, the City of David, the place where YHWH made His name to dwell, and which would represent the location of the people of God (Psalm 135:21, Isaiah 62:1, Zechariah 2:12, Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 21:2).

What would be so wrong with civilization? Its difficulties are encapsulated in one city: Babel, also known as Babylon. Babel is the place where all mankind gathered to build a tower to make a name for himself and to avoid being scattered on the earth (Genesis 11:4). While man’s intentions at Babel were frustrated by God, he never forgot that tendency; ever since, when humans come together, they tend to work to build monuments to their own greatness. This same Babel would become the city and empire that would lay siege to Jerusalem and destroy it and the Temple within its gates (2 Kings 25:1-21). The prophets roundly denounced Babylon for her arrogance and presumptuousness (Jeremiah 50:1-51:64); not for nothing does John see Rome as Babylon the Great, a harlot, drunk on the blood of the prophets and saints (Revelation 17:1-18:24). Babylon thus represents the human power arrogating itself against God and His purposes, drawing resources from the earth and from other people to its own aggrandizement no matter what the cost. It was true of Babylon; it was true of Rome; it has proven true of every civilization.

We are beginning again to see what happens when people everywhere “speak the same language”: the language of fossil fuels combined with the language of money and greed. All around the world resources are extracted and exploited without ceasing. “Development” overtakes more and more land which had been left in a more “natural” state. Our air and water is polluted with the effects of our industrial production; the world is warming and the effects are beginning to be felt acutely in the oceans, on the poles, and in the severity of our weather.

Many mock and dismiss such talk as hysteria, and yet Isaiah speaks of the land and the trees rejoicing at the downfall of Babylon, for the land was now at rest and could rejuvenate from the destructive tendencies of civilization (Isaiah 14:7-8). It was famously said of the Romans how they would make a wasteland and call it peace (Tacitus, Agricola 30). And so the original “Babel” caused great difficulty to the earth in the extraction of resources; Rome, the “Babylon” of the first century, did the same, and now all of us may well prove guilty of the same thing. It is now believed that in one lifetime over half of the animal life in the world has died. Everywhere we look we now see evidence of “Babel”: God’s creation paved over, built up, and called paradise, and yet it is sterile, without life. We now have to leave our cities to “find” nature and draw strength and life from the creation God made, and in which God infused life!

It is not wrong to live in civilization or to enjoy its benefits; early Christians lived in the Roman Empire and took advantage of its opportunities. But we do well to recognize how civilization is used to continually represent Babel. “Civilized” nations think nothing of storming across the land in the ravages of war. “Civilized” nations continually work against God’s purposes and oppress and persecute those who seek His will. “Civilized” nations continually set themselves against nature as if in a war, the ultimate demonstration of man arrogating against God in attempting to “develop” God’s creation, and not just take care of God’s creation. Thus, civilization is all about man’s attempt to make a name for himself. Civilization produces some benefits, but “development” is not always the best or greatest. We do well to honor what God has made, and seek to glorify God in the midst of “civilized” nations. May we seek to live as humble servants of God, seeking the heavenly Jerusalem!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Preaching in Acts: Peter in the Temple

What had started as a normal day and a normal hour of prayer at the Temple became extraordinary very quickly. A man was healed; thousands more obtained a better hope and promise of healing and restoration. All this happened because Peter and John had gone up to the Temple to pray.

At some point after the day of Pentecost, after the Gospel began to be proclaimed in Jerusalem and the church had been established, Peter and John went up to the Temple to pray at the ninth hour, or around 3 o’clock in the afternoon (Acts 3:1). A man was at the Beautiful Gate, lame from birth, and one who had been seen frequently by those entering the Temple, seeking alms, and sought alms from Peter and John (Acts 3:2-3). Peter confessed he could not give gold or silver, but gave what he could: the ability to rise and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Acts 3:4-6). The man arose and entered the Temple with them, walking and leaping, and praising God (Acts 3:7-8). The Israelites noticed the man and recognized him as the one who frequently sought alms at the Beautiful Gate; they were filled with amazement and wonder regarding what had happened (Acts 3:9-10).

Peter then took the initiative and from Solomon’s Porch explained to the Israelites what they were seeing: this was not the work of Peter or John (Acts 3:11-12). Instead, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of their fathers, had glorified His Servant Jesus: this Jesus was the one whom they themselves had delivered up to Pilate to be killed, even though Pilate would have released Him, seeking a murderer to be given to them while they put to death the Author of life, and yet God had raised Him from the dead, and through faith in Jesus’ name the man born lame had been made whole (Acts 3:13-16; cf. Luke 23:16-23).

Peter then worked to assure his audience: he knew they acted against Jesus in ignorance, as had their rulers (Acts 3:17). Nevertheless, all the things God had foreshadowed in the prophets regarding the suffering of the Christ had been fulfilled (Acts 3:18). Peter then invited his audience to repent, turning again to God in Christ, so that their sins might be blotted out and they would receive times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and He would again send the Christ, Jesus, whom heaven has received until the times of restoration of which the prophets spoke came to pass (Acts 3:19-21).

Peter confirmed his message by appealing to what had been said of old: he quoted Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 and referred to his whole message in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 about the one like Moses who would come and to whom Israel should listen (Acts 3:22-23). He summarized all the other prophets from Samuel onward as promising similar things (Acts 3:24). Peter spoke of his audience as the sons of those who heard these promises, and thus the recipients of the promise, and also as the sons of the covenant God made with Abraham, through whose Seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Acts 3:25; cf. Genesis 22:18). God had sent His Servant, the Christ, first to them to bless them, turning them away from their iniquities (Acts 3:26).

At this point the record of Peter’s preaching is interrupted: the priests and Sadducees had heard of Peter’s proclamation of Jesus and the resurrection, and it disturbed them greatly, and so they arrested Peter and John (Acts 4:1-3). Nevertheless, many of those who had heard Peter’s word believed: at least five thousand men, not counting women or children (Acts 4:4). The Sanhedrin would be confounded, since the miraculous work was evident to all and impossible to deny (Acts 4:5-22).

A great miracle had taken place, and many Israelites proved receptive to Peter’s message on account of having seen the miracle. Nevertheless, without Peter’s proclamation of the Gospel, what would the Israelites have gained by the experience? Signs and wonders may have prepared an audience to hear what the Apostles had to say, but the Apostles still had to tell the message and exhort people to repentance.

Peter’s message in Acts 3:12-26 emphasized the continuity between what had been made known about YHWH the God of Israel and what God was accomplishing in Jesus. Peter identified the God who had made the lame man whole as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the fathers of Israel (Acts 3:13); twice Peter spoke of Jesus as God’s “Servant,” evoking Isaiah’s “Servant Songs” in Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-7, 52:13-53:12. Peter associated Jesus with the “prophet like Moses” whom Moses and all the prophets had promised (Acts 3:22-24); he also emphasized the continuity of the Israelites, identifying his audience as the sons of the prophets and the covenant God made with Abraham (Acts 3:25). Peter even maintained continuity in the hope of Israel, speaking of what God would accomplish in Jesus according to times of refreshing and restoration, highly resonant with the encouragement given in the prophets (Acts 3:19-21).

At the same time, Peter did not shy away from making explicit exactly what the Israelites in his audience had done: they were the ones who wanted Jesus to be killed, even though Pilate would have let Him go; they were the ones who wanted Barabbas and not Jesus (Acts 3:13-15). Few statements are as poignant as Acts 3:14: you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you! Peter associates Jesus with God strongly, for God is known as the Holy One of Israel (cf. Isaiah 1:4, etc.); nevertheless, the force of his imagery is the two paths available to Israel. There was the path of Barabbas, the insurrectionist, which would only lead to alienation from God and death for all; and then there was the path of Jesus, the Christ, who would provide refreshment and restoration for all who put their trust in Him.

On that day over five thousand Israelites would choose the path of Jesus. Far more, unfortunately, continued to follow the ways of Barabbas. Nevertheless, the Gospel had done its work. Peter demonstrated how what God accomplished in Jesus is not foreign or alien to the faith of Israel, but is in fact the fulfillment of all God had promised to their fathers, and a demonstration of God’s covenant loyalty to Israel. We do well to heed what Peter said, repent of our ways, and become the children of Abraham by faith, so that we may obtain refreshing from the presence of God as we await the return of Jesus and the restoration of all things as foretold by the prophets on the day of resurrection!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Dreams and Visions

Humans have been enchanted by dreams and visions for millennia. We want to believe that our dreams may unlock hidden meanings and mysteries in life; cultures throughout time have featured many attempts to interpret what dreams might mean. Science has proven rather dismissive of dreams and visions, attempting to understand them in terms of our brains processing data while we are unconscious. How should Christians understand dreams and visions?

As in all matters of spirituality we do well to first explore the purpose of dreams and visions as seen in the pages of Scripture. In both Old and New Testaments God has communicated to certain people in dreams and visions.

The Scriptures record many instances in which God communicated to people in dreams. In some circumstances God directly spoke to people in dreams, most often about a specific situation the person was facing at the time. God warned Abimelech about taking Sarah as a wife in a dream (Genesis 20:3-7), and likewise warned Laban against harming Jacob in any way (Genesis 31:24). When Solomon was in Gibeon God appeared to him in a dream and asked what he wanted; the wisdom for which Solomon asked in a dream was given to him in reality (1 Kings 3:5-28). The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream three times: the first to give him confidence so as to marry Mary, the second to warn him to get away to Egypt to avoid Herod, and the third to warn him away from living under Archelaus (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 19-22).

God also sent dreams to his servants and to rulers which required interpretation but spoke of things that would come to pass. Joseph and Daniel were both justly famous for having been given dreams and the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph’s dreams about his family were able to be understood without difficulty in interpretation (Genesis 37:5-11). He was able to interpret the dreams of others, and they all involved what would take place in the immediate future: the cupbearer’s restoration, the baker’s execution, impending abundance and then famine in Egypt (Genesis 40:1-41:37). Daniel was able to see and interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream through the revelation of the God of heaven, and it spoke of the kingdoms to come (Daniel 2:1-46); God would give Daniel dreams and visions of beasts with a similar interpretation (Daniel 7:1-8:27).

Visions are often closely related to dreams; God would send both, and while many visions were in dreams, other visions took place while a person was conscious or semi-conscious (Numbers 12:6, Daniel 1:17, 2:28). God granted visions to many people for different reasons; nevertheless, they all were corroborated by events which would take place or by other forms of revelation. God provided assurance of His covenant with Abram in a vision (Genesis 15:1ff). In the days of Eli and Samuel there was no frequent vision; nevertheless, God gave a vision to Samuel in which He summoned him thrice and prophesied doom for the house of Eli (1 Samuel 3:1-15). Isaiah and Ezekiel saw visions of God in heaven (Isaiah 1:1, 6:1-13, Ezekiel 1:1-28); most of Ezekiel’s prophecies featured some sort of vision. In the New Testament the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James, and John is called a vision (Matthew 17:1-9). Peter is given a vision of unclean animals; the Lord Jesus told him to kill and eat; after Peter protested, Jesus told him that what God has cleansed he is not to call common (Acts 10:9-17). Peter was initially perplexed about the vision’s meaning, but through revelation from an angel and the Holy Spirit he discerned that God was calling him to preach the Gospel to Cornelius and other Gentiles; the vision was the first in a series of revelations which made it clear that God had cleansed the Gentiles and granted them the repentance that leads to life (Acts 10:17-11:18, 15:7-11). The Bible ends with a grand vision, the Revelation of God given to John, setting forth the impending struggles of believers and the victory of God in Christ through images simultaneously fantastic and yet consistent with what the people of God beforehand had experienced (Revelation 1:1-22:21).

Just because something was a vision did not necessarily make it unreal. There is great continuity between the heavenly scenes seen by Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John; Paul speaks of having been taken up into Paradise, the third heaven, in which he saw things unable to be described in human language (2 Corinthians 12:1-10). Elisha’s servant’s eyes were opened and he saw horses chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:15-17); the servant may be seeing a vision, but the vision proves more real than what we imagine reality to be.

Therefore it is evident that God did communicate with people through dreams and visions in Biblical times. That communication, however, was not always for the best, nor was every claimed dream and vision really from God. In 1 Kings 22:19-23 Micaiah son of Imlah described a heavenly vision he saw in which God revealed how He would entice Ahab to meet his doom: a lying spirit from God would enter the prophets to deceive him. The prophets warn the people about those who have claimed to receive dreams and visions from God but do so falsely (Jeremiah 23:32, 27:9, 29:8, Lamentations 2:14, Ezekiel 13:9, Zechariah 10:2). Paul warns Christians about giving heed to those who trust in visions and give devotion to angels but do not hold fast to the Head who sustains His Body, the Lord Jesus (Colossians 2:18-19).

As Christians we do well to be careful about claims regarding dreams and visions. We have every confidence from Scripture that whatever messages God would communicate in dreams and visions would be consistent with what He has revealed through other means and would work to encourage and sustain Christians in Christ; yet on what basis should we expect Him to continue to communicate in such ways? He has made known His will for mankind in Christ and has communicated through the witness of the Apostles all things we need in order to accomplish His purposes (Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 3:15-17). We do well to heed the wisdom of the Preacher:

For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear thou God (Ecclesiastes 5:7).

May we all honor and revere God and seek to accomplish His purposes in Jesus Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Book of Jubilees

The Genesis author is famous for his economy in writing: he only tells the stories and details he wishes to tell according to his purposes. The people of God have been left with a host of questions ever since. Where did Cain’s wife come from? What was the name of the wives of all the men of old? Who exactly are the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” in Genesis 6:1-4? Untold amounts of ink have been spilled in speculation regarding these matters. We can see how some Jewish people of the Second Temple Period expanded upon the Genesis narrative in the Book of Jubilees.

The Book of Jubilees is also known as “Lesser Genesis” (Greek Leptogenesis), considered lesser in age and quality, not in size. While the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Beta Israel (a group of Jewish people of Ethiopian descent), consider the Book of Jubilees to be inspired, everyone else recognizes the work as pseudepigraphal. The Book of Jubilees had been primarily preserved in Ge’ez Ethiopic manuscripts of the late medieval era along with quotations found in many early Christian works; many fragments of the Book of Jubilees in Hebrew were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and a Latin translation of a Greek translation preserves part of the text. Most believe the Book of Jubilees was composed during the Maccabean period, ca. 150 BCE. The Book of Jubilees sets forth Genesis and a brief summary of Exodus according to the temporal framework of the jubilee, blending the Genesis narrative with midrashim (traditional stories about Biblical characters) and laws as given by God to Moses in an attempt to explain the origin stories and characters of Israel in greater detail.

The Book of Jubilees can be found here. Moses is said to have received the substance of the Book of Jubilees from God while on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights and commanded to write it down, and an angel would set forth all of history from the creation until the restoration of the Temple at Zion according to the number of jubilees (Jubilees 1:1-28; cf. Exodus 24:15-18); the Book of Jubilees will go on to feature the first fifty jubilees, from creation to Israel in the Wilderness. The jubilee is a festival which was to recur every fifty years and was to proclaim liberty for Israelite slaves of Israelites and a restoration of ancestral property (Leviticus 25:8-55).

The narratives of Genesis 1:1-11:32 are set forth and expanded upon in the Book of Jubilees 2:1-12:15, covering the first forty jubilees. The author of the Book of Jubilees listed out in greater detail that which God created (e.g., types of spiritual beings on the first day, sea monsters on the fifth day; Jubilees 2:2, 11). Later laws regarding the Sabbath in the Law of Moses is brought to bear on the description of God’s rest on the seventh day (Jubilees 2:17-31). Adam and Eve are said to have lived in the Garden of Eden seven years before partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Jubilees 3:15); the author believed God closed the mouths of all the beasts as part of the curse, assuming all the animals had discourse with one another and man in the Garden (Jubilees 3:28). Eve is said to give birth to a daughter Awan a few years after Cain and Abel, and Awan is then said to be the wife of Cain (Jubilees 4:1, 9; cf. Genesis 4:1, 17). The Book of Jubilees often supplied names for the wives of the characters in Genesis 1-11. The author of the Book of Jubilees also attested to Enoch as having received revelations from God, as one who recounted early history, and thus seems to attest to the existence of the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch; Jubilees 4:16-19). It is thus not surprising that the author of the Book of Jubilees explained the coming of the Watchers, angels sent to earth who would marry the daughters of men and corrupt themselves (Jubilees 4:15, 22, 7:21-25; cf. Genesis 6:1-4). The Book of Jubilees attempted to contextualize the death of the notable patriarchs like Adam and Noah in terms of those still living (e.g. Jubilees 4:28-33; cf. Genesis 5:1-6).

In a similar way the narratives regarding Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in Genesis 11:26-50:26 are set forth and expanded in the Book of Jubilees 11:11-46:4, covering the next six jubilees. Abram/Abraham is portrayed as always having been monotheistic and very explicitly disavows the pagan idolatry of his father (Jubilees 11:15-16, 12:1-18). Abraham is certainly the hero of this story; we do not learn of much that would ever make us question his wisdom, and he is portrayed as the archetypal firm believer in God. The Jubilees author would have us believe that Abraham and Jacob had a strong relationship, that Abraham affirmed Jacob as the recipient of promise, and that Abraham gave many instructions in death regarding offerings and sacrifices (e.g. Jubilees 21:1-23:32). The author attempts to portray Jacob as a more upright character from the beginning, and much of the story of his association with Laban is passed over; he is said to have brought Levi and Judah to be blessed by Isaac, retrojecting Levi’s call to the priesthood and Judah’s to authority (Jubilees 30:18, 31:8-32). The Book of Jubilees would have Esau break all promises to Isaac and Jacob and rise in war against his brother, and also would have Jacob kill Esau in that conflict (Jubilees 34:1-10). Joseph’s story is told in a relatively straightforward way, although not much is made of Jacob or Jacob’s final promises to his children.

The rest of the Book of Jubilees provides an overview of Israel in Egypt and their journey into the Wilderness to Mount Sinai, covering four jubilees (Jubilees 46:5-50:13). The Jubilees author spoke of a king of Canaan who proved victorious over the king of Egypt, leading to a closed border and the plot to enslave the Israelites (Jubilees 46:9-16). The rest of the work told the Exodus story and emphasized certain promises and laws.

The Book of Jubilees provides insight into the way the founding stories of Israel were understood in late Second Temple Judaism. The way the Book of Jubilees conveyed many of the narratives of Genesis may suggest it is using a manuscript of the text slightly different from either the Masoretic Text (MT) or the Hebrew text which was used to translate the Greek Septuagint (LXX). The Book of Jubilees affirms the importance of the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) to many Israelites of the age. And yet the Book of Jubilees works best as a foil and a contrast to the book of Genesis as recorded in the Hebrew Bible, illustrating the complexity and power of Genesis. The Genesis author does well at giving detail when necessary and not over-explaining matters; the Book of Jubilees is weighed down with the concerns and emphases from a later period, telling the reader more about Israel in the Second Temple Period than it does about the patriarchs of old. As Christians today we do well to take this example under advisement: what the Book of Jubilees made explicit in its pages Christians often do in their commentary and exposition. May we uphold what God has made known in Scripture and find salvation in Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Works Consulted

The Complete Apocrypha: 2018 Edition with Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees. Covenant Press, 2019.

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Understanding Covenant, VII: Hesed

One cannot come to a good understanding of God’s relationships with mankind without considering covenants. Covenants are agreements maintaining mutual benefits and obligations. God made covenants with the creation in the days of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel at Mount Sinai, and with David in days of old; in Christ God has established a new covenant with all mankind. Covenants maintain distinctive qualities, and yet great continuity exists among all covenants God has made with mankind. But what led God to desire to establish covenants with these people, and not only to establish them, but to remain faithful to them even when the people proved less than faithful? Throughout the Old Testament we hear how God is the Creator of heaven and earth; we also hear, just as frequently, how God has displayed hesed toward His people. Perhaps it is God’s hesed which is the key.

Hesed cannot be translated into English in such a way as to communicate its full range and depth of meaning, as can be seen in the variety of ways it has been translated in various versions: “mercy,” “kindness,” “love,” “lovingkindness,” “steadfast love,” or “loyal love.” hesed seems to capture the disposition of YHWH toward His people, and embodies provisions for love and care along with dependence and faithfulness in commitment: a mixture of “lovingkindness” with “covenant loyalty.” Among translations found in formal equivalence versions, “steadfast love” comes closest; among dynamic equivalence translations, “faithful love” or “loving commitment” is even better. hesed captures YHWH’s love, kindness, and mercy toward His people reflected in His loyalty and faithfulness to the covenant which He made with them. We can understand why it proves so difficult to convey this concept into English in a word or two!

Time would fail us if we spoke of all the ways in which YHWH’s hesed for His people is described in the Old Testament. God displays hesed to generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments (Exodus 20:6, Deuteronomy 7:9, 12). The Psalmists magnify YHWH for the hesed He has displayed toward Israel; in Psalm 136:1-26 all continually respond in their confidence of how YHWH’s hesed endures forever. Even in the midst of their despair about Israel’s present, the prophets maintained hope that YHWH would again show hesed to Israel as He promised to their fathers in Abraham (Micah 7:20).

Hesed was translated into Greek primarily by eleos, “mercy,” and we find plenty of examples of the Apostles praising God for His great mercy displayed toward us in Jesus. Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6 in Matthew 9:13, 1:7, indicating how God desired Israel to show hesed, not sacrifice. Paul spoke of God as having displayed mercy toward all people in Christ, praised God for making known His glory to humans as vessels of mercy, and considered the proclamation and acceptance of the Gospel among the Gentiles as the opportunity for them to praise God for His mercy (Romans 9:23, 11:30-32, 15:9). To Paul, God is the God of mercies (2 Corinthians 1:3, Philippians 1:8); all Christians are saved by God’s mercy (Titus 3:5). When Christians speak of God’s “mercy,” we tend to do so by the standard definition of “not receiving what is deserved.” While this remains abundantly true, we must also consider the dimensions of the Hebrew hesed when considering mercy in the New Testament, for hesed is too important an aspect of God’s relationship with His people for the Apostles to have entirely neglected it.

God therefore displayed, and continues to display, hesed in His covenants with mankind. We know that God is love, and God desires to be relationally one with mankind His creation as He is one within Himself (John 17:20-23, 1 John 4:8); therefore, God established His covenants with mankind because of His desire to share in love, and established the boundaries of covenants in which to fully display that love and commitment. Such is why we must never neglect the covenant loyalty aspect to hesed; yes, hesed is lovingkindness or steadfast love, but it is always within covenant boundaries and displays great faithfulness to that covenant no matter what.

Only by understanding hesed can we understand how God has conducted Himself toward His people throughout time. Our God is our Creator; He displays great love and kindness toward His people in covenant loyalty. God made a covenant with the creation to never flood the whole world again, and He has proven faithful to that covenant. God made a covenant with Abraham, and on account of that covenant displayed love and kindness to Abraham’s descendants for generations, and through Abraham’s Descendant Jesus displays love and kindness to anyone who would come and share in the faith of Abraham. God manifested loyalty to Israel even when Israel served other gods; He denounced such betrayal simultaneously as adultery and prostitution, exemplifying the severity of the covenant violations in which Israel participated (cf. Ezekiel 16:1-63). Israel and Judah would suffer the Day of YHWH in 722 and 586 BCE, respectively, and yet because of His hesed God did not abandon them forever, restoring His people to their land and ultimately fulfilling all of His promises in Jesus and the Kingdom established in His name.

Our God has proven Himself over and over as loving, kind, and loyal to the covenants which He makes with mankind. God, not unreasonably, asks for us to therefore love Him and remain loyal and faithful to our covenant with Him. We are to be imitators of God by loving as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2): Christ has loved us by exemplifying God’s hesed, loving us to the point of death on the cross, faithful and loyal to God’s purposes, and so we are to display hesed toward God and one another (John 13:31-35). As Christians we may find ourselves in times of plenty or times of want, times of prosperity or times of want, times of happiness or times in despair, but we may maintain the firm conviction that our God displays hesed toward us: He loves us and is kind toward us, and is faithful to His covenant. We must live in that confidence, and walk worthily of the calling with which God has called us, renouncing the world and its idolatry, and proving loyal to God and His covenant (cf. Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 4:1, 1 John 5:23).

As with Israel, so with Christians: God is faithful to His covenant and the promises He has made. For now He displays great love and kindness, but we should be careful lest we become complacent, for God’s kindness is designed to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Even though it has been almost two thousand years since Jesus ascended to heaven, we ought to have full confidence He could return at any time, for God is faithful to His promises, even if it takes far more time than we humans might imagine (2 Peter 3:8-12). On that day God’s hesed will be on full display for those who love Him and were loyal to His covenant: eternal life in the resurrection; sadly, on that day, the wrath of God will also be on full display toward those who did not know God or obey the Gospel of the Lord Jesus: eternal condemnation (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). May we serve God in Christ, and praise God our Creator, for He is good, and His hesed for His covenant people endures forever!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Preaching in Acts: Peter on Pentecost

Momentous events had descended upon Jerusalem. Visitors who had come from all over the known world began to hear the mighty works of God told to them in their own language, and by ignorant men from Galilee at that! Some may have felt those speaking were drunk, but many wanted to know what these things meant. Peter from Galilee would explain these things, and the world would never be the same again.

These events took place in 30 or 33 of our era. This was around fifty days after Jesus died and rose again from the dead and ten days after Jesus ascended into the heavens (Acts 1:1-2:4). The occasion was the day of Pentecost: the Feast of Weeks, simultaneously celebrating the harvest and Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and an event for which many Jewish people would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate (Exodus 19:1, 20:1-20, Leviticus 23:15-22, Numbers 28:26). The timing was perfect to proclaim an important message for Israel, as attested by the number and variety of Israelites present in Acts 2:8-11. The Holy Spirit had filled the Apostles so as to be able to proclaim the Gospel in a variety of different languages (Acts 2:4-12); the Apostles now had the attention of all the Israelites who heard these things.

Peter took full advantage of the situation. He summoned the men of Jerusalem and Judea to listen to him, and refuted the charge of drunkenness: it was only the third hour, or 9 A.M. (Acts 2:14-15). He then explained to the Israelites how what they were seeing fulfilled what God had promised them through the prophet Joel: God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, would show wonders in the heavens and on earth, and whoever would call on the name of the Lord would be saved (Acts 2:16-21; cf. Joel 2:28-32).

Yet Peter did not quote Joel’s entire message, and for good reason: Joel’s hope for salvation of Israel had found its fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and Peter then bore witness to what God had accomplished through Him. After appealing to the men of Israel to hear his words, Peter spoke of Jesus and how God had approved of Him based upon all the signs and wonders He accomplished and which those very Israelites had seen. Peter spoke of how Jesus died, not as an accident, but according to God’s determined counsel and foreknowledge and carried out at the hands of lawless men. Jesus had died, but it proved impossible for death to hold on to Him: God had raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:22-24). Peter then appealed to the witness of David in Psalm 16:8-11: David spoke of one whose soul would not be left in Sheol, or see corruption, and yet David’s tomb was in Jerusalem to that day. David, therefore, spoke of his Descendant, Jesus the Christ, who would rise from the dead (Acts 2:25-31)!

Peter then added apostolic witness to David’s prophecy, testifying of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead as a witness, along with his fellow Apostles, and declared that Jesus poured out the Spirit upon the Apostles since He had been exalted at the right hand of God and had received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father (Acts 2:32-33). Peter would again appeal to David’s testimony: David had written Psalm 110:1, yet had not himself ascended into the heavens; therefore, he was speaking prophetically of Jesus’ ascension and exaltation to the right hand of power (Acts 2:34-35). Peter then reached the climax of his message to Israel: God had made him both Lord and Christ, the ruler and king, this Jesus, whom they had crucified (Acts 2:36).

The Israelites present were profoundly moved and shaken by what they had heard. They had thought Jesus was a pretender; He was not the Messiah for whom they hoped. Yet now they saw God’s powerful hand at work in these men who were testifying how God had made Jesus their ruler. They came to the terrible and awful realization: they had killed the King God had sent them! They wanted to know what they should do (Acts 2:37); Peter told them to repent, be immersed in water in Jesus’ name for the forgiveness of their sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Peter would go on to exhort them further, summarized by Luke as “save yourselves from this crooked generation” (Acts 2:40). Three thousand heard and received this word from Peter and were baptized. Jesus’ Kingdom had been inaugurated; the church had begun.

In the first sermon on Pentecost we see the Gospel in all its fullness: the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and lordship of Jesus. Peter spoke to Israelites who had traveled for Pentecost: he knew they fervently believed in the God of Israel and hoped in the promise of the Messiah to come. They even had heard of the things Jesus had accomplished; many were eyewitnesses of what God had accomplished through Him. Peter did not rely on sly rhetorical techniques, smoke and mirrors, or any kind of subterfuge: he answered the question of all of the Israelites who had seen what God had accomplished through them: the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Apostles based on the promise given to Joel, and it was only possible because Jesus lived, died, was raised, and ascended to the Father, and was given all authority. Peter put the emphasis on witness: he appealed to the witness of David in the Psalms, and paired it with the witness of the Apostles regarding Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. Peter did not even appeal to the vanity of the Israelites in any way: his focus was thoroughly on Jesus as the Lord and Christ of Israel. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of the Israelites, but Peter did not mention it. It was enough to declare that God had made Jesus Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; if the Israelites accepted this claim, they would know how they would need to submit to His rule and follow Him.

The day of Pentecost proved momentous in the history of the world: a small movement featuring one man who had worked with twelve disciples now numbered in the thousands. From this beginning the message of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, lordship, and imminent return would spread further in Israel and would eventually sound forth throughout the known world. While people would have to explain certain aspects of the message in greater detail, or provide greater emphasis on some parts over others, the basic paradigm would continue: God accomplished all He had promised to Israel through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, lordship, and imminent return, and the prophets and Apostles bore witness to these things, and now you ought to serve Jesus because He is Lord and Christ, and the promise of the Holy Spirit in His name is given to all in every generation who hear and receive the calling of God in Christ (cf. Acts 2:39). Peter’s message remains powerful and effective almost two thousand years after he first spoke it, for its substance remains true. May we all call on Jesus as Lord and Christ, submit to His purposes in obedient faith, and serve Him in His Kingdom to be saved!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Denominationalism

For many years now Christianity has been associated with denominationalism in the eyes of many people in the world. Many continue to participate in denominational organizations; some decry the existence and maintenance of such organizations. What is denominationalism, and how did it develop? Should Christianity be denominated? What should be our posture toward denominationalism?

A denomination is a kind of classification; it is generally used these days to describe different types of dollar bills or different kinds of churches. As it relates to churches, a “denomination” is a type of a sect; in denominationalism, a sense of legitimacy is conferred upon each denomination in a sense that does not necessarily exist with a sect.

Since the days of the Apostles many arose and taught doctrines contrary to the ways of the Gospel and led people astray; for the first 1,500 years of Christianity, any such group which abandoned the proclamation of the Gospel was known as a sect, and its adherents condemned as heretics (from the Greek hairesis, “divisions” or “sects”). To this day, many within denominations will condemn other groups who have pursued similar ideas to those earlier “heretics” as “cults,” and do not consider them within the “accepted bounds” of the definition of what makes a “Christian”: Latter-Day Saints, Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. In general, over time, most such sects either entirely dissipated or faded into obscurity. After the Reformation, however, multiple different religious organizations professing Christianity arose, and this time they persevered: Roman Catholicism had already existed, and to it were added Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and Mennonite organizations by 1600. All of these groups would experience their own reform movements, and would give birth to entirely new organizations by 1800: Pietists from Lutherans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Reformed groups from Calvinism, Methodists, Religious Society of Friends, and Baptists from the Anglicans, and the Amish from the Mennonites. Most of these groups would undergo even more divisions afterward.

During this time the call sounded forth to get away from this kind of confusion and to find unity as Christians by following what God had established in Christ according to the New Testament, and we can certainly understand why. All of these different groups claimed to represent faithful teaching in Christ, and yet they disagreed with one another, and all maintained loyalty to their particular tradition and champions from the past. Some heeded the call to restore New Testament Christianity; the majority stayed within these various denominational organizations.

Denominationalism, therefore, developed under a very specific set of circumstances: all of these various organizations claimed to represent the Church of Christ, and most people attempted to make sense of how this was possible by considering them all denominations of the whole: just like a $10 dollar bill and a $20 dollar bill are denominations of currency, both having equal legitimacy even though distinct in value, so most in the Western world considered the various churches of “Christendom” as having equal legitimacy even though they maintained distinctive teachings. The full flower of this attitude has come forth in our own time with the rise of sectarian ecumenism: Christian denominations are now seen by most as simply different flavors of Christianity, considering the United Methodist Church and the Southern Baptist Church to be akin to the church in Corinth or the church in Ephesus.

Denominationalism and all forms of sectarianism are foreign to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament. Paul chastised the Corinthians for developing parties among them favoring various preachers: “I am of Apollos,” “I am of Cephas,” I am of Paul,” and exhorted them to have the same mind and judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21). In the same letter Paul made it known that he taught the same teachings in every church (1 Corinthians 4:17): while churches in the world of the New Testament featured different groups of people in different areas from different cultures and backgrounds, they all were to share in the same faith in Christ as revealed once for all (cf. Jude 1:3). Different teachings were advanced in the days of the Apostles, and the Apostles stood to resist them firmly, warning that those who adhered to them would fall from grace, or be considered as antichrist (cf. Galatians 1:6-5:13, 1 Timothy 4:1-4, 6:1-10, 2 Peter 2:1-22, 1 John 2:18-27, 4:1-4, 5:1-4, 2 John 1:6-10, Jude 1:3-21). Instead, Paul affirmed the existence of one body of Christ, and one faith, just as there is one Lord and one God (Ephesians 4:4-6). God has made them into one body through the work Jesus accomplished on the cross, making one man out of Jewish and Gentile people, killing the hostility among them (Ephesians 2:11-22). Christians must strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3); contentions, divisions, and sects work against this unity, and are considered works of the flesh, and those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

Denominationalism and sectarianism, therefore, are not to be named among those who would serve Jesus faithfully according to what He made known through His life and through His Apostles. God is one in relational unity, and desires relational unity with and among His people (John 17:20-23); denominational sectarianism is thus of the world, and not of Christ. Christians do well to be of one mind and one judgment in the truth, as Jesus is the truth (John 14:6, 17:20-23, 1 Corinthians 1:10): the truth is not the opposite of what “denominations” teach. Nothing is true or false because a denomination of Christianity teaches it or rejects it; if our goal is to simply argue against those in denominations, we become a sectarian group ourselves, and prove no better than that which we resist. Thus, even those who would stand against denominationalism must take care lest they become as sectarian and equally condemned!

It would seem that denominationalism is quickly losing legitimacy in the twenty-first century. Many are recognizing that truth is found in God in Christ, and do better to serve Him outside of denominational organizations which developed at certain times in opposition to other views and ideas. While it is good to see so many leaving such organizations, it is important for those within them to make sure they are also leaving behind any teachings or practices which prove inconsistent with what God has made known in Christ in Scripture, setting aside the relics of past arguments and disputations. Sectarianism and denominationalism can never be the way forward in Christ; instead, we must find unity in God in Christ, and not through adherence to one divided group among many in the world. May we jointly participate with one another in faith according to what God has made known in Jesus, and find eternal life in Him through the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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