Ethan R. Longhenry's Blog, page 35

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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The Tower of Babel

And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).

It may seem like just a little story tucked in-between the stories of Noah and Abraham; one might easily pass over it as they read in Genesis. And yet the story of the Tower of Babel proves instructive in many ways.

The Genesis author sets forth the story of the tower of Babel in order to explain how humanity has reached its present condition. After the Flood all humanity spoke the same language (Genesis 11:1); they remained together and came upon a plain in the land of Shinar (Genesis 11:2). They did not want to be scattered, and so they planned to build a tower whose top would reach high into the heavens (Genesis 11:3-4). God saw what they were doing, and recognized the very strong potential of what humans could do when they were all of the same mind and purpose (Genesis 11:5-6). God determined to confound them by confusing their speech; if they could not understand each other, they would prove unable to work with one another (Genesis 11:7). Thus it happened, and from then on humans scattered around the world, as God had intended, and we all speak different languages to this day (Genesis 11:8). The place was called “Babel” (Greek Babylon), the Hebrew word for “confusion,” because there God confused the languages of mankind (Genesis 11:9).

From the story of the Tower of Babel we thus learn why people speak different languages and how Babylon both came to be and received its name. We also learn about just how effectively humans can work together if they can effectively communicate with one another; God says that there is nothing we cannot do (Genesis 11:5-6)! So why would God want to hinder us from doing so? Isn’t cooperation among humans a good thing? Doesn’t God want us to become as one?

The problem with the tower of Babel is found in humanity’s motivations for its construction. They built the tower to make a name for themselves and to avoid being scattered over the face of the earth (Genesis 11:4). As humans, we like to think it is a good thing when we work together. Unfortunately, as is evident throughout time, humans too often work together for their own aggrandizement. They work together to use resources, to attack others and deprive them of resources, and to build monuments to their own greatness. God felt compelled to separate mankind from each other lest the entire creation be overrun with human “development” and “progress”!

Thus, when fallen man is left to his own devices, he builds some sort of monument to his own greatness and to keep him from feeling so alone and isolated in the world. Such things do not lead him back to the God who created him; they inflate his pride and ambitions. Therefore, while man has stopped attempting to build the tower of Babel, man has never stopped attempting to build all sorts of other Babels, monuments to their own greatness, attempting to stand and work against God’s purposes for His creation.

What would have happened if the Bible ended at Genesis 11:9? At that point man was lost in his sins with no hope for redemption, having been separated from his God since the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-24). After Babel man was separated from one another (Genesis 11:7-9). Mankind was separated from its God, from one another, without a nation, without a hope (cf. Ephesians 2:11-12). After Babel God chose one man, Abraham, and through him would provide hope for redemption in Israel (cf. Genesis 12:1ff). The hope of Israel was found in Jesus of Nazareth who provided reconciliation between God and man and through whom the curse of Babel is undone; in the Spirit His Apostles proclaimed the mighty works of God in many languages (Acts 2:7-11, Romans 5:6-11). God scattered mankind in their sinfulness; in Christ God makes one body out of all who would serve Him, and they are to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 2:11-22, 4:3). After Babel man despaired; through Christ, the promised Seed of Abraham, all mankind has hope in God. May we serve God in Christ and be saved!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Understanding Covenant, VI: Continuity in Covenant

The God of heaven has chosen to interact with mankind within the framework of covenants, agreements with mutual benefits and responsibilities. In days of old God established covenants with the creation in the days of Noah, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with Israel, and with David; in these days God has established a covenant with all mankind through His Son, Jesus of Nazareth.

Different covenants manifest distinctive characteristics, and thus, as Christians, we do well to recognize and honor covenant distinctions, especially between the new covenant in Christ and the old under the Law of Moses. Sadly many have departed from the faith delivered once for all in Christ because they incorporated aspects of the Law of Moses which were never bound upon Christians; the dangers of “Judaizing” have remained among the people of God ever since.

While we must respect the distinctiveness of the covenants God has established with people, we must also be on guard lest we overstate the level of discontinuity among the covenants; God is one, God does not change, and therefore the covenants God has established with mankind also maintain many forms of continuity throughout (Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Malachi 3:6, Ephesians 4:4-6, Hebrews 13:8). Within a century of the death of the Apostles many were led astray by Marcion and those like him: Gentiles who cast aspersions on the revelation of God to Israel and who sought to “de-Judaize” Christianity, suppressed the Old Testament, and carved up the New Testament to put a more palatable God on display. The dangers of Marcionism and anti-Semitism have remained among the people of God ever since.

The evidence of continuity in covenant is on display throughout the New Testament. At no point did Jesus or the Apostles abandon the God of Israel; they did not declare that God’s covenant to Israel was a mistake or a dead end. Instead, Jesus and the Apostles understood and proclaimed Jesus as the embodiment of God’s work in Israel brought to its fulfillment so God’s promises to Abraham would finally be satisfied.

In His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promise of imminent return, Jesus demonstrated Himself to be the Servant whom God had promised to Israel (cf. Isaiah 42:1-53:12, Acts 3:13). Students of Isaiah, ancient and modern, have sought to understand who the servant represented, for at times it seemed to be Israel as a nation, and at other times an individual Israelite, perhaps the prophet himself (cf. Acts 8:34). Jesus proved to be the individual Israelite who represented the whole: as Israel was born in humble circumstances, sojourned in Egypt, wandered in the wilderness, entered the land, suffered exile, and was somewhat restored in a return, so Jesus was born in humble circumstances, sojourned in Egypt, was tempted in the wilderness, ministered in the land, suffered death, and was restored in His resurrection (cf. Matthew 2:14-15, 4:1-25, 1 Corinthians 15:1-7). Jesus continually framed all He did as the fulfillment of what God had promised Israel through the prophets (cf. Luke 4:16-21); such was no mere proof-texting, but a powerful display of God fulfilling His purposes for Israel in Jesus. Israel was liberated from bondage in Egypt to become the people of God, the means by which God would bestow blessings to the world; yet Israel did not hearken to God, and instead became like the nations of the world (cf. Romans 2:1-29). Jesus came in the flesh and did what Israel could not: He lived in the world but was not of the world, bore sin on the cross so as to defeat its power, and provided for the people of God a new Passover, liberation from the forces of sin and death (Romans 8:1-4, 1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus, as the Word of God made flesh, embodied the Torah and the Temple, and through His life, death, and resurrection Jesus fulfilled the Torah, and brought heaven and earth together in His glorified, transformed resurrection body which ascended into the heavens (cf. John 1:1-18, 2:13-22, Hebrews 4:15).

In all of this God never abandoned Israel according to the flesh: God instead had proven faithful to His promises to Israel, and provided liberation from the forces of sin and death and full restoration from the exile of alienation on account of sin in Jesus. Those in Israel who had trusted in Jesus throughout had no need to “convert”; Paul himself would speak of his moment of transformation less as conversion and more as the recognition that God had fulfilled His promises (Acts 26:4-8). The welcoming of Gentiles among the people of God was always described in terms of incorporating Gentiles into the faith as Gentiles, as made fellow-citizens and fellow-heirs of the promise of God in Christ: all such language presumed the continued standing of Israelites who put their trust in Jesus among the people of God (cf. Romans 9:1-11:36, Ephesians 2:11-22). Paul would stress in Romans 9:1-11:36 that God’s promises were not revoked; it was not as if Israelites ceased being children of Abraham according to the flesh. Furthermore, the importance of being a child of Abraham was never denigrated: Paul argued that in Christ Gentiles could also become (spiritual) children of Abraham through faith (Romans 4:1-23, Galatians 3:1-27). In Christ God brought the Gentiles into the covenant people; they could now share in the blessing of Abraham.

For that matter, the people and name of Israel were not cast off. Paul repeatedly insisted that Christians should learn from what God had done among Israel, and welcomed Gentile Christians to look at Israel according to the flesh as their fathers in the faith (Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:1-12). The Scriptures, not just including, but especially the Old Testament, were profitable (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Peter and Paul would speak of Christians, even Gentile Christians, as the Israel of God, and associated the covenant terminology of Israel with Christians (Galatians 6:16, 1 Peter 1:1-2, 2:3-9).

It is right, good, and necessary to draw appropriate distinctions in the covenants between God and mankind, but never to the point of creating discontinuity where God maintained continuity. God did not seek to abolish Israel or His promises to Israel: He fulfilled those promises in Jesus, and welcomed both Israelites and Gentiles to jointly participate in the Kingdom of Christ (Ephesians 2:1-22). Much of what was expected under the Law would remain normative for Christians in the new covenant (e.g. Romans 13:8-13). Christians who would arrogantly consider themselves as superior to Israel would be wiser to own Israel according to the flesh as part of their heritage as the people of God and be willing to see how they could stray according to similar patterns of disobedience (cf. Romans 11:1-36, 1 Corinthians 10:1-12). If we refuse to recognize Jesus of Nazareth as a first century Israelite of the Second Temple Period, sent to save the lost sheep of Israel, we can never understand Him properly at all. May we seek to uphold the continuity among the covenants of the people of God while respecting the points of distinction, navigating between the Scylla of the “Judaizers” and the Charybdis of Marcionism, and glorify God for fulfilling all of His promises in Jesus and making us all one man through His Spirit in Him!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Disadvantaged

For many people today the Law of Moses seems primitive, barbaric, or arcane. Far too often focus is heightened on those aspects of the Law which most today find off-putting. Despite all of this, most of the Law of Moses features commands and expectations which most agree would lead to a more healthy society if they were followed.

One concern noted in the Law might seem to be manifestly evident and obvious to us:

Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am YHWH (Leviticus 19:14).

The idea of cursing the deaf or putting something in the way of a blind person is quite cruel to most of us. Who could do such a thing? Such actions are terrible ways of taking advantage of other people’s difficulties. We are saddened to know that such a law is established because it is something people did or could easily be imagined as doing. Perhaps we ourselves have seen a few revelers or “punk kids” who would curse the deaf or put hindrances before the blind. Yet surely this is not a major problem, right? Or perhaps is it a symptom of a greater concern?

Is God only concerned with those who are physically deaf or blind? One notable aspect of the Law of Moses, distinctive even in its own time, is the concern God manifested within it toward those who found themselves at a disadvantage: the poor, the orphan, the widow, those with physical disabilities, the sojourner, etc. A year of Jubilee was to be proclaimed every half century to release all Israelites from their debts and allow the poor to reclaim their heritage (Leviticus 25:8-55). Widows and orphans were not to be afflicted (Exodus 22:22). Israelites should not oppress or wrong a sojourner in their land, since they knew what it meant to be a sojourner while in Egypt (Exodus 22:21, 23:12).

Not long after God made provision for the honor of the blind and deaf, He declared that Israelites should “love [their] neighbor[s] as [themselves]” (Leviticus 19:18), a concept also established in the new covenant (Romans 13:8-10). Jesus rightly established how the “Law and the Prophets” are summed up in this command along with the command to love YHWH their God with all their heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:34-40; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5).

People understand why they should love God. God is powerful; God has made all things; God has given us many gifts; God is worthy of honor and praise. But do people understand how they must love their neighbor as themselves if they truly wish to say they love God? God has no desire for anyone to take advantage of the deficiencies of their fellow men. And yet how many are so shallow and base as to do such things? Unfortunately, there are many in society who take advantage of other people, physically and economically, because they are weak, poor, disabled, sojourners, naive, or otherwise simple.

We can think of many culprits. Payday loan centers stay in business because of such practices. Banks have little compunction in loaning money to people who they know are unable to repay so they can squeeze out a lot of profit from interest and other fees. Senior citizens and those who are disabled are especially prone to con men and con corporations. As opposed to trying to instill proper spending habits in people (especially the young), plenty of people, agencies, and corporations are more keen to profit on their ignorance or lack of self-control. People come here in dire and terrible circumstances, and many exploit them and profit on them at every turn. The government looks away, having written the laws to benefit those who would exploit and providing little protection for those who have been exploited. Any moment at which it seems the tables would be turned, and those who have the advantage might become disadvantaged, the oppressors are overwhelmed with anxiety and fear: what if they become the disadvantaged? They certainly do not want to be treated the way they have treated others!

Far too often, when people think about “loving their neighbor,” they think of people like themselves. They think they are easily loved, and they love those who are like them. As Jesus makes plain, anyone can love those who love them or who are like them (Matthew 5:46-47). God calls people to something greater: His love, which is given for all, especially those not like Him (Matthew 5:38-48, 1 John 4:7-21)!

YHWH is God of gods and Lord of lords, and He executes justice for the widow and orphan, and loves the sojourner, providing her food and clothing (Deuteronomy 10:17-18). Why were the Israelites to avoid causing hindrances to the blind and deaf? Their God is YHWH, and they should fear Him. Such behavior is not at all what God is about. God is the champion of the disadvantaged: He shows no partiality and does not regard anyone to be any better than anyone else, and thus sees through human pretense of treating others poorly because they are perceived, by whatever metric, to be unworthy, “less than,” and inferior (Deuteronomy 10:17; cf. Romans 2:11). Government agents can be bribed; God cannot be. God sees through the pretenses humans make to justify their exploitation and oppression of others. He will not be mocked.

The Law of Moses may not be in force today, but most of its principles remain part of what God expects from those who would serve Jesus as Lord. Jesus expects Christians to be merciful, and to treat others the way in which we would like to be treated (Luke 6:31-36). Christians are to remember the poor and visit the orphan and widow (Galatians 2:10, 6:10, James 1:27).

The God of Israel, the God of gods and Lord of lords, is the God and Father of us all; His character is unchanged, and is manifest in Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). We ought to love God, but we cannot say we love God if we do not love people whom God made in His image and among whom we live (1 John 4:7-21). In the world people will always attempt to gain an advantage over those in a less fortunate position, leveraging their power and strength to benefit themselves, and fomenting anxiety, fear, and hate, lest the tables are turned and those who have the advantage become disadvantaged. In Christ, however, it cannot be so (Matthew 20:25-28). Jesus freely gave up all advantage and suffered as disadvantaged; those who would follow after Him must do the same, and associate with the lowly, caring for the disadvantaged, and willing to suffer the shame in doing so (Romans 12:16, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Peter 2:18-25). Let us not put a hindrance in anyone’s way; let us not be guilty of taking advantage of our fellow man in his weakness; let us care for him or her in their situation, loving them as ourselves, and obtain a share in life from the God who is love and has loved us so!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Justice in the Morning

The Day of YHWH became all the more imminent during the days of Josiah king of Judah: the appointed time of judgment for Judah and the surrounding nations drew near. YHWH spoke through Zephaniah to warn Judah against its tendency toward idolatry, oppression, and casual indifference toward its God (Zephaniah 1:1-2:2); he also pronounced judgment on all the surrounding nations with condemnation of Assyria as his crescendo (Zephaniah 2:3-15). The Day of YHWH’s sacrifice and anger drew near; more warnings proved necessary. Nevertheless, after the judgment, justice would arise in the morning, and restoration and hope would return to the people of God (Zephaniah 3:1-20).

Zephaniah lamented over and denounced Jerusalem as a rebellious, polluted, oppressive city (Zephaniah 3:1; cf. Zephaniah 3:1-8). First, and most fundamentally, the inhabitants of Jerusalem did not obey the voice of YHWH, did not accept His correction, and did not trust in or draw near to Him (Zephaniah 3:2). They therefore functioned like every other small kingdom of the ancient Near Eastern world. Their rulers devoured the living of their people like a lion or a wolf; their prophets participated in treachery, profaned what is holy, and did violence to God’s instruction (Zephaniah 3:3-4). In contrast, YHWH who dwelt in Jerusalem’s midst is righteous and does not commit iniquity; He brings His justice to light every morning and does not fail, while the unjust revel in shameful deeds (Zephaniah 3:5). YHWH warned Jerusalem: He cuts off nations and destroys cities, leaving them with no inhabitants; all He had asked Israel was to revere Him and receive correction, yet they would not, and corrupted themselves (Zephaniah 3:6-7). The day would now soon come, the day on which YHWH would devour the earth with the fire of His jealousy, pouring out His wrath upon the nations and kingdoms of the world (Zephaniah 3:8).

The Day of YHWH would be terrible and catastrophic, but it would not be the end of the covenant or of God’s covenant loyalty. YHWH promised a restoration for the remnant of the humble and lowly in Israel (Zephaniah 3:9-13): the speech of the people would be made pure so as to call on YHWH and serve Him together, and all His people would return with offerings, even those beyond the rivers of Cush (modern day Sudan; Zephaniah 3:9-10). The people would no longer be put to shame by their rebellion, for God will have removed all who were proud and arrogant, and the haughty would no longer dwell on His mountain (Zephaniah 3:11). Those who remained would be humble and lowly, seeking refuge in YHWH, no longer doing injustice or speaking deceit, and would rest securely (Zephaniah 3:12-13).

Zephaniah continued to speak of God’s restoration of Israel, projecting into the future a time in which Israel and Judah would again rejoice in YHWH (Zephaniah 3:14; cf. Zephaniah 3:15-20). On that day YHWH would demonstrate His forgiveness of Israel, clearing away judgment by taking away their enemies and dwelling in their midst, and they would have no reason to be afraid (Zephaniah 3:15). On that day Israel would be strengthened to apply themselves to labor, for YHWH their God would dwell in their midst, and YHWH is a mighty God who would rejoice over His people in song, and give serenity to them in His love (Zephaniah 3:16-17). YHWH would gather the faithful remnant, those who yearned for the spiritual assemblies of the people of God, and who acutely felt the reproach of the burden Israel bore (Zephaniah 3:18). YHWH would handle those who afflicted Israel, save the lame, gather those driven away, and would make them a praise and a name, overcoming the shame they experienced throughout the earth: they would be gathered in and made a name and praise among the nations of the earth when He would bring them back from captivity (Zephaniah 3:19-20).

In this way YHWH spoke to Judah through Zephaniah. Zephaniah represented the substance of the prophetic message YHWH sent to Israel and Judah in summary: the Day of YHWH was coming against Israel and/or Judah, since they had abandoned their God and had become as the rest of the ancient Near Eastern nation-states, serving all sorts of gods, oppressing the poor and marginalized, and participating in immorality and decadence; the Day of YHWH was coming against the nations, for they had slandered and abused the people of God; after the judgment YHWH would heal His people by restoring them to their place and rejoicing in them again (Zephaniah 1:1-3:20).

The end of the message is as important as its beginning, but its purpose in its context must always be honored. YHWH was righteously indignant against Judah and the nations, and His Day of sacrifice and anger would be satisfied; but that would not be Israel’s end. YHWH would still prove loyal to His covenant and would manifest steadfast love to Israel. There would be healing and restoration. Israel would have reason to hope in YHWH, but not yet: judgment would have to come first, for the people would not return to YHWH. Israel would have to learn their lesson the hard way. It would require the complete devastation of the foundation of everything in which they believed and accepted for them to recognize the enormity of their separation from their God and what life was like when YHWH removed His presence for them and gave them over to the fate of all the nations of the world. Then, and only then, would some humble themselves and accept YHWH’s chastening, and YHWH would rejoice in them and restore them to their place.

YHWH always has a message of hope and joy for those who are downtrodden, the meek and humble of the earth, and those who have undergone His chastening and trials. The situation of the people of God is never hopeless, no matter how dire. But when the people of God live in decadence, as alienated from their God, taking comfort in such hope as if it will not involve the suffering and tribulation of the Day of YHWH is folly. Those who live according to the world but profess the God of Israel have no share in this hope of restoration and comfort; it comes only for those who look to YHWH and trust in Him!

All Zephaniah prophesied would come to pass. The Assyrians would fall to the Chaldeans; the Chaldeans would overrun Judah and Philistia; over time all the nations of the Levant would come under judgment. YHWH would again restore His people, in part in a return from the exile, but in its fullness through the work of the embodiment of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, and in the Kingdom established in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, the fulfillment of all the hopes of restoration and reign of God nurtured and nourished by the prophets. This hope would extend not only to those in Israel according to the flesh: in Jesus God would cleanse the nations, and all from any nation who would submit to God in faith could receive adoption as sons, participate as fellow citizens among the holy ones, inherit the promise of faith in Abraham, and be reckoned among the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16, Ephesians 2:11-22). God’s justice comes in the morning: Israel suffered judgment and the remnant of the people of God find restoration in YHWH. May we share in the restoration of the remnant of God’s people, have YHWH’s justice shine on us, and obtain the resurrection of life in Jesus the Lord and Christ of God!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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From Marduk to the Avengers: The Myth of Redemptive Violence

Alas! The universe is in grave danger. A malevolent galactic force is on the move, and all life is endangered. Forces for good are in distress. At the time of decision, a hero arises and vanquishes the malevolent force. Celebration ensues.

Does this description sound like the most recent blockbuster movie in the theaters? It might sound like one of a host of stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the next chapter of the Star Wars franchise. And yet it equally describes Enuma elish, the Babylonian creation narrative likely composed almost four thousand years ago!

Even though we live in an “enlightened” age, we remain entranced and fascinated with fantastic stories and narratives. People obsess over the details of the epic legends crafted by authors and screenwriters and invest a lot of mental and emotional energy in those narratives. Almost all of these narratives, from Star Wars to the Avengers, and Harry Potter to Game of Thrones, rely on archetypal and foundational patterns of mythology to develop their plots and their characters.

Few such archetypes and foundational myths prove as pervasive as that of redemptive violence. Think of almost any story, ancient, medieval, or modern which involves a contest between competing forces of “good” and “evil,” and in some way that story will most likely validate the importance, power, and need for the forces of “good” to overcome the forces of “evil” through violence. In all of these stories we tend to find ourselves “rooting” for the “good guys.” Whenever the “bad guys” prove successful with the exercise of power and violence, we cringe and despair. If the story ended with the “bad guys” vanquishing the “good guys,” we are convinced the story cannot really be over. Something has to change so that the “good guys” come out on top in the end, and vanquish the “bad guys.” Only then is “order” restored to the story.

Such is the power of the myth of redemptive violence: almost every human society and culture is founded upon it. In order to maintain order, the forces of “good” must prevail over the forces of “evil,” and the means by which they do so is violence. This violence, considered evil if the “bad guys” use it, is justified because it redeems: it allows for that which is good and right to overcome that which would threaten what is good and right.

The myth of redemptive violence “works” because everyone is convinced it is the way the world works. It is just how things go: in order to meet the danger of violence against you, you must use violence. The myth of redemptive violence works to justify violence and suffering in the name of overcoming evil. It is written into the foundational myths and stories of people all over the world.

The myth of redemptive violence even has currency in the Bible. YHWH is extolled as a “man of war” who has valiantly triumphed over His foes in Moses’ song in Exodus 15:1-18; many of the military exploits of Israel under Joshua, the Judges, and the Kings are commended as divinely approved and their success reckoned as a display of divine favor.

It is only in Jesus of Nazareth that the myth of redemptive violence is exposed for what it is. The Romans had come to pacify the Mediterranean world with strong armies, bringing “peace through security”; Israelites were ready to rise up in armed revolt against this Roman pagan oppression, and were confident YHWH would give them success as He had given their ancestors success over the Seleucids. Jesus of Nazareth enters Israel at this place and time and proclaimed the good news of liberation from the forces of sin and death in the reign of God He would inaugurate through His death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus made it plain that the Romans were not the real enemy: Satan and the powers and principalities over this present darkness were the real enemy, for they were the ones empowering the Romans and all such forces through the threat of violence and death (Matthew 4:1-11, Ephesians 6:10-18, Colossians 2:15, Revelation 13:1-18). These forces conspired to have Jesus killed; Jesus did not resist violently, but submitted to death on the cross, absorbing the hostility, evil, suffering, and shame without responding in kind, and in so doing overcame the power of evil and death through the resurrection on the third day (Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Peter 2:18-25). His followers would then proclaim this good news to the whole world, understanding that nothing could ever be the same. They did not take up arms to resist the forces which oppressed them; instead, they suffered gladly, knowing it honored the name of Jesus and meant they were resisted by the same forces which resisted Jesus (e.g. Acts 5:40-42). Throughout the rest of the New Testament violence was not the answer: it was the problem, and the victory to be won over the powers and principalities came through confidence in God in Christ and suffering for the sake of His Name, even unto death (e.g. Revelation 12:11).

Nothing would ever be the same. Those who followed Jesus continued to proclaim this Gospel for centuries; for three hundred years they did not take up arms, they did not riot or revolt, but often suffered ridicule, violence, and even death. They did not fail; in fact, they succeeded wildly beyond any rational expectation, and thoroughly transformed the Roman Empire.

Ever since, far too many Christians, enamored with worldly power, have again been seduced by the myth of redemptive violence. Many who professed Jesus not only justified, but also participated in, the wars and conflicts of nation-states. To this day many who would profess the name of Jesus continue to buy into the myth of redemptive violence as the way the world works: driven by the fear of harm and deprivation of themselves or their loved ones, they just “know” that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

The witness of the Scriptures remains constant. While the myth of redemptive violence is animated by the confidence that the “good guys” should prevail over the “bad guys”, the Scriptures testify that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God: none is truly “good” (Romans 3:1-23). Where the myth of redemptive violence sees no other alternative other than to meet force with force, the Scriptures testify that Jesus met force with love, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and proved willing to suffer and die rather than to meet force with force, and in this way gained the victory over the forces of sin and death (1 Peter 2:18-25). The myth of redemptive violence exists to justify the use of force against others to protect property and life; the Scriptures testify that all lives matter, it is better to suffer harm than to inflict harm, and the way of Jesus is contrary to the ways of violence (Matthew 5:38-48, Romans 12:14-21). Yes, the Scriptures bear witness that God continues to give authority to rulers and earthly authorities, and they are authorized to execute justice, which might well require violence (Romans 13:1-7); violence does remain the way of the world. Yet, in Christ, we see that violence is part of the corruption of the world, the ultimate tool of the powers and principalities of darkness which would enslave us, and thus must be overcome if we would find life indeed in the resurrection (Colossians 1:15-23).

We may enjoy those stories of the good guys defeating the bad guys, but we must remember they are stories, and they exist to perpetuate the myth of redemptive violence. Violence only begets more violence; then only Satan and his forces win. Jesus has died and is risen in order to overcome the powers and principalities which enslave us and has exposed the myth of redemptive violence for what it is. Only when we meet force with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will we be able to overcome evil; may we follow the path of Jesus, not the paths of the world, and in Jesus find eternal life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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The Enlightenment Paradigm

Every society and culture, by necessity, maintains a set of ideas about the way the world and humans operate. These operating assumptions are often spoken of as “worldviews,” and they tend to shape and form how people look at themselves and their relationship to the world around them. Worldviews do not remain static; they often can shift and adapt to new discoveries or the development of new ideas.

The modern Western world remains saturated by the assumptions and perspectives of modernist rationalism as developed during the Enlightenment (ca. 1650-1800). It would be impossible to fully condense all of the various aspects of the Enlightenment into one theme; nevertheless, the entire project was animated by high confidence in the ability of humans to use reason to come to a better understanding of reality through dedication to the advancement of knowledge in research and study. Such is the pretense of calling the movement the “Enlightenment”: a belief that knowledge and reason “illuminated” what had been shrouded by ignorance and superstition. In this way we have inherited the Enlightenment paradigm: the deeply held assumption that the main problem with humanity is ignorance, which often leads to superstition. The solution, according to the Enlightenment paradigm, is to abolish ignorance and superstition with knowledge. If people have the right knowledge, so this theory goes, they will then adapt and modify their behaviors and do the right thing.

We can see this paradigm at work in many aspects of life. Why do our political opponents disagree with us? We often believe it is because they have been deceived and remain in ignorance, for if they truly understood the situation like we do, they would agree with us. How do we expect people to better themselves? They are able to better their station through education. How do we handle potential dangers, like the use of recreational drugs? We launch programs to educate young people about the dangers of recreational drugs so they can learn to avoid them. One of the flashpoints of the modern “culture war” involves to what extent, and how, young people are to be educated regarding sexual behaviors.

The Enlightenment paradigm has also affected the thinking and assumptions of many of the people of God. Christians do well to insist on “book, chapter, and verse” for what we preach, teach, and practice, but it has become very easy for Christians to frame issues and challenges in terms of a lack of information or instruction. What happens if many Christians fall prey to a certain sin or temptation? It is assumed that there was insufficient teaching against it. Why do many churches not have elders? Many believe that insufficient instruction on the nature and importance of elders is the primary fault. What is our default reaction whenever we see a Christian falling deeply into some sin or falling away from the Lord? “They ought to know better.” Even our general approach seems influenced by the Enlightenment paradigm: we see our mission primarily as providing instruction. We thus maintain the implicit assumption that if people are given the right information, their ignorance will be dispelled, and they will naturally start thinking, feeling, and doing the right things.

Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the Enlightenment paradigm is its success. The way we live today is profoundly shaped by the scientific and technological advancements which have proceeded from the Enlightenment. In many respects ignorance and superstition were causing great difficulties and hindrances to human flourishing; wherever education has been emphasized, a higher quality of life has followed. In many respects there is no return from the Enlightenment; we cannot recapture the spirit of the “pre-critical” age which came before it.

For that matter, the Enlightenment paradigm is not entirely wrong. Knowledge is absolutely necessary to affect change, and ignorance has often led to superstition and unhealthy behaviors. Paul preached that God would overlook the times of ignorance but now calls on everyone to repent (Acts 17:30); God would have all people come to a knowledge of the truth of the Gospel of Christ and be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). As Christians we are to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and imminent return, and that proclamation has the power to transform lives (Romans 1:16, 2 Timothy 4:1-4). Sometimes people do fall into sin, or do not sufficiently practice what is right, because it was not emphasized in teaching; as Christians we must continually exhort in instruction regarding righteousness and sin (cf. Titus 2:1-15).

We can see how the witness of Scripture confirms the necessity of the knowledge of what God has accomplished in Jesus and how it should transform our lives in Christ; nevertheless, Scripture equally testifies to the insufficiency of knowledge on its own. Humanity fell because Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: knowledge puffs up, while love builds up (Genesis 3:1-23, 1 Corinthians 8:1). The Apostle Paul went so far as to say that knowledge is precisely the means by which sin sometimes ensnares us: when we learn that we are not to do a thing, we are then tempted to do that thing in rebellion (Romans 7:5-25). Our minds, feelings, and actions have been corrupted by sin (Romans 5:12-21, 8:18-23); knowledge can be used for evil as much as for good. We absolutely can “know better” when we sin, and yet do it anyway!

We can see the limitations of the Enlightenment paradigm in both the world and among the people of God. Plenty of people have knowledge about healthier forms of living, yet for a wide range of reasons persist in unhealthy and destructive behaviors. Many recreational drug addicts went through drug prevention programs, and ultimately fell into drug addiction anyway; a few perhaps were made aware of the possibility of drug use precisely through those programs! Many young people commit to sexual abstinence and “know better” about sexual immorality and yet commit sexual immorality anyway. As Christians we know what thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are sinful, and yet often fall into them anyway (1 John 1:8, 2:1). Many a preacher has made a point to teach the distinctive nature of the people of God, the importance of elders and their role, and have diligently sought to fulfill Titus 2:1-15, and yet see Christians renounce their distinctiveness, fall into sinful patterns of behavior, and either fall short of the standards of the eldership or have little desire to aspire to or maintain such a role.

The Apostle Paul has warned us about being seduced by the philosophies of man and no longer holding firm to the Lord Jesus in Colossians 2:8-9, and such a warning is prescient in regards to the Enlightenment paradigm. The Enlightenment paradigm is insufficient to explain human behavior; its commendable understanding of the importance of knowledge is overcome by its absolute insistence on knowledge as the solution with ignorance as the problem. In Christ we recognize that the problem of humanity is sin and enslavement to the powers and principalities over this present darkness (Romans 7:5-25, Ephesians 6:12); the solution is the victory God has accomplished through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and imminent return, and trusting not only in Jesus as Lord, but proving willing to follow in His footsteps of love, humility, and suffering (Matthew 16:24-27, Romans 8:17-18, Ephesians 3:1-13, Colossians 2:15, 1 John 2:3-6). May we seek to be the community of the people who seek to embody Jesus the Messiah, find victory over sin and its forces in Him, and obtain the resurrection of life!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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Understanding Covenant, V: Covenant Distinctions

God, according to His purposes and good pleasure, has consistently associated with humans through the framework of covenant. Covenants represent agreements with mutual benefits and obligations. In days of old God established covenants with the world in the days of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, and David; most of these covenants find their fulfillment in Jesus, and pointed to a new covenant in His blood. God has always proven faithful to His covenant promises; we have every reason to trust in His covenant loyalty.

We can find many points of continuity among the various covenants God has made with mankind; we should not find this surprising, since God does not change and remains the same (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). At the same time all these covenants are not exactly the same; many points of discontinuity can be perceived. Each covenant maintains its own integrity as a distinct covenant, no matter how similar it may be to another covenant. Distinctions between covenants represent a serious matter of concern especially as it relates to the relationship between the covenant which God made with Israel as mediated by the Law of Moses and the new covenant God has established with all mankind in Christ Jesus.

Difficulties began as soon as the Gospel went forth to the Gentiles. Some Jewish Christians insisted that the only way people of the nations could be saved is if they submitted to circumcision and the Law of Moses: they would need to become Israelites to be saved (cf. Acts 15:1-5). The Holy Spirit made known through the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem how this was not so: God had accepted the people of the nations without expecting them to attempt to become part of the covenant between God and Israel, and this was according to what God had prophesied in the prophets (Acts 15:6-31).

Some Jewish Christians resisted this decision and went among churches with Gentile populations and insisted they needed to be circumcised and submit to the Law of Moses to be saved (e.g. Galatians 1:6-9, 4:8-20). The Apostle Paul strongly condemned these Jewish Christians as false teachers and worked to refute their arguments in the letters to the Galatians and Romans. Paul demonstrated that all had sinned and required redemption; no one could be justified by works of the Law, for none had kept the Law perfectly (Romans 1:18-3:23). Jesus took on the curse of the Law to provide redemption from the Law; all who share in the faith of Abraham can obtain the promises God made to Abraham, since Abraham himself received the promise before he submitted to circumcision (Romans 4:1-25, Galatians 3:1-18). The Law was added because of sin, and all it could do on its own is condemn sin and commend righteousness; it itself could not save, and such is why everyone, Jewish or Gentile, required redemption in Jesus (Romans 7:5-25, Galatians 3:19-29). For Christians of the nations to submit to the Law of Moses was to go back on what God accomplished in Jesus; Paul spoke of it as falling from grace, the attempt to finish by works of the Law what God provided in the Spirit in Christ through faith (Galatians 5:1-15).

Paul would continue according to a similar theme in Ephesians and Colossians. Paul described the division between Jewish people and Gentiles as due to the “law of commandments contained in ordinances,” and declared that Jesus killed the hostility between Jewish people and Gentiles by breaking down this wall through His death on the cross, and as a result reconciled Jewish and Gentile people into one man in Himself (Ephesians 2:11-18). Christians were no longer to be judged on the basis of Jewish observances, considered a shadow of the things to come, and not the substance in Christ, since He took away the bond written in ordinances against us, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-17).

Yet it would be the Hebrews author who would most clearly demonstrate the distinctions between the old and new covenants in his attempt to demonstrate the superiority of the new (Hebrews 6:3-10:39). The covenant between God and Israel included no one else; those of the nations were by necessity excluded (cf. Ephesians 2:10-12), and the covenant could not be added to or have anything taken from it (Deuteronomy 4:2). The Law of Moses had made provision for a priesthood of Aaron and the Levites and animal sacrifices; Jesus is the high priest in the order of Melchizedek, fulfilling the promise of Psalm 110:1-7, and so, by necessity, there must be a change of the law (Hebrews 6:3-7:28). The Hebrews author quotes Jeremiah 31:33-34 to demonstrate how God had promised a new covenant, and the Hebrews author located that new covenant in Jesus, whose sacrifice spoke a better word and proved efficacious where animal sacrifices fell short (Hebrews 8:1-10:39).

The New Testament, therefore, abundantly testifies to the distinctions between the covenants God made with Israel and the covenant God has made with all mankind in Jesus. Israelites were either allowed or commanded to do things which are now explicitly condemned in Christ, like divorcing a spouse for any reason, or slaughtering one’s enemies (e.g. Matthew 5:38-48, 19:1-9, 1 Peter 4:1-19). Likewise, Israelites were banned from doing things which are now authorized in Christ, like eating certain kinds of foods or reconciling with a spouse who had married in the meantime (e.g. Romans 14:14-15, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 1 Timothy 4:1-4).

Christians must do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17): He is Lord, and we must serve Him in all things. We learn many things from how God interacted with His people in olden days and ought to take comfort from what has been written for our learning (Romans 15:3, 1 Corinthians 10:1-12, 2 Timothy 3:15-17). We must banish the specter of Marcion from the people of God. Nevertheless, whatever we do, in word or deed, must find authority in what God has made known in Jesus through His Apostles and their associates in the New Testament. Plenty of aspects of the Law of Moses and the covenant between God and Israel help build the foundation of what God has done in Christ, and are often used to support the exhortations of what Christians ought to do in Jesus (e.g. Romans 13:8-14). And yet any practice within the covenants before Jesus which are frowned upon in the new covenant in Christ ought not be performed; likewise, practices from the days of Israel and before which find no commendation in Jesus ought to be set aside.

If the covenant between God and Israel proved sufficient to accomplish all of God’s purposes, there would have been no need for a new covenant. The covenant God has established in Christ is sufficient for all of our faith and practice; we must be wary of establishing authority for anything based on the Old Testament alone, lest we be found to have fallen from the grace God has given us in Christ on the final day. God has fulfilled His purposes for Israel in Jesus; may we become part of God’s people in Jesus and obtain the resurrection of life in Him!

Ethan R. Longhenry

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