Spirit, Soul, Body

In the previous post, we looked, briefly, at the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - one God. In this post, I want to point out the trinitarian nature of humanity. 

This threefold nature of mankind reflects, to a degree, the triune nature of the Godhead. Just as each member of the triune God is complete and wholly God, yet distinct, so each aspect of mankind is also the whole, yet distinct. The body of man comprises the entire man, yet he also possesses certain soulish emotions, desires, and propensities; and finally, the total man is endowed with a spiritual, eternal nature, somehow reflecting the image of God.

 

These three reflect the three great creative acts of God during creation week, identified by the three usages of the Hebrew word bara, or create. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1); i.e., physical material. Later, certain of this physical material was granted consciousness (1:21), which man shares with animals. On the sixth day, man was created as a spiritual being "in the image of God" (1:27), setting him qualitatively distinct from the animals, though he shares body and consciousness with the animals.

 

Writing his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul expresses this wish: "May the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Thess.5:23), when the "God of peace" sets about the task of sanctifying representatives of sinful, fallen mankind, restoring such ones to a measure of Christ-likeness, He does so in the order mentioned, beginning with a spiritual awakening. Then, through the transformed spirit, the soul is reached, and finally the body, with its appetites and lusts.

 

The wisdom of man says just the opposite, claiming the inner man can be improved by changing outside influences, a mentality all too often reflected even in evangelistic efforts. God's way is to start with the inner man - the root of the problem - and then affect the outer man. 

Text; context; pretext!

It's a well-known maxim among those who are involved in the fields of theology (study of God), homiletics (the art of preaching), and hermeneutics (the skill of Biblical interpretation), that "A text, out of context, is a pretext"!  Sadly, there are some texts of Scripture that are regularly taken out of context and, thus, totally mis-applied - even by some who are Bible believing, Gospel preaching, disciples of Jesus.

One such is Rev.3:20.  This reads "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me." (RSV).  How often has that text, together with Holman Hunt's famous painting, been used in evangelistic services as an invitation to the unconverted to open the doors of their hearts, and allow the Saviour to enter? 

However, if we take the trouble to look at the surrounding verses (the context) we discover that those words were spoken, not to unbelievers, but to the church (i.e. the people who made up the church - there was no 'church building' at that time) in Laodicea.  The invitation is to 'church members'!

At Wishaw Baptist Church, this morning, we were reminded that there are, in the church - and you may read that as any individual fellowship, or as the church world-wide - both false professors and faith professors.  In other words, there are those who, while happy to sit in a church building, have never entered into a living relationship with the Lord Jesus!   As has been written: "The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christian, but who aren't actually interested in following Christ.  They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them." (Kyle Idleman).

Another well-known, and oft-quoted text in this category is the one that was used in my hearing today, and led to this post being published.  It reads: "... if My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (RSV).  What a wonderful promise!  And the state of the British nation - and most of the so-called 'western world' - would certainly lead many to claim that promise for their own land.

But wait a minute!  Those words are found in II Chron.7:14.  That is in the Old Testament.  They are a direct response, by YHWH (the Covenant Name of Almighty God), to king Solomon, after his prayer at the dedication of the first Temple,and its consecration by YHWH Himself.  They are words that apply directly to the Jewish people, written in one of the historical books, and without any warrant to transpose them to any other contemporary situation!   If they are to be used in such a way, I would contend that they would require the same national repentance, and crying out to God, that was required of the Children of Israel.  They failed to do so - and the result may be seen, as prophesied by YHWH, and recorded in vs.19-22.

We live in difficult times.  The Christian faith, and the disciples of Jesus, are being increasingly mocked, macerated, and marginalised.  But perhaps, instead of trying to claim the promise of II Chron.7:14, the church should be heeding the warning, implicit in Rev.3:20!
 

He is risen!

At last - the Day of Resurrection! This morning, I was recalling (as well as my ageing memory would allow me to!) something that I think I heard from Arthur Blessit, the (then) young American evangelist who travelled all over the world, carrying a large wooden cross with him. I'm almost certain that he was speaking in St.George's-Tron Parish Church, in Glasgow, and he painted a word-picture that went something like this:

It is very early in the morning on that first Easter Day. Suddenly, there is a stirring as the breeze softly carries the news - "Jesus is risen; the stone is rolled away! Glory! Hallelujah!"

The grasses and the flowers pick up the message, and it floats over them, touching each blade, each petal - "Jesus is risen; the stone is rolled away! Glory! Hallelujah!"

The trees hear the message, and it rustles, ever more strongly through their leaves - "Jesus is risen; the stone is rolled away! Glory! Hallelujah!"

The refrain is picked up by the birds of the air, and they carry it all over the earth - "Jesus is risen; the stone is rolled away! Glory! Hallelujah!"

The chorus rises to the very gates of Glory, where angels had looked with dismay, and sorrow, on the body of the One Whom they knew as God the Son, hanging on a cross, battered, and bruised, and bleeding from the cruel treatment that He had received at the hands of His own creation. And, with joy, the message fills the halls of heaven - "Jesus is risen; the stone is rolled away! Glory! Hallelujah!"

And today - this Day of Resurrection - that same message is proclaimed around the world, by millions who still bow the knee before the Saviour - "Jesus is risen; the stone is rolled away! Glory! Hallelujah!"

That's the message of Easter. The unbeliever may scoff, and scoff his chocolate egg; but for those who are His disciples, the words of the old chorus still ring true:

"He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today.

He walks with me, and talks with me, along life's narrow way.

He lives! He lives - salvation to impart.

You ask me how I know He lives - He lives within my heart."

May each and all who read this post, also know the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus in their own lives - for their eternal good, and His eternal glory.

Preaching the Word, in season, and out of season.

It’s Sunday, as I type, and my wife and I are enjoying a wee break, in our caravan, near to the fair town of Ayr. Yesterday, we were up in the town and, as we awaited a ’bus to take us to ASDA, there was an elderly gentleman standing in the adjoining pedestrian area, with microphone and loudspeaker, faithfully proclaiming the Gospel. He had no visible support, in the sense of other members of a fellowship and, if we had not been awaiting that ’bus, I think that I would have gone over, relieved him of his microphone, and given him a wee break. To my own shame, I failed to do so. However, I thanked God for that gentleman’s faithful witness – and I had two specific thoughts.

I realised, again, the truth of Paul’s word that there is no-one who has an excuse for rejecting the Gospel message (Rom.1:18ff). Certainly, those who “passed by” (cf. Mark 15:29), yesterday, in Ayr, can never claim not to have heard the news that each one of us is a sinner, needful of the grace of God as He has shown it in the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus. I remembered, sadly, the question put to the Hebrew disciples of Jesus: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Heb.2:3)

The other thought that struck me was that, so often, our idea of ‘evangelism’ in the western church, today, is to put on a special service, and expect the unsaved to throng in – leaving behind the other interests that lay claim to their time. Yet the command of the Lord Jesus was that we should be the ones who make the move: “… go, and make disciples of all the nations, …” (Matt.28:19), and see also Mark 4:14; Luke 10:3, 14:23 inter al. I also thought of a man like Wilson Assavi, an Iranian pastor currently in prison for his evangelistic work among Muslims. I thought of his wife, Medline, who has been informed that her husband is “awaiting his trial and execution”! That gentleman in Ayr may have been ignored by those who passed him by; the worst that would have happened in the U.K. – at least, at the present time! – is that he might have suffered some name-calling. That is also the worst that would have happened to me, if I had taken the opportunity to support him in his vocal ministry. Yet so many, in over fifty countries around the world, suffer in ways that I am barely able to imagine – but they witness, boldly and faithfully, to the saving power of Christ.

That gentleman’s voice will, one day, be silenced as his mortal body reaches the end of its journey. I have no way of knowing what measure of ‘success’ he will have enjoyed – although, doubtless, there will be some for whom he will have been an important stage on their journey to saving faith. However, I am quite certain of one thing – that man will one day stand before Jesus, and will hear those wonderful words: “Well done, My good and faithful servant. … Let’s celebrate together!” (Matt. 25:21,23, NLT).