The Authority of Jesus

I lay down my life that I might take it again.

John 10:17-21

Introduction:

We need to teach scriptures in the context in which they were given. If we look back to John chapter 8, we see that Jesus had healed a man who was born blind. There was quite a flap over it. Some people condemned Jesus for having healed on the Sabbath. Others pointed out that if God wasn’t backing Him, He couldn’t have done it at all, regardless of the day He chose. The healed man testified to that effect, as well, saying that only a man sent from God could have healed him. All the rest of the things in this context occurred on that same day, as extensions of that specific conversation.

The pharisees followed Jesus to argue with Him at length. They claimed that they had good spiritual vision. But Jesus pointed out that because they claimed to see, their sin remained upon them. They were rejecting His Word, not in ignorance, but in rebellion.

Regarding the Shepherd

Jesus then began teaching about His relationship to Israel as a whole, and to the World as a whole. He explained that He came by way of the “Door into the Sheepfold.” We saw that as a reference to the fact that He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. In that way, He showed His proper “credentials’, and His “pedigree,” as the Savior of the Human Race: the Messiah, and the Shepherd of Israel.

He taught the difference between the Good Shepherd (Himself) and the false Messiahs throughout the ages. He also pointed out the difference between a good human shepherd and a bad one. The good one protects the flock and cares for the Flock. The bad one protects himself and cares for himself, instead of caring for the Flock of God. And Jesus said that He was the Good Shepherd who would lay down His life for the Flock.

Jesus has Authority over Life and Death

¹⁷Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. ¹⁸No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

We struggle with the teaching in this passage sometimes. In other passages, we see that God the Father raised God the Son from the Dead. But in this passage, we see that Jesus claimed to have the power (authority) to lay down His life, and to take it up again, Himself.

The real struggle we are having there is with the word “power.” The word in this passage translated “power,” in the King James Bible, is one of several New Testament Greek words which can be correctly translated “power.” But this one is not the more common Greek word, “dunamis,” from which we derive words like “Dynamo” and “Dynamic.” This is the Greek word, “exousia,” which simply means “authority.”

He said that He had been given the authority to lay down His life and take it up again… and that it was by the commandment of His Father that He was to do so. What we are about to see, here, is the full agreement of the Trinity. There is no “competition” or “power-struggle” between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are in perfect agreement.

So, when Jesus exercised His authority to lay down His life, and to take it up again, at the commandment of His Father, then the Father would back Him completely.

The Power of God

Please turn in your Bible to Ephesians 1:18- 23

¹⁸The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, ²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: ²²And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, ²³Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

There, in verses 19 and 20, we read that God exerted His power to resurrect Jesus. He first says that God has “exceeding greatness” of power toward believers, to bless and to keep us. But it also says that He exercises that power “according to the working of His mighty power, with which He raised Jesus from the dead.” In modern English, that sounds a bit redundant, and an unnecessary repetition of the word “power.”

Different Words for Power

But it turns out that, in that passage, the first word for “power” is the more common Greek word, “dunamis” which speaks of His sheer ability and strength, while the second was the Greek word, “kratos,”which speaks of His dominion over the entire creation: He is the Eternal King. He is the “Most High.” He is God.

Jesus is God the Son, and during His earthly ministry, He temporarily set aside most of His prerogatives as God, and functioned as a human. But he was given the command of God the Father to “lay down” his life, and to “take it again.”

None of us have been given any such command. But Jesus was authorized by His Father to do exactly that. So, Jesus, God the Son, exercised His authority (as commanded by the Father.) God the Father then exercised His unimaginable power and rulership to confirm and support the authority of Jesus.

The Full Authority of Jesus

So, when we see in other places that humans “killed” Jesus, that was completely true from their perspective, and from the perspective of any human. And in terms of guilt, it was certainly true, as well.. But they could not “take His life” against His will: He had absolute authority over His life, (and, ironically, over theirs as well.) He is the Eternal Judge that each of them—and we—will face.

Furthermore, in the remainder of the passage in Ephesians, we notice that it says God the Father has placed Jesus as the Master over all the universe, far above every other ruler, or authority, including all the angelic host. (That is what those names mean, though I can’t tell you the difference between the various levels of authority named there. However, it also includes the fallen angels.)

And, finally, it says, that He is the Head over all things, to the Church, which is His body. (That means us!) This person, of unimaginable authority and power is the Head of the Church…us!

Results of Authority

Here is a side note: when Jesus was about to ascend back to the Father, He addressed His disciples, saying “All power is given unto Me, in Heaven and in Earth…go ye therefore and teach all nations….” The word, “therefore” means, “on the basis of that.” On the basis of what? Was it on the basis of the fact that “Jesus had power?”

It turns out that the Greek word translated “power,” there, is exactly the same as the one we just read, here, in John 10:18. It is the Greek word “exousia.” We can see in John 10:18 that He has authority over life and death, but in Matthew 28:18, we see that He has ALL authority, in Heaven and in Earth! And He gives His commands on the basis of that authority!

Division:

¹⁹There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. ²⁰And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? ²¹Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

There has always been a fairly sharp “division of opinion” regarding Jesus. There are those who see Him for who He is, and choose to worship Him and obey Him, and trust in Him for all things. And there are the “others.”

Circumventing the Judge

Some simply ignore Him, wanting nothing to do with Him, because they do not understand that ignoring Him is not one of the options. Several years ago, I asked an elderly man how he would respond if God were to ask him, “Why should I allow you into Heaven?” He said, “I wouldn’t answer Him at all! I would just go around Him and go my own way!”

It was obvious that he wasn’t thinking clearly: one cannot just “go around God, and go one’s own way.” But the reality is that most people are thinking that, though usually not verbalizing it. They assume that if they refuse to address the matter, then, they have not really “rejected” Him, they just circumvented Him. But it is rejection just the same.

Resenting God

There are others who resent His Authority, even if they agree with much of His justice. They want to be their own master…and, as it turns out, that is also “not one of the options.” There is only one true “Master” of all things, because He is the sovereign God over all the Universe.

He is the One from whom all the Universe emanated, in the act of creation. He spoke it all into existence, including all the material and immaterial creation. Bodies, spirits, souls, inanimate objects…all of it. And, as He is the Creator, He is the only Supreme authority. His authority supersedes all other authority. And, as sinners, we resent that, because we don’t want anyone “telling us what to do.”

Hating God

There are also those who allow their resentment to grow into an open hatred for God. In reality, it is only a “full-bloom” version of the general disdain for God that the whole human race tends toward. In Psalm 14, God says that there is no one who seeks after God. That is repeated in Romans 3:9-12. Most people would deny harboring hatred toward God, but the fact is that the lesser forms of rebellion are the same noxious “weed” at an earlier stage of development.

Repentance

The group of people about which we are reading also included those who said, “He can’t be demon-possessed: He doesn’t talk like one possessed of a demon, and besides, we just saw him heal a blind man! A demon couldn’t do that!” Bear in mind that these were part of the same group who had been arguing withJesus. But these were starting to realize that He just might be exactly who He said He was! His words and His actions matched one another. He was acting in a manner consistent with His words.

It seems that they were about to change their mind, regarding Him. We call that “Repentance.” The Greek word usually translated “repent” is “metanoia,” and it literally means, “change your mind.” They were repenting of their earlier opinions about Jesus. That is the beginning of change, the beginning of repentance, that could turn into rebirth!

What about Believers?

Repentance is also needed in believer’s lives. Each of us has areas in our lives that are not in agreement with God. We are saved sinners, and we still have our sin-nature. So, when the Holy Spirit alerts us to behaviors, attitudes, or thought patterns that are dishonoring to God, we have two choices. We can resist, or we can repent. We can change our minds regarding the things God has asked that we abandon. Or, we can attempt to circumvent the Holy Spirit: to ignore His prompting, and just “go our own way.” (Honestly, folks: that really is “not one of the options!”)

What about us?

We have seen His total Authority and His absolute Holiness. We have seen the fact that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are in complete agreement with the commands and teachings of God the Son (Jesus.) So, we simplyneed to drop our resistance, and choose repentance.

We need to change our minds regarding our unbelief and we need to learn to trust Him: We need to change our minds about our resentment and our rebellion, and learn to obey Him. We need to change our minds regarding our self-centeredness, and pride, and learn to walk in humility, as Jesus walked, and reach out to those around us, as the ambassadors of Christ. That is our assigned job, as Christians.

Lord Jesus, work repentance in each of our hearts. Teach us to actively trust You to lead us by Your Word. Teach us to look for Your fingerprints in our lives, and to rejoice at the work You do in our hearts and lives. Lead us as Your flock, and use us as Your ambassadors. Make us the men and women of God You have called us to be.

October 14, 2014December 12, 2014

God’s Authority in the Gospel

The Authority of the Gospel

Galatians 1:17-24

Introduction:

We sometimes think of the Gospel as “a get home free” ticket, or a “fire-escape clause”, a “lifeboat”, or simply the “bait” with which God draws people to himself. In a way, there is an element of truth to each of these oversimplifications. But the fact is; all of them miss what is surely one of the main points of the message. The Gospel has the authority of God. This is His chosen (and only) means by which he saves humans. He describes it as his power to save sinners who believe (Romans 1:16), and it is the only thing so described in scripture. Furthermore, it is not something humans would have come up with even if they could have—it is a stumbling-block to virtually everyone, at one level or another, simply because it is so not human-centered. It centers upon the Holiness of God, His Goodness, His Wisdom, and His Love. The Gospel is only “good news” to those willing to realize the “bad news”.

This explains Paul’s reaction to Christ, in a way: once Paul had his assignment, you will notice he didn’t mess around trying to “pray about it” or any other procrastinating trick that we might tend to do. He had already been praying—and blinded by God—when Ananias came in and God restored his sight. So, when the Lord Jesus also revealed his assignment, he “immediately conferred not with flesh and blood”. Paul had seen clearly the “bad news”: he had been warring against God. And he was beginning to learn the “good news”—that God could save him, and wanted to use his life; Paul was in prayer (probably lots of confession) and fasting, when Ananias came to see him. He was still physically blind until God restored his sight. He had a new life; restored with a purpose…he was an Apostle. It was not up to other humans to tell him what God had already told him. It was up to Paul to obey. He understood the authority of the Gospel, and is trying, still today, to convey it to his readers.

Faith is an Obedient Response to a Revealed Truth

¹⁷ Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

He had no need to go talk to them…he was doing what he was told to do, and going where he was sent. He believed Jesus was who he said He was, and had received proof in his own life. He had an assignment Ananias was told by Jesus that Paul was to be a chosen vessel for Christ;’ that he would bear the name of Christ before the Gentiles, and kings, as well as to Israel. Jesus said, “I will show him how great things he must suffer for my sake.” (Acts 9:15, 16) So Paul was convinced, and was immediately obedient. You may remember other people in the Bible who responded in similar fashion…Abraham, for example. But Paul goes on to say,

¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

¹⁹ But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

²⁰ Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

This is pretty important in Paul’s mind: he wanted his readers to know that, while the message he preached was completely in agreement with that of the eleven, his message was not dependent upon theirs at all: both came straight from the same source; Jesus Christ. Paul had known the Lord for several years before he ever even met the other apostles. And the first time he met any of them it was only for a brief visit with Peter and James.

So when did Jesus teach Paul? During the three year interval before he saw Peter, evidently. Some time in Arabia, and some time in Damascus. Remember, Damascus was where he was headed when Jesus stopped him (Acts 9), and he had been going there specifically to arrest the Jewish believers living there. (I wonder what their first response was when he showed up as a believer. Probably the news had gotten around, as it was Ananias, a believer from Damascus, who was sent to restore his sight.)

He apparently had a brief time in Arabia, and then went back and spent time preaching in Damascus, and fellowshipping with the Jewish believers there, until the unbelieving Jews tried to kill him, and the believers had to smuggle him out of town. It seems that that was when he first went back to Jerusalem. The believers there were afraid of him, because they had not yet heard of his conversion. Barnabas took him to the apostles but evidently the only two apostles available on that particular trip were Peter and James, (cp. Acts 9:27), and he was introduced to them by Barnabas. Barnabas later became Paul’s partner in the preaching of the Gospel, and was also called an apostle, by Luke, in Acts 14:14.

I don’t really know why anyone would doubt the truth of what Paul shared here, regarding his behavior after having met Jesus. It seems it was common knowledge, by that time. Perhaps he was simply reiterating the fact that his message was not a “spin-off” from that of the eleven, but had been received directly from the risen Jesus Christ. All he can offer to doubters is to call God as his witness, to show that he is not lying. The doubters were not there, when any of these things happened, and he was there. It is an eyewitness account. The Apostles who received him at Jerusalem were still alive and could confirm it, if anyone wanted to ask. Undoubtedly Ananias, of Damascus was still available, too. But God had already borne out the truth of Paul’s testimony in his own life, and in the works of an Apostle that he had done among them there in the province of Galatia. They should have known all this, but Paul brings it all into focus again, in an attempt to present the Gospel he preached as being fully authoritative.

The Authority of the Gospel

The authority of the Gospel is an important point: Either this is just Paul’s opinion, in which case we can take it or leave it; or it really is the Word of God, and we have to take it as having the full backing of God. Peter confirms later that Paul’s writings were scripture. (2^nd Peter 3:15, 16) So, while you can still “take it or leave it”, you need to be aware that it is God you are responding to, not just a human author.

Paul continues to share how his life in Christ had begun: he says,

²¹ Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

²² And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

²³ But they had heard only, that he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

²⁴ And they glorified God in me.

Paul’s point, continuing through these verses, and beyond, is that his message and his ministry came directly from the risen Christ, not from those who were apostles before him, nor from the organized church, or a body of elders, or any other human source. He didn’t go off to Seminary, or seek Holy Orders, or the blessing of a cardinal or pope. He didn’t even go to the County Seat and get a ministerial license. He simply went right to work.

He never even met the churches in Judea, or the remaining apostles until years later. They’d heard of him, all right, by that time; they heard that the one who had been devastating the church was now building it and edifying it: he was strengthening the believers; and the churches in Judea were excited to hear it. They knew it could only have happened by the power and grace of God; by a supernatural intervention, not by human wisdom or force of argument. This is a pretty important idea…we do not need to concern ourselves with human wisdom, forceful arguments, etc. as they virtually never bring people to Christ. We need to seek supernatural intervention. We do so by prayer …and the preaching of the Gospel.

Proof of the Gospel

By the way, the change in Paul’s life is further proof to us, as well, of the Divine source of the Gospel: it transforms lives. Not just by “invigorating” people who were already of a “religious” bent or that were the “goody-two-shoes” sort; but rather by turning around those who were violently opposed to the message. It perhaps could be argued that Paul was both, as he was deeply involved and committed to the religion of the Jews— Judaism— and was a righteous man by Jewish standards. But he was violently opposed (literally) to the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ, and was in the business of tracking down Jewish believers, arresting them, and hauling them back to Jerusalem to face trial. He was a bounty-hunter, if you will—armed with documents giving him authority for search and seizure, and he was headed for Damascus when Jesus intervened personally. He was a one-man Inquisition. But God stopped him and turned him around. He was transformed by the Holy Spirit.

God is still transforming lives today. In my own case, I was an atheist, and dogmatically so. God gave me the opportunity to watch the lives of new believers changing around me, my last year in High school. I had known several of them before they were believers, and I saw the undeniable change in their lives, after salvation. It brought me to the conviction that there was something real going on, and made me receptive to re-thinking my own condition. I eventually saw that I myself was a lost sinner. I tried to change on my own, and found it was beyond my ability to produce consistent change. (I still find it so, as a matter of fact.) Eventually I threw myself on the mercy of God as a helpless, hopeless sinner, which is exactly what He calls us to do.

We don’t like those three words, though: “helpless”, “hopeless” and “sinner.” “Guilty” is another word we avoid today. But all are facts, and unless you recognize them in your own life you will not find a place for the Gospel in your heart. Jesus only offers to save helpless, hopeless, guilty sinners. Not those who feel guilty: guilt is a fact, not a feeling. I usually experience guilt feelings when I am guilty, however, there is such a thing as false guilt, which is feeling guilty about something that is truly not your fault. You can bring that on yourself through wrong thinking, or someone else can load it on you, through casting blame. It is very destructive, because there is no real release except a change in thinking, which is difficult to achieve. Real guilt can be dealt with at the cross, through confession.

The result of Paul’s salvation was that other believers glorified God in him. In fact, one result of the salvation of any sinner is that other believers glorify God in them—we recognize the hand of God in the salvation of any soul, and we give thanks and Glory back to Him. That is called Worship, and God surely deserves it at every level.

The Wisdom of the Gospel is of God, Not of the World

Over in 1^st Corinthians 1:17-25, (read it) Paul is addressing a different group of believers, with the same sort of message: the centrality and authority of the Gospel. He had already run into those who counted themselves too smart for the Gospel, or too good for it. In Athens (Acts 17) he had preached a sermon geared to popular appeal, which is still, today, touted as one of the great examples of fine preaching, and it is frequently used as a “textbook case” in homiletics classes in Bible schools and seminaries. But the actual results of that sermon (results are a good thing, right?) were very lackluster…and, the very next place he went (Corinth), Paul had determined to do things differently.

Paul stated that “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel…” (The context, here, was that the people were already beginning to form schisms in the church based on who their mentors had been: who led them to Christ, who baptized them, etc. “Denominations”, if you will, were beginning right then, and Paul was trying to put a stop to it. He said that the Gospel was the key issue.)

He said he was supposed to preach the Gospel “…not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” (It is evidently possible to render the Cross powerless, if we drape it in too much human “razzle-dazzle”. We can either use light to reveal truth, or we can use it in such a way that all it breeds is confusion. Consider what light does in the mirrors of a mirrored maze.)

Paul went on to state that the lost world pretty much uniformly sees the preaching of the Cross as foolishness. They are “…too smart for that tripe!” Or, in the case of those deeply entrenched in religions, they may see themselves as “too good” for it. They don’t need a savior—they aren’t sinners! Funny, while Jesus did die for the sins of the whole world…because all of us are sinners… he clearly stated that he did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. People who don’t see themselves as lost have no felt need for a savior. So they reject the message out of hand…and all the more angrily, as they feel you are suggesting that they are sinners. (Well… yeah, as a matter of fact…!)

But then he points out that God’s wisdom sees that the World’s wisdom will not bring people to Christ…ever. (“After that, in the wisdom of God, the World by wisdom knew not God…”. So, he says, “…it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

In contrast, God says he will destroy the “wisdom” of the “wise”—that is, the “worldly wise”, because that sort of wisdom always seeks an avenue by which it can deny God, or at least deny the person of Christ.

In Romans 1:21, 22, Paul says, “…because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…”

Is it possible for a human to be wise? Sure, provided the wisdom comes from God! Human wisdom inevitably leads a person to pride, and the conclusion that he or she does not need God. And even among believers, Human wisdom only leads to contention and self-centeredness. James says that human wisdom that is not from God is “…earthly, sensuous, and devilish”. Those sorts of things do not lead a person to Christ. Human wisdom that comes from God is “…first pure, then peaceable, and easy to be entreated…” That is a whole different outlook.

Conclusion:

We can take Paul as our example: We can choose to have his priorities, and mimic his response to God. In fact, Paul suggests that we do just that: He says “be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1^st Corinthians 11:1)

So, as we continue to read through the Epistle to the Churches of the Galatian province, be on the lookout to see things from Paul’s example that you can emulate to one degree or another. Remember; if you are a believer, then the letter is to you, too.

As you read, remember the Divine authority of the Gospel…God is not begging, trying to get you to change your own life—it can’t be done. He is gently commanding you to allow Him to transform you, as he did Paul, and as He has transformed every believer in history, when they stopped rebelling and allowed Him to do His work.

The way He intends to do it is through the written Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. You can’t hope to have God change your life if you ignore His Word. You can’t hope to have Him change you if you ignore the Holy Spirit, either—and the two always work together. The Spirit will never lead you where the Written Word does not also (implicitly or explicitly) direct you.

It takes effort…you can’t just wait around hoping that God will jump on you and change your heart. If you think it seems hard, remember all the things Paul endured.

Paul told the Church at Philippi, “Unto you it has been given, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe in His name but also to suffer for his sake!”

Guess what? That letter is to us, as well.