The Believer's Big Gulp of Fresh Air

1 Chronicles 1:1, 34  1"Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4 Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth." (34) "Abraham became the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel."

2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness"

It can be a great temptation to skip over the genealogies of scripture or books such as 1 Chronicles.  However if we believe the words of 2 Timothy 3:16 - "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable…", then we must believe that books like 1 Chronicles are of great significance for at least four reasons. 

1. For one thing, 1 Chronicles sits in our English Bibles like a much needed gulp of fresh air that you would breath in the midst of a marathon.  Genesis through 2 Kings represents over 3,000 years of time, and so 1 Chronicles gives the reader a much needed review.  

2. Secondly, the pattern of 1 Chronicles is that you are getting a view of humanity's history from how God sees it.  Thus in the opening chapters you see the genealogy developing around Abraham and David - a literary feature that is utilized by Matthew in his opening genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17.  

3. The third observation we can make is the fact that 1 Chronicles demonstrates history and life to have a purpose.  God's purposes revealed through Abraham and David guide the genealogical listing, which again functions much the same way in Matthew's listing to show all history and life focusing upon Jesus Christ.  

4. Fourthly, it is believed 1 and 2 Chronicles were originally one book, with Ezra and Nehemiah being one book, thus making all four books the product of Ezra the scribe, whose purpose was to provide a continuous history of God's people from creation to Exile.  You and I need scripture to remind us of who we are and whose we are and where we are at in God's plan.  The whole point of all this discussion is to help you see that God does not waste words, and that all His written words point to the Living Word - Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:44)  

John 7 gives us an example of how the scriptures point to the identity of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees claimed to had read the scriptures, and yet they missed their Messiah.  Only by grace through faith can you and I take scripture's words at face value and conclude Jesus Christ to be Savior, Lord and Treasure.  May our lives, like the Bible, point to and be about the Lord Jesus Christ. 

5 things necessary for Christian unity

Ephesians 4:4-5 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Review
Yesterday we explored Jesus' prayer for the unity of His saints and attempted to unpack what he meant through other passages of scripture.  We discovered that the unity desired by Jesus is a compound unity that is comparable to what is seen by analogy in the Trinity, by illustration of marriage and by comparison with the human body.  All three are used by scripture to convey the notion that Christian unity is compound unity endorsing the glory of God, God's love and healthy strength.  Such theological concepts are necessary for unpacking Jesus' prayer.  In today's post we are interested in wanting to know how to practically carry out Jesus' desire for Christian unity.  Ephesians 4:1-13 gives the five step process for carrying out Jesus prayer of John 17.

1. Hard work is required for unity. Ephesians 4:1-3 
It is interesting that the Apostle Paul begins this section on Christian unity with the responsibility of the Christian, with the remaining segments dedicated to God's provided graces for such unity.  Plainly put - Christian unity takes hard work and reliance upon God's grace.  For example in Ephesians 4:1-3 we see the following commands that indicate the diligence required for Christian unity:
a. "walk in a manner worthy of the calling" 4:1
b. "showing tolerance for one another" 4:2
c. "being diligent to preserve the unity" 4:3

We as Christians err in thinking that unity will just simply happen.  Much like sanctification on the individual level, Christian unity is both a "God-thing" and an "us thing".  Most churches and Christian people desire unity, however very few are willing to put the work necessary. Thanks be to God though Christian unity's achievement is not left totally up to willpower alone.  The remainder of Paul's instructions on Christian unity derive from God-given graces that we must rely upon to achieve it.

2. God's grace is required for unity. Ephesians 4:4-6
God's grace is when God does for you what you could never for yourself.  The key word "one" is interlinked with the Triune God of grace and the seven-fold grace of unity:
a. "One body" - The church and its converted members was planned by the Father as a love gift for His Son

b. "One Spirit" - Without the Person of the Holy Spirit, no unity can take place

c. "One hope" - Without the hope of the Gospel, no one could hear the Spirit's voice calling them unto salvation.

d. "One Lord" - Without the Person and work of Jesus Christ, there would be no church nor unity to speak of in this passage

e. "One faith" - Without saving faith as the gift of God, no one would believe and be justified before God

f. "One baptism" - baptism here speaks of the ministry of the Spirit in joining the believer to Jesus Christ at saving faith, with the subsequent administration of water baptism acting as the sign and the obedient public declaration by the convert pointing back to the experience. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)1   Much like the American flag is a sign of the previously agreed upon formation of the United States by the founding fathers, water baptism is a sign of the previously founded salvation granted by God the Father through faith to the believer who was united by the Spirit to Christ in spirit baptism. (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Romans 6:4-5) In water baptism the Christian is publically professing in obedience the wonderful salvation that was prior to the water baptism and privately received by faith in the heart. 

g. "One God and Father" - The First Person of the Trinity who planned the church.  Without the Person of the Father, there would be no church to speak of needing unity.  

3. Pastor Leadership is required for unity. Ephesians 4:7-13
We see here the five-fold ministry given by the Lord Jesus Christ.  The main focus of interest concerns the pastoral office, being that it is the most discussed of the the five offices.  Passages such as 1 Timothy 3 and Titus deal with the qualities of the Pastor while 1 Peter 5:1-3 deals more so with the purpose.  A Pastor functions to preach the Word, love the people and lead.  Only by the grace of the Lord can a pastor be a catalyst for unity. A church without pastoral leadership cannot expect to be equipped to unify together for the cause of Christ.  Jesus Christ has so given the office of Pastor to His flock to function as an "undershepherd" that is delegated authority to equip the saints to unify around the mission and majesty of Jesus Christ.  Insofar as the Pastor loves His Lord, His family, his people and the scriptures will determine how well He is able to be used of God to be a catalyst for unity.  

4. Sound Doctrine is required for unity. Ephesians 4:14-15
Doctrine is the vocabulary of faith and is the handmaiden of sound preaching, Christian conversation and Christ-honoring worship.  Just as Jesus spoke His words over the sea of Galilee to bring forth calm and still waters, the church needs to hear the voice of Christ preached by the scriptures and taught through sound Biblical doctrine to calm the periodic restless waves in the church.  What happens when the church abandons the grace of sound doctrine? The church forgets who she is and becomes a turbulent sea.  She forgets who she is and Whose she is and soon starts looking more like the world.  Contrary to what many may teach, when doctrine is abandoned in the name of unity, confusion and disharmony results. 

5. Body Life is required for unity. Ephesians 4:16
The final grace necessary for Christian unity is the Spirit given gifts of believers.  Christian unity does not mean union - where everyone is the same.  Unity rather implies diversity orbiting around and connected to a common point. Christians should be working toward the common goal of God's glory in Jesus Christ.  The pastor by himself cannot do it all, nor the deacons, nor only a handful in the church.  The call of "all hands on deck" is issued by the Captain of our salvation as He steers the mighty ship of the church militant through the sea of history.  The church is a living organism, a body, with Jesus Christ as the head. (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Colossians 1:18)  When the members of the church are functioning together as a body, "body-life" emerges, with the local church functioning as one person.  Soon the sweet aroma of Jesus Christ's love and truth is released and the community around takes notice. (2 Corinthians 2:14-17)   

These are the five things necessary for Christian unity.

Endnotes:
1. Much confusion abounds over the issue of baptism and can only be cleared up once we understand the scripture's teachings on "spirit baptism" and "water baptism", and how both constitute the "one baptism" spoken of by Paul.  Causally and subsequently connected to the Spirit's act of "spiritually baptizing" the believing sinner into Christ at salvation is the obedient re-enactment of that by means of one's public profession of faith in water baptism.  Water baptism is the symbol that is prescribed by Christ to point back to the Spirit baptism.  In scripture, a symbol or sign serves to signify a prior spiritual reality or experience of grace.  Therefore when the scripture says "One Baptism", there literally is only "one" in the sense that the water baptism is causally connected to the prior experience of saving faith, wherein the Spirit joins the believing sinner to Christ by Spirit baptism.  Water baptism does not impart saving faith nor the gift of the Spirit.  The Spirit Himself comes to the sinner in grace and in the gifting of faith the sinner responds by believing and repenting of their sins.  Water baptism is a subsequent, public declaration of prior saving faith. The Spirit joins me to Christ in His ministry of Spirit baptism, with the water baptism simply declaring that prior spiritual experience. 

Unfolding Jesus' prayer for unity in the church

Ephesians 4:1-3  "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Defining Jesus' prayer for the compound unity of His church
Paul's words in Ephesians 4 hearken back to Jesus' High Priestly prayer for the compound unity of His church in John 17. Jesus prayed in John 17:23  "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." In our English language we use the concept of compound unity all the time: a "pair of pants" (one garment, two legs), "a bunch of bananas" (one fruit composed of several bananas).  This same notion is found in the Hebrew and Aramaic of the Old Testament and the language of Aramaic spoken by Jesus in His day. Jesus' statement about wanting His church to be "one" fits more in lines with the meaning of compound unity.1 

Understanding the unity of the church is important for three reasons: God's glory, love and strength
As you survey the scriptures on this concept of "compound unity" in other doctrines, you discover that God's design of the church with this quality is seen in God Himself, marriage and the human body.  Looking at each of these truths will shed further light on the type of unity Jesus was praying for in John 17.

A God-glorifying church that is unified will reflect the truth of the compound unity of the Trinity
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39 & Mark 12:30-31 as being the greatest of all the commandments.  In that passage we read: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." The underlined word for "one" is the Hebrew word "echad" that emphasizes a compound or plural unity.2  In other words, there is a quality about God whereby He is "One God" in His existence and there is another quality about God whereby He is plural in His identity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We know that Jesus is referring back to the shared glory He has with His Father in John 17:21 "that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me."  The Son and the Father share the same Oneness of Being, and are in unity with the Spirit.  Whenever Christians in the church are in unity with one another, we reflect the glory of God and by analogy something that is true within God Himself - namely the compound unity that exists between the Trinity.  

A church that is unified truly loves like the compound unified love of marriage
As Jesus was praying for the unity of His church, He was praying as a groom in love with His bride - the church.  The imagery of the husband and wife relationship is found numerous times throughout the Bible, illustrating the relationship God has with His people.  In Ephesians 5:30-32 we see this clear statement: "because we are members of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church."  Once again we see the concept of "compound unity".  A husband and wife, though two persons, yet share in the same nature of relationship, both physically and spiritually with one another.  No greater relationship of love exists among human beings than marriage.  Whenever God's people are unified, it is like the beauty of a great marriage. Christians together reflect by analogy the glory of God shared in the Trinity. Whenever Christians are unified, the theme of love threads its way in and among and through that fellowship.  As Jesus notes in John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

A church that is unified and taking direction from Jesus the Head will be healthy and strong like a healthy human body 
We have explored the meaning of the term "one" in Jesus' prayer for the unity of His church.  Christian unity points people to something true about the compound unity of the Trinity and is illustrated by the beautiful love of compound unity in marriage.  However there is one more example of compound unity that sheds light back on Jesus' prayer - namely the compound unity of the body.  Romans 12:4-5 states - "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function." (5) so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Two other key passages bring home this compound unity of the church as functioning like the human body: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and Ephesians 4:1-13.  The imagery of the body conveys health or strength.  When Jesus prays for His church to be unified, He certainly wants them to reflect God's glory, have a deep rich love but also healthy strength.  Unity such as this is unparalleled and unknown when operating as Jesus intended.  When Jesus is regarded by the body of Christ as the true head, the members will function in harmony with one another.  

Tomorrow we will look at how we as Christians and the church can practically take the steps necessary for the unity prayed for by Jesus.

Endnotes:
1. As the Gospel writers wrote in Greek, Jesus emphasis on desiring a compound unity among future generations of Christians was accurately captured.  

2. The Jews came to use that same word "echad" to name the special three-tiered tray that held three pieces of matzot bread (unleavened bread) used in the Passover celebration.  Though it was "one" (echad) container, yet it was at the same time three pieces of unleavened bread.  

Jesus wants to A.W.A.K.E His church

Revelation 3:1-2 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

Brief Review

In yesterday's post we began considering Jesus' letter to the church at Sardis.  Jesus' words to the church is that she had the reputation of being alive, but was in actuality dead.  We explored Jesus' three letters to the churches at Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyatira as representing the successive downward spiral that a Christian or church can experience when slipping into a spiritual slumber, namely coldness of love, compromise and conformity.  We then concluded by noting a little bit about what exactly a revival is.  In today's post we want to consider more about what revival is and Jesus' prescription to A.W.A.K.E His church from her slumber. 

Revival leaders of the past help us understand what revival is

Jesus words to the church at Sardis was a message to a church in need of revival.  As I noted yesterday, I am fearful that many of us living today would not even begin to know how to define a revival, which is but proof of how much in need we are of one.  To get us off the runway and into the air, let me list some thoughts on revival by Godly leaders whom have demonstrated fidelity to the scripture and whose ministries have been used by God to spark revival.

1. Elmer Towns was for years Dean of the School of religion at Liberty University.  He writes: "An evangelical revival is an extraordinary work of God in which Christians repent of their sins as they become intensely aware of His presence in their midst, and they manifest a positive response to God, resulting in both a deepening of their individual and corporate experience with God, and an increased concern to win others to Christ."1

2. Leonard Ravenhill, one of the greatest writers on the subject of revival, notes: "Our request concerning revival must be that God be glorified ; afterwards, not before, will come our request for sinners to be saved and a believing that the heavens will be rent. God's conditions will be met."2   

3. Steven Olford, famed Baptist Pastor of times past, writes the following about revival: "Revival is that strange and Sovereign work of God in in which He visits His own people, restoring, reanimating and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing. Such a Divine intervention will issue in evangelism though, in the first instance, it is a work of God in the church and amongst individual believers. Once we understand the nature of heaven sent revival, we shall be able to think, pray and speak intelligently of such times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19)." 3

4. Martin Lloyd Jones, one of the premier preachers of the 20th century, writes on the cost of revival: "May He (God) so reveal His own glory and holiness to us. May He reveal unto us our utter impotence and hopelessness. May we see these things in such a way that we shall cease from men and look only unto the living God. And then there is no question but that He will hear us and He will manifest His glory and power."4

How Jesus wants to A.W.A.K.E His church
As you read Jesus' letter to the church at Sardis, you can use the acrostic A.W.A.K.E to describe what it takes to be a revived people of God for His glory.

Almighty Holy Spirit.  Revelation 3:1
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be sent in His name by the Father.   The "seven spirits" mentioned is in reference to the seven-fold nature of the Holy Spirit, described in Isaiah 11:2 and mentioned in Revelation 1:4 and 4:5. In order for revival to take place, the Sovereign God in the Person of the Spirit must come down and blow fresh wind into the sails of faith.  Lest we hoist the sails of faith up into the air on the mast of prayer, no revival will occur.  Revival is undoubtedly a Sovereign work of God.  The remaining elements of Jesus' prescription of revival has to do with the believer.

Work on Neglected Areas. Revelation 3:1b-2  
We read in Revelation 3:1b-2 "Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God." The word translated "awake" comes from the root word meaning “rise from the dead”.  This was a deadening sleep that Sardis and all slumbering churches or Christians need to awake.  It starts with an attitude of confession before God that we have been neglecting what we know we ought to do.  That confession must quickly be followed by taking care of those areas that are about to die. Often we neglect Bible reading, prayer, witnessing, giving, love.  Whatever we know to do, and yet fail to do, to us it is sin. (James 4:17)

Apply what you know. Revelation 3:3
Revelation 3:3 reads: "So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it." Often as Christians we cry out to God for more light.  The problem is that we are not living out the current light we already have.  Application of truth involves the mind (remember), the heart (received, heard) and the hands (keep it).  Once we have walked out the current level of understanding, only then will God grant us further light and great opportunities for Him. (compare Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:17) 

Keep a repentant mindset. Revelation 3:3b-4
Jesus then says in Revelation 3:3-4 "...and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you." Repentance means I have turned away from my sin and have run into the arms of Jesus.  Repentance is the twin of faith.  Just as we are to exercise growing faith in the Lord, so too with repentance.  We should ever be cultivating a growing hatred of sin, so as to ever run into the arms of Jesus.  Then finally...

Emphasize Jesus and His word. Revelation 3:4-6
Revival is not an end, but a means to a great end - continual pressing onward and upward in the Lord.  The "garments" of righteousness spoken of here in Revelation is in reference to the credited righteousness of Jesus Christ we receive at salvation (called justification), from whence springs our practical righteousness (sanctification). Seven times in Revelation we find reference to "white robes" given to the saints, and all seven are connected to Christ and His righteousness as being the basis for the believer's practical righteousness. (compare 3:5,18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9, 13; 19:14). The scriptures once again are alluded to in 3:6 as the source from whence we hear what the "Spirit is saying to the churches."  

True revival begins and ends with God.  As much as revival is conditioned upon the humbling of ourselves, praying, seeking God's face and turning from our wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14), yet its source and fruit all stems from the Spirit of God, who ever Proceeds from the Father in the name of the Son.   

Endnotes:

1. Elmer Towns & Douglas Porter. The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever - From Pentecost to the Present. Vine Books. 2000. Page 16

2. Leonard Ravenhill. Revival Praying. Bethany Fellowship. 1979. Page 145

3. Steven Olford. The Heart Cry for Revival. Fleming Revell. 1962. Page 16.

4. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Revival. Crossway Books. 1987. Page 131.

The need for revival

Revelation 3:1-2 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God." 

The city church that looked alive, and yet was dead

The history of the city of Sardis provides the background and insight into what had developed in the church at Sardis.  Commentator Steve Gregg notes: The City of Sardis, the old capitol of Lydia, had become famous for its red dye and woolen goods. Twice in its history it had been conquered-by Cyrus, in 549 b.c., and by Antiochus the Great, in 218 b.c - because of failing to keep adequate watch. It may be with allusion to this historical fact that Jesus exhorted the church to be watchful."1  Able commentator Dr. John Walvoord gives the following insight: The spiritual history of the church was to correspond to the political history of the city. Their works are also declared to be not perfect, literally 'not fulfilled', that is, not achieving the full extend of the will of God."2

When you survey the seven letters of Revelation 2-3, you find that two of them received full commendation from Jesus (Smyrna and Philadelphia); three of them receive a mixture of commendation and censure (Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira) and two of them receive only rebuke and no commendation (Sardis, Laodicea). Of the seven, Sardis receives the specific rebuke of being dead and in need of revival.  Thus in today's post, we want to consider the need for revival, and how Jesus wants His church to be a revived church.

What causes Christians and a church to slip into a deadening spiritual slumber?

To begin, John MacArthur gives this insight into the corpse-like state of Sardis: "What are the danger signs that a church is dying? A church is in danger of dying when it is content to rest on its past laurels, when it is more concerned with liturgical forms than spiritual reality, when it focuses on curing social ills rather than changing people's hearts through the preaching of the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ, when it is more concerned with material than spiritual things, when it is more concerned with what men think than with what God said..."  After citing some further striking characteristics, MacArthur concludes with this observation: No matter what its attendance, no matter how impressive its buildings, no matter what its status in the community, such a church, having denied the only source of spiritual life, is dead."3  

Ouch! But true. Whenever you survey the prior churches written to by John in Revelation 2 (with the exception of Smyrna), you could observe them representing the following stages or steps that leads a Christian or church into a state of spiritual slumber:

1. Coldness in love Revelation 2:1-7

Just like the church at Ephesus, a church or a Christian can be practicing the truth, having the form or mold of Christian practice, and yet be devoid of Christ-filled passion. Love for God and other believers is the beach head that protects the Christian faith from the corrosive effects of the sea of the world. (please compare 1 John 2:15-17; 4:18) 

2. Compromise. Revelation 2:12-17

When love has grown cold, apathy fills in its place.  As we witness in the letter to Pergamum, compromise with the world is comprised of three elements: apathy, blindness and carelessness.  The coldness of love and compromising stages can be gradual and almost imperceptible to the individual Christian or non-vigilant church.

3. Conformity Revelation 2:18-29

By beginning with coldness of love, and slipping into the mode of compromise, the third stage that leads to spiritual slumber is that of conformity.  The first two stages are more passive in nature and gradual, whereas this stage seems more willful and swift.  By the time a church or Christian reaches this stage, allowance of error (like at Pergamum) quickly goes to approval (like Thyatira did with "Jezebel")

A church that is nearly dead is in need of revival

Jesus words in Revelation 3:2 gives us the central command to the church at Sardis as well as the call to all churches and Christians of every age: "Wake up". The issue over revival is never about the Lord's desire and ability to grant it as it is our lack of desire for it.  A Christian or a church that prefers to operate in ignorance will be a church that fails to experience the refreshing winds of the Spirit's reviving work.  One can note throughout the long history of the church and revivals the common trends that we noted above as signalling the need for revival: coldness of love, compromise and conformity. 

What is revival?

I fear that our generation of Christian people may not even know what revival is, and thus not see the need for it.  We will continue more tomorrow on this vital subject of revival.  I want to leave the reader with this excellent definition of revival from Elmer Towns: "An evangelical revival is an extraordinary work of God in which Christians repent of their sins as they become intensely aware of His presence in their midst, and they manifest a positive response to God, resulting in both a deepening of their individual and corporate experience with God, and an increased concern to win others to Christ."4   

Endnotes:

1. Steve Gregg. Revelation - Four Views: A Parallel Commentary. Nelson. 1997. Page 73

2. John Walvoord. The Revelation of Jesus Christ - A Commentary. Moody. 1966. Page 81

3. John MacArthur. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary - Revelation 1-11. Moody. 1999. Page 112

4. Elmer Towns & Douglas Porter. The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever - From Pentecost to the Present. Vine Books. 2000. Page 16